How to respond to Abortion

Text

Psalm 139:13–16 KJV 1900

For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; And in thy book all my members were written, Which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Introduction

Human life is sacred because it was created by God and in the image of God. Even though the Fall marred God’s image in humans, it remains present, and God still commands that life be protected. Although some people attempt to cloud the certainty of these issues, God’s Word is clear. Life is sacred, and you and I are responsible to protect it.

One of the laws in Exodus stated that if two men fought with each other and hurt an expectant woman in the process, they were liable for damage to two persons.

Exodus 21:22–23 “22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,”

The Mid wives in Exodus… Shiphrah and Puah...

Exodus—Saved for God's Glory Anti-Life, Anti-Christ

The goal of his selective genocide was to prevent his enemies from raising young warriors. So he ordered Shiphrah and Puah to commit infanticide. While the mother was still recovering from her delivery, the midwives were quickly to examine the child, and if it turned out to be a boy, they were to murder him.

When Pharaoh issued this death warrant, he became an enemy of life.

Exodus—Saved for God's Glory The Pro-Life Resistance

These midwives understood the mind and heart of God. Even though they had not yet received the Ten Commandments, they knew better than to commit murder.

(Elaborate on the marred views of protection...)

The Bald and Golden Eagles act established in the 1940s says that deliberately destroying or disturbing an eagle egg is punishable by fine of $100,000.00 Dollars or a Year in prison...

Same with Sea Turtles...

At times, this subject has become a heated one, as different opinions and many emotions become involved...

For this reason, there are two things Christians must remember as we approach this topic. First, remember that truth matters. How you or I feel is irrelevant to the reality of life. The most important aspect of this conversation is the answer to the question, “What is true according to the Bible?” Second, remember that tone matters. It’s possible to hold a biblical position and yet communicate it in a way that is difficult for others to receive. This is why the Bible instructs us to speak the truth in love.

The truth is Abortion is wicked and against the word of God...

300 Illustrations for Preachers From Planned Parenthood Director to Pro-Life Advocate

Abby Johnson, director of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas, watched via ultrasound as a doctor aborted a 13-week-old unborn baby by dilation and evacuation. It was the first time she viewed an abortion using the ultrasound technology. “I saw a full profile of the baby from head to foot, and in an instant it was gone.” She promptly resigned from Planned Parenthood after working there for eight years. “I can’t do this anymore,” Johnson said. She later wrote a memoir of her experiences called Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader’s Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line.

Abortion is becoming more and more difficult to defend as technology is improving our ability to see into the womb where God sees us first.

Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop says in his thirty-five years in medicine he has “never seen one case where abortion was necessary to save a mother’s life.” —Bill Hybels, One Church’s Answer to Abortion

Bill Hybels

Proposition -

So when it comes to abortion what is it’s core foundation what is it’s basis? We have seen people burn the american flag… Why would someone burn the American flag? It is the image that represents the United States… If you hate the USA then you want to destroy that image which represents it.

Abortion, if you Hate God then you want to destroy that which represents God...

Genesis 1:26 KJV 1900

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

I) Formed in the Image of God

Some people argue the moral right to have an abortion because the mother has the right to do as she pleases with her own body. Our passage demonstrates that God sees another person.

A. Human Life has Sacred Value

The word sacred originates in Latin and means “belonging to God.” You and I own things that have value or significance to us, but only something that belongs to God is worthy of being designated “sacred.” All creation belongs to God, but He places special value on human life. We see this in His instruction

Human life is sacred because it originates from God. Your life is not an accident. It is not simply matter in motion. And it is not a random product of evolution. It is the special creation of God.

Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God hath made me, And the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”

Psalm 36:9 “For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.”

Since God, without exception, designates human life as sacred, so should we.

From the moment of Conception that tiny little baby reflects the image of God. So out of an hatred towards God evil will want to attack God…

B. Human Life has a Specific Beginning

When does new life begin? The consensus scientifically is that life begins at conception… the dilemma that is trending in our society then is when does that life have value? We don’t base our beliefs off of science, but more and more we can see how science is aligning with the word of God

Jeremiah 1:5 “5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Video of Conception

Once again we can be assured that God has not made a mistake with when life begins

What about a deformity?

Was God surprised that your child had 3 Chromosome 21’s and was born with down syndrome… They have what is called a Panorama scan and it is a DNA test that they can administer after 7 weeks and begin to identify…

(Ex. Ashlee and I)

There are support groups that can help with the journey of raising children with deformities or special needs…

The issue we are seeing once again in our society is in the instance that a child has come to full term and perhaps the parent wasn’t accurately informed that their child would be born with a cleft palette or cleft lip. That’s where we are seeing people advocate for a 30 day window and if they aren’t satisfied then they can humanely euthanize that child...

The world is trying to lobby the idea that we can humanely euthanize that which is precious to God...

We are seeing this in various countries where perhaps they do not see the value of life in someone who is older… (Maid Program)

I have heard that in certain European countries you can sign up for a pod and once you get into that pod it will painlessly take your life...

The issue is we are not viewing people in the same light as God, but make no question about it...

What About Rape/ Incest?

Investigate get to all the facts and the details and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. We ought to support the mom during pregnancy and after pregnancy.

We don’t punish a child based off of the sins of the Father… We also have millions of couples who are pursuing adoption… Pour out the love of Christ...

Kathy Barnette, a political commentator and military veteran, described the reality of life—her life—brought into the world through tragic circumstances: Slide Kathy Barnette “I am the product of a rape. My mother was twelve years old when she delivered me. My father was twenty-one years old. “I had nothing to do with my genesis. I had nothing to do with the conditions under which I was conceived.

