The Dignity of Man
When pointing out that
all human beings are sinners,
we must also explain that we are
all made in God's image.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz to explain:
Once again, we hear from Bildad
and this time it's a very short speech.
And he says some truth.
In fact, these men all the way along
speak truth but not the whole truth.
There's usually a lack of
understanding in a certain area or simply untruth.
In fact, at times Job called it a lie
because it was so bizarre
in terms of their conclusions.
But here is how Bildad, in talking to Job,
describes humanity--
Job chapter 25, verses 5 and 6:
If even the moon does not shine
and the stars are not pure in His sight,
how much less man, who is a maggot,
and the son of man, who is a worm!
Now the truth actually--and there's
some truth here but the truth that
emerges from this description of man
is that we're all born in sin.
In Romans 3:23, there's no question
because it says:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
In other words, we all fall short
of God's perfection no matter who we are.
And Job certainly fell short
of God's perfection even though
God called him an upright man.
He was still a sinner.
He still fell short of God's protection.
But as we look at the words
that he used here--maggot and worm--
let me just simply say:
Jesus did not die for worms or maggots.
This is a distortion of human creation.
David verified the dignity of
all human beings in Psalm 8.
Now notice what David said.
David did not call humanity
worms or maggots.
Here's what he said:
When I observe Your heavens...
And he's speaking of the Lord:
...[When I observe] the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars-- ...
And I want you to take notice of that
because later we'll come back to that:
...the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,
what is man that you remember him,
the son of man that You look after him? ...
And then he answers that question. Listen:
...You made him little less than God
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him lord over the
works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet.
That is a description of man
in relationship to being made
in the image of God.
And that statement applies prior to man
before sin came into the world.
But it also applies to man
after sin came into the world.
And the fact of the matter is
that all of us have a propensity.
We are born in sin.
We have a propensity to actually
distort God's image.
But when you look at a newborn baby.
And you look at the innocence
in that little face.
And you look at the eyes that
reflect incredible trust.
I believe you're looking at the image of God
before the environment really begins
to distort that image that is there,
obviously, that relates to the fact
that we're all born in sin.
And what happens to man?
Well he distorts the image of God.
And we read about that
in Romans chapter 1, in verse 28.
You talk about distortion. Notice:
And because they did not think it
worthwhile to acknowledge God,
God delivered them over to
a worthless mind to do
what is morally wrong. ...
And here began the deterioration.
Here begins the downward spiral
in a horrible way.
...They are filled with all unrighteousness,
evil, greed, and wickedness. ...
Now this is a statement of individuals
who choose not to acknowledge God.
Not to acknowledge His values.
Not to acknowledge who He is.
Not to acknowledge His laws:
...They are full of envy, murder,
quarrels, deceit, and malice.
They are gossips, slanderers, God haters,
arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil,
disobedient to parents, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.
Although they know full well
God's just sentence--
that those who practice such things
deserve to die--they not only do them
but even applaud others who practice them.
Now that is a statement that describes man
after a process of deterioration.
The fact is that God made us in His image.
And He gave us this incredible potential.
But the fact is because of the sin nature,
we make choices where we
deteriorate and go down.
And you know, this is the direction
really of all human beings who are
living in a totally sinful environment.
Imagine what it was like
to be born a Canaanite.
To be born in that world of horrible sin.
Where children were even offered
as sacrifices to the pagan gods.
Born in the midst of
horrible immoralities that became
a part of the religious system.
By the way, I know many of us
have a difficult time accepting the fact
that when the Israelites came in
and destroyed the Canaanites,
they destroyed whole families.
But one of the thoughts that has
gone through my mind often is:
Where are those children?
I believe they're with God.
God just removed them from
that pagan environment.
Imagine what it would have been like
if those children had grown up
in that pagan environment?
But even these people are
objects of God's grace.
No matter how far down we've gone,
we are objects of God's grace.
And that's what we read in the book of Romans.
Because after Paul describes the fact
that people become immoral,
then they become horribly immoral,
they continue to reject God.
And we've just read what happens
in that state of humanity.
Yet God so loved the world, right?
John 3:16--who did God love?
For God so loved the world.
Not just a certain part of the world.
...[For] God loved the world in this way:
He gave His One and Only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him
will not perish but have eternal life.
In other words, anyone who receives
the gift of eternal life can be
transformed into God's image.
Now here's a significant question:
Why is it easy to go to extremes
when explaining human sinfulness
versus human dignity?
Well there's a song that we all know.
It's become very popular.
It's sung by believers and unbelievers.
It's entitled Amazing Grace.
And that first stanza simply reads:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
And what I want to point out to you is
that the man who wrote that song was a wretch.
He probably would have called himself
a worm and a maggot.
His name was John Newton.
And he was a horrible man.
He was a slave trader. He says:
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
When John Newton wrote those words,
he was describing himself. He said:
I was active in a business at which
my heart now shudders.
He called himself an infidel.
He called himself a libertine.
That was the story of his life.
For years he was immoral.
He was a drunkard. He was a gambler.
And he treated human beings as if
they were worms themself.
Until one time he was in a storm
and he cried out to God
and began to move towards God.
It took him a long time to get there--
[until] he really understood God's grace.
And he began to really see God's grace
at work in his life--
that transformed him
out of his blindness.
Now the reason I site that is
that really that verse of Scripture
is not a projection of what David wrote
in that Psalm 8--made a little lower
than God Himself.
The dignity of man made
in the image of God.
John Newton reflects a man
who was a Romans chapter 1 man.
Who had really deteriorated.
Where he did not retain God in his mind
in being an infidel, probably atheistic,
or at least agnostic in the way he lived.
The reason I point that out is--
but as beautiful as that song is--
that one particular little phrase
does not describe the dignity of man.
Doesn't reflect who God created us
in His image to be even in
our unsaved state.
Now the fact of that matter is,
that any culture in which we live today
that walks away from God.
That begins to violate the laws of God,
begins to deteriorate.
And that pretty much describes
every culture of the world.
We're going to see people
grow up in that culture who will
very quickly begin to deteriorate.
And to begin to live like animals.
And worship even four-footed beasts.
And deteriorate as we have it
described in Romans chapter 1.
So here's the Principle that I think
it's very important that we
understand this statement:
When pointing out that
all human beings are sinners,
[and we all are, right?]
we must also explain that we are
all made in God's image.
That's the dignity of man.