In His Image
Tony Khalil
Midland SDA Church
May 1, 2010
A couple of months back I was reading my Bible, The Message paraphrase, and phrase in Hosea struck me. I will share the full scripture with you in a little bit, but the phrase was “gods-in-their-own-image”. We talk much about false gods but I had never thought of them being in our image. As I pondered this, the more truth I saw in it, and the more appropriate it seemed to me in the context of modern Christian life. It seems to me that we sometimes have trouble with making God in our own image. What I mean by that is, we have a tendency to try and fit God into our preconception of who we believe Him to be, rather than allowing him to show us who he is or discovering Him. We all have a different reality that we have formed throughout our lives, created by a variety of life experiences. You may call it a world view or simply ones outlook, but it has a tendency to color our thoughts, beliefs, and decisions. As we analyze the stimuli that enters our living from day to day, we make decisions about it and interpret it through the filter of our own reality. It is unconscious and unintentional but I believe we all do it. In many situations it may serve us well in others, not so well. But does this individual reality color how we view God? I believe it can and often does, and can sometimes have the unintended affect of causing us to misinterpret God and in effect create gods-in-our-own-image. It is on this line of thinking that I have prepared this sermon. It is my desire that you may leave this morning with a mind open to experiencing God as he presents Himself to you and a desire to discover who he says he is.
Genesis 1:26-28
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make
them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of
Earth."
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God's nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
"Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take
charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the
face of Earth."
Here we read of the creation of mankind. We were created in God’s image. As “The Message” puts it, reflecting the vary nature of our creator. He made us that way, perfect as He is, loving as He is, and sinless as He is. He made us, His final creative act on planet earth, to be caretakers of all that he had made. And as we read on in Genesis through chapters 2 and 3 it becomes abundantly clear that we were meant to be more than mere caretakers of His creation, we were to be His friends and companions. The picture is clear, with father and son imagery, as he walked and talked with Adam in the garden, teaching and training him. God allows Adam to name all of the creatures, introduces him to the wife He had custom made for him, and shows him what is good to eat. But we all know the repulsive twist this story takes as sin makes its indelible mark on this race.
If the story were to end there we would be without hope, destined to perpetuate the acts of sin repeatedly until the earth could take no more. But as we read on we find that God refuses to let us go that easily. He made us to be His friends, and His friends we will be once again, some of us. He desires all of us, but we must choose Him, for true friendship is not to be commanded, it must be desired by both parties. He longs to remove the image of the deceiver from our being and recreate within us His image once again. His vary nature, the image of God.
So I must ask this question. Do you want to allow God to form you in His image, or would you rather form God in yours? Wait a minute, time out. Make God in our image? God is God. He is who he is. He may be able to recreate His image within us, but it doesn’t happen the other way around. If you want to get technical, you’re correct. God doesn’t change who he is, but can we, do we make God in our image in our hearts, minds, and lives? Allow me to read from The Message paraphrase Hosea 10:1,2.
1-2 Israel was once a lush vine, bountiful in grapes.
The more lavish the harvest,
the more promiscuous the worship.
The more money they got,
the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image.
Their sweet smiles are sheer lies.
They're guilty as sin.
God will smash their worship shrines,
pulverize their god-images.
Here we read about one of the many times ancient Israel turns its back on the God of heaven seeking gods-in-their-own-image. No longer reflecting the image of God themselves, whose image do they possess? Whose image are these gods created in? It’s the image of the deceiver. Wow, I sure am glad that was only a problem of ancient Israel. We don’t create false images today, bow down and pray to them. Oh Alright, in some parts of the world today they still hold to this primitive practice but that is not a danger we face. Or is there some other ways that Christians today can create God in their own image?
I would propose that there are many ways in which we can create God in our own image by imposing our own thoughts, beliefs, cultures, and attitudes on our idea of who God is. I have selected four examples to discuss this morning. We could, perhaps more accurately, refer to them as false images of God.
