← Back to sermon library

Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Exodus chapter 21. Exodus chapter 21. I'll read verses 22 to 25. If men fight and hurt a woman 
with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm 
follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband 
imposes on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 
But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 
burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Well, let 
us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you 
again for the Word of God. We thank you that it speaks to 
all matters of faith and practice. We ask God that the Holy Spirit 
would guide our study this morning. We ask that He would take this 
Word, write it upon our hearts, cause us to be a prayerful people 
as we look at a generation that so disregards life, those who 
are created in the very image of God Most High. Give us grace 
as the people of God to be prayerful, to be knowledgeable, to be faithful 
to what Scripture teaches concerning these things. As well, Lord God, 
forgive us again for all of our sin and anything that would block 
our understanding of Holy Scripture. We would ask that you would just 
cause us to receive with thanksgiving your word, and while certainly 
this is a difficult subject, a painful subject, a subject 
all of us have been exposed to at least in one form or another, 
we just pray, God in heaven, that we would appreciate the 
reality that our sovereign God has spoken to these issues that 
we face in this daily life, and cause us to think your thoughts 
after you, cause us to be faithful, and to shine as lights in a crooked 
and perverse generation, and give us boldness to hold forth 
your word of truth. For any and all God who have 
committed this sin, participated in this sin, may that precious 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ speak forgiveness and healing 
and remission and blessing to them. And may there be that encouragement 
that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to 
forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And 
as David said, pardon my iniquity, O Lord, for it is great. We are 
great sinners, but there is a great Savior, and in this we rejoice. Continue with us now, we pray, 
through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Well, this morning we're 
gonna consider the Bible and abortion. And just prior to beginning 
the exposition, I just wanna sketch a brief history of abortion 
in Canada. 1968 and 69, the Criminal Law 
Amendment Act introduced by Pierre Trudeau's liberal government 
legalized abortion as long as a committee of doctors signed 
off that it was necessary for the physical or mental well-being 
of the mother. Now, that law was challenged 
in 1988. Now, you would think the law 
itself would be challenged to the effect that we don't think 
it's right to murder babies. But that's not how it was challenged 
in 1988. It was challenged by saying, it's too restrictive. 
A woman shouldn't have to consult with a team of doctors. A woman 
shouldn't have to consult with that many healthcare professionals. 
So, in 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R v. Morgenthaler that the existing 
laws were unconstitutional and struck down the 1969 law. Again, let that sink in to you 
for a moment. What's unconstitutional is that 
it was too prohibitive upon a woman to engage in the act of abortion. Through the course of the message, 
I will mention woman. But brethren, it is a male-female 
issue. Women don't get pregnant in a 
vacuum. They get pregnant because a man 
engages in that activity with them. So there are two parties 
involved. If I say woman, please understand 
that I understand biology at least enough to know that a man 
was involved as well. So they struck down the 1969 
law. The then governing progressive 
conservatives attempted but failed to pass a new abortion law. Now 
listen to this, and since then, Canada has had no criminal laws 
governing the subject and abortion is a decision made by a woman 
with her doctor. So no laws whatsoever that prohibit 
the activity of abortion. Consider our current Prime Minister, 
Justin Trudeau. He made this statement. I have 
made it clear that future candidates need to be completely understanding 
that they will be expected to vote pro-choice on any bill. So much for freedom of speech, 
freedom of thought. If the man on high speaks, you 
must toe the line. Now, this particular prime minister 
touts himself as a feminist. He is for women. But when pressed 
on sex-selective abortion, he will not answer. He then retreats 
to that so-called safe place. Well, it's between a woman and 
her doctor. So that's a feminism that certainly 
is exclusive of those most innocent and most deserving of protection 
under the law. Consider the soon-to-be former 
president of the United States of America. A couple of years 
ago, Kermit Gosnell was found out as being a horrific practitioner 
of abortion. Remember this. I've followed 
the story for quite a long time. right down to when the FBI raided 
his particular clinic. Just a horrific thing that was 
found there. That same week, Barack Obama 
spoke at a Planned Parenthood Federation meeting or rally, 
and ended his speech by saying, God bless Planned Parenthood. Now, remember that soon-to-be 
former president, Barack Obama, was a US senator prior to becoming 
the president. Do you know that he three times 
voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act? Again, 
let this sink in. Some in the U.S. Senate wanted 
a bill that said that if a baby survives an abortion, then the 
medical practitioners must employ all means possible to try to 
preserve the life of that baby. Hence the title, the Born Alive 
Infant Protection Act. What kind of a ghoul votes against 
such a piece of legislation. Now remember, President Obama, 
our soon-to-be President Obama, professes to be a Christian. 
Justin Trudeau professes to be a Roman Catholic. This is simply 
unconscionable. I like what Jay Gressom Machen 
said concerning the civil government. He said, the civil government 
is not intended to produce blessedness or happiness. I'm not looking 
for Justin Trudeau or Barack Obama to make me blessed or happy. 
You shouldn't either, by any stretch of the imagination. But 
listen to what Machen goes on to say. Government is not intended 
to produce blessedness or happiness, but intended to prevent blessedness 
or happiness from being interfered with by wicked men. It would 
be wonderful if we just got a belly full of that understanding of 
the role of government just seeking to prevent blessedness and happiness 
from being interfered with by wicked men. Now on the specific 
topic of the sanctity of life, I also agree with John Murray. 
John Murray said, nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of a people 
or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity of 
life. And if you have not seen this 
disregard, you're certainly not paying attention, because it 
is everywhere. It's not just abortion, it's 
euthanasia. It is a wholesale repudiation 
of the sanctity of human life. So I want to do three things 
this morning. First, give a brief exposition 
of the Sixth Commandment. Secondly, I want to look at the 
sanctity of human life. And then thirdly, I want to look 
at this specific application of the Sixth Commandment that 
we read in Exodus 21, 22 to 25, and see how it does speak to 
this issue of abortion. But in the first place, the sixth 
commandment, if you're not familiar, you can turn back to Exodus chapter 
20, you will see the sixth commandment. It simply reads, you shall not 
murder. You shall not murder. Now the 
basis for this commandment is God. God is the creator of man. Genesis 1, 26 to 28, let us make 
man in our image. God fashioned Adam in a way that 
was unique and different from how he fashioned dogs and cats 
and horses and lions and all those sorts of things. He made 
man in his image, and as a result, God, as the creator, is also 
God the lawgiver. And this commandment is found 
in the second table, which can be summarized as, you shall love 
your neighbor as yourself. Now, when we look at you shall 
not murder, it does prohibit at least two things. First, the 
internal disposition. We're not supposed to hate people 
in our hearts. We're really not. In fact, when 
you get to the New Covenant application or exposition of this particular 
command, you'll see it applied to believers. You'll see it applied 
to the people of God. Don't be murderous like Cain. 
