63 Sermon Illustrations on Christ Likeness

Elderly Christians tend to be thoughtful, kind, patient and loving. Through years of imitating Christ they have grown more and more into his image. Physical health may be failing, or the eyesight growing dim, the hearing failing, but there is no reason to lose heart. Why? "The inner nature is being renewed every day." And these saints are more lovely than they have ever been. For those who resent the passing years, an interesting possibility has been suggested by Charles L. Allen. He writes, "Just suppose the process were reversed. You would start living at an old age and every day be a little younger. Now that would be terrible. Every day you would know a little less than you knew the day before. You would start off with your grandchildren but in a few years they would all be gone. Your family, instead of growing, would constantly be diminishing. You would eventually get to the age where you start to college. You would start off a senior and end up in the first grade. Now, little first graders are cute with their short pants or little pink dresses, but I would hate to think I would have to be one again. "Tottering old age has its drawbacks, but being a tiny baby is a lot worse. If you were getting younger, you would have to look forward to losing everything and end up by being a helpless baby with a bottle. Finally, you would just fade away into nothing. Babies do not have a previous existence, so complete oblivion would be the end." When it is put like that, it is easy to see the advantage of growing older rather than shrinking younger. In the spiritual realm, who would want his faith to grow weaker day by day? Who would want to see his Christ-like qualities diminish with the passing of time? Who would want to give up the personal experiences where God has proven His faithfulness time and again in one's own life? Not me! Experience is a great teacher. We are confident that: They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

There is one item in the account of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is seldom, if ever, referred to in any depth, namely, His seamless robe. In John's Gospel it says, "...the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout" (John 19:23). In the Bible, garments speak of conduct or of a display of character. A good example is "be clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5). What precious truths about Jesus can we learn as seen in His seamless robe? Our Lord was flawless and absolutely beyond reproach in His character. He is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26). There is no seam dividing His meekness from His anger, His gentleness from His firmness. His authority from His winsomeness, or His mercy from His sincerity. He is uniquely beautiful in His character. The robe is all one piece! We see Him compassionate, but inflexible; full of truth, yet full of grace; come to save, yet come for judgment; eating in the upper room, yet sitting at the table with publicans and sinners. All is done with uniform consistency. Nothing is ever out of perspective. Power is without pride, knowledge is without superiority, and authority is without arrogance. Yes, His robe is woven on the loom of eternity. John last saw that seamless robe in the hands of gamblers near the cross. How he must have been stirred when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and saw Jesus "clothed with a garment down to the foot" with the name upon it "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 1:13, Revelation 19:16). As we, His redeemed, are "clothed ...with the garments of salvation" and covered "with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10), let us fall at His feet during this time of resurrection remembrance to worship, praise, and cry out to God for an experience of "the power of His resurrection" in order that we might be genuine reflectors of the wondrous character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Birth of Christ An artist once drew a picture of a wintry twilight, the trees heavily laden with snow, and a dreary dark house, lonely and desolate, in the midst of the storm. It was a sad picture indeed. Then, with a quick stroke of yellow crayon, he put a light in one window. The effect was magical. The entire scene was transformed into a vision of comfort and good cheer. The birth of Christ was just such a light in a dark world. Remember the words of John William Hart: "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." That Light is more than enough to lend comfort and direction to your life!

A Buddhist monk in Ceylon, who was acquainted with both Christianity and Buddhism, was once asked what he thought was the great difference between the two. He replied, "There is much that is good in each of them, and probably in all religions. But what seems to me to be the greatest difference is that you Christians know what is right and have power to do it, while we Buddhists know what is right but have not any such power." This is true, because no other religion has as its founder God, who became man, and in becoming man incarnated the grace and the truth of God. When Christ, then, becomes our life, we will be full of grace and truth. It is not our grace and truth but His, for He dwells within.

Max Beerbohm wrote a story entitled, "The Happy Hypocrite." The title sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? The story was about a character whose face personified evil. The man was faced with a dilemma: the woman he loved refused to marry him because he didn't look saintly. To solve the problem, the suitor put on a mask with a kind face. The young woman married him despite the face underneath the mask. Her husband proved to be an attentive, unselfish husband. One day in a moment of rage, an enemy abruptly tore off her husband's mask before his wife's eyes. Instead of a cruel, grotesque face, the man had become what he had lived for many years. Kindness, not evil, radiated from his face! The Bible urges us to "keep the faith" because someday we will look like Him in whom we believe (1 John 3:2).

