Ending the Imago Dei (Imago Dei #4)

A few weeks before this series began, I put out a short video warning our church family that during the Imago Dei series we would eventually touch on some genuinely controversial things. If you have been with us for the first three weeks, you may have been wondering why I bothered. It has not been all that controversial.

Today is your day.

Last week might have made you uncomfortable if you happened to be a white supremacist — hearing that God loves people of every race and ethnicity, that heaven will be populated with them, that with God there is no partiality. But since I did not get a single angry email, I suspect most of you were fine with it. This week, I might get some emails.

Why “Just Preach the Truth” Made Me Bristle

Before we jump in, I want to tell you about something that happened while I was preparing this series. I kept our elders informed and got their input on the subject matter. I talked it through with our staff and our Sunday team. But I also shared it with a couple of friends who follow Jesus but are not part of our church family. And they said, That’s great. That sounds so good. Just preach the truth.

I know they meant it as encouragement. The Scriptures teach that when you know the truth, the truth will set you free, and they were rooting for me. But I noticed something in my heart. I bristled. I pulled back a touch, and I could not figure out why. These are my friends. They are for me. So I did some introspection, and I came up with three reasons.

1. “Just preach truth” can quietly mean “don’t care about people”

What they were trying to say was: don’t worry about what other people think, don’t worry about how they will respond. But what I have seen is that sometimes when people “just preach truth,” it ends up meaning we simply do not care about people. It does not matter what this costs you — I am going to declare the truth, and you be damned.

Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love. So yes, I am supposed to preach truth — but it is to be done in love. And what does Scripture say love is? Patient. Kind. Not easily angered. Not puffed up. Yet some of the loudest voices saying “just preach truth” do not sound patient or kind. They sound angry, and often puffed up, and I do not sense much grace in them.

2. We stop attacking arguments and start attacking people

When you preach truth, you are going to counter some falsehoods. I will be doing that today. But sometimes in the process of countering a falsehood, we stop attacking the argument and start attacking the person, setting them up as the enemy.

If you want proof, go check your mailbox this week and pull out the political ads. They do not say, here is their position and here is why it is wrong. They say, this person is an enemy of America, and if you vote for them, you are one too.

Sadly, I have watched that political vitriol bleed into Christianity. Certain pastors and preachers get up and do not attack a theology they disagree with or a philosophy of ministry — they attack the actual people, treating them as enemies.

But Ephesians 6 says we wrestle not against flesh and blood. These humans, these fellow image bearers, are not our enemy. Our opponents are the principalities and the spiritual forces of darkness. Jesus describes Satan as a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And yet so often, when people declare that they are just preaching truth, they cast others as enemies — and if those others do not agree, we set out to steal, kill, and destroy them. We are not going to physically murder anyone. But if we can murder their reputation, we win. If we can get them out of a job, out of ministry, out of town, out of our lives, we win.

That is not how Christ treated us. Romans 5 says that while we were still weak, still sinners, still enemies of God, Jesus died for us. Even though we treated him as an enemy, he did not view us as the enemy. He knew sin was the enemy, and he came to vanquish it through the cross and redeem us.

So today I am not going to attack any people. Some of these ideas may be worth challenging. People are not.

3. We say one thing about truth and do another

If I asked you to define truth, most of you would reach for something like a dictionary definition: truth is what aligns with fact and reality. That is a decent definition, and I believe that no matter where you land politically or theologically — super progressive or super conservative — you would agree with it. Some of you would push further: truth is truth regardless of how you feel.

But here is what I have noticed. Most of us say that out loud while functioning very differently on the inside. Internally, truth is whatever I already believe. Truth is whatever the person I already trust says. And if someone from the other camp says something, it must be false.

What that means is that when someone like me says something that does not fit your preconceived box, or does not align with the other voices in your life, you will immediately assume it is wrong. But I could also stand up here and say something genuinely false, and because you like me and you think I think like you, you would walk out saying, way to preach the truth.

That is why I made that video weeks ago. I was asking you to set your lens down. All of us have an ideological lens; it is how we view life. I will freely admit I have a filter, and it is enormously difficult to set it down. I am not asking you to get rid of it. I am asking you to crack it open. Because it is possible that I am wrong on some of this and you are actually right — and you should be able to say why you are right, just like I had to do the introspection to figure out why I bristled at my friends. And it is also possible that you are unknowingly wrong, and God wants to bring you to a place of truth, because he has something better for you. But if you keep your truth box clamped shut, you miss out. I do not want that for you.

So What Is Today’s Topic?

The title gives it away: the ending of the Imago Dei. Do not misread that — this is not the end of the series. We have one more week. We flip-flopped the order because I invited a guest to come and she was not available next week.

Today we are talking about death. Which means we will have to touch, at least lightly, on war, suicide, euthanasia, and abortion. This is going to get messy.