False Image # 1: “It doesn’t matter what your religion or denomination, we all worship the same God anyway”.
I remember the first time I heard this mantra expressed. I was spending a week with my cousin not long after we both had graduated from college. We were on a road trip to Bozeman Montana to meet up with another cousin for a backpacking adventure. He had always been a devoted Catholic, attending Catholic schools all the way through high school before going off to U of M. It was not uncommon when we were younger, to stop in at his home and find a priest there drinking coffee and spending time with his family, so I was surprised to hear this philosophy coming from him. We were having a conversation about his experience at college and how he had been exposed to many varying beliefs and how his eyes were opened and he was enlightened. I don’t remember much more of the conversation, but I remember pondering this thought and asking myself, does it matter? Do we all worship the same God? Is one form of worship more right than another? Is God that particular?
Unfortunately, since that time it seems this philosophy has grown in popular thinking. How many times have you heard someone refer to God generically as a “higher power”? From people at AA meetings to fire walkers and everywhere in between you hear this doctrine spewed. You may call him God, The Great Spirit, Allah, Buda, or Jesus. It doesn’t matter what we call him, were all worshiping the same God anyway. Did it matter when God wrote with his finger in a table of stone “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”? Was Israel just as successful when they were worshiping Baal as they were while following Jehovah God? Read with me Numbers 25:1-4
1-3 While Israel was camped at Shittim (Acacia Grove), the men began to have sex with the Moabite women. It started when the women invited the men to their sex-and-religion worship. They ate together and then worshiped their gods. Israel ended up joining in the worship of the Baal of Peor. God was furious, his anger blazing out against Israel. 4 God said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of Israel and kill them by hanging, leaving them publicly exposed in order to turn God's anger away from Israel."
It sounds like maybe like God doesn’t see it the same way as our modern philosophers. Maybe we don’t all worship the same god. Perhaps one form of worship is right. Could it be that God is particular?
False Image #2: Obedience to God isn’t necessary. In fact it’s legalistic and should be avoided. God’s law is of little importance.
Have you heard this in one form or another? Gods grace is a wonderful gift and through Jesus suffering the penalty of sin in our behalf, we can stand blameless before the throne of God at judgment. It’s not through our obedience that we are saved, Praise God, but through our disobedience we can be lost. Let me expound on this, I don’t want you to misunderstand and think I am saying Jesus can’t save us from our disobedience. What I am saying is that it is our disobedience that drives a wedge between God and us.
Visualize the phrase “drive a wedge between us”? It’s quite a powerful image if you think about it. We heat our home by burning wood. That means I spend a fair amount of time cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood. For the benefit of those of you who have not split wood, a wedge is a triangular shaped piece of steel that you drive into the end of a segment of log with a sledge hammer. As the wedge goes into the log it creates pressure causing the log to split in to two pieces. This is the effect sin has on our relationship with God. When we are living in harmony with God we are like the log segment but when we invite the wedge of sin into our relationship it splits us from God. I don’t know if this is taking the analogy too far but I liken Satan to the hammer because although we make the choice to sin he is always behind that choice driving it as deep into our lives as he can.
One thing I’ve observed is that wood from some types of trees splits fairly easily and clean with minimal effort while wood from certain other types of trees can be stringy and twisted and the wedge is less effective on it. That is the kind of relationship I want to grow with my God, one that is resistant sin and the attacks of Satan.
Sin separates us from God. Wouldn’t you agree that being separated from God is a lost condition? I’m so glad that we can be forgiven of our sin, and that He can repair the damage that the wedge of sin has done, but knowing all this, why should we place such little importance on obedience.
What kind of importance does God place on obedience? When Moses struck the rock after being instructed to speak to it he forfeited his right to the promised land. Was Cain’s offering accepted? What about Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu who perished when the offered strange fire before the Lord? The bible is full of examples that illustrate the value God places on obedience including many illustrating the positive results of an obedient life. I think of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Joseph, and King Asa of Judah. I like what it says in 1 Kings 15:11-14.
