Questions about Salvation and Imago Dei
Notes
Transcript
Question 1: Does a person need to know the date they were saved?
Question 1: Does a person need to know the date they were saved?
A profession of faith is the starting place for a lifetime of discipleship.
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
There are many ways to make professions of faith, just as there are many ways to deny Jesus.
Salvation occurs when the Holy Spirit moves into a repentant heart and begins the sanctifying work of making us more like Jesus.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
When the Spirit of God moves into a believing heart, He begins to change the believer. We cannot see Him, but we see where He has been because values move, perspectives shift, and desires begin to line up with God’s Word.
The way we conduct our lives is a more sure profession of faith than mere words, or walking an aisle or remembering a time and date.
Words are important, and a believer in Christ will be unashamed to identify as such.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
Some people, especially those who were saved at a very young age, doubt their salvation because they don’t remember their conversion very well, and they wonder if the decision they made as a child was genuine.
This feeling is very common in adults who were saved as children.
We need to remember the promise of God and remember that Jesus invites children to come to Him
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
Salvation is based on the grace of God and faith in Christ, not our knowledge, wisdom, or sophistication
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Jesus promised that those who are His will “never perish”
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
If a person doubts about the genuineness of their childhood conversion, make sure of your faith. By asking yourself some questions:
Regardless of what you did as a child, do you believe now that Jesus died for your sins and rose again?
Are you placing your faith in Him alone?
If yes, then you are a child of God regardless of if you can remember a time and place. The time and place idea frankly is dangerous and leads to many false converts.
Expand on this idea.
Question 2: What does it mean that humanity is made in the image of God (imago dei)?
Question 2: What does it mean that humanity is made in the image of God (imago dei)?
On the last day of creation.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God finished His work with a “personal touch.”
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Humanity is unique among all God’s creations, specifically because we have both a material body and an immaterial soul/spirit.
Having the “image” or “likeness” of God means, in the simplest terms, that we were made to resemble God.
Adam did not resemble God in the sense of God’s having flesh and blood.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The image of God (Latin: imago dei) refers to the immaterial part of humanity.
It is the thing that sets us apart from the animals, and fits us for the dominion God intended mankind to have over the earth
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
It is also enables us to commune with God.
The “imago dei” is a likeness and mentally, morally, and socially.
Mentally, humanity was created as a rational, volitional agent. We can reason and choose . The ability to do that is a reflection of God’s intellect and freedom.
Anytime someone invents a machine, writes a book, paints a picture, enjoys a symphony, calculates a sum, or names a pet, he or she is proclaiming the fact that we are made in God’s image.
Morally, humans were created in righteousness and perfect innocence, a reflection of God’s holiness.
God saw all He had made (humanity included) and called it “very good”
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Our conscience or “moral compass” is a vestige of that original state.
Whenever someone writes a law, recoils from evil, praises good behavior, or feels guilty, he or she is confirming the fact that we are made in God’s own image.
Socially, humanity was created for fellowship. This reflects God’s triune nature and His love. In Eden, humanity’s primary relationship was with God
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
(implies fellowship with God)
and God made the first woman because
“it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).
Every time someone marries, makes a friend, hugs a child, or attends church, he or she is demonstrating the fact that we are made in the likeness of God.
Part of being made in God’s image is that Adam had the capacity to make free choices. Although they were given a righteous nature, Adam and Eve made an evil choice to rebel against their Creator.
In so doing, they marred the image of God within themselves, and passed that damaged likeness on to all of their descendants.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
We still bear the image of God
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
but we also bear the scars of sin. Mentally, morally, socially, and physically, we show the effects of sin.