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You can turn back in your Bibles 
to Exodus chapter 21. Exodus chapter 21. Just to sketch where we were 
this morning, we looked at the sanctity of human life in all 
its stages. Before the fall, after the fall, 
true in the womb, true with reference to children, true with reference 
to the handicapped, the sick, the elderly and certainly dignified 
in the Redeemer of sinners himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, who certainly 
is the image of God as perfect man, the image of God as deity 
himself. Secondly, we noted the personhood 
of the pre-born. We looked at various passages 
in both the Old and the New Testaments to substantiate and to affirm 
the reality that the baby in the womb is, in fact, a baby 
in the womb. It's not a product of conception, 
it's not a lump of undefined cells, but rather it is an image-bearer 
of the living and true God. And then thirdly, we noted the 
prohibition against abortion in the Bible. the specific or 
rather the general principle is given in the sixth word of 
the Decalogue, you shall not murder, and then we looked at 
this particular case law in chapter 21 verses 22 to 25. We saw the 
specific translation issue is accurately reflected here in 
the New King James, in the ESV, I believe in the updated New 
American Standard as well as NIV and other translations. The idea here is that a woman 
gives birth prematurely, not that she miscarries. If she miscarries 
and no harm follows, it does not take into account what happens 
to the baby. But the fact is, she brings forth 
these children early, and they are protected by the law, so 
that if harm follows to either her or her child or children, 
then is the lex talionis applied. We noted as well that there is 
an increased sense of protection here for the pre-born and the 
specific penal sanction is up to death if it is in fact the 
case where the man causes death to either the mother or the child. 
Then we looked at some lines of application, the Bible and 
murder. The Bible is not silent on this 
particular subject. we then looked at the state and 
abortion and what we ought to think concerning this particular 
sin which is also a crime and therefore is punishable or ought 
to be punishable by the state and then we turned our attention 
to the church and abortion. We noted the prevalence of abortion 
the potential precursor to abortion, and tonight we're going to take 
up a few hard questions. Some of those things that are 
often proffered as thorny issues for us to consider, I think it's 
best to take them straight on and try and deal with them biblically. So that is where we are going 
tonight, the hard questions. I've got four and I hope that 
nothing is surprising to you tonight. I just want to read 
Exodus 21, 22 to 25 again put us back into this biblical mindset. 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, we thank you again for your Holy Word and we pray that 
tonight you would guide us by your Spirit, illumine our hearts 
and our minds. Give us grace to receive these 
things. Give us grace, Father, to be faithful witnesses in this 
world. God, we live in a world filled with sin. The heavens 
declare the righteousness of God, the glory of God. The streets 
certainly display the wickedness of men. And we pray, or I pray, 
that you'd help us to have a good response to those things that 
we come into contact with in this place, in this world. Give 
us grace, Lord God, as well, to restrain and to resist the 
current tendencies of our age. Give us grace to esteem life, 
to esteem the sanctity of God, or the sanctity of life and the 
image of God. Help us, Father, to truly be 
faithful in these things. And we ask through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, the first particular 
question I'm going to ask and then attempt to answer is going 
to be the bulk of our study tonight. Because oftentimes people that 
oppose abortion and if not oftentimes it should be the case that Christians 
who oppose abortion will also defend the death penalty and 
certainly when you hear or when you propagate this mindset people 
say how could you be against the killing of babies but not 
against the killing of others isn't it inconsistent if you 
want to be pro-life then you have to be pro-life across the 
board you have to advocate against the death penalty How can you 
Christians on the one hand oppose killing here and on the other 
hand affirm killing here? Well, the first thing I would 
say is there's a fundamental difference between killing and 
murder. We saw that already alluded to this morning. There is accidental 
homicide. If I accidentally swing my axe 
and the axe head flies off and hits you in the head, that was 
not premeditated. There was no malice involved. There was no hatred. There was 
no modus operandi that dictated I wanted to take this particular 
person out. Biblical law makes that distinction. There is accidental homicide. It is not the same as murder. Murder is a vicious intrusion 
upon the life of another person. with the intent to snuff it out. 
