The Obsolete Man (And Woman, and Child, and Baby, and Race)” 1 Peter 2:17 18 January 2015

“The Obsolete Man (and Woman, and Child, and Baby, and Race)” 1 Peter 2:17 18 January 2015

What would you do if your government said that you had no value, no worth, no dignity and therefore you were obsolete? What would you do if your government said that it was going to dispose of you? Rod Serling tackled this in an episode of The Twilight Zone called “The Obsolete Man.” In this episode, Burgess Meredith, as expected, puts in a stellar performance as Romney Wordsworth, a man deemed obsolete by his country. Here’s a synopsis from Wikipedia-

In a future totalitarian America, Romney Wordsworth is a man put on trial for the crime of being obsolete. His occupation as a librarian is a crime punishable by death as the State has eliminated books and literature. He believes in God, a crime also punishable by death, as the State claims to have proven that there is no God. He is prosecuted by the Chancellor, who announces in front of the assembled court that Wordsworth, in not being an asset to the State, shall be liquidated.

After being convicted, Wordsworth is allowed to choose his method of execution. He cryptically requests that he be granted a personal assassin to whom he may privately disclose his preferred method of execution. He also requests that his execution be televised nationwide. Thinking that the spectacle will help show the public what happens when citizens become of no use to the State, the court grants both requests.

A television camera is installed in Wordsworth's study to broadcast his final hours and execution live to the nation. He summons the Chancellor, who arrives at exactly 11:16 p.m. After some discussion, Wordsworth reveals to the Chancellor that his chosen method of execution is by a bomb set to go off in his room at midnight. He explains that the reaction to imminent execution that will interest the public is not his own but the Chancellor's, as the door is locked and there is no one outside to help the Chancellor escape. He intends to show the nation how a spiritual man faces death, and proceeds to read from his illegal, long- hidden copy of the Bible (in particular, Psalm 23 and Psalm 59). He also points out that, as the events are being broadcast live, the State would risk losing its status in the eyes of the people by trying to rescue the Chancellor. As the time draws to a close, Wordsworth's calm acceptance of death stands in sharp contrast with the Chancellor's increasing panic.

Moments before the bomb explodes, the Chancellor desperately begs to be let go "in the name of God". Wordsworth says that "in the name of God" he will release the Chancellor immediately, which he does. The Chancellor bursts out of the room and down the stairs just as the bomb explodes and kills Wordsworth, who in his last seconds of life, stands tall and has a facial expression of peace and satisfaction.

In the final scene, the Chancellor returns to the courtroom to discover that his own subaltern has replaced him and that he himself is now obsolete: "You have disgraced the State. You have proven yourself a coward. You have, therefore, no function." Immediately convicted, the former Chancellor screams as the crowd in the courtroom apprehends him. He continues to plead with the court, insisting that he is in fact not obsolete and wishes only to serve the State, as the crowd appears to kill him.

What do you do when you are told that you have no value, no worth, no dignity as a human being and therefore you are obsolete? You run to the Bible. You run to Jesus. Because Jesus tells us, that no matter what we do or have ever done, we are valued, we have worth.

God’s word clearly tells us that we bear the image of the Triune God precisely because the Triune God is our Creator. As human beings, we are the image of God, the image of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But that’s not how we typically see humanity. We tend, especially in the church, to see ourselves as no good, worms, awful sinners, etc. True, we are sinners. That is very true. There is no denying that, no getting around that. We are sinners. We are all born sinners and rebels against God. But we have value because God made us and He made us in His image.

African-American actress and blues, jazz, and gospel singer Ethel Waters knew this. Though she was conceived in rape, she is credited with saying, “I know I am somebody ‘cause God don’t make no junk.”

And that’s our big idea today as we talk about the value, worth, and dignity of human beings- GOD DON’T MAKE NO JUNK.

As human beings we are made in God’s image- we are not junk! We have value. We have worth- even though we are sinners.

