“In 1973 The Supreme Court said it was ok to kill unborn babies. Since then, we have killed more than the entire population of Canada. And it continues. A woman’s choice? Half of those who have died in their mothers’ wombs have been women. They didn’t have a choice. It is called abortion.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

First it was in dingy, dirty theaters. Then, convenience stores. Then, grocery stores. Then on television. Now it is in the homes of millions via the Internet. It is called pornography.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

They called it no-fault. Why should we blame anyone when something so tragic happens? Haven’t they already suffered enough? Half of the marriages in America end this way. The children suffered. The family broke down. It is called divorce.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

At one time it was a perversion. We kept it secret. We secured help and hope for those who practiced it. Now it is praised. We have parades celebrating it, and elected officials give it their blessing. Now it is endowed with special privileges and protected by special laws. Even some Christian leaders and denominations praise it. It is called homosexuality.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

It used to be an embarrassment. A shame. Now a third of all births are to mothers who aren’t married. Two-thirds of all African-American children are born into a home without a father. The state usually pays the tab. That is why we pay out taxes, so that government can take the place of parents. After all, government bureaucrats know much better how to raise children than parents do. It is called illegitimacy.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

At one time it was wrong. But then the state decided to legalize it, promote it and tax it. It has ripped apart families and destroyed lives. But just look at all the money the state has raised. No longer do we teach our children to study and work hard. Now we teach them they can get something for nothing. We spend millions encouraging people to join the fun and excitement. Just look at the big sums that people are winning. They will never have to work again! It is called gambling.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

Not long ago, Christians were the good guys. But now any positive image of Christians in movies or on TV is gone. We are now depicted as the bad guys – greedy, narrow-minded hypocrites. The teacher can’t have a Bible on her desk, but can have Playboy. We don’t have Christmas and Easter holidays – just winter and spring break. We can’t pray in school, but can use foul language. It’s called being tolerant.

Me? I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.

Yes, all these things came to pass within 30 years. Where were the Christians? Why, they were in church. All these things are for someone else to deal with. Times have changed. Involvement has been replaced with apathy.

But don’t blame me. I didn’t do anything. I go to church, the minister preaches, I go home. That’s what Christians do now.”

The number of babies reported as aborted in America now stands at over 53 million. Please stop right now and read that sentence again. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews in World War II, and history rightly labeled it a holocaust. It makes you wonder what we should call 53 million forced deaths. Tragedy? That’s too soft. Atrocity? That’s a little closer. Barbarity? Now you’re getting warmer. Savagery? That might be about as accurate as we can come.

And the plain fact is that the death toll actually stands at more than 53 million. I say that because it is common knowledge that abortion is oftentimes a “cash” business, and in such businesses the books aren’t always, shall we say, exact. Why pay the I.R.S. when you can cheat, right? Before she became a Christian, Carol Everett was the head of multiple abortion clinics, and she freely admits that she routinely kept two sets of books at her clinics, one for herself and one for the I.R.S. In light of such typical operating procedure, there’s simply no way of calculating a truly accurate number of abortions that have been performed in America. 

But it’s not my purpose here to try and figure out the exact number of babies that have been lost since Roe vs. Wade. It’s also not my purpose to bring politics into the discussion. No, what I really want to do with this post is take the Bible and explain just what it teaches about abortion. So, if you have a problem with what I say, your problem will be with God’s written word, not with me. Keep that in mind as we go along.

Now, I want to ask and answer three questions, and question #1 is:

“According to the Bible, when does life actually begin?”

The answer is: at the moment of conception in the womb. As proof of this, I’ll cite five passages and ask you to read them carefully, with an open mind.

1. Psalm 139:13-16: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb…My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret…Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed…”

2. Psalm 22:10: “…From My mother’s womb You have been My God.”

3. Isaiah 49:1: “…The Lord has called me from the womb. From the matrix (inward parts) of My mother He has made mention of my name.” 