And so, is it ever right to have an abortion? This is the first 
hard question that I would offer. And I would say there are three 
instances of lawful killing in the Bible. So that when we define 
these three instances of lawful killing in the Bible, we will 
see that abortion is not one of them. So no, it is never right 
to have an abortion. But what are those times? What 
are those things stipulated in Holy Scripture that indicates 
lawful killing? Again, if you've not had this 
debate, if you've not talked to people, if you've not said, 
I oppose abortion, but I'm perfectly fine with capital punishment, 
you will see people roll their eyes. You will see them lift 
their eyebrows. You will see them think that 
you are utterly inconsistent. But as I said, the scripture 
delineates for us three instances of lawful killing, and abortion 
is certainly not one of them. The first instance is self-defense. Self-defense is legitimate. Self-defense is an instance of 
lawful killing. Now, when we defend ourselves, 
the particular emphasis is not to kill the other person. It 
is to use that force necessary by which we can defend ourselves. There's an instance where Abraham 
goes to fetch Lot. He takes 318 of his household 
servants and he arms them so that they can go and extract 
Lot from whatever difficulty he has found himself in. Specifically, 
though, in Exodus chapter 22, we see that self-defense is legitimate. It is biblical. In fact, God 
assumes that people will indeed defend themselves. Notice, in 
Exodus 22 at verse 2, If the thief is found breaking in, and 
he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his 
bloodshed. So a thief breaks into your house, 
and you crack him one on the head. The scripture says that 
if he dies, there will be no guilt in his bloodshed. Now this 
is qualified in verse 3. If you continue to read, it says, 
if the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his 
bloodshed. He should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall 
be sold for his theft. So I think the idea is simply 
this, that if it's the hours of darkness and a thief breaks 
into your house, you do not know what his intentions are. You 
cannot assess what his purpose is. Is he coming to steal a vase 
from your mantle or is he coming in to abuse your wife? You do 
not know, so you strike him and he dies. This qualification in 
terms of verse 3, with the sun rising or the sun shining, you're 
better able to assess the situation. You're better able to call upon 
neighbors to help you to rebuff this particular man. If in the 
case, however, you do need to defend yourself, that is legitimate. Matthew Henry says that a man's 
house is his castle, and God's law as well as man's sets a guard 
upon it. He that assaults it does so at 
his own peril. You see, it was simply unconscionable 
or unheard of that if someone broke into your house and they 
cut their hand on the glass as they were shimmying through, 
that they could sue the homeowner for damages upon their hand. That is not biblical law. That 
is madness and folly. The Lord God assumes, the Lord 
God has instituted, the Lord God has provided within biblical 
law this ability for one to defend himself. In Nehemiah 4, when 
they go to build or rebuild the city walls, They are facing opposition 
from peoples in the land. And it says with one hand they 
held their tools, and with another hand they held a weapon. That 
was to defend themselves against the opposition in the land so 
that they could effectively engage in building the walls of Jerusalem. That's Nehemiah 4, 13 to 18. The Lord Jesus assumes that men 
will defend their homes. The Lord Jesus assumes that men 
will defend their families. In Luke chapter 11, at verse 
21, the Lord Christ says, You just find 11. I'm looking at 
12 here. 1121 says, when a strong man, 
fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. You see, he's not a gun nut. 
He's not a wingnut, he's not a crazed man, he's not a strange 
man. Jesus assumes the legitimacy 
of such a thing. Now I realize the specific application 
has to do with Jesus plundering the kingdom of darkness. But 
in order for him to make this analogy, he has to appeal to 
something that is in fact true. And in 21, he says, when a strong 
man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in 
peace. But when a stronger than he comes 
upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor 
in which he trusted and divides his spoils. And then again, in 
chapter 12, verse 39, the same idea is present. 12, 39. It says, but know this, that 
if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would 
come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken 
into. You see that? Am I making sense 
here? If you knew that a thief was 
coming, you wouldn't say, I want to go get a cup of coffee. Jesus 
assumes that if you knew that the thief was coming, you would 
barricade the door, you would be armed with whatever weapon 
you were able to subdue this particular offender should he 
bypass the barricade and get into your house. Self-defense 
is legitimate. The Bible condones it. The second 
instance of lawful killing is just and necessary war. Now the wars of Canaan are certainly 
an example of this. I've often wondered how anybody 
could ever be a pacifist in light of the Bible. I just don't understand 
the mindset that says that pacifism is indeed the biblical way. Deuteronomy 
7, very specifically the Lord God tells that when you go into 
the land of Canaan, verse 2, and when the Lord your God delivers 
them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with 
them, nor show mercy to them, nor shall you make marriages 
with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor 
take their daughter for your son, for they will turn your 
sons away from following me to serve other gods so the anger 
of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. 