Well, I don't think John thinks that we bring guns to church 
and we're going to start shooting each other. It has to do with 
this hatred. The Lord Christ deals with this 
in the Sermon on the Mount. You have heard that it was said, 
you shall not murder. But I say to you, if you call 
your brother Rachah or fool, you engage in name calling against 
him, it demonstrates that you've broken the commandment against 
murder in your heart. But as well, the external act 
is prohibited. You're not supposed to stop the 
heart of another human being. That's what God, as the supreme 
lawgiver, has spoken to His creatures. We do not have the right, in 
an unlawful manner, to stop another person's heart. There are lawful 
instances of killing, one of them we're going to consider 
tonight, the Bible in capital punishment. But unlawful killing 
is defined as murder, and the Creator forbids us from engaging 
in such a thing. Kaiser comments on the verb used 
in the sixth word. He says, while Hebrew possesses 
seven words for killing, the word here used appears only 47 
times in the Old Testament. If any of the seven words could 
signify murder, where factors of premeditation and intentionality 
are present, this is the verb. And the Bible does this. It makes 
a distinction between a justifiable homicide and an unjustifiable 
homicide or a murder. The specific illustration or 
analogy, the specific way that it's inculcated in the people 
of God is that illustration of the man who's chopping wood. 
He's got his axe, he goes into his backyard, he doesn't check 
the axe head, he doesn't realize that it's loose, and while he's 
chopping wood, that axe head flies off, and it hits somebody, 
it hits his neighbor in the head, and his neighbor dies. Well, 
the man chopping the log didn't have malice aforethought. He 
didn't have premeditation. There was no anger, no hatred 
in his heart. But if that man waits for his neighbor to come 
home, he hides in a bush and he takes that axe and he buries 
it in his head, that's murder. The Bible makes that distinction, 
brethren. And if you don't understand that, 
you're going to lose your lunch when you're talking to people 
that are pro-abortion. Because they're going to say, 
how in the world can you be against abortion and pro-capital punishment? because God very clearly has 
said, you shall not murder the judicially innocent. But he has 
spoken positively that in legitimate war, Deuteronomy 7, 1 to 7, in 
capital punishment and in self-defense, you may exercise lethal force 
to get the job done. There is a vast difference between 
murder and justifiable homicide. If the people of God do not have 
these distinctions that come straight from Scripture itself, 
then we can't mount opposition in this day and age. And that's 
one of the problems, brethren. The prophet said, my people perish 
for a lack of knowledge. The people of God today don't 
know what the Bible says concerning basic ethical issues that we 
face constantly. Could you argue with a pro-abortion 
advocate that the Bible says that it's wrong? You say, well, 
of course. Did you know that last week a 
collection of interfaith, including Christian, which I don't think 
for a moment they were Christian, but Christian and Hindu and Buddhist 
and Muslims, these interfaith clergy converged at a new Planned 
Parenthood in Washington, D.C. and blessed it. And we're not 
incensed against such things. We see such folly and such laziness 
on the part of people that should know better. Brethren, the commandment 
is very clear. You are not supposed to stop 
the life of another person. Now notice, secondly, I'm gonna 
just run through some passages here, focusing primarily on the 
pre-born, but I wanna highlight that this commandment applies 
to man From the beginning, I don't mean Genesis, but from his beginning, 
his individual Genesis until he breathes his last. The Bible 
includes laws that protect every stage of human life. I like that 
sign that you see over there by Denbo. It shows the various 
stages of a human life. Me, and it's a baby, and then 
me, and it's 15. Me, 50, and then me, 80, or whatever 
it is. I don't know the specific ages 
involved, but that's what the Bible speaks to. It protects 
man at every stage of his life, from gestation, from the womb, 
until he breathes his last. We see the image of God displayed. I didn't spend time on this, 
but realize that I did quote Genesis 1. Man is the image bearer 
of God. We don't have time to develop 
all of this, but I want to show how that image is displayed in 
human life. In the first place, it's displayed 
in the pre-fall state of man. Genesis 1, 26 and 27. God made 
man in his own image. As well, it's displayed at least 
in some sense post-fall. Theologians dispute and debate 
the image of God in fallen man, but suffice it to say that it's 
there in some sense. James 3 tells us that we're not 
supposed to curse men who are made in the likeness or in the 
image of God. and at the same time bless our God. So we see 
it in both the pre-fallen and post-fallen state of man. We 
see the image displayed in children, and here we're not talking about 
babies in their mother's womb. We're talking about children. 
You know what the prohibition of Leviticus 18, specifically 
verse 21, spoke to? Don't let your children pass 
through the fires to Molech. Do you ever consider that passage? 
If you've been around here, you've probably heard the definition 
or the description of what Molech was. Molech was an idol. Molech was a pagan idol. And 
Molech's construction was quite intriguing, because he was this 
big statue of a man, and he had arms outstretched. And they would 
light a fire at the base of Molech, and in religious worship, they'd 
throw their babies into the arms of Molech. It shouldn't take 
you long to realize that Molech couldn't catch. Remember what 
the psalmist says concerning the impotence of idols in Psalm 
115? They have eyes, but they can't 
see. They have ears, but they can't hear. They have mouths, 
but they can't speak. Well, they have arms, but they 
can't catch. They don't clutch babies to their 
chest. So an act of religious worship 
with reference to Molech was to throw the child into the arms 
of the idol, and what would happen? Inevitably, it would fall off, 
bounce off, and land in the fire. You see, Israel was prohibited 
from doing that. In the New Covenant, we're supposed 
to show respect to the reality that our children bear the image 
of God. You're not supposed to abuse them. You're not to sexually 
harass them or abuse them. You're not to hurt them. You're 
not to violate them. They are image bearers of God. 
