WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:29.980 Thank you. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:45.380 As we are singing or as you are listening to a sermon or whenever something's going on in the context of worship that you're cross-referencing, you're stopping to ask yourself what passages of Scripture are coming to mind. 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:46.539 How many of you are working at that? 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:52.000 Raise your hand high so I can kind of... 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:53.280 Okay, here's what I want you to do. 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:56.240 Just so I can get a picture of what it would look like someday. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:00.240 I want everybody to raise at least one hand. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:03.240 Some of you are perverse and are going to raise both just a minute. 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:04.900 Raise your hand, please. 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:10.900 Now, I know some of you have never raised your hand before ever this moment. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:15.879 And so it's kind of like you're having a little fit of apoplexy here and you're not sure that you're going to survive it. 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:17.240 But here's what I want you to do. 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:19.259 Beloved, I plead with you. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:20.640 I ask you. 00:01:21.619 --> 00:01:25.379 I want you to be a people that are biblically informed. 00:01:26.659 --> 00:01:29.379 And I want you to be a people that think scripturally. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:32.699 And you're not going to do it if you don't practice it. 00:01:33.819 --> 00:01:35.619 Number one, you have to know the Word. 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:40.919 That's what your personal devotions and daily time in the Word of God are all about. 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:41.179 Amen? 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:44.580 Well, that's not bad for Baptists, but it's good. 00:01:44.800 --> 00:01:44.940 Okay. 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:48.440 You know, you have to be in the Word on a regular basis. 00:01:48.580 --> 00:01:53.680 But then secondly, you have to discipline your mind to think scripturally. 00:01:54.080 --> 00:01:55.600 What saith the Scriptures? 00:01:56.100 --> 00:01:57.680 Where is it in the Bible? 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:02.260 Particularly as we were singing those songs about God knowing us. 00:02:02.300 --> 00:02:04.420 How many of you were thinking about Psalm 139? 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:05.219 Were you there? 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:08.640 Before I was formed in the womb, God knew me. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:13.679 And just when you were thinking about when God turned His face away, 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.000 were you thinking about some of the things that Jesus said when He hung on the cross? 00:02:18.359 --> 00:02:22.639 I want to make this appeal that, and I hope I don't become overly... 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:27.939 My wife would tell you, once I get on something, I can nag to death. 00:02:28.119 --> 00:02:28.259 Okay? 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:34.399 I've said to different contractors at various times, don't get on my call list. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:38.419 That means that I will call until you wish that I had died. 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.639 And I want you to know that I'm going to keep at this, encouraging you. 00:02:42.679 --> 00:02:43.939 I want you to think scripturally. 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:50.039 I want you, as we are singing and as we are studying, to allow the Spirit of God to use the Word of God 00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:55.060 to kind of cross-reference things so that you will encourage your heart to think biblically, 00:02:55.119 --> 00:02:57.739 not just when you're here, but at all times. 00:02:57.979 --> 00:02:58.839 At all times. 00:02:59.799 --> 00:03:00.739 That's my plea. 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:07.320 Second thing that I want to encourage you at the outset to do is to pray as the Word of God is preached. 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:15.260 I was so blessed yesterday to have the privilege of doing the funeral for James Lewis. 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:26.139 And I have to tell you that there are some times where I am just rejoicing at the blessing of being able to preach the funeral for a believer 00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:31.939 and being able in that context to speak with confidence of where the individual is in eternity. 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:33.019 That's an exciting thing. 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:33.759 Do you realize that? 00:03:34.259 --> 00:03:35.359 What does it say in Scripture? 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:38.840 It says, absent in the body, present with the Lord. 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:39.939 And that's good. 00:03:40.640 --> 00:03:46.719 When I slip from this place to my eternal home, it will not be a day of sorrow for me. 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.560 I look forward to seeing Jesus. 00:03:51.640 --> 00:03:59.379 There are times where you do funerals and most people there are not familiar with the gospel. 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:05.060 And sometimes the sweetness of the gospel can actually be irritating. 00:04:05.180 --> 00:04:06.020 Did you realize that? 00:04:06.640 --> 00:04:08.280 It talks about the offense of the gospel. 00:04:09.640 --> 00:04:16.840 And I will tell you that as I preached yesterday afternoon, that one of the thoughts that went through my heart as I stood there 00:04:16.840 --> 00:04:22.680 to preach the sweetness of the truth that Jesus came into the world to save sinners such as I, 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:26.699 I thought about the fact that there were those of you who were praying for me. 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:28.199 I know that because you told me. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:33.199 And I was blessed and encouraged by that. 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:35.379 So please don't stop. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:36.720 Sunday morning, here we are. 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:37.660 I need your prayers again. 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:38.740 Same, same. 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:39.119 Right? 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.119 And I want to encourage you to know this, that praying is what makes average preaching a little more tolerable. 00:04:44.119 --> 00:04:47.779 So do your part and I'll do my part and we'll trust God to do His part. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:48.000 Amen? 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:51.639 Now, this is Pro-Life Sunday. 00:04:51.639 --> 00:05:03.139 Forty years ago, our Supreme Court declared that it was legal to murder the unborn. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:12.719 And the value of human life was reduced from a matter of moral law to simple desire. 00:05:12.719 --> 00:05:17.560 The value of human life was reduced from a matter of moral law to a matter of simple desire. 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:18.899 Let me explain what I mean by that. 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:26.779 If the woman desired to keep the child, it was human and it was illegal for that child's life to be taken. 