But thus you shall deal with them, you shall destroy their 
altars and break down their sacred pillars and cut down their wooden 
images and burn their carved images with fire." The emphasis 
here on this holy war is that when the children of Israel go 
into Canaan, they are to utterly destroy all the persons there. 
They're to make no political treaty with them, they're to 
have no social engagement with them, and certainly they're not 
to engage in religious. aspects with them. They are supposed 
to be separate from the Canaanites. This is a legitimate act of killing 
authorized by God to go into the land of Canaan and to do 
His will. Now some will say, well, holy 
war no longer applies. I agree wholeheartedly. We are 
not under the mandate, New Covenant Christianity, to engage in holy 
war. So I used the example on Wednesday. 
We do not connive, we do not strategize, and we certainly 
do not descend upon Abbotsford to take what they've got in the 
name of Jesus. That is simply not acceptable 
in New Covenant Christianity. But certainly in Romans 13, we're 
going to look at this in more detail in just a moment under 
the death penalty. But if the civil government, 
if the magistrate, has been entrusted the sword for the execution of 
the wrath of God in history against criminal violators, I would argue, 
and I think the reform tradition is behind me on this, that that 
self-same magistrate armed with that self-same sword has the 
ability and has the requirement to protect its citizens against 
invaders. In other words, the magistrate 
exists to punish criminal offenders in society, but it also exists 
to defend us from those enemies that would seek to do us harm. 
She has the sword for a specific reason. So when it comes to the 
question, is it ever right to have an abortion? No, it's not 
self-defense. A mother does not find herself 
in the position of having to terminate her baby because she 
needs to defend herself. It is not a just and necessary 
war. I know this sounds a bit outlandish, 
but if we ask the scriptures what are legitimate instances 
of killing, the Bible tells us abortion is not one of them. 
The third instance of lawful killing is capital punishment. 
Turn to Genesis chapter 9. And interestingly enough, this 
is an argument for the sanctity of life. I know that sounds paradoxical, 
I know that may sound a bit strange, but the death penalty itself 
is an argument for the sanctity of life. Because in the death penalty 
we see how much God values life, how much God prizes life, and 
what is to be the penalty inflicted upon those who take life. So when we come to the sanctity 
of life Sunday, some would say, horror of horrors, how could 
you ever preach on the death penalty? Because the death penalty 
is an argument for the sanctity of life. Look at Genesis chapter 
9. The context deals with the propagation 
of life, verses 1 and 7. Secondly, it deals with the protection 
of life, verses 2, 4, and 6. And it deals thirdly with the 
sustenance of life in verses 2 and 3. It is post-fall. It is God's instructions to Noah. This world had become exceedingly 
corrupt and filled with violence. So when Noah departs from the 
ark, God makes a covenant with him. And God tells him certain 
things concerning society and its regulations. in this situation. Notice the specific text in Genesis 
9, 6. Whoever sheds man's blood, by 
man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God he made 
man. So the particular offense in 
view is whoever sheds man's blood. Again, the Mosaic economy will 
distinguish what the difference is between accidental homicide 
and murder. Here, because of the penalty 
applied, we deal with murder. Whoever sheds man's blood, similar 
to the way Cain did, similar to the way Lamech did, similar 
to the way that the pre-flood world did. If somebody engages 
in that conduct at this particular juncture, Noah, the magistrate, 
is to be armed, they are to have the sword, and they are to execute 
God's wrath in history. Notice the punishment. Whoever 
sheds man's blood by man, his blood shall be shed. You see, 
that is very specific. If I murder someone, God says 
I am to be executed. That is not murder. That is punishment. It's not with malice aforethought. It's not born out of hatred. 
