THE VALUE OF LIFE

#1 · January 21, 2008, 9:13 am

Quote from Forum Archives on January 21, 2008, 9:13 am
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
THE VALUE OF LIFE

January 20, 2008

Text: Mark 10:13-16

January 2008 marks the 35^th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which pushed the national legalization of abortion to the forefront of American political and moral life. Sadly, some individuals and organizations will be actively celebrating instead of mourning this decision. Of course, the often bitter debate over abortion has been going on for more than these 35 years. We pretty much know the arguments that drive those who impose abortion as a right: it is a right for a woman to be able to choose, in consultation with her doctor, whether or not to terminate a pregnancy; it is unjust for a woman or girl to endure a pregnancy caused from rape, incest, or any other form of abuse; it is unjust to force a poor family to have to bear the cost of an additional child; it is unfair to bring an unwanted child into the world; it is unfair to bring a defective child into the world; we cannot legislate morality.

Well, I and many others could take each of those arguments point by point and demonstrate the complete lack of logic and truth in every one of them. In fact, this is frequently done in the public forum of discussion and debate. But we do not gather on Sunday mornings in our service of worship and praise to the Almighty God to discuss and debate public issues. We come for the dual purpose of expressing our devotion to God and to listen, as best as humans can, for what God has to say to us. Thus, I am not here this morning to address the issue of abortion from my point of view, but from Gods point of view.

Now this puts a lot of pressure on me, because who am I to tell anyone else what God says? Well, I am your pastor; I am your preacher, and I am duly called by God and confirmed by this congregation to place the Word of God before us in as understandable a manner as possible. This does not make me infallible; I always welcome any questions, criticism, and correction to anything I say. All I ask is for the opportunity for me to justify fully the conclusions I make.

As I said, I address the issue of abortion not from my point of view, but from Gods point of view. You see, my view would be easy. Without God, my view would be, I dont care if a mother aborts her child. Now that sounds crude and crass and cruel, but the truth of the matter is that if I lived my life rejecting God, I would be crude and crass and cruel. There are some who think that about me anyway. Without God in my life, there would be nothing that would hold me back from the evil and harm that I would choose to do. We see and experience full well the impact that rejecting God is having throughout our modern culture. This is why an issue like abortion flourishes today in our public discussions of morality. There are those who choose with impunity to disregard the value of life.

In clear distinction to this callous attitude toward human life, Jesus demonstrates Gods good and righteous and holy will. In their day, the disciples were much like you and me. Their attitudes and beliefs were influenced and shaped and molded by the culture around them. They were part of their culture. It was normal, therefore, for them to express themselves as they had learned. What we observe from Mark 10:13 is that their culture did not place much value on the childs life. People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. In their culture, some people were not significant or important. Children were some of those people. Anybody who knew anything knew that you didnt bother an important person like Jesus with children.

That was their culture talking. In fact, the disciples culture also had a form of abortion. Actually, it was more technically infanticide. When an unwanted child was born for instance, a family may need a male not a female child then the unwanted child was abandoned someplace. The child was left to die. Killing an unwanted child is not a modern phenomenon.

Jesus, however, did not approve of his disciples attitude. In fact, we are plainly told that he was indignant. Other versions translate to much displeased and became angry. Clearly, Jesus did not approve of the cultural attitude toward children. Instead, he wanted to bless them. To believe in our day that there is any kind of logic we could construct that justifies the killing of a child by abortion is a ludicrous notion. God values life, and life is not for us to take except in the most exceptional circumstances that are covered in the Bible. In fact, the alarm has been raised for decades now about the ill affects that accessible abortion will have on a culture. Pro-life advocate Martin Palmer writes, "If we teach a young mother it is okay to take the life of her own child in the womb, we inevitably pull the thread that permeates the entire garment of the sanctity of life forever." We are seeing these ill affects in our lifetime.

Jesus demonstrated over and over lessons about the value of life. In Matthew 8:2-4 he touched a leper who asked for healing. Lepers were cast out by society. I do not suggest that there are not diseases and such that require isolation, but this group were basically left to die in Jesus day. Jesus valued life and brought healing instead of death.

In Luke 8:43-48, a woman subject to some kind of bleeding touched Jesus garment and was healed. She came to him afraid and trembling. Even though she could find no one else to help her, Jesus healed her. Jesus valued life and brought comfort and hope.

No one I know would suggest that we fail to reach out and bring comfort and healing to those afflicted with disease and suffering. In fact, a lot of resources are used to develop new methods of treatment. Yet some of these same people, expressing compassion and sympathy for people in situations like this, turn around and tell us that abortion should be legal and accessible. I am here to tell you that Jesus would have none of this. Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them. Jesus valued life and gave the children his blessings.

There is no pro-abortion logic or argument that fits into Gods Word. We cannot worship, honor, and serve the God of life and, at the same time, condone the taking of a life before or at birth. It all rings hollow. Not only must we face the obvious result of such a choice the death of a life we must also face the harm that abortion does to those left alive. The sad truth that is left out of pro-abortion counseling is that abortion is not as safe as we are led to believe. Women have died having a legal abortion. The occurrences are small, but they are real. Both surgical and chemical abortions contain risks. Suicide rates are higher among women who have had an abortion. They struggle with significant emotional issues. All of these are documented facts from studies contained in the Sanctity of Life Handbook for 2008. If you want a copy, paper or electronic, just let me know.

