Humanity & All Other Creatures

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

WELCOME

Psalm 8:3-4—When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?

Welcome! (in-person/online)

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon beginning in Genesis 1:26. Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 4 quick announcements:

1) A word about PBC. We are family.

Doesn’t “feel like family”? As an adoptive dad of a three-year-old, I know what that’s like. Lean in!!!

One way to lean in is through our Fellowship Group Ministry

Designed to help you build and strengthen relationships throughout the church body

Just finished a round, next round begins in September

Not sure about FGs? Come to TableTalk tonight

2) TableTalk at 5:30 — Fellowship Group testimony night

Going to finish up our project to serve the Poquoson Police Department (may want to come just to help us with that! Bring a thank you note)

Also, we’re going to hear testimonies from this last round of fellowship groups (it’d be a great opportunity to get a glimpse of what God does through these groups)

3) Food drive for Thrive Peninsula

Thrive is a local ministry we partner with to care for the poor and hurting in our community. They provide critical bill assistance, a food pantry, financial coaching, and more.

This August we’re collecting food for Thrive to help them care for the needy in our area. If you're interested in helping, head to the read bucket at the mission wall to my right.

4) This morning we’re going to say goodbye to a sweet family that’s been worshiping with us for about a year

I’m going to ask Will and Meghan Harlan, and their kids Sophie and William to come forward for just a moment

Will is retiring in a couple of weeks as a Senior Master Sergeant from the Air Force and the family is moving to Colorado to start a new chapter in their lives

Before we do anything else, let’s pray over this family

Safe travels

Wisdom in finding a job and a place to live

Peace at home during the transition

Now look in your Bibles at Genesis 1:26 as Susan Thomas comes to read for us.

Scripture Reading (Genesis 1:26-31)

Prayer of Praise (God is omnipotent, Susan Thomas)

The Lord, My God, My Salvation

More Than Conquerors

Prayer of Confession (Anxiety, Joel Whitcomb)

What A Beautiful Name

NEW CITY CATECHISM #31

Last week in our catechism we asked what it meant to believe in Christ.

But what specifically must we believe? That’s our catechism question for this morning.

The answer is drawn from the Apostles’ Creed.

Every Christian believes more than this creed, but no true Christian can believe less.

What do we believe by true faith?

Everything taught to us in the gospel. The Apostles’ Creed expresses what we believe in these words: We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Thanksgiving—union with Christ

John Owen once wrote that “union with Christ is the greatest, most honourable, and glorious of all graces that we are made partakers of.”

But what does it mean? We are in Christ and Christ is in us.

As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

When Christ died, we died too! Our sin was punished. Our guilt and shame were dealt with. We’ve been crucified with Christ!

When Christ resurrected, we did too! We’ve been born again to a new life, and now Christ lives in us by His Spirit!

Help us to grow into our union with Christ, like a little boy wearing his daddy’s dress shirt. He’s fully clothed but the clothes don’t fit yet. We too are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, but we need to grow into it!

Prayer for PBC—right understanding of conversion

We’ve talked a lot about election here in recent weeks, help us to remember that the doctrine of election doesn’t undermine the doctrine of conversion

Election emphasizes God’s sovereignty in salvation, conversion emphasizes our responsibility

No one will be saved unless they are converted, unless they willingly repent and believe the Gospel

Protect us from any pitfalls about what it means to be converted...

Conversion is not the same as belief in God. Even the demons believe and tremble, but they are not converted.

Conversion is not automatic. We must repent and believe.

Conversion is more than just making a decision at one point. It’s becoming a disciple, a real follower of Jesus. And Jesus Himself said that “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." So help us to persevere until the end.

Prayer for sister church—Maranatha Southern Baptist in Windsor

The pictures of this little church remind me of the little church I pastored in Louisville before God sent me here

Help them as they find a pastor to find a man who loves Jesus, loves God’s Word, loves his family, and loves the lost

Prayer for US—House of Representatives

Our representatives Elaine Luria and Bobby Scott

Give them a spirit of unity to work together

Give them wisdom to pass laws in nation that would lead to the protection of the unborn, justice for the vulnerable, and human flourishing for all

Prayer for the world—Belgium

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo [crow]

Pray for those affected by floods in Belgium, many died and billions in damage

Pray against the national division between the Dutch-speaking Flemings in the North and the French-speaking Walloons in the South

Pray against the rise of false worldviews like Atheism on the far left and Islam on the far right

Pray that amidst all this division, the church can be a supernatural example of unity and diversity

Pray for missionaries like Justin & Angie Ham and church plant in Namur [nuh-more]

Send more laborers into the harvest

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

On May 28, 2016, a marvelous thing happened. Maybe marvelous isn't the right word. Some called it an outrage. A horrible, horrible loss. A tragedy. But sometimes even a tragedy can be marvelous.