That’s why Peter says in 1 Peter 2:17, “Honor everyone…” We are called to honor every human being because we are made in the image of God. So since today is “Sanctity of Life Sunday” we’re going to use this phrase in 1 Peter 2:17, “Honor everyone…” as a springboard to see why we are called to stand as God’s people against God-dishonoring things like abortion, and human trafficking, and terrorism, and child abuse, and spousal abuse, and bullying, and racism, and slavery.

And next week we’ll circle back to verse 13 and Peter will tell us why and how we can submit to a government that allows the killing of unborn babies. We’ll see how and why we can submit to a government that does many God-dishonoring things. That’s next week. But today we’re going to see why Peter could command us to honor everyone.

And the reason why we should honor every human being, regardless of what they do or say or how they live or what their political affiliation is- the reason we should honor every person is because every human being is made in the image of God. In fact, Peter begins verse 17 by saying, “honor everyone” and he ends verse 17 by saying, “honor the emperor.”

This means that we are called to treat every single person with dignity and respect because every person is made in God’s image. That’s what God’s word says in Genesis 1:26-27…

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And 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 on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

So what does it mean that we are made in the image and likeness of God? First, let me give you a picture.

When you get up in the morning and you look in the mirror, you think, “Wow. I look good.” We don’t think that do we? We think, “Wow. I look terrible.” But then we take a shower and we “fix” ourselves up and then we look in the mirror and usually we like the way we look. Or, at least there are some days that we stare at our reflection a little longer because our hair is just how we want it, or our outfit pleases us, you know like those days when you post a selfie to social media? Those days. Those days when you feel good about how you look. We feel good about ourselves those days. We have at least a few of those days, right?

But the reflection that we see in the mirror that we either like or dislike depending on our hair or our outfit is, that reflection is not us. It’s just a reflection of us. The real us is standing in front of the mirror, the real us gets in the car, the real us drives to work, the real us grieves when the Dallas Cowboys get robbed by a ridiculous, very subjective phrase like “football move.” Sorry, but the “real me” is still a little bitter that the referee’s decision got turned over in last week’s playoff game.

Our reflection does not do those things. Our reflection does not get upset at the results of a football game, it’s us who get upset.

That’s what it means to be the image of God. We are just a reflection of Him, but we are not Him. We are not God, we just reflect Him.

The Hebrew phrases in our image, in his own image, in the image of God that Moses uses in Genesis 1:26-27 could be rendered, “Let us make man as our image” {e.g. Exodis 6:3}. I think that’s the better way to translate the Hebrew preposition here.

So to be the image of God means that we are God’s representatives in this world. We live as human beings who are His representatives.

And that’s precisely the idea behind the Hebrew word for “image” {selem}. This word was used throughout the ancient Near East for models, statues, images, and replicas. As kings conquered lands they would set up statues of themselves in the lands that they had brought under their control. The statues were not identical to the kings themselves {obviously}, but they represented the kings. Therefore, you would not dare desecrate or vandalize the “image” of the king because that was paramount to desecrating the king himself.

So kings would make all kinds and shapes of “images” of their likeness to be displayed all over the land. Big statues. Little ones to place on your mantle. They were on coins. Their were little ones to hang from your car mirror, etc. Some were made of silver, gold, diamonds, rubies, clay, etc. They were everywhere {clay images were most common}. These images of the king or gods were the modern-day equivalent of billboards and ads or better yet, political bumper stickers. The king wanted everyone in his kingdom to be reminded of who was in charge.

And how does the Triune God make His presence as Lord known in this world? He makes images, representatives, called human beings. So to be made in God’s image means to represent, or image forth, God. Every single human being is made in the image of God.

Notice that we aren’t made in the image of a chimpanzee or bird. We did not evolve. Why? Because those things are too small! Those things are too insignificant! We’re not even made in the likeness of Saturn or Jupiter or even the universe because even all of those things are too small to describe who you are! You are the image of God!

That’s should floor you. You are not god, but you are the image of God. When you look into the mirror and you don’t like what you see, what you see is the image of God. A created being who is made to be a representative of the living God in this world. That kind of changes how you feel about those wrinkles and those love handles! You have value, splendor, and worth because the Triune God made you.

You have value, splendor, and worth because- GOD DON’T MAKE NO JUNK.

