Date: 1-16-2000
Title: God is Pro-Life.
Bible Text: Jer. 1:5 and assorted others
Subject: What does God say about life?
Complement: God is for life in a big way!
Main Idea: If the God the Bible is our God then we must be pro-life!
Intro: On September 11, 2001 over 4,000 people were killed. They were future leaders of this nation, doctors who could have saved many, scientist who may have found a cure for cancer, evangelist who may have lead thousands to the Lord and they were loved. Yes on September 11, 2001, evil doers killed over 4000 people.
But the truth is that many people don’t realize that on September 12, 2001 another 4000 people and again on September 13 and 14 and 15. Every day over 4000 people are killed. These are unborn babies- 4000 each day, 28,000 each week, 112,000 each month and 1,460,000 each year.
On September 11, 2001 terrorist killed nearly 4000 people, and the outcry for justice was great, the cry of pain was heard through out our Nation. Swift and accurate justice was rendered. 4000 unborn babies are being killed everyday, but I see no weeping, no anger, and no outcry for justice. It seems like there is no one who cares.
Well, it is that time of year again when we as Christians stop our usual series of sermons and take a Sunday to totally devote to the cause of Life! Hopefully pastors who are pro-life will preach on this subject more than once a year as it comes up in their Biblical preaching. But today, we give full focus on what God’s Word has to say about life.
Perhaps you might ask, “Why is the church getting involved in this political topic? We need to realize that this is first and foremost a biblical issue and only secondly political. All we need do is look around us to see the great loss for the value of life in our society.
I. Human Life has little value in our society today.
A. The lack of value for life today is the result of godlessness.
1. For over a hundred years now our colleges and then our high schools have taught us that human beings are nothing more than highly organized, animated slime.
2. Our children are taught that they are cosmic accidents, nothing more than time + chance + matter.
3. Our society has rejected the belief that HUMANS HAVE INTRINSIC DIGNITY BECAUSE THEY ARE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
a) Indeed, there is no Creator.
b) There is no moral lawgiver in the universe.
4. And so today’s atrocities against human life are the natural outcome of a culture that teaches it’s children that humans have no sacred value because they are created by God – they become just one more animal among many.
5. What’s more, we are even less special than some animals because there are so many of us we are not "endangered".
B. Today humans are targeted for destruction.
1. The Endangered Species Act protects 3 amphibians, 56 birds, 7 clams, 2 crustaceans, 29 fish, 8 mammals, 21 reptiles, 2 snails and 42 plants - and their unborn offspring. But not an unborn human baby.
2. Goodyear Tire spent $35,000 to surgically attach fins on a pregnant loggerhead sea turtle which had suffered a shark attack. A spokesman for the company commented, "We’re doing this for motherhood."
3. A Florida man was arrested for stealing turtle eggs from the beach.
a) He defended himself by saying that the eggs were not yet "life."
b) No good, he was convicted and fined.
c) To the law, a turtle egg is alive, but not an unborn baby!
4. And here are some of the outrageous fines recently levied by our courts:
a) $4,000 for killing cats.
b) $1,360 and 60 days in jail for torturing and killing rabbits.
c) $10,000 for killing a tree!
d) But no fines for killing a baby - even a partially born youngster.
C. People Killing their children for supposed future gain is not new.
1. People even killed their children in the Old Testament of our Bibles.
a) In Lev. 18:21 God says to His people: “Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.”
b) In Deut. 12:31 – “You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.”
2. We see that God was without question against these people sacrificing their children to the many god’s of their day.
3. I find it so amazing that people are still doing the same thing today…sacrificing their children to the god’s of convenience, or financial success, or education.
a) Today there are many god’s that people sacrifice their children to in the same hope as these OT people.
b) That by getting rid of the baby they might somehow have some chance at a better life themselves.
c) One life for the possibility of a better future of the other.
D. There really are no valid reasons to devalue life.
1. One question often raised today, “What if the baby is born into a horrific family situation, wouldn’t be better for the child to the dead? A mercy killing of sorts.
2. I admit that my heart cries out with pain when I see and read about some of the children of our country that are abused in so many ways.
a) But neither you nor I or anyone else has the right to play God, who is the only one who knows the future.
b) No one would ever suggest going out into the world and rounding up all the young children in miserable abusive situations and having them executed!
3. We, as Christians, must work and use our influence to try to make life better for these children.
4. Another reason for taking the life of an unborn child is often given in instances of rape or incest.
a) These are unbelievable situations -- tragic and grieving to our hearts and the Lord’s.
b) But I must say that I’ve never known two wrongs to make a right.
c) It was never the baby’s fault that these crimes were committed -- a life is the consequence of the terrible sin.
