Abortion & the Worthless Wickedness of Inaction

Welcome & Announcements (Mike L)

Call to Worship (Psalm 139:7-14)

Prayer of Praise (Diane Leonard)

All Creatures of Our God & King

Immortal Invisible God Only Wise

Prayer of Lament (abortion), Sterling Tollison

Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call

His Mercy is More

Scripture Reading (Matthew:12:33-37)

Pastoral Prayer (Mike L.)

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

If you’ve been at PBC for at least a year you know it’s been our tradition to take two Sundays in January to examine the twin evils of racism and abortion from a Christian worldview.

We’ve talked about these topics in January because there’s much cultural discussion about both topics this month; racism due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and abortion due to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

But perhaps you’ve wondered if the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June might mean the elimination of these topics from our sermon calendar at PBC.

As important as overturning Roe was, the fight to protecting pre-born babies is far, far from over.

Two reasons why I believe we must continue to hear from God’s Word on this issue:

1) Overturning Roe did NOT make abortion illegal

Since Roe fell, voters in Kansas, Montana, and Kentucky (hardly predictable blue states) all failed to pass laws that would have protected the unborn

Since Roe fell 10 states passed laws expanding access to abortion

44 states continue to provide access to abortion for some or any reason

Abortion is still legal in Virginia. Since Roe was overturned in June, over 800 babies on the Peninsula have been aborted.

2) Even if Roe did make abortion illegal, it can’t make abortion unthinkable

In God’s providence, we live in a day when the most insidious forms of racism are unthinkable for most people. We can’t even imagine living in a world where people were enslaved and treated as property because of the color of their skin.

The passage of the 13th amendment made that form of racism illegal. But changing a law can’t make sin unthinkable. So for decades and decades countless minorities continued to be mistreated in America.

But today racism is unthinkable for all respectable Americans. It’s nearly a cardinal sin to be labeled as a racist.

I believe Christians must continue to hear from God’s Word about this issue until abortion is not only illegal but unthinkable.

And so we will continue to talk about this issue as the Lord allows.

This year, due to a few other things on our calendar before an upcoming sabbatical we won’t address the topics of abortion and racism separately.

Instead, with God’s help, I’ll try to make appropriate application to the racism issue in today’s sermon.

Turn to Matthew 25:14

This passage isn’t a classic passage on the sanctity of human life.

But we do see three truths about how God’s people should live until Jesus returns.

1) A Promise: Jesus Will RETURN.

Jesus is at the end of His earthly ministry. In a few days He’ll be crucified.

But the disciples didn’t understand that. They likely could sense the excitement in the air. They were expecting Jesus to enter Jerusalem, overthrow Rome, and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

So Jesus told them a story to help them understand what was going to happen.

Matthew 25:14-15—For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

The master in the story represents Jesus. He’s going to leave His disciples very soon.

At the time they didn’t understand this. They didn’t know Jesus was going anywhere!

After His crucifixion they might have assumed the journey was simply referring to His death.

But Jesus’ journey away from His disciples is actually a far longer one...

25:19—Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

For nearly 2000 years we’ve been living in verses 16-18 when Jesus is away

Before we move on, notice what Jesus is returning to do: to settle accounts

Life is not a long vacation until Jesus returns. He’s given His servants responsibilities (we’ll get to that in a second) and when He returns there’s a reckoning.

We will give an account for what we do with what we’ve received.

Revelation 22:12—Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

Jesus is coming back. But what should your life be like in the meantime?

Consider the second truth...

2) A Lesson: Use Your RESOURCES.

Look at what the Master does with His servants before He leaves...

25:15-18—To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Talent = not a skill or ability

A talent was a currency worth about 20 years wages

The average annual pay for manual labor in America is $31,000 a year. So if this was 20 years wages in our day one talent would be about $600,000

One guy gets 3 million, one gets 1.2 million, the other gets $600K

Jesus has given each of us considerable resources to use until He returns

Money, transportation, Bibles, books, tools, Christian institutions, etc.

“Why does the Master give more to some than others?” That’s not our business. The Master can freely give whatever He wants to whoever He wants. It’s all grace!

