The Abomination of Abortion

Gianna Jensen - VIDEO of lady who had been burned during attempted abortion.

Do you think that Gianna is grateful to be alive? Me too. WE CELEBRATE LIFE! But sadly, most babies that are aborted don’t make it like she did.

In fact, since Roe v. Wade in 1973 it is estimated that

61 million 628 thousand+ babies have been murdered in the womb. (nrlc.org/uploads/factsheets/FS01AbortionintheUS.pdf)

I can’t get my head around those kind of numbers, but that’s what I call...

The Abomination of Abortion.

First, I must address those who have experienced or encouraged abortion, because I don’t want you to hear what I’m NOT saying.

In just a moment we are going to demonstrate what an abortion really is - the taking of an innocent human life. But, as many people have joyfully discovered, Jesus CAN and WILL forgive you for abortion…IF you turn from your sin and follow Him. However, without repentance, there is NO FORGIVENESS. But if you continue to pretend that ABORTION, or other sins against our Holy God - AREN’T sins - then without repentance, there is NO FORGIVENESS.

The Good News is, that John the apostle of Jesus, described Jesus as being full of “grace and truth” (Jn 1:17). One of the greatest demonstrates of that GRACE & TRUTH is seen when Jesus has a Divine appointment with the Samaritan woman at a well. Married 5 times and living with her current man, Jesus showed this woman both GRACE and TRUTH. First He kindly confronted her sin - telling her to bring her husband which led to a conversation - “I don’t have a husband” to which Jesus said, “I know. You’ve had 5 and now you’re living with a guy who you aren’t even married to”. THEN Jesus graciously offered her forgiveness.

And THAT is what I want to do, today - bring the TRUTH about abortion and extend God’s GRACE to everyone who responds in repentance to the Lord Jesus.

Now before I go any further, I must PRAY.

In case you didn’t know it, our nation is MASSIVELY DIVIDED on the issue of abortion. And just in case you don’t believe me, post anything against abortion on social media, and watch the fireworks fly. Here are some of the responses I have received:

“No man should ever tell a woman what she can do with her body.”

“Abortion is legal, so who are you to say it’s wrong?”

“Abortion is between a woman & her doctor.”

“Abortion needs to remain legal because of rape & molestation.”

“You don’t have any right to oppose abortion unless you are willing to care for the children who are born to these women.”

“The fetus is not human. It’s just a blob of tissue.” (FETUS = baby)

How would YOU answer those statements? Do they seem tough to counter? They’re NOT...

You should simply respond with JUST 1 QUESTION.

JUST 1 QUESTION can cut through all the smokescreens. You don’t need to know everything the Bible says that relates to abortion, and you don’t have to convince another person that the Bible is true. You don’t have to be a biologist, psychologist, sociologist, or expert in the medical field.

Ask JUST 1 QUESTION.

Here it is…this is going to blow you away. Are you ready to ask JUST 1 QUESTION…?

What is IT? What…is…IT? Is IT just a blob of tissue or is IT a human person?

THIS really matters. Imagine one of your children hollering down the hall, “Mom/Dad, can I kill it?” Well, that all depends, doesn’t it…Whether he can kill IT depends on what IT is…If IT is a roach…smash it and send it down the toilet! But if IT is his younger sibling- …then NO…you can kill IT…because IT is HUMAN!

Let me show you what that looks like. I’ve had numerous conversations like this, where a person tells me...

“I would never have an abortion, but I wouldn’t tell someone else they shouldn’t.”

Then I ask, “Why would YOU never have an abortion?”

“Because I believe it’s wrong to take a human life.”

I respond, “So, let me get this right. You believe abortion kills a baby, but you believe it is a woman’s right to kill her own baby?”

“No...I just...well...I can’t tell other people what to do with their own bodies...I’m not the judge.”

“First, it’s not her body. It’s a separate human life inside of her body. So what if you saw a mother strangling her 1 month old. What would you do?” I’m betting, I’m HOPING you would become the judge! I’m hoping you would do everything within your power to protect that little human being.

And that’s just the problem with the subject of abortion...there are so many smoke screens, that we can forget the ONE THING that matters most.

So today, I’m going to challenge YOU to consider this question for yourself, and then challenge OTHERS to consider “Just One Question”: What is IT?

If IT is just a blob of fat you want removed from your body, I don’t care. But if IT is human…then the question of whether abortion is a ‘woman’s right’ becomes much simpler.

Greg Koukl says it well. “If the unborn is not a human person, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human person, no justification for abortion is adequate.”

So, here’s the basic moral reasoning for saying abortion is wrong.

It is WRONG to take the life of an innocent human being.

Abortion takes the life of an innocent human being.

THEREFORE: Abortion is WRONG.

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It’s that simple, although you can then expect the other person to offer a bunch of smoke screens. We will talk more about how to cut through these in a few minutes. But first, let’s just SEE the reality of what abortion really is.

SADLY, THE WORD “ABORTION” HAS LOST ITS MEANING BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE MORE MOVED BY STORIES MORE THAN FACTS.

The problem is, we hear stories from people who have HAD abortions rather than THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN ABORTED.