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:32.159 If, on the other hand, the woman decided that she did not want that unborn child, 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:38.239 it was acceptable to snuff that child's life out and there were no consequences for that murderous behavior. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:48.319 In the 40 years that have followed in our nation alone, 40 years from that January 22, 1973 date, 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:56.199 it is estimated that more than 55 million babies have had their lives snuffed out. 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.620 Does anybody know here how many died during the Vietnam War? 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:01.620 Just rough numbers. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:07.420 Give or take, Pete, I see a nod, so that's, you're going to tell me about 55, 57,000, am I right? 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:09.959 Okay, okay. 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:18.519 Do you realize the trauma that the death of 55,000 men had to our nation? 00:06:20.099 --> 00:06:25.399 And yet we realize this morning that in this United States, only here in the United States, 00:06:25.859 --> 00:06:29.219 some 55 million babies have had their lives snuffed out. 00:06:31.779 --> 00:06:35.399 And we're not here today to celebrate that event, 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:40.620 but we are here as God's people to say this is wrong, 00:06:40.919 --> 00:06:44.519 and we as God's people have a place and a part to play 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:47.779 in the way in which we react in an unbelieving world 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:52.319 and the way in which we look around and behave in such a fashion 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:55.399 that we are more than just kind of bumps out there on the road, 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:56.819 but we are salt and light. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:02.319 Over the years, I have preached on the topic of the sanctity of human life. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.359 I've lost track of how many times. 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:09.699 And I have, in each case, touched on the biblical framework 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:12.319 for understanding that abortion is a sin. 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:17.579 It is a sin that God forgives when there is repentance and a contrite heart. 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:20.120 But abortion is a sin and euthanasia is a sin. 00:07:20.159 --> 00:07:25.839 And I've got to tell you that I have no doubt that as things progress in our enlightened culture 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.819 that we are going to see euthanasia take place more and more and more, 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:32.919 particularly as the cost of health care becomes more problematic. 00:07:32.919 --> 00:07:34.279 Guess what's going to happen? 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:40.479 Once individuals reach their valuable, they kind of age out. 00:07:40.659 --> 00:07:42.259 And, you know, why do we have to have them keep around? 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:47.079 I expect that it's going to become some of you sitting here that are younger than probably 30 00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:49.099 are going to find that it's an ongoing battle. 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:50.859 Ongoing battle. 00:07:53.119 --> 00:07:55.939 And so this morning, I'm going to touch again on those subjects. 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:59.439 I'm always amazed when I preach on a subject that I've preached on year after year. 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:03.040 I have individuals come to me and say, Pastor, never heard you talk about that before. 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:05.899 And in some cases, they're brand new to our fellowship. 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:09.160 And I have to nod and say, well, yeah, I understand that. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:14.420 But the ones who really kind of get me are the ones who have been here for, you know, like 11700 years. 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:18.500 And when they say that to me, I think, don't say anything. 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:19.360 You know, why say anything? 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:21.819 I say, well, I'm glad it touched your heart. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:22.800 Good answer, right? 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:28.259 And so it might be that some of you here this morning, this is going to be the first time 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:33.580 you've ever heard me say anything, at least in record, on the matter of the pro-life issues. 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:38.460 I do want to explain that this year I'm going to take and go a little further in terms of 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:43.919 the practical application because I think we as a culture need to be sensitive to how far 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:47.680 reaching the issue of the sanctity of human life really is. 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:50.259 So let's start with the very beginning. 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:54.559 I want you to understand why God cares about human life. 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:55.620 Why does God care? 00:08:57.019 --> 00:09:01.899 Well, turn back in your Bible just for a moment back to Genesis 1, verse 26. 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:05.000 Genesis 1, verse 26. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.200 By the way, just as a matter of Bible study, I do want you to know that the book of Genesis, 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:19.220 which is the starting book in the Scriptures, is also a book that has a lot of the beginning 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:20.759 points in theology. 00:09:20.920 --> 00:09:25.480 And so when you get the picture in Genesis, you can move forward fairly comfortably and 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:27.200 understand how the rest of it flows. 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:29.340 It's good to get the starting point right. 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:33.399 So in Genesis 1, verse 26, here's what it says. 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:40.360 And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:44.340 the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heaven, over the livestock, and over all the 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:47.100 earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:50.740 So God created man in his image. 00:09:51.199 --> 00:09:54.019 And in the image of God, he created him. 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:56.819 Male and female, he created them. 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:04.200 I want you to understand that the reason God cares about human life is principally or at 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:09.780 first from the Scriptures because he made it and he made mankind to be in his image. 00:10:10.780 --> 00:10:15.660 I want you to understand as we look at the passage, if you'll notice there, it says we create man 00:10:15.660 --> 00:10:17.820 in our image, in our likeness. 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:24.520 And in stating that it is in our likeness, we're not talking about the characteristics of God that 00:10:24.520 --> 00:10:29.840 are not seen, but we're talking about those characteristics that are seen. 