← Back to sermon library

They turn with me in your Bibles 
to Exodus chapter 21. Exodus chapter 21 today been 
called the sanctity of life Sunday, so I thought it would be good 
for us to look at the scriptures and to see what the Bible says 
concerning the value of life and the wickedness of murder. 
Those will be our two major considerations. This morning, with various sub 
points beneath each, we'll be looking at a lot of passages 
because frankly, fuzzy and unclear thinking is not what is needed 
in the church today. We need to think Christ's thoughts 
after him. We need to understand the scriptures 
and we are to be able to promote the truth of God with reference 
to every area of faith and practice. I'll just read Exodus 21 verses 
22 to 25. If men fight and hurt a woman 
with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm 
follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband 
imposes on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 
But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 
burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, we pray 
now that Your Spirit would be at work in our hearts and in 
our minds. We confess, Lord God, the lack of attention to such 
things in the Scripture. We pray that Your Church would 
be well equipped with the knowledge of Your Word, that we would be 
ready and able to promote the truth of a biblical worldview 
in this age that we live in. God, we just pray to you, as 
we just sang in Psalm 82, that you would arouse yourself, that 
you would indeed bring judgment upon those who would engage in 
such wickedness as abortion and as euthanasia. Father, we just 
pray that you would do a work in your churches, that we would 
make this a matter of prayer, that we would make it a matter 
of discussion, that we would not just turn our heads and pretend 
that we just don't see. But God, give us the grace to 
manifest a biblical compassion and a righteous indignation and 
a ready response with the truth of Holy Writ. And we pray now 
for the forgiveness for all of our sins and for cleansing in 
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his name that we 
pray. Amen. A former professor at Westminster 
Theological Seminary in Philadelphia by the name of John Murray said 
this. Nothing shows the moral bankruptcy 
of a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity 
of life. And I would amend that a hundred 
times. Nothing shows the moral bankruptcy 
of a people or of a generation more than disregard for the sanctity 
of life. I believe it's Christ speaking 
his wisdom in Proverbs 8. He says, but he who sins against 
me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death. And it's no exaggeration to say 
that we live in a culture, to live in a generation, to live 
in a time that is just enamored with death, that loves death. To promote the wholesale murder 
of babies in their mother's wombs, or to promote the murder of the 
elderly or of the infirm because they're inconvenient. It ought 
to cause us to hang our heads in shame, to search afresh the 
Holy Scripture and to find what God would have for us to do in 
such a time as this. And as I said, our purpose this 
morning is to set forth two main considerations from the Bible. 
The first is the value of life and secondly, the wickedness 
of murder. As we take up the value of life, 
the first observation is that God created man in his own image. The sanctity of life is essentially 
a theological issue. It is because we are image bearers 
of the living and true God. That is why we possess dignity. That is why we have value. That 
is why we have worth. Another professor of theology 
said that in murder, it is the image of God that is directly 
assaulted. And so we must think God's thoughts 
after him with reference to this. Genesis 1, 26 to 27 will be turning 
to a lot of scriptures today. And I know sometimes preachers 
say you don't need to turn there. Well, I'm just the opposite. 
You do need to turn there. You need to actively involve 
yourself in knowing where your Bible contains the answers to 
life. And in Genesis 1, 26, 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. 
Then God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and 
multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over 
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every 
living thing that moves on the earth. So we see initially and 
foundationally in the book of Genesis, God made man unique. He doesn't say this about the 
animals. He doesn't say this about the 
cattle or about the birds or about the fish. He doesn't breathe 
his spirit into them. He does so with man. Man is unique 
in God's creation. Man is the pinnacle of God's 
creation. This is the thrust of Psalm 8. 
The psalmist praises God and says how excellent the Lord is. 
And then he says, what is man that you are mindful of him? 
What is man that you have stationed him in such a grand position? 
Well, God made us in his image. And some have taught, or some 
have thought, that at the fall, when Adam and Eve plunged into 
sin, or Adam specifically plunged the race into sin, men have taught 
that the image of God was lost. But that's simply not the case. 
The image of God is retained. It is distorted. It is marred. It is messed up. But nevertheless, 
man on this side of the fall still bears the image of God. 
