← Back to sermon library

Bibles to the book of Exodus, 
Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. You have heard this message before. 
It is a repetition of a message that I preach often at this time 
of the year. I recently heard Ben Shapiro 
mention something. Ben Shapiro, a great advocate 
for anti-abortion, a very strong advocate in the pro-life cause, 
and he had mentioned that that many of the young people associated 
with the pro-life movement today aren't necessarily religious 
zealots. They're not pro-life by conviction 
because the Bible tells them to be so. He said that science 
and 3D ultrasounds and the various strides that have been made in 
showing us what's actually inside of a woman's womb have convinced 
a large group of young people to be pro-life. So science certainly 
has its place. God is sovereign over all truth. 
But we are religious people. We are Christians. We are those 
committed to the book of God. And so it is absolutely imperative 
that we know what God's book says concerning this issue. So 
I want to read two passages. First, Exodus chapter 20 at verse 
13. You shall not murder. Now turn over to Exodus 21 at 
verse 22. Exodus 21 at verse 22, 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. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the written word. We know God. It's 
given by inspiration of God. And we pray that it would profit 
us today as we have the mind of Christ with reference to this 
sin of abortion. It's not just abortion that is 
prevalent in our generation. Euthanasia, the wanton disregard 
for the lives of babies and older people and sick people. God, 
we see this, not only in our country, but throughout the earth. 
And we know the blood of righteous Abel cried out to you from the 
ground. Certainly the blood of these 
judicially innocent persons cry out to you as well. So help us 
to think your thoughts after you. Help us to be prayerful 
concerning these things. Help us to have biblical answers 
for these foolish arguments that are promoted to killing or legitimizing 
the killing of innocent people. and do provide now for us the 
Holy Spirit. Again, we pray, forgive us for 
our sins and unrighteousness, and we ask in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, after the fall of man in 
Genesis chapter 3, the Bible indicates somewhat of a disturbing 
trend with reference to murder. In Genesis chapter 4, of course, 
Cain murders Abel. When he is initially investigated 
about this, Cain tries to deny it. Cain tries to distance himself. Well, his great-great grandson, 
Lamech, a couple of generations later, is actually glorying in 
murder. And then in Genesis chapter six, 
prior to the flood, one of the reasons we see why God sent the 
flood was because the earth was corrupt and exceedingly filled 
with violence. And in Genesis chapter nine, 
after the flood, one of the instructions or commandments given to Noah 
in this post-flood situation is that the civil government 
must bear the sword to punish by death criminal offenders with 
reference to the crime of murder. The Bible is not sanitized. The Bible highlights, obviously, 
the glory of God, but it also reveals to us the wickedness 
of man. And the wickedness of man is 
seen, as I said, in our day with reference to abortion. Again, 
that'll be the focus this morning, not to suggest that euthanasia 
shouldn't demand sermons, or shouldn't get attention, or shouldn't 
get prayer, or shouldn't get activism, but we're going to 
focus our attention on what the Bible says concerning the pre-born. Now John Murray said, nothing 
shows the moral bankruptcy of a people or of a generation more 
than disregard for the sanctity of life, a sentiment I agree 
with heartily. Proverbs 8, the Lord Jesus speaking 
His wisdom says in verse 36, but he who sins against me wrongs 
his own soul, all those who hate me love death. Murderers are 
ultimately associated with the father of murder and the father 
of lies, even the devil. The apostle tells us we don't 
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers 
of darkness and corruption. Behind every abortion clinic, 
ultimately, is the devil. Behind every sort of act of euthanasia 
is the devil. So there's a spiritual element 
to be sure. There are physical expressions 
of it. And we, as God's people, need to know how to respond. 
I want to do three things this morning. First, look at the Sixth 
Commandment, Exodus chapter 20. And then secondly, highlight 
the sanctity of human life. And then thirdly, look at the 
specific application of the Sixth Commandment that I read for you 
in Exodus chapter 21. See, Exodus chapters 20 to 24 
go together. Exodus chapter 20 have the Ten 
Commandments, or what we call the Decalogue, or Ten Words. Those ten general principles 
are then fleshed out in chapters 21 to 23 specifically. In other 
words, how do we apply the commandment, do not murder, to society? Well, 
Exodus 21-22 tells us something specifically with reference to 
abortion. And so we'll look first at the 
sixth commandment. Notice Exodus 20, verse 13. You shall not murder. Now, the 
basis for the camp commandment is God. God is lawgiver, God 
is creator, God is maker, God is ruler, and in this particular 
context, God is redeemer. Notice in Exodus 20 at verse 
2. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of 
Egypt, out of the house of bondage. So God liberates his people, 
God delivers his people, and then God gives them this law 
on how they're supposed to conduct themselves as his redeemed people. And he tells them with the authority 
that is his, that you shall not murder. You shall not take the 
life of somebody judicially innocent. Not all killing in the Bible 
is murder. There are three instances of 
killing that are not murder. Self-defense. If in that exchange 
the guilty party is killed, that is not murder. Legitimate war. When a nation goes to war against 
another nation and killing ensues, that's legitimate. Again, discussing 
what is a legitimate war and what isn't is a whole other series 
of sermons, but the principle is there. When Israel was told 
to go in and utterly dispossess the land of the Canaanites in 
Deuteronomy chapter 7, that was legit, that was just, and therefore 
it wasn't murder. And then as well, capital punishment. The Bible makes the case, both 
the Old and the New Testaments, for the civil government wielding 
the sword of vengeance against criminal offenders. Again, We 
have preached on that. We have taught on that. If that 
piques your curiosity, look at Sermon Audio. You'll probably 
find some messages there. But God has absolute, unrivaled 
authority, and He commands these people not to murder. Now, with reference to the prohibition 
of the commandment, we need to appreciate that it's not simply 
external. If you haven't cut somebody's 
throat today, or you haven't actually shot somebody in the 
head ever, it doesn't mean you're somehow free from having committed 
this particular sin. It not only applies to the external 
act, it not only applies to the abortionist, but it also applies 
to people that have hatred in their hearts for others. It applies 
to people, according to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, to 
professing people of God that have unwarranted anger and sometimes 
act upon that in ungodly ways. So it's not just external, but 
there's an internal dimension as well. And then with reference 
to the positive aspect of the commandment, I think the best 
treatment of the Ten Commandments is in the Reformed tradition. 