4. Job 10:8-12: “Your hands have made me and fashioned me, an intricate unity; yet You would not destroy me. Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews? You have granted me life and favor, and your care has preserved my spirit.”

5. Jeremiah 1:4-5: “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…’”

Alright, now, question #2 is this:

“According to the Bible, is a mother’s life ever more important than her child’s life?”

The answer is, no. While the Bible holds seemingly countless verses that sing the praises of selflessness, love, sacrifice, motherhood, and concern for others, I think a good singular proof text here is Genesis 35:16-20. That passage tells the story of how Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel died giving birth to their son Benjamin. What’s interesting is that despite Rachel’s great importance in the life of Jacob, to say nothing of her importance in the unfolding of the history recorded in Genesis, God let her die and her baby live. That right there ought to tell us something about His mind on this question.

And then, question #3 is this:

“According to the Bible, does an unborn child have the same standing with God an adult has?”

The answer here is, yes, and the passage is Exodus 21:22-25. I understand that these verses are specifically a part of God’s Old Testament law for Israel, and we don’t live under that law, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t glean truth from it. As you read these verses, pay careful attention to how God rates the health of a baby in a womb on legal par with someone who injures it. The verses say:

“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”    

 

Well, with these three questions and answers, I’d like to think that I’ve said enough to convince you of what the Bible teaches about abortion. But, just for further proof, here are a few more ”quick hits.” Hopefully, you’ll find these instructive too:

1. A man and a woman can have sex, but only God can create “life.” Thus, He is the only one who should have any say over how that life is ended.

2. The argument that a deformed fetus can be aborted without repercussion is not a valid one because in Exodus 4:11 God says to Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?”

3. In Job 3:11, Job asks, “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?” Think about it, you have to be alive to begin with in order to die.

4. In Genesis 25:23, God refers to Jacob and Esau as two nations even as they were still fetuses in Rebekah’s womb.    

 5. A Christian woman has no right whatsoever to say, “My body is my own, and I’ll do what I want to with it.” She has no right to say that because 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says to Christians: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

6. Psalm 106:34-43; Deuteronomy 12:31; 2 Kings 17:17; and Ezekiel 16:20-21 describe how the people of Israel learned the idolatrous ways of the people of Canaan and ended up sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols, which in reality was sacrificing them to demons. God called these sacrifices the shedding of innocent blood, and His wrath was kindled against Israel as He began to abhor His own people. Should we Americans not expect Him to respond to us the same way in the wake of the millions of innocent babies we have aborted? Keep in mind that Proverbs 6:16-19 says that God hates “hands that shed innocent blood.” 

7. Christians simply do not have the option of remaining silent on the issue of abortion. Proverbs 31:8-9 says: “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Now, in closing, let me be sure to say a word to any man or woman who has been the cause of an abortion. God still loves you. Abortion is not the unpardonable sin, and there is a full and blessed life that can be lived even after an abortion. You need to understand that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses and forgives all sin. Heaven isn’t divided into the camps of mothers and fathers who aborted their children and mothers and fathers who didn’t. For that matter, neither is hell. And while we’ve seen that the Bible has a lot to say about abortion, it has even more to say about the forgiveness that is offered to all in Jesus Christ. That forgiveness certainly extends to the sin of abortion, and Jesus is more than willing to shower it upon you if you will place your belief in Him as Savior. So, I assure you that the purpose of this post has not been to demoralize you by clubbing you over the head with the Bible. What it’s been is an attempt to provide a faithful and fairly thorough analysis of what God’s written word teaches on a highly controversial subject.  

Romans 1:18-32 is one of the most terrifying passages in all the Bible, if people would only realize it for what it is. The passage explains what God will eventually do to those who persistently, consistently, and steadfastly refuse to come under His lordship. He will “give them up” (or “give them over”) to uncleaness, immorality, and wickedness so that they can fully indulge in the lusts of their hearts. This “giving up” allows them to dishonor their bodies by letting their debased minds and vile passions run free and unencumbered.

