Untitled Sermon (5)

The Christian Response to Abortion

The Bible teaches that Christians are completely transformed when we're born again.

2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

· This verse says that Christians are, new creatures in Christ.

o The Bible then goes on to give some characteristics of what that means.

· Christians are reconciled to God. (18)

· Sin isn't counted against us. (19)

· Believers are ambassadors for Christ in that God makes his appeal to the lost world through us. (20)

· The person who is born again is also made righteous. (21)

We might summarize by saying that the believer’s life is different in every way because of Christ.

Building on that thought, Christians learn what that new life in Christ looks like from our study of Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

I'll add one more point two frame my teaching today.

Acts 17:26 Says that God determined the times set for us and the exact places where we should live.

· That means it's no accident that we're here in this time and place.

· What's more, the issues this culture is dealing with are things that church (body of believers) is to respond to according to scripture.

In thinking about the most pressing and significant issues of the day, certainly, abortion is at or near the top of the list.

Because Christians are new creatures in Christ and we are directed by Scripture, and because we are exactly where God means for us to be, how are Christians to think and respond to the issue of abortion?

<Pray>

As we think about the issue of abortion, for some people it's personally painful.

· In this sermon my aim is to help you further develop a biblical understanding of abortion and the unborn child.

· However, I understand that for the person who had an abortion or someone who encouraged another to get an abortion, your personal suffering may prevent you from hearing anything else.

Therefore, I want to begin by reminding you of what the Bible says about the grace of God.

· God's grace isn't simply a nice thing to talk about.

Let me remind you of the biblical teaching on the grace of God, that you may be assured that in Christ, you truly are released from any and all guilt.

A. God gives grace to those who repent and turn form sin.

1.God is the source of all grace.

James 1:17 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

· Grace isn’t merely something God gives.

· Grace is an attribute of God; it’s who He is.

Psalm 84:11 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

2. God’s grace means Christians are justified.

<Romans 3:21-24> (being justified- 24)

Theologian John Frame writes, “God's grace to men, then, appears in spite of man's unrighteousness, and by God's utterly sovereign decision.”[1]

a) Justification in Christ means your sins are forgiven.

Ephesians 1:7 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

3. God’s grace is received only by faith.

<Ephesians 2:8-9>

If you’re struggling with feeling that you can’t be forgiven because you’ve committed a sin that is so terrible that you’re hopeless, that’s simply not true.

· God is the source of grace, not you.

· God’s grace means Christians are justified.

· God’s grace is received only by faith.

If you have had an abortion or encouraged someone to have an abortion, and you’ve repented:

· By the authority of the Bible, God says you are forgiven by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

NOTE: It’s the devil that’s trying to keep you wallowing in guilt.

I’ll also add that the Bible teaches that your child is alive!

When King David’s son died he said,

2 Samuel 12:23 23 … I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

There’s more to teach from Scripture about young children going to heaven if they die, however, I’ll summarize by saying that Christian parents who’s child died by any means will one day meet that child and spend all of eternity together.

I trust that God’s Word sets your mind at ease as you allow yourself to be washed by the grace of God.

So, how do Christians think about abortion?

B. Designed and made by God.

1. People aren't the product of chance and biological activity.

<Psalm 139:13-16>

· Notice how personal this is with the frequent use of personal pronouns.

This Psalm teaches:

· People are designed and made by God in the womb. (13-14)

· People are seen by God in the womb. (15)

Jeremiah 1:5 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 49:1 1 Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me.

· All of your days are ordained by God. (16)

With this in mind, it’s easy to see that:

2. Children are a gift from God.

Psalm 127:3–4 3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.

In large measure the argument people make in support of abortion centers around the fact that the child is in the mother’s body and is therefore, not an actual person until the child is born.

· Several years ago, I heard Greg Koukl with Stand to Reason ministry reply to this with an acronym that considers the difference between a child in the womb versus a child who has been born.

Remember: S-L-E-D

S- Size

· We grant that the child in the womb is smaller than people who have been born.

· However, if size is the basis for whether someone gets to live or not, where do we stop?

o Are large people more valuable than small people?

L- Level of development.

· Unborn children are less developed than children who are born.

· Five-year-old children are less developed than 17-year-old children who have gone through puberty.

o Does that mean a 5-year-old is less of a person?

E- Environment.

· Unborn children are in the womb while the rest of us live in other locations around the world.

· How does where a person lives affect their personhood?

o Are people who live in Florida more human than people who live in Spain?

o Are astronauts living on the space station less of a person than they were when they were on earth?

· A child travels approximately seven inches during the birth process; what about that journey transforms them into a person?

D- Degree of dependency.

· Unborn children depend on the mother to supply nutrition through the umbilical cord.

· Children are dependent on people to give them food.

· People unconscious in the hospital also are dependent on others to give them food.

o All three of these groups depend on others, why is one considered to be not a person?

The primary difference between the born and unborn is demonstrated in this acronym and the essential difference is that one is weaker than the others.

· How can harming the weak be justified by Christians?

The Bible commands Christinas to protect the weak.

Psalm 82:3 3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.

· vindicate means defend.

Isaiah 1:17 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

God also forbids murder.

Exodus 20:13 13 “You shall not murder.

God is so serious about this that He also says:

Leviticus 24:17 17 ‘If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.

C. What about protecting the life of the mother?

The Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health was written and signed by a select panel in September 2012.

“As experienced practitioners and researchers in obstetrics and gynecology, we affirm that direct abortion – the purposeful destruction of the unborn child – is not medically necessary to save the life of a woman.

We uphold that there is a fundamental difference between abortion, and necessary medical treatments that are carried out to save the life of the mother, even if such treatment results in the loss of life of her unborn child.

We confirm that the prohibition of abortion does not affect, in any way, the availability of optimal care to pregnant women.”[2]

Does an ectopic pregnancy require an abortion?

Answer from Dr. Francis from focus on the Family says this:

“Simply put, no. The treatment for ectopic pregnancy is not at all the same as the procedures used for an abortion… Treating a pregnancy complication that threatens the mother’s life to save her life, such as ectopic pregnancy, does not intend to cause the death of the preborn child. Our treatment intends to save the life of the mother.[3]

What do Christians do?

1. Continue to commit to trust God and His Word no matter how much the culture and the media condemn it.

2. If you know someone considering abortion:

a) Using your notes from this sermon help the mother to understand that her baby is a person given as a gift from God and known by God.

Psalm 139:16 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

· Be sure to also share the gospel with them and encourage the mom to come to church.

b) Encourage them to have an ultra-sound. (Alpha Women’s Center in Palm Coast is a place they can go to for free.)

c) Encourage them to consider adoption.

One more important thing you can do:

Proposed amendment to the Florida constitution- VOTE NO!

[1] John Frame, Systematic Theology, p.244 [2] https://www.dublindeclaration.com/ [3] https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/ectopic-pregnancy-and-abortion/