I need to begin this morning with some really bad news.
And I should probably have put up on the screen viewer discretion advised.
! Not because I'm going to show you anything shocking,
that actually these are probably optimistic.
And I think that most conservative sources would unanimously argue
that I've painted a very rosy picture compared to the reality.
Since 1973, approximately 50 million abortions have taken place.
That number was increasing by about 1.2 million every year
until the last two years.
Last two years, the news media has been beside themselves in the reduction.
It was about 14%, which means that it's just over 1 million babies per year.
That is 3,000 babies each and every day life is taken.
Just to put that in perspective for you, on 9-11, 3,000 people died.
We have an annual celebration or remembrance of that.
I think that's appropriate.
We built a $700 million memorial.
I'm not so sure about that one.
But 3,000 babies die.
Not once.
Not every year.
But every single day.
Do you know who Brittany Maynard is?
Brittany Maynard is a lady that lived in California.
And last year, she moved to Oregon and announced the day of her death.
And she died.
Not on the day that she originally chose.
She ended up choosing a different one.
But by physician-assisted suicide.
The article in Time Magazine last November ran the article titled,
Brittany Maynard was one of hundreds of people in five states who've taken advantage of death with dignity laws.
That's the new term.
Death with dignity.
It's replacing freedom of choice, quality of life, every baby, a wanted baby, etc.
In fact, in Oregon alone, since the law was passed in 1998,
750 people have taken doctor-prescribed lethal doses.
The good news of that, if there is such a thing,
is that the doctors wrote 1,173 prescriptions for them during those days.
Last October, NBC News ran a story effectively encouraging a change in the laws
that would reduce physicians' responsibility
and pointing out that in every survey that has been done between 1996 and 2003,
in every state of the union,
doctors and nurses had admitted to giving directly or indirectly
instructions to loved ones that ultimately could have led to death.
In other words, the doctor would say,
well, here's the appropriate amount of this prescription that you should give your loved one.
And I just want you to know, if you were to give them this much,
that would cause instant death.
Do you understand me?
I'm leaving now.
As of 2015,
euthanasia is legal in three countries,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Belgium.
And assisted suicide is legal in another five countries,
Switzerland, Germany,
Albania, Romania, and Japan,
and in five states in the United States.
In Belgium,
just to take one of those,
there have been 1,400 cases of euthanasia take place
since the year 2003,
or 2002,
every year.
In 2013,
the last year that they actually have numbers for,
it actually increased to 1807.
In that year also,
the government extended
euthanasia to include children
that had been declared terminally ill by a doctor.
Enough of the bad news.
Would you turn with me to the good news?
Genesis chapter 1,
verses 26 to 28.
Then God said,
Let us make man in our own image,
after our likeness,
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the heavens,
and over the livestock,
and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
So God created man in his own image.
In the image of God,
he created him.
Male and female,
he created them.
And God blessed them,
and God said to them,
Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth,
and subdue it,
and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the heavens,
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
Human life
is the creation of God.
This passage makes a number of points,
but the very first one that I'd like you to see
is that human life proceeds from God.
It was a direct act of creation.
And that direct act gives him authority over it.
It gives him the right to set the boundaries
and the rules for it.
The creation account here in Genesis chapter 1,
and then restated and kind of expanded in Genesis chapter 2,
provides the foundation for the rest of the biblical account.
It's the creation of man
that sets the stage for God's commandment to him.
Also sets the backdrop for man's fall into sin.
It's interesting that it's the foundation
that appears to be the key point
that Satan uses in Genesis chapter 3, verse 5,
to tempt and to challenge man,
to draw him into sin.
That by simply eating this one piece of forbidden fruit,
you'll be just like God.
You'll no longer be under his instruction.
You'll no longer be under his direction.
You can be like God.
Creation is the beginning point of the story of man and God
and the relationship that God wanted to have.
And it started with his creation.
So creation is used throughout Scripture
as kind of the starting point
to talk about the issue of the gospel,
about man and God and our relationship,
whether that's in Psalm 19,
where the beauty and the goodness
of the word of God is set in the context of creation,
or whether it's in the New Testament in Acts 17,
where Paul, speaking to the intelligentsia of Athens,
begins with creation
and then presents the good news of Jesus Christ.
R.C. Sproul said,
the gift of life comes by his grace
and stands under his divine authority.
It's interesting that the first sin
that is displayed after the fall
is the death of another human being
as Cain kills his brother Abel.