It all began when a three-year-old boy looked longingly into a pool of water at the Cincinnati Zoo. He told his mother that he was going to go swimming in that water.

She admonished him, "No you're not. No you're not."

But within a few seconds, when she was distracted by her other children, that little boy disobeyed his mother and climbed into the gorilla enclosure anyways.

The images and videos were terrifying. A young boy furiously dragged around a shallow stream by an irate gorilla named Harambe. The shrill screams of onlookers and the desperate attempts to console the terrified toddler. The knowledge that this boy was at the mercy of a beast strong enough to crush a coconut in the palm of his hand.

And then the zoo officials  acted. Within moments, the gorilla was shot and killed by a special team at the Cincinnati Zoo.

In some ways we've become desensitized to the death of animals. Many are killed for food and many are killed to put them out of their misery. But Harambe was killed for neither. And that's what made the death of this silverback gorilla so tragically marvelous.

No, I’m not suggesting it was marvelous that Harambe died. What's marvelous is why he died. He died so that a little boy might live.

But why use such extreme measures to save the boy? Why stand by the decision to use lethal force, even under extreme scrutiny?

Because the Zookeepers knew what our snake-eyed Enemy has been denying for millennia. The sons of Adam and daughters of Eve are not subject to the beasts of the field. They are made in the image of God.

Turn to Genesis 1:26

Week 2 of a mini-series on five Divine Distinctions in Genesis 1-2.

Understanding these distinctions is critical to a firm foundation in a biblical worldview.

Last week we considered the distinction between the Creator and the creation.

Today we’ll examine the distinction between humanity and all other creatures.

Let’s read our text, then answer Two Questions.

Genesis 1:26-27—Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

What Does This Mean?

There’s at least three truths we can glean from this divine distinction...

A. God created Man in His IMAGE.

1:26—Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.

What does it mean to be made in God’s image?

To reflect something about God

But what is it about humanity that images God? There’s been many suggestions...

Humans are Moral, we care about good and evil

Six years ago a lion named Cecil was killed in Zimbabwe, leading to public outcry even greater than after Harambe's death. An internet mob went after the hunter. His family was targeted. He was physically threatened. His dental practice was forced to shut down. Why? Because in the minds of many, the killing of Cecil the Lion was an act of pure evil.

I don’t know enough about big-game trophy hunting to know if this hunter broke any laws. But I do know this: the only ones crying out about Cecil’s death were humans. The lion community has yet to issue a statement.

Humans are Spiritual—we worship!

Beavers build dams, birds build nests, spiders build webs, ants build mounds. But animals don’t build cathedrals, temples, synagogues, churches, or altars. They’re not spiritual beings.

Humans are Judicial, we care about justice

Last week I told you about Happy the Elephant’s case in New York. Her attorney’s are arguing she’s being unjustly imprisoned at the Bronx Zoo. But Happy didn’t tell anybody this. Happy isn’t defending herself, humans are. Happy won’t appear before a jury of elephants, but of humans. Humans care about justice, elephants (and other creatures) don’t.

There’s much more than sets humans apart from the animal kingdom...

Humans are relational, we care about relationships with family and friends

Humans are Aesthetical—we care about beauty

Humans are Rational—we care about reason and truth

All this is true, but it doesn’t get to the heart of what it means to be made in God’s image

In his book, Reenchanting Humanity, Owen Strachan writes "The image of God is . . . not fundamentally a trait or attribute. . . . [It] is not a quality which may wax or wane in a human person. The image is not dependent on a rationality-nurturing environment, for the image does not reduce to intelligence or powers of reason. The image is not inhibited by physical deficiencies, for the image does not derive from a certain bodily state. The image is not unlocked when a person gets married, for the image does not flow from personal relationship. Neither can we say that the image is lost or obscured or marred or in any way compromised by the fall of Adam, as deformative as the fall is. Mankind is made in the image of God. The human race may recognize, celebrate, hate, or ignore this truth. It matters not. The human race is the race made to display the glory of God in all the earth in a special way. The human race reflects and represents the person of God even after the fall. One person is no more an 'image-bearer' than any other." [1]

Whatever it means to be made in God’s image, it is something that is completely and equally true of every one of us.

B. This is true of both GENDERS

The above sentence is highly controversial from the start...

A few years ago The Times in London reported that a series of films for middle-school students in Britain taught that there are 100 genders or more. [2]

But it’s also controversial, in a different way, among some Christians.

Years ago I had a conversation with a friend who was a fellow student at Southern Seminary. He told me that one day he was going to get a PhD. When I asked him what he would write a dissertation on, he told me he wanted to write about his belief that only men, not women, were created in the image of God

1:27—So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Aha! God made man in His image. God created “him” in his image.