And I think the best treatment in the Reformed tradition of 
the Ten Commandments is represented by the Westminster Larger Catechism. 
Because it gives you a block statement on what is prohibited 
in the commandment. And then it has what is commanded 
in the commandment, or the positive aspect, what you are supposed 
to do. If we're told not to murder, well then we ought to be promoting 
life. If we are told not to murder, 
then we ought to be caring for our neighbors. If we are told 
not to murder, then we ought to be concerned about life. So 
that's the positive aspect of the commandment. So the sixth 
commandment is operative under the assumption that God the Lord 
is creator, God the Lord is lawgiver, God the Lord has made us. God 
the Lord has called us to function in a particular way. Something 
I think as well assumed with reference to the Ten Commandments 
is the image of God. God made man in His image. To 
kill an animal is not murder. Pita, notwithstanding. Meat is 
not murder. Now, if you kill an animal in 
some torturous display of sadism, you've got problems. I'm not 
here to argue that you don't. But it's not murder. Only image-bearers 
can be murdered. And only man is the image-bearer 
of God Almighty. So, the dignity of man, the doctrine 
of creation, we say the sanctity of life, there's sanctity in 
life because life, man's life, is in the image of God Most High. So, let's look secondly at the 
sanctity of human life displayed in various aspects of man's existence. actually turn to a lot of passages 
and I hope that this will be an exercise of familiarity to 
most and perhaps some sort of maybe new information for some, 
but as I said, the image of God is displayed in man before the 
fall. You can turn to Genesis 1, Genesis 
chapter 1. The image of God is displayed 
in the pre-fall state of man, Genesis 1, 26 and 27. God says, 
let us make man in our image. That's the Trinity. According 
to our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the 
sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all 
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 
So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he 
created him. Male and female, he created them. So prior to 
the fall of man, God made man in his own image. Man bears the 
image of God prior to the fall. Now there's been some debate 
as to whether or not man retains the image of God after the fall. I think the Bible teaches that 
man does. If you look at Genesis chapter 
5. Genesis chapter 5 at verse 1. This is the book of the genealogy 
of Adam. in the day that God created man, 
he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and 
female and blessed them and called them mankind in the day they 
were created. And Adam lived 130 years and 
begot a son in his own likeness after his image and named him 
Seth." I don't think the reference to Seth bearing the image of 
Adam is accidental with reference to Adam bearing the image of 
God. There's a link between God and 
Seth. And in James chapter 3, James 
tells us, with reference to our use of the tongue, he says that 
with our tongue, we bless God, but with that selfsame tongue, 
we curse men who are made in God's image. We curse men who 
are made in God's similitude. The very mandate of capital punishment 
is founded upon the image of God in man. Genesis 9, 6 says, 
whoever sheds man's blood By man his blood will be shed, for 
in the image of God he made man." In other words, you execute with 
capital punishment criminal offenders who murder other people. You 
don't do that with people who club baby seals to death. Again, 
not advocating clubbing baby seals to death, but it's a different 
category of violation. The Bible highlights the sanctity 
of life is found in the fact that man bears the image of God. So we see the image displayed 
in pre-fall state of man. We see the image displayed in 
a post-fall state of man. We see the image in children. 
Look at Leviticus chapter 18. Leviticus chapter 18. Just looking 
at how image bearers possess that image every step of the 
way in their lives. Leviticus 18 at verse 21. You shall not let any of your 
descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you 
profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Now, for those 
of you who perhaps aren't sort of privy to or in lockstep with 
Canaanite worship services, Molech was a god of the Canaanites. 
Moloch essentially was a big statue, which that's what idols 
are, right? They're not real. They're not 
God. They're not omnipotent. They're not the God that we find 
there in Psalm 139. But they made this big image 
of this God called Moloch. And Moloch had outstretched arms. 
And what they would do is burn a fire around Moloch. And then 
they would take their children and throw them up into the arms 
of Moloch. Well, Molech can't catch. He 
doesn't have opposable thumbs. He doesn't have the dexterity, 
say, even of a human being. So inevitably, those babies would 
fall and go into the fire. This was an ancient form of infanticide. It was child sacrifice. So God 
says to the children of Israel, don't let your children, don't 
let your descendants pass through those fires. Do not sacrifice 
your little ones to Molech. We see the dignity of children 
as image bearers in Paul's commandment in Ephesians 6. Fathers, do not 
provoke your children to wrath. Do not exasperate them. Do not 
bring a heavy hand to bear upon them. Do not shrink back from 
disciplining them and seeking to teach them and admonish them 
in the things of God. Why? Because they're image bearers. As well, we see the image of 
God displayed in the handicapped. Euthanasia is targeting the weakest 
among us, and God says we are to be concerned for handicapped 
persons among us. Notice in Leviticus 19. Leviticus 
19, verse 14, you shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling 
block before the blind, but shall fear your God, I am Yahweh. You see our Lord Jesus Christ 
and His respect with reference to the handicap when He deals 
with blind Bartimaeus. Remember, Jesus is passing through 
Jericho, and everybody wants to see Jesus. And blind Bartimaeus, 
who was a beggar, cries out, Son of David, have mercy upon 
me! And the whole crowd tells Bartimaeus, 
be quiet. He doesn't have time for you. 
He's got, you know, a busy schedule. He's got places to be and things 
to do and others to see. Well, when Bartimaeus hears that, 
he cries out even louder. Jesus, thou son of David, have 
mercy upon me. Jesus stops. in the midst of 
all of that hustle and bustle, in the midst of all of that crowd, 
in the midst of all of that rabble, and he wanders over to Bartimaeus 
and he says to this blind man, what would you have me to do? 