It is the retribution of God Most High inflicted in society 
through the agents that He Himself has chosen. So whoever sheds 
man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed." And notice the 
agent. It is by man his blood shall 
be shed. You say, well, people get things 
wrong. Yes, they get things wrong, which in our generation with 
DNA fingerprinting, with the automatic appeal process, and 
with all the rigmarole that one goes through on this side of 
the Noahic Covenant, It will be difficult to put to death 
innocent people in terms of the sorts of technology that currently 
exists. But the agency that acts on behalf 
of man, on behalf of God, is man to inflict this punishment. Luther said this, this was the 
first command having reference to the temporal sword. By these 
words, temporal government was established and the sword placed 
in its hand by God. Gordon Clark says God gave the 
right of capital punishment to human governments. He intended 
it to be used wisely and justly, but he intended it to be used. 
Abolition of the death penalty presupposes the falsity of Christian 
principles. And for those of you who were 
present in our studies in the book of Deuteronomy, you will 
see that when capital punishment was executed or when the death 
penalty was inflicted, there was procedure. There were witness 
testimonies. There was the evaluation of evidence. You had to go through a juridical 
process. It wasn't as if I said, wow, 
Steve Lawson did this, kill him, and off with his head. That's 
not. That is a caricature of biblical 
revelation that does not find merit whatsoever in exegesis. Even the other night when we 
are considering Joshua chapter 22, when the Western tribes thought 
the Eastern tribes were engaged in idolatry. It says in Joshua 
22.12 that they had decided to go to war against those Eastern 
tribes. They had biblical warrant for 
this according to Deuteronomy 13. But prior to engaging them, 
they sent a delegation, Phineas and 10 representatives from the 
particular tribes in Israel went and asked them questions. They 
didn't just engage in this warfare, they didn't just start swinging 
the sword, but they used due process. And the same thing is 
true with the Law of Moses. There is due process. There is 
two or three witnesses. A capital offense could never, 
or a capital punishment could never be carried out, except 
for a plurality of witnesses. It was built into the structure 
so that it would be just and it would be equitable. So God 
the Lord determines in this that man is to lose his life by man 
if he commits the crime of murder. And the theological reason for 
this, the very underpinning or foundation of this is why I say 
that the death penalty is an argument for the sanctity of 
life. Because he says whoever sheds man's blood, by man his 
blood shall be shed for In the image of God, he made man. Some commentators say it's because 
of that, that man serves as the agent of execution. I take the 
other position that says, because man is the image bearer of God, 
if another sheds his blood, then that man should die. Because 
God's image is beautiful. God's image is glorious. God's image is to be preserved. So we have biblical warrant in 
Genesis chapter 9, verse 6 specifically, concerning capital punishment. 
Lest you say, well that's the Old Testament, turn to Romans 
chapter 13. It's an unfortunate hermeneutic 
that we have to battle in our day that says, well that's the 
Old Testament. As if the Old Testament has no 
binding authority upon the people of God today. Search your New 
Testament and look for a prohibition against bestiality. You will 
not find one. Thankfully God has spoken to 
that in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is binding, 
it is authoritative, it is God's Word. All Scripture is given 
by inspiration of God. It is profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work." 
In the context, in 2 Timothy 3, when the Apostle Paul says 
that and stipulates that, he's talking about the Old Testament 
primarily. We need to remember that. Notice 
Romans 13 1-4 highlights the reality of capital punishment 
in this new covenant era. Let every soul be subject to 
the governing authorities for there is no authority except 
from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 
Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance 
of God and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 
For rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil. Do you 
want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will 
have praise from the same. For he is God's minister. We 
just announced this morning two men to serve as ecclesiastical 
ministers. This is the same Greek word. 