“Man” and “him” are both referring to the entire human race, not to Adam exclusively

Genesis 5:1b-2—When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. Male and female He created them, and He blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

The Bible teaches that men and women are different in form and function, but equal in dignity and value

Wherever Christianity has been rightly understood and applied, women have been protected and valued.

Every human being, both male and female are made in God’s image.

C. This is only true of HUMANITY.

Genesis 1:26—Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Humanity has dominion over fish, birds, livestock, and every creeping thing.

Verse 29 adds they have dominion over the plant kingdom as well.

Humanity is set apart from all other created things. We alone are made in the image of God.

There is something categorically different about humanity...

Genesis 9:3-6—Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6  “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

It is not murder to take the life of a plant or an animal. It IS murder to take the life of a fellow human

Notice also that, even after the fall, we are still image-bearers of God!!

Although all of God’s creatures are precious in His sight, humans are set apart because they are made in His image.

What about angels?

Psalm 8:4-5—What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Seems to indicate that the angels are God’s greatest creation, and we’re forever stuck at #2

The writer of Hebrews helps us to understand this passage. After quoting these verses he writes...

Hebrews 2:9—We see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

So Psalm 8 isn’t saying humanity is less valuable than the angels. It’s saying that Jesus deliberately lowered Himself for “a little while” so He could die on a cross to save His people!

Not even the angels in heaven are made in the image of God. The Bible draws a distinction between humanity and every other created thing. Only we are made in God’s image.

Why Does It Matter?

A. It gives unique VALUE to human life.

I don’t know of any doctrine or theory in any religion or worldview in all of human history that has greater potential to value human life than the Imago Dei, the teaching that humans are made in the image of God.

This doctrine teaches us that every human life has value, from the womb to the tomb.

The unborn have value

Christians don’t hate abortion because we’re aligned a certain way politically. It’s because we believe that life begins at the moment of fertilization. And each and every human life, no matter its size or location, is made in the image of God.

We stand against abortion, surgical or chemical

We stand against reproductive technologies that would eventually freeze or destroy embryos

Estimated one million frozen embryos in the US alone [3]

Women have value

Protest sign outside the Virginia Beach Planned Parenthood clinic. It was the silhouette of a pregnant woman and it said “Love them both.”

Even the woman taking the life of her unborn child is worthy of respect because she too is made in the image of God!

Men have value

Earlier this year, a French Feminist author touched a nerve when she released a book entitled, I Hate Men. The book description says, “what if mistrusting men, disliking men – and yes, maybe even hating men – is, in fact, a useful response to sexism? What if such a response offers a way out of oppression, a means of resistance? What if it even offers a path to joy, solidarity and sisterhood?” [4]

Men, you matter! Jesus came as a man!!! He shows us what masculinity is supposed to look like!

The elderly have value

A few years ago the Finance Minister of Japan Taro Aso said the elderly should “hurry up and die.” They were called “tube people” and “tax burdens.”[5]

Although most people would never say anything like this, we often treat our elderly like we believe this.

The disabled have value

In 2017, the news broke out of Iceland that the small European country had nearly eradicated Down’s syndrome. [6]

The truth was far more ominous. Iceland had not eradicated the disease, but the diseased. The reason almost 100% of the population is free of the disease is that almost 100% of babies diagnosed with Down’s in utero are killed before they’re born.

All ethnicities have value

The Bible teaches there is one race, the human race. Different ethnicities.

Racism is the any belief or behavior that elevates one race or ethnicity over another

We should lament the mistreatment of African-Americans in this country

We should reject any attempt to solve the racial divide by targeting white people!

The distinction between humanity and every other created thing means every human life has value.

Christianity has always valued the least of these. In the second century, Greek philosopher Celsus mocked Christians because they “want and are able to convince only the foolish, dishonorable and stupid, only slaves, women, and little children.”[7]

What about all the ways we’ve messed up?

What about LGBTQ+?

The test of a community is not whether it excludes people, but how does it treat those whom it excludes?

B. It puts the rest of CREATION in perspective.

Understanding this distinction helps us put the rest of creation in proper perspective

This does NOT mean we don't care about animals or nature.

Having dominion does not give us permission to mistreat or abuse the created order

C.S. Lewis—"Man was appointed by God to have dominion over the beasts, and everything a man does to an animal [we could add, or anything else in creation] is either a lawful exercise, or a sacrilegious abuse, of an authority by Divine right."[8]

But it DOES mean we don’t value animal life above human life

The most extreme backlash to the deaths of beloved animals like Cecil the Lion and Harambe the gorilla caused harm to image-bearers of God!

You can mourn the loss of a lion or a gorilla if you want to, but you can’t tell the humans involved in their deaths to “rot in hell.” Yet that’s exactly what happened.

