Amen. Feel free to grab a seat.
I'll ask that you take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you this day.
Our exposition of the book of Romans, we're going to pick back up here in a couple of weeks in chapter 9.
And we have been working together through a sermon series called Christ in Culture.
We've been talking about how it is as Christians, now as the body of Christ,
we should be engaging culture for the sake of the gospel.
In fact, seeking to change culture with the gospel.
Our theme verse for the series has been 1 Corinthians, the second part of verse 22 of chapter 9 and verse 23,
where Paul says,
I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
And so Paul was arranging his life in such a way that people would come to know Christ,
that he might have joy in that process, in joining God in what it is that he's doing in the world.
This morning's topic is Christ and the unborn.
And I have to tell you, this has been an incredibly difficult two weeks for me as I've studied abortion itself.
I have been so mad, I've been trembling at times.
I've had to put down the research I was doing and walk away from it.
I have cried.
I have been confronted by my own apathy.
I didn't learn anything new over the past couple of weeks.
But as I prayed that God would allow the truth of abortion to run down in me and what he has to say about it,
that I might share that with you.
It's been troubling to me.
I'm very thankful that I got a last-minute call to officiate John and Mallory's wedding yesterday
and had a little joyful experience in the middle of all of that,
that I might have my spirits lifted a bit.
So let's begin this morning.
Let me read this text.
We'll pray together and I'll show you what I've been learning on the topic.
Proverbs 24, verses 10 through 12.
If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death.
Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, behold, we did not know this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?
And will he not repay man according to his work?
Let's pray together.
Father God, I ask by your spirit that you will save us from ourselves this morning.
That you will help us to think rightly about the issue of abortion.
And that you will show us how it is we should engage culture for the sake of the gospel
and for the souls of those who are lost.
Please, Father, use me to speak powerfully from your word this day.
And I pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.
So the text, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time in it.
The issue to speak against abortion, to be pro-life is certainly something that the Bible speaks to,
but it does so very plainly and very briefly.
It's not a really very difficult biblical argument to make.
The sixth commandment is, thou shalt not murder.
And it's really that simple.
But I've kind of arrived at Proverbs to see, help us to see,
what is said of Christians who shrink back from the challenge of our culture.
A culture that is very pro-choice, which I won't use that term much more.
I'll use the term pro-abortion.
Pro-choice is a term used to distract us from what's really happening.
We could use the term pro-murder, really, in its case.
But you see in verse 11 of Proverbs 24,
we're instructed to rescue those who are being taken away to death.
Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
And the writer here is not referring to unborn children being murdered.
That's not what he's talking about.
He's talking about people who are living in sin and their ultimate resting place,
the place they will go, and I shouldn't even use the term resting,
is death and slaughter, eternal judgment.
That there's a judgment coming on them one day.
And we have, in our culture, a mass that's moving in that direction
because they bought this cultural lie that it's okay to murder unborn children.
We live in a day of adversity, verse 10.
And if we don't become a louder voice,
I think it'll be said of us that our strength is small.
And you'll see in verse 12, we can't say,
we didn't know.
We didn't know it was an issue.
Because here it says that God knows what's in your heart.
He knows you know.
And that he'll repay man according to his work.
And so I desperately want us to get this right.
And I want to show you today how aborting unborn children
is not just bad for unborn children,
but it's bad for all of society.
I want you to see that today.
And if we love people, if we love the world,
if we want to see culture transformed by the renewing power of the gospel,
we must see this together and we must act together.
This is an issue that touches everyone's lives.
43% of women of childbearing age have had or will have an abortion in America.
I'm only talking about America this morning.
43% of women in childbearing age,
which is said to be 15 to 55.
I think that's a little extreme.
But 43% of women.
43% of those women who have abortions identify themselves as Protestant.
27% as Catholic.
And 18% as evangelical or born-again Christians.
This is a topic very close to home.
If you'll allow me, 18% of these women are members of Bible-believing churches.
If you'll allow me that phrase today.
Which means each year,
about a quarter of a million unborn children
are murdered by those who say they're born-again Christians.