We see the smiling faces of the adults who have chosen abortion, but not the faces of the brutalized children who have been murdered by abortionists.

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Set up video: During World War II millions of Jewish families were shipped away by the Nazis by trains, with promises of protection and a better future.

But after being crammed together in the railcars for days without food, water, or restrooms, the people entering these camps, found out pretty quick that the future of their families was bleak.

Americans who were hearing about supposed atrocities didn’t KNOW the FACTS and without seeing if for themselves, couldn’t FEEL the FACTS.

But when Americans began to SEE IT for themselves - the brutalized, murdered bodies of human beings - it left them aghast - horrified. The German people who supported the Nazis were paraded through the camps and forced to look upon the thousands of bodies still decomposing. They had to SEE it to understand how wicked it was.

So too, Americans must see the reality of Abortion - we must SEE it to understand how wicked it IS. That is why I am showing this video.

The 1st 2 minutes is a spokeswoman for an abortion clinic - who, in my opinion, is spewing lies from the devil. The last 1.5 minutes is graphic. BUT…it will bring CLARITY to the question: What is IT? Parents, you might want to cover your children’s eyes OR take them out during this video. But…at some point as they grow…just like the pictures of the Holocaust, your children need to SEE and FEEL what abortion really is.

VIDEO - Abortion Proclaimed vs Abortion Revealed (Have Don fire it)

QUESTION: Pro-Abortion folks don’t want these images shown. Why not?

Because there is NO QUESTION what these are…HUMANS.

In 2017 (the latest legit facts I could find), the Guttmacher Institute (a Pro-Abortion research organization) reported 862,320 clinical abortions, 39% of which were via medication instead of surgical.

This week, Joe Biden said that "1 in 1,000 Black Americans have died from this virus” which he then called a “staggering statistic” (seen on Fox News 10/28/20). That’s .1%. I didn’t think that was very staggering, but if that’s ‘staggering’, then I he should, you should, I should rightly recognize that...

18.4 abortions per every 100 pregnancies is catastrophic! That’s 18.4%! That means that almost 1 or every 5 pregnancies ends in abortion. The sad thing is, that’s just clinical abortions, and can’t count the many abortions where people purchase abortion pills on the black market. (guttmacher.org/report/abortion-incidence-service-availability-us-2017)

Let me see if this will help us see the significance of this - as already mentioned, in 2017 there were 862,320 babies killed in clinical abortions.

Doak Campbell - holds about 80,000 people -

So, in 2017 the number of babies killed by abortion would fill Doak Campbell...

almost 11 times!

And if you put 1 baby killed in abortion in each seat, over 61.6 million, since the Roe v Wade decision to legalize abortion in 1973 - until today, that stadium would be filled…not 70 times, not 270 times, not 570 times, but...

770 times!

That’s the Abomination of Abortion.

So, How Can We Make a Difference?

1) Examine the Evidence & Know WHY You Believe WHAT You Believe.

The greatest critic you will ever face is the person you see in the mirror everyday.

As Christians, we need to know both the BIOLOGICAL BASIS & BIBLICAL BASIS for recognizing that abortion is WRONG, and then we will be able to stand passionately and purposefully to defend the TRUTH.

Notice that I haven’t mentioned Biblical Scriptures as of yet. That doesn’t mean the Bible has nothing to say on this issue, and since both BIOLOGY (studying life that God created) & BIBLE belong to God - they do NOT contradict each other.

The BIOLOGY is clear. When human sperm and egg combine, it immediately results in the formation of a HUMAN BEING. There is NO CHANCE it is anything else other than HUMAN. And that HUMAN being, if healthy, will go through the same transformational process that you did, the process we saw in the VIDEO. The counter is to say that it might be HUMAN but it is not a PERSON. But this is just silliness - twisting our language into a mixed-up mess.

Hank Hanegraaff concisely & correctly says: “Abortion is the painful killing of an innocent human being.”

And no counter arguments change that reality. Some still TRY though. Some say it’s not human because it’s small, not fully formed, inside the woman’s womb, or so dependent on the woman’s body.

To those arguments I offer you the SLED Test.

SIZE The unborn is smaller than a toddler, but toddlers are also smaller than teenagers or adults. Is Joyce Howard/Suzy Godfrey less of a human person than Covey Flournoy/Brody Herring because she is smaller?

LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT The unborn is less developed than a toddler, but toddlers are less developed than teenagers and adults and yet still human. Are ADULTS more human than toddlers…or the unborn?

ENVIRONMENT Are the children in our Children’s Building somehow LESS IMPORTANT than us because of their LOCATION? Is a person who is in the hospital/nursing home any less human than those who are HERE today? Of course not!

As you probably remember, Alyssa Bass was born to Austin & Adri not at 40 weeks, but 31 weeks (2lbs - 12oz), very premature. What would happen if a nurse snuck in the NICU and smothered her? If caught that nurse would face murder charges. But if Adri wanted to, should could have had Alyssa killed in her womb by an abortion. But how does the environmental change of location of a few inches from the womb to change the reality that Alyssa…is a HUMAN BEING?