It is a deacon. Deacons function in the church, 
but there are deacons that function civilly in the magistrate. He 
is God's deacon to you for good, but if you do evil, be afraid, 
for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is God's minister 
and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Now a few observations concerning 
this particular text. First, we need to notice the 
context. The context begins in chapter 
12. Notice in chapter 12 verses 17 
to 19. Repay no one evil for evil. Have 
regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, 
as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, 
do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For 
it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. 
This is a prohibition against private revenge. It is similar to Jesus' words 
in the Sermon on the Mount when he talks about turning the other 
cheek. He doesn't want us to be a vindictive, 
pharisaical lot. If somebody has sinned against 
you, if somebody has engaged in a crime against you, Paul 
does not advocate going down to the local gun store, purchasing 
for yourself a Glock 9, and finding that person and putting a slug 
between their eyes. He prohibits that. Do not avenge 
yourselves. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, 
says the Lord. Now here's where we have a disconnect. Christians come to this passage 
and say, well, it's wrong to ever want vengeance. That's not 
what Paul says. It is wrong to avenge yourselves. It is right to give place to 
vengeance. It is right to give it into the 
hands of God. It is right to call upon Him 
to judge and do so justly. Now when we flow into Romans 
chapter 13, there's no adversative. If there were no chapter divisions 
introduced into the text, we'd have no problem seeing the connection. As Christian individuals, we 
are not to avenge ourselves. We are rather to give place to 
wrath, God's wrath. That doesn't just mean a postponement 
of wrath until the eternal state, but according to Romans 13, 1-4, 
God executes wrath temporally. God executes wrath in society, 
and he does it through the civil authority. This is Paul's point. Let every soul be subject to 
the governing authorities. Why? For there is no authority 
except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. You see, Christians are supposed 
to be those who live according to the laws of the land. Provided 
we are not told to sin, provided we are not told to engage in 
crime, we are to be submissive to the governing authorities. 
We are to realize that the authorities exist because of the sovereignty 
of God. Christ speaking his wisdom in Proverbs 8 says, by me kings 
reign. The whole history of Israel's 
monarchy evidences and indicates that men are put in high places 
because of God. Nebuchadnezzar, when he's strutting 
around Babylon, plucking his feathers, thinking that he has 
built all this, God the Lord sends him out to live like a 
beast until he learns this most important lesson, that God most 
high rules and that God most high gives kingdoms to men. Paul 
tells us, as God's people, to be submissive to the governing 
authorities. For there is no authority except 
from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 
Now notice verse 2. Therefore, whoever resists the 
authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist 
will bring judgment on themselves. It's not godly to resist. It's not holy to revolt. It's 
not holy to sin. Verse 3, for rulers are not a 
terror to good works, notice, but to evil works. It's important 
we understand this. They're not a terror to good 
works. In other words, if you're conducting 
yourself the way you're supposed to in society, you ought not 
to fear the magistrate's sword. If you're like me, you still, 
when a policeman pulls up behind you, your heart starts pounding. 
I always feel guilty. And when I'm coming through the 
border, I feel like I'm smuggling. I went over for gas. I'm not 
a criminal, but I feel like that. Well, what Paul's saying is if 
you're righteous and you're obedient, you don't have to feel like that. 
That's the point. Rulers are not a terror to good 
works, but to evil, and we ought to supply works. This is another 
caricature. If you Christians had your way, 
and the civil magistrate executes God's wrath in history via the 
sword, then people would be punished for their thought crime. No! 
That's Orwellian. That's not New Testament. It's 
when they engage in evil works. It's when they take it and apply 
it in society. That's when the government is 
to step in and to bring the heat to bear upon them. Notice the 
implication, 3B. Do you want to be unafraid of 
the authority? Do what is good and you will 
have praise from the same. You don't want your heart to 
race every time you see an RCMP? Drive the speed limit. You don't 
want your heart to race every time you come through the border? 
