CREATION AND MORALITY Lesson 5 for February 2, 2013

Since we were molded by God’s hands and we were created in His image… “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27) “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7) Since we were molded by God’s hands and we were created in His image… God is entitled to enact laws. We were given a moral conscience to distinguish good from evil. All men and women are equal before God. That means that… We are responsible for our neighbors. We are responsible before God.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD What right has God to enact laws for man? “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”” (Genesis 2:16-17) What right has God to enact laws for man? The right of creation. The same God that got His hands dirty when He created Adam is the One who holds our lives (Psalm 3:5) Those same hands wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone; that’s the moral law that must rule our lives. Which must be our attitude to our Creator and Legislator? “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand” (Psalm 95:6-7)

MORAL CONSCIENCE “Endowed with high mental and spiritual gifts, Adam and Eve were made but “little lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7), that they might not only discern the wonders of the visible universe, but comprehend moral responsibilities and obligations” E.G.W. (“Education”, cp. 1, pg. 20) Which moral obligations do we have because of being created in the image of God? Obeying the divine laws (Genesis 2:16-17). God gave us the ability to distinguish good from evil to do so (Genesis 4:7) Looking after everything God created (Genesis 1:28) “You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6)

SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD Man has been discriminating against people from different sex, race, social or economic class… since sin entered the world. Creation eliminates any discrimination against human beings. Genre The human being created in the image of God was “one flesh”, “male and female”. God is a plurality (the Trinity), and also “man” is. Both male and female are “man” and both have the dignity of being created in the image of God. Race “And He has made from one blood every nation of men” (Acts 17:26) We all are descended from the same parents, Adam and Eve. There are no inferior races that may be descended from another father or mother. Social or economic class “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy” (Proverbs 14:31) The dignity of a human being as a creature created by God is beyond his/her social condition. Just think that the poor may tomorrow become rich or vice versa.

“The same agencies that barred men away from Christ eighteen hundred years ago are at work today. The spirit which built up the partition wall between Jew and Gentile is still active. Pride and prejudice have built strong walls of separation between different classes of men. Christ and His mission have been misrepresented, and multitudes feel that they are virtually shut away from the ministry of the gospel. But let them not feel that they are shut away from Christ. There are no barriers which man or Satan can erect but that faith can penetrate… Caste is hateful to God. He ignores everything of this character. In His sight the souls of all men are of equal value” E.G.W. (The Desire of Ages, cp. 43, pg. 403)

RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS What is the reason for loving our neighbors according to Jesus in Matthew 5:38-48? “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust… Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:45-48) We are sons and daughters of God; we are made in His image. Jesus invites us to imitate our Father and to reflect His image. God looks after the men and women He created, so we are responsible for the way we treat our neighbors (and the creation He left in our care) before Him.

RESPONSIBLE BEFORE GOD Let’s discuss the next statements: God is entitled to enact laws for the human beings. Those laws were given to Adam and Eve and God wrote them on tablets of stone. God created the man able to distinguish good from evil. Man is free to choose between obeying or disobeying the laws God enacted. That involves man being responsible before God for obeying or disobeying His laws. That also involves God having the right to judge men and to punish or reward them according to their choices. “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12) “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13)