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Biblical references in Gahanna-Jefferson Church of Christ's nondenominational sermon outlines are linked directly to text of the King James version of the Bible. Bible quotes you hear in the streaming audio may be from the New King James version of the Bible.
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Introduction.
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2002, will mark the 29th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision entitled Roe v Wade. Along with its lesser-known companion case, Doe v Bolton, it struck down all laws of any kind, State, Federal, or Local, that protected the lives of unborn human children.
I emphasize human because it is still legal to protect unborn animals.
Only unborn humans are denied protection.
The result was, for all practical purposes, legal abortion for any reason or no reason, throughout all three trimesters.
As a result, over 40 million unborn babies (approximately 1.4 million per year) have been summarily slaughtered.
Those numbers are so huge they stagger the imagination; lets put them into perspective:
A. More deaths in one month than there were Americans killed in the entire Viet Nam War.
B. Population of Gahanna, OH wiped out every 2 days.
C. Entire state of Maine (1.25 million) or Nebraska (1.6 million) wiped out every year.
D. Total deaths since Roe v Wade = combined populations of 23 states! (Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, & Wyoming).
E. Why bring all this up? Does this have anything to do with Biblical matters? Should Christians care one way or the other? YES! The basic question is, When does human life begin? If the unborn child is not a living human being, then killing (aborting) one is no different than stepping on a grasshopper; but if the unborn baby is a living human being (as I affirm), then abortion is murder!
Body.
I. Five Basic Positions Concerning When Human Life Begins:
A. The infant becomes human at some point after birth.
1. Proponents of this view do not equate life with humanity--the child is living before it is human (accord. to them).
2. Some of these Drs. & philosophers have suggested that babies should be examined at birth, declared to be human if healthy/normal (if not, then killed).
3. Dr. Peter Singer (Pediatrics, July 1983): "The Philosophical foundations of the sanctity of life view have been knocked asunder. We can no longer base our ethics on the notion that human beings are a special form of life made in the image of God, singled out from all other animals with an immortal soul. Our better understanding of own nature has bridged the gulf that once was thought to lie between ourselves and other species. So why should we believe that the mere fact that a being is a member of the species homo sapiens endows its life with some unique, almost infinite value? Only the fact that the defective infant is of the species homo sapiens leads us to treat it any differently from the dog or pig. The order of species, or species membership alone, should not have that kind of moral relativity."
4. There is no Biblical basis whatsoever for this view--its proponents are Humanists who don't believe the Bible anyway.
B. Baby receives soul upon taking its first breath of air.
1. Claims biblical basis from Genesis
2:7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
a. If babies were formed by the same process Adam was, this would be valid.
b. A child doesn't wait till birth to breathe. Oxygen is received via the mother from conception until birth.
2. Other criteria for life make it clear that the baby is a living soul before being born, e.g. the life is in the blood
(Genesis
9:4-5; Leviticus
17:11-14; Deuteronomy
12:23).
a. An unborn baby has its own blood supply, independent of the mothers (it may even be a different type--accidental leakage from one to the other can cause medical problems)!
b. Proverbs
6:16-17, "These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood."
How He must hate the hands of abortionists!
C. Life begins when the baby could survive outside the mothers body (viability).
1. This position has no claim at all for a Bible basis.
2. This is a measure of how advanced medical technology is, not of human life!
a. Babies survive today that would surely have perished 30 years ago. Are such premature babies human today, but they weren't back
then?
b. If life = ability to survive independently, then invalids are non-human (this is why euthanasia has followed so closely on the heels of abortion)!
D. Life begins when the baby moves (i.e. when the mother feels the baby move).
1. The old term is quickening.
2. No Biblical basis at all (but still held, especially by some who received medical education many years ago).
3. This is a measure of the mothers sensitivity, not of the baby's alive-ness.
4. Ultrasound demonstrates that the baby is moving long before mother can feel it.
a. Heart begins beating at 18-25 days!
b. Baby moves about, kicks, flexes, etc., long before being large enough that mother can feel the kicks & pokes.
E. Life begins at conception.
1. Psalm
51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me".
David began to exist at conception; it wasn't just a blob of matter that later became David.
2. All that is added after conception is nourishment and oxygen.
3. An unborn baby is simply in an early stage of development, but is still a living human being! (Toddlers are not adults, but we agree that they are living human beings. They are in an earlier stage of development than we adults are.)
4. A fertilized ovum is genetically identifiable as human, & is unique (today you have the same genetic code you had when you were one cell; no one else has ever had the same genetic code you have; no one will ever have it again.)
II. Realizing that Life Begins at Conception, What Can Christians Do About Abortion?
A. Pray.
1. Pray for our government officials. 1
Timothy 2:1-3 "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior"
a. Before you complain, pray!
b. Proverbs
14:34, "Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people. "
c. Proverbs
29:2, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
2. Pray for women with difficult pregnancies.
a. Most aborting moms are panicked, uninformed, desperate (may be pressured by husband/boyfriend, parents, peers)
b. Try to redeem, not condemn as Jesus did with the women taken in adultery
in John 8:1-11.
3. Pray for abortionists. Matthew
5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you," – compare
Luke 23:34,
"Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.'"
B. Vote.
1. One way of being salt and light, Matthew 5:13-16.
2. You are a Christian everywhere you go, including the voting booth!
3. This is not a corruption of religion with politics (or vice-versa):
a. Certainly the battle is ultimately won or lost by persuading people, not by passing laws--BUT . . .
b. God ordained civil government to administer justice (Romans 13:1-8 etc.); the majority of folks will not respond positively to God's word--civil govt. exists to restrain those who would practice wickedness.
C. Teach.
1. Teach (& Practice!) Biblical sexual morality.
a. Namely, that all sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong!
b. Prevention via purity (contrast to the worlds teaching of prevention via safe/protected sex--their prevention often fails, & there is no such thing as safe or responsible fornication!)
2. Teach Biblical view of human life.
a. Genesis
1:27, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
b. Genesis
9:5-6, " Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man.
From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man.
Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man."
c. Abortion is logical consequence of theory of evolution.
3. Teach the facts about abortion.
a. You would be surprised to know how many people think it is illegal! Or that the unborn child is just a blob,
especially in first 3 months.
b. Be assured the other side is busy teaching lies & distortions.
a. Unless we do this, were just treating the symptoms. We must change peoples hearts, not just their outward behavior.
b. Illustration: We treat the symptoms of a disease (e.g. fever, pain), but we must also treat the cause, or else the other is in vain.
Conclusion.
1. Humans are made in Gods image.
2. Life is precious.
3. God has graciously granted us the opportunity to live w/ Him eternally.
4. Have you complied with His conditions to receive the gift of eternal life (See
Salvation)?
Hear the 2003 Sermon
-- Don Treadway, January 2002 --
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