Chaotic Culture: Abortion

Opening:

Announcements:

Amazing Race - May 9th

Genesis 1:26–28 “Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

Prayer

Introduction

“Two-and-a-half years ago I did have an abortion,” said “Bonnie.” “I would never do it again. I still feel like I killed someone. I feel guilty and I don’t feel that I’ve righted it by having the baby this time. . . . In the short run, abortion is the easiest way out. But in the long run it’s hell. I know because I had one. If I get pregnant again I would be tempted to have an abortion, but I wouldn’t. I couldn’t do it again. I would hate the nine months of carrying the baby, the labor, the stretch marks and getting cut open. But I would go through it all again rather than have another abortion.”

Main Point: Abortion is an attack on the image of God and should be seen as murder each and every time.

Reality of Abortion

Role of the Christian

1. Worldview Clash

Worldview’s Have Consequences

Roe v. Wade was overturned - simply moved the legal status of abortion to the state level

Massive win, but there is still work to be done

In CA, still legal so the fight against abortion still continues today

Just to remind you - abortion is worth fighting against

If you imagine yourself as someone who would have fought against

the Nazis

Slavery

Or other human on human atrocities

Then you must stand strong against abortion

One of the great sacraments of the secular culture is ABORTION

There is a deeply held belief by many that abortion, the killing of a baby within the womb, is a human right

Women’s rights

Reproductive rights

It is the line by which many vote for or against a candidate

How did we get to this point?

As Pastor Nathan pointed out a couple months ago, this all starts with worldview

Worldview: the way you look at reality around you

Morals, purpose, view of others

All shaped by your worldview

This is why we emphasize having a biblical worldview

Al Mohler: Ideas have consequences

Your worldview will have consequences, either good or bad

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The Secular Worldview

removes God and religious standards from the equation and attempts to build from there

No foundational authority, always the potential for change

Seen that in how rapidly the morals of our culture has shifted

For our purposes, specifically looking at how that affects human dignity

Biblical Worldview: inherent dignity as God’s image bearers

Talked all about this back in January with Human Dignity

Creatures created by God, but each and every person is valuable and has dignity

Severe punishments for taking the innocent life of a human in Scripture

“The entire world is a revelation of God, a mirror of his virtues and perfections; every creature is in his own way and according to his own measure an embodiment of a divine thought. But among all creatures only man is the image of God, the highest and richest revelation of God, and therefore head and crown of the entire creation.” Bavinck

Genesis 4:9–10 ESV

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

The Secular Worldview doesn’t have the “Creator Foundation”

For the most part, it’s built upon evolution, chance, and survival of the fittest

That leads to dangerous territory, if they’re consistent

“Is it right to inflict upon the fetus the consequence of a particular disability, whether it be Down’s syndrome or Tay-Sachs disease?” Professor D. Garth Jones. “In this instance, it has to be decided whether abortion will benefit the fetus, the parents, society, or none of them.”

Peter Singer (who is consistent & honest) says this - Furthermore, the situation is …unchanged for the newborn child, who does not understand what life is about and therefore can have no preference in the matter. If no one else has a preference that the child should live (no one wants the child), infan-ti-cide within the first month of life can be morally justified. A child may not be wanted for various reasons, such as timing, gender and/or inherited diseases. 

Thankfully, most are not this consistent

But it is this type of thinking that has led to the removal of personhood from entire people groups

Slavery, the Holocaust, and now abortion

Pastor Nathan: What about human beings that aren’t as capable as others? (Unborn, infants, elderly, the mentally handicap) In a modern secular worldview, At best – there isn’t a straightforward answer. At worst – you can argue = they are not fully human. not as valuable.

The Lies of the Secular Worldview

Child in the womb is not human

“Potential of human life”

6-day old embryo and a 6 month fetus do have profound differences

“my body my choice”

Separation of “personhood”

Making claims that a fetus becomes a person after birth

IQ tests, viability, etc

Or claims about value to society

Lack of psychological side effects

Abortion is proven to cause psychological trauma on the mother

What about those who know it’s a human

Proof that killing a human is immoral, evil, and wrong

Becomes an argument of what is morality and where do we get morality

Discussion on morality, viability, societal impact

2. Role of the Christian

Daily Life:

1. Renew Your Mind & Hold Fast

Everything we’re talking about is Ethics - pure and simple

How does God expect you to think and live? That’s what Christian ethics are built around

If you’re a Christian, you should want to have ethics that are biblical and godly

Only way to do that is to know what God says

Get that in His Word

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Deuteronomy 6:1–9 ESV

1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

There has been an expectation that God’s people would be totally shaped by His Word

2. Speak the Truth in Love

Be steadfast in your convictions

Means that we must be bold, even if we’re scared or worried

Also means we don’t bludgeon people, write them off, or are condescending

Have to remember that God has been gracious to us in revealing the truth

We must extend that grace rather than letting our emotions control us

Ephesians 6:11–13 ESV

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

3. Match the Grace of God

God’s grace to those that have had abortions

Repentance & forgiveness are real

David & Moses (2 heroes of the faith) both committed murder, and were forgiven

Show grace to those who have had an abortion

Doesn’t mean we water down the gravity of sin, it is murder

But their minds have been twisted by the lies of the age

We must extend the same grace that has been shown to us

All sin deserves death

4. Vote (when you can)

Blessed to live in a country where we actually have a say

CA may seem bleak now, but God is sovereign, not Satan

5. Fasting & Prayer