Two observations before we open the Bible.

Our culture is very loud on some of these issues

When you hear something repeatedly, forcefully, and loudly, you can begin to believe it is true — whether it is or not.

I am a member of our local service club, and every spring we award some scholarships. One of them goes to a student who has overcome a significant obstacle. We have had recipients who lost a parent, who fought a physical disability, who pushed through discrimination. One year our recipient won because of her journey through an eating disorder.

On the day she received her scholarship, she read her application essay aloud to us. She described how back in fifth or sixth grade, another girl in her class decided to make her a target. Day after day she heard the same words: You’re fat. You’re ugly. Nobody likes you. Over and over.

This girl was not remotely overweight. She was nowhere near ugly. And yet she believed it. And since she could not control the bully, she decided she could at least control her weight. So she stopped eating. It got so bad she ended up hospitalized, and there was real fear for her life. Her essay walked us through the long road back to health, back to athletics, back to herself.

All of it began with a lie, said repeatedly and forcefully.

Our culture on some of these issues functions like that bully. It says certain things very loudly and very forcefully, and if you do not fully agree, it tries to cancel you or push you into line. Which means many of you have been marinating in that voice for years, and it feels right because it is familiar. So when I say something different, your instinct will be that I must be wrong.

That is why I am asking you to crack the lens open. Question your questions. Am I actually right on this? If you are, you will end up far more settled. And if you are not, maybe this is what God is using to help you understand his heart for human beings.

Some Christians are inconsistent here

This will surprise no one, but there are many Christians who consider themselves pro-life — our culture would call them anti-abortion — and who would say they will only vote for a pro-life candidate. And yet they have no trouble voting for a candidate who is enthusiastically pro-death-penalty.

You may be saying: but that child has a right to life, while the criminal forfeited his through his actions. We are going to talk about that. I hope to show you where that is a little inconsistent, and that we can do better.

Genesis 4: The First Death

Three weeks ago we saw the triune God say, “Let us make mankind in our image.” So he made them male and female. Then in chapter 3 we saw them sin against God — he gave them one prohibition, and they broke it. But God had also given them another command back in chapter 1: be fruitful and multiply. And in chapter 4 we watch them obey that one.

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain… And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’”

Adam and Eve have two boys who grow up and take on careers — Abel a shepherd, Cain a farmer. Each brings an offering out of his bounty. God receives Abel’s and does not receive Cain’s, and Cain is upset about it.

When I was a kid I was taught that God accepted Abel’s offering because it was a blood sacrifice, and blood was required for the payment of sin, whereas Cain only brought produce. I was taught wrong. The Hebrew word here for offering simply means a tribute — a gift. This is not the Mosaic system where animals were sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. This is an act of worship.

So the problem is not that Cain brought the wrong thing. It is that he brought it with the wrong heart. Hebrews 11:4 tells us Abel brought his offering by faith — trusting that even as he gave up a valuable animal, God would provide for him. It was genuine worship. Cain, by contrast, appears to be bringing his reluctantly, out of duty, maybe wondering whether he will have enough left over. God looks at it and says, no — if you do right, if you bring the right heart, I accept it. God is not anti-vegetable. Sorry, kids. It is not that meat is better. It is the heart he wants.

So God warns him: Cain, I can see what is happening in your heart. Be careful.

Cain does not heed the warning.

“Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.’”

Rather than remove the obstacle in his heart, Cain removes the obstacle that is his brother, and kills him in cold blood.

“The Voice of Your Brother’s Blood”

Notice God’s response. First he asks a question — just as he did with Adam and Eve in chapter 3. Not because he does not know, but because it is an opportunity to confess and repent. And like his parents, Cain lies. He deflects. I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?

Then God says something remarkable: the voice of your brother’s blood.

Blood has no vocal cords. It cannot form words. But inside human blood is DNA, and inside human DNA resides the image of God.

Scientists will tell you that human DNA is remarkably similar to the rest of creation. We share a great deal with plants and animals. The animal closest to us is the chimpanzee — only about a 1.2 percent difference.

Now, chimps are a cool animal. They are intelligent. Some have learned sign language. Some build things. And yet none of them have founded a religion. There are no business books written by chimps for the chimp economy. There is no long lineage of famous chimpanzee philosophers. They did not invent the car or the airplane. They did not invent smartphones or social media apps — which honestly may be evidence that they are smarter than us, so let me pull that one back.

There may be only a 1.2 percent difference. But that 1.2 percent is the image of God.

And here is something to sit with: there is only about a 0.1 percent difference between human beings. Look at the astonishing variety in this room, and across the whole earth. That is what God does with a tenth of a percent. So how much bigger is 1.2 percent? Tucked inside that sliver is the image of God, and it separates humans from the rest of creation.

