WHY IS LIFE SACRED? Today, in the wake of the anniversary of the landmark decision of Roe V. Wade, which legalized abortion in America, we join with millions upon millions of followers of Christ to observe Sanctity of Life Sunday which is a day set aside to stand up for our biblical convictions regarding the value, sanctity and sacredness of life, whether it be inside or outside of the womb. Having our minds molded and shaped by God’s very Word we understand that life is sacred because God is the giver of all life and that life is to be highly valued by all because the life that has been given to every human is, as broken as it may be, made in the image of God. Life is not a political issue, as some would like to think, life is a biblical issue and the power to determine the value, sacredness and sanctity of life lies not with the throne in Washington D.C but with the throne in heaven whom God alone occupies. Therefore, this is a day to come together and celebrate life. This is a day to come together and thank God for life. This is a day to come together and cry out to God for those with no voice and beg of Him to move in a mighty way and to straighten out the mess that is our world. This is a day to come together and hear from the Lord how we are to live as those who affirm the Sanctity of Life.
NOT YOUR TYPICAL BIBLE TALK. I will admit that the message today is not your typical Sanctity of Life message. For those who were looking for such let me draw our attention to PSALM 139:13-16. This is just one passage of Scripture among many that reveals to us that life is not simply the product of coincidental biological processes that take place in the human body. The processes that take place in the womb, even in the joining together of sperm and egg, are God’s handiwork as He forms life. Because of this we understand that life, whether it be two minutes old in the womb, 20 old in the universities, or 82 years old is sacred because God is the giver of life. Therefore, man does not have the authority to determine when life begins and furthermore nor do they have the authority to determine when a life should end. I have taught extensively from this pulpit about what the Bible has to say about life and the hot topic issue of abortion from this passage and others and God’s Word has not changed and therefore neither have I.
I want us to think about this idea today. If we as followers of Jesus are going to stand up for the Sanctity and Sacredness of Life as we should, based upon God’s very word, then we need to make sure that we are seeing this conviction through. For instance, when we make the statement that we affirm the Sanctity and Sacredness of Life then we are saying, as a people with biblically shaped convictions, that we value all life—inside and outside of the womb. American and Afghani. North American and Asian. Black and White. Rich and Poor. Educated and Uneducated. Having said this, let us turn our attention to
The Mind LUKE 10:25-28
Jesus was approached by an expert of the Law. His intentions were disingenuous for he was looking for a way to lure Jesus into publicly contradicting the Law of God so that they would have evidence for their case against Him. The question he poses is one of monumental importance. The way he asks the question though is telling. He inquires about eternal life but the way he does reveals that he doesn’t even begin to understand the elementary principles about eternal life because he asks “what must I do to inherit eternal life.” This lawyer, representative of the Jewish religious beliefs at the time, thinks that eternal life is a matter of doing. Jesus entertains his question by asking him what he understands the Scriptures to teach. The lawyer, with a determined mind, spouts off his religious beliefs/convictions that were formed by the Word of God when he says “LOVE GOD. LOVE OTHERS.” Jesus affirms his religious conviction and belief and then tells him to go and do what he says he believes and is convinced of.
The Heart LUKE 10:29
Jesus affirms the lawyers beliefs/convictions and then tells him to go and do what he says he believes. This is where it gets awkward for the lawyer because is suddenly caught between this area between a determined mind and an unchanged heart. His mind is set in his beliefs but his heart, being unchanged, does not produce in him fruit that confirms his beliefs. He tries to get out of this awkward situation by asking Jesus to define the parameters where this idea of loving others is to be lived out. He wants to know who exactly it is that qualifies to be one who he loves like himself. Jesus gets straight to the point as He always does when asked a question by people with impure motives. The parable that Jesus employs for teaching never addresses the question that the lawyer asked. The lawyer wants to determine in his mind who it is that he should be concerned with in regards to loving as himself. THIS IS WHAT RELIGION AND RELIGOIUS PEOPLE DO. THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT TO DO, HOW TO DO IT AND WHO TO DO IT TO SO THAT THEY MAY BE SET FOR ETERNITY. Jesus, in the telling of this parable, never even entertains what the lawyer is asking but deals with a deeper issue.
