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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 21. As her brother said, today is 
Sanctity of Life Sunday. This is a bit of a review day. 
When I ask the question, what do I want people to know the 
Bible teaches concerning abortion, this is the material that I think 
is most sufficient. So it is a repetition of years 
before. God willing, tonight we'll repeat 
the teaching on the death penalty, but this morning, specifically 
the Bible and abortion. So beginning in Exodus chapter 
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. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, I thank you for this opportunity to gather together 
on the Sabbath day to worship you. God, we thank you that your 
word is sufficient for all matters of faith and practice. We thank 
you that it speaks not only to our religious being, but it speaks 
to matters of Christian ethics, to ethics for mankind as a whole. And even now, Lord God, we pray 
for the ministry and the aid of your Holy Spirit to guide 
us and direct us as we consider the biblical material. We pray, 
Father, that you would seal these things into our hearts and minds, 
that we would think your thoughts after you concerning this issue. 
God, it is a gross tragedy that is continuing on in our own day 
and age in the countries of the world, where babies are murdered 
in their mothers' wombs. God, I pray that we would take 
these things to heart. that we would sigh and cry over 
the abominations of the land, that we would be a prayerful 
people, that we would be a thinking people, that we would be a people 
that are committed to life, committed to those things that bring glory 
and honor and praise unto you. We ask now that you would bless 
this time of study together, forgive us for all of our sins 
and transgression, and fill each and every one of us with your 
spirit. And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, I want 
to preface by saying that I'm conscious of the fact that some 
would say that we would not be committed to or we should not 
rather speak to political issues. Consider that Prime Minister 
Trudeau's Liberal Party in Canada and the Democrat Party in the 
United States of America are co-conspirators to mass murder. This is not a political issue. 
It is a theological and an ethical issue that the Sixth Commandment 
speaks to. We need to take this to heart. 
Planned Parenthood in the United States this year will spend $45 
million to back the Democratic Party and try to stop President 
Trump. They know all too well that if 
Trump continues as president, the courts will be stacked with 
conservatives and the potential is that Roe vs. Wade may be overturned. They are horrified at the prospect 
that persons will not be given the so-called right to murder 
babies in their mother's wombs. Again, I suggest this is not 
a political issue. It is a theological and an ethical 
issue the Bible addresses consistently. We ought to consider as well 
that within our recent political cycle, so-called conservatives 
don't even want to bring up the issue of abortion. Very often 
you hear the kinds of things like, how will the future judge 
this generation? We do that. We judge the U.S. for chattel slavery that occurred 
in their history. We judge Nazi Germany. What will 
our future, or the posterity, how will they look upon a people 
that were supposedly civilized, that had such disregard for people 
who didn't care one bit about little babies in their mother's 
womb? The very thought of it is horrifying. This is not a 
political issue, but it's theological and ethical. It is ultimately 
a transgression of God's law, and it degrades a society. John 
Murray well said that nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of 
a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity 
of human life. Now, how would some of our forefathers 
respond to the sorts of things that are occurring today? Now, 
I realize euthanasia is barbaric as well. The destruction of elderly 
people or the terminally ill, the utter disregard for persons 
that are somehow vulnerable and are not as efficient as the rest 
of us are. This is horrific and it is ungodly 
and it is unrighteous. It would certainly invoke the 
prophet to pray as he did in his own generation, in wrath, 
remember mercy. Sometimes people say, I wonder 
if we will undergo the wrath and judgment of God. Brethren, 
every sign and evidence is around us that we are presently under 
the wrath and fury of God. When you look at Romans chapter 
one, what is three times repeated, but that God gave them up to 
a reprobate mind? You could say that about life 
in Canada. You could say that about life 
in the United States of America. There is a reprobate mind that 
prevails when we have such disregard for the vulnerable among us. 
So I want to look first at the sixth commandment, secondly, 
the sanctity of human life, and then thirdly, the specific exegesis 
of the passage that I just read here in Exodus 21. Well, the 
foundation for the prohibition against the abortion of little 
babies in their mother's womb is, in fact, the sixth commandment. 
You shall not murder. God alone is the lawgiver. God 
alone is the one who regulates. God alone is the one alone who 
tells us when we can end life. There are three instances in 
the Bible of lawful homicide. We have self-defense. If somebody 
breaks into your house and you are in fear for your life, you 
can deal out a lethal opposition to that particular offender. 
We have just war. Now again, what the issue is 
concerning just war would take a series of sermons. But Deuteronomy 
7, verses 1 to 5, God commands holy war against the Canaanites. And then of course you have the 
death penalty. If you're interested, you can come back tonight and 
we'll look at what scripture says concerning that. That is 
homicide, but it's not murder. Murder involves premeditation. Murder involves malice of forethought. Murder involves a plan, a plot, 
a mindset to destroy the life of another individual. So the 
sixth commandment is the overarching concern with reference to the 
sin, the crime of abortion, euthanasia, any unlawful killing of another 
human being. Now, certainly the Sixth Commandment 
speaks to the internal nature of man. I think it's the Sixth 
Commandment that's at the basis of the prohibition that we find 
against bitterness, against slander, against gossip, against those 
sorts of things. We don't want to destroy the 
reputation of others because that is, in a sense, murder. 
but we're dealing with the externality, we're dealing with the stopping 
of another person's life and heartbeat. Walter Kaiser says, 
while Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, the word used 
here, he's commenting on the text in Exodus and in the Decalogue 
or the Ten Commandments, appears only 47 times in the Old Testament. If any one of the seven words 
could signify murder, where factors of premeditation and intentionality 
are present, this is the verb. Now, the Old Testament distinguishes 
between an accidental homicide and murder. Accidental homicide 
includes somebody chopping wood with their axe and the axe head 
isn't tight and it flies off and it strikes their neighbor 
in the head and he dies. Well, that's accidental. He didn't 
mean to do that. Murder would be the one with 
the axe hiding in the bush so that he can take out his neighbor. 
There's intentionality, there's premeditation, there's malice 
aforethought. The Bible makes that distinction 
and what we have with reference to abortion and euthanasia is 
not accidental. It is premeditated, it does involve 
malice aforethought. There is a desire and a design 
on the part of the murderer to cease or end the life of the 
one murdered. And then in terms of the sixth 
commandment, we also ought to appreciate the dignity of man. 