What does God say in Ephesians chapter 6? Fathers, do not provoke 
your children to wrath. They're not your toy, they're 
not your shadow, they're not your property. So many men and 
unfortunately women in our debauched age abuse kids. You're not supposed 
to do that. They're image bearers of the 
living and true God. As well, we see the image of 
God displayed in the handicap. Notice in Leviticus 19.14. Again, 
I hope you see the pervasive reality that God's law covers 
every stage of human life. We're going to focus primarily 
on the pre-born in a few moments, but just to see this quick sketch. 
Notice the handicap in 19.14. You shall not curse the deaf, 
nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your 
God. I am Yahweh. Why is that? Because they're image bearers 
of God. Why is it that in Mark's Gospel, when Bartimaeus is told 
to be quiet, Jesus comes to him and says, what would you have 
me to do? Because he's an image bearer. You see, brethren, the 
Bible speaks from the womb to the grave in man's natural life, 
and at every stage of his existence, he bears the image of God, and 
he deserves protection afforded to him under God's law. As well, 
the image displayed in the sick. Notice in James 5, James chapter 
5, just a comparison of this sketch ought to show you just 
how fundamentally flawed at least North American society is in 
these days. We murder babies in their mother's 
wombs. We legislate laws so that we 
can murder old people. Or we legislate so that we can 
murder the infirm. But look at how God says we are 
to treat those ill among us in James chapter 5. Notice specifically 
verses 14 and 15. A lot of things going on in the 
passage, but this much is clear. God, through James, says, care 
for your sick. Love your sick. Be kind to your 
sick. Help your sick. Don't send them 
to that hospital that's going to give them an extra shot so 
that they can be put out of their misery. No, they're supposed 
to be cared for by the people of God. James 5.14, Is anyone 
among you sick? Let him call for the elders of 
the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with 
oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will 
save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed 
sins, he will be forgiven. Respect given under God's law 
to every stage of human life, every condition of human life. 
Why? Because of Genesis 1, 26 to 28. God made man in his own 
image. We talk about this a lot in our 
theology meetings, in our confession studies. Dogs are wonderful beings, 
but they're not created in the image of God. Some of you like 
cats and think they're wonderful beings, but they're certainly 
not created in the image of God. Birds are amazing. Dolphins are 
amazing. I think I shared, I just recently 
read where dolphins and pigs apparently are two of the most 
intelligent animals in the earth. They're not in the image of God. 
They're just not. That doesn't mean we as Christians 
should be godless, you know, haters of ecology and go out 
and destroy everything. No. We need to be responsible. 
We need to exercise lawful dominion and all that sort of thing that 
God enjoins to us in the book of Genesis and in Psalm 8. But brethren, a dog isn't an 
image bearer. When Peter says meat is murder, it's not. Meat 
is not murder. If it's human, it's murder. If 
it's cow, it's not. You may be personally offended 
by the reality that people ingest meat. You may think it's not 
the most healthy life, but it's not murder. You can only murder 
an image-bearer of the living and the true God. Doesn't Jesus 
teach us? How much more value are you then 
than these sparrows? You're not supposed to dance 
around and worship the creature while you murder image bearers 
of the living God. You're supposed to worship the 
creator and listen to what he says concerning these particulars. 
And then we see the image displayed in the elderly, Leviticus 19.32. 
In fact, let's just read that because I hope and pray that 
God's word takes to our hearts and we'll stop being so selfish, 
narcissistic, and concerned only about our felt needs. What happened 
to standing up in the presence of a gray-headed man? What happened 
to helping a lady walk across the parking lot if for some reason 
her husband's not here? She's got a diaper bag. She's 
got a baby in a car seat. She's, you know, schlepping. 
One of you young dudes can get out there and help, especially 
when it's icy like this. There's no respect. It's because 
we've lost sight that we bear the image of God. Look at what 
Leviticus says concerning the elderly among us. Leviticus 19.32, 
you shall rise before the gray-headed and honor the presence of an 
old man and fear your God. I am Yahweh. Rise. Give up your chair at the buffet. Give up your chair at the, you 
know, the fellowship lunch. Let the older folks go. You see, 
the Bible sees that we respect one another. Why? Because of 
this fundamental proposition. We bear the image of the living 
God. Paul tells Timothy that he is 
not to rebuke an older man. He's to love him, he's to exhort 
him, he's to encourage him. But when a young man arrogates 
to himself a position of authority over an older man and talks down 
to him, that is an affront, not only to the church of God, to 
nature itself. That's like saying, fish flying, 
birds swimming. Young men need to submit to their 
elders. You see, the image of God dictates. Now, let's focus primarily on 
the pre-born. Look at Genesis 25. I'm going 
to ask you to do something really difficult here. I'm going to 
ask you to remember what Genesis 25 says. It's going to fall out 
later in our sermon. But right now, just demonstrating 
or highlighting the image displayed in the pre-born in the womb. 
Notice specifically in Genesis 25 at verse 19. This is the genealogy 
of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac was 
40 years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel, 
the Syrian, a patent Aram, the sister of Laban, the Syrian. 
Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was 
barren, and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah, his wife, 
conceived, but the children struggled together within her. Isn't that 
beautiful? The children struggled within her together. Not the 
product of conception, not some undefined lump of cells, not 
some nebulous conglomerate of, you know, some, you know, random 
molecules that happen together. No, specifically, the children 
struggled together within her. And she said, if all is well, 
why am I like this? So she went to inquire of the 
Lord. And the Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb. 
Not even just two children, not even just two babies, but two 
nations are in your womb. Do you understand if there had 
been abortion back in the day and they were pressing it upon 
the people like they do today? If this had been the case, two 
nations wouldn't have been in play. Two nations are in your 
womb, two people shall be separated from your body. One people shall 
be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger. 
So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed 
there were twins in her womb. And the first, here's what I'm 
going to ask you to remember, came out. It's the language for childbirth, 
here at least in the book of Genesis. Notice what the text 
says, and the first came out. It's the language of childbirth. I've noticed this among women. 
Now, I'm probably going to get tomatoes thrown at me, but you 
like to talk about, you know, the labor and the delivery story. 
