The Dignity of God's Image Bearers

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind. All of those things cultures use to quantify people to make categories awesome them. Gender, race, socioeconomic status, skill, ability, profession, all of those things now that is our dignity. None of that is our worth made in the image of God the father is losing the people right now over this very all the proposed solutions don't seem to address the deeper issue. Our teacher today is Dr. Steven Nichols this message is titled the dignity of God's image. Who am I it's certainly a question is being asked right now is been asked in the past several years as we entered into the 21st century, but in reality it's been a question that we been asking through the ages. Who am I someone address it so you can see were going along three lines when talk about the crisis of human identity or the crisis of human dignity. Talk about the basis for human dignity.

In light of that crisis and the bulk of our time together to talk about the implications of human dignity that we as image bearers as we engage fellow image bearers.

How does dignity play a role in that and what role does dignity play in, and how does that help us. Fundamentally, the answer to this question.

Who am I the answers theological and if we don't give a theological answer were going to at best flounder, but at worst were going to do injury to our fellow man. We certainly don't want to do that but we need to think of this list fundamental crucial question is we should think of all questions really theologically and have a theological answer� Jump right in this crisis of human dignity.

We could go back to the beginning of the Enlightenment era and see that in the Enlightenment era, there was this desire to answer this question, who am I a part from God to somehow unhinge God from this discussion of who I am in my identity as a person.

As we roll into the 20th century. This gets even more intense this on hitching of the wagon to God and what we see as we come in the beginning of the 20th century, the answer to this question. Who am I well just atoms, you're just a highly a more highly evolved state of animal's biological evolution as we enter into the 20 century and that certainly is going to have implications we can see his implications in terms of philosophy we can see his implications in terms of politics and politically and we can even see them economically and those economic forces that drove the 20th century, so we start with philosophy will go to the existentialist's Jean-Paul Sartre and I'm sure there's a better way to pronounce his last French name, but I'll just say start start spoke of human beings is useless passions useless passions, but the full quote is worth hearing. Sartre said this, a man is a useless passion. It is meaningless that we live in.

It is meaningless that we die. You cannot find human dignity and" a useless passion that expression useless passion should call to mind a much more heinous expression that came to us and now we can switch gears with philosophy to politics.

They came to us from the Nazi regime useless eaters actual technical German term is Laban's inverting Laban that means translated into English it means lives on worth life Laban's on Burton Laban lives on worth life.

It was as early as 1933, 1933, as Hitler came to power in the Nazi regime came to power that this idea of of eugenics in this ethnic cleansing that we all know was eventuated in the Holocaust through World War II. But back in 1933. It started and it started with the mentally challenged in the physically challenged, and the German theologian Dietrich Bonner for his father was a psychiatrist.

Fact is one of the early psychiatrists in the field and well respected University Berlin and he would get these memos it would come across his desk from the government that would require mental hospitals to turnover lists of patients to the government and they would require doctors at birth to turnover lists of babies with physical challenges began as early as 1933. This idea that the value of a life is contingent upon its contribution to society and if it can't make a life can't make a contribution there just a useless eater in their life not worth life that's were began Holocaust Justin come out of a vacuum began back in 1933 it wasn't limited to Germany alone we solve the 20th century as a century of wars against races to wipe out racist. We saw dictator after dictator after dictator commit genocide in the 20th century, so we got Jean-Paul Sartre saying were useless passions.

We've got this idea that were useless eaters and we can go to economic theories of the 20th century.

In this question of who am I in human dignity and we see that Marxism blankets the globe in the 20th century and one of the thing Marxism does. It reduces all of us to just COGS in the machine and so here we are again, our value is as a worker contributing to the grand machine and how do we scratch and claw human dignity out of those worldviews. You see, you can't say for life is meaningless. Death is meaningless and you're just a useless passion and somehow try to say there's dignity to human life and there is this massive confusion over who we are.

This sexual identity or gender identity.

For the first time in the history of humankind.

We have questioned gender as a social construct and this just leaves masses of people reeling to answer the question, who am I and we come into this crisis of our moment. This being quarantined and even here practicing our social distancing.

What does it point out about us points out that were frail points out that were vulnerable and points out, there were finite points out that were more tools when these are some things that we as human beings don't even like to talk about our mortality on live forever right and science will solve in medical technology will solve everything in technology will solve all of her limitations and overcome all of her difficulties were hit with this and were reminded that were fragile, as human beings. So we need a theological answer to this question. This crisis a crisis, not only of human identity, but crisis of human dignity.