In other words, why does God give us these commandments? Because 
we bear His image. It's not even that we bear His 
image or that His image is in us. We are, in fact, the image 
of God Almighty. And I want to show how the Bible 
says that concerning the various phases of human life, which we'll 
do in just a moment. But we understand, or we need 
to understand, that the doctrine of creation in the image of God 
is ultimately the rationale for the sanctity of human life. Animals 
are wonderful. They can provide great companionship, 
they can provide a lot of good things, but they are not made 
in the image of God. In the creation week, one aspect 
of the creation is identified as being in the image of God. 
That's man, that's woman, that's boy, that's girl, that's baby 
in the womb, that's old person in a hospital bed, that's sick 
person, that's handicapped person. Whatever their station, whatever 
their status, whatever their age, whatever their place in 
life, they are image bearers of the living God. The best that 
a monkey can do, or a dog can do, or an animal of any kind 
can do, will never ever achieve that status. So God has protected 
us, his creatures, with his commandments, and the sixth commandment needs 
to be rehearsed frequently. Now let's look secondly at the 
sanctity of human life in the Bible. We're gonna move through 
all these passages again. I want everybody to have these 
things in their minds and hearts. We see the image of God in pre-fall 
man, Genesis 1, 26 and 27. Then God said, let us make man 
in our image 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. Again, we have dignity. There is sanctity about human 
life. There is something unique about 
us as creatures that doesn't obtain among the animal kingdom. 
Again, we ought not to be vicious and unkind and vile and abuse 
animals for no reason whatsoever, but they are not in the image 
of God. Mankind is, and we need to take that seriously. So the 
image of God is there prior to the fall. But secondly, we see 
the image of God in the post-fall state of man. Some theologians, 
many theologians have debated this. Does the image of God remain 
in man after the fall? And there's good men on either 
side of the question. I fall on the side that yes, 
in fact, it does, but I think it all depends on how you define 
image of God. But if we just make that admission 
that on the other side of the fall, we still see man bear God's 
image, at least in some sense or to some degree. James 3.9, 
he condemns the way that we use our tongue. With the tongue, 
we bless God and with it, we curse men who have been made 
in his image or made in his likeness or similitude. So the image of 
God is present with man prior to the fall. The image of God 
is in man after the fall. Thirdly, we see the image of 
God in children, in children. In Leviticus chapter 18, 21, 
we find a prohibition concerning the children of the covenant 
community. Leviticus 18, 21. You shall not 
let any of your descendants, your children, pass through the 
fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of the Lord 
your God. I am the Lord. Or profane the name of your God. 
I am the Lord. What's that mean? Molech was 
worshipped the way that he's worshipped today through abortion 
by child sacrifice. In fact, abortion has become 
something of a sacrament among the perverted persons of this 
world that despise God's law. But Molech was basically an idol. 
He was a statue, and he had outstretched arms, and they'd build a fire 
around Molech, and the way that they would worship is they'd 
bring their babies and toss them up into the arms of Molech. Well, 
Molech was an idol. Molech was a statue. Molech was 
a thing. He didn't have opposable thumbs. 
He didn't have dexterity. He didn't have the ability to 
cleave onto these children. More often than not, they'd throw 
these children into the arms of Molech, they'd bounce off 
and land in the fire. This is the prohibition. Ephesians 
6, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath. Do not exasperate 
them. Why? Because they're image bearers. child abuse, child torture, perversion 
with children. It all disrespects the reality 
that little children bear the image of God most high. But we 
see that image of God further. We see it in the handicapped. 
If you're in Leviticus 19, look at verse 14. You shall not curse 
the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall 
fear your God. I am the Lord. They're not deficient, 
they're not somehow inferior, they're not somehow less, and 
we can have a disregard with reference to their life and their 
prosperity. No, they're image bearers of 
the living and true God. We're not to mock them, we're 
not to provoke them, we're not to hurt them, and we're not to 
be prejudiced against them. We have that blessed account 
in our Lord's ministry when he's walking through the city of Jericho 
and blind Bartimaeus cries out, Jesus, thou son of David, have 
mercy upon me. And the crowds around Bartimaeus 
try to shush him. They try to tell him to be quiet. 
They say, oh, he's too busy. There's too many people. He doesn't 
want to have any talk with you. I love that blind Bartimaeus 
cries all the louder. And he says, Jesus, thou son 
of David, have mercy on me. What does the text say? The text 
says that Jesus stopped, Jesus walked over to that man, and 
Jesus says, what would you have me to do? And this man says, 
I want to see again. And this man, Jesus, opened his 
eyes so that he could see again. He didn't say, well, you're inferior, 
you're defective, you're somehow lower on the evolutionary scale. No, there is dignity among all 
persons in whatever age, whatever situation they find themselves 
in. We see it among the sick also. Turn to the book of James, 
James chapter 5. James chapter 5 highlights the 
reality that there are sick persons among us and love and kindness 
and compassion is the way that we are to respond. In James 5, 
verse 14, as 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. We see the image of God in the 
elderly, Leviticus 19.32, all young men. All of us young men ought to 
rise in the presence of a hoary head. This is what the scripture 
dictates. It's not the case that old people 
are no longer any value. They no longer have any worth. 
They're no longer worthy of our... You esteem them. You praise God 
for them. You get up and open doors for 
them. It ought to shock our sensibilities when we see the way that young 
people treat adults or the elderly in our generation. It is absolutely 
and utterly disgusting. And yet God's Word speaks to 
this issue and says there is dignity in image bearers of the 
living and true God. Now let's look finally at this 
point at the image of God in the pre-born in the womb. Turn 
to Genesis 25. Again, several passages just 
to illustrate that what we find in the womb is not the product 
of conception. That's what the pro-aborts like 
to tell us it is. It's the product of conception. 
Yeah, and that product of conception happens to be a human being, 
happens to be an image-bearer of the living and true God. Or 
they say it's a lump of cells. It's undefined. It's this mass. 