Some of these newfangled inventions are great-especially the puncture-proof tire. If you are driving along with ordinary tires and a nail goes through one of them, whis-s-s, you lose all the air. But a puncture-proof tire is different-if a nail goes through, there is some stuff inside that runs around and stops the hole and the air stays in. The heart of a Christian is like that puncture-proof tire. An ordinary heart may be filled with love, but when someone does something to puncture that heart, all the love runs out and hatred and hard feelings take its place. But a puncture-proof heart is different. It is filled with the Spirit of Christ and when someone, through their words or deeds punctures that heart, immediately the hole is stopped up tight and the love stays in."

Two fellow travelers were seated together in a railway compartment engaged in earnest conversation of a religious nature. One of them, a skeptic, was evidently trying to excuse his unbelief by exposing the various evils which afflict Christendom, detailing with pleasure the hypocrisy and the craft, and the covetousness and divisions found in the professing church, and then he pointed to some of the leaders as the most markedly corrupt of all. In front of them sat a Christian who was compelled to hear all this. He knew the accusations to be true-too true to be concealed from the most charitable mind-so all he could do was to bow his head and bear the deserved reproach. Soon, however, the accuser, anxious to extend the circle of his audience, addressed this fellow passenger in front of him. "I see you are quick to detect evil," said the Christian, "and you read character pretty well. You have been uncovering the abominable things that have turned Christendom into a wreck, and are fast ripening it for the judgment of God. You have spared none, but given all a good measure. Now, I am a Christian and love the Lord Jesus and His people. Not a word shall I offer in defense, but I solemnly challenge you to speak the first word against the Lord Jesus Christ Himself." The skeptic was surprised. He seemed almost frightened and sheepishly replied, "Well, no! I could not find fault with Him. He was perfect." "Just so!" said the Christian. "Therefore was my heart attracted to Him, and the more I looked, the more I found I was not like Him at all, but only a poor, guilty, sinful man. All of the evil which professed followers of His may do cannot turn me away from Him. My salvation hangs on what He has done, and not on what they are doing." Are You Refusing Your Inheritance? While a student at Yale University, Eugene F. Suter, Jr.'s father died, leaving him an estate of $400,000. When Eugene refused the inheritance, the trustees of the estate insisted he take it, and even took him to court to force him to accept the money. In an unprecedented case held in New York City, Judge William T. Collins reluctantly ruled that the young man had a legal right to reject the $400,000. The order legally cut off the 22-year-old student from all future interest in the family fortune, leaving him without an income. There are a lot of people in this world who are refusing a far greater inheritance than Suter did. God has offered us the opportunity to be joint-heirs with Christ and heirs of eternal life, and so many are refusing to profess belief in Christ and to be born again. Like Suter, they will be cut off from all future benefits from their Father's estate. Will your inheritance go unclaimed?

A little girl in a Chinese village watched a missionary as he went about the Master's work. She saw him go to the homes where there were sickness, death, and sorrow, and she watched him as he moved about the village, though she never heard him speak in public. One day she went to another village and followed some girls into a mission school. There she heard a lady talking to them, in Chinese, about someone to whom little children came. One of the little girls asked the visitor, "Do you know who it was?" "Yes," she replied, "she was talking about the missionary who lives in our village." She had never heard about Jesus Christ, and when the teacher described the beautiful life of Jesus Christ, she thought she was describing the missionary. A Real Conversion Two little children, a boy and a girl, who played together a great deal, received Christ and were converted. One day the boy came to his mother and said, "Mother, I know that Emma is a Christian." "What makes you think so, dear?" "Because she plays like a Christian. If you take everything she's got, she doesn't get mad. Before, she was selfish, and if she didn't have everything her own way she would say, 'I won't play with you; you are a mean little boy.' " That's what the world sees, the result of our possessing part of the fullness of God. If we have God, then we must act like Him.

I like to think of Christ as a burden bearer. A minister was one day moving his library up stairs. As the minister was going up stairs with his load of books his little boy came in and was very anxious to help his father. So his father just told him to go and get an armful and take them up stairs. When the father came back he met the little fellow about half way up the stairs tugging away with the biggest in the library. He couldn't manage to carry it up. The book was too big. So he sat down and cried. His father found him, and just took him in his arms, book and all, and carried him up stairs. So Christ will carry you and all your burdens.

"In a stamp impressed, the wax receiveth only the form and figure, without any real quality; as a golden seal leaveth no tincture of gold, nor a brazen seal the property of brass. In a glass, besides figure and proportion, there is a representation of motion, but no other real qualities. But here, as iron in the fire seemeth to be fire, we are like our Lord in holiness and happiness." Thus, O my soul, be thou in Christ as the iron in the fire, thyself transformed into his very nature and spirit. Is it so with thee now? Alas, not as it should be. Yet he that hath wrought us to the self-same thing thus far is the Lord, and he will not cease his work till he hath perfected it. Refining fire go through my heart until I, also, burn and glow. Lord, I cry to thee for this, and surely that which is already in my desire will soon be in my possession. I leave myself in thy hands. Change me wholly into thine image, I beseech thee.