This is not a topic far from who we are.
I hope everybody today already agrees with my stance.
If not, I pray that it'll change.
If you have more questions,
there's no way for me to exhaustively cover this topic today.
Please, please come talk to me.
So firstly,
aborting unborn children is bad,
is unhealthy for unborn children.
In our culture,
this issue has not really become a debate of morality.
Our culture at large,
save some psychopaths and sociopaths,
our culture at large would say that murder is in fact wrong.
It's become a question of when is a life a life?
When is a child a child?
And then therefore,
when is murder murder?
I recently read an article
by two bioethicists
whose names I'm just not even going to try to say for you.
They argued in the Journal of Medical Ethics
that afterbirth abortion
should be legal in all cases where abortion is legal.
Did you catch that?
So currently,
it is legal to abort a child
who's tested for Down syndrome
and found to be positive for that.
It's legal to do so, to abort them.
Their argument is
it should also be legal
to abort them
after they're born.
And sadly,
it's not a reductio ad absurdum
intended to show how illogical abortion is.
It's a philosophical argument
for infanticide.
And they're not the only people making this argument.
Have you heard recently of the court case
where the couple was awarded $3 million
because they had a Down syndrome daughter
and they were told by a test
that she didn't have Down syndrome?
Four years old,
this little girl is,
when this court case is decided.
And this family is awarded $3 million
because they said
we would have aborted her
had we known
that she had Down syndrome.
That
is the society we live in.
That's the debate
that's going on.
Let me ask you this question.
When did your life
begin?
At what point would you say
you were who you are
today?
David writes in Psalm 139, 13 and 14,
speaking to God,
for you formed my inward parts.
You knitted me together
in my mother's womb.
I praise you
for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works.
My soul knows it
very well.
David knew
when his life began.
It began
at conception.
Do you know
that the person you are today,
the shape that you are,
your mental capacity,
all of that
was given to you
in your genetic code?
When your mother's egg
joined with your father's sperm,
everything needed
to form you
was present
at that time.
Before that joining,
you were not you.
After that joining,
you were you.
So,
what is the difference
between an unborn child
and a newborn?
What is the difference
between a child
in the womb
and one who
is outside
of the womb?
And I have found
four arguments,
four differences
given,
which make no sense
to me.
The first is
size.
But does how big
you are
determine how alive
you are?
Does that even
logically make sense
to anybody
in the room?
If that were the case,
then Chris Stewart
is more alive
than me.
And Eddie
is more alive
than Chris Stewart.
Right?
And my son,
Cademan,
who's two,
is less alive
than I am.
It's absurd.
How about level
of development?
Am I more alive
than Cademan,
my two-year-old,
because I'm smarter
and stronger,
at least for now?
Am I any more alive
than he is
as a result?
Environment
is the third.
Does being
in this room
make any of us
more alive
than someone
who is outside
this room,
those who are
across the hall
right now?
Are they less alive
because of their
location?
Certainly not.
Or how about
degree of dependency?
Is a small-born child
less alive
than an unborn child?
Is Judah,
my five-and-a-half-month-old,
less alive
than Cademan
because he's more
dependent on his mother?
Is someone
with Alzheimer's disease
who needs
intensive care
or someone
who's mentally
disabled
less alive?
How about me?
I'm a type 1 diabetic.
I require insulin
from external sources.
I'm dependent
on my insulin pump.
It's not a pager.
It's an insulin pump
to stay alive.
Does that make me
less alive?
Have I digressed
when I was diagnosed
with diabetes?
Certainly not.
Any attempt
to say
that an unborn child
is not alive,
is less alive
than any other
human being
is absolutely
absurd.
I began to do
a ton of research
this past two weeks
over child development.
I'll encourage you
to do that.
It's incredibly fascinating.
But I want to talk about
just one
particular age.
I want to talk about
a 12-week-old
unborn child.
In the state of Georgia,
first-term abortion
is considered
up to 12 weeks,
six days old.
I want to talk about
a 12-week-unborn child.
I have this really incredible
that I've been
carrying in my pocket.