Absolutely, positively contrary to what we find in the written 
record of God's Holy Word. Notice in Genesis chapter 25 
at verses 19 to 23. 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. The children struggled 
together within her. I'm going to ask you to remember 
that as we move to the specific exposition of Exodus chapter 
21. But consider the text. The children struggled 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. 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, listen to the 
language, came out red. Keep that in your head. Not that 
Esau was red, but that they came out red. It's the language utilized 
in the prohibition in Exodus chapter 21. Childbirth is a reference 
or refers to these children coming out. They come out of the womb 
into the world, but they're children prior to their coming out of 
the womb. That's what the text conspicuously highlights. Turn 
to the book of Job. The book of Job indicates the 
personhood of pre-born children. in two places, at least, that 
we'll look at. Job 10, verses 8 to 12. Job 10, verses 8 to 12. Your 
hands have made me and fashioned me in an 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. Job 31, Job 31. Notice in verses 13 to 15, in 
this particular context, Job is basically rehearsing his righteousness 
before God. And I realize that sounds like 
a bit of an arrogant thing to suggest, but that's one of the 
issues in Job. Job wonders why these things 
are happening to him. And as he's rehearsing this, 
he says, I didn't mistreat my servants. I didn't treat them 
with any degree of inferiority because God is the Lord of both. 
both servant and master. So 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 made me in 
the womb make them? Did not the same one fashion 
us in the womb? What's in the womb of Job's mother? 
It's Job. What's in the womb of Job's servants' 
mothers? It's Job's servants. There's 
no product of conception or a lump of cells that are undefined. 
These are persons that bear the very image of God Most High. 
And then the psalmist in Psalm 51. Psalm 51, David is rehearsing 
his native depravity. He's rehearsing the reality that 
he's a sinner before God. And in Psalm 51 5, he says, behold, 
I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin, my mother conceived 
me. It doesn't mean that the sexual act between his father 
and mother was somehow sinful. It means that as soon as David 
was, he was a sinner. He was in Ada. And so his depravity 
is traced back to the womb. But as he says, it was me that 
was conceived in the womb. And then as we saw or heard in 
Psalm 139 verses 13 to 16, the divine weaver, God who fashions 
us together in the womb, we see from the prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 
1.5, he was separated from the womb to be a prophet to the nations. The apostle Paul says the same 
thing about his apostolic ministry in Galatians 1.15, it pleased 
God who separated me from my mother's womb. Do you see, if 
the pro-abortion people lived at this particular time, nations 
would not have been born. Prophets would not have been 
born. We would see the Son of Man Himself not even be born. 
As we turn to the New Testament, we see the same emphasis concerning 
what is in the womb. Turn to Luke's Gospel, Luke chapter 
1. Luke chapter 1. Notice in verse 15. For he will be great in the sight 
of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will 
also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's 
womb. This of course is a reference 
to John the Baptist. Now, the Holy Spirit doesn't 
come upon a lump of cells or a product of conception that 
is not human, but the Holy Spirit dwells among image bearers of 
the living and true God. And that's the emphasis that 
we find here. Notice as well in verses 41 to 44, 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. 
Now the same word used by Luke there is used by Luke in Luke 
18, where it speaks of children outside the womb, the children 
that were permitted to come to our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the 
same Greek word applied. Whether in the womb or outside 
of the womb, it's the same word, babe, child, little one, whatever 
you want to say in terms of the semantic range of the word, but 
it describes human beings. But then notice in verse 42, 
then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, blessed are you 
among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But why is 
this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 
Let that sink in for just a moment. When Jesus was in the womb, he 
was the Lord. Why is it that the mother of 
my Lord should come to me? That's Elizabeth's statement 
concerning the product of conception in the womb of Mary. It is the 
mother of my, or rather, she is the mother of my Lord, is 
what she says there. And then, as I mentioned, Galatians 
1.15, Paul is separated from his mother's womb. Gordon Clark 
said, 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. And Clark 
is absolutely positively right on that. Brethren, what is happening 
is a travesty. What is happening is a tragedy. What is happening, future generations 
will look back and say, how in the world could they do that? 
There is scientific data. Now, Ben Shapiro says, when I 
go out to try and convince people I don't use the Bible, for him 
the Old Testament is a Jew, I use science. Brethren, we are Christians, 
and we need to know what the Bible says. But if you go knocking 
on science's door, guess what you're going to hear? A unique 
genetic code in that baby in the womb. What are you going 
to hear? You're going to hear that science verifies what God 
has always told us, is that that preborn in the womb is human. It is a baby. It has a beating 
heart. It feels pain. There is such 
a hypocrisy among us when it comes to this. How many of you 
have ever heard of Scott Peterson? Scott Peterson is on death row 
in the state of California for a double homicide because he 
murdered his pregnant wife. Do you understand that? He murdered 
his pregnant wife, so he was found guilty on two charges of 
murder. Well, if he hadn't have murdered 
her, but she had gone to the abortion clinic and had that 
baby executed, that's her choice, that's her right, that's up to 
her. It is absolute hypocrisy when 
we boil it all down. The scriptures are clear with 
reference to the image of God. But as well, the incarnation 
dignifies the image of God, doesn't it? Christ assumed our humanity 
with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof. 
In other words, he identifies with us. He took on our flesh. He took on our humanity. Who 
for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven as that 
blessed saint, not saint in the Catholic sense, but that godly 
believer, Gregory of Nazianzus says, whatever is not assumed 
is not healed. And so Christ assumes our humanity 
so that he can heal us through his cross work and give us life 
eternal in Jesus Christ our Lord. So we see the sixth commandment, 
the prohibition, you shall not murder. We see secondly, the 
sanctity of life. Whether it's pre-born all the 
way to older age, whether you're sick in between, whatever the 
condition, whatever the situation, men are not disposable. We can't 
just dispense with people because they're bothersome. We can't 
just get rid of people because we don't want them around us. 
Having looked at this afresh in this past week, and this is 
always the hardest sermon of the year to preach. I mean, who 
wants to preach on abortion? Who wants to think about abortion? 