And Bartimaeus says, I want to see. And Jesus healed him. He 
doesn't say, well, you know, you're fit for euthanasia because 
you're no contributor to society. You're fit for euthanasia because 
you're just sucking off of society. No, he shows the dignity of the 
handicapped, brethren, as well. We see the image of God displayed 
in the sick. Consider this in James 5, 14 
and 15. If anyone's sick among you, what 
do we do? Do we call the doctors and tell 
them to come and deal with him? No, we call the elders and have 
them pray over him, anointing him with oil. You see, there's 
a dignity, even amongst sick people, that the people of God 
and the people in this world ought to respect. The image of 
God displayed in the elderly. You're still hopefully in Leviticus. 
Look at Leviticus 19, 32. Leviticus 19, 32, you shall rise 
before the gray-headed and honor the presence of an old man, and 
fear your God, I am the Lord. Boy, wouldn't this be nice if 
this were practiced today, if we just showed the basic common 
courtesy that society once afforded to the elderly? In other words, 
young people, get up. Give them your place on the bus. 
Open the door for them. Do something nice. Do something 
kind. Honor the hoary head among you. Recognize they have wisdom. They're 
not only fit for termination because they're somehow a burden 
on society. with reference to the image of 
God in the pre-born. The image of God displayed in 
the pre-born. Go to Genesis chapter 25. Genesis 
chapter 25. We'll look at several of these 
passages. Notice in Genesis 25 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 of Paddan 
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. Notice that the Bible 
doesn't say the product of conception. The Bible doesn't say a lump 
of undefined cells. The Bible doesn't say there's 
this mass of meat that really doesn't matter. It refers to 
them as children struggling together within her. And she said, if 
all is well, why am I like this? So she went to inquire of Yahweh. 
And Yahweh said to her, 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 came out red. I'm 
going to ask you to remember that language, came out. The 
first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all 
over, so they called his name Esau. Afterward, his brother 
came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel, so his name was 
called Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when she 
bore them. Look at Job, the book of Job, 
Job chapter 10, and just looking at the image of God, The dignity 
of man in the womb. Of course, when I say the dignity 
of man, I include woman, because man, at least until we all lost 
our collective minds, meant man and woman. Notice in Job 10, 
verse 8, 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." Notice in Job 31. Job 31. Job 31, he is rehearsing his 
righteousness. He is rehearsing the fact that 
he had been indeed an upright man. And notice in Job 31 at 
verse 13, if I have despised the cause of my male or female 
servant when they complained against me. See, he's saying, 
this is the way I operated. Before all these things befell 
me, I was an upright man." Job may go a little bit too far, 
but what he is saying is accurate. Before this trial came upon him, 
he had a life of uprightness. And in one of the ways that that 
was exemplified or displayed was in the way that he treated 
his servants. He says, if I have despised the 
cause of my male or female servant when they complain against me, 
what then shall I do when God rises up? When he punishes, how 
shall I answer him? Did not he who made me in the 
womb make them? Did not the same one fashion 
us in the womb? Again, it's not an undefined 
mass of cells. It's not the product of conception. 
weasel word language employed by pro-choice advocates to try 
to dehumanize the very babies that are in the womb. Brethren, 
that's orchestrated and that's calculated. And the fools are 
so foolish as to think fetus does that work for them. Fetus 
means unborn baby in Latin. That's just simple that everybody 
should already be tracking with that. But product of conception, 
undefined lump of cells, it's all propaganda to dehumanize 
the personhood of the one in the womb so that murdering it 
isn't murder, it's just getting rid of something that's a bit 
inconvenient. It's like that woman perhaps 
you have seen on YouTube talking to eight-year-olds about how 
wonderful her abortion was and she likens it to having gone 
to the dentist. The way that the dentist fixes 
your teeth, the way that the dentist pulls your teeth, that's 
the good the abortionist does when he sweeps out the womb of 
the baby that was in there. It's propaganda. It's devilish. How does the devil operate? He 
is a murderer from the beginning, and he's the father of lies. 
How else can he achieve his goal of murder without lying along 
the way? Dehumanize your opponent. It's 
a whole lot easier to beat them up and get everybody to rah-rah 
right along with you. Notice Psalm 51, when David, 
that great king of Israel, is rehearsing his native depravity. He traces it back to the womb. As soon as David was, David was 
a sinner. Psalm 51.5, Behold, I was brought 
forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. It's 
not suggesting that the conjugal relationship that obtains between 
a man and his wife is somehow sinful. He is saying that when 
I was, I was a sinner. Product of conception. It's not 
an undefined lump of cells, rather it is David. Psalm 139 we already 
read. Look at Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah 
chapter 1. Verse 4, And the word of Yahweh 
came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. 
Before you were born, I sanctified you. I ordained you a prophet 
to the nations. You seeing a pattern and a trend 
here? If Planned Parenthood was prevalent 
back in this particular day, nations wouldn't have been. Because 
there were nations in the womb of Rebecca. Planned Parenthood 
was operative, or the Liberal government of Canada was operative 
in these days, then Joe wouldn't have been. then David wouldn't 
have been. The prophet Jeremiah wouldn't 
have been. When the Apostle Paul traces 
or rehearses how he was called to the apostolic ministry, he 
uses language reminiscent of Jeremiah chapter 1. He speaks 
of his having been separated from his mother's womb to engage 
in the task of the apostolic ministry with reference to our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Go to the New Testament just 
to see a couple of examples. Again, just to show you the personhood 
of the babies in the wombs. They're not products of conception. 
I guess technically they are a product of conception, yeah, 
but that means human. It doesn't mean undefined lump 
of cells, undefined mass. Notice in Luke 1.15, Luke 1.15, 
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord, this is about John, 
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also 
be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 
Now, again, that text is oftentimes used by paedobaptists. That's 
not my purpose here. If you want to use that text 
to advance the cause for paedobaptism, go right ahead. It certainly 
advances the cause of personhood with reference to babies in the 
womb. The Holy Spirit comes upon John 
the Baptist even from his mother's womb. And then notice in Luke 
chapter 1 at verse 41. Luke 41, and it happened when 
Elizabeth heard, oh, back up in verse 39. Now Mary, Mary arose 
in those days and went into the hill country with haste to a 
city of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted 
Elizabeth. And it happened when 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. You see what's happening. Elizabeth's 
saying, you're blessed, Mary. You've been chosen for a sacred, 
blessed, wonderful task. And Elizabeth recognizes this 
and highlights this. But then notice what she says 
in verse 43. But why is this granted to me 
that the mother of my Lord should come to you? Where's the Lord 
at this particular time? The Lord is in the womb of Mary. 