This is
a
life-size
scaled sculpture
of a 12-week-old
unborn child.
I'm going to pass this around.
I want you guys
to just pass it around
and hold it in your hand.
This is the approximate size
based off of
a miscarried child.
A 12-week-old
unborn child
has
eyes and ears,
has fingernails
and toenails.
All of its major organs
are intact.
It begins producing
white blood cells.
The kidneys
begin producing urine
at that age.
Little baby peas.
The synapses
in the brain
are forming
at 12 weeks old,
which means
that it's beginning
to learn.
Different reflexes
begin,
sucking motion,
opening and closing eyes,
grabbing and curling toes.
A 12-week-old
unborn child
plays
with its umbilical cord.
Swallowing,
kicking,
flipping,
and waving arms.
All of that is happening
at this age.
I will give
a
brief warning
at this point.
I'm going to try
to keep this PG.
I'm going to explain
a little bit
of the abortive procedure
and if you have any
children in here
you don't want to hear that.
Now's your time
to run out of the room.
But I want to tell you
a little bit
about what happens
to a child
of this age
in a surgical abortion.
The procedure
is called
dilation
and evacuation.
It takes
about five minutes
and
the woman,
the mother,
is dilated
and a
catheter
attached to
a suction machine
is placed inside of her
and that baby
is sucked out
of the inside of her.
The amniotic fluid
is pulled out
and the baby
comes out
usually
in pieces.
That's this age.
Not long after,
up to
24 weeks
and 6 days
here in the state
of Georgia,
that procedure
begins to be
a little more
graphic
and I just
wanted to read
to you,
this is from
the Atlanta
Women's Medical Center
and Abortion Clinic.
This is the way
they describe it.
The surgical abortion
after dilation
is complete
in a manner
similar to
but more extensive
than
the method
described
for first trimester
abortions
and glaze
what's happening
over.
Let me tell you
what's happening.
The second trimester
abortion,
the woman is
dilated.
The same
suction is used
to pull out
all the amniotic fluid
at which point
the baby suffocates
and then
the doctor
sticks a long
pair of forceps
up inside the woman
and blindly
feels around
until he grabs
something,
clamps down
and he yanks it out
so an arm
comes out
and then a leg
comes out.
His goal
is to get
everything out
from inside
the woman.
Eventually the head
has to come out
but he has to
crush it
for it to come out
and that's what
he does.
The whole procedure
takes about 15 minutes
and he pockets
about $1,000.
That is what's
happening
to the unborn
children.
It's atrocious.
I'm trembling
talking about it
right now.
Approximately
1.3 million
unborn children
a year
are murdered
in America.
There have been
over 53 million
unborn child murders
since Roe v. Wade
was passed
in 1973.
53 million.
This is a genocide
much larger
than anything
that happened
during the Holocaust.
You history buffs
can tell me
if I'm wrong
but at the hands
of Adolf Hitler
I believe
about 41 million
people died.
It's about
30 million Russians
6 million Jews
and about
5 million
of the Allied
troops
were killed.
41 million.
This has surpassed
even the casualties
of that war
and if we're
going to be
consistent in our
logic as
these bioethicists
do
we would justify
the Holocaust
and the
atrocities of that
war.
We would say
well
these people
were an inconvenience
to Hitler
and his plan.
Hitler wanted
to rule the world
he didn't care
for some of these
people
and therefore
it was okay
for him to choose
to just dismiss
them
and dispose
of them
and move on
and that is what
we're doing
with the unborn
children.
1.3 million
a year
that's about
3,800
abortions
that are performed
each day.
3,800
and in the hour
and a half
we will have met
this morning
237
unborn children
will have been
murdered.