God doesn’t make junk that needs to be discarded. God doesn’t make people who become obsolete. And that’s why we are against abortion and racism and terrorism and human trafficking and bullying and physical abuse and prostitution and slavery and any other God-dishonoring and human being dis-honoring thing. And we are against these things because human beings are wonderful creatures made in the image of the Triune God.

Think about this: every human being has the worth and value of not just any emperor, or queen, or king, but the King of Kings! That ought to change the way we treat each other. That ought to change the way we talk to each other. I was so convicted as I was preparing this sermon. Every human being is the image of God. But think about how we treat one another! Thank God for the Gospel! Thank God that we have Jesus’ righteousness! Because think about the people that you “talked about” this week. Think how you treated people this week. Think about how you spoke to people this week who are made in God’s image.

Think about driving through that roundabout and think about when a representative of God doesn’t drive through the roundabout the correct way. How do you react? Think about being in “20 Items or Less” line at the grocery store and a representative of God shows up with 100 grocery items. What do we do?

Do we think to ourselves, “Well looky there! There’s a representative of the Triune God. There’s a glorious image of God and they just cut me off in the roundabout. They have such value and they are so significant. There’s a glorious representative of the Triune God and they are breaking grocery store etiquette, but they are royalty because they are made in God’s image. Praise Jesus!”

We don’t do that, do we? But we should.

Our roommates, spouses, mother-in-laws, co-workers- even the doctor who performs abortions- all are made in God’s image and therefore they have worth and value and dignity.

Richard Pratt says, “I think the most comprehensive definition of ‘image of God’ is: everything you are, minus sin.”

Everything you are is the image of God, excluding sin. But sin has messed up the world. This world is broken. We’re broken. We’re broken because the first human being made by God, Adam- we’re broken and sinful because he sinned.

But even though we are sinful, human beings are wonderful creatures! We are magnificent creatures! We are marvelous creatures! We are glorious creatures! We are made in the image of God. But because we are sinners, we sometimes think of humanity as being bad.

Let me ask you this morning: What comes to your mind when you think of humans? What comes to your mind when you think of human beings? When you think of humanity, when you think of people, what do you think of? What are some synonyms of humanity?

The most popular evangelical answer is this: sinful. The most popular evangelical understanding of what it means to be fully human is that humans are sinful. Our tendency, when we think of human beings, is to think of them as sinful. What most often comes to our mind when we think of humanity is that we think of humanity as sinful. And we do that, and rightfully so, because we are sinners and we believe the Bible teaches that every person born into this world is born a sinner. We believe that here at Grace.

But let me ask you a question: Can you have something fully human and not sinful? Can you have something fully human and not sinful?

Yes! Yes, you can have something that is fully and completely human and have it not be sinful! That may startle some of you because you may equate being a human with sin. But you can have something fully human and not sinful. So the question then becomes: Who and when? Who and when can you have human beings who are completely human and yet are without sin? How is this possible since we all know that we are sinners? How can you have someone fully human and yet without sin?

There are 3 examples in Scripture:

* EXAMPLE ONE: Adam and Eve. In the book of Genesis we have 2 whole chapters of 2 human beings made up of 2 parts, material and immaterial, body and spirit...and yet without sin!

In the church, we have subtly bought the lies that to be fully human is to be sinful. But Adam and Eve, prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve prior to rebelling against God, show us that you can be fully human and not be sinful.

* EXAMPLE TWO: Our Future Resurrected Bodies. Our future hope is that we will one day be resurrected and be fully human and never sin! So why do we think that to be fully human is sinful?

Let me ask you: What do you plan on being for eternity? An angel playing a harp surrounded by clouds? A little chubby cherub flying through the air and playing an old mandolin like in Renaissance paintings? You will be a human being for eternity! You will be a human being for eternity and you will have eyeballs and ears and a nose and big toes and armpits and shins and buttocks. If you don’t like that, then you have a problem with your anthropology. You don’t understand humanity.