He's not a product of conception or an undefined mass of cells. He is the Lord of all while he's 
in the Virgin's womb. Elizabeth recognizes this, Elizabeth 
confesses this, Elizabeth knows this, and Elizabeth rejoices 
as a result of it. Verse 44, for indeed, as soon 
as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe 
leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, 
for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told 
her from the Lord. Now, intriguingly, this word 
babe, this word that is used by Luke for babe, is also used 
for children that are outside of the womb in Luke 18. When 
persons bring babies, children, slash whatever you want to call 
them, to the Lord to bless them, a baby outside of the womb is 
known as a brephos. A baby inside of the womb is 
known as a brephos. Not anything different, not some 
unique terminology, but he's a baby inside the womb, he's 
a baby outside the womb. He's a child inside the womb, 
he's a child outside of the womb. Gordon Clark made this observation. He says, one argument abortionists 
frequently use to defend themselves against the charge of murder 
is the claim that the baby is not a human being. But if the 
baby in the womb is not 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 he's 
absolutely right in that assessment. They're babies. They're humans. They have hearts that beat. They 
have hands. They have feet. They have a separate 
DNA code. They are unique. They are made 
by God. The scriptures highlight this 
from beginning to end. There's no wiggle room. The thought 
that there could ever be somebody who professes faith in Jesus 
Christ and waxes on the issue of abortion is unthinkable at 
a grammatical and lexical level. There's no way you can justify 
the murder of babies in their mother's wombs and somehow say, 
well, it's in the Bible. It is not in the Bible. The Bible 
provides for us a vocabulary that highlights that what is 
true of children outside of the womb is true of children inside 
of the womb. And therefore, they are to be 
afforded protection. Now, when we consider the image 
of God, we obviously see it dignified in the God-man. Christ assumed 
our humanity. Christ took on our humanity with 
all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, 
yet without sin. And he did this in order to save 
us. As the fathers would say, whatever is not assumed is not 
redeemed. He had to be one of us in order 
to redeem us. This idea of the sanctity of 
life is consistent throughout the Old and the New Testaments. 
Now, thirdly, and finally, let's look at our text in Exodus 21. 
Exodus 21. As I said, 21 to 23 are connected 
to Exodus 20. You've got the general principles 
set forth in the Decalogue or in the Ten Commandments. If Israel 
was to ask the question, well, how do we apply these things 
in our day-to-day life? That's what Exodus 21 to 23 does. In fact, Walter Kaiser makes 
this observation. While these judgments deal mainly 
with temporal matters, they nevertheless are based on one or another express 
commandment in the Decalogue, the Ten Words, the Ten Commandments. 
It is most appropriate, therefore, that these judicial and political 
regulations given by God to Moses when Moses approached the thick 
darkness where God was should be set alongside the Decalogue. The two belong together in time 
as well as in interpretation. Our confession speaks to the 
judicial law of Israel. The confession says that judicial 
law expired with the Commonwealth of Israel, but there's abiding 
wisdom in that judicial law. And certainly the abiding wisdom 
of this judicial law is to highlight for us and demonstrate to us 
how wicked, how reprehensible, how evil and abominable it is 
for persons to go into the womb of a mother and murder their 
babies. Look at the text. We need to 
understand the correct translation, represented in, I think, most 
of the translations here. If men fight and hurt a woman 
with child so that she gives birth prematurely, That's absolutely 
crucial. If you have a translation that 
says, she miscarries, your translation is wrong. Hebrew has a word for 
miscarriage. Hebrew has a word for one untimely 
born. That's not the word here. The 
word utilized here specifically is what I've asked you to remember 
from Genesis 25. The text literally says, if men 
fight and hurt a woman with child, so that her children come out. Okay? So what happens with Isaac's 
babies? They come out. And the noun here 
is plural. It's not if the child, but it's 
literally if her children come out. Why? What does this case 
law envisage? It envisages the potential of 
a Rebecca-like situation. She had more than one child in 
her womb, didn't she? So what this text demands is 
that if two men get into a fight, now, we could probably step back 
just a ways and say, you know, men, you probably shouldn't get 
in fights around pregnant women. Probably shouldn't get in fights, 
period. But you really shouldn't get into a fight around a pregnant 
woman. Because if in the midst of that fight, you happen to 
strike a pregnant woman, and her children come out, and then 
no harm follows, the man who struck her is liable to pay a 
price. Everybody follow that law? You 
have to appreciate what's happening here. So two men fight. Me and 
Pastor Cam get together and we start throwing down. A pregnant 
woman gets hit and then she gives birth prematurely. If those babies 
come out and no harm follows, then whoever's responsible for 
hitting her has to pay a fine. Why? Pain, suffering, distress. Risking another human being's 
life see personal liability is all throughout scripture the 
victim mindset Well, I didn't have control over my hand that 
doesn't matter You are responsible for what happens at the end of 
your arm And if you strike a woman who's pregnant and those babies 
come out no harm follows You're gonna have to pay but look at 
what the text goes on to the man. I Yet no harm follows, he 
shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes 
on him, and he shall pay as the judge has determined." Now notice, 
but if any harm follows, to whom? To the woman and her children 
who've come out. You see, if we render it as miscarriage, 
there's only one living person at this particular time. It's 
to suggest that the babies in the womb didn't matter. She gets 
struck in the midst of this exchange, her babies come out and her babies 
die, and then no harm follows to her then. the guilty man will 
pay. But if harm follows to her, then 
this law of retribution is applied. See, that's not what the text 
is saying. The text is saying that the woman and the children 
are protected. No harm follows to the woman 
and the children. No harm follows to the woman 
and the ones who came out from her womb. The text is particularly 
protecting babies in their mother's womb. See, you'll not find a 
text in the Old Testament that says Planned Parenthood is an 
evil thing, don't ever send money to them. You'll not find texts 
in the Old Testament that say, you know, doctors ought not to 
go into mothers' wombs and murder babies there. You won't find 
that. You find this sort of lesser 
form of abortion. But notice what the penalty involved 
is with reference to this. Verse 23, but if any harm follows, 
then you shall give life for life. See, it treats the dignity, 
not only of the woman, but of the children that come from her. 
