Psalm 96:8 – Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come into His courts.

    Fundamentals of the Glory of God

    God's main design in all things is His glory.

    God's glory is the revelation of His attributes, His character, as they are honored and magnified to distinguish Him from idols. It is His majesty that identifies Him as God.

    God's highest glory is the revelation of His character as honored and magnified in the salvation of sinners based on the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
    This is God's highest glory because it is in this salvation that we see every attribute of God's character working consistently together for the purpose of salvation by Christ. 
 
    This can be summarized in the phrase – A just God and a Savior (Isaiah 45:21).  This glory is revealed in salvation based on the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 4:6). 
 
    So, the main issue in salvation is God's glory, and the main issue in God's glory is the righteousness of Christ.

    HOW, THEN, CAN WE GIVE GOD THE GLORY DUE UNTO HIS NAME?

1. By faith – believing God's promise to save us, bless us, and provide for us the whole inheritance of eternal life and glory based on the righteousness of Christ – Romans 10:13; 4:20-21. God is glorified in our hearts whenever we see and believe that He is faithful to save us based on this one ground.  This is salvation.  The greatest dishonor and reproach a person can bring upon God is to scorn His declared way of salvation by unbelief or by seeking salvation based on some other ground.  This denies every attribute of God's glorious character, and it casts shame and reproach upon both the Person and righteousness of Christ.
2. By repentance of dead works and idolatry – In light of God's glory in salvation based on the righteousness of Christ, we see and admit that all we held in high esteem as recommending us unto God was nothing more than dead works, fruit unto death, and acts of open idolatry – John 3:19-20; Philippians 3:3-10.  It is a great act of dishonor to God and to His Christ for a person to claim salvation apart from being submitted to the righteousness of Christ wherein the glory of God is revealed and magnified.
3. By love that regards first and foremost the honor of God's redemptive glory in that it will not speak peace where there is no peace.  To speak peace where there is no peace dishonors God as it is taking sides with Satan against God.  It is to judge saved and lost based on Satan's lie rather than God's truth.  It is to cherish and desire the honor that comes from men rather than that which comes from God – John 5:42-44; 12:42-44; 15:18ff.; 2 John 9-11.  This love includes loving our neighbor and our brethren as it, in the context of God's glory, seeks the best, temporally and eternally, for our neighbor and our brethren.
4. By persevering in the faith – This involves having our hearts established with grace (Hebrews 13:9), which means that we are to be dogmatic concerning the fact that we possess the whole inheritance of grace and are certain for heaven's glory based on the righteousness of Christ – Hebrews 3:6,14.  This is one of the greatest evidences that we fear God with reverence and respect and that we are His adopted children.  It is dishonoring to God and lack of faith in Christ to promote doubts in the name of humility.  God has promised to save and to keep all who come to Him pleading the righteousness of Christ.  He has engaged every attribute of His character to fulfill this promise.
5. By zeal and sincerity in obedience and good works – A born again sinner's efforts to obey God in every area does give God the glory due unto His name, but we must distinguish this from the attempts of religious, sincere, dedicated, moral unbelievers – Romans 10:1-3; 12:1-3.  Our obedience gives God the glory due unto His name whenever it is motivated by the assurance of final glory based on the righteousness of Christ.  Any legal motive dishonors every attribute of God's character.  Before we take the first step in obedience, we are to see ourselves as fully entitled to the whole inheritance of eternal life based on the righteousness of Christ – Romans 6:12ff.  This would include worship, prayer, attempts at loving our neighbor, all in the context of the Gospel – Matthew 5:16.
6. By attributing all temporal blessings and mercies to God's goodness and power – We know that even temporal blessings are owing to the goodness and mercy of God. Though we use the means to obtain these things, we recognize that we cannot merit or earn the least of God's favor, temporally or eternally.  It is all to be attributed unto Him and His goodness, not our own – James 1:17.  We are to continually see ourselves as unprofitable servants who can merit or earn nothing from God.  Therefore, we seek to use these things unto His glory.  The person who uses these things for His own purposes and gain alone is not giving unto God the glory that due His name.  If I want good health, I must use the means to obtain good health. If I have good health, I must attribute that to God's goodness and providential mercy.  I did not earn it or merit it from God.  All blessings are to be viewed here, because this gives God the glory due unto His name.