And that's great. There's no greater thing in the 
world than having a child. But if you were living in these 
days, you would say, and it came out. And that would be perfectly 
legit. In fact, it's perfectly legit 
today. He came out with his dad's nose. He came out with a full 
head of hair. It's the language of childbirth. You need to appreciate that. 
Again, four later, right now, just seeing that the pre-born 
are considered image bearers. They are humans. He was like 
a hairy garment all over, so they called his name Esau. Afterward, 
his brother, here's that language, came out, and his hand took hold 
of Esau's heel. So his name was called Jacob. 
Notice Job 10. Again, some of these passages, 
I hope, are familiar. This sermon ought to be familiar 
to anybody who has been with us for any amount of time. Job 
chapter 10, specifically verses 8 to 12. Your hands have made 
me and fashioned me in intricate unity, yet you would destroy 
me. Remember, I pray, that you have made me like clay, and will 
you turn me into dust again? Did you not pour me out like 
milk, and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh, 
and knit me together with bones and sinews? You have granted 
me life and favor, and your care has preserved my spirit." In 
Job 31, as this man is rehearsing the fact that he had not you 
know, willfully transgress the law of God, when it came to oppressing 
servants, what spoke to his heart was the reality that they too 
had been knit together by God in their mother's wombs, and 
as a result, they were image bearers and thus were to be afforded 
dignity. Notice in Job 31.13, if I have 
despised the cause of my male or female servant when they complained 
against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, 
how shall I answer Him? Did not he who make me in the 
womb make them? Did not the same one fashion 
us in the womb? And of course, Psalm 51. Psalm 51. Notice David's prayer of repentance. He's found out in his transgression. Nathan the prophet comes to him. 
shows him that he is indeed the man. And what does David do? 
He repents. He forsakes his sin. And he rehearses 
the reality that he is indeed a sinner. Note what he says in 
Psalm 51, 5. Behold, I was brought forth in 
iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. He doesn't mean 
the conjugal act between his father and mother was a sin. 
It's not an evil thing. He is saying that as soon as 
David was David, he was a sinner. As soon as David was in play, 
he was a sinner. He inherited Adam's original 
sin. But it is intriguing. Behold, 
I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived 
me. He traces back to the womb. Psalm 
139, a passage that oftentimes is cited on Sanctity of Life 
Sunday. and well ought to be. Psalm 139, specifically 13 to 
16. For you formed my inward parts, 
you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for 
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, 
and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from 
you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the 
lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being 
yet unformed, and in your book they all were written. The days 
fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How 
precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the 
sum of them! If I should count them, they 
would be more in number than the sand. When I am awake, I 
am still with you." And of course, Ecclesiastes 11.5, Jeremiah 1.5. The God of heaven and earth says 
that He calls Jeremiah to the prophetic ministry from his mother's 
womb. Paul the Apostle says the same 
thing in Galatians 1. It pleased God to separate me 
in my mother's womb. They don't ever look at the womb 
as being this undefined place where undefined cells, where 
products of conception that are okay to terminate, exist. No, it's the place where David 
lived. It's the place where Job's servants 
lived. It's the place where the prophet 
lived. It's the place where Paul the 
apostle lived. Note just a couple things in 
the New Testament. Luke chapter 1. Specifically, 
verses 41 to 44. Luke 1, 41 to 44. And it happened, when Elizabeth 
heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb. 
The word there is brephos. That's the Greek word, brephos. 
It's also used in Luke 18, 15, of out-of-the-womb children. You've got to understand that. 
It's not like there's some, you know, special Greek word employed 
for the in-the-womb person, or non-person, or almost-person, 
or not-yet-animated, and then something outside the womb. It's 
the same word. When brefe were brought to the 
Lord Jesus to be blessed. But notice 41. Elizabeth heard 
the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth 
was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud 
voice and said, blessed are you among women and blessed is the 
fruit of your womb. Now this is really powerful, 
verse 43, but why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord 
should come to me? Where is the Lord at that present 
time? He is in the womb, right? Jesus in the womb is the Lord. 
Jesus in the womb is Jesus. Jesus in the womb is the sovereign 
of the universe. You see, the Bible does not know 
of this other category. If you are in the womb, you are 
a person. You bear the image of God. When 
you exit the womb, you are a person and you bear the image of God. 
And at every stage of life, whether child, whether handicapped, whether 
elderly, whether infirm, the law of God provides protection. We have no right, we have no 
authority, we have no lawful ability to take these things 
and reject them or resist them or cast them away and somehow 
condone the practice of abortion. Gordon Clark makes this observation. One argument abortionists frequently 
use to defend themselves against the charge of murder is the claim 
that the baby is not a human being. He says, but if the baby 
in the womb is not a human, what is it? Is it canine? Is it feline? I think that some babies born 
30 or 40 years ago have turned out to be asinine. I think Gordon 
Clark is absolutely right, and it's come to fruition, not only 
in the world, brethren, but in the church. You'll hear it. You'll 
hear it. Not just those wackos that are 
over there blessing Planned Parenthood. But people say, well, it's up 
to a woman. No, it's up to God. And God, 
the sovereign Lord, has legislated It is not up to the woman, or 
the man, or the medical professionals, or the MPs, or the Senators, 
or the Prime Minister, or the President, or the Pope himself. 