237
this room
has in it
I don't know
I'm going to guess
about 70 people
so we're
what is that
a fifth
of that number
and if a man
walked in the back
of this room
today
and killed
all of us
it would be
national news
there would be
outcry
it happened
recently
did it
in a movie theater
12 people
lost their lives
and that's a tragedy
I'm not
making light
of that
it's a tragedy
that those 12
people died
but in an hour
and a half
237 people
are going to be
murdered
this morning
and we're
quiet
secondly
aborting
unborn children
is bad
it's not healthy
for women
the pro-life
argument
has often
been framed
as an
anti-woman
argument
I heard on
conservative talk
radio the other
day that
Romney
is losing
the woman
vote
because he's
pro-life
it's often
framed that
way
but
let me show
you that
pro-life
is actually
pro-woman
it's pro-women's
life
as well
the effects
the physical
effects
and the
psychological
effects
that abortion
has on women
is rather
atrocious
and let me
just start
with the
physical
effects
Dr. Elizabeth
Shatigan
testified before
a senate
subcommittee
in 2004
this
start quote
abortion
increases rates
of breast
cancer
placenta
previa
preterm
births
and maternal
suicide
statistically
all types
of death
are higher
with women
who have
induced
abortions
end quote
ectopic
pregnancy
which is
when
the egg
and plants
in the
fallopian
tube
and not
in the
uterus
that is
something
I learned
this week
are responsible
for 12%
of all
pregnancy
related
maternal
deaths
and it's
increased
500%
since abortion
was legalized
Dr. Joel
Brind
said
the single
most
avoidable
risk
factor
for breast
cancer
is
induced
abortion
end quote
women
who have
abortions
have a
minimum
a minimum
50%
greater
chance
of having
breast
cancer
to as
much
as
a
300%
greater
chance
of having
breast
cancer
abortion
also
ends
in
death
for
women
on
July
20th
just
recently
national
news
a woman
named
Tanya
Reeves
went in
for a
second term
abortion
in
Chicago
and she
hemorrhaged
on the
table
it took
five
hours
for her
to bleed
out
and you
know what
the abortion
clinic did
kept her
there
so it
would have
looked real
bad to rush
her off
to the ER
wouldn't it
for this
procedure
this
thing
that's
touted
as
just
another
procedure
just
another
surgery
to be
done
psychological
effects
dozens
of studies
tie abortion
to a rise
in sexual
dysfunction
aversion
to sex
loss
of intimacy
unexpected
guilt
extramarital
affairs
traumatic
stress
syndrome
personality
fragmentation
grief
response
child abuse
and neglect
and an
increase
in alcohol
and drug
abuse
women
who have
abortions
are five
times
more likely
to abuse
drugs
there was
a study
done
of a group
of women
just eight
weeks after
abortion
and many
of these
things don't
show up
until much
much later
in a woman's
life
but just
eight weeks
after an
abortion
44%
of these
women
reported
nervous
disorders
36%
sleep
disorders
31%
deep
regret
about
their
decision
and
11%
had
already
been
prescribed
psychotropic
medication
just eight
weeks
after their
abortion
the group
women
exploited
by
abortion
has
chapters
all across
the United
States
for women
who decide
they'd like
to reach
out
and receive
support
for the
trauma
they've
experienced
in abortion
has
30,000
members
in the
US
psychological
effects
are also
so deep
and if
abortion
is just
another
surgical
procedure
why is it
that we
don't see
support groups
for people
who have
had their
wisdom teeth
taken out
or
an appendectomy
!