And it's that action that leads to a path
that goes continually downhill
until we get to Genesis chapter 6,
where God says that man is completely wicked.
And the earth is filled with violence.
The result is that God brings
the first weapon of mass destruction.
It's called a flood.
And he kills everyone off
except Noah and his family
and the animals that are there on the ark.
After the flood,
God repeats the same command
to be fruitful and multiply.
But he adds to it that murder
will be punished by death.
Scripture teaches and treats human life
as a divine gift of God
and something for which we humans
are responsible for preserving
and maintaining,
not finding more ways to destroy.
God declared that death
is to be by his appointment only.
In another book in Job chapter 14,
Job was written about the same time
as the Genesis accounts.
In Job 14,
God uses Job to say,
since his days are determined
and the number of his months
is with you,
you have appointed the limit
that he cannot pass.
Job, speaking about man
and speaking about God,
says that God determines
the number of days.
He numbers the months.
There's a very clear reason
why God determines the days
and numbers the months.
And that is because
humanity is created
in the image and likeness of God.
According to the passage
that we looked at
in Genesis chapter 1,
here's the point.
Human life is precious
because it reflects God's image.
That image was determined
back in Genesis chapter 1, verse 26.
And it was the standard
for creation at that time,
and it's the standard of creation
even today.
It's also the standard
for recognizing that God alone
has control over life.
Genesis chapter 9,
at the end of the flood story,
God says,
whoever sheds the blood of man
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man
in his own image.
We don't have time this morning
for me to take all of the aspects
of the image of God
and how those relate to man
and some of the abilities
and some of the capabilities of man.
man,
but I want you to recognize
just the big picture,
and that's this.
The value of man
is not related to his capacity
or his accomplishments,
but rather to the fact
that he is an image bearer.
The fact that we have
creative abilities,
that we have intelligence,
that we have communication,
that we have the ability
to control our environment
for our comfort,
all of those things
are the result of being image bearers,
not the cause of it.
And that's very important
to recognize.
Because it means this.
It means that if I never
have a unique,
independent idea again,
if I am so young
that I'm unable
to control my environment,
or if at the beginning
or at the end of life
I am unable to communicate
on even a very basic level,
I am still created
in the image of God.
And because I'm a human being,
and because I'm created
in the image of God,
I still have value.
Human life is not only
created by God,
but it's sustained by him.
I couldn't do the message
this morning without asking
you to turn with me
to my favorite psalm,
Psalm 139.
Over the last 15 years,
I have read this psalm
in more hospital rooms
than I can remember.
Sometimes I read it
to a person
or to a family
that's hanging on
every word
for some semblance
of hope.
I know of one particular case
that I can remember
this morning
where the nurse said
the person hasn't had
consciousness
in days.
I don't think
they can hear
anything you say.
And I said,
that's okay.
We don't know that
for sure.
And I'm going to read
them something.
And I read this psalm.
The person never
retained consciousness.
But I trust the person
heard this
and was comforted
because it was a believer.
At one point,
the message this morning
was going to all be
Psalm 139.
But I changed that.
We're going to spend
a lot of time in it.
Psalm 139,
verses 1 to 12.
O Lord,
you have searched me
and known me.
You know when I sit down,
when I rise up.
You discern my thoughts
from afar.
You search out my path
and my lying down
and are acquainted
with all my ways.
Even before a word
is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord,
you know it all together.
You hem me in
behind and before
and lay your hand
upon me.
Such knowledge
is too wonderful for me.
It is high.
I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go
from your spirit?
Or where shall I flee
from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven,
you're there.
If I make my bed
in Sheol,
you're there.
If I take the wings
of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea,
even there,
your hand shall lead me.
Your right hand
shall hold me.
If I say,
surely the darkness
shall cover me
and the light about me
be night,
even the darkness
is not dark to you.
The night is bright
as the day,
for darkness
is as light
with you.
You can't read
or hear that psalm
without believing,
feeling,
the care
and the concern
that God has
for you
as an individual.
Here's the bullet point.
human life
is sustained
by God.
The language
that He searched
you
speaks of the fact
that He knows
everything about you.
He knows every sin,
not only the ones
that you've committed,
but the ones
that you've contemplated.
Not only the ones
you've committed,
but the ones
He's kept you from.
It says that
every thought
that you've had,
every idea
that you've had,
every word
that you were going
to speak,
God knew it
before you even
spoke it.
He hems you in
all around.
He set a hedge
about you.