Don't smuggle diamonds. Diamonds. Drugs. Whatever it 
is, don't smuggle them. And when he says you will have 
praise from the same, that's not blessedness and happiness 
pronounced. That's not when they bring you 
to the five corners and say, boy, this man is a paragon of 
virtue. I think it means they leave you 
alone. That's the praise from the government that you and I 
should want, is just for them to leave us alone. Just don't 
mess with me, don't inhibit my ability to pursue blessedness 
and happiness, and certainly punish those who try to restrict 
my blessedness and happiness. Now notice, do you want to be 
unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will 
have praise from the same. Now notice verse 4, for he is God's 
minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid. Sometimes you hear people say, 
well the death penalty doesn't deter. It's not a deterrent for 
anyone. It's not supposed to be. Do you 
realize that when capital punishment is inflicted on a person, it's 
retributive justice? It is punishment. Now, I would 
argue there is a deterrent effect, certainly on the criminal that's 
executed. He will not repeat. And do you 
know what else? Other people won't either. Paul 
is to be trusted more than the social engineers of our age. 
What does he say? He says, be afraid. In other 
words, if capital punishment was being inflicted on persons 
as it ought to be, the rest of us would see and fear. You'd 
think twice about smuggling diamonds across the border. You would 
think twice about engaging in the sorts of things that go on. 
Solomon describes the problem in the book of Ecclesiastes. 
He says, because the sentence against an evil work is not executed 
speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men is fully set 
in them to do evil. In other words, it is a lack 
of punishment, a lack of consistency, a lack of bringing this to bear 
upon criminal offenders that promotes lawlessness. Paul is to be trusted. He is God's minister to you for 
good, but if you do evil, be afraid. For he does not bear 
the sword in vain, for he is God's minister and avenger to 
execute wrath on him who practices evil. Remember the connection. 
Chapter 12, do not avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. God 
will bring vengeance and one of the ways he does this prior 
to the eschaton and the eternal state when he sends criminals 
to hell is that in time, in space, in history he has equipped the 
civil magistrate with the sword so that they can function as 
an agent in order to execute the wrath of God. John Murray 
says, the sword which the magistrate carries as the most significant 
part of his equipment is not merely the sign of his authority, 
but of his right to wield it in the infliction of that which 
a sword does. It can be wielded to execute 
punishment that falls short of death. but to exclude the right 
of the death penalty when the nature of the crime cause for 
such is totally contrary to that which the sword signifies and 
executes. Crucial. Thomas Watson said it 
this way, the Puritan in the book The Ten Commandments, to 
kill an offender is not murder, but justice. A private person 
sins if he draws the sword. A public person sins if he puts 
up the sword. A magistrate ought not to let 
the sword of justice rust in the scabbard. Now, in Numbers 
35, it stipulates that no ransom is to be taken for a murderer. 
In other words, when you look at the penal sanctions within 
God's law, we saw it even this morning, we saw it as I read 
in Exodus 21, 22 to 25, if no harm follows to the woman and 
no harm follows to her children, he will pay a fine. That was 
certainly a punishment in Israel. There's instances where a man, 
if he was victimized, had the opportunity to either say, yeah, 
I want his eye gouged out, but more than likely he would take 
financial recompense. That would probably be more typical. 
He probably wouldn't say, I want that guy's tooth to be knocked 
out. He'd probably say, can I have money for the sufferings that 
I've gone through. But when it comes to murder, 
no ransom is accepted. This is a passage in many ways 
that scares me more than anything we've considered today. Because 
the land is filled with blood guiltiness. It is saturated with 
blood guiltiness. Remember the Lord God said, the 
blood of righteous Abel cries out to me. The blood of your 
brother cries out to me. Numbers 35 31 says, moreover you shall take 
no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death but he 
shall surely be put to death and you shall take no ransom 
for him who has fled to his city of refuge that he may return 
to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. So you shall 
not pollute the land where you are for blood defiles the land 
and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that 
is shed on it except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore 
do not defile the land which you inhabit in the midst of which 
I dwell for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel." 
Terrifying passage in light of abortion, in light of euthanasia, 
in light of infanticide, in light of drive-by shootings in light 
of any murder that has happened or been transacted in this recent 
modern history and there's no atonement made. Terrifying. So when we ask the question, 
is it ever right to have an abortion? Not according to the Bible. Self-defense? No. Just and necessary war? No. Capital punishment? Absolutely 
not. Back to our series of hard questions. The second big one is what about 
rape and incest? What about rape and incest? What about those instances? Well, 
first of all, with reference to these issues, they're horrific, 
they're terrible, absolutely wretched, but it doesn't justify abortion. 