We learn that from Genesis five. Then we learn it from James three. 
When James is highlighting the need for Christians to speak 
well toward one another, he speaks of the wicked influence of the 
tongue. And he says, with that tongue, 
we bless God and with it we curse men who are made in his likeness. So in the fall, we didn't sacrifice 
the image of God. It was damaged. It was distorted. 
It was polluted. But man retains God's image. And this is absolutely crucial 
for us as we argue against abortion, as we argue against euthanasia, 
as we argue against drive-by killing, as we argue against 
drug abuse leading on to death, or men that would give drugs 
to young people to get them hooked. These things ought to be opposed 
by Christ's church. We ought not to just pretend 
that we live in a world that is unstained or unmarred. We 
need to take heed to the things around us. And we need to have 
a cogent, rational, biblical defense of God's truth. Francis Schaeffer said this with 
reference to this understanding of the image of God. And I believe 
this is quite perceptive. He said the flood loss of humanness 
in our age, including the flow from abortion on demand to infanticide 
to euthanasia. The only thing that can stem 
this tide is the certainty of the absolute uniqueness and value 
of people. We have to understand this, he 
says, and the only thing which gives us this or gives us that 
is the knowledge that people are made in the image of God. 
We have no other final protection. And the only way we know that 
people are made in the image of God is through the Bible and 
the incarnation of Christ, which we know from the Bible. If people 
are not made in the image of God, the pessimistic, realistic 
humanist is right. The human race is an abnormal 
wart on the smooth face of a silent and meaningless universe. In 
this setting, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, including the 
killing of mentally deranged criminals, the severely handicapped 
or the elderly who are an economic burden, are completely logical. 
See what he's saying? If we accept the humanist, if 
we accept their reasoning and rationale, if man is simply a 
wart on the smooth face of creation, then all these things logically 
follow. What is life? It's not that important. It's disposable. We can indeed 
murder 100,000 babies a year in Canada. The United States 
can murder 1.4 million babies per year. If what he is saying is true, 
if the humanists are right, we have no place, no foundation, 
no ground upon which to argue. Unless, of course, we adopt the 
Bible. He goes on to say without the 
Bible and without the revelation in Christ, which is only told 
to us in the Bible, there is nothing to stand between us and 
our children and the eventual acceptance of the monstrous inhumanities 
of the age. There's no protection apart from 
biblical theology. There's no protection apart from 
God's holy word. So that is the first sub point 
under the value of life. God created man in his own image. 
Secondly, God protects all people. You must understand this. The 
Bible is a document of great liberty. The Bible is a document 
of great freedom and of great blessing. God regulates human 
life in all of its various expressions. His law applies specifically 
to each and every category of person sitting in here right 
now, to each and every category of person that inhabits the entirety 
of the earth. And I just want to work through 
some of these categories and then we'll end with the unborn 
of the preborn. But the first thing we need to 
notice is that God's word demonstrates Man's superiority over animals. That's not to say we should abuse 
animals. It doesn't mean we should kick 
our dog or kick our cat or engage in any kind of unlawful promotion 
of evil toward animals. But God has a pecking order and 
he has given man dominion over the animals. And that is asserted 
as we read in Genesis one, twenty six to twenty eight. It is highlighted 
in the sacrificial system. It is even alluded to in our 
Lord's teaching when he says that the prodigal returns and 
the father ordered the slaying of the fatted calf. Jesus would 
not have been a member of PETA. Secondly, God's word protects 
the elderly. It protects the elderly. We need 
to take heed to this as young men and young women. The Bible 
says that when a hoary head man walks into a room, when a gray 
headed man walks into the room, that doesn't mean a young guy 
who grays prematurely, by the way, doesn't mean a 30 or 40 
year old that's already got gray hair. It's talking about an older 
man. What's Leviticus say? You rise. You honor him. You hold the door open for the 
elderly. You show them esteem and you 
show them respect. Paul deals with this when he 
calls Timothy to deal with men righteously within the church. 