Thankfully, the Pope does. Well, he's kind of different 
on all that. But we need to understand The Bible dogmatically asserts 
that God Almighty abominates hands that shed innocent blood, 
Proverbs 6, 16 to 19. Well, let's look finally and 
quickly at the specific application to abortion in Exodus 21. What 
you have is intriguing in Exodus 19 to 24. I mean, the whole book of Exodus 
is just amazing, right? You could boil it down into three 
Ds. First is deliverance. God delivers 
Israel from Egypt in Exodus 1 to 18. Then you have demand. God places demands upon his newly 
liberated people from 19 to 24. And then that last D, 25 to 40, 
is dwelling. It's beautiful. Deliverance, 
demand, dwelling. 25 to 40 talks about God dwelling 
with his people. The largest section of the book 
is about God dwelling with his people. Make me a sanctuary so 
that I can dwell in the midst of my people. It's beautiful, 
isn't it? But when you look specifically at the Sinai event in 19 to 24, 
you see God come in theophany and power and majesty, thunder, 
lightning, giving laws, commands to Moses that persons aren't 
even to get near the mount. Chapter 20, he gives the Decalogue 
or the Ten Words or the Ten Commandments. The sixth is one of them, to 
be sure, you shall not murder. And then in 21 to 23, you see 
how those things are to be worked out in Israel's life in the land. You see how those things are 
supposed to be applied when they occupy Canaan. And then 24 is 
the ratification of the covenant where blood is sprinkled upon 
the persons. The persons swear fidelity and fealty to the living 
God. They say all things that He has 
commanded we will do. Unfortunately, that was very 
short-lived and shows us the need for sovereign grace and 
forgiveness in that new covenant. But all that to say that 21 to 
23 certainly or basically develop the moral law given in Exodus 
20. So all that to notice specifically 
verses 22 to 25. We ought to observe in the first 
place the correct translation. The New King James in the ESV 
translates it properly. If men fight and hurt a woman 
with child so that she gives birth prematurely. You can see 
the scene, right? You got two men and they're going 
to fight. See, these laws are given so that people will pay 
attention and plan and think. You need to understand that if 
you two men cannot resolve your issues like grown human beings 
who can sit down and talk and discourse and exchange and come 
to some grip, if you break out in a fight and a woman is standing 
there, presumably one of the wives of the men who are fighting, 
and she gets hit, You're in big trouble. You are in big trouble. This speaks certainly to things 
that we deal with today. Some of you say, I don't know 
what this means in our context, or this ox that gores. It shows us something about the 
reality that we need to plan, we need to think. We're not supposed 
to act like fools on city streets, because if we do, we could be 
charged with a felony. We're not supposed to get drunk 
and operate a motor vehicle, because that's like having an 
ox that gores and not securing it, or going into a fight and 
not realizing that I may strike a woman who is pregnant. But 
know what the New King James says, the ESV again, if men fight 
and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely. Some translations and some interpreters 
say that the word is miscarriage. If while these men are fighting, 
they smack a woman who is pregnant and she miscarries. It changes 
the whole meaning of the text and it's wrong lexically. If 
it's miscarry, then you have to understand the trajectory. 
If no harm follows to her, but if it's translated properly, 
prematurely, yet no harm follows, it applies to the mother and 
the children. Does everybody get that? Yes, 
if you're with me? If she miscarries and yet no 
harm follows, then a penalty will be imposed upon the offender. But if harm follows to her under 
this miscarry interpretation, then you require life for life. 
On the premature, which is the right translation and interpretation, 
you've got two parties or possibly three. She's got twins. You've got the woman and the 
child or children and no harm follows to them. You see, this 
law specifically speaks to babies in the womb. Notice, specifically. There is a Hebrew word for miscarriage, 
which is absent from this passage. There is a specific Hebrew word 
for the product of miscarriage, or one untimely born, which is 
absent from this passage. The language used here is literally, 
come out. Hey, he told me I should remember 
that, didn't he? It's the language of childbirth. If these two knuckleheads are 
fighting and in the midst of their fight, they strike a woman 
and her literally children come out. It's not miscarriage. It's 
not one untimely born. It's the language used of childbirth 
in Genesis 25 and elsewhere in the Old Testament. What is envisaged 
here is the premature birth of a child or children. And again, 
it's plural. She could be pregnant with twins. She could have triplets. 
Who knows? But the law is comprehensive. 
It speaks to that eventuality. And it speaks specifically to 
that baby or babies who come out after this premature birth. So if men fight, hurt a woman 
with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm 
follows. to the mother or to the children. Notice what happens. He shall 
surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes 
on him, and he shall pay as the judge has determined. You see 
the logic. You caused us some pain and suffering 
here. You caused us some real travail 
and some real trial and some real difficulty. So the man whose 
wife had been struck and yet no harm follows, the baby or 
babies are born prematurely but they're okay, he still has to 
pay. He still has to make things right 
because of his carelessness and his foolishness. You see why 
you ought to think before you act? Because you may end up engaged 
in a felony crime because I just didn't think about it. Young 
people think, please, please, please, please, please, don't 
operate vehicles when you drink, don't use drugs, don't do things 
that two steps down the road are gonna be problematic or felonious 
and end you up in jail. Back to our text. But notice, 
he shall pay as the judges determine. Now note verse 23, but if any 
harm follows, who are we talking about now? a woman and the child 
or children. Does everybody get that? I'm 
not, you know, pulling a rabbit out of the hat here. It's child 
coming out language. If no harm follows to the woman 
and to her child or children, then monetary fine. Yet, if harm 
follows, we carry the thought, to mother or to child or children, 
then what? What is applied is to be what's 
called the lex talionis, and that simply means the law of 
retribution. Now, I know persons read this 
language eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and they sort of envision 
in their own minds this hooded crowd of men that walked around 
the streets of Old Testament Israel, and they had instruments 
to pop teeth out and to gouge out eyes and to do all those 
sorts of nasty, heinous things. I mean, this is just an affront 
to us and our polished, sanitized, wonderful way of thinking to 
ever consider the reality that such a barbaric means would be 
applied in terms of governing society. The law simply means 
the punishment must fit the crime. Right? You cause death, you are 
to be put to death. You cause permanent injury to 
a limb or an eye, then something equal is to be applied to you. The punishment must fit the crime. 
This is the very foundation for Western Jewish jurisprudence. So before you start getting these 
ideas, you know, I'm going to work for that agency that pops 
out teeth and, you know, gouges out. Brethren, it's simply a 
law principle, the law of retribution, the lex talionis. The punishment 
must fit the crime. But intriguing, if the child 
or the children are dead, as a result of these two men's fight, 
you're to give life for life. This highlights the increased 
protection even for the pre-born. I mentioned that every stage 
of the game, God's law provides protection from the womb to the 
end. There's almost, well, there is 
an increased protection. If you notice specifically in 
Exodus 21, 12 to 14, There is that distinction made 
between what we would call today manslaughter and murder. I know 
manslaughter sounds brutal and horrible, but it really just 
means an accidental homicide. But manslaughter and murder are 
distinguished here in Exodus 12 to 14. Notice, "...he who 
strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death." 