We don't see
support groups
for people
like that
because there
is no
psychological
damage done
for such
a simple
surgical
procedure
abortion
is so
much
more
so
the pro-life
movement
those of us
who hold
to that
is also
pro-women
I care
about
women
care deeply
about their
health
and their
psychology
I want
to see
culture
reformed
and I want
to see
women
healthy
thirdly
aborting
unborn
children
is bad
for men
men
also report
some of
the same
psychological
effects
however
many men
are not
involved
at all
in the
decision
80%
of women
who obtain
abortions
are single
and have
no support
from the
father
80%
this epidemic
has allowed
men
and I use
that term
very loosely
really I should
say boys
playing at
men games
to ignore
their responsibilities
is that it has
permitted them to
do as they
please without
any regard
to the
consequence
this week
I was
I was watching
Cade
and he
for quite
a while
has climbed
up onto
the back
of our
couch
and crawled
down the
length of
it
on Thursday
he decided
it would be
awesome to
stand up
on the back
of the
couch
and take
a header
off the
couch
and literally
he jumped
onto the
cushion
and then
onto his
head
on the
floor
boys don't
think about
consequences
do they
he just
did that
now
fortunately
he learned
the consequences
in this
case
these boys
the consequences
of their
action
is taken
out on
somebody else
not on
them
and legally
we permit
that to
happen
so aborting
unborn children
is also
bad for
men
it has
permitted
many men
to stay
boys
and lastly
aborting
unborn children
is bad
for the
church
I want you
to turn
with me
to Isaiah
chapter 1
I'll begin
reading
in verse
11
what to
me is
the multitude
of your
sacrifices
says the
Lord
I have
had enough
of burnt
offerings
of rams
and the
fat of
well-fed
beasts
I do
not delight
in the
blood of
bulls
or of
lambs
or of
goats
when you
come to
appear
before me
who has
required
of you
this
trampling
of my
courts
bring
no more
vain
offerings
incense
is an
abomination
to me
new moon
and sabbath
and the
calling of
convocations
I cannot
endure
iniquity
and solemn
assembly
your new
moons
and your
appointed
feasts
my soul
hates
they have
become a
burden
to me
and I
am weary
of bearing
them
when you
spread out
your hands
I will hide
my eyes
from you
even though
you make
many prayers
I will
not listen
your hands
are full
of blood
wash
yourselves
make
yourselves
clean
remove
the evil
of your
deeds
from before
my eyes
cease
to do
evil
learn
to do
good
seek
justice
correct
oppression
bring
justice
to the
fatherless
plead
the
widow's
cause
through the
prophet
Isaiah
God said
to his
people
you're going
through the
motions
of religion
doing
things that
he had
commanded
them to
do
making
sacrifice
he had
told them
to do
that
but they
were just
going
through the
motions
of doing
that
and how
many of
us
do the
same
come here
and sit
to go
through the
motion
of going
through
church
how many
people
this
morning
across
the
united
states
are
doing
just
that
and what's
the correction
he brings
to them
verse 17
learn to
do good
seek
justice
correct
oppression
he's saying
defend
the
defenseless
fight
for those
who
cannot
fight
for
themselves
in
surveys
26%
of
Americans
have
strong
pro-choice
opinions
that I
use the term
again
pro-abortion
opinions
29%
of those
survey
have strong
pro-life
opinions
which leaves
55%
of this
country
that
doesn't
really
know
where
they
stand
they
might
lean
one
direction
or the
other
the church
has a
responsibility
to work
it's not
hopeless
it's not
the 29%
of us
against
the 71%
it's the
29%
against
the 26%
and there's
so many
opinions
to be
swayed
we can
have
an impact
on this
issue
we must
stand up
for the
defenseless
we must
fight for
those
who cannot
fight for
themselves
and I
don't just
mean
unborn
children
I also
mean
the women
who are
being led
astray
the culture
this narrative
that speaks
so loud
as we
looked in
proverbs
all of
those
who are
being taken
away to
death
who are
stumbling
to the
slaughter
we must
become a
voice
of reason
to them
we also
must be
consistent
young ladies
this is
especially
for you
although none
of us
should ignore
this
there are
pills
that are
certainly
abortive
there are
after
morning after
pills
certainly
abortive
but birth
control methods
that most
women use
known as
the pill
can also
be
abortive
hear me
carefully
the pill
that most
women take
does three
things
number one
and primarily
it tricks a
woman's body
into believing
it's pregnant
so she won't
ovulate
there's no
egg to be
fertilized
no big deal
that's not
abortive
secondly
they thicken
the mucus
in the cervix
making it
more difficult
for sperm
to reach
any egg
that may
exist
that's the
second
method
but thirdly
they prevent
a fertilized
egg
an unborn
