Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139 (1-16, 23-24)

So you are pro-life? Why?

The majority of Christians oppose abortion, but only “because Christians oppose abortions”

If you do not know the Bible, your belief or statement on the topic holds zero credibility

You cannot stand on the truth if you do not know the truth

Some argue that life begins at first breath. How do you respond to that?

Our Pro-life God

1) Facts/stats

Over 63,000,000 since 1973

Around 5900 per day since 1973

(ASIDE- July 4, US pride?)

What about rape/incest? <1% of abortion related to this, way less

What about when the life of the mother is at stake?

Truth - in the very RARE instance, the baby is delivered and attempted to be kept alive, not killed. Doctors work hard to save BOTH lives

But we force women to give birth, right?

Planned Parenthood locations are closing - why? I thought they were crucial places for women’s health?

Some Bible facts

Jeremiah 1:4–5 NASB95

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Proverbs 6:16–17 NASB95

There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

Job 31:15 NASB95

“Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?

Psalm 22:9–10 NASB95

Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

Isaiah 44:2 NASB95

Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

John the Baptist was filled with H.S. in the womb

He responded with joy at the presence of another baby in the womb, when Mary (pregnant with Jesus) visited Elizabeth

Jesus was recognized with joy by another pre-born baby

In the New Testament, the word is “brefos”

Luke 1:41 and Luke 2:16 - same word pre- and post-birth!

EVERY WORD INSPIRED

POINT - life begins at conception/fertilization - 1 sperm, 1 egg

gender hair color, eye color, other traits - already determined

2) Defining the terms (no middle ground)

“What do you mean by…?”

Pro-life - all life matters to God, and life is not to be taken unjustly

Abortion is wrong

Pro-”choice” - must define the “choice” - let baby live or kill the baby

pro-choice = pro-abortion

Conception - that moment that the sperm and egg combine to form one organism, one life

Many birth control methods are abortive - if you are truly pro-life, consider that

Womb in Psalm 139:13-14 is the “abdomen” or “belly” (no parsing words to say this means that life begins with implantation (OT was not an A/P class)

Woman’s body - no. Connected but completely distinct, separate life, so much so that God design the womb to protect the baby from the mother, whose body and immune system wants to reject

Human being or human person? “Person implies not needing support of another to live” - the “life at first breath” argument comes into play

How far do you take this argument, logically?

The Bible NEVER separates human being from person

Murder - unjustly taking the life of another human being - it’s wrong

What about capital punishment, self-defense? “You people have this commandment thou shall not kill… NO, the commandment is thou shall not MURDER

Murder is to kill an innocent, undeserving of death

And God values life in the womb - Exodus 21:22 and Numbers 5 are great passages for study - not enough time right now - some will say these passages support abortion, and they are wrong

Innocent

Proverbs 6:16-17 passage

Psalm 10:1-8 passage

James 1:27 passage

We would do well, honestly, teaching our children the truth about pregnancy, about how He values abstinence and life, about how He values every life, even in the womb

You CAN actually teach expect your children to grow up and get married as virgins. It actually happens!

Or you can give up, and just hope kids turn out OK

Let the government schools teach them how to use condoms, morning-after pills, and how sex is not sacred, it’s just normal for teens.

No concept at all of 1 Cor. 7 and that the place for sex is within marriage

There are great reasons God planned it this way - if that matters to Christian parents today

We’ve gotten this so messed up - we need to see hearts changed, not just laws

3) God Forgives

This is often missed by pro-life groups

Many decisions are painful, and are easy to answer “on paper”

10-year-old in Michigan

The known birth defect

The substance user

Bad timing, poor social/financial challenges

Consequence of bad/sinful decision

Look at the conversations Jesus had

The woman at the well - multiple husbands

The adulterous woman

The crooked tax collector

He understands the pain and hurt - while never bending on right and wrong

Forgiveness does not mean just looking the other way

It means confronting sin, someone repents, and then we forgive

Just like God

So we, church, need to come alongside the hurting sinner, the pregnant woman contemplating abortion - yet never straying from the truth

It’s hard. Yes, it’s hard. Your point??

4) Pro-choice?

Wanna talk “pro-choice?”

When it comes to babies, God is pro-life, not wiling that any be killed in the womb

You are either pro-abortion or pro-life

When it comes to eternity, God is also pro-life, not willing that any would perish eternally

And He gives everyone the choice

God lets you make the choice

For Jesus

Against Jesus

For Jesus - sinner, saved by grace, for the asking and acceptance

Against Jesus - sinner, willing to pay the penalty, eternity separated from God

CLOSE

The recent SCOTUS ruling did not outlaw abortion

Illinois is already stepping up access and encouraging more

Real change will come when God’s people know His Word, and TEACH His Word to the next generation.

We have lots of the next generation here.

Let’s pray for them, encourage them. They face a world hostile to following Jesus. We all do.

And when you follow Jesus, even though it seems difficult, He tells us that His burden is light and His yoke is easy (Matt. 11:30)

Church, your life is, and always has been precious to God. Every life is.

My prayer is that we diligently pray for the pre-born, to make it to physical birth

Then…we diligently pray for their second birth, spiritually, trusting in Jesus