However, if he did not lie in wait, you see, there was no malice 
of forethought. There was no premeditation. He 
didn't wait for him. It was an accident. The axe head 
flew off and landed on the guy's head. However, if he did not 
lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will 
appoint for you a place where he may flee. But if a man acts 
with premeditation against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, 
you shall take him from my altar, that he may die." So you see, 
murder is to be punished by death, capital punishment. But accidental 
homicide, there would be cities of refuge set up so that a man 
could run there, flee the manslayer, and live there until his time 
was satisfied, and then he could return home. You see, in a case 
of accidental homicide, there was a place afforded for that 
person so that he would not die. Not so here, because what's in 
view? You've got an accident. When these two men are fighting 
with each other, unless, and some interpreters see this, one 
of them was the man's wife, and the aggressor in this fight intentionally 
tried to smack her in the stomach as she's bearing a child. That's 
certainly an interpretation out there, but the text is general 
enough to see in it an accident. Two men are fighting, and in 
the midst of their exchange of blows, they accidentally hit 
a woman. And her children come out, and harm follows. So you 
see, it's an accident in the sense that there was no intentionality. The guy didn't wake up that morning 
and say, you know, I want to really get to that woman and 
to her baby. But in this case of an accidental 
homicide, which is an abortion, It's death. There's no city of 
refuge. Brethren, I think that in at 
least a survey fashion, this ought to show us if God thinks 
this way and has revealed himself this way concerning what we might 
call an accidental abortion, what's he think of states or 
civil polities who make laws not only to let it happen, but 
to federally fund it? What should we think of the intentionality 
of mothers and fathers who walk themselves into clinics that 
are set up to destroy babies in their mother's wombs? If God 
demands this sort of punishment for what we might define as an 
accidental abortion, we can understand why the prophet in his day said, 
in your wrath, remember mercy. Because our land is saturated 
with blood guiltiness, isn't it? If the blood of righteous 
Abel cried out to God Most High, what do you think the blood of 
over 100,000 babies a year in Canada does? Or over a million 
babies a year in the United States? Our land is filled with blood 
guiltiness, and you've got so-called ministers blessing Planned Parenthood, 
or so-called Christians who say, well, you know, it's not really 
my place to say. You better start saying and you 
better start praying because God most high cannot just look 
the other way. You know, that's what really 
makes me tremble when I ponder the amount of innocent blood 
that has been shed. I mean, remember the graphic 
horror we saw, was it last year or the year before when Planned 
Parenthood sold baby parts? They made money on it? Or when 
there's hospitals that use aborted babies in the incinerator to 
create a warm hospital? What have we become? Do you understand 
why John Murray would say, when he said, writing in the 50s, 
nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of a people or of a generation 
more than disregard for the sanctity of life? Consider the schizophrenia. Aren't we hearing all over the 
place that, oh yeah, euthanasia, euthanasia, euthanasia. And everybody's 
horrified by this nurse in Ontario. Was it just medical people don't 
like competition? Is that it? The government doesn't 
want anybody to kill its people for them? See, on their humanistic, 
atheistic principles, they have no reason whatsoever to ever 
balk at any of this stuff. Consider the schizophrenia several 
years ago in Sacramento, California, when Scott Peterson's wife went 
missing. When they found her, she had 
been pregnant, and he was charged with two counts of murder. Isn't 
it intriguing? She could have got up that morning 
and drove to an abortion clinic and had an abortion. And that's 
choice! We live in crazy days, and the 
church imbibes some of this. My people perish for lack of 
knowledge. I don't know, I don't know, I 
don't think about these sorts of things. Wait all night. Capital 
punishment. Do you know how many Christians 
think that's horrific? God commands it. When you're 
the creator of a universe, and you populate it with people, 
and you so choose to regulate without capital, more power to 
you. But this is God's world, God's 
universe, God's word, and he has spoken clearly to this situation. And for whatever reason, Christians 
say, well, I don't like it. You don't like it? Who cares? Brethren, we gotta think, we 
gotta pray. The Didache, an early Christian 
manual, said, you shall not abort a child or commit infanticide. This happened in the early church. 
You see, babies cost money, as all of you know, and thanks to 
all you moms and dads out there that you gave birth. Praise God 
Almighty. Best evidence of sanctity of 
life is that there's breathing human beings in this room. But in the early Roman Empire, 
do you know what they did when they had a child that they could 
not afford or did not want? They just put it out with the 
trash. They practiced sex-selective abortion, too. Prime Minister 
Trudeau would have been back then. They would ask him, well, 
what do you think about them putting baby girls on those trash? 
Well, that's between them and whoever. They just put it out with the 
trash. What do you think would happen when they were put out 
with the trash? Boy babies would be scooped up and taken as slaves. Girl babies would be scooped 
up and taken as prostitutes. It was a huge problem. It's an 
early Christian manual, written probably as early as 8100 and 
possibly between 8100 and 150. Some scholars put it very early. 
You shall not abort a child or commit infanticide. Justin, in 
his apology, condemns the practice of infanticide. John Calvin makes 
this comment concerning abortion. If it seems more horrible to 
kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man's house 
is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed 
more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come 
to light. It's worse to kill a man in his 
living room, isn't it, than in a field? You shouldn't kill him 
in the field either. That's not what Calvin's saying. 
But it is worse. He's sitting on his couch, he's 
eating a bowl of noodles, and you come in and destroy him. 
