Today we are honoring Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. President Ronald Reagan designated the first National Sanctity of Human Life Sunday on January 22, 1984. The day was inaugurated to not honor, but draw attention to the evil Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand on January 22, 1973. Today, January 22, 2017, we have had 44 years of legalized abortion in America. Over 59 million unborn babies have been murdered by abortion since 1973.
Abortion ends the lives of about 1 million unborn children in America every year. More innocent children are put to death every day, about 3000, then died in the 9/11 attacks. Yet, most people, including most Christians hardly give abortion a thought. It’s just one of many problems we have in the country, people think. Why should we get worked up about it?
Today, we’re going to talk about “Responding to Abortion.” We want to be clear on what God’s Word teaches about abortion. Then we want to discover how we should respond to it in our day and in our city. God is the author of all life. He is the only one with the authority to both give and take life. As people, we are to value the lives of all people created in God’s image, including the unborn.
You would think that Christians would be universally opposed to abortion, yet the majority of women who have abortions identify as being Christians. 76% of women who have had an abortion said that their church had no influence on their decision to abort. In a recent survey, only 10% of Protestant pastors preached a prolife message in the past year.
So, today, we’re going to look at the topic of abortion in greater detail. My goal is that each person here would be convinced of the importance of being pro-life in their own lives and families. Not only would you be convinced, but God wants to use you to persuade those you know and talk to to also be pro-life in their talk and actions. The eternal destinies of people hang on their response to the issue of abortion.
The church needs to lead the fight for those who cannot defend themselves. The fate of nations hangs on their response to the unseen holocaust of abortion. In the next few years, abortion will once again be the center of violent struggle in our nation. A struggle between those who value all human life and those who fight for the right to murder their own children. In order to prepare us for what lies ahead, we are going to look at three questions today that will help us to respond to abortion in a God-honoring way.
What’s wrong with abortion?
You would think this question has an obvious answer and indeed it does. Yet, many people still do not understand, so let’s go through this in detail. The Bible teaches that …
Life begins at conception
Psalm 139:13 (NIV2011) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
This beautiful Psalm that was featured in our video today, tells us that God creates people in their mother’s womb. Modern science informs us that when a sperm fertilizes an egg, the entire genetic information for a human being is present at the moment of conception. From the moment of conception, the growth of the baby accelerates until the baby is ultimately born.
Abortion sheds innocent blood
Psalm 106:37-38a (NIV2011) They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan …
These verses speak of the sins of Israel when they sacrificed their children to idols. Why would anyone sacrifice their own children to an idol? Because the parent decided that the blessing of idol was more important than the life of their child. In the OT people sacrificed children to idols for protection, for assurance of good crops, for health and prosperity. The sacrifice of children here is called the shedding of innocent blood, the blood of one’s own children.
In the same way, abortion is the shedding of the innocent blood of a mother’s own child. People have abortions because they believe the benefits of killing the child is more important than the life of the child. God views the shedding of innocent blood as the worst kind of sin imaginable.
Abortion is murder
Exodus 20:13 (NIV2011) You shall not murder.
That’s one of the ten commandments. Many people wrongly say that all sins are the same. That’s not what the Bible teaches at all. The worst sin in the Bible is the one that requires capital punishment and that sin is murder. The worst kind of murder in the Bible is the shedding of innocent blood. There is no blood more innocent than that of a mother’s unborn child.
Now let’s quickly deal with the life of the mother argument. Abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of the mother with today’s technology. A C-section would always be much safer and quicker for the mother than an abortion. Likewise, mothers do not have a right to choose to terminate the life of the baby growing inside of them. Their choice ends when the baby’s life begins.
Application
This very basic information, yet pro-abortion people argue that the mother’s choice, for whatever reason, is more important than the babies’ life. Modern technology, especially ultrasound and other imaging techniques for the unborn baby are convincing more and more people that the unborn child is a person whose life must be valued.
Have you ever wondered why certain people and groups get so agitated for the right to murder children? What we’re observing is more than just people’s ideas. Behind the pro-abortion rhetoric is Satan himself, the original murderer. Satan engineered the murder of many children in order to try to destroy Moses, God’s chosen leader. Satan engineered the murder of many children to attempt to destroy Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And so, he continues to inspire those committed to abortion, to destroy future generations. Each of us must learn to be able to clearly articulate what’s wrong with abortion.
What are abortion’s consequences?
Abortion has consequences for the unborn child, the mother and society.
The baby’s life is cut short
Genesis 9:6 (NIV2011) “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
This verse shows us how serious God views murder. Murder is wrong because each human being, including unborn babies, have been created in the image of God. To take the life of another human being is an attack on God Himself. The penalty for murder, according to God’s Word, is capital punishment. This shows the gravity of the sin of murder in God’s view. Abortion is the shedding of innocent blood, which terminates the life of a child created in God’s image.
