Developing a Biblical Position on Abortion

“Developing a Biblical Position on Abortion”

(Sunday Morning January 23rd, 2011)

Selected Scriptures(Psalms 139:13-16)

O.S. This Sunday Has Been Designated as “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”
by the Southern Baptist Convention

-> This Tradition Began Back in 1973 Just After the Roe vs Wade Supreme Court
Decision Was Finalized That Legalized Abortion

-> And Since That Time, Over 50 Million Babies Have Been Killed

-> In Order to Help Us All to Understand the Magnitude of This, I Prepared
This Chart for You

-> Each Cross Represents 25,000 Deaths; and as You Can See, the War
on the Unborn is Really Off the Charts

-> In Fact, That is Supposed to be 2,000 Crosses; You Can Count Them Later
if You Would Like, But I Think You Get the Idea

-> And the Sad Truth is That There is Really No End in Sight

-> We Can Vote for Pro-Life Candidates if We Can Still Find Them;
We Can Hold Up Signs in Front of Abortion Clinics, and We Can
Preach Sermons That Reveal Why This is Wrong

-> And We Should

-> But I for One am Skeptical About the Likelihood of the Roe vs Wade Decision
That Legalized Abortion Ever Being Reversed

Q.n = So, Why Botherto Address This Subject? – Someone Might Say

Q.n = Well, Have You Ever Heard the Story About the Man Who Was Walking Along
a Beach Where Multiplied Thousands of Starfish Had Washed Up? (Elaborate)

-> There is Still a Battle to be Fought in the Minds of People, and in Crisis Pregnancy
Centers Where Sonogram Machines Have Been Proven to Save Many Lives(Note)

-> We Can’t Save Them All, But We Can Save Some by Speaking Out Against This Sin
and by Revealing What the Scriptures Have to Say About the Life of the Unborn

Ill: Dr. Ernest Easley is the Pastor of the Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta,
Georgia, and He Tells a Story That I Believe Brings This Into Perspective
-> A 27 Year Old Young Lady, a School Teacher, Came to His Office One Day
for Some Counsel; She Said That She Was Pregnant, and That She Was
Considering an Abortion

-> Of Course, Dr. Easley Revealed to Her What the Bible Says About This Subject,
But She Protested; She Said,
“These people in this town will not accept this. My reputation will be ruined,
and I will lose my job as a Teacher”

-> Then, She Stood Up, and She Walked Out of His Office

-> Soon After This, Dr. Easley Accepted a Call to Another Church and Moved Away,
But He Always Wondered What This Young Lady Decided to Do

-> Seven Years Later, He Got His Answer, Because He Was Invited to Return
to That Same Church and to Preach a Revival There

-> And Up in the Balcony, He Saw This Young Lady With a Little Boy Sitting Next
to Her Who Appeared to be Just About Seven Years of Age

-> After the Service, She Brought Her Boy Up to Meet Dr. Easley, and This is What
She Said to Her Son; She Said,
“Son, I Want You to Shake This Man’s Hand; Because if It Had Not Been for His
Counsel, You Wouldn’t be Here Today”

-> I Have Never Had Anything That Dramatic Happen in My Ministry Even Though
I Have Preached About This Subject Many Times

-> But I Have to Believe That Somewhere Down the Line, a Young Lady May Choose
Bring a Child to TermBecause of the Biblical Truths That I Have Shared

-> Or Perhaps, Someone Who Has Heard These Biblical Truths Will Share Them
With Someone Else Who is Considering an Abortion and a Life Will be Saved
Q.n = That Makes Addressing This Subject Worthwhile Doesn’t It?

Q.n = If Just One Baby is Saved, It is Worth It as Far as I am Concerned?
(Can I Get a Witness This Morning?)

St = Solomon Expressed This Idea in Proverbs 24:11-12by Saying This; He Said,

“11 Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering
to slaughter, Oh hold them back. 12 If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’ does
He not consider it who weighs the hearts? and does He not know it who keeps
your soul?...”

-> And the Prophet Isaiah Said,

"Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My
people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins”(Isa 58:1)

-> You See, I Have a Responsibility, and So do You, to do All That We Can to Save
as Many Lives as We Can and to Help Our Fellow Americans to See That Abortion
is a Sin

-> Many are Simply Ignorant of the Facts, Because They’ve Never Been Taught
What the Bible Has to Say About This Subject

-> In Fact, It is Entirely Possible That We Could Have Someone in This Church Today
Who Has Had an Abortion, Because 1/2 of All of the Women in the U.S. Over 45 Have

-> And What I Would Want That Person to Know is That Our God is Gracious
and That He Forgives

-> The Last Thing He Would Want for a Person Who Has Had an Abortion
Would be for Them to go on Living With a Guilty Conscience

“…come boldly to the throne of grace,…” the Writer of Hebrews Has Said, “… that we
(You) may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:15) (NKJV)

-> That’s What Our God Would Want Such a Person to Do

-> Our God Would WantThem to Claim His Forgiveness; and Then, He Would Want
Them to Get Informed AboutWhat the Bible Has to Say About This Subject