It's worse than if he's in a field. How much more a baby in the mother's 
womb? I worked with a guy many, many 
years ago at Northrop Grumman. He was a Mormon man and we definitely 
disagreed on that. We had some throw downs and some 
debates and that sort of thing. But he used to wear a T-shirt 
to work and it showed a picture of a dumpster and it said, America, 
this is no place for babies. Certainly agreed with him in 
that sentiment. It's a terrible thing, brother. It's a terrible 
thing. In conclusion, we could probably stay here another couple 
hours just rehearsing what scripture says concerning this. In Genesis 
4.9, Cain attempts to deny murder. Doesn't he? Doesn't he? He tries to attempt to deny that 
he engaged in murder. By Genesis 4.23 and 24, his great, 
great grandson, Lamech, glories in it. It didn't take long for 
this aspect of sinful humanity to catch on. By Genesis 6, 11, 
and 12, the earth was filled with violence. And after the 
flood, God arms the magistrate with the sword and the responsibility 
to execute murderers. Didn't take long for this sin 
to spread rapidly. It is a violation of the sixth 
commandment. It is an assault upon the image 
of God most high. In fact, Gerhardus Voss, for 
you Saturday morning brothers, as we read through biblical theology, 
isn't this what Voss says? In life slain, the image of God 
is assaulted. So it's God first. the state 
and abortion. So I said a million plus in the 
US, 100,000 in Canada. You know, there is at least in 
some of the states in the United States some trends or some positive 
things. Some say, well, you shouldn't 
be encouraged until it's eliminated 100%. Well, I agree with that 
sentiment, but it is nice to see at least some steps taken 
to try and protect a few of these little image bearers. So we see 
that trend, at least in some of the states in the US. I don't 
see it in Canada. I haven't seen it. Perhaps you 
can educate me later, but it just seems like it's business 
as usual here. And those numbers are about the 
same percentage-wise. 100,000 in Canada. We're so much 
better than America with a million. Population rates. 330 million in America and 33, 36 
million in Canada? I mean, it's the same percentage. It seems we hate God and hate 
babies equally as our brothers to the South. We hate God, we 
hate babies, we love ourselves, we love cash, we love convenience, 
we love all that stuff. Again, Machen says, the state 
exists for the repression of evildoers and the protection 
of individual liberty. Just to find Christians that 
agreed to that would be so exhilarating. Abortion is something that is 
both sinful and criminal. Do you realize there are some 
sins that aren't crimes? Covetousness. When you covet, 
That's a sin against God and he's going to deal with you. 
The state doesn't punish covetousness, at least not yet. And we ought 
to be very thankful at this point that they don't. Not all crime is sin. If you 
were in a Muslim country that forbids you to preach the gospel 
and you preach the gospel, you would violate a particular law. It would be a criminal act, but 
it wouldn't be a sin against God because God says, preach 
the gospel. Abortion has that unique virtue, 
that sounds odd, of being both sinful and criminal. The state 
should be involved. Sometimes people, Christians, 
will say, well, the government doesn't make anyone have abortions. Oh, really? So the government 
doesn't make anybody engage in a drive-by shooting that ends 
in the death of a child, but It's somehow okay that we have 
a drive-by shooting that ends with the death of a child. It's 
murder. It's murder. It's never okay. The church and 
abortion. the prevalence of it, unfortunate 
reality. And one of the most excellent 
books on the subject of abortion, it's by the name for whatever 
reason has escaped me, Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions. 
Who? Just say it. Randy Alcorn, thank 
you. He highlights the reality that 
church is just as guilty. Professing Christians are just 
as guilty engaged in this particular activity Barty touched on the 
professing people of God and a lack of knowledge. I don't 
know what the Bible says about that. Brethren, make it your 
aim to not have to say that when it comes to a matter of life 
and death. I don't know what the Bible says about that. I 
remember having a meeting with a pastor in town years and years 
ago, not long after I got here, and we were sitting in my office, 
and I said, so do you preach on abortion? Do you preach on 
death penalty? Well, you know, abortion's really controversial, 
and, you know, the death penalty, I, yeah, I just, I don't know, 
for me, it just doesn't seem, I just shut down. I don't care 
what it is for you. Some of you won't like this message. 
You're not going to like capital punishment tonight. In fact, 
some of you might not even come tonight because I don't want 
to hear that sort of stuff. You know what? The Bible speaks 
to that sort of stuff. Our exposition is pretty consistently 
in Matthew's gospel. Some points along the way, we've 
got to open our eyes to those things that affect us on such 
a grand level. Not that Matthew's gospel doesn't, 
but looking at particular issues to educate the people of God 
so they can think consistently. The professing people of God 
and surgical abortion. It happens. Young women, young 
men coming from professing Christian homes, going to abortion clinics 
trying to cover up sin. There's only one way to cover 
up sin or cover sin, and that's through the blood of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. The professing people of God 
and the voting booth. Remember, when Barack Obama was 
voted into office, six million evangelicals voted for him. Now, 
you may say, you're getting political here now. Just think of the logic 
for a moment. Imagine if you had a candidate 
who is okay with rape or pedophilia. Well, I can't vote for him, but 
he's okay for murder? Yeah, but he's the lesser of 
two evils, or he's the bad... Brethren, in the voting booth, 
you have a responsibility to God to do what's right. The professing 
people of God and sexual immorality. You know what the surefire way 
is to prevent an abortion? Yep, you got it. Don't engage 
in that activity. I was kind of thinking about 
this. Sexual immorality is like taking a fork and poking yourself 
in the eye with it. No good thing comes from it. 
No good thing comes from it. Even pornography. Jonathan Van 
Maren, a few years ago, wrote an article on pornography and 
abortion. You say, well, come on, that's 
a leap, isn't it? Is it? Pornography increases 
those particular desires, removes inhibitions, and slowly but surely 
breaks down barriers. Don't do it, young people. Listen 
to Paul in 1 Corinthians 6 when he says, Don't do it. There is a surefire 
way to never be confronted with this issue in terms of your own 
life, in terms of your own responsibility. What persons call an unwanted 
pregnancy? Don't engage in immorality. Control yourself. Whatever happened 
to that? Be like one of those old goat 
monks that would go live out in the wilderness to try to burn 
away their passions and desires. Certainly, they had problems 
as monks trying to earn their favor with God, but there's something 
very pleasant in the idea that instead of engaging in this activity, 
I'm going to go to a place and I'm going to buffet my body. 
When did that ever become an option in our modern age? Buffeting 
the body, disciplining ourselves, controlling ourselves, exercising 
some sort of integrity and faithfulness and consistency? No good thing 
comes from sexual immorality. The professing people of God 
and the abortifacient methods of birth control. Now he's really 
gone off the deep edge. The IUD, brethren, is designed, 
and I know I'm not a doctor. I get that. I know that. No MD 
behind my name. But I think every Christian ought 
to be an ethicist, at least to some degree. And there is enough 
evidence to demonstrate that there are certain types of birth 
control that are abortifacient. That means they're not contraceptive. 