You never compound sin with sin. You don't atone for sin with 
sin. You do not make things right 
by making them worse. The instances of rape and incest, 
which percentage-wise are very minuscule, but they exist nonetheless. There are people, there are persons 
who have been raped, who have carried their children to term, 
who have either gave them up for adoption or kept them for 
themselves. It happens. People do this. They do not compound a crime 
with another crime against the living and true God. In the case 
of rape, consider this. In the book of Deuteronomy, according 
to biblical law, it is the rapist who is to be executed, not the 
baby. It makes no sense. It's wrong. Why punish? Why penalize? Why destroy the life of somebody 
who didn't have anything to do with the crime that was perpetrated? 
It is absolute madness and folly. Deuteronomy 22 is very clear. 
specifically dealing with the rape of a betrothed woman. In 
verse 25, but if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the 
countryside and the man forces her and lays with her, then only 
the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing 
to the young woman. There is in the young woman no 
sin deserving of death. For just as when a man rises 
against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 
For he found her in the countryside and the betrothed young woman 
cried out, but there was no one to save her. You execute the 
rapist, not the baby, not the child. It makes no sense. Do you see that? Deuteronomy 
22 is very specific. And you know sometimes people 
have this warped idea that when a woman gets raped somehow she 
was complicit. That's ungodly. That is wretched. That is vile. In light of a passage 
like this, men should never, ever think those sorts of things. Thirdly, this isn't a hard question. It's a very easy one. What is 
the surefire way to prevent abortion? Absolutely, positively, 100% 
effective. 1 Thessalonians 4.3. For this is the will of God, 
your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality." Why don't we hear about a woman's 
right to say no? A woman's choice to resist? A man acting like a man and not 
pressing himself upon his girlfriend so that she can evidence that 
she loves him. Absolute wickedness. God has 
provided a covenantal context for sexual intercourse. It is marriage. Outside of marriage, 
sexual sin is sin. It is a surefire, 100% effective 
way to avoid abortion in your life. Be chaste. Be righteous. Pursue purity. Be that person that says no, 
that resists the temptation, that cuts off the hands, that 
gouges out the eyes, that exercises self-control. Because no sexual 
intercourse, no pregnancy, no abortion. Surefire, 100%. Not a biologist, not a physicist, 
not anything like that, but I can tell you this much. If you take 
Paul seriously in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, you won't ever have 
to deal with this issue on a practical level with yourself. And then 
fourthly, what is the church's responsibility with reference 
to this sin and crime of abortion? First, she is to preach the law 
of God. She has to preach the law of 
God. She's not an entertainment entity. She's not up to make 
people feel good. She doesn't just give you the 
be happy attitudes. She can come get your batteries 
charged on a Sunday and go live and whistle and sing for the 
rest of the week. You need to hear the law of God. 
The church needs to hear or the church needs to preach the law 
of God. We need to tell people what God 
says concerning His Word. We live, as they tell us, in 
a post-modern age. We live in a situation where 
a lot of people have no concept whatsoever of biblical revelation. And I don't mean the last book 
of the Bible. I mean Genesis through revelation. We are dealing 
with heathen right in our own neighborhoods, and we ought to 
tell them that God's law absolutely, positively, 100% prohibits abortion. It prohibits euthanasia. It prohibits 
infanticide. For those of you who've never 
heard infanticide, it is exactly that. It is the death of an infant 
after it has left the womb. There's instances of hospitals 
where they leave babies to die in buckets. It's terrible. How 
did we get here? How did it become like this? 
How did it become natural? How did it become a political 
issue? I am tired of hearing that abortion's 
a political issue. It is a theological issue for, 
in the image of God, He made man. It's not part of a platform. It's part of God's revelation. And the church needs to effectively 
quit playing games and preach the law. We need to expound the 
law. We need to talk about the law. 