I used to drive a school bus, and that bus had a governor on its motor. A governor is a little device that kicks in when a bus reaches a certain speed. Its purpose is to slow the motor down to keep the bus from going any faster. The governor kicked in at 50 m.p.h. in the case of my bus. Okay, just as that governor served as a restraint, the Romans passage teaches that God reaches a point with hardened sinners where He takes His governor off their lives and says, “Go as fast and live as dangerously as you want. I’ve tried to help you, but your heart is so set against Me that you won’t heed Me. So have it.”

I once heard a baseball coach say to his players, “Boys, if I yell at you, it’s because I care about you. The day I stop yelling at you, that’s when you need to worry because it means that I’ve given up on you.” The Romans passage explains that God works the same way in the lives of individuals. It’s when He stops yelling that the situation gets scary.

You see, God is right now pouring out His wrath (1:18) upon America by allowing stubborn, sinful men and women who are dead set in their own ways and rebellion against Him to do whatever they want. Do they want to engage in homosexuality and lesbiansim (1:26-27)? No governor here. Do they want to live lives marked by “sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malciousness, envy, murder, strife, deceit, and evil-mindedness” (1:28-29)? God’s not yelling. Do they want to be “whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful?” God is sitting up in heaven and watching it happen without lifting a finger to stop it.

But how can God’s lack of action be classified as Him pouring out His wrath? It’s because He understands something that hardened, calloused rebels don’t: He understands that the rebel lifestyle, when carried out to its desired extreme, is a fire that ultimately gets so big and so hot that it consumes the rebel himself. The rebel truly believes that he is living the high life, but in reality he is only destroying himself. In this way, he virtually judges himself and pours out God’s wrath upon himself. And, make no mistake, this is exactly what is happening with millions of Americans.

Furthermore, dare I say that God has even taken this “hands off” approach with our nation as a whole. He’s letting us have the corrupt, greedy politicians so many Americans favor. He’s letting us have the perverse, immoral national laws so many Americans will take to the streets over. To sum up, He’s letting a bunch of ungodly, undiscerning, and unbroken sinners have their way. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why our nation stands on the brink of ruination.

Update #1: We just added four more audio sermons to the church website (www.disciplesroadchurch.com). That makes a total of 22 sermons for your listening pleasure. The latest four are:

- ”Abortion”

-”In Defense Of The Virgin Birth”

- ”Jesus & Creation”

-”A Christian’s New Year’s Resolutions”

I think that each of these sermons will be a blessing to you, but in particular let me recommend the one on abortion. It’s a sermon I preached several years ago, and the introduction is dated in regards to the political people that I mention. But once you get past those opening minutes, you’ll find a clear and concise study of  what the Bible teaches about life in the womb. I also cover the arguments for abortion and explain how they match up with the Bible. Seriously, if you have any questions about this controversial issue, listen to this sermon. It’s only about 30 minutes long and it will help you.

Update #2: When I wrote that I was going on a diet, I promised that I’d check in with periodic reports. So here’s my first one: This morning my digital scales weighed me in at 194. That’s a loss of 7 pounds in 10 days. I’ll take that. I could have done a little better but I splurged this past weekend by eating out twice. That after- church buffet bar at K.F.C. was not diet friendly. Neither was the popcorn shrimp and fries I had Saturday night. All of it sure was tasty, though. You can’t just eat low-fat food all the time. You’ll turn yourself into a food martyr. Always remember to keep dieting in a proper balance. Do it, but don’t make it a form of idolatry that owns you.   

For the record, each day I’m still doing the two quarts of water, the 30 minutes of exercise, and limiting myself to no more than 2,000 calories and 30 fat grams. It ain’t always easy but it’s encouraging when the scales show progress. I’ll keep you posted.