5. Statistics show that only 4% of those abortions are for the sake of the mother’s life.
a) 96% are for convenience of the mother.
b) In other words 96% of the 40,000,000 abortions are performed for birth control.
6. The babies in those situations do not deserve the death penalty.
ILL. I read this week about a man named James Robertson. If you don’t know him, he is an evangelist and missionary. He has lead many to Christ and has done great missionary work in Africa. His mother was raped and James was the product of that rape. There would be many less Christians today if his mother had decided to abort him. What men intend for evil, God uses for good. I told the caller that I was against abortion in all cases and situations. He said that that was what he had thought, but wanted to be sure and he thanked me.
Trans: It appears so outlandish, so incredible and yet we live in a society that operates and thinks of life this way! So, where do we find some sanity? Where can we learn the truth of what God says about life?
II. We are created uniquely in the image of God. (Ge. 1:24-27)
A. The creation narrative makes several distinctions very plain.
1. God is distinct from His creation.
a) Some mistakenly teach that God is in the flowers, the trees, the wind, or all nature.
b) New Age mysticism is really just a revival of old age paganism and pantheism.
c) Paul warns the Romans against this in Rom. 1:21-25.
d) We really had better not dare to worship the creation nor confuse it with the creator.
e) Rather, we should enjoy and manage God’s splendid handiwork, but we must exalt and worship Him alone above that which He spoke into existence.
2. Second, humanity is distinct from all other created life in that we are made in the image of God.
a) The Bible is clear that God first created the animal kingdom, then he created man in His own image.
b) This does not mean that man was made in the physical image of god, for we know that the Bible teaches that God is spirit. (John 4:24)
c) This does mean that the immaterial part of man was created in God’s likeness.
d) This is the part of humanity that sets him apart from all other earthly creatures.
3. We are made in the image of God in three ways:
a) Intellect – humankind alone is able to conceptualize that there is a God.
b) Sensibility: Man has the complex emotions of love, hate, anger, joy, compassion, etc.
c) Will, When god fashioned humankind he didn’t want robots. He gave man a will which he could exercise in one of two ways: To be obedient to the will of God, or to rebel against God and exert self-will.
Trans: These specific differences within God’s creation are significant.
B. Any Sin against human life is a sin against God.
1. If God is the author of Human life, he alone has the right to take it or dictate the terms under which life may be taken.
a) Unlike animal life, which God put under humankind’s dominion, human life is subject only to God Himself.
b) Any sin against human life is a sin against God Himself, an assault against His image.
2. If the human race is biblically distinct from the animal world, then no individual life, born or unborn, young or old, healthy or diseased, should be deemed as anything less than a special creation that reflects the very image of God.
a) The very first account of life being taken when Cain killed Abel back in Gen. 4:10 we see that the Lord said that Abel’s blood cried out to God.
b) Whenever a life is taken outside of God’s plan it is cause for great grief to God.
Trans: So we see that all things are created by God. Life is His handiwork and as a result we know that God values all life. The question that most frequently comes is one that revolves around the issue of when life begins?
III. God knows us even before we breath our first breath.
A. God knows each person intimately before conception. (Jer. 1:5)
1. The Hebrew word here for our English word “formed” is yatsar (yaw-tsar).
a) It is a word that is used by potters when they mold and shape their clay into a particular shape.
b) Like when they pour it into a mold.
c) It means to squeeze into a predetermined shape.
2. God’s Word here in Jeremiah is telling us that before God formed us, shaped us, brought us into existence, he knew us.
a) God told the prophet He "knew" him long before he was conceived in his mothers womb.
b) The Hebrew verb used in this verse for "to know" it is yada, which conveys great meaning in the Old Testament.
c) It goes far deeper than mere intellectual knowledge and awareness.
d) Yada means personal commitment and intimate experience with the person known.
e) Yada is used for the sexual union between husband and wife Genesis 4: 1
3. The fact that God not only knew Jeremiah, but knew him and was involved in a personal way with him before he was conceived tells us something today.
a) This means that God knew each of us sitting here today intimately before we were even a twinkle in our mother’s eye.
b) He not only knew us then, but He valued us and loved us as part of his future creation!
4. Our time frame and Gods is different.
a) God is outside of our time frame and limitations.
b) He stands back and can be involved in and see the whole time chart of history from the beginning to the end.
Trans: But God not only knows us before we were conceived. According to our Bible’s, he also has a vested interest in our being put together.
B. God knows us and cares about our life as we are formed in our mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13–16)
1. God says that each human life is "knit" together.
a) The Hebrew word here sakak literally means to fence in, too weave.
b) God literally weaves us together in our mother’s womb -- he values us and fashions us together.
2. And lest someone think that this is of little significance to an almighty, all powerful God, where He could just set the process in motion and then back away to let nature take its course, just look at verse 14.
a) We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
b) When it says here that we are fearfully made it means that we are made in an awesome way, a way too beautiful, too complex, too supernatural to be anything but awesome!
3. The Hebrew word for “wonderfully made” is palah;(paw-law) and it means to set apart, to marvel at, and make wonderfully.
ILL. I remember the first, ever saw one of our children on an ultrasound. The only word to describe the way God was working in my wife’s womb was to say awesome! Our Bible’s tell us that God is responsible for that knitting together of human beings and that he knows us in the process.
Trans: So God knows us before we are conceived. He’s also actively involved in our formation once we are conceived. But to what extent does he know us day to day?
C. God knows us, Past, Present, and Future!
1. We must remember that God takes an intimate interest in us from before we were conceived!
a) God is not surprised by anything!
b) Including what our life will be like.
2. Every day of our life on this earth has already been recorded in God’s book of life.
a) We are not writing history -- God doesn’t watch us and write down what we have done or not done -- He has already written it before we were born.
b) God knew each of us before we ever breathed our first breath and knows all the millions of unborn children that are conceived every year today and those in the future who have not yet been conceived!
Trans: So God has created us in the image of himself. He knows us intimately long before we breathe our first breath of air. But it is quite clear that we live in a culture where we protect the whales, seals, and the rights of animals, but not be unborn. A culture that values the family pet more than the old, the terminally ill, the mentally and physically handicapped.
But, as people who are striving to live for God and obey the Bible, we must do as God does, that is, view all life is precious and sacred. But we may say, "I’m just one person, what can I do?"
IV. We must value life the same way God does.
A. We can be ambassadors of hope and life. (2Cor. 5:20)
1. Ambassadors who tell others about true life in Jesus.
a) Jesus speaks loudly and clearly in John 14:6 -- "I am the way the truth and the life! No one comes to the father but through me."
b) Jesus celebrated life!
c) He was a cheerleader for all life!
2. Jesus said in John 10:10b -- "I’ve come that you may have life and have it to the full!"
a) His point in these two passages is that you haven’t in the past, and you can’t in the future really experienced life until you sit down and have a heart to heart conversation with Jesus.
b) People are not really living until they know Jesus as their Lord and savior and have a relationship with him.
3. We can bring hope if we know Jesus by being living examples of his love and mercy towards life.
a) We know what it means to truly live!
b) We know the satisfaction of life lived for Jesus Christ instead of for oneself only.
c) We have experienced the great adventure called life!
d) Known the thrill of life lived in the hands of an almighty God who loves us.
4. As ambassadors of life we can support life by how we vote.
5. We can support life in how we share our lives with others and tell them about Jesus.
a) By actively showing concern for life.
b) We can support life in how we speak on behalf of the unborn.
6. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily have to stand in picket lines, or enter into emotionally charged debates with our coworkers.
7. Each person should model the life of Christ and do their God given part to stand up for life as God leads them.
B. We can also be ambassadors of forgiveness.
1. The odds are that there is someone hearing my voice this morning who either knows someone who has had an abortion or has had one themselves.
2. I want everyone to hear me as I say that God does not grade our sins! (James 2:10)
a) Sin is sin in the eyes of God!
b) No hierarchy of sins!
c) Little white lies spoken to deceive someone is just as much an abomination to God as any other sin including abortion.
3. The truth is that Jesus Christ died for all sins!
a) He died for every sin imaginable to man!
b) 1 Peter 3:18 tells us that Christ died for our sins, once for all with a goal to bring us into right relationship with God.
c) What is required to make this work of Jesus Christ in history past become real and working for us today is the same thing that is required for all people who sin. Confession and repentance.
4. We are told in 1John 1:8-10 that we need to confess our sin to God.
a) If you have committed a sin somewhere in your past you need to know that God has forgiven you as you confess that sin!
b) If you have had an abortion and you are under the weight of that guilt that seems always there…haunting your thoughts.
c) Please know today that God can take that sin away and give you life to the full if you turn your life over to Him!
Conclusion: The one thing that God values more than life itself is New Life in Christ.
Jesus not only valued everyone He came in contact with, He went out of His way to “seek and save the lost.” He loved to give grace to those who had little value in the eyes of the church crowd. In John 4, Jesus spoke words of life to a woman who had multiple marriage partners and was living with another man. Instead of condemning her, He gave her what she was really looking for – a relationship with the Good Shepherd. In John 8, when the righteous religious people were ready to wipe out a woman caught in adultery, instead of slinging a stone, Jesus launched some love and gave some grace.
God desires that we would support the sanctity of Life. Even more, He wants to celebrate life here and life eternal with us. This can only happen as we enter into an intimate relationship with Him. Let me encourage all of us today to be about Life! And if you do not yet have a personal life changing relationship with Jesus, let me invite you to do so today.