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:36.860 God created us with a will and with a mind and with an ability to love, an ability to create. 00:10:37.020 --> 00:10:41.400 These are things that he has given to us by virtue of being like him. 00:10:42.060 --> 00:10:45.580 But I want you to look on, if you will, just a little bit more and say, and let them have 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:46.240 dominion. 00:10:47.560 --> 00:10:54.720 When he created mankind, he also gave to mankind the duty of being his administrative head over 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:55.360 his creation. 00:10:56.560 --> 00:11:02.440 He made mankind to have the responsibility of caring for the world that he has given to 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:02.660 us. 00:11:02.660 --> 00:11:08.759 And I want you to understand that long before it was popular to be sympathetic and sensitive 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:14.480 to what our personal behaviors were doing to the earth, God ordained that we are to take 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:15.300 good care of it. 00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:21.180 There's a reason for Christians being responsible in the way in which they manage the resources 00:11:21.180 --> 00:11:23.600 that they've been given to them. 00:11:23.800 --> 00:11:26.879 And the reason is, is that God holds them responsible for it. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:33.740 And so I want you to understand that he gave to man not only his own image, he also gave to 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:40.220 man the responsibility of being his administrator, his overseer of the world that he had placed 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:40.740 man in. 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:46.779 And so I want you to note that in a sense, to be against the image of God is to be against 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:49.080 the one who was the maker of mankind. 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:55.720 And to violate the image bearer, that is me, that is you, is to violate or disrespect his 00:11:55.720 --> 00:12:00.759 authority and his sovereignty as the creator and Lord over all of the universe. 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:07.420 To violate or destroy the image bearer is to rebel against the one that God has ordained 00:12:07.420 --> 00:12:13.980 to be his assistant and the one who maintains and manages the earth for his care or for his 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:14.340 glory. 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:20.000 I want you to notice, secondly, that God cares about human life because he alone is 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.019 the one who is the giver and taker of life. 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:25.039 Turn in your Bible to Job. 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:31.019 We're going from Genesis all the way over to Job, and there is some thought that actually 00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:34.120 Job was the first book written historically. 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:41.100 I don't know exactly if that's true or not, but Job chapter 1, if you'll mark what it says 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:42.060 in verse 21. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:49.980 Here is Job enduring the incredible consequences of seeing those that he loved die. 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:54.259 And as he is going through the trauma of that. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.680 And I want you to understand, it would help you just to stop and think about just for a 00:12:58.680 --> 00:13:03.500 moment what would it be like to have someone come running up to you and say, listen, I want 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:11.059 you to know that all of your family was slaughtered today by wicked and ungodly people. 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:12.860 What kind of thoughts would you have? 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:16.919 Listen to what Job has to say in verse 21. 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:22.080 He said, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return. 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:25.159 The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. 00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:27.659 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 00:13:29.059 --> 00:13:33.259 I want you to understand that what the scriptures tell us is God is the one who has the right to 00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:33.860 take life. 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:35.759 He's the one who gives life. 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:43.220 And it is not in our hands as men or mankind to take away life that God has ordained. 00:13:43.319 --> 00:13:50.220 When He calls us into being and He makes us alive, we are to live our life until He decides 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:52.379 that it's time for us to go home. 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:57.500 It's not our place to usurp His authority and His plan in our life. 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:03.179 I want you to look with me also at some evidences of God's value for human life. 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.039 Mark, for one thing, that He pays personal attention to mankind. 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:14.519 This morning as we were worshiping together in song, we looked at a passage in Psalm 8. 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:18.820 And I don't think John knew that I was going to reference it. 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:21.019 But I want you to turn back there again, if you will. 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:24.799 Well, John 8, we're in Psalm 8. 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:34.360 Psalm, just a second. 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:43.580 It says there in verse 4, 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:48.700 What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care about him? 00:14:50.180 --> 00:14:55.120 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:58.460 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. 00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:02.800 You have put all things under his feet. 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:08.860 I want you to understand that in broad terms, and we're thinking in a broad perspective, 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:12.840 it says here that God, who is the creator of this universe, 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.620 has decided that for His own sovereign glory and purposes, 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:19.960 He would set His affection and His attention on us, 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:21.980 and He would think about us personally. 00:15:22.780 --> 00:15:24.100 That's amazing to me. 00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:28.940 I have 12 going on 13 grandchildren. 00:15:30.040 --> 00:15:31.460 And I care about them. 00:15:31.540 --> 00:15:32.360 I pray about them. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:33.159 But you know something? 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.300 My mind has a tendency to kind of focus on one thing at a time. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.000 How many of you are pretty much the same way? 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:43.300 Let me have you practice basic discipline here. 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:44.759 I want you to look clearly. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:46.360 Focus on this finger. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:47.340 This finger. 