Heard On Sunday - Created in His Image: Understanding the Sanctity of Life

In the beginning, God. These four words form the foundation of everything we believe about human value, dignity, and purpose. Before we can understand why life is sacred, we must first understand where we came from and whose image we bear.

The Question of Origins

We all want to know where we came from. Adopted children often search for their birth parents. People submit DNA samples to discover their ethnic heritage. When meeting someone new, one of the first questions we ask is, "Where are you from?" This curiosity is not accidental—God placed it within us to draw our attention back to Him.

The Bible does not begin with why, where, how, or what. It begins with who. "In the beginning, God." Our origin story starts not with random chance or evolutionary processes, but with a personal, intentional Creator who formed us with purpose.

Made in the Divine Image

Genesis 1:27 declares a profound truth: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." This verse does not say God set evolution in motion and allowed humanity to develop. It says He created us—personally, intentionally, specifically.

Unlike the rest of creation, which God spoke into existence, humanity received special attention. Genesis 2:7 tells us that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into his nostrils. This intimate act set humanity apart from everything else in creation. We alone bear the image of God. We alone possess eternal souls. We alone were given moral understanding and dominion over the earth.

This distinction matters profoundly. When Satan wanted to disrupt God's creation, he did not tempt an elephant or a cat. He tempted humanity because only humanity bears God's image and possesses an eternal soul. The fall affected all of creation, but it was humanity's rebellion that required redemption.

The Principle Applied

Understanding that we are created in God's image provides the foundational principle for understanding the sanctity of life. This principle applies across time, cultures, and situations. Just as the commandment "You shall not steal" applies whether you are five or forty-five, whether you are taking your brother's toy truck or your neighbor's tools, the principle of life's sanctity extends to every human being at every stage of existence.

The sixth commandment states simply: "You shall not murder." Notice it does not specify "You shall not murder your fellow man." Why? Because the commandment applies exclusively to those who bear God's image—humanity. No other creature requires this protection because no other creature shares our unique status.

The Value God Places on Life

Consider how God demonstrates the value He places on human life. Christ did not humble Himself to become an angel or any other creature. He became a man. Why? Because humanity needed a mediator, a bridge back to God. Only by becoming fully God and fully man could Christ provide the salvation we desperately need.

First John 4:10 reminds us: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Christ's sacrifice was not for the animal kingdom or the natural world. It was for us—those who bear His image, those He set apart as sacred.

If the God of the universe valued human life enough to shed His own innocent blood for our salvation, how should we view life? The answer becomes clear: homicide is wrong, suicide is wrong, euthanasia is wrong, and abortion is wrong. Each represents a violation of the sanctity God has placed on human life.

Life in the Womb

Our culture engages in word games to obscure the truth about life before birth. We speak of "viability" as though a six-month-old infant left alone could survive any better than an unborn child. The reality is that children require care and protection at every stage of development.

Scripture makes no such distinctions. In Luke 1:41, when Mary visited Elizabeth, "the babe leaped in her womb." The Greek word used for this unborn child is the same word used for Jesus lying in the manger. God's Word does not differentiate between born and unborn—both possess equal value.

Jeremiah 1:5 reveals God's intimate involvement even before conception: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you." Psalm 139 beautifully describes how God knits us together in our mother's womb, how He sees our unformed substance, and how He writes all our days in His book before even one of them comes to be.

This is not a modern issue. John Calvin, writing in the 1500s, argued that destroying a child in the womb is even more atrocious than killing someone in the open because the womb should be a place of ultimate security and refuge.

The Heart of the Matter

Yet before we point fingers at others, we must examine our own hearts. In Matthew 5, Jesus takes the sixth commandment deeper, explaining that anger without cause, contempt for others, and calling someone a fool all place us in danger of judgment. Murder is not only an action but a condition of the heart.

This reality should humble us all. We are all guilty. We all fall short. We all desperately need the grace that only Christ can provide.

Hope in Christ

The message is not one of condemnation but of conviction leading to hope. Romans 8:1 assures us: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Whether someone has been involved in abortion, euthanasia, or any other sin, the blood of Christ is sufficient. His sacrifice covers all who come to Him in faith.

God created us in His image. He breathed life into us. He values us enough that He sent His Son to die for us. This is the sanctity of life—not a political position, but a theological truth rooted in the character of God Himself.

May we view every person, from conception to natural death, as someone bearing the image of God, someone for whom Christ died, someone of infinite and eternal value.