So when Cain spills his brother’s blood, God feels it, because his image was in it. Sin has tried to ruin that image, but God can still see it. He can still recognize it. He can still hear it. And it cries out to him.

Because as we saw in week two, when you bear the image of God, you belong to God. Abel did not belong to Cain. Abel did not bear the image of Cain. Cain was the older brother, but he had no right to do whatever he wanted with Abel’s life. Only God gets to decide who lives and who dies. It grieved God to have his image bearer killed.

Therefore, We Should Be Extremely Reluctant to Kill

If we are going to live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved, we have to become deeply reluctant to kill.

Which may mean we need to rethink our ideas about war. I am not saying there is never a reason to go to war — some Christians would argue that, but I am not making that case. I am saying maybe we should not be cheering for our nation to get involved in something that means a great many image bearers are going to die.

For some of us it means changing our perspective on euthanasia and the elderly. For some of you it means going and serving, loving, and coming alongside people struggling with suicidal ideation.

And maybe it means changing your perspective on the death penalty — that perhaps we should not be the ones determining whether someone sits in an electric chair or receives a lethal injection.

Now hold on, you might say. God approves of the death penalty in Scripture. Go a few chapters over to Genesis 9, where God himself says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” That sure sounds like approval. You murder someone, you deserve to die.

You are right, and I will grant it. Notice the reasoning: man is made in the image of God, therefore man is enormously valuable, therefore we do not have the right to kill someone else — and if you shed someone’s blood, your blood should be shed.

But here is my question. Just because you deserve the death penalty, does that mean we must give the death penalty?

Keep reading Genesis 4 and you will see God punish Cain for murdering his brother — and the punishment is not death. It is exile. In fact, Cain begins to whine that if God does this to him, someone will find him and kill him. Those someones would be his brothers and sisters. They all loved Abel. Abel was a great guy. They would want revenge. So God marks Cain — to protect him. To protect his life.

Why? Because in Ezekiel 18 God says he takes no delight in death. He created humans to live. Adam and Eve were meant to live forever. When they ate that fruit, they died spiritually and began the slow march toward physical death as well. God does not delight in the ending of the imago Dei. Just as he grieved Abel’s death, he would have grieved Cain’s. So he spares him. He lets him live longer on the earth. He does not give him what he deserves.

And if God can show that kind of mercy to a cold-blooded killer — if God could change the heart of someone like Paul, who stood there approving the execution of Stephen — then maybe we should not be so quick to say, that person is evil, we need them gone. Who knows what God might do. Maybe he changes their life in prison. I am not saying we let them roam the streets. I am saying that maybe by living a little longer, they hear the gospel, find Jesus, and put their faith fully in him. Is that not what we would want?

Psalm 139 and the Beginning of Life

Maybe you are with me on all of that. Maybe the death penalty is not where your perspective needs changing. Maybe the place it needs changing is abortion. So turn to Psalm 139, verse 13:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

For most of you this is no surprise, but I should say plainly: I approach the Scriptures as most historic Christians do, viewing them as the inerrant word of God. I believe a perfect God perfectly wrote, through forty imperfect authors, exactly what he wanted captured for all of history and all people. So when I come to a passage like Psalm 139, I do not see it merely as a poem written by King David — even though that is exactly what it is. I do not see it merely as David’s attempt to express some deep thoughts, even though I think he does. I believe the Holy Spirit was breathing through him, leading him to write precisely what God wanted written, so that you and I could learn from it.

So what is God writing here through David? Notice that David says that even when he was nothing but unformed substance — nothing but a zygote — God knew him and loved him. God already knew every day of his life before he had drawn a single breath.

When the twenty-three chromosomes of a sperm meet the twenty-three chromosomes of an egg, there are now forty-six chromosomes, and that constitutes human DNA. And in that DNA is the image of God. So even in a moment when it is smaller than a poppy seed, it bears the image of God, and it is therefore precious. And we should not be devising ways to end it.

But Hear the Rest of This

Because our culture is so loud and so forceful here, some of you are really struggling right now. To hear me say that sounds cold-hearted. It sounds antiquated. You have scientific arguments that it is not yet human. And from a theological reading of Scripture, I believe it is fully human.

But I also want you to hear that some of your pushback I actually agree with. Because right now you are thinking: What about the woman? What about her mental health? Her physical health? What about the man? What about her career? What about all of it? And some of you are thinking, you are a guy, you have no business speaking into this.

I hear you. First, I am hardly the only person speaking to this — there are enormous numbers of women involved, and the pro-life movement is largely led by women. Second, much of your pushback lands with me, because I do not believe this is only about a baby. It is about everyone involved.

So I think we should be finding ways to support the woman. I think we should be finding ways to hold men accountable. I think we should be finding ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. I think we should be building systems where unwanted babies are found and given a home and life and love.

