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63 Sermon Illustrations on Christ Likeness

63 illustrations Page 2 of 2

Christian preaching on Christ likeness emphasizes the believer's transformation into the character and love of Jesus Christ through faith and the Holy Spirit. Illustrations often use images of growth, refinement, sacrifice, and the spreading aroma of Christ's presence, highlighting how believers become living reflections of His love and holiness (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18). This transformation affects both inner character and outward witness.

Marks, Legend of

St. Francis bore Christ's wounds as a sign of spiritual transformation through divine love.

The biographer of St. Francis of Assisi says, "After having fasted for forty days in his solitary cell on Mount Alverna, and passed the time in all the fervor of prayer and ecstatic contemplation, transported almost to heaven by the ardor of his desires, — then he beheld, as it were, a seraph, with six shining wings, bearing down upon him from above, and between his wings was the form of a man crucified. By this he understood to be figured a heavenly and immortal intelligence, subject to death and humiliation. And it was manifested to him that he was to be transformed into a resemblance to Christ, not by the martyrdom of the flesh, but by the might and fire of divine love. When the vision had disappeared, and he had recovered a little from its effect, it was seen that in his hands, his feet, and side, he carried the wounds of our Saviour."

Meekness

Meekness is Christian humility learned by self-knowledge and following Christ’s example.

MEEKNESS, Description of Meekness is love at school, — love at the Saviour's school. It is Christian lowlihood. It is the disciple learning to know himself; learning to fear and distrust and abhor himself. It is the disciple practising the sweet but self-emptying lesson of putting on the Lord Jesus, and finding all his righteousness in that righteous other. It is the disciple learning the defects of his own character, and taking hints from hostile as well as friendly monitors. It is the disciple praying and watching for the improvement of his talents, the mellowing of his temper, and the amelioration of his character. It is the loving Christian at the Saviour's feet, learning of Him who is meek and lowly, and finding rest for his own soul. Dr. J. Hamilton.

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

Meetness For Heaven, Tested

Only those who resemble Christ in character are admitted into heaven.

At heaven's gate, there sits an angel, who admits no one who has not the same features as our adorable Lord. There comes a man with a crown upon his head. The angel says, "Thou hast a crown, it is true; but crowns are not the medium of access here." Another approaches, dressed in robes of state and the gown of learning. The angel says, "Gowns and learning are not the marks that shall admit you here." Another advances, fair and beautiful. The angel says, "That might please on earth; but beauty is not wanted here." There cometh another, who is heralded by fame; but the angel says, "Thou hast no right to enter here." Then there appears another, — poor and illiterate he may have been, — but the angel, as he looks at him, smiles and says, "It is Christ again: a second edition of Jesus Christ is there. Come in, come in!" Oh! to be like Christ is to enter heaven; but to be unlike Christ is to descend to hell. Spurgeon.

Rock, Building on the

Building on Christ the rock provides stability, unlike unstable foundations that collapse.

Men who stand on any other foundation than the rock Christ Jesus are like birds who build their nests in trees by the side of rivers. The bird sings in the branches, and the river sings below; but, all the while, the waters are undermining the soil about the roots, till, in some unsuspected hour, the tree falls with a crash into the stream: and then the nest is sunk, the home is gone, and the bird is a wanderer. But birds that hide their young in the clefts of the rocks are undisturbed, and after every winter, coming again, they find their nests awaiting them, and all their life long brood in the same places, undisturbed by stream or storm. Beecher.

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

Self-Righteousness, Work of

Self-righteous pride defiles Christ's pure righteousness like a sculptor defiling a sacred statue.

Phidias, the great sculptor, was employed by the Athenians to make a statue of the Goddess Diana; and he succeeded so well as to produce a chef-d'œuvre. But the artist became enamored of his own work, and was so anxious that his name should go down to posterity, that he secretly engraved his name in one of the folds of the drapery; which when the Athenians discovered, they indignantly banished the man who had polluted the sanctity of their goddess. So would self-righteous sinners act with the pure, spotless robe of Him who knew no sin.

— Bowes

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

Soul, Support of the

The soul's support is Christ's deity; denying this makes worship idolatry and deception.