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:48.399 You got that? 00:15:48.660 --> 00:15:49.800 Focus on this finger. 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:54.379 The truth of the matter is, is the human mind is pretty much limited to, 00:15:54.479 --> 00:15:56.759 well, I'll get that finger, Pastor, or I'll get this finger. 00:15:56.939 --> 00:15:57.899 I won't do both. 00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:04.939 And yet God has the ability to think of each of us and to care about us personally, 00:16:04.939 --> 00:16:09.159 and He is paying attention, as it says over in Psalm 139, 00:16:09.319 --> 00:16:11.139 to our down-sitting and our uprising. 00:16:11.319 --> 00:16:12.500 He knows when I sit down. 00:16:12.719 --> 00:16:13.859 He knows when I get up. 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.299 He knows what I'm thinking before I think it. 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:16.979 Whoa! 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:21.019 Now, my wife has said to me, I know what you're thinking. 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:25.940 And I've wished on more than one occasion I could say, no, you don't. 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:31.100 But 42 years of practice, she's fairly close to the bullseye. 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:37.480 But the truth of the matter is, is that God knows what we think before we think it. 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:39.899 That's God. 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:47.799 Let me take this a little further and recognize that not only does He think about mankind in broad terms, 00:16:47.959 --> 00:16:51.159 but He thinks about us in personal terms. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:56.179 Psalm 139, I just referred to it, but I want you to look at the passage so it's fixed in your mind. 00:16:56.740 --> 00:17:00.799 Turn over in Psalm 139 and look at verse 15 through 18. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:06.159 Psalm 139, verse 15, and then 18. 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:09.980 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret. 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:22.019 At what time, at what point in the process of birth does a child become a human being? 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:28.259 In our contemporary culture, it's when the child is viable outside of the womb. 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:30.779 That's not what God has to say. 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:33.500 Look at what it says there in verse 15. 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:33.900 It says, 00:17:33.900 --> 00:18:02.100 God has known you from the moment of your inception, even before that, and He has called you precious and prized. 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:07.279 Well, I want you to see not only does He pay attention to us personally, 00:18:07.659 --> 00:18:11.719 but He also has given clear laws against the shedding of innocent blood. 00:18:12.399 --> 00:18:16.539 Now, turn over in your Bible, if you will, to Genesis chapter 9. 00:18:16.639 --> 00:18:19.919 We're going back and forth this morning a little bit, but there's a reason for that. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:22.639 I want to make this clear in your thinking. 00:18:22.639 --> 00:18:23.859 Genesis chapter 9. 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:33.719 You remember early on that we find not long after creation, we find murder taking place. 00:18:34.699 --> 00:18:37.879 And in that context, in verse 5 and 6, here's what it says. 00:18:38.719 --> 00:18:41.579 For your lifeblood, I will require a reckoning. 00:18:41.699 --> 00:18:43.679 From every beast, I will require it. 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:44.559 And from man. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.079 What is that saying? 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:52.919 In God's wisdom, in God's economy, in God's law. 00:18:53.359 --> 00:19:00.159 And by the way, is God's law just some kind of arbitrary little set of rules that were passed by a group of people 00:19:00.159 --> 00:19:05.299 that lived in the ancient Middle East and kind of scampered around on the backside of the desert? 00:19:05.419 --> 00:19:05.659 No. 00:19:06.139 --> 00:19:10.000 They're laws that are eternal, and they are for all mankind. 00:19:10.139 --> 00:19:10.919 God says, listen. 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:11.400 Listen. 00:19:12.320 --> 00:19:14.880 Man's life is to be sacred and preserved. 00:19:15.120 --> 00:19:16.240 And he says, listen. 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:20.300 Lifeblood I will reckon from every beast and will cry it from every man. 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:23.640 From his fellow man, I require a reckoning for the life of man. 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:28.320 Whosoever sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed. 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:30.000 So what is being said? 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:35.380 The penalty for slaughtering another individual is your own death. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:37.380 That's what God ordained. 00:19:38.340 --> 00:19:40.740 Turn also, if you will, to Exodus chapter 20. 00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:42.099 I want you to look at this passage. 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:46.880 And some of you, perhaps even in an earlier day, memorized the Ten Commandments. 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:51.259 How many of you at one point had a reasonable run at getting the Ten Commandments right? 00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:52.299 Raise your hand. 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:52.660 Okay. 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:55.059 Thou shalt not. 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:56.019 We know those. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:57.440 Don't we pretty well? 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:01.720 If we remembered it, we probably remember thou shalt not. 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:03.779 Yeah, you said it. 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:04.460 Kill. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:04.500 Kill. 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:14.220 Actually, the word that is used in Exodus chapter 20, verse 13, is not accurately or most accurately 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:15.299 translated as kill. 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.000 It is most accurately translated as murder. 00:20:18.100 --> 00:20:19.680 Now, what's the difference between kill and murder? 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:22.720 A lot of killing happens in war. 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:24.920 A lot of killing happens in war. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.920 Where else does killing happen justifiably? 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:35.100 Over in Romans chapter 13, it says this, that God has ordained civil government, and one of 00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:39.320 the things about the civil government is that they bear the sword. 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:40.299 What's that talking about? 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:50.440 Now, God has ordained that government in place where it is necessary to deal with lawbreakers 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:51.919 may execute. 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:57.539 And so, I need you to understand as you think about the matter of the sanctity of human life 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:04.319 that God has set some boundaries, and His clear laws are against the shedding of innocent 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:04.779 blood. 