DEGREE OF DEPENDENCY Is an infant who needs a mother for food or an elderly person who is dependent on others to help them get dressed, somehow LESS HUMAN?

BIOLOGY clear that the unborn fetus is HUMAN. So too..

The BIBLE is clear. I’ll take a couple of minutes on this, and then we will press on.

God protects unborn human life.

Exodus 21:22–25 When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment.

If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

Further, when Pharoah - the most powerful man on the planet - commanded the Jewish mid-wives to kill the male babies being born to Jewish women, look at how they responded.

Exodus 1:16–17 When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.

When Pharaoh asked why they didn’t do what he commanded, they lied by saying the Hebrew women were strong and pushed them out before they got there. Is it ever RIGHT to lie? Yep. Protecting the innocent from death is a greater law than telling the truth. Remember German families lying about protecting Jewish people in Nazi Germany?

Exodus 1:21 Since the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

And, of course, there is David’s incredible description of being formed in his mother’s womb. He writes about it in Psalm 139.

Psalm 139:13–14 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wondrously made...

2) Vote Your Values.

The next President will might be able to install new Supreme Court judges who can shift the balance to support abortion or abolish abortion. Where do the platforms stand? I’m glad you asked:

Democratic Platform for Abortion

Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. We will repeal the Title X domestic gag rule and restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides vital preventive and reproductive health care for millions of people. (p.32)

We will appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges who look like America, are committed to the rule of law, will uphold individual civil rights and civil liberties as essential components of a free and democratic society, and will respect and enforce foundational precedents, including Brown v. Board of Education and​ Roe v. Wade.​ (p.39)

Like the majority of Americans, Democrats believe every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. We oppose and will fight to overturn federal and state laws that create barriers to women’s reproductive health and rights, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment and protecting and codifying the right to reproductive freedom. (p. 42)

* The Hyde Amendment bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion except to save the life of the mother, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape.

Democrats will always protect sexual and reproductive health and rights. We believe that comprehensive health services, including access to reproductive care and abortion services, are vital to the empowerment of women and girls. (p.82)

Republican Platform against Abortion

The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property” deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all” are “endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life.

Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth. (p.13)

We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare. (pp. 13-14)

3) Do Something to Serve!

First, you can support The Pregnancy Center right here in Madison! You can serve with your money. You can serve with your time. We have had students paint there in the past. Women help counsel scared young ladies. Men could help encourage young fathers. Talk with Freddy Howard or Darlene Burnette from Madison & Amy McBrayer in Hamilton County. Keep Sharon Morris - current director - in prayer.

Second - some of you have adopted children to give them a good home. It is a joy to see little Ethan Johnson GROWING UP here - loved by Jason, Jessica, & family (that includes us!). Christians have a long tradition of adopting children that others don’t want. If you still want children, would you prayerfully consider adopting?

Or, find ways to serve children who need healthy relationships with caring adults. Do you think we might have a few children like that in our community?

4) Stop Being Silent & Cut Through the Smoke Screens! Stop being silent on the issue. If IT is human...

If the unborn is not a human person, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human person, no justification for abortion is adequate. Don’t let people dodge the REAL issue. Challenge them to SEE the videos! Don’t let them dodge THE ISSUE to answer Just One Question: What is IT?

Be Ready for Emotional Smoke Screens:

It’s a woman’s body and she can do with it as she likes. This is simply not true - separate heart, brain, nervous system, and DNA.

What about in the cases of a mother’s life in danger? In 1980 C. Everett Koop — who later became surgeon general — said that “in my 36 years in pediatric surgery I have never known of one instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother’s life.” (politico.com/story/2012/10/walsh-walks-back-abortion-comments-a-bit-082650) My simple response would go like this: If pressed, I would want the baby birthed by C-section, in an attempt to save both. But, if 2 people were drowning and you could save 1 or NONE, which would you choose? I would choose my wife over the child. This is extremely rare and the extreme exception should never be the norm.

What about in the cases of rape or molestation? Before I answer that, if we allowed abortion in these less the 1.5% of abortions in the US, would you stand with me in condemning the other 98.5% that have nothing to do with rape or molestation - usually due to fear & selfishness? (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/24/rape-and-incest-account-few-abortions-so-why-all-attention/1211175001/) The typical response I have been given is, “NO!” I then point out that this is a smokescreen and see where it goes from there. The baby is not responsible for the rape. You should kill the guilty rapist way before you consider killing the innocent baby!

Most importantly,

5) SHARE the good news of Jesus! - Gianna Jensen was willing to FORGIVE her mother, the mother who tried to abort her. WHY? Because she has experienced the forgiveness of Jesus! She offered THAT forgiveness to her mother. And maybe, just maybe…you can be the one who shares how Jesus forgave You…of an abortion…or some other wicked sin that Jesus died to pay for (like lying, stealing, sexual impurity). Remember Jesus and the Samaritan woman - TRUTH & GRACE.

Do you need to talk to someone?

STAFF & DEACONS #s

PRAY

Shoeboxes DUE - get them in THIS WEEK!

Next Sunday - TJ Green here speaking.