Should a vine wind its thousand tendrils round a trellis, its life would be destroyed if they were rudely cut and torn away. Now, the soul has more tendrils than any climbing vine; and, if they have all clung about the Lord Jesus as their divine support, how worse than death will it be to wake up in the awful judgment to find that he is but a creature, and to be wrenched forever from him! If Christ be not God, then to worship him is idolatry; and the Father has deluded and deceived the world. Brecher.

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster idolatry

Wishes, Three

A Christian's deepest desires are to be found in, like, and with Christ above all else.

I asked a student what three things he most wished. He said, "Give me books, health, and quiet, and I care for nothing more." I asked a miser; and he cried, "Money, money, money!" I asked a pauper; and he faintly said, "Bread, bread, bread!" I asked a drunkard; and he called loudly for strong drink. I asked the multitude around me; and they lifted up a confused cry, in which I heard the words, "Wealth, fame, and pleasure!" I asked a poor man, who had long borne the character of an experienced Christian. He replied, that all his wishes might be met in Christ. He spoke seriously; and I asked him to explain. He said, "I greatly desire three things: first, that I be found in Christ; secondly, that I may be like Christ; thirdly, that I may be with Christ."

Work, Christian

Christian work is eternal and nobler than worldly achievements or monuments.

The builder builds for a century; we for eternity. The painter paints for a generation; we forever. The statuary cuts out the marble that soon perishes; let us try to cut out the likeness of Christ to endure for ever and ever. A hundred thousand men were employed in Egypt to construct a pyramidal tomb for a dead king; let us feel that we are engaged in a far nobler work in constructing temples for the living God. In my humble judgment, the poorest parish-school in our land, with no other ornament than the dewdrops of the morning to gild it, and the sunbeams to shine upon it, is a nobler spectacle than the loftiest European cathedral, with its spires glistening in the setting and rising suns of a thousand years. Dr. Cumming.

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster body of christ

Xavier'S Example

Christlike patience and forgiveness in face of insult wins admiration.

Francis Xavier sometimes received, in the prosecution of his zealous labors, the most mortifying treatment. As he was preaching in one of the cities of Japan,

## 22. ANNI

from Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes · Kazlitt Arvine

The Hand Of The Avenger Stayed

An aged man's reverent reflection contrasted Socrates' death with Christ's divine sacrifice.

The following incident is taken from the diary of Hans Egede Saabye, a grandson of the celebrated Hans Egede, first missionary to Greenland. abruptness of his fall. But the descent was as beautiful and sublime as the elevation had been rapid and enthusiastic. The tumult of feeling subsided, and a death-like stillness reigned throughout the house, when the aged man removed his handkerchief from his eyes, still wet with the torrent of his tears, and slowly stretching forth his palsied hand, he exclaimed, 'Socrates died like a philosopher,'—then pausing, clasping his hands with fervor to his heart, lifting his 'sightless bails' to heaven, and pouring his whole soul into his tremulous voice, he continued—'but Jesus Christ died like a God.' Had he seen an angel of light, the effect could have scarcely been more divine."

from Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes · Kazlitt Arvine compassion

Leguinia'S Confession

An atheist's testimony praises Christ's virtues and moral courage despite persecution.

"He called himself the Son of God; who among mortals dare to say he was not? He always displayed virtue; he always spoke according to the dictates of reason; he always preached up wisdom; he sincerely loved all men, and wished to do good even to his persecutors; he developed all the principles of moral equality and of the purest patriotism; he met danger undismayed; he described the hard-heartedness of the rich; he attacked the pride of kings; he dared to resist, even in the face of tyrants; he despised glory and fortune; he was sober; he solaced the indigent; he taught the unfortunate how to suffer; he sustained weakness; he fortified decay; he consoled misfortune; he knew how to shed tears with those that wept; he taught men to subjugate their passions, to think, to reflect, to love one another, and to live happily together; he was hated by the powerful, whom he offended by his teaching; and persecuted by the wicked, whom he unmasked; and he died under the indignation of the blind and deceived multitude for whose good he had always lived."

If such was the testimony of the French atheist Leguinia, surely the true Christian is at no loss to enlarge the admirable portraiture.

Confession Of Rousseau

Rousseau admires Christ's wisdom, grace, and moral perfection beyond all philosophers.