If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life. This 
is what is called the lex talionis. And what the lex talionis is, 
is the law of retaliation. It's the eye-for-eye ethic. It 
goes on to specify that. Eye-for-eye, tooth-for-tooth, 
hand-for-hand, foot-for-foot, burn-for-burn, wound-for-wound, 
stripe-for-stripe. Opponents of Scripture oftentimes 
cite such laws and say, well, that's barbaric, that's horrible. 
And then we say things like, well, the punishment must fit 
the crime. It's exactly what this law demands. The punishment 
must fit the crime. Don't tell me you believe that 
the punishment must fit the crime and then deny the biblical statement 
that the punishment must fit the crime. The law of retaliation 
demands retaliation, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
tooth. Now, my point in pointing this 
out, again, is to say that if this law is specifying what to 
do in the case of an accidental abortion, what should we think 
of doctors? What should we think of mothers? 
What should we think of fathers? And what should we think of prime 
ministers who celebrate that particular deed? If the word 
of God condemns accidental abortion, my argument is it most certainly 
condemns intentional abortion. And the text is very specific 
that way. The lex talionis is the law of 
retaliation. If during the struggle, the woman 
is struck and her baby is born prematurely and no harm follows 
to either mother or children, a monetary fine will be demanded. But if harm follows to either 
mother or child or children, should it be the case, like Rebecca, 
there were twins, if harm does follow, then the penalty is Capital 
punishment. Now again, you may have problems 
with capital punishment, but just for now, I ask you, put 
those problems out of your head. Actually, let me just hopefully 
put those problems to rest. The Bible demands capital punishment. It's not a suggestion. If a body 
politic really wants to do good, they should think, no, it's Genesis 
9, 6, and it's Romans 13, 1 to 4. It's a demand. Why? For in the image of God, 
he made man. In other words, if you rise up 
against an image-bearer, the demand is that you will be executed 
by civil government. Now, I would suggest we have 
a topsy-turvy situation when we won't execute criminal offenders, 
but we'll execute babies to the tune of a hundred thousand a 
year in this country. There's problems, okay? There's 
huge issues that we have to face and we have to reckon with in 
our own generation. But I do want you to notice as 
well the increased protection here for the pre-born. Go back 
for just a moment to Exodus 21 at verse 12. Exodus 21. Verse 12, he who strikes a man 
so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 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. You see what 
God is doing there through Moses, the lawgiver? God is distinguishing 
between what we call murder and manslaughter. Murder is intentional. Murder is done with malice aforethought. Murder is done with a plan. Murder is done when I hate you, 
I despise you, I've got means, I've got motive, I've got opportunity, 
and I'm going to stop your heart from beating. Manslaughter is 
accidental. This whole principle is illustrated 
in another place with somebody chopping wood with an axe. If 
you are chopping wood with an axe, and your irritating neighbor 
comes home, and you know that he is coming home, and you hide 
behind his garage, and when he comes out, you strike him dead. 
You're a murderer. But if you're chopping wood and 
your axe head flies off and it goes over the fence and it hits 
your neighbor in the head, you're foolish. Again, you need some 
help, but you're not a murderer. You've engaged in manslaughter. 
The specific point I want you to appreciate is one more step. 
Stay with me. With reference to manslaughter, 
you still got punished. There were still repercussions. 
They wanted to discourage this within the body politic. And 
so there were these cities called cities of refuge. And what a 
city of refuge was was that when you engaged in an un a manslaughter 
or a homicide of another individual, you went to this city of refuge 
for a period of time. That was to inconvenience you. 
It was to tell others, make sure your axe head is fastened before 
you start swinging it. There are repercussions for falling 
within the body politic. But in this particular law that 
we're considering with reference to abortion, it was accidental, 
wasn't it? The man in his fight with the 
other man didn't purposefully try to induce abortion among 
the woman that was standing there. He doesn't try to do that. He 
was exchanging blows with his counterpart, and she got hit 
accidentally. You see, with reference to this 
particular law, there's no city of refuge for him. There is the 
lex talionis. There is life for life. There 
is eye for eye. There is tooth for tooth. That 
demand is even more strengthened than the guy chopping wood in 
his backyard who didn't attach his axe head appropriately to 
his instrument. See, God is not playing games 
the way society plays games. this redefinition of terms, this 
dehumanizing the baby in the womb. In terms of the abomination 
of abortion, consider the Didache. Now, the Didache was an early 
Christian manual that some date to AD 110. Some might think Kruger puts 
it even possibly at 8100. It's kind of like a non-scriptural 
book that was encouraged to live life according to the scriptures. 
Didache simply means the teaching. Didache 10.2.2 says, you shall 
not abort a child or commit infanticide. Why? Why would the Didache say 
this? Because it was happening. It 
happened in the empire. It happened in the Roman Empire. 
Infanticide was practiced. A baby would be born. And typically, 
often, if it was a girl baby, that baby would be placed on 
the trash heap. Here we put our trash out on 
Wednesdays. Probably at your home, it's a 
Wednesday, it's a Tuesday, it's a Friday. Whatever it is, you 
put your trash out with the mindset that a big truck's going to come, 
he's going to pick up your trash, and he's going to put it into 
his truck. Well, back in their day, they'd throw unwanted babies 
out on the trash heap. Well, what would happen to those 
unwanted babies? Dogs would come and eat them. and not dogs like 
my little Tikka, but dogs that were ravagers, dogs that were 
scavengers, or they'd be picked up off the trash heap by persons 
that would enslave them, that would rear them for a life of 
prostitution. Infanticide happened. You'll 
see the word sorcery used in the New Testament at times. It's 
the Greek word pharmacy. It's where we get our word pharmacy. The sorcery involved wasn't just 
like Ouija boards and occultism, but it oftentimes involved drug 
taking. And drug taking was used in this 
context to induce abortion. So the Didache, an early Christian 
manual, comes along and tells the people of God, don't do these 
things. This is what you've been brought 
up in in the empire, but it's wrong to murder image bearers. Don't engage in abortion and 
don't commit infanticide. Have no truck with society around 
you when it comes to the utter disregard of human life. You 
are image bearers. You are redeemed. You're being 
renewed in the wisdom and knowledge and holiness of God Most High. 
