Something To Stand For...

The commercials come at us back to back. Vote for Bush. Vote for Kerry. Everybody wants your vote. Many of us are left thinking, “What should I do? I don’t like this about that party. I don’t like that about this party. I like that about this guy. I like this about that guy. Help. I’m confused.”

This is a time when we need to find firm, solid, biblical ground. We can’t be biblically illiterate at a time like this. At one point in the history of God’s people, the nation was in a decline. Here’s the reason. God is speaking through the prophet, Hosea. What happened then to them mirrors what is happening now to us.

My people are ruined because they don’t know what’s right or true.

Hosea 4:6a (Msg)

Ruin comes when a people don’t know what’s right or true. Now, how do we find out what’s right or true? We use the Bible. It’s the Word of God and has supreme authority in all matters of life. God says, “Ignore the Bible and My people are ruined. Learn what’s right and true, and My people are helped.” Here’s what God’s Word says about God’s word.

Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Proverbs 30:5 (NIV)

Now, I realize that interpreting the Bible is challenging. I studied the Bible in seminary and I study hard every week to prepare to talk to my congregation. But I don’t pretend to have it all figured out. If I ever start acting like I do have it all figured out, then it’s time for the people in my church to start looking for a new church.

But there are some clear biblical principles that can show us where to stand in such controversial times. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said,

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

You’ve probably heard the quote, “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.”

There’s something to stand for. There’s something to work toward. That’s what I Corinthians 15:58 says.

Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

I Corinthians 15:58 (NASB)

Be steadfast, immovable…

There’s something to stand for.

… always abounding in the work of the Lord…

There’s something to work toward.

In the next few blogs, we’re going to tackling some controversial issues. See, when God’s word speaks to an issue, we can’t be silent. But we’re just going to be scratching the surface.

Look for more to come…

So, you’re going to have to do some additional research yourselves.

I will stand for and work toward…

1. … a culture of life.

Hot topics in this 2004 election are abortion and embryonic stem cell research issues. You probably know that 4,000 abortions a day are performed in the United States.

Now, I know the stories of many of my friends. Some of them have suffered the trauma of abortion. I say to my church, “You need to know right up front that you are welcome here. In Christ, there is acceptance and hope and love. Through Jesus, there is freedom from your past.” The question is: Where are you standing now? What are you working toward now?

Simply put, the Bible teaches that the unborn are persons. The Bible says that the growing life in the womb is the unique, creative work of God knitting together a being in His own image. The Psalmist prays,

You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13 (NIV)

Once, God spoke to a prophet and said that the prophet’s personhood began even before the womb.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.

Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

The Bible speaks of babies in the womb as active personalities. They respond like people. In Genesis 25, twins are talked about.

The children struggled together within her…

Genesis 25:22a (ESV)

In Luke 1, John the Baptist in the womb is described.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb…

Luke 1:41 (NASB)

These unborn babies struggle and leap. The Bible indicates that the unborn are persons – even in the womb. And since they are persons, they ought to be treated with care and dignity as patients along with their mothers.

Did you know that by the 8th week of pregnancy, the heart of a baby has been beating for a month, that there are measurable brain waves, and that there is response to touch? Did you know by that 8th week that there’s thumb-sucking, grasping with the hands, and swimming with the arms in the amniotic fluid?