Sanctity Of Life 2014

The Sanctity of Life

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/26/14

• Video: Life

Good morning. For a long time I’ve been saying that Blooming Grove is more than a church; it’s family. As such we rejoice whenever someone new is added to the family. And whether you’re new to the Grove or you’ve been around longer than I have, I hope that you know that you’re a valuable part of our family. We’re glad you’re here.

This Sunday is Sanctity of Life Sunday. Pastors all across the country and even the world, will stand behind their pulpits and confront one of the most critical issues of our generation—the question of when life begins.

In 1973, the year that abortion was legalized in America, Planned Parenthood reported 744,600 abortions. Today, there are approximately 2,000,000 unborn babies painfully killed every year and organizations like Planned Parenthood receive nearly a billion dollars annually in government funding. There will be more unborn children killed this year alone than the total number of American soldier who have died in every single battle ever fought since the American Revolution.

That’s 60,000,000 preborn babies killed since 1973. That’s 35,000 babies every week; that’s 5,000 babies every day; that’s 1 baby every 18 seconds; that’s 180 babies painfully killed while we worship here today.

This is easily one of the most difficult issues for me to talk about. The issue has become so emotionally and politically charged that many Christians and pastors are afraid to talk about it at all. But, frankly, I’m not interested in being politically correct. I’m only interested in being biblically correct. Christians need to consider carefully what the Bible has to say on the subject. So I want to equip, encourage and embolden to confront this issue within your own spheres of influence—at home, at work, among friends or family. First, I want to share with you some answers to endorse and then some attitudes to embrace.

• ANSWERS TO ENDORSE

Sadly, most political debates or discussions surrounding the subject of abortion, fail to ask the only question that really matters—is an unborn fetus a living human being? If not, then a woman certainly has the right to choose what she does with her own body. But if so—if an unborn fetus is, in fact, a living human being—then abortion, for any reason, is nothing more than the painful killing of an innocent human life and can never be morally or ethically justified. So to answer this vital question:

1) We know an unborn baby is a living human being scientifically.

In an age of scientific enlightenment we now know that the embryo even at its earliest stages fulfills the criteria needed to establish the existence of biological life. It has metabolism, development, the ability to react to stimuli, and cell reproduction. We know that even a zygote is a living organism with a distinct genetic code, different from the mother’s. So, while the unborn fetus is fully dependent on the mother, it is not part of the mother—it has a distinct and unique genetic makeup, its own DNA.

A pre-born life is more than just a clump of cells or a by-product of conception. It’s a newly conceived human being whose life is sacred and inviolable at every moment. It’s a living human being whose DNA is infused with potential, talent, eye-color, hair-color, and life. Whose tiny heart begins to beat at day 25, who practices inhaling and exhaling by day 90, whose delicate frame can kick, twist, flail, grasp, squint, frown, grimace, and even suck a thumb by day 105. Human personhood does not depend on size, location or level of dependence.

My favorite book by Dr. Seuss is Horton Hears a Who. One day, Horton the elephant hears a cry for help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can't see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Nobody else can hear the tiny voices because they don’t have Horton’s gigantic ears. But despite the naysayers and neighbors who ridicule him, Horton agrees to protect the Whos and their home, because, as Horton says, “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.” In an age of scientific advancement, nothing could be more certain, clear or correct.

2) We know an unborn baby is a living human being Scripturally.

Modern science only serves to confirm what any student of the Bible should already know. The Bible says, “God created human beings in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). God himself told Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT). David praises God, saying, “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” (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV).