It is rather an odd thing that man is so blind to his perverse self-centeredness that he cannot but think of himself as righteous in his self-centeredness. In the United States today self-centeredness is taught and exalted as a wonderful thing and that in many “churches” as well. We think we love God when the reality of the matter is that we only love God because we think He loves us and does things for us. But to think about this for just a moment we see that when we love God only for what He does for us the reality of the matter is that we simply love ourselves. What we think of as God-centered, then, is just a way to speak of our self-centeredness with “God language.”
The “Gospel” in modern America is that God loves everybody the same way and that a person simply needs to believe this wonderful love as true and that person is saved. It seems to be a simple matter of believing what one believes. But this is nothing more than a false gospel and does not get at the nature of God, of man, or of regeneration. That view makes a mockery of the biblical teaching on many things. Once again, it basically flows out of man’s self-centered condition and his effort to make all things revolve around self.
Another problem in all of this is that we can study doctrine and theology as an academic exercise or as a plan of religious study and simply be ignorant of the true God and our studies actually increase our ignorance as our hearts are hardened. We have suffered “the loss of the concept of majesty” (A.W. Tozer) and have replaced it with more of a pop theology that makes people comfortable with some idea of God, but of course not the biblical God. “The Church has surrendered her once loft concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men” (A.W. Tozer). As our knowledge of science and technology increases, we have gone the other direction in our knowledge of God. True enough the academic study of the Bible has not been totally put aside, but it is not enough to have academic studies. We must know this God in the depths of our souls. Eternal life does not consist of knowing about God, but is in knowing God (John 17:3).
To put it bluntly, as long a human beings think of God as focused on them and that God loves them because they are nice or good or not that bad, they will continue in a vicious form of idolatry. It seems to escape the attention of people that God is thrice holy and He must love Himself as His greatest love to be holy. He cannot love human beings as His primary focus but can only love them out of His love for Himself as triune and in a way that is perfect in holiness and righteousness. When “churches” gather to worship and all they do is worship a “god” that is focused on them and does all for their sakes, they are in the worship of an unholy god and as such they worship and idol. The stakes could not be higher. The Church must bow with humble and broken hearts in real and true adoration before the true and living God who in His holiness must do all for the glory of His own name.
Isaiah 6:3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.
Isaiah 48:11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.
God Loves... Himself 
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