You're a new creation in Jesus Christ. You're supposed to treat 
with dignity, babies. You're supposed to treat with 
dignity the elders among us. Paul's whole instruction in 1 
Timothy 5 flies against euthanasia. Paul tells Timothy to show respect 
for old people. Paul tells Timothy that the church 
must care for her widows. Paul tells Timothy that we're 
not to just marginalize the weak among us, but rather we're to 
care for them, we're to tend for them. The Bible everywhere 
supports this notion of being concerned for the sanctity of 
life. It ought not just to be one Sunday 
in January where we think sanctity of life. We as God's people ought 
to have hearts beating with reference to the sanctity of life every 
single day. It ought to be what actuates 
us, what motivates us, what moves us. It ought to be something 
that is non-negotiable in the eyes and the minds of young people. 
Randy Alcorn, several years ago, wrote a book, Pro-Life Arguments 
for Pro-Choice Questions. It's great, or Pro-Life Answers 
for Pro-Choice Arguments, and it's fantastic. And Alcorn mentions 
at that particular time, I don't have any reason to think it's 
any better now, but those within the context of the church, not, 
you know, the wingnut, sort of marginalized churches, but evangelical 
churches, have problems with abortion among their own ranks. 
Why is that? Because in some way we have thought 
that the way to cover up our sin is by murdering the baby. 
No, never cover up sin by murdering the baby. Proverbs 28, 13 says, 
whoever covers his transgression will not prosper, but whoever 
confesses it and forsakes it will find what? He'll find mercy. 
You know, I bear a relationship to our brother Mike in Surrey, 
and one of the things that I suggested to him if he preaches on this 
topic, on Pro-Life or Sanctity of Life Sunday, is never make 
anybody ever think that this is the unpardonable sin. There 
may be women in our churches, there may be men in our churches 
that have come out of a life where they've engaged in these 
particular practices. They need to know that ultimately 
there is forgiveness with Christ. This is not the unpardonable 
sin, but I'll say it to you young people, it is certainly not something 
that should ever, ever, ever come into your mind or heart, 
that this is a way to not be found out. Confess, forsake, 
you'll find mercy. Confess, forsake, you'll find 
mercy. You're not going to find solution 
in a doctor's tools. John Calvin made this observation 
with reference to abortion. He says, if it seems more horrible 
to kill a man in his own house than in a field, which I think 
we'd all agree, It's more horrible to kill somebody sitting in their 
living room than it would be out in a field. He says, 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 just ought to be unthinkable 
among the people of God. There ought not to be a debate. 
There ought never to be somebody that says, yeah, I was a Christian, 
and then I found some more information. No, it's just part of the warp 
and the wolf of Christianity, that we love the image of God. 
We treat it with dignity. We treat it with respect. We 
don't butcher, we don't slay, we don't say, this is something 
that's an inconvenience in my life, and so I want to deal with 
it. A brother made a very excellent observation this morning. 100,000 
people in the March for Life on Friday. Do you hear anything 
about that on the media? Anything? Oh, there were 100,000 
people today marching for, oh no, you don't hear that. But 
the next day, you hear about the 10,000 women. I read something. This lady said, my Uber driver 
is from Iran. And he says, why is there a woman's 
march? They can drive. They can go to 
school. They get all the rights and privileges 
that everybody could imagine. My family at home would envy 
what women in America have. You know what they're out marching 
for? It's the right to murder babies. When all is said and 
done, that's what's most important. Oh no, they have rights. You have rights. But it's when 
men, nasty white men, especially nasty white evangelical men say, 
we think abortion is wrong. You have no right to speak against 
women in their wombs. Oh really, is that true? Those 
babies in the wombs are not the woman. They have a responsibility 
to do what is right. Consider the judgment of God 
with reference to the abomination involved in murder. Proverbs 
6, 16 to 19. These six things Yahweh hates. 
Yes, seven are an abomination to him. A proud look, a lying 
tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked 
plans, feet that are swift and running to evil, a false witness 
who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren. 
Hands that shed innocent blood. Typically here where people in 
the know say, well, you're a Calvinist. You don't think anybody's innocent. 
You talk about total depravity even from their womb. David traces 
his native depravity back to the time of his conception. Judicially 
innocent. Babies haven't engaged in unlawful 
activity. Babies aren't subject to criminal 
execution by the hand of the state. Babies aren't involved 
in a war wherein the killing of them would somehow be just 
or legitimate. These babies aren't invading anybody's personal property 
or lives such that they need to be defended against and killed 
in the pursuit of. See, it's folly, brethren. Never 
forget what Revelation 21.8 says, but the cowardly, unbelieving, 
abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, 
and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns 
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Consider 
in conclusion the state and abortion, the state and abortion. Now, 
when I say state, I don't mean Idaho. I mean the nation of Canada. There are a million plus in the 
US, though that number is declining. I don't think one baby murdered 
is tolerable at all. But there are states that are 
making some big strides in the pro-life cause. Apparently, Arizona 
is one of the safest places to be a baby in all of the United 
States. But a million in America. Say, 
well, those dastardly, wretched Americans. 100,000 in Canada. 
It's the same ratio based on population. 100,000 babies in 
Canada a year are murdered. With reference to its history, 
the Criminal Law Amendment Act in 1968 and 69, 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. So that's not 
ever good enough, right? Not that that's good. It's terrible. 
It's wretched. It's horrible. But in 1988, the 
Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. V. Morgenthaler that the 
existing laws were unconstitutional and struck down the 1969 law. The then governing progressive 
conservatives attempted but failed to pass a new abortion law. And 
since then, Canada, now get this, has had no criminal laws governing 
the subject. Brethren, I suppose there's a 
law on whether or not you can build a shed in your backyard. 
I suppose there's probably still laws on the books that you can't 
spit on the sidewalk in Chilliwack. I suppose there's a whole host 
of laws. I was going to do this this week. I didn't have time. 