-> AndThen, Praise be to God, He Would Want Them to Switch Sides

-> Instead of Advocating the Death of the Unborn, He Would Want Them to Begin
Defending the Life of the Unborn

-> And I Believe That the Best Place to Begin is by Becoming Informed, as I Said,
About What the Bible Has to Say About This Subject

I. The Bible Says That Conception is an Act of God

a. On the One Hand, the Scriptures Tell Us That God Can Prevent Conception
-> In Genesis 20:18, for Example, We are Told That…
“…the LORD closed up every womb in Abimilech’s household”

-> In Genesis 16:2, Sarah Said to Abraham
“…the LORD has prevented me from bearing children…”

-> And in 1 Samuel 1:5, the Bible Says of Hannah That…
“…the LORD (had) closed her womb”

-> There are a Lot of Couples in Our Country Who Struggle With This Problem

as We All Know, and We Have Fertility Clinics That are Designed to Help Them

-> We Also Have Adoption Agencies, and Some of These Couples Will Choose
to Adopt a Child

-> Personally, I Don’t Think There’s Anything Wrong With Seeking This Kind
of Help as Long as It Does Not Involve Doing Something Immoral

-> In Fact, I Believe That This is One Very Legitimate Reason for Being Opposed
to Abortion

-> For You See, We Have Over 2 Million Couples in American Every YearWho Try
to Adopt Children, But Most of Them Will Not be Able to do So

-> And Yet, We Have 1 ½ Million Babies Being Aborted Every Yearin This Country

-> This Means That Every One of These Babies Could Have Been Given a Home
Where They Would Have Been Loved and Cared for if They Had Simply Been
Given a Chance to Live

-> And I Believe That Would Have Been a Great Way to Turn a Bad Situation
Into Something Good
b. On the Other Hand, the Scriptures Tell Us That God Can Produce Conception

-> In Genesis 25:21, for Example, the Bible Says
“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord
answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived”

-> Likewise, We are Told in Judges 13:3, That the Lord Answered a Prayer for Manoah
and His Wife Who Was Barren, and God Sent an Angel to Them Who Said,
“…’Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive
and give birth to a son’”

-> That Child, as Most of Us Know, Was Named Samson, and He Was Used by the Lord
to Bring His Judgment Down Upon the Philistines

-> 1 Samuel 1:19-20Goes on to Talk About Hannah, and It Says,
“19… the Lord remembered her. 20 (And) It came about in due time, after Hannah
had conceived, that she gave birth to a son”

-> And in Ruth 4:13, the Bible Says,

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord
enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son”

-> These Verses Simply Teach Us That God is the Power Behind Barrenness, and God
is the Power Behind Conception

-> And So, When We Destroy This One That God Has Allowed to Come Into Being,
We Need to Understand That We are Thwarting God’s Plan

-> We are Altering Something That God Himself Has Allowed to Occur

-> That Means That We are Essentially Playing God
-> And, of Course, It is Never Right for Us to do That

-> That’s My Point

St = This Also Helps Us Establish the Fact, at Least From a Biblical Perspective,
That Life Begins at the Point of Conception

-> In Fact, Listen, From a Biblical Perspective, We Can Even go Farther Back Than
This,Because These Children Were Already in the Mind of God Before They Were
Conceived

-> God Said to Manoah and Wife, for Example, That She Would Conceive a Son
Even Before Their Son Was Conceived

-> And God Said This to the Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5; He Said,

"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”

Q.n = When Does Human Life Begin?

Ans = At the Time of Conception, or Even Before Conception, From a Biblical
Perspective

-> And Even From a Medical Perspective, Life Beginning at Conception
is a Well-Proven Medical Fact

-> Dr. Jerome Lejune, Who is the Professor of Fundamental Genetics
at the University of Rene de Carte in Paris Had This to Say About It;
He Said,
“Life has a very long history but each individual has a very neat beginning,
the moment of its conception. The material link is the molecular thread
of DNA. In each reproductive cell this ribbon roughly one meter long

is cut into 23 pieces, or chromosomes. As soon as the 23 paternally derived
chromosomes are united through fertilization to the 23 maternal ones,
the full genetic meeting necessary to express all the inborn qualities

of the new individual is gathered.
At two months of age, the human being is less than one thumb-length
from the head to the rump, he would fit at ease in a nutshell but everything
is there…hands, feet, head, organs, brains. In the fourth week is consciousness,
all are in place. His heart has been beating for a month already and fingerprints

can be detected. His heart is beating at 150 to 170 beats a minute. To accept
the fact that, after fertilization has taken place, a new human being has come
into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion”

-> Everything is There From the Very Moment of Conception, It is All Present
Within the Genetic Code, and That Was Dr. Lejune’s Point

II. The Bible Says God is at Work in the Womb

-> In Job 10:8, Job Said,
“Your hands (Referring to God) shaped me and made me…”

-> In Verse 11, He Went on to Say
“…you clothed me with skin and flesh and knit be together with hands
and sinew”

-> Verse 12

“You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched
over my spirit”

-> Job Was Saying, in Other Words, That God Had Made Him Body and Spirit

Q.n = And Where Did This Work Take Place?