He says, do not rebuke an older man, but admonish him and encourage 
him as a brother. You don't come up and be arrogant 
to an older brother in the Lord. No, you show esteem and you show 
respect. Young people today need to learn 
something of that respect and honor that the Lord God calls 
you to. They're not your buddy. They're not your equal. They're 
not on the same place. You show respect. You esteem. 
You say Mr. or Mrs. You hold the door open. 
You offer your seat. You don't run to the table and 
knock the older people down while you're trying to get your food. 
No, God is concerned about the elderly. Thirdly, his word protects 
the handicapped, the handicapped. What's God say in Leviticus 1914? Don't put a stumbling block before 
a blind man. You don't do that. You don't 
play games with people who are distressed or have an ailment 
or have some difficulty or trial. You esteem them and you honor 
them. They are image bearers of the 
living God. They have dignity. They have 
value. They have worth. I alluded to that reality a couple 
of weeks ago, when Jesus is passing through Jericho and blind Bartimaeus 
cries out, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. The 
crowd displays a general idea toward the handicapped. They 
say, be quiet. He doesn't want to listen to 
you. Be quiet. He doesn't have time for you. 
You're just a blind beggar. But Bartimaeus cries out again, 
all the louder. Jesus stops. Jesus walks over 
to him and Jesus actually says to this blind man, what would 
you have me to do? The blind man says, I want to 
see. So Jesus opens his eyes. God's word protects the handicapped. Fourthly, God's word protects 
women. Women. Women are not inferior. Women are not on a lesser level. 
Women are not beneath men in terms of God's creation. We were both created in the image 
of God, male and female. He created them now within the 
function of the home, within the function of the church. They 
both have their appropriate roles. They both have their appropriate 
distinction when it comes to putting their gifts into service 
for the Lord. But in terms of creation and 
in terms of redemption, we're on equal footing. God's word 
specifies that and highlights that men are not supposed to 
be chauvinistic pigs. You're not supposed to mistreat 
your wives or your daughters or treat them as somehow less 
or inferior. No, God's word protects women. Fifthly, God's word protects 
children. Not talking about in the womb 
children right now, but out of the womb children. What does 
God forbid in the book of Leviticus? Do not sacrifice your children 
to the idols around you. If the pagans are going to bring 
their babies or their young people and throw them into the burning 
arms of Moloch, you are not to follow them in that. God says 
these are image bearers. You don't mistreat them. You 
don't murder them. You don't harm them. You don't 
destroy their lives. What are fathers told in both 
Colossians three and Ephesians six? Do not provoke your children. They're not a play toy for you. 
They're not something for you to exploit. They're not there 
for you to abuse. They're not there for you to 
use or misuse or mistreat. They are image bearers of the 
living God. And as a result, you treat them 
with dignity. They have sanctity because God 
is a holy and a righteous God. And then sixthly and finally, 
appropriate to our particular station in life, where it's just 
not in North America, brethren, where the numbers are so high. 
Nations like India and China, they have numbers that are off 
the charts in terms of babies that are murdered in their mothers' 
wombs. This is an epidemic. This is 
gross and heinous before a thrice holy God. One of the things that 
we'll remark in a few minutes is that God notices this. Remember 
when Cain killed Abel? Cain probably thought he had 
taken care of everything. He probably thought he had pulled 
off the perfect crime. He wiped up any spot of DNA. He wiped up any fingerprints. 
He had disposed of the body and everything was going to go his 
way now. Abel was gone. He was out of 
the picture. What does God do? He says that 
your brother's blood cries to me from the ground. So while 
the church may turn its head and pretend that abortion doesn't 
exist, or while we may actually think that euthanasia doesn't 
go on, God observes it. God notices it. God takes heed 
and God will indeed judge men for their participation in this 
sin. God's word protects the pre born. Various lines of thought in the 
scriptures tell us that in Genesis 25, Genesis 25, the children 
struggled within Rebecca. Not the lumps of flesh, not the 
mass or the product of conception, not the undefined grouping of 
cells, but the children struggled in the womb of Rebecca. If all 
is well, why am I like this? She said. 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 came out red. There were 
twins in there. They were children. They were 
people. When David is tracing his native 
depravity back, he says, in sin, my mother conceived me. It doesn't 
mean the sexual activity of his father and mother were set. He 
is saying that as soon as me appeared, as soon as David was 
in place, he was a sinner. Job speaks of this, of God knitting 
together in the mother's womb, both the rich and the poor. Jeremiah 
says that he was separated from his mother's womb. Paul says 
the same thing in Galatians 115, it pleased God who separated 
me from my mother's womb. The word that is applied to Jesus 
in the womb is the word breath loss, which means child. It is the same word used in Luke 
18 when children are brought to the Lord, brought to the Lord 
Jesus to be blessed. It's not this distinction between 
a fetus in the womb that isn't really a person yet and a baby 
that's outside of the womb. No, in the womb there is personhood. This is God's word. This is God's 
mind. And I know there's a lot of text. 