I think it'd be low-hanging fruit. I'd type in frivolous laws in 
Canada. I mean, where would you stop, 
right? Well, you can't this. You can't this. You can't. But 
no law respecting the protection of a baby in their mother's womb. 
You see that sometimes. WeNeedALaw.com. WeNeedALaw.com. Go there. Because those people 
are saying, WeNeedALaw.com. There's no law. You can't spit 
and chilliwack, but you can murder a baby at any time of the gestational 
period. Good for you, Canada. You rank 
right up there with North Korea, with China. You're right up there 
with the most oppressive regimes on the face of the earth when 
it comes to baby murder. And then consider our own prime 
minister, Prime Minister Trudeau. He says, I have, oh, that latter 
law basically said it was unconstitutional to have a panel of doctors. Now 
it's just up to the woman and her doctor. Can't actually spread 
the wealth or wisdom or any of this. It's just up to the woman, 
and it's up to her doctor. The current prime minister says, 
quote, I have made it clear that future candidates need to be 
completely understanding that they will be expected to vote 
pro-choice on any bills. The party of choice, the party 
of free thought, the party of let's just all, you know, chant 
like hippies, that party, you have to be pro-life. one that 
was touted as a Christian president, President Barack Obama, when 
he was a senator in Illinois, he's voted against what was called 
the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. That's actually coming back 
in the Senate and House. A group of either senators or 
congressmen in the US are retooling the Born Alive Infant Protection 
Act. For those of you who don't know what that means, it is exactly 
what it says. If a baby survives an abortion, 
this particular law mandates that caregivers try to preserve 
the life of the baby. What ghoul, what fiend would 
argue against that? It survives the saline, it survives 
the instruments, and then you're still going to kill it? That's 
what President Barack Obama did as an Illinois governor. See, 
brethren, the state has made their choice. It isn't about, 
oh, we just want to provide life, liberty, justice, the pursuit 
of happiness for all people. I think that we need to understand 
that we are at war. Now, again, don't take this literally 
and go out and buy a gun today at dart and tackle and march 
against Ottawa. That's not what I'm suggesting. 
We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities. How does a man get to the position 
where he declares himself a feminist? And then when asked, do you have 
a problem with sex selection abortion? People are killing 
baby, baby girls, because they're girls. Well, that's up to the 
mother and her doctor. That's not feminism, dude. Sorry. You should be about protecting 
women, no matter what stage of life they find themselves in. 
It's kind of like saying to the drive-by shooter, well, you know, 
I don't want to get involved. Whoever the drive-by shooter and his 
victim is, you know, that's up to them to figure out and decide. 
Some people say, well, you can't make this an issue. We'd make 
pedophilia an issue, wouldn't we? We wouldn't vote for a man 
convicted of pedophilia and say, oh yeah, I want him to be my 
governor. I want him to be my leader. But it's okay when he's 
a murderer? Have we lost our collected minds? Have we gone on a vacation from 
intellect and thought and rationality? Or you can't make this an emphasis 
in your church because it's political. I'm not telling you how to vote, 
where to vote, when to vote, though I am suggesting to vote 
for somebody that that's committed to abortion. I don't know how 
you reckon that. I don't know how you judge that. I don't know how you come down 
on the side of that and say, you know, my conscience is vindicated. We as well need to realize with 
reference to the state, and this is where people really start 
getting a little bit shaky and go there. Abortion is not only 
a sin, it's a crime. If we had a properly functioning 
state, abortion would be punished, not condoned, encouraged, and 
at many times subsidized with tax dollars. There are things 
that are sins that aren't crimes. Covetousness is a sin. It's not 
a crime, at least not yet. According to Orwell, it should 
have happened by now, but covetousness is not presently a crime. I'm 
not saying go out and covet all you want. I'm not saying that. 
God will deal with your sin. But covetousness is a sin that's 
not a crime. There are some things that are 
crimes, but they're not sins. If you were in Saudi Arabia and 
you preached the gospel to somebody, that would be against the law, 
but it's not a sin before God. Abortion is both sinful and criminal. That we don't recognize that 
today, again, is just more reflective on our failure to think God's 
thoughts after Him. And I think before we leave the 
state and abortion, we need to remember what the purpose of 
civil government is. I think on this, J. Gresham Machen 
is most helpful. He says, the state exists for 
the repression of evildoers and the protection of individual 
liberty. Why aren't there more Machen's in this world? Why aren't 
there more people that get it? That's their function. Not to 
tend to you every moment of every day. Not to make sure you have 
everything you need. Not to pour your cornflakes and 
your milk and wipe your face. That's not their function. It 
really isn't. Machen is right. He says the 
state exists for the repression of evildoers and the protection 
of individual liberty. He also said the civil government 
is, quote, not intended to produce blessedness or happiness. It's 
not their job to produce blessedness or happiness. Their job is they 
are intended to prevent blessedness or happiness from being interfered 
with by wicked men. That's their job. So if we lived 
in a society where persons had half a clue, we'd not have abortion. Now that we're seeing, again, 
countries that at one time held fast. Ireland recently had their 
big vote, their big referendum, so that now we can kill babies 
in our country. Have we all gone mad? Have we 
all lost it? We all just said, forget God, 
everything that's sacred, good, or holy, or normal and decent. All bets are off. Let's just 
murder. Let's just do whatever it is we want. You know, we read 
the book of Judges, and we see that appendix in chapters 17 
to 21. I actually think that 17 to 21 comes before Judges 
chapter 1. I think 17 to 21 shows us what 
life was like before the institution of the judges. And what's the 
constant refrain? There was no king in Israel and 
everyone did what was right in his own eyes. It's a horrific 
picture of human conduct. It's a terrible depiction of 
society without law, without regulation, without government 
in terms of not wiping your face when you drop milk, but repressing 
evildoers in society. That was the function of the 
judges. That was the function of Israel's monarchy. And then in terms of the church 
and abortion, I would suggest the professing people of God 
need to know what the Bible says. You know, if you hear on January 
20th next year, the same sermon, don't go, man, he preached this 
sermon last year. There's a method to my madness. This is actually 
stuff I hope everyone gets. I hope everyone gets. I hope 
you just are conversant with what the Bible says concerning 
abortion. See, abortion has one of those 