The more important question is, what did they do with what they were given?

25:19-23—Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

These first two servants used what they were given to serve the Master

This story is where we get that phrase “well done, good and faithful servant” from.

I’ve heard preachers say that phrase is reserved for the really fruitful and productive Christians. NOT TRUE!!!

Notice the man who earned 2 talents receives exactly the same praise as the man who earned 5 talents!

He doesn’t say to the second guy, “nice try, okay and mediocre servant. enter into the disappointment of your master.”

Encourage Christians who feel they have less to offer

Jesus does not demand we all generate the same output. He demands we all give the same input.

If you're a Christian, you've received gift(s) from the Holy Spirit

Not all of us have the same gifts and abilities.

Some have limitations that others do not

Work according to the resources Christ has given you.

Jesus is coming back. Until He does, we should work according to the resources He's given us.

But there’s one more truth we must consider...

3) A Warning: Inaction is REPREHENSIBLE.

Look at how the Master responds to the third servant...

25:24-27—He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

What did the servant do wrong?

He didn’t lose the money.

He didn't steal it.

He's not working for Master's enemies.

Yet the Master calls him slothful and… wicked! Really?!?

All he did was bury the money in the backyard! Is that really such a big deal?

Apparently the Master thinks so. Look at how He responds...

First, He takes the servant’s talent away...

25:28-29—So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

But that’s just the beginning...

25:30—cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

That place with “weeping and gnashing of teeth” is mentioned 8x in the NT and it’s a clear reference to hell!

Is the Master overreacting?

If you claim to be a servant of the Master, and you're not moved to use what you’re given to work for His Kingdom you don’t know Him.

And if you don’t know Him, you will spend eternity separated from Him in hell.

Is this works salvation?

NO!! Not saying Jesus will take your salvation away from you…

If the Gospel you believed is not a Gospel that moves you to action it's a worthless, wicked Gospel—not the true Gospel.

The bottom line is that this wicked, worthless servant doesn’t really know the Master!

25:25—‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid

Does this sound like Jesus? Hard and severe? A lazy boss who delegates all the work to his underlings and keeps all the credit to himself?

This servant is rejected because He doesn’t really know the Master!!!

NOT A CHRISTIAN? Here’s what Jesus is like...

Yes He’s holy

But He’s also love (He came, He died, He rose!)

Repent and believe!

MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE TODAY: NOT BEING PRO-LIFE, BUT FORGIVEN!

Because Christians truly know the Master, we CANNOT stay on the sidelines!!!

NOT saying you will do what somebody else does. Or in the same way. But you will use what you’ve been given to serve your King!

What in the world does any of this have to do with abortion?

Let’s walk through these three truths again in reverse order...

Inaction is Reprehensible.

James 1:27—Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

One of the chief evidences of the genuineness of our faith is when we act for the sake of the vulnerable

In that day, the most vulnerable, most oppressed people would have been orphans and widows

In our day it’s the unborn!

In 2022, over 44 million unborn babies were murdered by abortion, making abortion the leading cause of death worldwide for the 4th year in a row [2]

It’s a bit more complicated than that, isn’t it?

The abortion debate is not complicated. There is one and only one question that matters in this debate...

It’s the question asked on the front page of the New York Times just a few days ago… “When Does Life Begin? [1]

If the unborn is not a living human person, no argument against abortion stands! Do what you want!

If the unborn is a living human person, no argument for abortion stands!

One way to show the lunacy of the arguments for abortion is to try to apply those same arguments to the evil of racism, which is now thankfully unthinkable in our country.

What about a woman’s right to privacy?

We all have the right to privacy in some things, but not in all things

A white woman can’t falsely accuse a black man and then claim a right to refuse investigation because of her right to privacy

What about a woman’s right to choose?

Women have the right to choose some things, but not all things

Does a woman have the right to choose to own slaves? Can she choose to deny rights to fellow humans based on the color of their skin?

What about a woman’s safety?

Legal abortion keeps people safe! It protects women from attempting on their own what will harm themselves.

Legal slavery kept the slaves safe! They couldn’t handle the harsh realities of life on their own!

What about families who can’t afford a baby?