Who wants to consider the tragedy that the most vulnerable among 
us are being targeted for execution to the tune of about 100,000 
a year in Canada and about a million a year in the United States of 
America? And then other nations, China, 
I mean, it can't even go there when there's forced abortion 
from the civil state. I mean, these are horrific and 
wretched and wicked realities that obtain in our own generation 
and in our own situation that should in fact horrify us and 
disgust us and evoke from us prayer and a biblical righteous 
response to the wickedness that we see all around us. Turn back 
to the book of Exodus for specific exegesis of this passage. Exodus chapter 21, 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 
judge has determined. 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. Oh, that's what I was gonna say 
just before this text. So going over this past week, 
I popped on to Matt Walsh, his blog, he had a thing about this 
group called Child Free. You can look at this. It's a 
discussion site at Reddit. He says they have them on Facebook 
as well. Child Free. These people hate 
Children. They hate babies. They refer 
to them as goblins. They refer to their abortion 
as being so liberating and so wonderful. A recent award winner 
apparently was so thankful that she had aborted her child so 
that now she was able to pursue her career and win a statue. 
I mean, this is the sorts of things that are going on out 
there. We had this story this past week. A woman that works 
at an abortion clinic had the discussion with her little child 
about abortion, and how the little child gets it, that sometimes 
children are unwanted, and sometimes parents are not able to have 
a child, so, you know, abortion is the right thing. What about 
this whole shout-your-abortion madness? These are people that 
would be standing around Molech and rejoicing and praising Molech 
from whom all blessings flow. It may be a little more sanitized, 
it may look a little bit polished nowadays, but it's the same response 
to the image of God in these little babies. Now back to Exodus 
chapter 21. We need to appreciate that 21 
to 23 articulate, expand upon, amplify, and apply the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are given 
in Exodus chapter 20. We refer to that as the Decalogue 
or the Ten Words. One of those words is murder, 
and so when you get to Exodus 21, you see laws specifically 
concerning homicide, murder, bodily injury. So that's the 
context. If Israel were to ask Yahweh, 
how do we do life in the land based on these 10 commandments, 
chapters 21 to 23 give us the response. This is how they were to conduct 
themselves in their tenure in the land as they lived in the 
land of promise that Yahweh had given to them. So 21 to 23 basically 
flesh out the general principles of the Ten Commandments and show 
how they function in civil society. You have laws, say, for instance, 
about having a fence on your roof. You'd have a flat roof, 
and they would use that as living space, and there was a prohibition 
against not having a roof, or a mandate to have a roof. Why? Because somebody might wander 
up there and fall off and kill themselves or die. They didn't 
want that to happen. So a concrete application of 
the sixth commandment in civil society is put a roof or put 
a fence around your roof. It would apply to us, put a fence 
around your swimming pool so that your neighbor child doesn't 
come over and drown. This is a concrete application 
of the sixth commandment in society. And that is precisely what chapters 
21 to 23 in the book of Exodus do. The book of Deuteronomy amplifies 
and expands and even shows some further details with reference 
to that, but the underlying law that Moses is interpreting or 
applying under the inspiration of the Spirit is the Ten Commandments. And so notice this application 
of the Sixth Commandment in Exodus chapter 21. Now we need to speak 
concerning the translation. Notice what our text says in 
verse 22 if you're using the New King James. The text literally says, and 
the New King James and the ESV are good here. There's a couple 
that are very bad. If you have a Bible that has 
in verse 22, so that she has a miscarriage, that is a faulty 
translation. That is a horrible translation. 
The Bible has a word or Hebrew has a word for miscarriage. It's 
already in Exodus 23, but it's not here. It's literally, if 
men fight and hurt a woman with child, so that her children come 
out prematurely. That's the emphasis. And children, 
the plural, is used to envisage the potentiality that there's 
twins or triplets or whatever the next steps are, quad, quad, 
whatever, quad, five, you know, if you've got a whole bunch in 
there. This text protects each and every one of them. Now, why 
is this important? Because what you have are two 
fools, two men, that get into a fistfight in civil society. Now, it's probably one of their 
wives is standing there, and she's pregnant. And in this interchange, 
or in this exchange of blows flying, she gets struck. The text says that if she gets 
struck, and then has a miscarriage, and then no harm follows, the 
text only protects her. But if it's translated properly, 
and if her children come out and no harm follows to the children 
and to the mother, do you see that? Nod, give me a nod, because 
miscarriage only protects the mother. That's not the word that's 
used here. It's the same concept that we 
saw in Genesis 25, that Jacob and Esau came out. It wasn't 
the fact that they were miscarried, rather they were born. And this 
is the language that's used in this text. If men fight and hurt 
a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet 
no harm follows to either her or the children. This is a specific 
case law that protects the preborn in the womb of their mother. 
And notice how the text proceeds. If no harm follows, then a monetary 
fine shall be imposed upon these fools. That's the least of their 
issues. They should be punished with 
that because they hurt a woman and caused distress to somebody 
who was pregnant. But the text stipulates that 
if harm does follow to either A, the mother, or the children, 
then what's called the lex talionis applies. Lex talionis is a Latin 
phrase for the law of retribution. That means eye for eye, tooth 
for tooth, burn for burn, wound for wound, life for life. So you need to appreciate what's 
happening here. This is an accident. Not that 
these two fools are fighting in the street, but that she is 
struck. and yet the law of God provides 
in an accidental abortion the protection of the babies to the 
degree that if someone hurts them they will be executed. The lex talionis applies. That 
is a an amazing sort of admission when we look at the current situation. 
Abortion isn't accidental. Abortion doesn't just happen. 
Abortion is scheduled. In fact, in the more horrific 
moments of my life, I ponder that. Tomorrow, there's a notepad 
somewhere with five or ten appointments of babies that are going to be 
murdered. Multiply that all throughout Canada, all throughout the United 
States. Multiply that number and it's 
truly staggering. That's not accidental. That's 
not the result of me and Mark getting in a fight and accidentally 
hitting somebody that's pregnant. This is intentional. This is 
state-subsidized. This is federally protected. 
This is, in the language of Bernie Sanders, a constitutional right. To murder people? Are you crazy? Is that what we've become? We 
have gotten to the place in our civil society where persons that 
are a bit of a bother, where persons are a bit of an inconvenience, 
where we can exterminate them, we can rid them from the face 
of the earth. Again, the prophet's words are very legit. In wrath, 
remember mercy. The reality is, is that this 
passage affords protection for both a mother and her children. 
