God values life and we should too

Open: SCOTUS is currently in the process of making a ruling on the issue of life. It is possible the high court may overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalized the murder of unborn children in all states of our nation. The 1973 court made their decision without legal grounds and simply created the so-called right of a woman to terminate the life inside her body.

In the almost 50 years following this abominable decision, our country has witnessed the murder of over 60 million lives. Simply because the life is still inside the womb does not change the value that God places upon human life. As citizens of this union, we cannot turn a blind eye to the continuing wickedness that takes place in our midst.

While we should (some of us who profess to be evangelical Christians sadly do not do so) rightly identify abortion as murder, there is more than life in the womb to consider when we look at the issue of the sanctity of life. This morning’s text from Genesis 9 will help us to see and to remind us of the valuation that God places on all life.

READ TEXT: Genesis 9:1-7

God proclaims His value on human life through His Creation mandate to be fruitful (Gen 9:1, 7)

Explanation: The background for this account is the beginning of life after the global flood. God has just wiped all out all of life on the planet with the exception of the 8 souls who were on the Ark. God is giving marching orders to Noah and his family, and His words are very instructive to us as it concerns the value that God places on all of life.

God begins by telling them to have children who will then have children of their own. Through the process of child-bearing the earth will be replenished with human life. God repeats His mandate twice in this short passage for emphasis. (verse 1 and verse 7). This mandate is a re-establishing of the original creation mandate that God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen 1:28). This mandate has never been rescinded - it is still valid and operational.

Argument: There are many voices today that view the idea of having children to be morally irresponsible. Sure, it made sense to have children after the flood, but not now. 4,500 years later the earth is over-populated, climate change is dooming the planet (According to AOC we only have about 10 years left before total meltdown) so why add to the problem?

Illustrate: In Sept. 2019, then 18 year old Emma Lin started the No future, No children movement to combat Climate Change by pledging not to have children. Since that time, thousands of young people (mostly European) have signed the pledge, some as young as 11.

Argument: This is simply a fear-based reaction to a created crisis. While our planet may be in the midst of a warming cycle, the doomsday prophets of societal collapse due to so-called climate change are just trying to terrify people. AND, it’s working. Some of our own young people are choosing not to have children due to fear of the future.

Believers are not called to walk in fear, but by faith. The same God who set the rainbow in the sky as a visible sign of His promise to preserve the world is the same God who holds the future. While God is going to bring this present world to an end, it won’t be through the results of over population. The God who gave the mandate “to be fruitful and multiply” is not going to have his plan derailed by the results of His own mandate! Let’s give our Infinite and All-Wise God more credit than this

Application: Young married couples should continue to have children as they are able to do so responsibly. NOTE: there are some couples who are physically unable to have children. Being childless is not a curse, and it doesn’t make that couple less in the eyes of God. The stress here is on the expected outcome of a marriage union: that of having children

Psalm 127:3 ESV

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

God determines the value of human life by the distinction He Himself made between humans and the animals (Genesis 9:2-4)

Explanation: God makes another very important decision in this passage when He emphasizes the difference between humans and animals. This is a category difference (like apples and oranges). Humans are categorically different from animals. Humans are not simply the highest form of animal. Humans are unique when contrasted with the animals because God created mankind differently than He created all of the other animals.

Genesis 1:27 KJV 1900

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

Argument: Only humans bear the imago dei - only humans can relate to the Creator God in a personal way. Jesus did not come to die for dolphins or chimpanzees or even Rover; He certainly didn’t come to die for cats!

God did indeed create the animals, but He gave dominion to mankind. After the Fall, God allowed for mankind to use animals for food. God repeats this provision to Noah and his family upon their leave-taking of the Ark. By doing so, God maintains the category division between man and the animals.

This distinction is important because we live in a day and age where this distinction is being turned upside down. There are some who place more value on the life of an animal or a tree than the value they place on a human life

Illustrate: July 2015 an American dentist illegally killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, Africa. The story created an international uproar with many voices calling for the prosecution of the hunter. His address was given in spite and his home vandalized. Many wanted him put in jail.

Argument: My point is not to defend poachers or those who hunt illegally. My point is to highlight the upside down value system we have developed. Many of us will become outraged at the killing of an animal 3,000 miles away on another continent, but we will not make a single protest or public comment about the murder of unborn HUMAN life that is taking place within 30 miles of our own homes.

While God did give humans dominion over the animals, He did not give us license to treat them cruelly

Proverbs 12:10 KJV 1900

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

We are called, however to maintain the differences in values between the 2 distinct groups, and we are to value human life as a premium.

God sets the value of human life by instituting the death penalty for those who take life (Gen 9:5-6)

Explanation: God sums up His valuation of human life by declaring that those who deliberately end the life of another human forfeit the right to keep on living. God establishes the death penalty for murder. He clearly states that those who murder are to be put to death. He gives the reason in v. 6 - humans are created in His image and to deliberately end the life of an image - bearer is serious business.

Argument: There are those who try to confuse Christians and other conservatives who are pro-life and pro-death penalty. They claim we are being hypocritical and inconsistent. They argue that if a person is for protecting life in the womb, then that person also has to stand against the death penalty.

The biblical position supports both. Before going any further, I want to state that I am aware that our justice system has flaws, and there are very serious inequities regarding what type of person is actually executed by the state. With that being said, God is the one who established capital punishment for murderers and He is also the One who upholds the sanctity of life, including the life of the unborn.

If our justice system was consistent, it would place abortion doctors under capital punishment for the murder of the unborn. Again, at this point I want to be clear - this action would be carried out by the authorized system of government - this is not a call to vigilantism. God never authorizes personal revenge as grounds for taking a life.

Romans 12:19 ESV

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Conclusion: Abortion is the deliberate ending of pre-born life and is a national sin that needs to come to an end. Whether or not SCOTUS will rule in favor of life remains to be seen. Regardless of the court’s decision all Christians should understand that God has already declared what is right. His standard is the important one, and as His people we should oppose abortion and be involved in the process of bringing it to an end.