Dont think that I am only coming down hard on a woman who has an abortion. I believe with every fiber of my being that any woman seeking an abortion is making the wrong decisions, but she is doing it within the context of a legalized procedure, so I recognize that such a woman is not a criminal in our culture. Those who have advocated for legalized abortion, male and female, certainly bear a large part of the responsibility for devaluing life. God is compassionate and forgiving, but let us also remain aware that His saving forgiveness is conditional. We must confess and repent, meaning turn away, from our sins.

I also recognize that children are born into difficult situations, which pro-abortion advocates use to persuade others are valid reasons to seek abortion. But for all their emotional appeal, they remain hollow arguments void of any blessing from God. Consider, for instance, situations of rape and incest. Even though this highly emotional reason is frequently held out to demonstrate the need for legalized abortions, records show that only about one percent of all abortions done in America are for instances of rape and incest.

Instead of playing god and pretending that we know more than He does, His human creation should take the time to learn that God really does value life. There is an advertisement by an investment firm that shows a situation that looks bleak, like an aging steel industry or overburdened transportation or some other significant problem, and says, Where you saw only [whatever the bleak situation is], we saw and then they describe the successful investment opportunity. The point of the ad is that if we have enough insight and opportunity, there is hope in even the bleakest circumstances. Well, God has the greatest insight of anyone around. Where we see only misery and misfortune, God sees promise and value. Ethel Waters, the great gospel singer, was born to a 13-year-old child who had been raped. The world would have been robbed of the wonderful sacred music provided by each of these individuals if life had not been valued even under such difficult circumstances. A college professor presented this challenging situation for his ethics class to consider. "A man has syphilis and his wife has tuberculosis. They have four children. One has died; the other three have terminal illnesses. The mother is pregnant again. What do you recommend?" The class voted to terminate the pregnancy. The professor noted they had just killed Beethoven. (HIS magazine, February 1984) When I play god or you play god or any pro-abortion ethicist plays god, we get horrible results. When we allow God to be God in our lives, we get miracles because God values life.

We are created to live. God saved His precious, divine breath for the creation of human beings. Genesis 2:7 says, "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." We are created in the image of God and endowed with His very breath to live. That is sacred. Jesus did not turn away the children like his disciples would have done, but he welcomed them into his very arms. Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. That is sacred. God values life.

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

170 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

THE VALUE OF LIFE

January 20, 2008

Text: Mark 10:13-16

January 2008 marks the 35^th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which pushed the national legalization of abortion to the forefront of American political and moral life. Sadly, some individuals and organizations will be actively celebrating instead of mourning this decision. Of course, the often bitter debate over abortion has been going on for more than these 35 years. We pretty much know the arguments that drive those who impose abortion as a right: it is a right for a woman to be able to choose, in consultation with her doctor, whether or not to terminate a pregnancy; it is unjust for a woman or girl to endure a pregnancy caused from rape, incest, or any other form of abuse; it is unjust to force a poor family to have to bear the cost of an additional child; it is unfair to bring an unwanted child into the world; it is unfair to bring a defective child into the world; we cannot legislate morality.

Well, I and many others could take each of those arguments point by point and demonstrate the complete lack of logic and truth in every one of them. In fact, this is frequently done in the public forum of discussion and debate. But we do not gather on Sunday mornings in our service of worship and praise to the Almighty God to discuss and debate public issues. We come for the dual purpose of expressing our devotion to God and to listen, as best as humans can, for what God has to say to us. Thus, I am not here this morning to address the issue of abortion from my point of view, but from Gods point of view.

Now this puts a lot of pressure on me, because who am I to tell anyone else what God says? Well, I am your pastor; I am your preacher, and I am duly called by God and confirmed by this congregation to place the Word of God before us in as understandable a manner as possible. This does not make me infallible; I always welcome any questions, criticism, and correction to anything I say. All I ask is for the opportunity for me to justify fully the conclusions I make.

As I said, I address the issue of abortion not from my point of view, but from Gods point of view. You see, my view would be easy. Without God, my view would be, I dont care if a mother aborts her child. Now that sounds crude and crass and cruel, but the truth of the matter is that if I lived my life rejecting God, I would be crude and crass and cruel. There are some who think that about me anyway. Without God in my life, there would be nothing that would hold me back from the evil and harm that I would choose to do. We see and experience full well the impact that rejecting God is having throughout our modern culture. This is why an issue like abortion flourishes today in our public discussions of morality. There are those who choose with impunity to disregard the value of life.

In clear distinction to this callous attitude toward human life, Jesus demonstrates Gods good and righteous and holy will. In their day, the disciples were much like you and me. Their attitudes and beliefs were influenced and shaped and molded by the culture around them. They were part of their culture. It was normal, therefore, for them to express themselves as they had learned. What we observe from Mark 10:13 is that their culture did not place much value on the childs life. People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. In their culture, some people were not significant or important. Children were some of those people. Anybody who knew anything knew that you didnt bother an important person like Jesus with children.