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:06.579 Innocent blood. 00:21:06.899 --> 00:21:09.759 The more accurate translation is thou shalt not murder. 00:21:10.879 --> 00:21:15.639 And as you look at that passage, I want you to understand that God has ordained that we 00:21:15.639 --> 00:21:19.960 are not to be engaged in the taking of the life of another individual. 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:24.700 And if I have a problem with someone, he's committed a crime against me, what is the standard 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:25.119 of law? 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:29.779 I am to appeal that case to the courts, and they're the ones who are to judge and adjudicate 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:30.180 the matter. 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:34.680 And if the matter is a penalty of death, then they are the ones who are to care for it. 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:35.579 I am not. 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:37.059 That's not my place. 00:21:37.059 --> 00:21:42.159 What it says over in Romans chapter 12, it says this, vengeance is mine, what? 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:43.200 I will repay. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:46.059 I want to come to a third part. 00:21:46.179 --> 00:21:50.179 He has established laws to preserve life and to protect it. 00:21:51.059 --> 00:21:55.039 He has established laws to preserve life and to respect it. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:58.920 And I want you to understand that as we deal with this matter, there are some of you here 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:01.440 perhaps who are not going to accept what I have to say. 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:03.940 You may see it differently, and I respect that. 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:06.279 But I want you to think with me at least scripturally. 00:22:07.579 --> 00:22:10.980 We recognize that God values the life of the unborn. 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:15.900 Over in Exodus chapter 21, and I'm just going to make reference to it so you have time to 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:17.779 think and kind of frame it later in your mind. 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:23.880 But in Exodus chapter 21, verse 22 through 25, we find one of the more persuasive pictures 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:26.759 of the value of the unborn child. 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:34.440 It's giving a case where there is conflict going on, and the conflict is such that the 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:39.920 woman who is with child is harmed, and she would give birth prematurely. 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:43.580 I'm giving you an abbreviated summary of the passage. 00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:54.279 If the prematurely born child survives, the Old Testament law called for the one who caused 00:22:54.279 --> 00:23:00.500 the harm to pay a penalty for causing that harm to the child and to the mother. 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:04.279 Premature birth is not something that you kind of walk around in the morning thinking, well, 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:05.599 today is a good day for this. 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:06.200 No. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:07.879 Dangerous. 00:23:08.639 --> 00:23:09.079 Harmful. 00:23:10.399 --> 00:23:14.819 On the other hand, mark what it says there in the passage and look at it. 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:22.259 If that behavior by the perpetrator of that violence causes that woman to give premature 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:26.339 birth to the child and that child dies, what is the penalty? 00:23:27.399 --> 00:23:28.079 What's the penalty? 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.279 It is death. 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:31.440 What does that tell us? 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:39.480 Going back to that Genesis chapter 9 passage where it says, those who take life will pay 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:41.220 the price for that life. 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:47.539 And so we understand in the Old Testament that God set some boundaries around the unborn and 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:52.000 protected them, and He establishes clear boundaries for the taking of human life. 00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:53.519 It's not something to be done carelessly. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:58.400 It is not something to be done because of your anger or an attitude. 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:02.019 It is only to be done in certain extreme situations. 00:24:03.619 --> 00:24:05.879 Establish laws to preserve and respect life. 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:07.839 We also see that in the care of the aged. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:14.119 And we live in a culture that is progressively becoming more and more disinterested in what 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:16.000 happens in the lives of elderly people. 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:20.819 They become, quote unquote, a burden and a challenge to a culture. 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:22.339 And that's not true at all. 00:24:22.959 --> 00:24:27.000 I can tell you this from personal experience that one of the greater blessings of my later 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:30.099 years, isn't later years an interesting thing to say at 64? 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:30.219 64? 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:33.959 Now, some of you here are, you're in your 80s, you're thinking, why are you a pup? 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:35.819 Well, here's the deal. 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:41.399 I have learned more in ministering to my parents than I would have ever imagined. 00:24:42.179 --> 00:24:43.480 They live next door to me. 00:24:43.539 --> 00:24:48.839 They're not here this morning, not by choice, but because their health is frail and they cannot 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:49.259 come. 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:52.699 I had to tell my dad last night, Dad, I don't think you should go. 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:58.399 Now, how do you think that is for a pastor to tell his father, who is a missionary, right? 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:03.360 I mean, there's probably only two places my dad would rather be. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:04.800 It's in church or in heaven. 00:25:05.860 --> 00:25:07.960 Dad, I don't think you should go. 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:15.540 Beloved, the scriptures are full of instructions on how we are to care for our elderly and we 00:25:15.540 --> 00:25:16.960 are to show respect for them. 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:18.900 That's the way we're to care for them. 00:25:20.220 --> 00:25:24.400 It's interesting also in the Old Testament to find that there was instructions on how you 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:27.460 would care even for the body of someone who was executed. 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:32.900 How many of you know that a criminal, if he was hung for his offense, his body could not 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:33.860 stay out overnight? 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:36.319 How many of you knew that? 