If you don't get them all, talk to me, I'll give you the particulars. 
But look specifically at Genesis at Exodus 20 to 21. What we read 
here. Exodus 21, one of the passages 
that speaks specifically to this issue of the pre born, and it's 
very important before we actually look at the passage, what is 
in view here? What we have are two men who 
engage in a fight. And while they're engaged in 
a fight, there's a pregnant woman who's watching, presumably the 
wife of one of the men. She is looking on while these 
two men fight. In the course of the fight, she 
gets struck. She gets hit. And notice what 
God through Moses says, verse 22, if men fight and hurt a woman 
with child, it's plural, actually, to cover the eventuality that 
there's twins, that there's triplets, that there's quintuplets, whatever 
it covers, whatever is in her womb. And then notice so that 
she gives birth prematurely. The language is literally so 
that our children come out. Just like we saw in Genesis 25, 
Rebecca's children came out. Jacob and Esau. Esau was red. He was called red or Edom. They came out from the womb. 
Now notice what he says in verse 22. Yet no harm follows to mother 
or child. The law is specific. It covers 
now the mother and the child who was born prematurely. You 
see, this is very important that you see this because this law 
specifically applies to the issue of the pre-born notice 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. So bless God 
Almighty that in the midst of your fight, when you struck that 
woman and she went into premature labor and she had that baby or 
babies and they were safe, you ought to be very thankful because 
all you're going to get now is a monetary fine. All you're going 
to get is to be stuck with something that hurts your pocketbook because 
you were such a knucklehead to fight with a man in front of 
a pregnant woman. But notice what goes on to say, 
but if any harm follows now, we remember we're dealing with 
more than just the mother. She's given birth prematurely. 
She has a baby or babies. If harm follows mother or children, 
the things change a little bit. Things change a lot. You've entered 
in from the realm of financial remuneration for your foolishness 
to the realm of the Lex Talionis. That is the law of retribution. Notice what he says. 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, strike for strike. Now, a lot of people today balk 
at this principle. They don't like it. It sounds 
barbaric to them. Well, we use the same principle, 
at least in theory. We don't really use it. But in 
theory, we define it this way. The punishment must fit the crime, 
right? That's all that God through Moses 
is saying. The punishment must fit the crime. If you capitally murder someone, 
you will be capitally executed by the state. This is the implication. What's God saying? The pre-born 
in the womb has rights. The pre-born in the womb is sanctity. The pre-born in the womb has 
dignity. The pre-born in the womb is protected 
by the very law of God, such that if it comes out in the midst 
of this fight and harm follows to its little life, then the 
man responsible is held liable to punishment. You see, God cares 
about pre-born people. God cares about the fetus. Fetus simply means unborn baby. John Calvin said, 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. That's powerful. If it seems more horrible to 
kill a man in his own house than in a field, don't we agree with 
that? I mean, we hear about a guy walking 
to the store and he gets mugged by thugs and he gets killed and 
we weep or we are compassionate, I hope, or we lament. But that 
home invasion robbery just causes us some great deal of indignation 
when somebody would have the wherewithal to knock in someone's 
door and to enter into their house to commit robbery and murder. That just creates in us a godly 
indignation. I hope. And that's what Calvin 
is saying. 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. And that's going on every single 
day. If you work out the statistics 
in America, for instance, that's one point six million per year. 