So for those of you saying, just preach the truth, it’s a baby — yes, I understand. But this is complex. We cannot simply say “no more abortion” and consider ourselves done. If we are going to live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved, we have to step in and help. Help the baby. Help the woman. Help the father. Help everyone affected.

That is why I moved this message a week earlier — so I could invite our local pregnancy resource center to be here.

A Word From Our Guests

I was not very familiar with the pregnancy center until they opened their campus in our town. As I got to know them, I discovered they are not merely an anti-abortion group — they are genuinely pro-family, and I have grown very comfortable with who they are and what they are trying to do. Their local director came and shared with us.

She described existing to be a first stop for people facing unplanned pregnancies, addressing at-risk sexual behavior, and working to build healthy families. She told us about watching her own family rally around her older brother and his girlfriend when they became pregnant in high school, and about wanting to be that support for people who have no one. She told us about a day on street ministry when she knocked on a door with one last package of diapers, and a twenty-year-old woman on her third pregnancy after two miscarriages invited her in — a woman who had been told by someone at a church that her miscarriages were her own fault, and who was considering an abortion. They sat with her and told her about the woman at the well, about the forgiveness and grace Jesus offers, and prayed that every time she looked at that package of diapers she would remember it.

All of their services are free: pregnancy tests, STD testing, ultrasounds at their larger center, parenting education. Nine out of ten women choose life once they see their baby on an ultrasound. They run a fatherhood program with a male advocate meeting with male clients, because fathers are the key to so many issues in our society. They offer material assistance — families learn about a topic they choose and then shop the store for free, leaving with diapers, wipes, and blankets, and receiving double if they bring the father or another male figure along, because fathers matter. They teach healthy relationship and sexual integrity classes in schools. They run a six-week abortion recovery care class for people seeking healing — one of their first participants was a seventy-year-old woman who had carried it for decades and finally wanted healing.

They are entirely donor funded, receiving no government money, and they serve roughly 230 clients a month. And she shared a statistic I cannot stop thinking about: one study found that 83 percent of women who had abortions said they would have kept their child if just one person had given them hope.

Grace, and Then Action

I opened talking about truth, but I also talked about grace. So hear this: if you have had an abortion, or you are close to someone who has, there is grace. Look at the grace God extended to Cain — and that was long before Jesus. God forgives you. Seek him. Trust him. Go after him. This is not the unforgivable sin.

And then let us do what we can to value people. Let us be part of the solution.

For some of you, volunteering at the pregnancy center will be enough — even one hour a month, or a financial gift, or helping with one of their classes. For others, God is calling you further. Some of you need to become a foster family, opening your home so kids can receive love and attention for a season. We have families here who have done respite support for foster families for years and would love to talk with you. And some of you need to go further still and adopt. We have families here who have walked that road and can tell you the joys and the struggles.

If someone has human DNA, they matter to God. He does not delight in their death. So let us do what we can to help people truly find life — whether they are unborn or born, elderly or young, fighting a mental health battle or not, living with a physical disability or not. If they have human DNA, they matter to God, and his image in them cries out to him.

Let us be people who are truly pro-life from womb to tomb.

Come to the Table

Father, work in all of our hearts. As we wade into controversial subjects, some of us are struggling. Help us through that struggle. Let us bring our worries, our concerns, our arguments, and our anger to you, and help us sort through them to truly understand what you are saying — not just what our culture says, not even what I say, but what you as the God of the universe say through your holy Scriptures, through the power of your Spirit, and through what you displayed in Jesus on the cross and in the empty tomb. Help us honor your image in others, because they are valuable and they belong to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

We practice open communion. If you have a relationship with God through Christ Jesus, this table is open to you. When you take the elements, you are recognizing that the bread represents Jesus’ body and the cup represents his blood, and that he died in your place so your sin could be forgiven. If that is your story, worship with us this way.

If you are here and you are simply not sure about the gospel — not sure about this whole story — I would ask that you respectfully hold off. We are not about putting on a show here. You do not need to perform so people think a certain way about you. Whatever spiritual questions you have, somebody sitting right next to you used to have the same ones. We understand the journey you are on.

So instead, during the song, talk to God. Ask him: is the whole thing about Jesus true? Did he really come to earth, live a sinless life, and die a sinner’s death on a cross? And if that story is true, would you give your life to him? Because as much as we want to protect the physical life of people because of the imago Dei, the more important thing is helping you find your life in Jesus. Jesus Christ went to a cross not merely so you could have a slightly more comfortable life here, but to radically and fundamentally change you from the inside out. And that journey can start today.

So use this time for what you need. If you follow Jesus, come to the elements. If you need to pray or kneel or sit or stand and sing, do that. This is our time to connect with him, because he loves us, and because his image is in us. Let us do this in remembrance of him.