God does not say, it's okay for you to do whatever you want. 
God gives us 10 specific words in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 
5. He gives us the Decalogue that 
tells us what we are to do and what we're not to do. And we're 
not doing anyone any favors by hiding that information from 
them. I love the idea that in Old Covenant Israel, if a child 
was asked to recite the Ten Commandments and he couldn't, the father got 
in trouble. The father got in trouble. What does that mean? Father's teacher, kids, the law. 
Mothers, teach your kids the law. Who is it in the book of 
Proverbs that's teaching their children the law? I mentioned 
this morning we didn't have enough participation in terms of Sunday 
school. You know the primary educator 
of your children is you? You know that's what's specified 
in Deuteronomy 6 after the Shema here. Oh Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is one. The response to that Shema is 
to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. 
What then goes on or what then is indicated in there? You're 
going to teach your children when they rise up, when you walk 
by the way, when you lie down. The whole society is to be governed 
by the Word of God. You're to put the Word on your 
house. You're to put the Word in your children's hearts. You're 
to put the Word on your gates, your city gates. That's an evidence 
or an indicator that this city is given to Yahweh. That's what 
we need to be doing to our children, to others. Carl F.H. Henry said it this way, 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. He is reflecting here what is 
called the threefold use of the law. That first use is the civil 
or the political use. The idea that God's law serves 
as a restraint against the wickedness and the madness of men. Henry 
says, 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. It has usefulness for the unbeliever. It has usefulness for the unregenerate. It defines the will and the mind 
of God and he uses that to restrain man from giving themselves wholly 
unto evil. Secondly, The church is made 
up of individual Christians. All of us are to engage in obedience 
to the second great commandment. We are to love our neighbors 
as ourselves. We are to exercise compassion. We can adopt children. We can 
be kind to others. We can be there for mothers in 
need. We can do those things that the 
scripture specifies and stipulates in terms of serving those who 
are in need. In short, we can put our money 
where our mouths are and we can seek to serve those who are on 
their way to engage in abortion. Thirdly and finally, in terms 
of the church's responsibility, we are to preach the gospel. 
We are to preach the gospel. The law plows up the heart of 
man. The gospel is the good news of 
saving grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. We need to be bold 
with the gospel. Tell men their sin, but tell 
them of a Savior. Tell men of their wickedness 
and their rebellion against the Lord God Most High, but describe 
to them in vivid detail the doing and the dying and the rising 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's our calling. That's our 
task. It is not to be the sorts of 
buffoons that we see in these YouTube videos. These guys that 
are engaged in folly and madness and wickedness. It's not real 
difficult. Church life shouldn't be hard. I sometimes see that the literature 
that's written, I see on the internet, you know, these pastoral 
vision statements and these strategies and managing teams and leading. My head swims. What's Paul saying, 
or what does the Apostle say in Acts 6? Appoint deacons so 
we can pray and preach. Why do we need to have a 10-point 
strategic outline for pray and preach? We're making it more 
difficult than it needs to be. Preach the whole counsel of God, 
law and gospel. Preach the imperatives. Tell 
men their sin and tell them of the Savior who alone can redeem 
them through his precious blood. So those are some hard questions 
that we as the church need to know the answers to so that we 
can be faithful to our Lord in this world. Well, let us pray. 
Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for 
its clarity in these matters and issues. We thank you for 
the law of God and the wisdom that it sets forth. We thank 
you for the gospel of free and sovereign grace. For Lord God 
most high, we praise you for redemption through the blood 
of the Lord Jesus. We praise you for the power of 
the Holy Spirit that is in us to pursue those things now. We 
praise you for the way that law and gospel sweetly relate to 
one another. As our confession says, it sweetly 
complies. We just pray now that you would 
go with us, watch over us in this coming week. Again, be with 
our brothers and sisters who are not well physically. We pray 
that all of your people could gather together on the Lord's 
Day in this place. All those who have ongoing difficulties 
with physical problems, we pray that you would give them a measure 
of health, a measure of well-being, so that they may gather together 
on the Sabbath day to praise you with the people of God. And 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.