And it’s also a problem with your theology because human beings are wonderful creatures. Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation. That’s what Genesis ch. 2 is doing. It is highlighting the creation of mankind by showing that humans are the pinnacle of God’s creation. Whales are cool. Elephants are cool. Tigers are cool. Bearded vultures are cool. But they get trumped by humans.

Human beings are the highlight of God’s creation. We go to the zoo and we pay money to stare at giraffes with a crooked neck like the one that used to be in the Santa Barbara zoo and we stare at gorillas that escape and harm humans, like the gorilla Jabari in Dallas several years ago, and we go to stare at elephants and flamingos and all the while we’re surrounded by other human beings, other human beings who are staring at these animals with us, other human beings who are the pinnacle of creation!

You can come to church here every week and be surrounded by living things called human beings who are the pinnacle of God’s creation. Look around!

We ought to start charging you money like the zoo to come here every week and look at each other! We ought to start charging you money to come here each week to be around other human beings who are the highlight of God’s creation. I ought to charge you money for looking at me right now! I’ll let you purchase a season pass to stare at me!

Human beings are the highlight of God’s creation.

The Psalmist declares this in Psalm 139, which keep in mind is post-Fall, after Adam’s sin, post-sin entering this world-

TURN WITH ME TO PSALM 139… 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. Psalm 139:13-16

When the psalmist says, “Wonderful are your works...” he is talking about how God created human beings! Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation. We are marvelous, magnificent, glorious creatures.

Understand this: The psalmist did not get in a time machine and go back to the Garden of Eden before Adam sinned and write Psalm 139! The psalmist did not show up in a time machine in Eden and say, “Hey Adam, I am from the future. I’m just like you except that I’m broken and sick with sin. Sin dehumanized me. Your sin dehumanized me, Adam! But let me observe you, Adam, because you are the pinnacle of creation. Let me watch you and I’ll get out my pen and paper and write a song about you that I’m going to title Psalm 139.”

No. The psalmist in Psalm 139 is not talking about Adam, before he sinned. No, the psalmist is talking about fallen, sinful humanity, like you and me. And what he’s saying in Psalm 139 is that- GOD DON’T MAKE NO JUNK.

God doesn’t make junk that needs to be tossed away. God doesn’t make people who become obsolete.

Oh, yes, it’s true that we are sinners and the psalmist would tell you that sin dehumanized you. He would tell you that Adam’s sin dehumanized every human conceived and being born into this world. But he would also tell you that humans are the pinnacle of creation. Even though you’re broken as a human being, even though you’re a sinner, you’re still the pinnacle of God’s creation!

Human beings are the pinnacle of creation so much so that Jesus became one of them and lived as one of them. Human beings are the pinnacle of creation so much so that Jesus became one of them and lived as one of them and died as one of them. Human beings are the pinnacle of creation so much so that Jesus became one of them and lived as one of them and died as one of them and came back from the dead as one of them. Human beings are the pinnacle of creation so much so that Jesus became one of them and lived as one of them and died as one of them and came back from the dead as one of them and will be one of them forever in a glorified body.

* EXAMPLE THREE: Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:14-15 says that Jesus was like us in every respect, yet without sin. So Jesus is the premier example of someone being fully human and yet not being sinful. And one day we will be made like Him and conformed to His image {Romans 8:29}. That’s the Gospel.

And Jesus is going to do the same for you. That’s how important human beings are to God. Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation and that’s why we’re against abortion, and slavery, and terrorism, and child abuse, and human trafficking, and sexual immorality, and racism, and bullying, etc.

Jesus became a human being and was resurrected as a human being. And Jesus will be a human being forever! And He will do the same for you. Yet some Christians can’t wait to get out of the body and become “non-human.” So many Christians hate their bodies. They are functional Gnostics. They embrace dualism like the Gnostics of the 2nd century. Body=bad. Just get me out of my body!

For some Christians, their view of salvation is their dehumanization. They don’t want to be a human being forever because they have made this terrible connection between sin and humanity. They have made this terrible assumption that to be human is to be sinful. Some Christians think that the human body is to blame for sin and in order to experience salvation they must get out of the body.