There's nothing
that has touched you
as a human being
that God
hasn't permitted
to touch you.
whether that is good
or whether that's bad.
There's no place
that I can go
from His presence
tells me
that God
is always there.
This passage
cries out
that God
didn't just
create man
and then
walk away
and say,
well,
I hope they figure it out.
He continues
to watch
over His creation
every single moment.
Human life
is not only
the creation
of God,
but it's also
the possession
of God.
And that means
that God
gives new lives.
Back in our passage
in Genesis 1,
26 to 28,
I'd like you
to notice
that God
creates life
and specifically
human life
on His own
timetable
and at His
own discretion.
The animals
were not
all hanging
around saying,
give us man,
give us man.
The angels
of heaven
were not up there
like Sunday morning
quarterbacks
that were saying,
I thought He could
have done a little
better on that one.
You know,
why He thought
of creating them
I have no idea.
I used to,
my wife used to say
she would see a bug,
she doesn't like insects,
okay?
She would see a bug
and she would say,
oh,
why does God
create that thing?
And I said,
he's wondering
why did God
create you?
Since sin
is the thing
that's destroyed
everything.
And that was
the result of man.
verse 28
says that He tells man
His first instruction
to man
is be fruitful
and multiply.
And yet,
the scriptures
after the fall
are filled
with passages
that point
to the number,
that the number
and the timing
of children
is not something
that is always
the choice of man.
It's sometimes
determined by God.
The words
of the psalmist
Psalm 127
verses 3 and 4,
behold,
children are a heritage
from the Lord.
The fruit of the womb
will reward
like arrows
in the hand
of a warrior
are the children
of one's youth.
Blesses the man
who fills his quiver
with them.
But when I read that,
I'm reminded
of the passage
that man makes
his plans
and God directs
his path.
You know,
I don't think
this passage
necessarily means
that every couple
should make
as many children
as they possibly
can.
But in my years
of working
with young married
couples,
I can tell you
that this fact
of God controlling
and giving
when he chooses
is one of the most
hurtful things
that couples face.
The pressures,
both internally
and externally,
push couples
to question God
and to struggle
with his goodness
and his provision
for them.
I mentioned
Sarah and Abraham
in the list
of people
that I told you,
that I reminded you
from Scripture.
Sarah and Abraham,
because of the pressures
and their desire
for children,
and their desire
and their pressures
on them
were very similar
to what couples
face today.
Abraham and Sarah
chose a path
that was not
God's best for them
by bringing Hagar
into the picture.
And we have
the consequences
of that choice
in the Middle East
today.
Couples today
are told,
science has your answer.
And while appropriate
medical knowledge
and care
is a blessing
of our world today,
I have to say
that I believe
the path
that kills
several lives
in order to create
one
goes too far.
God allows
the timing
even when it
does not seem
to be best.
And God
has used
couples.
We mentioned,
I mentioned John
and Kristen
earlier,
here is a woman
that the timing
or the situation
that she is having
a baby
is not best.
John and Kristen
are not the first
in this congregation
to adopt a child.
They will not be
the last.
But human life
is so precious
that we need
to do everything
we can
to encourage
people
even when
it's not
a good time
to provide
life.
And then,
if appropriate,
to give that
life
to someone
who would love
to take care of it
and raise it
for the glory
of God.
Life is something
to be preserved
even at
very high cost.
if you look
at the Old Testament,
life was so important
in Exodus
chapter 21.
You don't need
to turn with it.
I'll just remind
you of the passage.
It says that
when two men
are fighting
and the pregnant
wife of one
of the men
is nearby
and the man
strikes her
and she has
the baby,
if everything's
fine,
then this is
really interesting,
if everything
is fine,
the baby's okay,
then what is
supposed to happen
is the husband,
the father of the baby
decides,
here's your fine.
It's kind of
interesting.
But,
if the baby
dies,
the person
who caused
the accident
is to die.
It's kind of,
you know,
we live in a
kind of a
strange
and hypocritical
world.
I say that
because our
world understands
that.
And so,
if you find
in the news
a case where
a pregnant woman
is killed,
they will charge
the person
with multiple
murders.
Okay?
Appropriately so.
Okay?
And at the same
time,
the same
society
will say
3,000
babies today
is no big
deal.
We ought
to just all
ignore it.
Maybe it'll
go away.
Our society
is crazy.
Not only
at the beginning
of life,
but also
at the other
end of life.
So,
I've already
pointed out,
the creation
account points
to the fact
that only
God is
to determine
the length
of a life
that a person
has.