11And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. 12And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. 14But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
Yes, obedience honors God, strengthens our bond with Him, and aids us in accepting the salvation he offers us through Jesus. Obedience to the law was of such great importance to God that instead of modifying the law to save us, He in the form of Jesus, paid the penalty of sin so that we might be saved without changing his holy law.
Another phrase you may have heard in reference to obedience to God is “God doesn’t care which day we worship him as long as we set a day aside for this purpose.” I don’t believe I need to prove the inaccuracy of this statement to a group of Adventists, for we have all studied the Sabbath truth ourselves and accepted the Bibles teaching on the manner. Although the bible is full of references to the Sabbath and one can use many of them to show which day was created to be Sabbath, how God continually upheld the Sabbath even in the person of Jesus, and how the early Christians continued to worship on the seventh day, it doesn’t take much more proof than Genesis 2: 1-3 and Exodus 20: 8-11. In Genesis 2 we read the account of the creation of the Sabbath on the 7th day of the creation week
Genesis 2: 1-3
2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
and Exodus 20: 8-11 is, of course, the Sabbath Commandment.
Exodus 20: 8-11
8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God:
I’m not sure how much clearer it could get. If we are to be made in His image we must take God at his word. Many though, would rather make God in their image, and attempt elaborate explanations of why His word is no longer applicable.
False Image #3: God’s word is not reliable or inspired. Human thoughts and superstition influenced the bible. It’s a collection of myths and fables.
This concept is expressed as the result of one putting more weight in modern science or philosophy than in God’s word, and if distilled down, what they are actually saying is “We know better than God.” Those who profess this view tend to pick and choose what in the bible they want to believe, if anything at all. Everything else, which often includes such things as the creation story, prophecy, and miracles, is dismissed as fairy tale.
Clifford Goldstein in his book Life Without Limits, brings out the point that there is scientific fact, true proven fact, that is as hard or even harder to wrap our minds around and explain than the miracles of the bible. He uses an example within quantum physics to illustrate. Here is what he shares.
“When a subatomic explosion creates two particles, they fly away from each other. Each particle has a spin in one direction or the other. Physicists have proven that merely looking – yes, looking – at the spin of one particle causes the spin of the other to reverse itself, even if it were a thousand, or a million miles away”
How could this be? How could simply looking at one particle affect another so far away? Apparently, I am not the only one who has trouble understanding this concept because he goes on to tell how Einstein grappled with the idea his entire professional life, referring to it as “spooky action at a distance” for it contradicted his understanding that information could not travel faster than the speed of light. But it does, in quantum physics. The point here being if science can hold such mysteries, beyond which we can understand, why should we expect to understand everything within the spiritual realm. The word of God presents reality as something broader than what science alone can tell us, but we are not asked to believe by faith anything that is harder to grasp intellectually as quantum theory. The bible confirms this. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 2: 5-14
1 Corinthians 2: 5-14
5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Perhaps the most predominant issue of those who would lay siege on God’s word is that of origins. The evolutionary theory has continued to grow in acceptance since it’s rise in 1859 with Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. One by one we have seen denominations join the fold, rejecting the biblical account of creation in favor of a theory requiring at best an equivalent measure of faith. And now this pervasive lie is establishing a foothold within Adventism and our church leadership finds itself at odds with professors within our own universities. We need to pray daily for our church leaders that through God’s leading they can rid our institutions of Satins counterfeit of the creation story.
Those who try and harmonize scripture with the evolutionary explanation of origins, do so by suggesting the creation account in Genesis is not literal. This is necessary to accommodate the long periods of time that evolution requires for the emergence of all life forms. Often they will employ a theory that a day is symbolic for an age, a long indefinite period of time, long enough to allow for the development of the life forms “created” through an evolutionary process. Even if we could accept this basic premise, which by the way is riddled with problems, the biblical order of creation does not fit within the framework of evolutionary theory. For example how could plants that require pollination by insects develop when the insects do not arrive until a later age?