What about the slave-owners that couldn’t afford to keep their plantations without slave labor?

Do we tolerate evil because it keeps life affordable for some people?

What about moms who don’t want a baby?

What about counties, cities, and states that didn’t want free blacks? Would it be right to say, “well since they don’t want them to be free we should just keep slavery legal”?

No! We should fight to teach people what they wanted (and didn’t want) was wrong!

Besides, every child is wanted by somebody

Why can’t I just be personally against this and let others do what they want?

Bumper sticker -- "Don't like abortion? Then don't have one."

What about a bumper sticker that said, "Don't like slavery? Don't own one."

There was a day when race-based chattel slavery was the greatest injustice in our world.

Last January I argued from Proverbs 31:8-9 that abortion is the greatest injustice of our time because...

No right is more foundational than the right to life and...

Nobody is more vulnerable than the unborn

The fight for the unborn is not merely one fight among a buffet of possible social justice issues to care about. It is the darkest and most deadly injustice in our world today (and perhaps all human history)!

Not saying you should be a single-issue Christian! But don’t think you can ignore or minimize the most foundational issue—the sanctity of unborn life—and still fight against injustice.

What am I supposed to do? How can we possibly work to rescue so many souls in a culture of so much death?!?

Use Your Resources

Consider three resources we all possess: Wealth, Abilities, Time:

Your Wealth

I’m not saying that all of you are wealthy (although compared to many people in the developing world all of us are)

By wealth I just mean your stuff

Don't use your wealth to store up treasures here, store up treasures in heaven!

Are you giving to support the sanctity of human life?

Church member, I believe that our first priority should be faithful, consistent, sacrificial giving to our local church.

If that’s all you’re able to do, you are giving to support this issue because if abortion is ever going to be unthinkable in our community hearts must change.

And the Gospel changes hearts!

But as the Lord increases your wealth and you’re able to give more, why not consider giving even more to this issue?

CareNet baby bottles

Your Abilities

What abilities has God given you? How could you leverage them in the support of the sanctity of human life?

Could you foster or adopt a little boy or girl?

If we’re going to fight for the unborn, we have to help care for them once they’re born!

Could you cook meals or clean to support an adopting family as they get adjusted to life with a new little one?

Can you mentor a young single mom who chooses life, teaching her how to change diapers, feed her baby, or read the Bible?

Are you a handyman? You could help a refugee mom considering an abortion because she doesn’t know how she’s going to make those repairs and welcome a baby into the world.

Are you compassionate? You could meet with a young lady who’s had an abortion and tenderly share with her the hope that comes from God’s Word.

Are you engaged in politics? You can vote and advocate for leaders and policies that protect the unborn.

Can you knit or sew? You can sew blankets for moms who choose life.

The only real limit on what you can do to serve the unborn is...

Your Time

For most of us this is the biggest limitation, isn’t it? But Jesus knows how much time you’ve got. He’s not asking you to give Him 5 hours a week if you only have 5 minutes.

Even if you have little bandwidth for much else, you can pray!

Christian, our job is not to fix this issue. Our job is to faithfully use our resources for the work of the Kingdom. It’s Jesus’ job to kill the culture of death.

Jesus Will Return

There's coming a day when abortion will be no more

He sees the work you’ve done to fight this evil, and He will reward you!!!

"I haven’t done anything! I’ve been guilty of inaction! Or maybe even I’ve worked against the sanctity of human life!”

John Newton—Amazing Grace

The myth: John Newton was an African slave trader whose eyes were opened to grace, repented of his racism, and fought to end the slave trade

The truth: John Newton never commanded a slaving vessel until after his salvation.

For 10 years he commanded a slave vessel as a Christian before he finally repented of his sin and began fighting against it

Christians have and will do some pretty heinous things. But when we’re confronted with it, we repent.

If you’ve had an abortion, or worked for the abortion industry, or celebrated abortions, or promoted abortion, you have served a great evil.

But Jesus is greater still. Though your sins are many, His mercy is more. Confess them today, receive His grace, and begin using what you’ve been given to fight for the unborn.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Amazing Grace

BAPTISM

Benediction (2 Corinthians 13:11)