1. Illus. of “no chandeliers”
• Church wanted to get some new lights for sanctuary
• One man stood up and said “I’m against it, we don’t need any chandeliers. Don’t have anybody that can play one, what we need is some lights in this place!”
2. The abortion rights crowd accuses us of being like that man. All pro-lifers are just backwoods hicks that are against abortion because they really just don’t know any better. They say we don’t understand the issues, that we really haven’t thought it out, that we are against it just because we have been told we are supposed to be against it.
3. And do you know what? Sometimes they are right! If a person came to you today and said “I’m scheduled for an abortion in one hour. I’ll give you 15 minutes to tell me why I shouldn’t go through with this.” Would you be able to tell her why you think abortion is wrong? If a teenager came to you and said “I have to defend the pro-life position in a paper I’m writing, can you tell me why you are pro-life and why I should be too? By the way, our teacher won’t accept ‘just because’, so we have to give reasons with arguments to back them up.” would you be able to answer her? If your answer was “no” to either of these questions. Listen carefully today.
4. I want to share with you three reasons why I personally believe abortion is wrong, three reasons why I am unapologetically pro-life.
I. THE BIBLE MAKES ME PRO-LIFE
1. At some point in our life, all of us decide on a source of authority which will tell us what to believe and how to behave:
• Logic- “this makes sense to me.”
• Intuition- new-agers “this seems right to me.”
• Consensus- this is what everybody else is doing and believing, so it must be so.
• Scripture-If you are a Christian, the standard for our belief and behavior must be the Word of God.
2. What does the Bible tell us about life in the womb? It tells us that:
Life begins at conception- Matthew 1:18-23a. Mary was not with fetus, not with pre-viable life form. Long before quickening, brain waves, first independent breath, the Bible calls what Mary carried within her a “child.”
God makes that life- Psalms 139: 13-15. God is in charge of the miracle of conception and birth, not man. We are playing God when we decide to end a life prematurely.
God has a plan for every unborn babies life- Psalm 139:16. This includes who he/she will be, what he/she will do, when he/she will die. Abortion short-circuits God’s plan for that life. Perhaps that aborted child would have been the medical researcher that found a cure for cancer, or the next Nobel Prize winner, or the fireman who would have rescued your grandchild.
3. What says the scripture? That God is the author of life, and that the hour of our death lies in His hands. No matter how we rationalize it or pretty it up, abortion kills that which God created and gave life!
II. LOGIC MAKES ME PRO-LIFE
1. When you look at all the arguments the abortion rights crowd use to rationalize abortion, none of them make any logical sense.
2. "Abortion is legal, therefore it is moral as well."
• Teenagers in New Jersey got pregnant. Concealed it from almost all.
• Went to hotel with boyfriend, gave birth, bashed babies head in and threw body in trash.
• Caught and tried for murder, and rightfully so.
• But! What if a doctor had done it, and not a teenager? What is the babies head had been crushed inside the birth canal, and not after the babies head had left the canal? What if it had been a clinic and not a hotel room? In that case, what these teens did would ahve been perfectly legal!
• When an abortion doctor leaves babies head in birth canal, jammed scissors into skull, vacuumed brains and crushed skull it would have been legal! That’s what happens in partial birth abortion, and it is perfectly legal here in our state.
• If the abortion rights people are right in their presuppositions, then these teenagers aren’t guilty of murder, just poor timing.
• Partial birth abortion may be legal, but you will never convince me it is logical or moral!
3. "abortion of unwanted babies prevents future child abuse"
• abortion by saline, d & c, or partial birth is the ultimate form of child abuse. It is a horrible way to die, no matter what anyone tells you contrary to that.
• Not only that, but if the “unwanted child” argument was true, then there should have been a sharp decline in cases of abuse… but that isn’t what has happened.
• In the 25 years since Roe v. Wade made abortion on demand available, reported cases of child abuse have risen dramatically. In 1972 there were 60,000 cases reported, in 1992 there were over 500,000 reported cases.
• How do you know what the future holds for that unborn child? You are placing yourself in God’s place when you say you are sparing this child from abuse.
4. "Abortion is ok up to moment “fetus” becomes a “person”"
• The problem is that none of abortion rights people can agree on when this happens!
• Some say at quickening, others when measurable brain-waves appear, others say not until baby leaves birth canal and draws first independent breath.
• What is wrong with saying it’s a person from the moment its conceived? From the instant of conception, if left alone, that baby will have movement, brain-waves, independent breathing.
5. "Its my body, and you have no right to tell me what to do with it. You can’t tell me not to have an abortion any more than you can tell me not to have my appendix removed."
• Its not true that initially the unborn baby is a part of the woman’s body in same way a leg or appendix is a part of her body. Consider this quote from a medical researcher: (Insert quote here. Body recognizes baby as "foreign object."
III. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE MAKES ME PRO-LIFE
1. In my almost 40 years on this planet, I have seen firsthand the pain and sorrow that abortion causes. People think a quick abortion is the end of their troubles. In reality, it is often only the beginning!
2. Illus. of L.T.
• Unsaved teen, got pregnant and had abortion
• 20 years later still suffering depression and other emotional problems because of it
• had to go though post-abortion counseling and go to Washington to lay wreath at memorial for unborn before she was set free
3. Illus. of Cheryl
• Went to witness. Asked if any reason why couldn’t accept Jesus tonight.” She said “I would accept Jesus, but He wouldn’t accept me, not after what I’ve done.”
• Sexually active before marriage, got pregnant, had abortion. Now could not seem to conceive.
• Sobbing uncontrollably, she said “I wake up often in middle of night, hearing my unborn child crying for me.”
4. Illus. of man in NC
• Was in middle of career, didn’t want wife to have another baby.
• Talked/coerced her into abortion
• Months later co-worker show him sonogram of his unborn child, reality hit that he had killed a baby.
• Never will I forget the agony in his voice as he said, “they tell you its just a blob of protoplasm, that it’s a painless procedure, that it will soon be over with. They lie! Its never over with, never!”
5. Bottom line: if you want to know the truth about abortion, ask someone who has been there.
CONCLUSION:
1. Its easy to curse the darkness, but not so easy to light a candle against the darkness. Its easy for us to say abortion is wrong, hard to do what little each individual can do to improve the situation. Here are some candles you can light:
Teach your own children what God says about sex outside marriage. Don’t let them learn about it from their schoolmates etc.
Join the A-Salt team here at FBC if you haven’t already done so. Help us make our voice be heard when ethical issues are being considered for legislation.
Pray for our judicial and legislative leaders.
Prayerfully consider becoming a part of the Save-A-Life Center team here in our city.
2. May I say to you that God hates sin of all kinds, whether it’s lying or stealing or gossip or abortion. But God loves sinners of all kinds, and at His feet we can find mercy and love and forgiveness. 3. If you are carrying a burden of guilt and remorse around in you heart, I beg you to bring it to Jesus today. Experience the forgiveness that only Christ can give! He loves you, and so do I. Let Him take your burden today.