Go back
to Psalm
139
with me.
Psalm
139
verses 13
to 16.
139
were written
every one
of them
the days
that were
formed
for me when there was yet none of them.
From the days in the womb to the days at the end of the aged's life, we are fearfully and
wonderfully made.
Your two large nose, your two small ears, and every other part of you is just like God
intended it to be.
And that fact flows right to the end of life.
I can't turn to all the pages, all the passages that make it clear that we're to respect and
cherish and care for the aged, but I will take the, yeah, why not?
I will have you turn to one of them with me.
1 Samuel chapter 22, verse 3.
This is such a fantastic verse in the middle of, you just, whoa, where's that come from?
In the passage, 1 Samuel 22, verse 3, and David went from there to Mizpah of Moab.
And he said to the king of Moab, please let my father and my mother stay with you till
I know what God will do for me.
Now, the context of this is important.
David is in the midst of being pursued by King Saul.
He's just left a place where there were some priests, and King Saul is actually going to
go there and destroy those priests.
King Saul is right on his tail.
In the midst of his fleeing, David goes to the king of another country, a country that didn't
always get along that well with Israel.
He goes to the enemy, if you will.
He says, will you take care of my mom and dad?
Will you watch over them, keep them safe?
Because it's not safe in my country right now.
He took the time out of his escape to care for his aging parents.
If the elderly are to be respected and cherished, and human life is precious because it is the
image of God, then here's the point.
A life is to end at the timing of God.
My title this morning was Let God Be God.
And so there's a time not to prolong death.
Standing in God's way, shaking our fist and screaming, I will not let them go.
Because if God desires that person to have their life in today, he doesn't need our machines
to continually and permanently pump the blood and push air into the lungs.
But the person's value as an image bearer of God does not diminish with illness or accident
or disease.
So what we must ask, are there still signs of life?
Is it still possible that they might recover?
Are we providing the basic care?
It's called palliative care.
God's way, God.
That the individual needs if God sustains their life.
Regardless of the cost.
Regardless of the convenience.
Regardless of the emotional stress that it causes us.
And then, we let God be God.
God not only gives the initial life.
He not only gives the length of days.
But God gives the quality of life.
I hope you're still in Psalm 139.
If you're not, a couple more times.
Psalm 139, verse 17 and 18.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God.
How vast is the sum of them.
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake and I'm still with you.
The term quality of life is the measure that our society wants to use.
And they believe that that means meaning and direction and so forth.
They use it to measure the happiness and the accomplishments of an individual.
But when we start with creation.
I think that same term, quality of life, is very good.
Except it means a life that glorifies God and declares his majesty and goodness to the world.
It's that fact that brings joy.
Quality of life that cannot be understood by the world.
Quality of life means whether one day or a hundred years.
We see life as simply a mist.
As James 4 says.
So little time to declare his goodness.
I want to grow old.
Declaring God's goodness.
Not how tired I am.
Not how I don't have anything else to accomplish.
Not how rough life is.
I want to keep declaring how good God is for the rest of my days.
I hope you do too.
And then, following James 4.
If the Lord wills, we'll do this or that.
So that if the Lord wills, I'll meet him in glory this afternoon.
And if he doesn't, then I'll try to glorify him here on earth with my life.
Psalm 139 verses 19 to 24.
Human life redeemed by God.
Interesting conclusion to that.
Listen to this.
Search me, O God.
Know my heart.
Try me.
Know my thoughts.
And see if there's any grievous way in me.
And lead me in the way everlasting.
The psalmist stood against error.
He stood against wickedness.
He stood against godlessness.
But he did so by saying, God, search me first.
He did it with humility.
How can we stand in opposition to the world?
We do it with humility.
I'm going to give you some practical steps.
First, study the word of God for yourself.
This is a topic that impacts absolutely every one of you.
You will face it on one end of life or the other.
Or both.
Know what the word of God says about life.
And prayerfully consider what stands you will take.
Where do you draw the lines?
Because someone is going to challenge you to pass those lines.
Second, I hope every one of you will consider a baby bottle.
Another plug for the baby bottles.
I hope every one of you will consider taking one of those baby bottles,
putting your change in it, putting a check in it,
whatever you believe.
Fill it with money.
Bring it back.
Give women a choice that leads to life.
Maybe you say, I can't do that.
I can't.
I never have change.
We never have change.
We take a baby bottle and we put a check in it
because we never, if we put change in it,
it would come back empty.
