2013년 11월 17일 추수감사주일 영어설교
시편 50:23

(Psalms 50:23)

     As we know well, the chief end of men is to glorify God. We can find a couple of ways to glorify God in the Bible. With regard to human being’s first and prime purpose in life, today’s text relates ‘thanksgiving’ to it. Today, in celebrating Thanksgiving Day of this year, we are going to be appreciating what thanksgiving is in relation to glorifying God.

     In verse 23, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” Here, to glorify God is the chief end of men. Glorifying God means that men enjoy God, that is, enjoying the existence of God itself as His creature. And it means that men, as God’s image bearers, need to reflect God’ attributes and glory which is already full in its quantity and quality. Then who can properly perform this human being’s main duty in their lives? The text simply answers, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me.” Men who had just a religious sense used to bring animals as their sacrifices according to the institutional manners. Unfortunately, they did it only for their earthly benefits and prosperities in life and appeasing their god the same as many foreign religious believers had. They forgot the idea that God is the one and only God, the Creator, the Sustainer in the universe who deserves worship and heartfelt thanksgiving of men. They regarded God as the strongest and able god of many gods who protect and bless them. So God says this, in verse 12-14, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High.” Now here, God doesn’t want men’s religious institutional behaviors or manners, but, of course with these manners, spiritual attitudes and mind-set of real thanksgiving toward their God.

     So then, thanksgiving for what? First, thanksgiving for the amazing graceful salvation of God for sinners like you and me. We always have to thank God for the fact that we have been saved from the terrible sinful situation that leads all men to death. Death is the power which human being is never able to overcome and the result of sins. Second, we always give thanks to God for all the factors of our lives. Unbelievers are ceaselessly rebellious against God, their creator and sustainer, while they are living and walking in the earth God created, and freely breathe the air and enjoy sunshine and rain God provides, and benefit from all the natural principles, laws, and phenomenon God made in their lives. But unlike the unbelievers, we were regenerated, became a new creature, and got the new identity and new life through believing in Jesus Christ. So we came to have new sense and awareness, strictly speaking, original proper sense that is recovered from the human sinfulness. Therefore, we Christian people should always thank God for all the factors including not only spiritual but also physical in our lives even in painful moments.

     Then, how can we continually give this proper thanks to God our Lord? Can we do this by ourselves? No way! We can’t. Our firm resolution or strong will would not be enough for us to perform this. We are sinners, still sinful. Before God, we are unable, finite, unworthy in doing this chief end of men meeting the perfect requirements of God. There is no hope in ourselves. There is no possibility in ourselves. So then how? First we definitely pay attention to what God has been doing for us, such unable and unworthy beings. God sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ our Lord. He already perfectly met all the requirements of God. And Jesus Christ already figured out all the problems of inability, depravity, and unworthiness including our sins through his incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. And Jesus Christ himself is the ultimate and final sacrifice with thanksgiving. God is perfectly satisfied with the very accomplishment and merits of Jesus Christ. Now for men, in performing their chief duty toward their God, glorifying God offering thanksgiving as the sacrifice, the one and only way is to believe in Jesus Christ. It is only to trust in and rely upon what He accomplished, or His own merits through and by believing in, being united with, and being immersed in Jesus Christ our Lord. This faith continually and effectively propels believers to live their Christian lives performing their duties during this wild journey to their homeland heaven.

     In this thanksgiving season, I hope you all glorify God through offering ‘thanksgiving’ as your sacrifice by believing in, trusting in, and being in Jesus Christ, the unique guarantee of our God.