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:39.559 Have you ever stopped and thought, well, why was that? 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:47.480 It was because of God's respect for the body that He had given and a desire that that body 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:52.059 not be abused or mistreated in any extreme fashion. 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:58.359 The execution, the judgment was to be carried out, but the body was not to be abused. 00:25:58.539 --> 00:26:05.399 I heard, I read on the internet about a Marine that had violated, desecrated the body of some 00:26:05.399 --> 00:26:08.000 enemies and he suffered the consequences for that. 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:09.419 And I think that was a righteous judgment. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:16.339 Those who are engaged in warfare, apart from what takes place and the brutality and horror 00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:18.319 of warfare, that's understandable. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:22.579 I mean, munitions are profoundly destructive to human flesh. 00:26:23.699 --> 00:26:28.220 But let no soldier individually violate the body of a dead enemy. 00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:31.019 That is unconscionable and contrary to the Scriptures. 00:26:31.879 --> 00:26:35.939 I want you to also recognize that I are, to understand that I believe the Scriptures teach 00:26:35.939 --> 00:26:39.119 that we have the responsibility of self-defense. 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:44.199 And I recognize there are going to be some of you that may differ with me on this, but I want 00:26:44.199 --> 00:26:50.079 to tell you that I think when it says in the Scriptures that you shall not murder, it is speaking 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:54.139 of the fact that there are instances where the matter of the taking of life is something 00:26:54.139 --> 00:26:55.259 that may be necessary. 00:26:56.199 --> 00:27:01.139 And I think if you look in the Scriptures, there are clear limits set on where you go with that. 00:27:01.139 --> 00:27:05.199 Turn in your Bible, if you will, to Exodus chapter 22, verse 2. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:09.420 Exodus chapter 22, verse 2. 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:17.460 If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no blood guilt 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:18.000 for him. 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:18.819 What's blood guilt? 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:24.539 Now, you have resonating in the back of your mind Genesis chapter 9. 00:27:24.620 --> 00:27:26.299 Remember what Genesis chapter 9 said? 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.539 I will require his blood at your hand. 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.860 Whoso kills, he shall be killed. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:39.299 Now, look at the passage carefully because we want to pay attention to the entire context. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:45.180 It says here, if a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall 00:27:45.180 --> 00:27:46.480 be no blood guilt for him. 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:49.180 By the way, how many of you have flashlights in your house? 00:27:50.140 --> 00:27:50.660 Raise your hands. 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:52.500 Flashlight owners, wave at me. 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:54.319 How many of you have a flashlight by your bed? 00:27:56.340 --> 00:27:56.700 Okay. 00:28:00.120 --> 00:28:02.100 How many of you imagine what it would be like? 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:04.399 Now, this is back in 2000 BC. 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:05.939 Someone breaks into your house. 00:28:06.619 --> 00:28:07.519 Where's your flashlight? 00:28:08.399 --> 00:28:09.419 Hadn't been invented yet. 00:28:10.899 --> 00:28:12.099 Where's your oil lamp? 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:17.379 You scamper over to the hearth where there is this little smoldering pile of ashes from 00:28:17.379 --> 00:28:23.199 last night's suffer and you go, you know, get it a little bit of flame and carry it over 00:28:23.199 --> 00:28:25.899 there and light the lamp so you can figure out what's happening. 00:28:26.439 --> 00:28:27.019 You got it? 00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:29.119 There's what it says. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:29.920 Let's look at it. 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:37.139 It says, he breaks in, he's struck so that he dies, there shall be no blood guilt. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:37.720 Now, listen. 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:42.279 But if the sun has risen on him, there shall be blood guilt for him. 00:28:42.339 --> 00:28:43.099 What's that mean? 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:45.920 Very interesting. 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:49.180 You can defend yourself. 00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:55.460 But don't just apply the castle doctrine because you happen to think it's to your advantage. 00:28:55.560 --> 00:28:56.759 You better be very careful with it. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.820 Now, I want you to turn to another passage in relationship to this. 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:02.140 Turn to Proverbs 28, verse 17. 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:12.100 I believe the scriptures clearly instruct me that I am to protect myself. 00:29:13.860 --> 00:29:18.240 But I also believe the scriptures tell me that I better be careful with the application of that 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:21.660 responsibility, profound responsibility. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:24.380 Proverbs 28, verse 17. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:28.660 If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death. 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:29.880 Let no one help him. 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:32.600 How do you get burdened with the blood of another? 00:29:33.420 --> 00:29:37.900 You take the blood of someone that did not deserve to die. 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:43.480 You take their blood without moral or scriptural authority. 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:46.700 Let me have you think of some other passages in relationship to this. 00:29:46.780 --> 00:29:50.340 Turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 22, verse 35 and 36. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.620 Very interesting text. 00:29:53.040 --> 00:29:57.680 You remember earlier when Jesus sent his disciples out two by two by two, he said, 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:59.820 Hey, guys, don't be packing a pack. 00:30:00.360 --> 00:30:01.660 Don't take anything extra. 00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:03.799 You're just to go from house to house. 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:06.720 And in the nation of Israel, you're to preach the gospel. 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:09.140 And the houses that accept you stay there. 00:30:10.320 --> 00:30:13.080 They kick you out, shake your dust off, move on. 00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:18.460 Luke chapter 22, right before the cross, verse 35. 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:25.160 He said to them, when I sent you out with no money bag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything? 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:26.340 And they said nothing. 00:30:27.220 --> 00:30:31.799 He said to them, but now let the one who has a money bag take it, and likewise a knapsack, 00:30:31.940 --> 00:30:35.079 and let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 00:30:36.340 --> 00:30:36.759 Huh. 