child
from implanting
and that's
abortive
now I
can't
I can't
draw a line
in the sand
about this
I'm not
even nearly
well read
enough
it's my
understanding
that all
of those
contraceptive
methods
known as
the pill
do this
they have
a primary
and a secondary
and a tertiary
methodology
Sam and I
used birth control
she used birth control
when we were first married
we won't anymore
because of what I've learned
I can't say that's
the thing you need to do
but you do
need to be informed
and you do
need to do your research
and you do need to
prayerfully consider
what you do
what you put in your body
and the effects
that it may have
please be aware
of that
so question
if allowing the murder
of 1.3 million
unborn children
this year
is so bad
for everyone
why do we
continue
to permit
this to happen
why do we just
go on with it
there are some
that say
that this is an issue
that's a distraction
from the gospel
these social
narratives
these things
that we try to
drop to do
is a distraction
from just simply
going out
and preaching
the gospel
but I would say
to you
in the closing
record of the book
of Matthew
we see what's commonly
called the great commission
beginning in verse 16
it reads
now the eleven disciples
went to Galilee
to the mountain
to which Jesus
had directed them
and when they saw him
they worshipped him
but some doubted
and Jesus came to them
and said
all authority
in heaven
and on earth
has been given
to me
go therefore
and make disciples
of all nations
baptizing them
in the name of the
father and the son
and the holy spirit
teaching them
to observe
all that I have
commanded you
and behold
I'm with you
always
to the end
of the age
we're not
just told
to go and make
converts
we're told to go
and make
disciples
those who follow
after Jesus Christ
and therefore
we must
teach his ways
and we also must
model his ways
Jesus cared
deeply
about
the oppressed
look at who
he hung out with
the lepers
were put off
in another area
they were considered
less than human
culturally
they were considered
non-human
and Jesus went to them
that's who we are
to be
as we make
disciples
it's very
gospel
motivated
to care
about
women
and men
and unborn
children
we must
act
I don't know
yet exactly
how this church
is going to act
but it will
if I have anything
to do with it
you're going to have
to run me off
or we're going to
do something
about this issue
in America
I don't know
what we can do
to impact it
on such a large
level
can we prevent
the abortion
the murder
of 1.3 million
unborn children
gosh I pray so
I don't think so
I don't think
that God's going
to use us
in that kind
of a way
but we can
do something
and if we'll
rise up together
as evangelical
Christians
and speak
against this
I believe
a greater thing
can be done
so what can we
practically be doing
and we'll do
some things together
I promise
understand the
politics
Roe v. Wade
needs to be
repealed
certainly
that needs
to happen
but you know
that the
power to punish
crime
this is not
a federal
issue
certainly vote
for people
who are pro-life
don't vote
for anybody
who's pro-choice
vote for people
who are pro-life
but this isn't
even a federal
issue
you know
who punishes
murderers
the state
of Georgia
the federal
government
doesn't do
that
that's not
a power
given to them
in the
constitution
we can affect
what happens
on the state
level
much more
readily
than we can
on the national
level
we need to
see Roe v. Wade
repealed
but then we
got to go
after our
state government
the people
want this
to happen
I believe
it can
I still
maybe foolishly
but I still
believe
in democracy
we need to
be involved
with our
local
efforts
the Dahlonega
Care Center
and the
Gainesville
Care Center
are phenomenal
resources
they do
lots
for women
with unborn
children
who are
considering
these types
of options
and we
will be
further
involved
with them
in the
future
we need
to be
alternatives
we've talked
to you
quite a bit
about our
church
we want
to foster
and adopt
children
beyond that
we want
to support
young mothers
single mothers
who decide
to keep
children
it's something
we call
the ABBA
initiative
and you'll
begin to hear
more and more
about that
but we also
need to be
offering some
alternative
to this
immoral
dilemma
I would
ask you
today
I kind
of hope
I haven't
blown your
mind
with any
new
information
I hope
that you've
been very
aware
of what's
going on
but I would
just ask
today
that you
have God
search your
heart
and expose
your apathy
he did
to me
this week
and I
pray that
he'll do
the same
for you
that we
might move
together
to see our
culture changed
with the
redemptive
gospel message
and we
can see
an end
put to
the murder
of unborn
children
let's pray
together
a
ending
a
Thank you.