Choose Life! - Psalm 139:13-16
Series: Faith on the Frontlines #1
Friends, as we begin this morning, let me ask you a couple of questions: What would you make of a nation who offered no rights and no protection to a certain segment of their population? What would you think of a nation that had executed tens of thousands of its own people each year for the last 20 years? Most of us would be incensed – and rightly so. We would be appalled that such things were permitted to continue unchecked in this day and age, and we would cry out for justice and judgment on the world stage. Maybe even as I’ve spoken these words names of various countries around the world have come to mind. In years past nations like communist Russia, or North Korea, or Cambodia under the Kymer Rouge might have seemed to fit the bill. More recently you might be tempted to think of places like Rwanda or Bosnia or Iraq or Afghanistan or Syria. But I need to let you know that I’m not speaking of any of those places this morning. Instead the country in question is our very own country of Canada, and for some of you, what I’m going to share today, will be a terrible eye opener - but we need to consider what is happening in our own country none-the-less.
My plan today had been to continue where we had left off at the start of the summer with our series on marriage – and we are going to return to that soon – but it turns out that soon just won’t be this morning after all. Instead I’m going to show a clip of a powerful video and that is going to launch us into our message in just a few moments. But first I need to set the stage for what you are about to see, and to hear, and I need to warn you that emotions are likely going to run high.
What you are about to witness is a series of candid, man on the street type interviews, between Ray Comfort – that’s a name that some of you will be familiar with from his Way of the Master materials – and a cross section of ordinary people on the street.
The video begins – and this is the part that we won’t show this morning – but it begins with Ray talking about Adolph Hitler, Nazi Germany, and the holocaust that followed Hitler’s rise to power. As he interviews people on the streets Ray asks them what they would have done if they had been there while Hitler was having the Jews murdered. Would they have tried to stop it? Would they have participated in it? If they had been given the keys to a bulldozer and told to cover the still breathing bodies of the Jews with piles of dirt, would they do it? If the gun was placed in their own hands and they were told to pull the trigger and kill an innocent, man, woman, or child, just because they were Jewish, would they do it to save their own life?
Most of those he speaks with are appalled at the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Many of those he interviews claim to value human life deeply and profess that they would refuse to pull the trigger if they ever found themselves in that position. To their way of thinking, human life is too precious to be squandered so uselessly. From there Ray steers the conversation to an atrocity happening in our own time and he begins to ask them about their thoughts on abortion. That’s where we are going to pick up the video this morning. So let’s take a look at how this all plays out in the real world …
Show video clip [13:49-23:17]
Let me ask you a question this morning: When does an embryo, a fetus, an unborn child, become a human being? And you might think that that is a silly question to ask, but the truth is it’s an important question to wrestle with, and to answer, in our world, because a human being is entitled to human rights, whereas a non-human being is not. Hitler declared the Jews to be non-humans and therefore it did not matter to him what was done to them – basic human rights did not apply in his eyes. It’s the same with an unborn child – do they have rights because they are human beings – or are they “non-humans” therefore having no rights?
Well let’s see if God’s word has anything to tell us about these things this morning. Turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Psalms. Psalm 139 and we’ll begin reading in verse 13 and I want you to listen closely to what the psalmist writes. Verse 13, the psalmist cries out to God with these words …
“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. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13–16, NIV84)
What is the psalmist doing? He’s proclaiming that God’s work in his life began before he drew his first breath; that God’s work began even in the womb before his body took shape; that God Himself created the psalmist’s inmost being and knit him together in his mother’s womb.
And we’ve already heard a very similar thing from Jeremiah this morning. Jeremiah is told that before he was even born the Lord knew him, that before he was born he was consecrated by God, that before he was born he was appointed as a prophet by the Lord.
When does an unborn child become a human being? In the video you heard a couple of the people being interviewed saying that the fetus doesn’t become a human being, a child, until about the third month of a pregnancy. One of them said “it kinda [becomes a life] at the start but not as much until after three months.” What does that mean – “it kinda becomes a life at the start”? Something is either alive or it is not alive. And what about the three months? It seems a rather arbitrary number, does it not? Do you mean to tell me that at 2 months and 30 days there is no human being, but that by adding one more day something changes in the very substance of that fetus to suddenly transform it into a human being? I don’t think so! You saw those same pictures that I did – at less than 7 weeks you can see the heart beating, you can see the shape of the child in the womb – eyes and hands - and yet many would have us believe that this is not a living human being!
God’s word suggests that from the moment of conception there is life created in the image of God, for it is He who forms our inmost being, who knits us together and who ordains all the days of our lives before one of them ever comes to be!
Again and again in that clip Ray Comfort asked the people he was interviewing to complete a sentence that he started for them. And he would say, “Complete this sentence: It is o.k. to kill a baby in the womb when …” and then he would wait for them to finish it for him. How about you? How would you finish it? “It is o.k. to kill a baby in the womb when …” If you live in Canada, as we do, the legal answer is this: It is o.k. to kill a baby in the womb anytime up until it is fully emerged from the birth canal. That means that if there is so much as one little toe remaining in the birth canal that that infant can be legally aborted. And this is in Canada.
Why is that? It’s because of a 400 year old definition of personhood that Canada is holding on to. This is the definition of a human being as found in Canada’s Criminal Code: “a child becomes a human being … when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother.”
Canada’s laws essentially declare an embryo, a fetus, an unborn child – whatever terminology you want to use - to be a non-person. If you’ve been there when a child is being born I challenge you to tell me, what makes that infant any less a human being when they are half emerged from the birth canal, as compared to when they are fully emerged! You cannot do it!