But if you can't do that,
there's still things you can do.
You can volunteer.
You can give your time.
To help Pregnancy Distress Center,
to help the Maternity Resource Center up at Emanuel.
They would love to have more volunteers.
And you'll get to talk to ladies who are seriously questioning
what should they do.
Third,
if you hear of legislation extending euthanasia
and physician-assisted suicide,
and you will,
in our nation or in our state,
I hope you'll consider writing to your congressman,
signing petitions,
and of course,
voting,
your conscience,
and God's principles.
But you know what?
None of those things,
none of those three things,
are really going to change things.
I think those are valuable things to do.
They're valuable list of do goods.
But you could have heard that list
in a Mormon tabernacle
or in a Catholic church this morning.
That's not the answer.
And now the answer.
Fourth,
recognize that only the gospel
can change our society.
When we set the truth of the gospel
against the backdrop
of the information that I started with,
it's easy to see just how far off
our society has actually gotten.
But at the same time,
that same gospel
that shows us the despair
and the hopelessness
of man's lost condition
also provides us with the beauty
and the hope
that comforts our soul.
Last week at lunch,
Peggy and I were talking.
I was sharing some of the things
that I was studying
and some of the things
that I was going to say today.
And I was pleading with her,
please pray for me.
Please pray for me.
And as we're talking,
she said,
you know,
our society's becoming
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
To which without a thought,
I said,
which would have been saved
for ten righteous men.
That leads us
to 2 Corinthians 5.21.
How do we get ten righteous men?
For God made him to be sin
who knew no sin,
that we might become
the righteousness of God in him.
What is the answer to our society?
The righteousness of God in him.
I'm a parent.
I'm a grandparent.
Sometimes I think,
I've got a grandson
who was a junior in high school.
Okay?
I'm thinking,
wow,
I could be a great-grandfather.
Not that many years away.
And I think,
is there any hope for this place?
Could anything good come out of this?
And I think,
yeah,
for ten righteous men.
The rights that we might become
the righteousness of God in him.
The account in Genesis 1
of the creation
that we're created in God's image
is all wrapped up in
he's got a plan
for restoring that image
from the brokenness of sin.
First of all,
the gospel points us to
the despair,
to the hopelessness
of man's condition.
It points us to Romans 3.23,
for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
Maybe I'm not guilty
of some of the things
that we thought about this morning
in taking a life.
But Jesus said,
if you hate your brother,
you are guilty of murder.
If you call your brother a fool
when he cuts you off in traffic,
you're guilty.
But then the gospel points us
to the perfect atonement
provided by Jesus Christ.
A passage I got to preach on
several months ago or so,
or maybe two months ago.
John 3.16,
for God so loved the world
that he gave his only son
that whosoever believes in him
shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.
The gospel provides
the personal solution
of confession
and acceptance
of the Savior.
My personal relationship,
the hope I have,
Titus 3.5,
he saved us
not because of the works
we have done
in righteousness,
but according to his own mercy,
by the washing regeneration
and renewal
of the Holy Spirit.
This good news
of the gospel
that all of your sins,
maybe you're guilty
of all of them
that we've talked about today.
Maybe you're guilty
of none of them.
All have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
And only salvation
through Jesus Christ,
the perfect atonement,
can care for that.
Is that where you are
this morning?
If you come to the place
of accepting Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior,
Savior,
if you have,
all of the sins
that you've committed,
all of the darkness
is covered
by the blood of Christ.
Let's pray.
Father, I pray
that you would work
in the hearts
of men and women
that as we consider
the image of God,
that we were created
from,
that we would recognize
the need
that we have.
Lord, if there's anyone
here this morning
that has not come
to the place
of a personal relationship
with you,
I pray now,
this moment,
they would cry out to you
and say,
I accept
that I'm lost,
that I'm hopeless,
and I accept
the atonement
of Jesus Christ
and trust
in the eternal life
that I'll have
as a result.
Father,
those who are here today
and know your grace
but perhaps
are struggling
with the areas
of life
and the sanctity
of it
and now recognize
the importance
that this has
to you
as your image
bearers,
I pray that you
would bring
confession
and through that
forgiveness
and a restoration
of joy.
Father,
I pray that during
this year
that we are
focused
on the sanctity
of life
and doing
everything
that we
can
and need
to do
in our
individual lives
to show
forth the value,
the preciousness
of the image
of God.
I ask it in your
name.
Amen.