I will confess to you, says Rousseau, in his Treatise on Education, that the majesty of the Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the Gospel hath its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philosophers, with all their pomp of diction, how mean, how contemptible are they compared with Scripture! Is it possible that a book, at once so simple and sublime, should be merely the work of man? Is it possible that the sacred personage whose history it contains should be himself a mere man? Do we find that he assumed the tone of an *enthusiast, or ambitious sectary? What sweetness, what purity in his manner! What an affecting gracefulness in his delivery! What sublimity in his maxims! What profound wisdom in his discourses! What presence of mind, what subtlety, what truth in his replies! How great the command of his passions! Where is the man, where the philosopher, who could so live, and so die, without weakness and without ostentation? When Plato described his imaginary good man, loaded with all the shame of guilt, yet meriting the highest rewards of virtue, he described exactly the character of Jesus Christ; the resemblance was so striking, that all the Fathers perceived it.

What prepossession, what blindness must it be, to compare the son of Sombroniscus to the son of Mary? What an infinite disproportion there is between them! Socrates dying without pain or ignominy easily supported his character to the last; and if his death, however easy, had not crowned his life, it might have been doubted whether Socrates, with all his wisdom, was any thing more than a vain sophist. He invented, it is said, the theory of morals. Others, however, had before put them in practice; he had only to say, therefore, what they had done, and to reduce their examples to precepts. Aristides had been just before Socrates defined justice; Leonidas had given up his life for his country before Socrates declared patriotism to be a duty; the Spartans were a sober people before Socrates recommended sobriety; before he had even defined virtue, Greece abounded in virtuous men. But where could Jesus learn, among his competitors, that pure and sublime morality, of which he only hath given us both precept and example? The greatest wisdom was made known amongst the most bigoted fanaticism, and the simplicity of the most heroic virtues, did honor to the vilest people on earth. The death of Socrates peaceably philosophizing with his friends, appears the most agreeable that could be wished for—that of Jesus expiring in the midst of agonizing pains, abused, insulted, and accused by a whole nation, is the most horrible that could be feared. Socrates, in receiving the cup of poison, blessed the weeping executioner who administered it, but Jesus, in the midst of excruciating torments prayed for his merciless tormentors.

Yes, if the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus were those of a God. Shall we suppose the evangelic history a mere fiction? Indeed, my friend, it bears not the mark of fiction; on the contrary, the history of Socrates, which nobody presumes to doubt, is not so well attested as that of Jesus Christ. Such a supposition in fact, only shifts the difficulty without obviating it; it is more inconceivable, that a number of persons should agree to write such a history, than that one only should furnish the subject of it. The Jewish authors were incapable of the diction, and of the morality contained in the Gospel, the marks of whose truth are so striking and inimitable, that the inventor would be a more astonishing character than the hero.

from Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes · Kazlitt Arvine

The Socinian'S Judge

Contempt for Christ turns to dread when facing judgment by Him at death.

A physician, who had imbibed Socinian principles, made it his chief conceit, in matters of religion, to degrade the character and dignity of Christ. Such was his contempt for him, that he seldom spoke of him in conversation under any other name than the carpenter's son. At length he was seized with affliction, which terminated in his death. A while before his departure, the servant who attended him, on entering his room, found him in great agitation. On inquiring the cause, he answered, "I am a dying man, and that which most of all affects me is, that I must be judged by THE CARPENTER'S SON!"

# SS, CHRISTIAN.

and breadth of Norway, proclaiming the gospel in that wild and romantic country, to thousands and tens of thousands; and the Lord gave testimony to the word spoken in a most remarkable manner; for hundreds were in a short time, by his instrumentality, made to see and embrace the truth. It may be easily conceived, that he was not allowed to go on in peace: the unenlightened clergy would not endure him; they stirred up the magistrates against him, and he was cast into prison; as soon, however, as he got out, he was again at his work; but, at length, having come to Christiana, the capital, a most bigoted place in regard to religion, he was apprehended, and cast into a dungeon, and kept eleven years, from 1800 to 1811. But he was not idle there; for, like Bunyan, he was writing treatises, and sending them forth into every part of the country; contriving, in the space of a very short time, to have one hundred and twenty-two tracts published at Cassel. The effect of this peasant's labors is, that at this day there are not fewer than ten thousand followers of the Lord Jesus in that country.

from Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes · Kazlitt Arvine judgment

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