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:39.859 Different time, different need. 00:30:40.619 --> 00:30:46.920 And here is Jesus saying, look, you know, previously when you were only in the nation of Israel, 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:53.480 the way in which the Israelites cared for itinerant evangelists was that every time they came to a city, 00:30:53.859 --> 00:30:56.220 they were welcomed into various homes in that city. 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:03.319 You didn't need to pack extra bedding or an extra sandwich because when you move from Rome Hilliard 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:08.539 to Galloway, long journey that that is, you know, you could expect that in Galloway, 00:31:08.639 --> 00:31:11.119 someone was going to give you a place to live and a meal. 00:31:13.159 --> 00:31:21.099 Now, going into all the world, carrying the gospel, and he says, listen, you're going to have to pack a knapsack, 00:31:21.619 --> 00:31:25.980 you're going to have to have the clothing that you need, and you're going to have to care for your own protection. 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:31.619 Now, lest we get overcarried with that, I do want to remind you of a couple other things in relationship to that. 00:31:31.619 --> 00:31:36.939 Later on, just a little bit further, we find that Jesus is in the garden, 00:31:37.259 --> 00:31:41.199 and Peter takes it upon himself to do something with a sword. 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:41.759 What's he do? 00:31:42.739 --> 00:31:44.659 He lops off a guy's ear. 00:31:46.219 --> 00:31:47.559 And what does Jesus do? 00:31:48.699 --> 00:31:52.439 He immediately heals the man on the spot, picks up the ear off the ground, 00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:57.299 slaps it, I don't know what he did, I'm sorry, you know, but, you know, it worked. 00:31:57.299 --> 00:32:01.299 I'm sorry. 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:07.659 And then Jesus turns to Peter, who earlier he had said, hey, two swords will do. 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:10.240 You want to scratch your head for some things? 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:15.079 He says, two swords will do, and then he says, Peter, hey, listen, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. 00:32:16.879 --> 00:32:21.359 Later, when Jesus is actually before the Sanhedrin, he makes a very interesting statement. 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:24.559 He says, listen, my servants will not fight. 00:32:24.659 --> 00:32:24.879 Why? 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:28.399 Because my kingdom is not of this world. 00:32:29.719 --> 00:32:36.039 I think there is a difference in the Scripture from self-protection for personal protection, 00:32:36.500 --> 00:32:41.719 and the work of the church is not to be carried on by violence in any way, shape, or form. 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:50.720 Let me carry further on this, and I want you to understand that not only does he pay attention to mankind, 00:32:51.140 --> 00:32:57.539 and his laws are clear, but I want you to notice in Scripture that God has clear judgment against violence. 00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:01.900 In Genesis chapter 6, and I want you to go back to that passage just for a moment. 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:08.700 Genesis chapter 6, and I bring this to your attention because, listen to me carefully, 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:12.220 we live in a profoundly violent culture. 00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:18.220 How many of you know what MMA is? 00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:22.039 Mixed martial arts. 00:33:22.140 --> 00:33:26.080 There are some of you that are going, I don't know, and there are others that, yeah, bring it on. 00:33:27.080 --> 00:33:28.640 MMA, mixed martial arts. 00:33:30.059 --> 00:33:36.920 I'm sure none of you have things like Call of Duty or any of those kind of games that you play. 00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:40.140 You know, I see a little furtive, you know what a furtive glance is? 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:43.880 It's a little bit like you don't want to give it away, but you know what I'm talking about. 00:33:45.060 --> 00:33:45.900 Call of Duty. 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:56.539 Listen, movies, movies are profoundly just offensive in their violent treatment of human life. 00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:03.920 I want you to understand that God really cares about the culture and what's going on, 00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:11.119 and I have to tell you, I believe Christians are just, are largely insensitive to the violence of the contemporary culture. 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:15.880 Genesis chapter 6, let's look at verse 11 through 13. 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:20.180 And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh. 00:34:20.260 --> 00:34:21.099 I'm sorry, verse 11. 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:25.880 And the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:29.300 Filled with violence. 00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:40.280 I'm not going to take the time this morning to run through all the various passages where the issue of violence is described in Scripture as something that is profoundly offensive to God. 00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:43.720 But if you go back and you recognize that He made man in His image, 00:34:44.120 --> 00:34:50.700 then going about violently taking human life without justice is something that is supremely offensive to God. 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:57.660 Whether you're doing it in fact or you're doing it for entertainment, it's not part of the believer's life. 00:34:57.659 --> 00:35:06.739 And don't tell me that playing those games doesn't have an effect on your soul. 00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:16.159 It is as empty an argument as telling me that pornography does not demean your value of women. 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:16.259 Amen. 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:27.159 As you look in the Scriptures, you find that there were two particular things that led to God's judgment on the Canaanites. 00:35:27.659 --> 00:35:34.259 One was sexual immorality, and the other was violence. 00:35:37.500 --> 00:35:38.980 I'll give you a little bit of sidebar. 00:35:39.339 --> 00:35:42.759 That means it's something that's not in the sermon, but it's a little one. 00:35:44.259 --> 00:35:49.039 I believe that what we see happening in America right now with those who are in authority 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:57.579 is largely God using an instrument of judgment against this nation for our progressive wickedness. 00:35:57.579 --> 00:36:02.500 Well, let's come to a close. 00:36:04.019 --> 00:36:04.739 What do we do? 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:09.179 I want to talk about living with a commitment to the sanctity of human life. 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:12.380 Number one, I encourage you to be gospel-believing. 00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:17.840 And when I say gospel-believing, I want you to think with me of a passage that we're going to come back to 00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:20.299 in Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9. 00:36:20.300 --> 00:36:25.700 I love Ephesians, as you know, but I love this part in particular, 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:27.740 and I want you to look at it just for a moment, if you will. 00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:29.120 We're going to study it again. 00:36:29.220 --> 00:36:33.120 We're going to look at it in depth, but let's look at what it means to be gospel-believing 00:36:33.120 --> 00:36:35.740 in terms of the context of where we are today. 