I had no control over the circumstances that were swirling around me. I had no opportunity to partake in the cumulative decisions that would be made to sustain the pregnancy. Yet, all the while, I was being fearfully and wonderfully woven together in my young mother’s womb. “My life has value. I am not an inanimate object. I am a person. From me, I’ve given birth to two beautiful, healthy, intelligent, and loving little people who are destined to grow up into productive members of this great society. I am a veteran. I am a staunch lover of this country. I’m a supportive sister, a respectful niece and a devoted wife. Best of all, I get the wonderful opportunity to now care for my mother.”

It’s important to remember that what is in the mother’s womb is life, and God puts value on that...

In Luke 1, we have the amazing story of John the Baptist leaping in his mother’s womb at the news of Christ’s soon coming. Notice that the Bible refers to John, who was still in the womb, as a baby—a person.

Luke 1:41 “41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:”

Several months later, Jesus was born, and the Bible uses the same word (both in the Greek and in our English translation) to refer to Him, outside the womb. John was in the womb and Jesus was outside, yet Scripture makes no distinction between the born and the unborn.

Luke 2:12 “12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Both inside and outside the womb, John and Jesus were babies. Scripture gives no distinction of personhood pre-birth or post-birth.

C. Human Life has Special Purpose

The fact that God specifically made you with intrinsic value means that your life has a purpose. God formed you.

Isaiah 43:7 “7 Even every one that is called by my name: For I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”

If we don’t look to Scripture as our final authority on this (or any other topic), our worldview can easily be swayed by humanistic, even selfish, reasoning.

In an article in Salon magazine, Mary Elizabeth Williams wrote a jarring piece titled “So What If Abortion Ends Life?” In the article, Williams presents what used to be a pro-life argument—that the baby in the womb has personhood—but concludes that the baby’s life is more expendable than the mother’s life and, for that reason, should not be legally protected.

“So What If Abortion Ends Life?” She wrote, “I believe that life starts at conception. And it’s never stopped me from being pro-choice.” Listen to her reasoning:

“I know that throughout my own pregnancies, I never wavered for a moment in the belief that I was carrying a human life inside of me. I believe that’s what a fetus is: a human life. And that doesn’t make me one iota less solidly pro-choice ….

“I have friends who have referred to their abortions in terms of ‘scraping out a bunch of cells’ and then a few years later were exultant over the pregnancies that they unhesitatingly described in terms of ‘the baby’ and ‘this kid.’ I know women who have been relieved at their abortions and grieved over their miscarriages. Why can’t we agree that … it’s pretty silly to pretend that what was growing inside of them wasn’t the same? …

“When we try to act like a pregnancy doesn’t involve human life, we wind up drawing stupid semantic lines in the sand: first trimester abortion vs. second trimester vs. late term, dancing around the issue trying to decide if there’s a single magic moment when a fetus becomes a person. Are you human only when you’re born?

Only when you’re viable outside of the womb? Are you less of a human life when you look like a tadpole than when you can suck on your thumb? … “If by some random fluke I learned today I was pregnant, you bet … I’d have an abortion. I’d have the World’s Greatest Abortion …. my conviction [is] that the fetus is indeed a life. A life worth sacrificing.”

II) Response to the Issues of Life

So, what is the biblical way for us to respond? It is said that only 7% of women who have an abortion actually go to there church for counsel or to talk with someone...

A. Respond with Clarity

Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.

Ronald Reagan (United States President)

One of the tactics of Satan is to add confusion where there should be clarity. He used this ploy when he appeared to Eve in the Garden and questioned what God had really said. Even though Eve knew exactly what God had said, Satan brought confusion to her mind.

The clearest demarcation of life’s beginning is conception. And if we are to respond to this issue with clarity, we should stand for life at conception. In fact, this is a point in which Scripture, scientific evidence, the human conscience, and the abortion industry all agree.

Photos Showing Baby Progress

B. Respond with Conviction

As Christians, we must not be shaky on declaring what the Bible says regarding this clear issue. God is not indecisive on how He addresses murder.

Proverbs 6:16–17 “16 These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,”

C. Respond with Compassion

While clarity and conviction are necessary to motivate us to consistently speak up, compassion is what helps our words reach hearts. Additionally, compassion is what helps us convert our care to real actionable steps. With that in mind, what compassionate steps can we take to respond to the abortion controversy?

We can pray

Pray for mothers struggling with choices about their unborn children. Pray for churches and Christian counselors who interact with mothers making these choices. Pray for lawmakers to understand what is at stake as they consider legislation to protect innocent lives.

We can speak

Speak up when people you know voice pro-abortion sentiments, including considering personally having abortion. Speak out for the needs of pregnant women and single moms. Participate in helping them through the challenging times when they need a friend to care. You might consider volunteering time or donating resources to a local pro-life pregnancy resource center.

We can foster and adopt

One of the tragedies of the pro-abortion climate in the United States is that it is so slanted against adoption. For instance, adoptions typically cost between $8,000 to $40,000, but the average abortion is only $500. Adoption is not the right decision for everyone, but if the Lord leads you to adopt, He will provide for you. Additionally, there is a great need for Christians who will provide loving care to children in the state foster system.

We can Educate

Resources:

ProLifeDoc.org

www.abortionpillreversal.com

www.tests4greeley.com

We can Vote

Conclusion

It’s not just the abortionist or the mother who has chosen abortion who stands in need of God’s forgiveness. It is all of us. We are all fallen. We have all sinned. And we all need a restored relationship with God through Christ.

Jesus, who has lived since eternity past, humbled Himself to take on the form of humanity when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. In His amazing mercy, He offered Himself as our sacrifice that we might have eternal life with Him.

Hebrews 1:3 “3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

If you have already trusted Christ as your Savior, remember that the most significant way you can invest your life in helping others choose life is to tell those who don’t know Christ how they can have eternal life.