unique places in our lives where it's out of sight and out of 
mind. I assume, for the most part, you guys aren't going out 
having abortions. I assume, for the most part, 
you aren't hanging around with people that are going out and 
having abortions. It's one of those things that's out of sight, 
out of mind. I purposefully am on some email 
list so that it's not out of sight and out of mind, purposely 
brought to my email box every single day. Once in a while, 
when I'm feeling especially ambitious with reference to how bad I want 
to feel, I go to numberofabortions.org, and you can watch the actual 
counter change as you're on their page. And it's not just in Canada. It's in Canada, but it's U.S., 
and it's worldwide in the numbers since it was legalized. It's revolting. It's repulsive 
to consider that every one of the turns of that particular 
counter are human lives that have been lost to abortion. The 
professing people of God need to avoid surgical abortion. Again, 
kids, young people, this is never the answer. This is never the 
response. This can never enter into the 
vocabulary of the people of God. Well, you know, there is not 
always this. It's an abomination. God will 
judge you about repentance. The people of God in abortifacient 
birth control. Not all birth control is contraceptive 
in nature, but it's abortifacient. That means that after conception 
has occurred, there are mechanisms in place to terminate the conceptus. You need to be responsible when 
it comes to such things. The people of God and the voting 
booth. Again, if a man stood up and 
says, I'm convicted of pedophilia, I engaged in that, I enjoyed 
it, I would still do it if I hadn't have been arrested and I was 
forbidden from being around kids. I don't think any of us today 
in our body positive, he's got my vote. Boy, look at his honesty. There's a whole party given to 
standing up and saying, I'm all for murder, murder, butchery 
of the most innocent among us. Bring it on. We'd be horrified. Again, euphemisms are very powerful. It's much nicer to say, oh, that 
person had an affair versus he's an adulterer or a fornicator. I've made this observation when 
it comes to these mass shootings. How are they described? The shooter, 
the shooter. It almost sounds like he's a 
video game winner. He's a murderer. He is taking 
projectiles and launching them into innocent people and ending 
their lives. Don't celebrate this. Don't make 
it sound like a video game. That's not Call of Duty. As well, 
the people of God and sexual immorality. I would suggest that 
our young people, if ever faced with this decision of abortion, 
would never have been there if they were sexually immoral. Does 
that make sense? Everybody get that? What's the 
best way to protect against unwanted pregnancy? Don't have relations. Well, you can't tell kids that 
because they're kids and they're going to do what they're going 
to do. No, don't do it. Foolproof, 100%. It'll never 
happen. Never. Virgin birth occurred. It's not going to happen again. 
You're not going to be the exception. You're not going to be married 
2.0. That's not going to happen. The only way you'll ever get 
to that difficult decision in your life is if you're sexually 
immoral. Don't be sexually immoral. Guard 
your hearts. Guard your passions. Control 
your lusts. What happened to self-control 
in society? So I said, victim, we blame everybody. I am the way I am because of 
my parents. I am the way I am because of my church. I am the 
way I am because of society. Those can be contributing factors 
to be sure, but God's word doesn't let you weasel out of your own 
personal responsibility. Self-control goes a long way 
with reference to life in this world generally and with reference 
to life as God commands. We need to preach the law. We 
need to preach the law. Now, I believe in being a gospel-centered 
church. because there's a lot of issues 
that come up in gospel-centered churches. But I believe that 
wholeheartedly. I am convinced of that wholeheartedly. 
But the gospel isn't good news until we hear the bad news, and 
the law helps us with that. The law tells us what the bad 
news is. The law specifies that that there are murderers, that 
there are adulterers, that there are thieves, there are liars, 
there are covetous, there are Sabbath breakers, there are blasphemers, 
there are, you know, idolaters, there are those insubordinate 
to authority over them, and they're all us. All of us are convicted 
by God's law. It paves the way for the preaching 
of the gospel, and the church needs to be about preaching the 
law and the gospel. Carl F. H. Henry said this. He 
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." That's great. Another 
man in the history of the world, I won't say church, but said, 
the law does not have the power to change the heart, but the 
law has the power to restrain the heart less. The church has 
forgotten that. Oh, no law. No law. We pride 
ourselves on our antinomian commitment. We pride ourselves with Romans 
6.14 and a bad understanding of it, by the way. We're not 
under law. We're under grace. Can't preach the Decalogue. Can't 
preach those commandments. We're not under law. We're under 
grace. That's not Paul's point in Romans 6. If you think it 
is, you need to go to school again and understand Paul's point 
in Romans 6. The church needs to preach the 
law, and finally, the church needs to preach the gospel. As 
I said, if any have engaged in this particular sin, we need 
to remember Psalm 25. David's prayer for forgiveness 
from God is grounded in two things. One, God's name, and two, David's 
great sinfulness. Imagine that as an argument. 
God, you need to forgive me because I'm such a wretch. What? David is saying, you need to 
forgive me because I'm trying harder. You need to forgive me 
because I'm getting better. You need to forgive me, God, 
because I'm such a wretched person. I'm such a sinner. Pardon my 
iniquities, O Lord, for they are great. We need to remember 
Psalm 130, 3 and 4. If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, 
O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with 
you that you may be feared. Or 1 John 2, John says, my little 
children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin, 
but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 
even Jesus Christ the righteous. There is forgiveness even for 
abortionists. There is forgiveness even for 
women that have engaged in this and men that have forced them 
at times to engage in this. There is forgiveness with thee 
that thou mayest be feared. Never ever forget that. never 
treated as the unpardonable sin. There is mercy to be had in the 
Savior. Look at Saul of Tarsus. He stood 
by, giving his heart and consent, while Christ's martyr Stephen 
was stoned to death right before his eyes. And what happens to 
Saul of Tarsus? He's conquered on the road to 
Damascus by sovereign grace. If you are guilty of the crime 
of murder, if you're guilty of the sin of murder, if you're 
guilty of any of the transgressions of God's law, the answer for 
you is not more sin to try and cover it up. The answer is that 
Christ who in John chapter 6 says, my flesh will give you life, 
my blood will give you life. Again, metaphorically, he is 
saying believe on me." Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
You for Your Word. We thank You for the fact that 
it's so