MESSIAH COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC.

406 West Tower, Tektite Tower Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City,
Philippines, Pasig, Philippines

SESSION 4
THE GOAL FOR ETHICS: LIVING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

I. OBJECTIVES

• Knowledge: By the end of this session, students will be able to:

1. State the reason why living for the glory of God is the ultimate purpose of ethics.
2. Get a good grasp of the three biblical perspectives of living for the glory of God:
the character of the moral agent, the results of the action, and the right behavior.
• Character: By the end of this session, students will be able to:
Develop a passion to glorify God in all things.
• Skill: By the end of this session, students will be able to:
Discern whether particular ethical decisions will bring glory to God in terms of the
character and behavior of the moral agent, as well as the result such ethical
decisions.

II. INTRODUCTION

• The overall goal of our study of Ethics is to fulfill our ultimate purpose, which is to
glorify God.
• In the Old Testament, God speaks in this way about his sons and daughters:
“whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.” (Isa. 43:7; see also v. 21)
• The New Testament similarly affirms that before the foundation of the world God
predestined people to be saved “so that we who were the first to hope in Christ
might be to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:12).
• Because God created us to glorify him, it makes perfect sense that the New
Testament should tell us, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
• The Westminster Catechism declares
“What is the chief and highest end of man?
Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”
 MESSIAH COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC.
406 West Tower, Tektite Tower Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City,
Philippines, Pasig, Philippines

III. THREE PERSPECTIVES ON A LIFE LIVED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

• It might at first seem quite abstract to say to people, “You should live for the glory of
God.” Exactly what does that mean? What does a life lived for God’s glory look like?
• The Bible is a rich treasure house of material that helps us answer these questions in
specific ways.
• For purposes of our study, we will focus on what the Bible says with regard to three
perspectives on a life lived for the glory of God:
1. Our personal character,
2. The results that come from our lives,
3. Our actual behavior, our conduct of life.
• A life lived for the glory of God will be one that has:
1. A character that glorifies God: a Christlike character.
2. Results that glorify God: a life that bears abundant fruit for God’s kingdom.
3. Behavior that glorifies God: a life of obedience to God, lived in personal
relationship with God.

IV. THE CHARACTER GOAL: A LIFE CONFORM TO THE IMAGE OF GOD.

1. Our Character Goal Is to Be Conformed to the Image of Christ.

o Paul says this about Christians: “Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29).
2. Becoming Like Christ Is a Lifelong Process.
o Many passages in the New Testament talk about a lifelong process of becoming
like Christ. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” (1 Cor. 11:1
o “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he
walked” (1 John 2:6).
o Our lives ought to so reflect what his life was like that we bring honor to him in
everything we do (Phil. 1:20).
3. A Partial List of Christlike Character Traits or “Virtues.”
1. Compassionate (Matthew 9:36)
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
2. Servant Attitude (Mark 10:45)
Jesus even tells everyone: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve”
3. Unconditional Love
4. Forgiving (Luke 23:34)
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
5. Committed
 MESSIAH COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC.
406 West Tower, Tektite Tower Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City,
Philippines, Pasig, Philippines

6. Prayerful
7. Gentleness
8. Patience
9. Self-Control
10. Humility

V. THE RESULTS GOAL: A LIFE THAT BEARS ABUNDANT FRUIT FOR GOD’S KINGDOM.

• God is not only concerned about our character. He is also concerned that our lives
have productive results, or (to use an agricultural metaphor) that our lives would be
like plants that bear much “fruit” for the purposes of God’s kingdom.
• “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that
bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

VI. THE BEHAVIORAL GOAL THE GLORIFIES GOD: TO LIVE A LIFE OF OBEDIENCE AND
INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

• Because of this goal, in the chapters that follow I will discuss morally good and bad
actions related to particular topics, and how these actions must be done “before
God” and in fellowship “with God.”