-> In Job 31:15, Job Said,
"Did not He who made me in the womb make him, and the same one fashion
us in the womb?”

-> He Was Talking About Himself and Someone Else, and He Said, in Essence,
That God Had Made Them Both in Their Mother’s Womb
-> “The Spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life,”
Job Said in Chapter 33 and Verse 4

GOD IS AT WORK IN THE WOMB

-> In Ecclesiastes 11:5, Solomon Said,

“Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed
in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God
who makes all things”

GOD IS AT WORK IN THE WOMB

-> In Isaiah 44:24, the Prophet Said,

“This is what the Lord says — your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the Lord, who has made all things”(NIV)

GOD IS AT WORK IN THE WOMB

-> Now, These Verses in Psalms 139:13-16 Deserve Some Special Attention(Read)

a. The Word “YOU” Here is Emphatic

-> It Literally Means “You Yourself and No Other”

b. Formed My Inward Parts
-> Literally “My Kidneys” Meaning “My Internal Organs” “My Visceral Organs”

c. Weave

-> This Literally Means “To Embroider”
-> That is a Reference to the Blood Vessels

-> Dr. Dick Couey, Who Was a Professor of Physiologyand Nutrition at Baylor
University in Waco Back in the 1980’s, and the Author of a Book I Havein My
Library Which is Entitled “Building God’s Temple” Says That the Blood

Vessels From One Human Body

-> Listen to This Now, the Blood Vessels From One Human Body Could Stretch Four
Time Around the Equator of the Earth(That’s What He Said in His Book)

d. Frame

-> Literally “Bony Substance” or “The Skeleton”

-> By the Way, if You Think Your Skeleton is no Big Deal, Think Again

-> Because the Truth of the Matter is That Our Bones are Amazing, They
are Lighter Than Wood, and Yet, Three Times Stronger Than Steel

e. I am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
-> David Just Can’t Help But Erupt in Praise; and So, He Just Says, in Essence,

“God This Body You Made for Me is Totally Awesome”

f. Now, We Have Come to the Most Important Verse I am Going to Share
With You This Morning

-> Let’s Read the First Part of Verse 16 Together Very Slowly and Very Carefully
Ps 139:16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; …”

-> The Word That is Translated “Unformed Substance” Right Here is the Hebrew
Word Golem” , and It Literally Means “Embryo”

-> The Language is Extremely Intimate Here, and David is Saying, in Essence,

“God, I Know That You Knew Me EVEN BEFORE My Skeleton or My
Vital Organs Were Formed”

-> This is Why the Bible Makes no Distinction Between a Child Inside
of the Womb and a Child Outside of the Womb

Ex. The Greek Word “Brephos” is Used for a Child Inside of the Womb and Outside
of the Womb

Ex. The Greek Word “Oios” is Used of a Child Inside of the Womb and Outside
of the Womb

Ex. The Greek Word “Geber” is Used for a Child Inside of the Womb and Outside
of the Womb (We are Also Told in Luke 1:41 That John the Baptist “Leaped”)

GOD IS AT WORK IN THE WOMB

-> And Therefore, It is Very Wrong for Any of Us to Interfere With What He is Doing
in There Including the Child’s Mother

-> I Like to Use the Example of a Grandma Knitting a Sweater, and She’s Just About
Done When Someone Decides to Snatch It Away From Her and Tear It Into Pieces
Q.n = How Do You Think That Would Cause Grandma to Feel?

Ans = And This is Why Abortion is an Offensive to God

III. The Bible Says That All Human Life Has Value

-> In Genesis 9:6, We Find a Reference to Capital Punishment; It Says,

"Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image
of God He made man”

-> Now, I Want You to Notice That God Did Not Advocate Capital Punishment,
Because It is a Good Deterrent

Q.n = Why Did He Advocate Capital Punishment?
Ans = Because Human Life Has Great Value

-> God Did This to Underscore the Fact That Human Life is Sacred and Valuable

-> And We Know That This is True, Not Only for Those of Us Who Have Already
Been Born, But Also for the Unborn

-> Becausein Exodus 21:22-24, We Find a Very Interesting Scenario Being Presented
to Usas a Part of God’s Law; It Says,

“22 If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives
birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's
husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. 23 ‘But if there
is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24 eye for eye,
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound,
bruise for bruise”

-> We No Longer Function Under “The Law of Retaliation,” as It is Sometimes Called,
That is “An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth”

-> But I Want You to Notice That Under the Old Testament Law, We are Told That
It Was Applied Even When It Involved the Injury or Death of an Unborn Child

-> This Means That God Ascribed the Same Value to the Unborn as He Did to One
Who Had Already Been Born

-> And He Endorsed Capital Punishment Again in Those Verses

-> Because All Human Life Has Great Value