Summary: Genesis 9:5-6 // The doctrine of the sacredness of human life doesn’t only have implications for society at large. It has deeply personal implications that reach down into the very motivations of our hearts. Murder is the fundamental denial and discretion of the image of God. It is why it is forbidden even in the Ten Commandments of Moses. But Jesus drills down deeper. He shows us that murder is rooted in hatred within our hearts. When we are wounded and wronged, we are tempted to respond by wounding and wronging. We are tempted to hate. We are tempted to view our enemies as less than human. In Genesis 9, God fiercely threatens a reckoning for bloodshed. But the gospel announces that Jesus’s blood was shed so that whoever trusts in him will be reckoned as righteous. Genesis 9 shows us that murder is an abomination against God, but the Gospel reveals that the murder of God’s Son on the cross has become the very symbol of God's glory and the means of our redemption. When we honor the sacredness of human life in one another and in those whom we would consider our enemies, we honor our Redeemer, who united himself with humanity so that humanity might be united with God. We honor the one who loved us and died for us while we were still his enemies! Our mission is to declare the gospel with our words and display the gospel with our lives to our neighbors and to the nations. Visit redeemerchristianchurch.com/give and join in our mission through your generous financial assistance - every gift and donation we receive goes to this goal!
