SNBS
Notes
Transcript
Bearing the Image of God
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
The instructions God gave help us understand ‘image of God’.
The idea that His image was not given to any other helps us understand.
Only mankind was able to relate to God. The rest of creation related to man.
We bear a resemblance to God in that we are designed for relationships.
His image in us has a scar on it. It is now marred. Sin did that.
But here’s what we need to understand: Every person is an image-bearer before we are anything else.
Our judgments toward others and our love them MUST display the distinct love of God.
When God’s definition of love differs from ours we are the ones who must adjust.
We distinguish ourselves from the world most visibly when we love like Jesus did.
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Sin stands in opposition to people mirroring the character and nature of God. But Jesus died to defeat sin and allow us to more perfectly mirror the image of God.
So the Good Samaritan.
Let me tell you something I have seen as a result of this BBQ pit ordeal: People want justice.
Jesus asked those listening who proved to be a neighbor. The one who showed him mercy. Go and do likewise.