The Sacredness of Life

Genesis 1:27, 28; Matthew 12:11, 12; Romans 14:19-21; I Corinthians 6:19,20

GOLDEN TEXT: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”—I Corinthians 6:19

TODAY’S lesson is designed to emphasize the importance of temperance—self-control. The need for self-control becomes evident when we realize what a vital bearing it has upon health and life, both physical and spiritual. Man is the only one of all God’s creatures who is capable of intelligently giving consideration to what is for his best interests, and this is because, as the opening portion of our lesson reminds us, he was created in the divine image.

It is this sense of moral responsibility that is referred to in the Genesis account of creation which tells us that man was created in the image of God. It doesn’t mean that human beings have implanted within them a divine spark that makes them a part of God, and hence they cannot die.

Following the transgression of our first parents, God said that now man has become as one of us to know good and evil. God told our first parents that disobedience to His laws would bring dire consequences, but not until they took the step which meant they would learn this lesson experimentally, did the full import of the information become real to them. Now they were to learn good and evil by experience. Ere that lesson is fully learned, which it will be by the close of the Millennial reign of Christ, our first parents, as well as all their children who accept of God’s grace through Christ, will in a very full sense be like God in knowing good from evil.

This quality is sometimes referred to as conscience, but in the fallen race conscience alone is not a safe guide with respect to what is right and wrong—what is good for us, and what would be injurious. This is why it is important to give heed to the Word of God and to the divine laws set forth therein. All of God’s laws are for the good of His creatures, to protect them, and to give them joy and blessings through obedience. God is not affected adversely when we disobey His law, nor is He made rich through our obedience.

This point is emphasized in the second Scriptural portion of our lesson. God’s command to Israel to refrain from work on the sabbath day was for their own good as individuals and as a nation. Their observance of it was to be in keeping with this principle. Jesus explains this point by His illustration of a man whose sheep fell into the ditch on the sabbath day. Obviously it would entail considerable work to rescue the sheep, but this, Jesus indicated, should be considered proper. Indeed, the Jews so understood the matter.

The Master’s enemies criticized. Him for doing good to His fellow men on the sabbath, claiming that His efforts along this line were in violation of the law. It is evident that they failed to grasp the real purpose of the law—that it was designed to help them control self and was not intended to hinder them from being a blessing to others. There is no law against doing good to others, but those who do not control their own thoughts, and words, and actions, but let them have loose reign along selfish lines, are not only their own worst enemies, but are in no position to contribute their share to the public good.

The third portion of our Scriptural lesson continues to outline our responsibility to each other, showing that it is best at times to exercise self-control and self-denial along lines that are perfectly legitimate, if by so doing we can be a greater blessing to those who come in contact with our lives. “Let us therefore, follow after the things which make for peace, and things whereby one may edify another,” says Paul.—Rom. 14:19

The apostle mentions a case in point, namely, that of eating meat which had been offered to idols. From the standpoint of an advanced Christian—and Paul was such—meat was not injured by the tact that it was offered to idols. He could eat such meat with a clear conscience. There were others in the early church, less developed in knowledge, and more under the influence of superstition, who verily thought it was a great sin to eat such meat. Paul, as an apostle, was looked up to in the church, and his example was perhaps weighty enough to lead others into taking a course to which, because of immaturity of Christian knowledge, their conscience could not give full consent. Thus they would be stumbled. The lesson here is that we are to refrain even from things against which there is no law, if by their practice, others are led into sin.

The Golden Text is applicable especially to Christians. They are the only ones during this Gospel age who enjoy the blessings of the indwelling Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit, through the written Word, is a true guide to conscience, and its demands are often quite contrary to the desires of the flesh.

Self-control then, for the Christian means to yield to the, Spirit’s leadings. Those who are thus led walk in the footsteps of Jesus who Himself was led by the Spirit as a Lamb to the slaughter. We have the privilege of dying with Him, and if faithful, will live and reign with Him, helping to restore the world of mankind to full perfection on the human plane, and to the image of God as originally created.

“On Thy church, O power divine,
Cause Thy glorious face to shine,
Till the nations from afar,
Hail her as their guiding star;
Till her light, from zone to zone,
Makes Thy great salvation known.”

QUESTIONS:

What is the purpose of divine law?

In what sense was man created in the image of God?

Should a Christian ever refrain from doing that which he knows to be lawful?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |