Untitled Sermon

Biblical Foundation for the Value of Human Life

If you brought your Bible this morning, open it up. I want to encourage you to bring your Bible when we gather to worship God. And you don’t actually have to wait for the sermon to get it out. When we are singing to the Lord, is there a phrase or a verse that sends your mind to the Scripture and you open your Bible to that place. If there is never anything in our worship songs that brings specific passages of Scripture to my mind, then there is either something wrong with our songs, something wrong with me, or both.

Do you value life the way God does?

INTRODUCTION

Our culture does not value life the way God does.

All life proceeds from God.

There is no life anywhere that does not have it’s source in God. I cannot overemphasize this foundational Bible truth, but I am going to try.

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

There is no life anywhere that does not proceed from God. I cannot overemphasize this foundational Bible truth

The purpose of this passage is ultimately to identify Jesus Christ as God and to begin to teach the distinction of divine persons within the one Triune God, but along the way, it affirms this fundamental truth that all things proceed from God. A subset of all things is all living things and a subset of all living things is all humans.

, (In the beginning…) All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. The purpose of this passage is ultimately to identify Jesus Christ as God and to begin to teach the distinction of divine persons within the one Triune God, but along the way, it affirms this fundamental truth that all things proceed from God. A subset of all things is all living things and a subset of all living things is all humans.

This is, of course, the same truth we see from the beginning of the Bible.

Genesis 2:7 ESV

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

, the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. The reason that any person has ever been alive is that God breathed the breath of life into that first man.

The reason that any person has ever been alive is that God breathed the breath of life into that first man.

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Now, Pastor, I get that the first man was made by God, but for the rest of us God did not scoop up some mud. We came along in the normal sort of procreation reproductive fashion.

Acts 17:25 ESV

nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

, the Apostle Paul is preaching to a bunch of intellectual pagans in Athens, Greece, who believe in wide assortment of gods and He points them to the one true God that they know nothing about. About that God, the Apostle says this: ...he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and all things. Present continuous action. Everything that every person has it’s origin in God and God is actively continuing to supply life itself and breath.

The Apostle Paul is preaching to a bunch of intellectual pagans in Athens, Greece. They believe in wide assortment of gods and the Apostle points them to the one true God that they know nothing about. About that God, the Apostle says this: ...he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and all things. Present continuous action. Everything that every person has it’s origin in God and God is actively continuing to supply life itself and breath.

How many breaths have you taken this morning? Every one of them is actively purposefully intentionally from the hand of God. You continue to breath up to this very moment NOT because biological processes were started at conception and you have not yet experienced sufficient injury, disease, or degradation to stop those breaths. That’s not why. You continue to breath up to this very moment because, by the force of His good will, continues to grant you breath, continues to allow those biological processes to continue.

Glory - To - God

Thank You - God

Praise - God - From - Whom - All - Blessings - Flow

This first duty of every man and woman, according to

Romans 1:21 ESV

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

is to honor God and to thank. We are to acknowledge God. “My life and every breath I take is from You, God, who made me.” Whenever we forget to acknowledge and thank God, we are risk of beginning a downward spiral

is to honor God and to thank. We are to acknowledge God. “My life and every breath I take is from You, God, who made me.” Whenever we forget to acknowledge and thank God, we are risk of beginning a downward spiral

is to honor God and to thank. We are to acknowledge God. “My life and every breath I take is from You, God, who made me.” Whenever we forget to acknowledge and thank God, we are risk of beginning a downward spiral

My Challenge To You: Spend a day rehearsing this great truth to your own soul. Write it on your hand. Really. “Every person made by God.” “Every breath a gift from God.”

OK, I don’t think we overemphasized this first truth, but we started it anyway.

God holds the end of life.

As life proceeds from God it also returns to God, that is the time of death is in God’s hands. It is not given to us to take a human life.

Job knew this. He endured a ton of blessing in His life and also some very severe trial, which is what he is famous for. In Job 14:5, he is complaining about how hard life is and how God ought to just leave everyone alone to enjoy life (as though we could enjoy life the way God intends without Him), and in the middle of His complaint, Job says this: man’s ...days are determined, and the number of his months in with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass...

Job 14:5 ESV

Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

, he is complaining about how hard life is and how God ought to just leave everyone alone to enjoy life (as though we could enjoy life the way God intends without Him), and in the middle of His complaint, Job says this: man’s ...days are determined, and the number of his months in with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass...

God is eternal. He is the only one with no beginning and no end. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning of all things is in Him and the end of all things is in Him.

God is eternal. He is the only one with no beginning and no end. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning of all things is in Him and the end of all things is in Him.

famously starts out this way:

LORD, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. God is eternal and our lives are in His hands.

,

Psalm 90:3 ESV

You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”

Moses continues, You return man to dust and say, “return, O children of man!” You sweep them away as with a flood;

Moses continues, You return man to dust and say, “return, O children of man!” You sweep them away as with a flood;

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before

Moses continues, You return man to dust and say, “return, O children of man!” You sweep them away as with a flood;

The beginning of life and the end of life are in God’s hands and it is not given to mankind to decide the time of death, not by murder and not by suicide, as God so concisely tells us in the 10 Commandments:

Exodus 20:13 ESV

“You shall not murder.

, Thou shalt not murder. Pretty clear, right? Any question?

Exodus 20:13, Thou shalt not murder. Pretty clear, right? Any question?

Well, some do a legitimate question: what about capital punishment? Because God prohibits taking innocent human life, He also punishes the taking of innocent human life.

Genesis 9:6 ESV

“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

, The way this is to work is not by individuals merely taking revenge. Rather, authority is granted to government to carry out capital punishment, as the Apostle tells us in , …there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. …if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

Every life proceeds from God.

The way this is to work is not by individuals merely taking revenge. Rather, authority is granted to government to carry out capital punishment, as the Apostle tells us in , …there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. …if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.

The length of life is also in God’s hands.

Human life is precious to God.

We could move forward with a reasonable assumption that since God took the time and went through the trouble to make everything that has been made (which is everything there is) and that He continues up to this very moment to sustain all life, that He, therefore, values life. Life is precious to Him. But, let’s not proceed on assumption. Let’s see what the Scripture says.

The reason that human life is precious to God is that we bear His image.

Genesis 1:

Genesis 1:27 ESV

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Now, that is a verse I refer to often, so often that I fear some of you yawn right through it, but the reason I mention it so often is that it is so foundational and so true and so important. It’s not a yawner. God intends this truth, this great reality, to inform and to form our thinking about ourselves and our considering of others.

God - very rightly - thinks very highly of Himself, for there is none higher, none better, none more just, none wiser, none more loving, none who is stronger. He is in a category by Himself - a category of one - and it’s a category that cannot be bested in any positive way by any other.

You and I exceed God in one significant way. We sin far better than God. When it comes to sinning, we have God beat, hands down, because in God there is no sin, there is no evil, and He does not and cannot tempt anyone to sin.

But in every other way, God is best - most beautiful, most glorious, most powerful, most seeing and discerning… and no one in heaven or on earth can compare, not in the same league.

So when the Scripture says that we are made in the image of God, it is saying that we have a value to God, that we are precious to God exactly because we bear His image, because we are in small but significant ways like Him - and He is the standard of value and we are a depository of His value.

So God calls on us to protect human life Simple examples are many places in Scripture. Take for example...

Deuteronomy 22:8

Deuteronomy 22:8 ESV

“When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

So if you build a house, which in that day would have had a flat roof and stairs on the outside, or possibly a ladder, so that the roof could be used as outdoor living space, or open air cooking, or drying clothes, or drying fruit or hanging out under an awning when the breeze comes at the end of the day.

God told the Jews that they had to build a low wall around that roof to protect people from falling. If they did not build the parapet and someone fell, then they were guilty. Guilty of what? Guilty of blood - and I am going to paraphrase it this way: Guilty of not sufficiently valuing human life that bears the image of God as seen by not taking an obvious reasonable precaution against injury or death.

And when we say that we have a Judeo-Christian tradition in our nation, you see it in laws that require school buses to stop at railroad crossings and require you to stop when their red lights flash and the stop paddle swings out. Why? Because human life is precious, it’s valuable, because every person bears the image of God. So, repent, changing your thinking, and stop being so impatient and frustrated when you are stuck behind a school bus and are late for an appointment. Instead, thank God that you were born in a place and a time when we see that value from God and protect it, because there are many places in the world where that’s not the case and more children die.

We see it when theaters and churches and every commercial building are required to have adequate exits so that an obvious reasonable precaution against injury and death is taken. So when Corey the fire inspector comes each year and inspects the church’s buildings and says, “Pastor Arnold, you make sure these exit lights work and the exits aren’t blocked and only use this kind of grounded extension cord,” I don’t get upset at him or at the law, because it’s a law that’s based on the great truth that every human bears the image of God and is therefore valued by God.

Now, the question, is why are we so twisted or broken or perverse - as a society - that we can see the moral goodness in those things, but then when it comes to the most vulnerable in our society - the yet-to-born - we refuse to take the obvious reasonable precaution against injury or death, by allowing babies in the womb to be killed?

Let’s start with the babies.

Children are no less treasured by God.

Children are planned by God. If you have read the OT then you know this to be true.

First, you have the cases where God specifically says He has planned a child:

Isaac to be born to Abraham and Sarah.

Samson to be born to Manoah and his wife.

The unnamed baby to be born to the unnamed Shunammite parents who were a blessing to the prophet Elisha.

The prophet Jeremiah to be born according to God’s plan.

John the Baptist to be born to Zechariah and Elizabeth.

The Apostle Paul was set apart by God in the womb before He was born.

And, of course, the ultimate example in Scripture of a child planned by God is our Lord Jesus.

Second, God tells us that children are highly valued.

God opened Sarah’s womb.

Psalm 127:3–4 ESV

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.

Children are a gift given by God.

God closed all the wombs in the household of Abimelech for a time.

Jacob and Esau were two brother who lived apart from each other for about 20 years. When Jacob returned, Esau asked about all of Jacob’s children - he had 13 of them. Jacob said that they were the children whom God has graciously given your servant. (Genesis 33:5)

You know, he must have built that same attitude toward children in his kids. Jacob was later separated from his son Joseph for years. When they were re-united, Jacob asked Joseph the same question: Who are these boys? Joseph answered: They are the sons, whom God has given me here. ()

God has always intended children to be a blessing. Children are born by the blessing of God. That’s been the case from the beginning. After creating man and woman in , God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply. He said the same thing to Noah’s sons in . Children are a gift from God that He usually intends to give.

Here is something interesting for you:

We have different words in English to talk about the baby in the womb and the one in our arms. The one in our arms is a baby, while the one in the womb is an embryo or fetus, at least when that baby in the womb is inconvenient. That’s not the case in Scripture. The baby in the belly is fully human and fully valued.

The angel of the Lord tells Zechariah that his son - he, not it - will be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb.

And then it happened. When Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, visited Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, John was filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb.

And refers to that baby John in the womb as a baby, using the same word as for our newborn Lord in and as for the little children that Jesus blessed.

Listen, we can and should and do work to save babies in the womb. In a few weeks we will have a speaker from Care Net, a local organization that Graham Covenant supports. Their ministry just keeps growing: pregnancy tests and counseling, imaging, education, clothing for newborns, abortion recovery, comfort after a miscarriage or death of a child, moral sex education and STD prevention, parenting classes, all at no charge to the women and men they serve.

Rachel could no

What I am trying to get across this morning is the need to fight to preserve in our own minds and hearts the value God places on human life and to carry that all the way to the way we see children, all the way to the womb.

God was enraged in the OT about child sacrifice to pagan gods. Jesus loved children. He famously rebuked His closest followers when they tried to shoo the children away. Early Christians rescued babies abandoned at birth, raising them in their own homes and teaching them their faith.