How We Took God’s Glory for Ourselves

Have you ever had someone steal something from you? It might have been money, a treasured object, or some possession. Whatever it was, it was something that rightfully belonged to you. It was your property.

How did that make you feel?

There is a reason why God included “thou shall not steal” as one of the ten commandments. And it isn’t just because it’s dishonest or an act of greed.

In early English, the word property referred to that which is proper to me, and to me alone. So understood, the things that rightfully belong to us represent an extension of who we are into the world. Stealing, therefore, is more than just taking something that doesn’t belong to us. It’s effectively an assault against another person.

In this short video, Scott discusses the second problem that sin has created for humanity, which is our embrace of an exchange in truth. As Paul says in Romans 1:25, “they exchanged the truth about God for the lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator”.

In short, sin means that we’ve stolen the glory that rightfully belongs to God, (that is, the credit and worship he deserves as the giver of life), and we’ve given it to the creation instead. And since we are part of the creation, what that ultimately means is that we took God’s glory from him and gave it to ourselves.

Understanding the true nature of our sin’s offense against God is essential to understanding the gospel message of Jesus Christ. In this short video, Scott digs deeper into explaining from the Bible how we have stolen God’s glory, what our sin against God really means, and the impact it has on us.