You can love your dog, your cat, your goldfish, etc. But you dare not treat them with greater respect than you treat the person who cuts you off on the highway or votes differently than you.

Putting creation in perspective means we don’t value the environment above human life

Last week I briefly mentioned the “Birthstrike” movement. It’s a rapidly growing movement among young women who refuse to have children until the climate crises is resolved.

If you think this is some sort of fad, you’re wrong. Way back in 2003 I had a conversation with my roommate at BJU named Andrew. He was about to get married and I asked him if he and his fiancee were hoping to have kids. He said no for this very reason.

Just a few months ago, a reporter for Vogue basically apologized for having a child, calling it “pure environmental vandalism.” [9]

After the sermon last week, I talked about this a bit more with Seth Figgers.

He asked a great question: “are women really valuing planet life more than human life if they refuse to have kids due to climate concerns? Couldn’t it just be responsible thinking, refusing to bring a child into a world filled with so much suffering?”

I told him the problem was their assumptions. They believe a healthy planet is better than a suffering human. But that’s not true. Humans are made in the image of God!

None of this means that Christians cannot or should not take steps to steward the environment well. But we cannot do so in a way that demeans or devalues human life in any way.

The distinction between humanity and every other created thing puts the rest of creation in perspective.

C. It highlights our MISSION.

Studying Matthew with the kids—Jesus cares so much about people!

Matthew 22:37-40—“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

As a church, we love our neighbor first and foremost through evangelism and discipleship

As a Christian, you love your neighbor by doing all you can to seek his or her good. As John Piper says, “We care about all suffering now, especially eternal suffering later.” [10]

The distinction between humanity and every other created matters because it highlights our mission.

Within hours after his death in 2016, Harambe became a pop culture icon

He’s been featured on more internet memes than Homer Simpson

He’s had his photo emblazoned on T-shirts, hoodies, and even ugly Christmas sweaters

A few years ago a Cheeto that’s shape looked kind of like Harambe sold for $100K on eBay

If you move past some of the silliness, you’ll find there are people that are seriously heartbroken about the loss of this gorilla

Universities all over the country held candlelight vigils to mourn his passing

Although we might wish there was similar outrage over the death of the unborn or the mistreatment of the vulnerable, we can understand why the death of a majestic creature like Harambe would cause some to mourn.

It’s another reminder that we live in a fallen world. A world corrupted by sin. A world where death and decay defiles everything it touches, even a silverback gorilla.

So cry a tear if you must. Then crack a smile. And lift a hand in worship. Not because a gorilla is dead, but because the image of God is not.

But shouldn't the zoo be held accountable? What about the parents of this boy? Aren't there any consequences for such negligence? Is there no justice? Yes there is. But it's not always found in the corridors of the Cincinnati Zoo or the courtrooms of Ohio.

Justice is found in another senseless death.  It's found at the scene of another murder. It's found in the story of another marvelous tragedy, where Someone died so others might live. It's found at the blood-soaked base of a rough-hewn cross. Justice and mercy are found where One far greater than a trillion gorillas (or humans, for that matter) was willingly slain so you and I might live.

And that’s what we celebrate every time we take the LORD’S SUPPER together

1 Cor. 11:26—For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Today we’re going to return to the format for communion that was normal around hear before Covid-19

Jesus and you moment as you pray silently, preparing you heart for Communion

Confess sin to God and (if necessary) to others

PRAISE HIM FOR HIS GRACE!!!

Jesus and others moment as you come to a table, one of our pastors prays over you, and you eat the bread in a small group of friends/family

Sit and pray as long as you need. Then when you’re ready, just walk towards the front and gather around a table in groups of 3-5 or so

If you’re not comfortable doing that, there’s a self-serve table on my far right

Jesus and everybody moment as we take the cup together as a church family

After you eat the bread, you’ll walk down the side aisles back to your seat while we wait for everyone to finish then we'll eat the bread together

More important than how we celebrate communion is who:

Christian: This is Jesus' gift to encourage you! Receive it with joy!

Not a Christian: Don’t receive the symbol, receive the reality. If you're ready to receive Him today you can come to one of the tables and talk to one of our pastors. Let us know of your desire to give your life to Jesus and we’ll happily drop everything to talk and pray with you. If you're not ready to do that today just remain in your seat.

Let’s bow our heads and prepare our hearts.

After I finish praying, you can remain in your seat and pray or come to a table when you’re ready.

Silence for thirty seconds

Pray

Jesus, we thank you that on the night when You were betrayed You took bread, and when You had given thanks, You broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for us. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

After everyone has had the bread...

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Let’s sing together

Christ Is Enough

BENEDICTION

2 Corinthians 13:11—Finally, brothers [and sisters], rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.