Where do we turn legal right to the beginning very first chapter Genesis chapter 1, we come to this. On the sixth day of creation, and what a story this has been the unfolding of day after day of God, bringing order and structure and filling this formless void that was back there in verse one we come to the sixth day we read this God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. 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 upon the earth. So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he created the few just drop down a few verses you come to this, then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature. Some older translations say a living soul. You put these two together and you find that the account of the origin of humanity is entirely unlike the origin of every other think that God made nothing else is made in God's image. These great beasts that we see out there and even the fascinating small beasts.

I saw an armadillo this morning. I think they're fascinating. They're not made in the image of God. We are, no matter how fascinating creatures are to us in the image of God and then what a beautiful picture in verse seven there's a number things we need to look at that that God formed the idea here is fashioned will my kids were younger we do Plato rights in and they could make all kinds of interesting things with Plato. I don't know if it's because there fingers were more nimble, or they just had skills. My my lumps of Plato, always look the same and and eventually all the colors would run together and it would just be this amorphous clump of creation that that's what formed means formed this but here's what fashioned needs. A fashioned is a skilled artisan that every single detail is paid attention to, with utmost skill applied that's fashioning and this picture we know it's in anthropomorphism but is in anthropomorphism distress that intimacy with which God made us and so it's as if God stooped down and grabs a handful of dust from the earth and remember at this point this is not a sin cursed world. This is a blessed earth.

This is a blessed dust that God gathers in his hand. The curse will come in the curse will extend right to that dust itself but not here.

Not into seven and so God takes that handful of dust and in the very breath from his nostrils and all of this is in anthropomorphism. The very breath of his nostrils and there we are material and immaterial being a living soul.

This is no other creature like this. There's no other in this fantastical account of creation of all things.

There is nothing like the crowning achievement of God's creation of mankind and that our dignity upmarket down our dignity is not something we earn or achieve because were athletic or or because we can achieve some great economic status and therefore were worth more or somebody who doesn't achieve her or doesn't earn or doesn't have.

You know the looks or the athleticism or the connections and so their status is less somehow we achieve a greater status. All of those things cultures use to quantify people to make categories awesome them. Gender, race, socioeconomic status, skill, ability, profession, all those things now that is our dignity. None of that is our actual identity ontologically none of that is our worth are worth our identity and therefore dignity is given to us permanent. God gave it to us.

It is given. It is derived from him and being made in his image is a wonderful connection biblically between dignity and glory. Doctoral mentions us in hunger for significance.

He talks about how we use this expression you don't like how you're being treated by someone and you might say a person just takes me lightly right they treat me lightly.

Wheel of glory means commode.

The Hebrew word means weight gravity toss heavy net interesting, what, when we think were not respected or not given dignity.

We think we been treated lightly been taken lightly not been treated.

Heavy substance of worth of value there's a connection between dignity and glory and the dignity that is present in the image of God is a testimony of pointer and evidence to to the glory of the creator. Just as everything that God made is a testament to his being in his glory, but there's something special about being human and human beings. So, make no mistake about it this question who am I you cannot answer apart from God and the Bible and the answer simply this.

Who are you, your made in the image of God and being made in the image of God. You have dignity and we need to turn this around. Only we need to say every single person that we interact with is made in the image of God. Every single human being, we engage with. They deserve one thing from us respect because they have dignity because they are made in the image of God doesn't matter the age there socioeconomic status to gender the race whether they look like us or not.

Whether we think they're worthy or not. Based on our social stratification systems there in the image of God. So we talk about the crisis of human identity and this crisis is is with us were were always asking this question, who am I as we talk about the crisis we talked about the basis of human dignity and the basis of human dignity is in fact the image of God. It means that it is derived is been given it is not been earned.

It is not been achieved. God and his creation of us.

And as the biblical account unfolds demonstrates intimate involvement with us his creatures and a desire to have fellowship with us will us think through the implications of this have touched on a few already, but I only give you five. Implications of human dignity and the first is simply this. We talked about this, but just want to stress it again and that is every single human being has value. There is no useless eater. There is no Laban's and Vartan Laban. There are no lives not worth life every single human being has value that has to be a cornerstone of our worldview. It has to be a cornerstone of our ethics and now you can see why there's so much confusion out there and why there are so many bad ethics and even bad laws that are out there because they're not grounded upon any truth or reality to get at this fundamental question of human dignity.

From a biblical perspective from a biblical worldview.