According to Stephen Woodworth, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, we are the only country in the Western Hemisphere without some form of protection for an unborn child. And only 4 countries in the world offer no protection to unborn children – China, North Korea, Vietnam and Canada. In 1969 abortion was made legal in certain mitigating circumstances. In the late 1980’s, in the face of a challenge made before the Supreme Court, Canada’s abortion laws were struck down and all remaining restraints were removed, opening up the possibility of abortion up to the moment that a child has fully emerged from the birth canal. Since that time there have been roughly – and it is an approximate number as not all provinces are required to report abortions – but roughly 80,000 – 100,000 children a year are being aborted in Canada – that’s about 270 children a day. That’s the population of Dauphin ten times over PER YEAR - and we have no laws to prevent it. That’s been going on for over two decades which means somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.6 – 2.0 million babies have been exterminated in our country alone.
Contrast that with the approximately 4 deaths per day, or roughly 1500 per year, that result from car accidents involving alcohol or drugs. We have laws in place to address these things and we get outraged when we hear of another senseless death because someone was drinking and driving – and rightly so. But we don’t make much of a fuss when 100,000 children a year are dying. Life goes on, right? Unless of course you were one of the 100,000.
The psalmist wrote that he was “fearfully and wonderfully made.” That is true of each and every one of us. Every life is a miracle! Every life is a gift from God! Jesus said, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27, NIV84) “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Who is closer to you than the child you carry in your womb? The child who shares your body’s nutrients? Who depends on you for all things of life? If you carry a child in your womb it is because God has given life! And you carry within your body a living miracle!
And you’re here with us this morning, and you’re able to live and breathe and enjoy life, to laugh and cry, and to rejoice in the day, because your mother chose not to abort you. She chose life. And maybe it wasn’t an easy life. And maybe it wasn’t an easy decision. And maybe the pregnancy was unexpected, it was unplanned, and maybe it changed the course of her life – yet she chose life for you none-the-less. Give thanks to God for her choice because this year there’ll be approximately another 80,000 children or so who will never be able to speak those words!
And maybe you’re here with us this morning and you’ve had an abortion. My heart is not to condemn you. I don’t know the things that you wrestled with before and since that moment in time. My heart is that you would find healing and forgiveness and restoration for your soul in Jesus. That the hurt and the pain and the uncertainty and fear that led you to that place, or maybe even that you’ve lived with since that day, would be washed away in Christ’s love. That in Christ, all things would be made new for you. The gift of God for those who have come to faith is that in Christ Jesus not a one of us is today what we once were, for as Scripture says, “… you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, NIV84) You are now a new creation in Christ.
And maybe you are here today, or perhaps the day will come, when abortion seems like the only answer. In that day, remember the words of the psalmist – “we are wonderfully and fearfully made” and God knows us – God knows us a living human being, shaped and molded by His hand – before we are ever born.
And maybe some of you have questions. There are so many different scenarios that can arise where perhaps abortion seems like the only option. Rape is a big one in the minds of many people and understandably so. I cannot pretend to even begin to understand the trauma that a woman who has been raped goes through. And I can only imagine that to discover that you’ve become pregnant because of rape has to be absolutely devastating. But why would we punish the child for the sin of the one who has committed such evil? If you ever found yourself in such a place – and I pray that none of us ever would – and you didn’t feel you could raise or accept that child – know this: there are many couples out there who can’t have children and who would love to be able to adopt a child to call their own. I believe God honors the choice for life.
Considers this: On September 11, 2001 the world changed. That’s the day the hijackers flew the aircraft into the World Trade Centre Towers. Just under 3000 people died in that atrocity. Much of the world was horrified and understandably so. It was enough to send a nation to war because of the evils that had been done.
Yet as tragic as that day was, that number pales in comparison to the thousands of lives of unborn children that will be murdered in the next 365 days. What are we going to do about it?
Earlier this year Stephen Woodworth – I mentioned him earlier - the Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, introduced Motion 312 which asks for Canada’s current definition of personhood to revisited. We don’t have much time – and if I had heard about this sooner I would have let you know sooner – but I heard about it just this week. The final vote will be held on Wednesday, September 26th 2012 – so in just a few days. And I want to be clear here - reworking the definition of personhood will not result directly in the formation of laws regarding abortion, but it ought to be a step in the right direction.
If unborn children can at least be declared as human beings they stand in place as then being entitled to basic human rights and then from there the laws can be changed and this issue addressed directly. But as it now stands there is not enough support in parliament for this motion to pass. And this isn’t about supporting one party or another – support for, and opposition to this motion, comes from every party in our government. So what can we do if we want to see change?
Start by praying. Pray for our government, pray for our leaders at all levels, that they would have the wisdom, courage, and discernment to address this issue. That they would have eyes to see, and boldness to stand, for that which is right and true - even if it is unpopular in the eyes of some.
Then make some phone calls. There are two people you need to call in the next few days. The first is our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Call his office, let them know you are a Canadian citizen, and you would like him to vote in favor of Motion 312. You are not going to get to speak with him personally – I know because I tried! – but you will be able to leave a message for him.
Secondly, call Robert Sopuck, our Member of Parliament. Let him know that you are a voter in his constituency, and that you would like him to vote in favor of Motion 312. When I called he was on the road so the fellow I ended up speaking to took down my message to pass on to Mr. Sopuck. That’s all it takes – 2 or 3 minutes of your time. Remember, whether you are simply leaving a message or speaking to someone personally, keep it respectful.
The next thing we can do is to send an e-mail to every single Member of Parliament. It’s a lot easier than it sounds! You can do it with one click of a button with a pre-written message or you can personalize your own message and it will be sent to all 308 MP’s to let them know that this is an important issue to Canadians.
Finally, contact your friends and family and let them know what Motion 312 is all about and what they can do to have their voices heard. Together we can make a difference!
Let’s close this morning with these words from the book of James - “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.” (James 1:27, NIV84)
Let’s pray ...
