The Sacredness of Human Life
Intro:
1. There were 1,026,700 abortions provided in the United States in 2023. “That’s the highest number in over a decade, and the first time there have been over a million abortions provided in the U.S. formal health care system since 2012,” explains Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist with the Guttmacher Institute.
2. Is abortion wrong? What does God think about it?
I. Is All Life Sacred?
A. God breathed into Adam the breath of life (Gen 2:7).
B. God made mankind in His own image. Gen 1:26-27 - Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
C. Animal life is not sacred.
1. Hindus & others make a big deal out of not killing anything that is alive.
2. God has given us permission to kill animals for food. Gen 9:2-3 - The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you every- thing.
D. So - the taking of human life does not belong to the decisions of man!
1. This is because of the nature of man. Mankind was created in God’s image. Gen 9:6 - Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
2. The Law of Moses forbade pre-meditated murder (Ex 20:13).
a. God is not against killing in combat. In the Old Testament God even used war for His purposes.
b. God does not condemn manslaughter - accidental killing. He had Cities of Refuge provided for protection.
3. Lord Jesus even implied that anger - wishing someone was dead - was as sinful as the act of murder (Matt 5:21-22).
II. When Does a Baby Become Human?
A. When talking about abortion - our society says:
1. It’s just terminating a pregnancy.
2. It’s just emptying the contents of a uterus.
3. It’s just removing a blob of tissue or eliminating a mass of cells.
4. Stem Cell research could eliminate Parkinson's Disease.
B. But - Ps 139:13-16 implies that from the moment of conception human life exists! For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
C. If you decided to have an abortion - you made a decision God has reserved only for Himself!
III. What About the Complicated Issues?
A. Complications have been diagnosed either in the baby or the birth process.
1. The baby will live only a short time anyway, so why not terminate it now & save yourself a lot of grief later on?
2. This assumes the baby is only a blob of tissue until it is born or is fully developed.
B. The baby will be severely handicapped.
1. This assumes is that your life will become horrible if the child is allowed to live because your life will take on unbearable complications caring for it.
2. In many cases special children make family life richer, not poorer!
C. The mother’s life will be in jeopardy unless the baby is aborted.
1. What would you decide? What would be morally right?
a. Usually the husband’s response would be: save my wife.
b. Usually the wife’s response would be: save my baby.
2. Canon Law in the Roman Church: if the mother dies, she dies of natural causes - if you abort the baby, you are committing murder. So - let the mother die & save the baby!
3. But this is church theology - decisions based on logic. This decision is not that clear cut biblically!
a. Matt 19:4-6 - “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. There- fore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
b. This is one of five times this phrase appears in the Bible! The marriage bond supersedes every other earthly relationship! Does this imply that wife always comes first?
c. Fortunately this decision is a rare one.
D. Abortions are most often done with the advise & encouragement of those we love & trust, because of the pressure of our society! But - it is morally wrong to commit murder!
IV. I Had an Abortion! Does God Still Love Me?
A. Did God still love King David & the Apostle Paul?
1. Taking a life is not the unpardonable sin!
2. ILL: David & Uriah (II Sam 11:14-17; 12:9; Ps 51:1-17).
3. ILL: Paul & Stephen (Act 7:57-8:1; 9:1).
4. Both of these men repented & devoted themselves to be great servants of God!
B. Some of you may be living with the nightmare of having had an abortion.
1. If you truly have had godly sorrow & repented - God has forgiven you! I Jn 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
2. Now it’s time for you to forgive yourself! Take up your cross & follow Him (Matt 16:24).
C. The best cure for abortion: guard yourself against sexual temptations!
1. If you are not married - don’t have sex. Save yourself for your future marriage partner.
2. If you are pregnant with an unwanted child - carry it full term. Either learn to love it yourself or allow it to be adopted.
a. Currently over 1 1/2 million couples want to adopt children with “problems”.
b. Over 100 are on the waiting list to adopt children with Downs Syndrome!