Strait And Narrow Sermon Ii: Christians Choose To Protect And Preserve Series

CHRISTIANS CHOOSE TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE RATHER THAN DEVALUE AND DESTROY LIFE

As Christians grapple with the question of right vs wrong as it pertains to shocking cultural changes, we would do well to remember whose we are, whom we serve and what our Lord taught His followers about the choice of two ways: “the strait and narrow” or “the wide and broad”.

Although our Lord’s earthly existence (His virgin birth, sinless life, instructions in righteousness, atoning sacrifice and glorious resurrection) took place in New Testament times, we would be correct to apply His teachings and principles for living to any interpretation of any part of the Old Testament -- inasmuch as Christ Jesus came to fulfill OT prophecies, to correct OT misunderstandings, to amplify OT truths.

Since the Father and the Son are one, it stands to reason that the Son was (is) in the same business as the Father – turning negatives into positives. Jesus told his parents and the temple priests, “I must be about my Father’s business” – the business which He had been involved in, from the beginning.

In the beginning God said, “Let there be light” to dispel darkness . . . He and the Son have been at it ever since – the most defining turning point from darkness to light occurring when the Light of Truth The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and, as they said, “we beheld His glory – as of the only begotten Son of God”.

The Son was there - in the beginning - as a part of the Triune Godhead . . . was there - after the beginning - until the time had fully come for the advent . . . here in person for thirty-three years until His ascension . . . has been with us ever since - in the person of the Holy Spirit . . . will be with us always.

The point: Although culture changes - for better or worse – the one and only God in three persons (Blessed Trinity) is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Therefore, that which Jesus fulfilled . . . corrected . . . amplified . . . stands as unchangeable truth. There is, however, one stipulation to the principle of unchangeability:

Unless Jesus contradicted an Old Testament admonition so as to clarify and amplify its true meaning - like when He often said, “You have heard it said thus and so, but I say unto you” – the original version stands, the truth of it confirmed. Now . . .

The truth about the sanctity of life vs the expendability of life is old as dirt: Life is a gift from God . . . and God’s people, whether Hebrews of the Old Testament or Christians of the New Testament, are to protect and preserve life – made abundantly clear by a mother’s determination to protect and preserve the life of her son Moses whose destiny it was to become God’s appointed deliverer of God’s people from bondage --- Exodus 2:1-10 . . .

What a stark contrast between the way these Jewish and Gentile women (bonded and free . . . women of both minority and majority status) banded together 3600 years ago to protect and preserve the life of a (minority) newborn --- and the way women today are so sharply divided on the issue of “pro-life” vs “pro-abortion”!

Midwives disobeyed orders to murder Hebrew babies (1:16-17) - prior to the edict which prompted Jochebed to hide Moses, then place him in a waterproofed basket in the river . . . Maidservants of the royal court (2:5) compassionately retrieved him, brought him to their royal Princess, who adored Moses (2:6) and showed that she really cared for an obvious Hebrew child by sending Miriam (2:8)) – an obvious Hebrew as well - to secure the services of a Hebrew nurse!

Imagine Jochebed’s anguish as she prepared the basket, with eyes blurred by tears, lips quivering with whispered prayers, nursing her infant child, knowing that each time might be her last, Jochebed’s heart racing within her as she set her little boy afloat in the river – an act of mercy inasmuch as it was a choice between death by a sword or life by the intervention of the LORD God of Israel.

If our trust is in the LORD, we entrust the lives of all babies (the born and the yet-to-be-born) to Him who is the giver of all life! No life is expendable to the LORD our God! He - our Maker, Father and Redeemer - has established sanctity of life by His expressed Will and by His Word as expressed by many spokespersons of His choosing and His directing.

The LORD God, through the providence of the Spirit of God, delivered Jochebed’s drifting basket into the hands of Pharaoh’s daughter. What a Drama - under the direction of the LORD! Not only at birth but through his years of growing up, the Lord prepared Moses for becoming a means of salvation for his people!