00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:39.780 Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9, it says this, 00:36:39.780 --> 00:36:44.300 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing. 00:36:44.380 --> 00:36:45.240 It's the gift of God. 00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:50.160 Not a result of works, lest any man should boast. 00:36:50.380 --> 00:36:55.600 To be gospel-believing means to have had your life affected by the sweetness of the gospel 00:36:55.600 --> 00:37:01.460 and recognize that the reason you have had your life transformed is because of the power and grace of God. 00:37:01.700 --> 00:37:03.460 You don't belong to yourself anymore. 00:37:03.540 --> 00:37:04.320 Would you agree with that? 00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:07.480 If any man be in Christ Jesus, he's what? 00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:13.360 He has a ticket to heaven, but he can pretty much be like the unbelieving world. 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:15.519 I don't see that. 00:37:17.300 --> 00:37:22.260 Gospel-believing means that the gospel has affected all aspects of your life. 00:37:23.500 --> 00:37:26.159 I would say, secondly, that we're to be gospel-living. 00:37:27.179 --> 00:37:28.099 Gospel-living. 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:30.840 Look at what it says there in verse 10 of Ephesians 6, 00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:34.920 For we are as workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. 00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:40.619 Should there be a difference in the entertainment of the believer and the unbeliever? 00:37:42.139 --> 00:37:43.840 Should there be an entertainment difference? 00:37:44.019 --> 00:37:45.039 I believe there should be. 00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:47.300 I think there should be. 00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:49.659 There should be a difference in the kind of music we listen to, 00:37:50.019 --> 00:37:54.820 not just because we get off on being hyper-spiritual and walk around with our nose in the air. 00:37:55.860 --> 00:37:56.260 Agreed? 00:37:56.260 --> 00:38:03.780 But the things we care about and the things we're interested in should reflect in the way we spend our time. 00:38:04.580 --> 00:38:05.260 Try this. 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:09.120 Tell your wife you love her, but you really don't care enough to be with her. 00:38:10.160 --> 00:38:11.060 That's like people who say, 00:38:11.140 --> 00:38:13.420 Well, I love Jesus, but they don't have a devotional life, right? 00:38:14.080 --> 00:38:14.980 Or they say, 00:38:15.140 --> 00:38:17.700 I have my eyes focused only on you, 00:38:17.820 --> 00:38:20.240 but every time somebody else comes scampering by, 00:38:20.500 --> 00:38:21.880 clad in an inappropriate way, 00:38:22.160 --> 00:38:24.040 their eyes are off on the side paying attention. 00:38:24.039 --> 00:38:24.519 No. 00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:27.679 Beloved, 00:38:29.239 --> 00:38:35.699 gospel living means that the Christ who has saved us makes a difference in the way we live. 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:36.840 Agreed? 00:38:37.739 --> 00:38:40.239 And I have to come back and touch on this. 00:38:40.380 --> 00:38:41.659 We're all about pro-life, 00:38:41.880 --> 00:38:44.039 and we're all about the sanctity of human life. 00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:45.860 Then if you really are about that, 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:50.259 I would challenge you to rethink what is going on in our culture 00:38:50.259 --> 00:38:53.980 with the matter of violence that's taking place all over the place, 00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:56.400 that we're largely insensitive to. 00:38:56.400 --> 00:39:03.240 Finally, I would encourage you this morning to be gospel practicing 00:39:03.240 --> 00:39:07.599 with a passion for the gospel and its power to bring people to Christ. 00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:10.639 How many of you know what the world looks like? 00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:11.660 It's ugly, isn't it? 00:39:12.660 --> 00:39:15.480 Lives that are broken by the unintended consequences of sin, 00:39:15.559 --> 00:39:17.840 the despair, the heartache, the disappointment. 00:39:18.320 --> 00:39:19.240 I'll tell you, yesterday, 00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:21.880 when I had the privilege of preaching the gospel to that group of people, 00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:25.360 I looked at a sea of faces that were dour. 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:26.720 Do you know what dour means? 00:39:27.700 --> 00:39:30.180 I mean, they smiled when I got started, 00:39:30.300 --> 00:39:34.360 but when I talked to them about the fact that there are eternal consequences for sin, 00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:37.740 it was like someone had dialed the lights down in that room. 00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:39.160 I couldn't believe it. 00:39:41.380 --> 00:39:43.039 But, beloved, it's a truth. 00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:43.119 It's a truth. 00:39:44.779 --> 00:39:45.519 It's a truth. 00:39:45.860 --> 00:39:47.980 It says in Hebrews, it says, 00:39:48.519 --> 00:39:50.639 it's appointed unto man once to die, and what? 00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:51.820 What happens after that? 00:39:52.860 --> 00:39:55.219 You're not just a bunch of ash that ends up nowhere. 00:39:55.559 --> 00:39:56.980 You are going to have an eternity, 00:39:57.259 --> 00:39:59.980 and it will either be in heaven or it will be in hell. 00:40:02.739 --> 00:40:04.619 Beloved, we ought to live our lives 00:40:04.619 --> 00:40:08.699 to reflect the sweetness and the glory of Christ, 00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:10.880 not with some self-righteousness. 00:40:10.880 --> 00:40:12.579 Well, I don't play those kind of games. 00:40:13.240 --> 00:40:14.140 You know, that's not the issue. 00:40:14.740 --> 00:40:18.880 The issue is having a life that reflects gospel purity 00:40:18.880 --> 00:40:22.320 and having a life that reflects gospel passion. 00:40:24.380 --> 00:40:25.900 Then's when you make a difference. 00:40:29.220 --> 00:40:34.880 Today's the day that we, as good stalwart evangelicals, 00:40:35.680 --> 00:40:38.400 say we're against abortion. 00:40:38.400 --> 00:40:41.660 Yeah, we are. 00:40:45.559 --> 00:40:48.940 I want you to know we're not doing very well 00:40:48.940 --> 00:40:53.220 because one of the latest polls came out and said 00:40:53.220 --> 00:40:55.400 for the first time the majority of Americans 00:40:55.400 --> 00:40:58.280 no longer believe that abortion is wrong. 00:40:58.280 --> 00:41:05.860 And I don't know that the way in which we change that 00:41:05.860 --> 00:41:07.000 is by politics. 00:41:08.500 --> 00:41:10.019 It's one soul at a time. 00:41:11.040 --> 00:41:12.320 One heart at a time. 00:41:13.100 --> 00:41:14.580 And let me tell you something. 00:41:15.019 --> 00:41:17.600 The greatest credibility you have in witness 00:41:17.600 --> 00:41:21.100 is a life that is affected by the sweetness of the gospel. 00:41:21.180 --> 00:41:21.960 Wouldn't you agree with that? 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:25.840 If you're talking one thing and living another thing, 00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:28.980 then people don't really want any of the thing you have. 00:41:31.179 --> 00:41:32.920 So I would appeal to you this morning 00:41:32.920 --> 00:41:35.940 that our lives display the power of the cross 00:41:35.940 --> 00:41:38.880 and the passion of the Lord Jesus 00:41:38.880 --> 00:41:43.019 and that we get about the business of being the salt and light 00:41:43.019 --> 00:41:47.000 in a putrefying world that desperately needs him. 00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:48.699 Let's close in prayer.