To deny that Abortion is murder is to suppress the Truth of God’s Word. We expect such fruit from unbelievers born dead in their sins and trespasses. The struggle comes when we discover professing believers struggling against this truth. Abortion isn’t merely a way of erasing a mistake; it is stacking on the sin of murder on top of whatever sins led to the unwanted pregnancy. As Christians, we should really stop using “mistake” to describe sin. The Sermon on the Mount doesn’t leave room for “oopsies”.

There’s more to Abortion than Murder

There are several para-church groups fighting to end Abortion in the US and to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding. The courts are in Planned Parenthood’s pockets, the Politicians, the Media, Hollywood,… the false god of this world has re-created child sacrifice and sold it to this nation under several misnomers such as: reproductive health; women’s rights; choice. There are various street ministries who picket/demonstrate outside of Abortion centers pleading with pregnant women not to commit murder, not to sacrifice the innocent child on the altar of selfishness. But there is more to Abortion than the sin of murder. Many of those mothers, boyfriends, parents, friends are themselves dead in their sins and trespasses.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) | By Grace Through Faith

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Let’s pause our reading in Ephesians, to expand on what we once were as dead men/women in the trespasses and sins… before the Grace of God regenerated us to new life. The best place to do that is in Romans 1… I humbly ask that as you read “they” in the following verses, understand that we were once included in this group… and have only been saved by the Grace of God.

Romans 1:18-32 (ESV) | God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.³² Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

This is the unbeliever, and such were each of us… Like the rest of mankind… 

Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV)

⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Who judges the sin of the unbeliever? God. They stand condemned in their unbelief… they are by nature children of wrath. We do all that we can to end legalized abortion and to save every human life we can… and there is more to the problem of Abortion than trying to stop the murders.

The lost need to hear the Word of God preached

I pray that the government returns to the proper understanding that abortion, in all cases, is murder and that there is no justifiable reason for killing an unborn baby. None. But the legalization of the murder is only a symptom of the problem. The problem is sin. All of the illegal murders that happen, still happen, despite their being illegal. Murder is against the Law of God. But that Law is incapable of granting the ability to do what the Law demands. Having the Law doesn’t make a person righteous, it exposes the unrighteousness in the one breaking the Law. As Jesus pointed out, the Law of Murder is broken in our hearts before it has been committed by our hands. None can stand innocent (Righteous) before this Law except for Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. Let’s look at how Paul expands on this thought in Romans 10… but he’s not just referring to the Law against Murder, but all of the Law.

Romans 10:5-17 (ESV) | The Message of Salvation to All

⁵ For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶ But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The Christian needs to hear the Word of God preached, also

With the rise of “missional” church movement, and the notion that good works are the means of evangelism comes a dreadful ignorance regarding the need to preach the Gospel both to unbelievers and to believers. We preach the Gospel to “them”… “those people” who are wicked, lost, depraved, and slaves to darkness. Once they’ve made a confession of faith in Christ and been baptized into the local church… we quickly “put them to work” outside of the church to them, those people who are wicked, lost, depraved, and slaves to darkness… so that they can live out the Gospel. What of the sin that still remains in their flesh? Is there not forgiveness for the sin they commit? Do they not still stumble? Will they not still fall? In some cases, their sins are lorded over them as a sign of doubt to the authenticity of their faith, their sanctification is called into question… they are beaten down by the Law… because, after all, they already heard the Gospel and were already made new creatures, right? No. Let’s look to Galatians 3.

Galatians 3:1-14 (ESV)

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written,“Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” ¹² But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

In this life, we’ll not ever graduate from the Gospel. Our Sanctification will not be complete in this life. Why are we talking about this and how does it relate to Abortion? The death of Abortion is the wages of the sins that precede it. The hard truth is that there are believers falling to temptations of the flesh, or being made victims of the sins of others, and in their shame they are turning to murder to hide their sin.

King David killed a man to hide his sexual sin. There are believers today still resorting to murder to hide their sin… society is different, but the victims of these murders are no less innocent than Uriah. And these murders are no less guilty of sin than was King David. Repentance and forgiveness was available to King David… and it is no less available to everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord.

 

Closing Thoughts

I’m grateful for the faithful Brethren who faithfully preach the Word of God outside abortion clinics. My wife and I work closely with a para-church Adoption agency. But there is more to the problem of Abortion than its murderous conclusion, the heart of the matter is sin. The sin of adultery, the sin of murder, the sin of covetousness, the sin of idolatry. Christians are committing these sins… daily… and they need repentance as much as the unbelievers. We need to hear the Gospel of Grace flowing from the pulpits… in equal measure with the full-power preaching of the Law. I’m not lobbying for lawlessness… on the contrary, we need to hear the law, unsoftened, unmitigated, and unwavering… but the Law does not grant the obedience it requires… we need to hear of God’s unmitigated Grace in Christ’s finished work on the Cross.

Pastors, if I may, I’d like to draw your attention to a truth that is not often discussed in the open. In your congregation:

• there are folks addicted to pornography
• there are youth engaging in sexual immorality
• there are married men taking advantage of lonely women
• there are married women seducing foolish men
• there are unwanted pregnancies being hidden and aborted in secret

They need repentance and the forgiveness of sin. It isn’t enough to simply rebuke the sin and wonder why some stop attending. Preach both Law and Gospel… allow God the Holy Spirit to do the rest. We need elders and deacons who hold each other accountable to the LORD. We all need God’s Grace on a daily basis.

Galatians 6:1-10 (ESV) | Bear One Another’s Burdens

6 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.² Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.³ For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.⁴ But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. ⁵ For each will have to bear his own load. ⁶ Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. ⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The body of Christ needs to be a place where we gather together to receive the Grace of God for the forgiveness of sin. We are to forgive our neighbors as we have been forgiven by God. The Church of Jesus Christ is a place for believers to find Rest in Christ Jesus.