Zinzendorf owed much of his religious fervor to the casual sight of a picture of the crucifixion, with this simple inscription at the bottom: "All this for thee: how much for me?"

One day as I was in the bath, a friend put into my hand a piece of scented clay. I took it, and said to it, "Art thou musk or ambergris, for I am charmed with thy perfume?" It answered, "I was a despicable piece of clay; but I was some time in the company of the rose, and the quality of my sweet companion was communicated to me: otherwise I should only be a bit of clay as I appear to be."

— Saadi

Among the several wonders of the loadstone, this is not the least, that it will not draw gold nor pearl, but, despising these, it draws the iron to it, one of the most inferior metals: thus Christ leaves the angels, those noble spirits, the gold and the pearl, and he comes to poor sinful man, and draws him into his embraces.

— T. Watson

A lady, while on a visit to the Exposition at Paris, died. During her last moments, speech had left her; but she managed to articulate the word "Bring." Her friends, in ignorance of her meaning, offered her food; but she shook her head, and again repeated the word "Bring." They then offered her grapes, which she also declined, and for the third time uttered the word "Bring." Thinking she desired to see some absent friends, they brought them to her: but again she shook her head; and then, by a great effort, she succeeded in completing the sentence, —

"Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown him Lord of all;"

and then passed away to be with Jesus.

— Newman Hall

When Tamerlane was in his wars, one of his captains dug up a great pot of gold, and brought it to him. Tamerlane asked whether it had his father's stamp upon it; but when he saw it had the Roman stamp, and not his father's, he would not own it. So God, at last, will own no knowledge but that which leaves the stamp of Christ, the image of Christ, upon the heart.

— Brooks

By going to the lowest stratum of human nature, Christ gave a new idea of the value of man. He built a kingdom out of the refuse of society. To compare small things with great, it has been pointed out by Lord Macaulay, that, in an English cathedral, there is an exquisite stained window, which was made by an apprentice out of the pieces of glass which had been rejected by his master; and it was so far superior to every other in the church, that, according to tradition, the envious artist killed himself with vexation. All the builders of society had rejected the "sinners," and made the painted window of the "righteous." A new builder came: his plan was original, startling, revolutionary; his eye was upon the condemned material; he made the first last, and the last first; and the stone which the builders rejected he made the head stone of the corner. He always specially cared for the rejected stone. Men had always cared for the great, the beautiful, the righteous: it was left to Christ to care for sinners.

We find colors used in a symbolical or mystic sense; and until the ancient principles or traditions were wholly worn out of memory, or set aside by the later painters, certain colors were appropriate to certain subjects and personages, and could not arbitrarily be applied or misapplied. In the old specimens of stained glass, we find these significations scrupulously attended to. Thus, white, represented by the diamond or silver, was the emblem of light, religious purity, innocence, virginity, faith, joy, and life. Our Saviour wears white after his resurrection. In the judge, it indicates integrity; in the sick man, humility; in the woman, chastity. Red, the ruby, signified fire, divine love, the Holy Spirit, heat, or the creative power, and royalty. White and red roses express love and innocence, or love and wisdom. In a bad sense, red signifies blood, war, hatred, and punishment. Blue, or the sapphire, expressed heaven, the firmament, truth, constancy, fidelity. Yellow, or gold, was the symbol of the sun, of the goodness of God, initiation or marriage, faith or faithfulness. In a bad sense, yellow signifies inconstancy, jealousy, deceit. Green, the emerald, is the color of spring, of hope (particularly hope in immortality), and of victory, as the color of the palm or laurel. Violet, or the amethyst, signified love and truth, or passion or suffering. Black expressed the earth, — darkness, mourning, wickedness, negation, death, — and was appropriate to the Prince of darkness. White and black together signify purity of life, and mourning or humiliation. Mrs. Jameson.

Take the cold iron, and attempt to weld it, if you can, into a certain shape. How fruitless the effort! Lay it on the anvil, seize the blacksmith's hammer with all your might, let blow after blow fall upon it, and you shall have done nothing; but put it in the fire, let it be softened and made malleable, then lay it on the anvil, and each stroke shall have a mighty effect, so that you may fashion it into any form you may desire: so take your heart, not cold as it is, not stony as it is by nature, but put it into the furnace; there let it be molten, and after that it can be turned like wax to the seal, and fashioned into the image of Jesus Christ.