Supposing she has more than one with reference to these two fools 
that induce an accidental abortion. The lex talionis or the law of 
retribution, life for life, means that that fool should die if 
he causes the death of that little one. May God have mercy on us. May the Lord most high have mercy 
on us. The penal sanction in view, the 
law of retribution or retaliation demands capital punishment. Something else that's intriguing, 
go back in Exodus 21 to verses 12 to 14. Here's where I suggested 
earlier, said earlier, there's a distinction in the Bible made 
between homicide or accidental homicide or what we'd call manslaughter 
and murder. Exodus 21, 12, he who strikes 
a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. Now that is 
obviously with malice aforethought, that's with intentionality, that's 
with premeditation, that's with purpose and planning. However, 
verse 13, if he did not lie and wait, that's what indicates that 
verse 12 is premeditated. Verse 12 indicates or verse 12 
by way of implication means he did lie and wait. His purpose 
was to end the person's life. His purpose was to stop a beating 
heart. But then notice in verse 13, however, if he did not lie 
and 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." Now, the difference 
there, again, is between accidental killing or manslaughter and intentional 
murder. Now, the scenario of verse 22 
is an accident, right? But there's no city of refuge 
for that accident. There's no place for him to run 
at that accident. You jeopardized a woman and her 
baby. There's no quarter for you. You 
die at the hand of the civil government, the hand of the lawful 
magistrate who wields the sword in God's stead. That's the reality 
that we're faced with here. So when it comes to verses 22 
to 25, I could hear that. I didn't mean to hit her. I didn't 
mean that her children should come out and die. I didn't mean 
for that to happen. What do you think that would 
have promoted in Israelite society? Hopefully some care and some 
caution on how you ought to conduct yourself. If you knew there was 
a reality that you accidentally striking a woman and her baby 
dying and then you being executed for it, you'd probably not want 
to be around a pregnant woman having fists flying. See, law 
is designed to deter. And severe and strict penalties 
are designed to deter. Tonight we'll consider the common 
objection against the death penalty. Well, it doesn't function as 
a deterrent. I can guarantee you it does at least in one place. 
The person that's executed, he'll never commit a murder again. 
That's a great deterrent for civil society when a man is taken 
out and he's not able to go out and do mischief upon his fellows. But in Romans 13, the apostle 
Paul says that one of the reasons why the magistrate has been given 
the sword by God is to promote fear on the part of the body 
politic. But be afraid, for he is God's 
minister to execute wrath. He is God's deacon in civil society 
to bring the wrath and fury of God to bear in history upon criminal 
offenders. Be afraid. Paul says there is 
a deterrent effect in the death penalty. I would suggest that 
the law of retribution, the lex talionis, produced that in the 
hearts of Israelites as well, or at least it was calculated 
to do so. You really ought to be aware that if you engage in 
this sort of foolishness on the city street and you strike a 
woman and her baby dies, you're going to be executed by the civil 
state. Hopefully, it would produce a bit more responsibility on 
the parts of those who would want to get in fistfights on 
city streets. And in terms of this particular 
passage, 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 judge has determined. But if any harm 
follows, then you shall give life for life. Doesn't it not 
only underscore God's judgment, God's penalty, but the abomination 
involved. The thought that we would accidentally 
kill a baby and thus bring upon our own heads the death penalty 
shows how serious this particular offense is. It's not a choice. It's not a right. It's not something 
that, oh, it's up to me, you know, the foolhardy, my body, 
my choice. That's not your body. It is another 
human being with its own DNA. It's another human being with 
its own genetic code. It is not your body. It is simply 
not the case that that is the way it is. This is an abomination, 
such that the early Christians, and Immanuel called the Didache, 
said, you shall not abort a child or commit infanticide. This happened 
in the Roman Empire. If you didn't get a girl baby, 
you'd throw it on the garbage heap. It would either get taken 
and sold into prostitution, or it would be eaten by dogs in 
the city streets. You know, dogs for us are nice 
little pets that we have around and they bring companionship. 
When Paul speaks of dogs in the New Testament, you've got to 
remember, these were the sort of mangy beings that roamed city 
streets and would eat babies if they found them. And that's 
what happened, and that's why the early church, and again, 
probably AD 110 is when scholars date the Didache. That's not 
a long time after the last writing apostles. They speak to this 
particular issue. You shall not abort a child or 
commit infanticide. You see the prohibition in the 
book of Revelation. A couple other places as well. 
Sorcery. You've seen that word in your 
New Testament. The word behind it is pharmacy. The idea is drugs. Not necessarily, you know, drugs 
for a headache or drugs for this or drugs for that, but drugs 
that were taken at times to induce abortion. This is what's happening 
in our generation, and the early church spoke out against this. 
John Calvin says, 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. He's right. He is absolutely, positively 
right. Now, the pro-aborts will say, he said fetus. Yeah, genius. Fetus simply means unborn baby. 
You know, they use the word fetus to try to depersonalize it. This has a long pedigree. Depersonalize your opposition. 
Dehumanize them. Treat them as somehow inferior 
so that it's okay to dispense with them as we see fit. Fetus 
simply means unborn baby. So every time you hear a pro-abort, 
use that particular language. Think to yourself, they're just 
as foolish as the day is long because they're simply saying 
unborn baby. Now the judgment of God is pronounced 
against these things just by way of a concluding thought before 
we enter into some lines of application. Proverbs 6, 16 to 19. These six things Yahweh hates. 
Yea, 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 the brethren. 
Hands that shed innocent blood. Is there a better description 
of abortion or euthanasia? Is there a better description 
of anything so barbaric than hands that shed innocent blood? 
Revelation 21 8 tells us who will populate the lake of fire, 
but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, 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." Murder is no joke. Murder is a breach 
of God's holy commandment. And for those who would just 
dismiss this and say, well, you know, the church shouldn't be 
caught up in politics. That is absolutely, positively destructive, 
ultimately, of the church herself. Yes, we preach the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. We preach the healing blessings 
of salvation in Him. And if you have had an abortion 
here this morning, there is forgiveness with God that He may be feared. 