We must value every single person. Secondly, we have the right to life.

It was this wonderful document couple hundred years ago that enshrined politically.

This idea that we are endowed with inalienable rights from our creator and one of those inalienable rights is the right to life, how you see it very quickly in the pages of Genesis. Right after Adam and Eve are kicked out of the garden cane slays able when a heinous thing to take a human life because lives are in the image of God and therefore there is a fundamental right to life. We need to champion but we need to see that as woven into the very created order itself and as the basis for all of our social interactions in all of our governmental systems.

It must be there, and we must fight for it, and not just the right to life for those individuals that we deem worthy of it for all is fascinating how you can judge a culture by how it treats the weak and the marginalized of its culture and the defenseless. So we have the two spectrums don't we weave the unborn and we have the aged we have these heinous heinous acts of abortion and of euthanasia, and we must, as Christians contend for the right to life, not just for the productive not just for those with status every single life has a right to life must fight for 1/3 lease we value all lives, we stress the right to life.

We fight for, thirdly, is respect. Very fascinating. This verse we talk about for apologetics.

First Peter chapter 3 verse 15 and Peter commands us to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asked for the hope that is in us, and he goes on to say this yet do it with gentleness, with gentleness and respect. And this is fascinating if you go back to first Peter chapter 2 verse seven, Peter says this is how your to approach God same word, but there it's translated fear God fear God, honor the upper that word full bond phobia. The Greek word fear the end of chapter 3 verse 15.

The word translated respect is the Greek word phobia on the same attitude we are to have towards God. Fear and reverence. We are to have two fellowmen and to fellow women. Why, because there made in the image of God. See this fundamental respect is the civil rights posters that are so powerful. This had a simple message on them.

I am a man.

Some of that was that Southern culture were even young white children could refer to an elderly African-American is a boy demeaning talk about treating someone likely, but it's also a way of saying I'm a person I'm a person must treat each other with respect and this is so true when we come into these times of crisis.

You've seen it all starts offer everybody sort of pitching in together and caring about each other maybe being a little selfless as they interact with each other and so no I won't buy the four cases of water only by two and I'll leave to for my neighbor off. I'll take a case of water. But as the weeks roll on things a little tense, don't they. We begin a little selfish and and we begin to forget we need to respect each other. Let's remember what it means to treat fellow image bearers with dignity it means to have respect for people and not just people cannot say this again, not just people who look like us is easy easy for us to do. It is hard for us to do that with people who don't look like us. We must respect and we go back to the context of first Peter for just a second.

This is a context of people who are persecuting these Christians is Greco-Roman culture that is diametrically opposed to everything of Christianity in the Christian ethic and Peter says he will be gentle with these people. It's hard to be gentle with someone who's persecuting you and out to get you right in excess. With reference. This is hard but were called on to do because we are theologians and if we understand people theologically. This is how we will treat the silly value life we stress we fight for the right to life we respect every single individual, we come into contact with.

We love our neighbor and then lastly, we remember our mission very fascinating. Dr. scroll and said this part of the uniqueness of the human race is the mission we have received from God to be his representative to the rest of creation to reflect the very character of God, that we in the image of God reflect the image of God, what are we supposed to do also speak doing this teaching people who God is and as we treat fellow image bearers with dignity. Teaching people who God is but a timely message from Dr. Stephen Nichols glad you're with us on the Tuesday edition of Renewing Your Mind all week. We are emphasizing our unique place and role in creation as image bearers of God.

Even though protest and violence around the world are calling for all sorts of justice or messages this week help us see that the problem goes much deeper than mere injustice as a society we forgotten who we are, may have heard Dr. Nichols mentioned RC Sproul's book the hunger for significance in the book.

RC unpacks the biblical understanding of human dignity and it shows us why it's vital that we see the worth and everyone we meet. It's a 270 page blog units are resource offer today is titled the hunger for significance, please go to Renewing Your Mind.Oregon with your gift of any amount will be glad to send it to you can also call us at 800-435-4343. The answer to every one of this world. Social problems lies within the pages of Scripture. Our understanding of where we came from, why were here and were going will influence how we live.

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Again, that's connect.Ligonier.org well, it seems the world is crying out for all of our problems to be so many think that changing the system will bring peace, but the system isn't the problem.

One sin committed by one man against holy God is sufficient to condemn the entire human race.

That's how holy God is and that is how serious just one sin by one person is Dr. Steven Morrison continues her theme on being made in the image of God. We hope you'll join us Wednesday for Renewing Your Mind