The Parable LUKE 10:30-35
The parable goes as such: (1)A traveler is mugged and beaten and left for dead. (2)A priest sees the man who has been robbed and left for dead laying beside the road and intentionally walks to the other side of the road less he accidentally come in contact with this man rendering him ceremonially unclean and unfit for worship at the Temple. (3)A Levite, one who assisted the priests in their Temple work, saw the man as well and did the same as the priest for the same reasons. (4)A Samaritan, one often rejected by the Jewish people as well as Gentiles, sees the man and has compassion for him. Out of love for the unfortunate traveler, the Samaritan did all that he could to care for the man’s needs and provided what was necessary to insure that he had a place to heal and somebody to care for his injuries as he healed.
The Question LUKE 10:36-37
Jesus now asks the lawyer a question. The lawyer had his time to ask a question and now Jesus asks the lawyer a question. It wasn’t a question regarding who was the neighbor to be served but who acted neighborly towards others. The lawyer answered the question correctly and Jesus tells him to go and do likewise. We are never told what becomes of this lawyer. He had suddenly come face to face with a reality that he would have rather not known. The reality is that just because one has a determined mind about something, specifically spiritual and biblical issues, does not necessarily mean one has a changed heart. I don’t know this for certain but I suspect that he, like the rich young ruler who questioned Jesus about eternal life, went away unchanged and unaffected by the grace that was being extended to him at this very moment.
The Good Samaritan of the parable represents one who has experienced a change of heart. The religious people’s hearts were cold and calloused towards the one in need before them but the Good Samaritan’s heart burned with love and compassion for the one in need before him. The religious people went out of their way to look the other way when a need was before them. The Good Samaritan went out of his way to meet the need that was before him. What is the difference between the Good Samaritan and the religious people? A different heart beat within them. God said in EZEKIEL 36 that, speaking of the New Covenant of Salvation, that He would put a new heart in those who are saved so the Good Samaritan represents for us those who have experienced the grace of Jesus in salvation because they have a heart that beats as His—a heart of compassion and love for others.
The Point
SANCTITY OF LIFE. I want to go back to the statement I made earlier. If we are going to stand for the Sanctity of Life, and we are/do, is our standing a result of a determined yet unsaved mind or the result of a determined and changed heart? It is easy to say we stand for the Sanctity of Life much like the lawyer said he believed that the sum of life is to LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS. Jesus takes us further to reveal that when our stand for the Sanctity of Life flows from a changed heart then we will not “turn the other way” when people, created by God and in the image of God, have needs. A true belief in the Sanctity of Life believes that life should be honored, respected and valued whether it be in the womb of his/her mother or on the streets of Shelbyville. A true belief in the Sanctity of Life will not only speak up for life in the womb but serve others in need outside of the womb.
SANCTITY OF LIFE AND SERVING OTHERS. Are you actively invested in serving the needs of others? Does your heart beat with a desire to meet needs because of the value of the life that has them? Or, are we so self-consumed that we, like the religious of the parable, turn our heads to avoid seeing the needs of others? It is hard for the world to take seriously those who say they believe in the Sanctity of Life if their beliefs do not match their actions.
• A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. Gina's picture showing crowds of traditional marriage supporters (largely professing Christians) at Chick-fil-A on “Stand with S. Truett Cathy Day” yet nobody at the homeless shelters, pregnancy centers, soup kitchens, orphanages, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, etc… to serve the needs that Jesus spoke so frequently about. MATTHEW 25:31-40
SANCTITY OF LIFE AND RACIAL RECONCILLIATION. Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. day which commemorates the life of a great man who strived for racial reconciliation in America. The Bible has much to say about the Church leading the cause in racial reconciliation and equality and it is only when our hearts have been changed by the Gospel that the dividing walls of hostility will be torn down because of a conviction that all lives matter and that we are genuinely created equal in value, sacredness and sanctity by God; in His image.
SANCTITY OF LIFE AND GOSPEL PROCLAMATION. Likewise, when our stand for the sanctity of life flows from a determined mind and changed heart we will find motivation for proclaiming the Gospel. When we truly value life as Jesus values life then we will suddenly find that meeting physical needs, while good and necessary, is not the be all end all. We must take the Gospel to those whom Jesus deemed valuable enough to die for.
SALVATION IS NOT BY GOOD WORKS. For clarity’s sake I feel it important to make sure we understand that Jesus is not saying that doing good for others is the means for meriting salvation. That is not what He is saying at all. What He is saying is that a determined mind about spiritual matters is worthless if a change of heart has not taken place in your life through faith in Him for salvation. Those of you who attend here regularly know that the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Having said that…when we are saved we receive a new heart and the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and a change begins where our lives look less and less like it did before Jesus saved us and more and more like Jesus because He saved us.