That means forty four hundred babies a week. And you know what, when you look 
at Exodus 21 for a moment, consider this. God, through Moses, is 
dealing with two men fighting. Two men that in the midst of 
their exchange of blows hits a woman who is pregnant. Those 
two men didn't intend to hurt her or her baby. In fact, just 
previous in Exodus 21, there is a distinction made between 
manslaughter and murder. Manslaughter is accidental or 
non premeditated death. If I'm chopping wood and I'm 
swinging my axe and that axe head flies off and hits my neighbor 
and kills him, God's word to me is to go to the city of refuge. Now, if I hate my neighbor and 
I know that he's coming home at a certain time and I hide 
behind his bush and I take that axe and I drive it into his head, 
I've committed murder. And then the state is to intervene 
and to execute me. When we get down here, it is 
accidental, brethren, isn't it? They're fighting with each other, 
and in the midst, the blow gets thrown, and the woman gets hurt. 
It's accidental in that regard. But the law of retribution applies 
fully. Now, take this as sort of a generic 
example, or a general example, how much more state-licensed, 
tax-funded abortion plans. How much more when the state 
authorizes such an abuse against God's image? How much more when 
people are making several million dollars per year on such an atrocity? When I study this out, when I 
think about this, my thought is, God, have mercy on us. Please 
have mercy on us. It's a woman by the name of Carol 
Everett. In fact, they're making her book into a documentary. 
It's called Blood Money. And she was involved in the abortion 
industry. And she speaks of how much money 
is made on this, dare I say it, business. The sacrament of humanism 
is what it is. God abominates it. God loathes 
it. God despises it. God despises 
it. So under the value of life, God 
created man in his own image. God protects all people. And 
God sent his son to die and rise again for men. We saw this in 
Hebrews 2. He does not take on angels. He 
does not take on the nature of angels because there's not redemption 
for the fallen angels. But he does take on the seed 
of Abraham. He comes in the likeness of sinful 
flesh. He comes and he lives under the 
law. He's born of a woman born under the law. He's fulfilling 
the law. He's dying for sinners and he's 
rising again. This shows us the dignity and 
worth. Christ dies to redeem man. They have value before God. John Murray said it is the sanctity 
of life that gives meaning to the redemptive process in all 
of its phases. Life is forfeited by sin and 
redemption is the redemption of forfeited life. Remember that 
the devil is the father of murder, right? You are of your father, 
the devil. He was a liar from the beginning. 
He was a murderer from the beginning. When he speaks, the truth is 
not in him. Christ is the prince of life. 
Christ is about redemption. Christ is about grace and mercy 
and forgiveness and kindness. And dare I cause anybody to think 
that there is no hope for abortionists or for mothers who have gone 
through this. Christ died and rose again to save his people 
from their sins. The blood of Jesus Christ, his 
son, cleanses us from all sin. There is redemption in him, the 
man who wrote a song about the horrors of abortion. And he says, 
hey, there, young woman, a doctor's tool will not cure the shame. The only hope is in Calvary. That's our hope, that's our gospel, 
that's our message. Well, let's look at the wickedness 
of murder. Again, I know these aren't happy subjects. You're 
not coming here today to get a shot in the arm so that you 
can go out and sing Zippity-Doodle on your way home. But brethren, 
you need to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 
And we live in the midst of a grievous time. We live in the midst of 
a generation where life is so little valued. I saw recently, 
I think it was in Florida, a man broke into a house and he was 
going to rob, but he wanted to just see what it was like to 
kill someone. That's just amazing. That's where 
we're at. We want to see what the thrill 
of murdering someone is like. One man as well said, we don't 
want to, we want to get rid of abortion, but we want it such 
that the thought of abortion is unthinkable. That we wouldn't 
even entertain a society where it is where it is civilly and 
judicially permissible to murder someone. We want that to be unthinkable. The wickedness of murder, the 
first aspect of the first way we know this is God forbids it. 
The Sixth Commandment, you shall not murder. When did that stop 
being in effect? When did that stop applying? 
We've had about 200 years of folly in the Christian church 
where we're debating the whole place of what law are we under 
and all that sort of thing. Well, this much is sure. God 
forbids murder. It's not an expression of loving 
your neighbor. This is not an expression of 
kindness. It's not an expression of charity. 