There is mercy with our Savior to deliver to the uttermost all 
who draw nigh unto God through Him. But if the church does not 
preach God's law, which she is not doing as she ought, we have 
fumbled the ball. We have betrayed our calling. 
It's gospel and law, law and gospel. Men will never see their 
need for gospel until we tell them what God's holy law says. 
There is a direct correlation between the two. If we do not 
preach the severity and the strictness and the judgment of God with 
reference to transgressors of his law, Why would anybody ever 
think that they need Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Well, in 
conclusion, I want to remind us all, in the first place, the 
origin of abortion. The origin of abortion. I've 
got three texts. The first, John 8, 44, Jesus 
says, you are of your father the devil and the desires of 
your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning 
and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in 
him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources 
for he is a liar and the father of it. He was a murderer from 
the beginning. What's God do? God creates this 
world. God creates the earth. God makes 
Adam and Eve. God tells them to be fruitful 
and multiply. God is pro-life. The devil comes 
in the garden through the serpent, crafty and cunning, and wants 
to murder, wants to maim, wants to destroy, wants to obliterate, 
wants to ruin God's good creation. He is a murderer from the beginning. As well, Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6, 12 tells us, we 
do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, 
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, 
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. In other 
words, behind Planned Parenthood, there is a spiritual dimension. 
Behind the abortion doctor, there is a spiritual dimension. And 
we as God's people can never forget that. Prayer is absolutely 
crucial in this arena. We need to be praying for babies. 
We need to be praying for the end of abortion. As our brother 
said with reference to life on this earth, Jesus taught us to 
pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
There's no abortion clinics in heaven. There's no maid in heaven. 
There's no euthanasia in heaven. There's none of that in heaven. 
And if Jesus told us to pray that God's will be done on earth 
as it is in heaven, now some will say, well, there'll never 
be utopia. I'm one of them. There'll never be utopia. The 
eschaton is the eschaton. The golden age is to come. But 
brethren, with reference to our calling under God in this world, 
we need to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven. And to that end, we need to appreciate the spiritual dimension 
behind or involved in this crime, this atrocity of abortion. And 
then Christ speaking his wisdom in Proverbs 8, 36. He says, but 
he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate 
me, Jesus says, love death. All those who hate me love death. Again, brethren, read some of 
the literature. Unless you live under a rock 
and you haven't been paying attention, there are women shouting their 
abortion. There are people that are so 
filled with glee, at least on the surface, that they murdered 
babies so that their career could continue down the particular 
trajectory. And I want to assure you, it 
ain't just women. Men are as culpable and men are 
as responsible in this whole sick, twisted affair. Behind 
every pregnant woman is a man. That's just the way biology works. 
Now, there are those instances where women will go to abort 
their babies against the desires of their men, and that's horrific. 
And there was a video clip of that some months ago, and it's 
gut-wrenching to see this man not wanting his wife or girlfriend 
to go into that abortion clinic to murder their baby. But for 
the most part, men are writing checks. Men are swiping credit 
cards. Men are right there as involved in this process as are 
the women. So it's not just a women's issue. 
And for them who say, well, you're a man. You know nothing about 
this. These are human beings. I'm a human being. I know a lot 
about it. There you go. This whole idea is wretched. 
Now, secondly, in terms of the state and abortion, I just want 
to read a brief bit about our situation. The history of abortion 
in Canada. 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. Notice they don't really care 
about the physical or mental well-being of the baby. That's 
not even in... thought, but this is the way 
it was. And then 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 has had no criminal laws governing the subject, 
and abortion is a decision made by a woman with her doctor. No 
law. We're right up there with China, 
with Korea, or North Korea. We're right up there with the 
best and the brightest in terms of God-hating rebels. It's pathetic. You've seen that. We need a law.ca. Well, this is the emphasis. There's 
no law restricting abortion in Canada. Imagine that for a moment. Imagine the Democrat Party in 
the United States of America. Late-term abortion is the fundamental 
theme that each of these runners for the office of president have 
in common. Pete Buttigieg says that a baby 
isn't a baby until it takes its first breath. And intriguingly, 
this man invokes his evangelical faith, all the while married 
to a man. I mean, that's how strange things 
have become. And then we're lambasted for 
preaching on politics. And then we've got conservatives 
who don't even want to bring up the issue, and churches oftentimes 
that follow suit. What a bunch of gutless wonders. Babies are dying in mass. Old people are dying, not as 
many, but are. Sick people are dying because 
they are dispensable. And yet, we've got issues because 
we say it's wrong, it's sin, it's vile, it's wicked. Now, 
consider our current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Quote, I've made 
it clear that future candidates need to be completely understanding 
that they will be expected to vote pro-choice on any bills. 
In order to play in our political party, you have to vote against 
the baby. This is just ghoulish, isn't 
it? I'm not making this up. You can verify all this. And 
he's a self-proclaimed feminist. He refused to take a position 
on sex-selective abortion, which targets baby girls. Don't you 
love that? Feminists in the United States 
on Saturday were protesting how bad they have it. They're protesting 
how wicked and oppressive the United States of America is. 
Are you kidding me? I'm not saying that's the best 
place on the face of the earth, but it's certainly not the worst 
place on the face of the earth. But these so-called feminists 
have not one bit of concern about baby girls. Sex, selective, abortion. We don't want a girl. Let's get 
rid of her. Just like the infanticide at 
the time of the early church in the Roman Empire. Throw it 
out on the trash heap. Either the dogs will take it 
or the pimps will take it. And then he goes on to say, quote, 
leave discussions like that between a woman and the health professionals 
that she encounters. You hear that, don't you? I trust 
women, these politicians will say. I don't. Not one bit. I don't trust women. I don't 
trust men. I don't trust murderous doctors. I trust God's law. And God has spoken to these particular 
issues. And the function of civil government 
is simply to enforce it. That's it! Not to say, well, 
you know, it's up to them. That's like saying, it's up to, 
and it's probably heading this way, it's up to a man and a child 
whether pedophilia is to obtain or occur in our modern society. 
We're going that direction. The brave new world is upon us. 