Others will say they accept the Bible’s account of creation on a theological basis, meaning that they accept that God created all things but the process by which He did this is found in science i.e. evolution. Frank Marsh in his Article “Origins: Evolution and the Bible” rebukes this approach. He writes:
“Churchmen of our day attempt to harmonize such an origin with the Bible, but the result is a base, inaccurate, hybrid doctrine. Upward development of man through the beasts, even if by the Creator, is diametrically opposed to the scriptural representation of the God of love. Evolution presents a bloody, ruthless struggle for existence from the very beginning, where there is much waste of living substance and many false starts and blind alleys. At it’s very best it’s a travesty upon the perfect work of an all-wise Creator. The inefficiency and cruelty of evolution is utterly incongruous with the theology of the Bible’s portrayal of origins. Seventh-Day Adventists can never adopt such a belief system.”
What are the implications of belief in evolution as an explanation of origins? If we deny a literal six-day creation we must also throw out the seventh-day Sabbath, for the Sabbath doctrine is built from a memorial of creation. If the Bible’s account of creation is disregarded it gives us precedent to dismiss the authority of the Bible on other matters. The Bible teaches that death is the result of sin and it is only through Jesus’ substitutionary death that we can be redeemed. The evolutionary account of origins relies on death as a natural process required for the development of all life forms. Death would have been in existence millions of years before mankind evolved. There would then be no relationship between death and sin. So from what would we need redemption?
The blending of the Bible and evolution does not work, they are incongruent, and to do so creates more obstacles than just accepting the theory of evolution in lieu of the Bible account. I endorse the politically incorrect council of Clifford Goldstein as he writes:
“…to those teaching in our schools who believe in evolution and yet take a paycheck from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, I say: If you honestly reject a literal six-day Creation in favor of a theistic macroevolution, fine, now turn that honesty into integrity and go somewhere where you won’t have to cloak your views under the anfractuosities of language.”
False Image #4: God is too merciful to ever destroy the wicked. All will be saved, if not the first time around, then they’ll have a second chance.
If ever was there a more dangerous teaching in Christianity. Numerous books, movies, articles, and sermons have been produced and absorbed by millions of Christians across denominational boundaries, persuading us to believe a false doctrine allegedly derived from a couple of misinterpreted out-of-context bible texts. We are asked to consciously overlook the abundance of scriptural evidence of the magnificent unconcealed second coming of Christ for a cheep secret counterfeit that affords a second chance of non-biblical origin. This sham that is passed off as a biblical doctrine was crafted by the Deceiver that we might be caught unprepared as were the foolish virgins in Matthew 25: 1-13:
Matthew 25: 1-13
1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
God is merciful. Not only does he give second chances, but third, fourth, fifth, and one thousandth, but scripture tells us there will come a time when sin will have run it’s course and God will proclaim the words in Revelation 22:11.
Revelation 22:11
11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Then it is finished. No more chances will be necessary, for we will have all made our choices. Christ will come to take the righteous home with Him. Those who have rejected him will not be softened by the events that transpire.
These four false images we have looked at this afternoon may not be issues for you or me, but perhaps there are others. I would like to conclude with the question I asked earlier. Do you want to allow God to form you in His image, or would you rather form God in yours? Do you want to seek to follow His word so you might reflect the very nature of your Creator, or do you wish to create a god that fits within what is comfortable to you? I challenge you, I challenge myself to examine our beliefs, examine our thoughts, and examine our actions. Are they in harmony with the very nature of the God of the Bible? He has a wonderful plan for each one of us, and longs to spend eternity together. Would you join with me in committing to set aside any false images of God and look to His word for the one true image?