One common argument is that abortion is just one of many issues we face today and so shouldn’t be any more important than other issues. That argument is false, because God’s Word tells us which issues are most important. The sin of murder, which is what abortion is, has the greatest punishment, because it is the worst sin. That is why it is imperative that we do everything we can to stop abortion and save babies’ lives.
The mother must repent of murder
1 John 1:9 (NIV2011) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So, yes, the mother, the abortionist and anyone else aiding the abortion is guilty of murder. God’s Word tells us that murders will not inherit the kingdom of God. The mother and anyone else involved in the abortion must repent of their sin and ask for God’s forgiveness.
What does it mean to repent? To repent is to turn away from your sin such that if you were in the same situation again, you would not commit the sin. To repent does not mean that you are sorry for the consequences, but you would do it again anyway. Even with repentance the consequences of this sin will last your entire lifetime. But your relationship with God can be repaired through repentance.
The nation is under God’s judgment
Psalm 106:38b-41 (NIV2011) … and the land was desecrated by their blood. They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves. Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. He gave them into the hands of the nations, and their foes ruled over them.
The sin of abortion, the shedding of innocent blood, does not just affect the baby and the mother. The very land of the nation that permits such an atrocity is desecrated by the shed blood. Desecrated land becomes inhabited by demons which affect the people living in the land. Desecrated land is subject to God’s judgment in a multitude of ways, such as disease, economic failure, disasters and invasion. The proliferation of sexual perversion we see today is a direct consequence of the sin of abortion.
Application
As repentance is the solution for a mother’s in of abortion, so repentance is the solution for a nation that has permitted the slaughter of unborn babies over the last 44 years. With the advent of technological advances to see the unborn baby, the tide of public opinion has begun to turn against abortion. More Americans today view abortion as morally wrong than morally acceptable.
Just this year, the United Methodists voted to remove their endorsement of the Roe V Wade Supreme Court decision for the first time in over 40 years. As this sin affects the entire nation, we must be involved in a biblical response to abortion.
How should we respond to abortion?
Proverbs 24:11-12 (NIV2011) Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?
As believers, God’s Word obligates us to do whatever we can to rescue babies who are being killed in the womb. To say that there is nothing we can do or that we don’t know anything about it, will not work with God. Those who do nothing to prevent murder become accomplices and guilty of that murder.
So, this morning, many of us need to repent for not doing our part to reduce and ultimately put an end to abortion in our country. Going forward, what can we do?
Pray for abortion to be ended
Matthew 6:10 (NIV2011) your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
We must pray that God’s kingdom influence would continue to expand in our country. Pray specifically that churches would speak out more on pro-life issues and influence more and more people to believe God’s Word concerning abortion. Pray for those in political power on the local, state and federal level would take steps to reduce and ultimately eliminate legal abortion.
Vote for pro-life candidates
Psalm 82:3-4 (NIV2011) Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
In order to have the laws of our land reflect God’s Word, we need pro-life candidates to be elected at every level of government. Abortion is not just one of many issues of importance. Abortion is the most important issue that should determine your vote. Is any other issue of more importance than the murder of millions of innocent babies? The answer according to God’s Word, is absolutely not. Finally, we need to do what we can to …
Persuade others to be pro-life
Matthew 5:13 (NIV2011) “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Salt is a preservative, it prevents rot and decay. As believers, we must stand against the rot and decay of sin in our society, in this case the decay of abortion. We do that by working to persuade others of the truth of God’s Word concerning abortion. It might be a friend or relative who is convinced that a woman has the right to abort her baby. Or it might be someone you know who has an unplanned pregnancy and doesn’t know what to do.
Learn how to help people in crisis pregnancies. Learn about the options for adoption or getting help to keep the baby. As a church, we are supporting the Christian crisis pregnancy programs at Thrive St. Louis. They have helped hundreds of mothers make the right decision to keep their babies.
Application/Conclusion
Many churches are pro-abortion churches. In fact, many women who get abortions report that their churches have counseled them to get the abortion. No Christian should go to a church that is pro-abortion. No Christian should go to a church that never speaks about abortion for fear of being controversial. If you have friends going to such churches, encourage them to change and go to a pro-life church, such as Life Church.
In your bulletin is a handout with some further information about abortion and how you can be involved in ending abortion in our day and time. In the future, we will make further materials available to you to use in persuading others of the Bible’s pro-life position.
As a nation, I believe we are entering a time of both unprecedented opportunity and unprecedented danger. The future of our nation hangs in the balance. A crucial aspect for our future is how we will respond to the sin of abortion. Will we turn away from it and eliminate it in our country or will we continue to embrace that which God abhors? Let’s do our part in create a culture that embraces God-given life for all, including unborn babies.