1984 has been surpassed in many, many ways, and I don't just mean 
chronologically, I mean theoretically. We are in dark days, and yet, 
we don't see it. Now, some will say, but the state 
is not forcing anyone to have abortions. You're right. We're 
not in China. They're not forcing it. But again, 
abortion is murder. That's a foolish argument. That's 
a terrible argument. The state isn't forcing people 
to engage in drive-by shootings either. Oh, well, OK. Then I 
guess drive-by shootings are acceptable. And that's no. Murder 
is murder, whatever the particular condition or situation is. Now, 
I would suggest, no, I would highly recommend that you understand 
that abortion is a crime. There are some sins that aren't 
necessarily crimes. The civil state should never 
punish you for covetousness. That is really Orwellian, and 
none of us want to go that direction. You do not want to be punished 
for covetousness. In the criminal sphere, God will 
always deal with sinners. The civil state is supposed to 
deal with criminals. So, not all sin is necessarily 
crime, and not all crime is necessarily sin. Imagine if you lived in 
Saudi Arabia and you had a Bible. That would be a crime against 
the civil state, but it's not a sin against God, is it? God 
is favorable toward that. We must obey God rather than 
men. Abortion is both a sin against God, and it's a crime that should 
be punished by the civil government. It is a crime against It's a 
crime against humanity. It is something that is wicked. 
It is something that is wrong. And that leads us to consider 
the very purpose of civil government. And here I rest on J. Gresson 
Machen. He says, the state exists for 
the repression of evildoers and the protection of individual 
liberty. That's what you should want from your federal government. 
Notice, he doesn't say they exist to provide everything you'll 
ever need from the cradle to the grave. That's not their function. That's not their purpose. That's 
not their role. Why do Christians sound like 
status today? We want, we want, we want freebies. No, go out and work. Go do what 
you're supposed to do. Faithfully serve your God six 
days. Get your paycheck. Buy your products. Don't rely on Justin Trudeau 
to provide everything that you need. Again, let me just highlight 
what Machen says, as I believe it accurately reflects what the 
function of civil government is. The state exists for the 
repression of evildoers and the protection of individual liberty. That's it. He also said that 
civil government is, quote, not intended to produce blessedness 
or happiness, but intended to prevent blessedness or happiness 
from being interfered with by wicked men. Now, move from this 
vantage point, with reference to the consideration of abortion, 
to what the civil state does want to be involved in. With 
reference to Canada and the United States, they really do want to 
tell you what you can eat, what you can't eat, what you can drink, 
what you can't drink, They want to be in every jot and tittle 
of your life. If you doubt that, again, you 
must live under a happy rock, because brethren, this is the 
reality. They want to be involved at every 
step. They want their finger in every 
pie. They want their involvement felt 
all over the place, unless it's a woman's right to choose. That 
should be between her and her doctor. Well, why shouldn't the 
use of plastic straws be left to McDonald's and their customers? Why does the civil state feel 
the need to meddle and to outlaw plastic straws in the state of 
California, and it's coming here, to outlaw plastic straws because 
we don't want to fill the landfills with plastic? Aborted fetuses 
are fine, but not plastic from straws. Why don't they apply 
that same logic? It should be between McDonald's 
and their customers to have a plastic straw. That's what they say with 
reference to Bush. That should be between a mother 
and her doctor. No, it shouldn't. It is murder. 
And that's the one real function of civil government is to stop 
murder from happening in a civil society. I don't trust murderous 
parents. I don't trust diabolical doctors. I don't trust them for a moment, 
and neither should any of us. We need to trust the law of God 
Most High and the reality that righteousness and justice are 
the foundation of His throne. And while the civil government 
in America and Canada isn't the theocratic nation of Israel, 
and there's a lot of differences in that regard, this one thing 
persists. Protect the human beings that 
are under your care. That's it. Just keep me from 
getting murdered and keep me from getting, you know, invaded 
upon by ISIS or whatever rogue criminal element comes from without. 
Protect me within the civil sphere from murderous people in and 
protect me from murderous people from without. Brethren, if you 
ask the Bible what's the function and role of government, it doesn't 
go much beyond that. It doesn't go much beyond that. 
And I think Machen is absolutely right. Now, finally, with reference 
to the church and abortion, first of all, We need to understand 
it's prevalent. Now, there's some good signs, 
at least in the United States. Some states or cities within 
states are declaring themselves as sanctuary cities for little 
babies. Sanctuary cities, not for illegal immigrants, but for 
pre-born babies. Some states are trying to eradicate 
abortion completely. Brethren, that is good and encouraging. The fact is it's prevalent. The 
fact is that abortion is rampant. The fact is that we live among 
a people that are ghoulish in nature in terms of how they respond 
to little babies in their mother's wombs. It is horrific. I would 
suggest first the church needs to have the knowledge that the 
Bible sets forth. I mean, if you're the kind of 
person that gets into a theological debate and says, well, I think 
the Bible says you need to repent. You need to get your act together. 
We live in a day and age where the God-haters do not play fair. They do not play according to 
the rules. They lie, they deceive, they 
cheat. What we need is a strong biblical 
apologetic and a strong articulation of what God's Holy Word says. First of all, to teach other 
Christians, because the thought process among professing Christians 
today is unfortunately abysmal. We need to know what Scripture 
says concerning this. Secondly, the professing people 
of God and surgical abortion. That's a terrible and a wretched 
and a wicked thing. Randy Alcorn, in his book, Pro-Life 
Answers to Pro-Choice Questions, makes this point, and this book 
is dated, that kids within professing church backgrounds, born-again 
backgrounds, are having abortions. It's horrific and a reproach 
among the professing people of God. As well, the professing 
people of God in the voting booth. Imagine voting for a candidate 
who was okay with pedophilia or rape. Would you do that? Probably not. But with abortion, 
it's a constitutional right. It's a woman's right to choose. 
