HoHum:
Talking about the church past couple of weeks. Start back next week. 4 purposes of church:
Evangelize- Luke 19:10: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
Edify- 1 Thessalonians 5:11: encourage one another and build each other up
Minister to those in need- Matthew 25:40: The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
Be the conscience of the community- 2 Corinthians 4:2: we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Many times churches do not want to be considered controversial. Steer away from issues that might be unpopular. However, we must not distort the word of God and we must stand up for what is right. Was Jesus Christ controversial? Shouldn’t we be like Jesus? We should not be obnoxious but we must renounce shameful ways.
In our Declaration of Independence every person is guaranteed certain unalienable rights. These being Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court took away these rights from a specific group of people: the unborn. Roe vs. Wade has made it possible for the unthinkable to occur. Today, 1/3 of all pregnancies are terminated. Every 20 seconds an unborn baby is aborted. If we add up the total number of Americans that have died in all our wars combined and multiply that number by 10 we have roughly how many babies have been murdered. Over 50 million babies since 1973.
People try to say that unborn children are sub human and not really alive. When discussing abortion they use the scientific term “fetus” because it’s less disturbing if we don’t consider the procedure as murdering a human. Fetus means “little one” in Latin. Little what? Person!
Thesis: Let’s talk about what the Bible says about abortion, reasons for making abortion legal in this country, and what we can do about this.
For instances:
What the Bible says about abortion
The term abortion is not used in the Bible. However, the Bible does discuss life before the womb and in the womb.
1. Isaiah 49:1: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.
2. Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Psalm 139:13-16: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
Luke 1:41, 44: When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
The OT does mention issues surrounding a pregnant woman. Exodus 21:22: If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life
Why is the NT silent? Abortion wasn’t the problem in that day because it wasn’t readily available; infanticide was the major killer of babies in the NT world. The NT condemns murder in several passages. Jesus himself said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children. History tells us that in many cases Christian couples would take these babies into their homes and raise them. James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Some say that the church should stay away from divisive issues like abortion and homosexuality and just be like the early Church- stay out of politics. I wonder what early Church they are talking about. The early Church was outspokenly pro life. In the second chapter of the Didache, a Christian book written in the second century, said this: “Thou shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill them when born.” Athenagoras, also in the second century, wrote this: “We say that women that use drugs to bring abortion commit murder and will have to give an account to God for the abortion.”
For the Christians of old and of today, all human life, whether in the womb or outside of the womb, has worth and meaning and value because we are all made in the image of God. Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
II. Reasons for making abortion legal in this country
*taken from Frederica Mathewes Green, a former abortion advocate but now an outspoken opponent to Roe vs. Wade. She has seen these reasons not prove true in the 39 years since.
It’s just a glob of tissue. I really though that the unborn was an unformed mass and not technically alive till some point late in pregnancy. Doctors and researchers have proven this untrue many times since Roe vs. Wade.
Abortion liberates women. After abortion women feel numbness, sorrow and grief.
It’s a woman’s choice. Many say, “I didn’t have any choice, I had to have an abortion.”
I have a right to control my body. Young women are told not to let a baby “ruin their lives.” A woman can feel like her body has been taken over against her will, and she can block out any thought except the desire to get rid of it. But the unborn child has right to control his/her body too. These same women’s mothers had them to “ruin their lives.”
Women have abortions only in extreme circumstances. This just simply is not true. The overwhelming majority of all abortions, (95%), are done as a means of birth control. Only 1% are performed because of rape or incest; 1% because of fetal abnormalities; 3% due to the mother's health problems. Difficult but if allow exceptions then women will use that and there will be doctors who will use it to perform abortions. Jane Roe of Roe. vs. Wade real name is Norma McCorvey. Her case was brought before the Supreme Court in 1973 because she claimed she was raped and she wanted to abort that child. Norma McCorvey announced in 1987 that her rape testimony had been false.
Every child should be a wanted child. In the early years after Roe there were 60,000 cases of child abuse reported annually. Today there are 3 million cases reported annually, a fifty fold increase. The reasons for this increase are debatable, but one thing’s for sure, abortion didn’t prevent it. How about adoption? 2 million people are denied an adopted each year.
Proverbs 14:12: There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
What Can We Do?
A. Speak for the Unborn
Proverbs 31:8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. The unborn definitely
How can we speak for them? We live in a society where we speak with our votes and our money. A person’s stand on this issue should always be a determining factor in our votes.
3. Preacher is getting political. Society has tried to make this a political issue. This is not a political issue. This is very much a moral issue that Christians need to take a stand on.
Sacrifice for the unborn
We can give our money to support Pregnancy Care Center in Lawrenceburg. We as a church support them on a regular basis. Can give on an individual basis. Have fund raisers throughout the year. Maybe can be a volunteer with some training. Look at mission board.
Called the Pregnancy Care Center about this sermon and they gave me another way to sacrifice for the unborn. 40 Days for Life- A 40 Days for Life campaign consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting combined with vigils in shifts outside of an abortion clinic. Our regional abortion clinic is in Cincinnati. Probably seen protestors as go by. This is not about violence or harassing people. It is about prayer to prevent abortions. On the internet go to 40daysforlife.com and on that web site look up Cincinnati, OH. Main focus of this is on Saturdays because on Saturdays is when they do abortions at PP in Cincinnati.
Support unwed mothers to be able to have their babies. Many times the church takes a stand on sexual immorality and abortion but offer no help to the women facing this situation.
We can seek to adopt unwanted children. Help with foster care. Nolan and the Earls.
Stand for the unborn
I have taken a stand, how about you?
The numbers say that there are some women out here who have gone through an abortion. I do not say these things to compound your grief. I say these things so that others will not go through a situation that you have gone through.
The director of the Pregnancy Care Center says that many women in the church who go through an abortion never talk about it. You need to start talking. She says that there are some women who feel so guilty about what they have done that they are living a works religion. They are paying penance through service to the church because they feel so guilty.
Psalm 32:5: Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Psalm 51:12-13: Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
