Forgiveness: A New Weapon Against Abortion

FORGIVENESS: A NEW WEAPON

AGAINST ABORTION

By

Jerry Falwell

A. INTRODUCTION: WHAT HAVE WE TRIED?

We all agree that Roe v Wade 1973 was a terrible decision by our Supreme Court. Notice what the Church has tried to do to reverse this terrible decision:

1. We preached and taught that abortion is murder.

2. We’ve written our Congressmen to pass legislation to prohibit abortion.

3. We’ve picketed abortion clinics (I agree with legal picketing, not some of the illegal things that have been done).

4. The March of Life is where our church members, along with thousands of others have lined the streets of our cities to make a statement about abortion.

5. The Right to Life March in Washington, DC, has had as many as a hundred thousand march every January 22 anniversary to focus our nation’s attention on this travesty of Roe v Wade.

6. Some have illegally bombed clinics.

7. Some have illegally murdered abortion providers (it is never right to do wrong in order to make something right). So I abhor murder and violence to stop abortion in the name of Christ.

8. We built the Liberty Godparent Home, and thousands of others have provided the same type of alternative.

9. We’ve instituted pregnancy hotlines for young girls to get biblical counseling when they are pregnant.

10. We’ve tried to pass a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion.

Today I want to suggest a spiritual power that we have not tried: FORGIVENESS.

B. I WANT US TO DO THREE THINGS AS A RESULT OF THIS SERMON.

1. I want us to confess the sins of this nation for the sins of abortions our nation has committed. Even though the Church is not responsible for the abortions, it is up to the Church to confess the sins that are done in this nation.

2. I want us to forgive those who have sinned against our nation by carrying on the abortion atrocities. If we are spiritually right with God, then He will hear our prayers and stop the killing of the unborn.

3. I want us to pray God’s blessing on those who have had an abortion . . . on those who have performed an abortion . . . on those who judicially approved an abortion . . . and on legislators who voted to keep abortions. Obviously, I don’t want them to be blessed in their abortion activities, but I want them to be saved and walk in God’s will.

C. THERE IS POWER IN CONFESSION OF SIN.

There is a new movement in America called Identificational Repentance, where God’s people confess the sins of our nation so God might remove His curse or judgment against our nation.

This is what I believe:

1. I believe our murder of unborn children is a sin against God.

2. I believe our murder of unborn children will be punished by God.

3. When God punishes this nation, not only will the abortionists suffer judgment, I believe it could hurt the entire nation financially, militarily, and spiritually. When God judges our nation, the Church and Christians will suffer financially and physically. Therefore, the Church should be motivated to stop the judgment of God against America.

There is biblical basis for the people of God confessing the sins of the sinner. Daniel was a man of God, and there is no sin in the Bible recorded about Daniel’s life.

We know that Daniel sinned, because the Bible says “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). When Israel sinned against God, He judged the entire nation sending them into the Babylonian captivity for 70 years. After the 70 years were over, Daniel a man who was not responsible for the sin, nor did he participate in the nation’s sin, prayed, “We have sinned and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and thy judgments” (Daniel 9:5). Daniel identified with the sin, repented for the nation, and confessed for the nation. Daniel exercised identificational repentance.

As Daniel took responsibility for the sins of Israel, I believe the Church should take responsibility to confess the sins that America has committed in abortion.

Nehemiah was also a godly man who saw what God did to Israel by punishing them with 70 years of captivity. After the 70 years of punishment were over, Nehemiah prayed,

“We have sinned against thee” (Nehemiah 1:6). He explained his sin, “We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes, nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:7). Just as Nehemiah confessed Israel’s sins, the Church must confess the abortionists’ sins, even the sins of our courts, our legislator, and our President.

PRAYER: FATHER, I CONFESS THE ABORTION SINS OF AMERICA. WE HAVE SINNED. OUR YOUNG GIRLS AND MEN HAVE COMMITTED SEXUAL SINS. OUR DOCTORS, NURSES, HOSPITALS, AND CLINICS HAVE COMMITTED ABORTION SINS. OUR PRESIDENT AND LEGISLATORS HAVE COMMITTED JUDICIAL SIN. OUR SUPREME COURT HAS COMMITTED LEGAL SIN. O GOD, OUR NATION HAS COMMITTED THE SIN OF SILENCE. I CONFESS WE ARE SINNERS. PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON US ALL. IN JESUS’ NAME, AMEN.