But that’s not Christian. It is absurd to think this way because you are going to be a human being for eternity, whether you believe in Jesus or not. If you don’t believe in Jesus, then you will be resurrected and spend eternity in Hell suffering torment as a fully, complete human being.

But, Christian- those of you who have repented of your sins and you trust in Christ alone- you are going to be a human being forever too. You will be fully human, and without sin. Oh, please let me say that again! This is such an awesome sentence! Listen again, Christians, to this Gospel-rich sentence:

You will be fully human, and without sin.

For eternity, Christians will be fully human and without sin. Amazing! I cannot wait! I cannot wait because sin dehumanized me. All I know is sin. Sin dehumanized you and me and every other person in this world. And that’s why abortion exists and racism and bullying and terrorism and slavery and abuse. It’s all because of sin. So we “groan” and all creation groans {as Paul says in Romans 8:22} waiting for Jesus to make all things new. We wait as image bearers of God in a fallen, broken world.

Until then, we are called to honor everyone. Until Jesus returns to “make everything sad come untrue,” we are called to honor every human being. And we are called to take a stand against any person or organization that tries to belittle God’s creation, namely human beings. This is why we are against abortion. This is why we must stand up for the unborn. This is why we must do our part to see that one day in this country, Lord willing, abortion will become illegal. This is why we fight for the unborn who have no voice. Because human beings are marvelous, magnificent creatures! Because human beings are made in the image of God.

This is why we are called to stand against racism. Because every human being, regardless of skin color, is valuable. Red and yellow, black and white, Jesus loves all of His creation. This is why we are called to take a stand against human trafficking and slavery. We are called to take a stand against people selling little boys and girls into the sex market. How perverted! How sickening!

This is why we are called to take a stand against terrorism, and prostitution, and bullying, and physical abuse in the home. We are against all of these things because all of these things happen to God’s creation. We are against all of these things simply because-

GOD DON’T MAKE NO JUNK.

Human beings were not made to be tossed out in garbage bags at abortion clinics. Human beings were not made to be beat up because of the color of their skin. Human beings were not made to be blown up by a bomb strapped to someone’s chest. Human beings were not made to be physically abused by family members. Human beings were not made to be sold into the various slave markets. Human beings have value and worth and dignity because they are images of God. Human beings are not to be deemed obsolete by any person, organization, or government.

So maybe we should listen to Rod Serling’s closing monologue to that episode of The Twilight Zone called “The Obsolete Man”-

The chancellor, the late chancellor, was only partly correct. He *was* obsolete. But so is the State, the entity he worshiped. Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man, that state is obsolete. A case to be filed under "M" for Mankind - in The Twilight Zone.

May God have mercy on America. May God have mercy on this country of ours that mocks His holiness. May God have mercy on America and all the nations of the world. May God have mercy on us. And may Jesus give us steel spines to stand against these atrocious things. May Jesus give us soft hearts to love those who do these things. May Jesus protect and rescue people from these awful things. And may Jesus receive honor as His people learn to honor everyone. And may His Gospel, His good news, be proclaimed so that Jesus is cherished in every nation, race, tribe, and tongue by every man, woman, and child.

“The Obsolete Man (and Woman, and Child, and Baby, and Race)” 1 Peter 2:17 18 January 2015 Sermon Study Questions

1. Read Genesis 1:26-27. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? How were “images” used in the ancient Near East and how does that help us understand our role as human beings?

2. How should our understanding of being made in the image of God affect our relationships, our view of politicians we dislike, our mother-in-law, etc? Read James 3:1-12 and discuss the 2 ways that we use our tongues.

3. What comes to your mind when you think of human beings? Is it 1} sinful or 2} without sin? What are the 3 examples in Scripture of humans that are fully human and yet not sinful? Read Psalm 139:13-16. Who is the psalmist writing about? Is this how you view humanity?

4. Discuss this thought from the sermon: Jesus became a human being and was resurrected as a human being. And Jesus will be a human being forever! And He will do the same for you. Yet some Christians can’t wait to get out of the body and become “non-human.” So many Christians hate their bodies. They are functional Gnostics. They embrace dualism like the Gnostics of the 2nd century. Body=bad. Just get me out of my body!