It's her body. She can do whatever she wants. Why are we so foolish 
like that? Oh yeah, I'm going to vote for 
this guy. He's the pedophilia candidate, or he's the rape candidate. You know, what his personal life 
is, it really doesn't matter. But to be a Democrat or a liberal 
in the US or Canada, you have to swear or sign on the dotted 
line to be against babies. Just imagine how miserable your 
life must be to target babies for destruction. It's why they 
always look so unhappy, I guess. When you reject God and when 
you violate His law, no good comes from it. As well, the professing 
people of God and sexual immorality. Young people and children, you 
know the best way to never ever be confronted with this thought 
of having to have an abortion or even contemplate it? Is don't 
have sex. Have it when you're married, 
get married, find a good woman, find a good guy. When you're 
young, work hard, do what you're supposed to do, take care of 
yourself, be fit, whatever you gotta do. So when you're 18, 
19, 20, get married, you have babies, you do what God calls 
you to do. It's typically among the professing 
people of God when people are sexually immoral. Again, I'm 
not a biologist, I'm not a doctor, but this much I know. If you 
don't have relations, you will not get pregnant. Just the way 
it is. It's an amazing thing. I don't 
ever want this to happen. Will I have the surefire way? 
I can tell you 100%. The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 
4 says, this is the will of God for you, your sanctification, 
that you abstain from sexual immorality. As well, pornography. Pornography never produces good 
on the part of the viewer. Pornography oftentimes reduces 
inhibition. Pornography objectifies persons 
and people. Pornography oftentimes is the 
gateway drug into illicit sexual relationships. Don't do it. And then another thing that happens 
among the professing people of God is what's called abortifacient 
birth control. There are types of birth control 
that are not contraceptive in nature, but rather are abortifacient. That means that once a baby is 
implanted in the womb, there are certain devices that are 
utilized to irritate the inner lining of the uterus so that 
that baby cannot live. That is wicked. That is chemical 
abortion. And that is something that we 
need to guard against. Do not do it. Young people, listen 
to me. If you get nothing else out of 
this sermon today, do what Paul says. Abstain from sexual immorality. No good. Ask your parents, ask 
your grandparents, ask anybody around you. Does good things 
come out of bad things when you sin against God? No, it doesn't. It never gets better. It never 
gets happier. It never leaves you in a position 
where you're free and content and everything is good and you've 
got peace. No, it's terrible. The way of the transgressor, 
according to Solomon, is hard. It's not easy, it's not soft, 
it's not light. The way of the transgressor is 
hard. And then as well, with reference 
to the preaching of the law and abortion. I mentioned earlier 
the necessity to preach the law. A theologian from a former day, 
Carl F. H. 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." Now, hopefully everybody 
in our church would say, yeah, we know that it's called The 
civil use of the law. There's a pedagogical use where 
we preach the law to show sinners their sin and their need for 
the Savior. There's the normative use of the law where the people 
of God, the believer, the justified by faith Christian lives according 
to God's law, empowered by the Spirit, not unto salvation, but 
because he's been saved. But that first use of the law 
is the civil use. God uses the law to restrain 
the wickedness of man. And if the church does not take 
this seriously, then we end up with what we're seeing. I don't 
think we can blame the church for everything. I've never been 
that way, but the church has been complicit in not faithfully 
declaring the whole counsel of God with reference to these things. 
And I want to end with the power of the gospel. As I said earlier, 
there is forgiveness with God. For those of you who perhaps 
use McShane's calendar, you've been in the book of Nehemiah. 
And in Nehemiah chapter eight, Nehemiah and the brothers, they 
read the law. They preach the law. That's the 
sort of the origin of the pulpit. They build a platform, the men 
stand on there, and they give the sense of the law. It's expositional 
preaching. What happens? God blesses it. 
What happens to the people of Israel? They get convicted, they 
cry, and then they engage in the sacraments, and they rejoice. 
And then in Nehemiah chapter 9, they confess their sins to 
Yahweh. Now, remember the station or 
the time that Nehemiah lived. It was after the Babylonian captivity. See, the chronology of the Bible 
is not reflected in the order of the books in the English Bible. 
The chronology is not that which is reflected in the order that 
is given. Ezra and Nehemiah come after 
the Babylonian captivity of the church about the 5th or rather 
6th or 5th century BC. So Babylon's done, the children 
of Israel have returned to Judah, and what do the people at Nehemiah's 
day do? They confess their sins to God. 
And you know what the constant refrain is? But, but, but, you 
have been merciful. You have been kind. You have 
been gracious. You have forgiven. See, the reality 
is, brethren, that we have all sinned against the Holy God. 
We have all defied Him. Whether or not we've aborted 
babies, whether or not we've euthanized vulnerable persons, 
we've all sinned against this Holy God. But let me assure you 
as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is forgiveness. There is mercy. You see forgiveness 
and mercy for the Apostle Paul. What did the Apostle Paul do? 
He was there when Stephen was stoned to death. The Apostle 
Paul was the man who held their garments. The Apostle Paul says 
he tried to destroy the church of God, but I obtained mercy. 
He says, this is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptance, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world, sinners to save. And then he 
says, of whom I am chief. Well, if the chief sinner was 
forgiven, and you're not the chief sinner, there is forgiveness 
for such as you. So if you've had an abortion, 
or if you're a man who incited an abortion with reference to 
a woman, Go to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, because there 
is forgiveness, there is mercy, there is grace. And we always 
need to end on that high note. Preach the law of God, the righteousness 
and justice of God, the necessity for the civil state to execute 
murderers. But with reference to the church, 
she is the agency of healing. The state is the agency of punishment. The church is the agency of healing. We dispense the truth of the 
gospel, the sacraments of the gospel, and the blessed reality 
that God Most High saves all who come to Him through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
these are very difficult subjects to think about. These are very 
tough subjects to consider. But God, these are very real 
subjects that are happening each and every day. And we would cry 
with the prophet, in your wrath remember mercy. Give us grace 
as your people to be prayerful concerning these things. Give 
us grace as your people to be able to articulate what the Bible 
says concerning these things, and help us to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ our Lord. Give us wisdom. Give us grace and help and strength. 
Give us biblical understanding as we conduct ourselves in a 
sinful world. And God, I pray that you would 
be merciful to any and all here that are still in their sin, 
whether abortion, whether euthanasia, or any other sin. God, convict 
them of that sin and show them the glory and the sufficiency 
and the blessedness of Jesus Christ to save sinners. And we 
ask in His glorious name, Amen. Well, let's sing the doxology 
to conclude our service this morning. It's on page 568 in 
your hymnbook.