That was their culture talking. In fact, the disciples culture also had a form of abortion. Actually, it was more technically infanticide. When an unwanted child was born for instance, a family may need a male not a female child then the unwanted child was abandoned someplace. The child was left to die. Killing an unwanted child is not a modern phenomenon.

Jesus, however, did not approve of his disciples attitude. In fact, we are plainly told that he was indignant. Other versions translate to much displeased and became angry. Clearly, Jesus did not approve of the cultural attitude toward children. Instead, he wanted to bless them. To believe in our day that there is any kind of logic we could construct that justifies the killing of a child by abortion is a ludicrous notion. God values life, and life is not for us to take except in the most exceptional circumstances that are covered in the Bible. In fact, the alarm has been raised for decades now about the ill affects that accessible abortion will have on a culture. Pro-life advocate Martin Palmer writes, "If we teach a young mother it is okay to take the life of her own child in the womb, we inevitably pull the thread that permeates the entire garment of the sanctity of life forever." We are seeing these ill affects in our lifetime.

Jesus demonstrated over and over lessons about the value of life. In Matthew 8:2-4 he touched a leper who asked for healing. Lepers were cast out by society. I do not suggest that there are not diseases and such that require isolation, but this group were basically left to die in Jesus day. Jesus valued life and brought healing instead of death.

In Luke 8:43-48, a woman subject to some kind of bleeding touched Jesus garment and was healed. She came to him afraid and trembling. Even though she could find no one else to help her, Jesus healed her. Jesus valued life and brought comfort and hope.

No one I know would suggest that we fail to reach out and bring comfort and healing to those afflicted with disease and suffering. In fact, a lot of resources are used to develop new methods of treatment. Yet some of these same people, expressing compassion and sympathy for people in situations like this, turn around and tell us that abortion should be legal and accessible. I am here to tell you that Jesus would have none of this. Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them. Jesus valued life and gave the children his blessings.

There is no pro-abortion logic or argument that fits into Gods Word. We cannot worship, honor, and serve the God of life and, at the same time, condone the taking of a life before or at birth. It all rings hollow. Not only must we face the obvious result of such a choice the death of a life we must also face the harm that abortion does to those left alive. The sad truth that is left out of pro-abortion counseling is that abortion is not as safe as we are led to believe. Women have died having a legal abortion. The occurrences are small, but they are real. Both surgical and chemical abortions contain risks. Suicide rates are higher among women who have had an abortion. They struggle with significant emotional issues. All of these are documented facts from studies contained in the Sanctity of Life Handbook for 2008. If you want a copy, paper or electronic, just let me know.

Dont think that I am only coming down hard on a woman who has an abortion. I believe with every fiber of my being that any woman seeking an abortion is making the wrong decisions, but she is doing it within the context of a legalized procedure, so I recognize that such a woman is not a criminal in our culture. Those who have advocated for legalized abortion, male and female, certainly bear a large part of the responsibility for devaluing life. God is compassionate and forgiving, but let us also remain aware that His saving forgiveness is conditional. We must confess and repent, meaning turn away, from our sins.

I also recognize that children are born into difficult situations, which pro-abortion advocates use to persuade others are valid reasons to seek abortion. But for all their emotional appeal, they remain hollow arguments void of any blessing from God. Consider, for instance, situations of rape and incest. Even though this highly emotional reason is frequently held out to demonstrate the need for legalized abortions, records show that only about one percent of all abortions done in America are for instances of rape and incest.

Instead of playing god and pretending that we know more than He does, His human creation should take the time to learn that God really does value life. There is an advertisement by an investment firm that shows a situation that looks bleak, like an aging steel industry or overburdened transportation or some other significant problem, and says, Where you saw only [whatever the bleak situation is], we saw and then they describe the successful investment opportunity. The point of the ad is that if we have enough insight and opportunity, there is hope in even the bleakest circumstances. Well, God has the greatest insight of anyone around. Where we see only misery and misfortune, God sees promise and value. Ethel Waters, the great gospel singer, was born to a 13-year-old child who had been raped. The world would have been robbed of the wonderful sacred music provided by each of these individuals if life had not been valued even under such difficult circumstances. A college professor presented this challenging situation for his ethics class to consider. "A man has syphilis and his wife has tuberculosis. They have four children. One has died; the other three have terminal illnesses. The mother is pregnant again. What do you recommend?" The class voted to terminate the pregnancy. The professor noted they had just killed Beethoven. (HIS magazine, February 1984) When I play god or you play god or any pro-abortion ethicist plays god, we get horrible results. When we allow God to be God in our lives, we get miracles because God values life.

We are created to live. God saved His precious, divine breath for the creation of human beings. Genesis 2:7 says, "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." We are created in the image of God and endowed with His very breath to live. That is sacred. Jesus did not turn away the children like his disciples would have done, but he welcomed them into his very arms. Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. That is sacred. God values life.

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

170 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org