— Spurgeon

FRIENDS, Fickleness of The bees were haunting the flowering trees in crowds, humming among the branches, and gathering honey in the flowers. Said Gotthold, "Here is an image of temporal prosperity. So long as there is blossom on the trees, and honey in the blossom, the bees will frequent them in crowds, and fill the place with their music; but when the blossom is over, and the honey gone, they, too, will disappear. The same happens in the world, among men. In the abodes of fortune and pleasure, friends will be found in plenty; but, when fortune flies away, they depart along with it. Temporal gain is the world's honey and the allurement with which you may entice it whithersoever you will; but where the gain terminates, there, likewise, do the love and friendship of the world stop. For this reason, let all good men be advised to fly to Christ crucified, who never forsakes in their distress those who truly seek him."

Goodness is love in action, love with its hand at the plough, love with the burden on its back. It is love carrying medicine to the sick, and food to the famished. It is love reading the Bible to the blind, and explaining the gospel to the felon in his cell. It is love at the Sunday-class, or in the ragged-school. It is love at the hovel-door, or sailing far away in the missionary ship. But, whatever task it undertakes, it is still the same,—love following His footsteps, “who went about continually DOING GOOD.” Dr. J. Hamilton.

Visiting a painter, Gotthold said, "A painter requires, by long and repeatedly viewing the countenance he has to paint, to impress it, in the first instance, on his heart, in order afterwards to produce it with colors upon the canvas. And, in the same way, it is upon the heart that the image of Jesus Christ must first be formed, and then afterwards transferred into a holy life and an affectionate and godly walk. Once impressed upon the heart, it will soon show itself in the thoughts, words, actions, and gestures. And, in this work, never must we grow weary or dispirited. A picture is not painted at a stroke, but is brought by slow degrees, after many sittings, and with cautious touches, to perfection."

Young men and maideus, in the flower of your mortality acquaint yourselves with Jesus; for thereby good shall come to you. The scar and the withered, the cold and the dull, the old and the dead, are repulsive to you: we do not invite you to them; we invite you to Jesus. Look at the sun, (how bright and young he is after these thousands of years!) and think how young and glorious life must be in Him who giveth to all suns and angels their beauty and their youth. You have heard of the great love, stronger than death, wherewith he loved you, and still loves you; of his wondrous works, visible and invisible, and of his yet more wondrous humiliations on your behalf; you have heard that there is neither faith nor hope for your immortal nature apart from him; that, without him, you can do nothing but perish: and these are affecting and weighty considerations; but, at present, our subject charges us to commend him to your hearts on the ground of his own eternal beauties. By the splendor of his holiness, therefore; by the unfailing sweetness of his majesty; by the might and meekness of his humanity; by the everlasting spring which smiles in his presence; and by the ceaseless play of his charms, — the charms of eternal youth, — we press you to forsake death, to embrace the feet of Jesus, and become the heirs of his kingdom and glory.

— J. Pulsford

A teacher described to her Sunday-school class the crown of thorns that was put on the brow of Christ in his mock-trial. Shortly after, one of the class was discovered twining a wreath of rare flowers. Being asked what he was doing, he replied, "Long ago, Jesus wore a crown of thorns, and even died, for me; and now I am making him a wreath, to show how much I love him."

Francis and the One day, St. Francis, celebrated for his kindness to animals, passing through a meadow, saluted the flocks which were grazing there, and perceived a poor little lamb which was feeding all alone in the midst of a flock of goats. He was moved with pity, and said, "Thus did our mild Saviour stand alone in the midst of the Jews and Pharisees." He was too poor to buy the lamb; but a charitable man, passing, saw his grief, bought the lamb, and gave it to him. It usually accompanied him everywhere; and in his pictures he is represented with his lamb, "which lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter."

A man's strength, in this life, is often greater from some single word remembered and cherished, than in arms or armor. Looking over the dead on a field of battle, it was easy to see why that young man, and he a recruit, fought so valiantly. Hidden under his vest was a sweet face, done up in gold; and so, through love's heroism, he fought with double strokes, and danger mounting higher, till he found honor in death. So, if you carry the talisman of Christ in your heart, it will give you strength and courage in every conflict, and, at death, open to you the gates of glory.

— Beecher

George Moir, a humble Christian, was told by his wife that his countenance indicated the speedy approach of death. "Does it?" he replied. "Bring me a glass." Struck with the marks of death which he saw, he said, "Ah! Death has set his mark on my body; but Christ has set his mark on my soul."