They are abortifacient. The IUD is one, and the birth 
control pill. Now, it used to be thought that 
there were some kinds of birth control pills and other kinds 
of birth control pills. Read the literature. It was that 
which opened up my eyes. Just the Pfizer manual on how 
their drug works. A birth control pill has three 
mechanisms, two of which are contraceptive, but the third 
is an abortifacient. It's just like the IUD. What 
it does is it disturbs and irritates the uterine wall so that a fertilized 
egg cannot develop. Listen to their language. It's 
a fertilized egg. That means it's a conceptus. 
That means it's conceived. It's a conception. We are those 
who argue that from conception, that person has a unique DNA 
code. They're a genetic human being. 
And so if there is a drug design to alter the proper development 
of that new baby, You got to avoid that. It's an abortifacient. The prevalence of abortion, we 
ought to respond with the preaching of the law. Yes, the law. I will end with the gospel, but 
for far too long, Christians have not made much of the law. Yes, we're under grace, and I 
praise God for that. But that doesn't mean we can 
murder. That doesn't mean we can commit adultery. That doesn't 
mean we can steal. That doesn't mean we can commit 
idolatry or Sabbath breaking or insubordination against our 
parents. Since when did being under grace 
mean that we can do whatever we want? You know what under 
grace means? It means doing what God commands. 
Isn't that what Jesus said in the upper room in John 14, 15? 
If you love me, you'll do what? You'll disregard my command. 
You'll keep my commands. What's John say concerning the 
commandments of God? They're not burdensome. They're 
not grievous. The true people of God don't 
say, oh, how I hate your law. It is my consternation all the 
day. No, they say, make me like David who says, oh, how I love 
your law. It is my meditation all the day. Carl F. H. Henry made this statement. 
I think it's a very excellent explanation of what's called 
the first use of the law or the political or civil use of the 
law. You've been around here, we think of and we hold to the 
reformed understanding that there are three uses of the law. The 
first is the political or civil, the second is the pedagogical, 
and the third is the normative. The pedagogical is that preaching 
of the law to bring the conviction of sin to send sinners to Christ. It's a pedagogue. It's a child 
tutor. The law comes and shows us our 
waywardness and our sinfulness, and it presses upon us the glory 
of the cross. The normative is how Christians 
ought to live. The third use of the law, we 
are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. 
And when we are saved, the Spirit sanctifies us. How? He points 
us to God's law. Jesus said, if you love me, you'll 
keep my commandments. The normative use, but there 
is that political or the civil use wherein the law of God is 
helpful for all of creation. Henry said, even where there 
is no saving faith, the law serves to restrain sin and to preserve 
the order of creation by proclaiming the will of God. By its judgments 
and its threats of condemnation and punishment, the written law, 
along with the law of conscience, hinders sin among the unregenerate. 
It has the role of a magistrate, who is a terror to evildoers. 
It fulfills a political function, therefore, by its constraining 
influence in the unregenerate world." For whatever reason, 
we as believers have given up the reality that the Ten Commandments 
have application outside of the church. Well, he's a non-Christian. That's why he commits sexual 
immorality. Do you realize that the creator 
of that non-Christian says don't commit sexual immorality? But 
you know, Justin Trudeau, he's not a born-again believer. Is 
he somehow exempt from the sixth word? Is soon-to-be former President 
Barack Obama somehow exempt from the sixth word? Is there anybody 
out there that is exempt from the sixth word? So what should 
the church do? They ought to preach the sixth 
word once in a while, along with the first. You ought not to be 
idolaters, along with the second. You really ought not to be idolaters, 
along with the third. You ought not to be blasphemers, 
along with the fourth. There was a man in the history 
of the church, John Elias. He would hear of the particular 
sin of a particular town. He was an itinerant preacher. 
He heard it was Sabbath-breaking, so he'd go set up a pulpit in 
the city square, and he'd preach against Sabbath-breaking. Why? Because he understood the usefulness 
of God's law. Sabbath-breakers, God-willing, 
are going to hear that, be convicted, and run to the Lord Jesus. Or 
they're going to be plagued in their conscience, and troubled 
in their hearts, and run away or do something. We're not supposed 
to be insubordinate. We're not supposed to be murderers, 
adulterers, thieves, liars, covetous. This isn't just a Christian thing. 
Well, you know, the 10 commandments isn't for, it is for us. And 
the church needs to preach it, proclaim it. And we ought to 
praise God for the power of the gospel. This is where persons 
find covering for this sin of abortion. The man years ago wrote 
a song. on the horrors of abortion, and 
one of the particular lines said, hey, young mother, a doctor's 
tool won't cure the shame. The only cure is Calvary. We can amen that sentiment, can't 
we? Where does someone who has been involved in abortion go? He or she goes to the cross. He or she finds mercy from the 
one who is mercy. He or she finds covering, not 
through some clinic, not through some method, not through some 
procedure, but through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I submit 
that within the church, brethren, abortion is probably more prevalent 
than we want to acknowledge. The church needs to preach the 
law against all sin, not just some pet sins, and the church 
needs to preach the freeness, the fullness, the excellency, 
the beauty, and the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ and his 
ability to save sinners, even great sinners. Paul the Apostle 
was breathing threats and hatred against the Church of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Paul the Apostle was dragging 
men, women off to prison. Paul the Apostle stood by and 
held the coats and the garments of those who were stoning godly 
Stephen to death. And Paul the Apostle was the 
chief propagator of the Christian faith. Grace, mercy, faith. Let us pray. Father in heaven, 
we thank you for the Word of God, we thank you for its comprehensive 
character, that it does speak to these issues in these areas. 
Grant us wisdom and grace to know the texts, grant us wisdom 
and earnestness to be in prayer, and give us wisdom and grace 
to live as we ought in light of such realities. I pray for 
our young people. God in heaven, may they indeed, 
from their youth, believe the Gospel, May they know you, their 
creator, and may they love the Lord Jesus Christ, and may you 
set a guard over them. Watch them, keep them, protect 
them from going down these roads of wickedness and evil. Help 
them, God, to heed the word of truth that says to flee sexual 
immorality. to flee these sorts of practices, 
cause them to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 
cause them, Lord God, to pursue that will of God, which is their 
sanctification, that they abstain from sexual immorality. Keep 
them, watch over them, protect them, and we pray these things 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.