God forbids murder. God forbids the unlawful taking 
of another life. Now, in the course of this sermon, 
you will hear me advocate state authorized implementation of 
the death penalty. And if you think that's inconsistent, 
I invite you to talk with me afterward, talk to some of the 
other brothers. It is most consistent to oppose 
abortion and to authorize the state under God to wield the 
sword in the infliction of punishment. That is not unlawful. When a 
man is convicted, he's gone through the process. A jury of his peers 
has found him guilty. God hands the state the sword 
in order to render judgment upon him. That is not murder. That 
is lawful killing. In the same manner, in a justly 
waged war, a man can go with a clear conscience and engage 
in wartime activity. We are not pacifist. We are not 
advocating a pro-life to the exclusion of God's authorizing 
the death of some. If that sounds harsh again, I 
invite you. We cannot spend all of the time 
developing each of these points, but God forbids murder. Secondly, God hates it. I mean, isn't that follow? If we 
forbid something, it must mean we hate it. One of you men said, 
I just forbid you to ever make liver and onions. The implication 
is probably that you hate it. I'm not picking on liver and 
onions, by the way. God hates it. Proverbs 6, 16, 
a passage that I think it'd be well for all of us to memorize. 
It's good to know not only what God loves, but what he hates. 
You'd like to know what your wife or your husband loves, but 
you also like to know what he hates. And he hates liver and 
onions. I'm not bringing liver and onions 
in here. Proverbs 6, 16. These six things the Lord 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 brethren. 
Hands that shed innocent blood. You Calvinists talk about total 
depravity. In fact, you said David, at the 
moment he became David, was a sinner. How could he be innocent? Isn't 
he liable to such justice? This is talking about the judicially 
innocent. Those who have not done a crime. Those who do not engage in war. Unless you're prepared to say 
that baby in the womb is trying to kill the mother or that baby 
in the womb is a mercenary and going out to war. And I have 
the right to oppose him and all of his machinations. You can't 
do that. Hands that shed innocent blood, 
the judicially innocent, the person that does not deserve 
it. And when you read this, it's 
not as if proud looks just sort of float out there. It's not 
as if there are lying tongues in the back pew, not picking 
on the back pew people. It's not as if there are hands 
that just work at abortion clinics. God is saying he hates these 
people. He opposes these people, people 
who are known by these aspects. Psalm five, another passage that 
speaks to this particular issue. Psalm five. Verses five and six. Psalm five, 
five, the boastful shall not stand in your sight. You hate 
all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak 
falsehood. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty 
and deceitful man. So not only does God forbid it, 
God hates it. As I said before, and I'll say 
thirdly now, God observes it. He takes notice of it. This could 
be the first day of the year or the first day in two years 
that you've even thought about this issue. Face it out of sight, 
out of mind. We don't usually look for this 
information. It's very depressing. It's very 
distressing. We like to think happy thoughts. 
We like to think about positive things. And while we may be negligent 
to these truths and realities, all of them are known by God. 
Again, Genesis 410. And he said, what have you done? 
The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Don't you think the millions 
and millions and millions of babies who have been slaughtered, 
their blood cries out? Kylan Dalich commented on this 
and said, Innocent blood has no voice. It may be that is discernible 
by human ears. Kay didn't hear it. Kay didn't 
think about it. Adam and Eve didn't hear it. 
Adam and Eve didn't think about it. Innocent blood has no voice. It may be that is discernible 
by human ears, but it has one that reaches God as the cry of 
a wicked deed demanding vengeance. Murder is one of the sins that 
cry to heaven. God observes this. God sees it 
when Paul begins to develop the doctrine of total depravity and 
the universal condemnation of all men because of sin. In Romans 
chapter one, as he is giving a category or a list of vices 
and sins in Romans one twenty nine, he says, being filled with 
all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, 
full of envy, murder. Same thing in First Timothy chapter 
one verses eight to ten, we know that the law is good if one uses 
it lawfully and in the particular use he's alluding to here, he 
says that the law was given to the murderer to call him to cease 
and to desist and to stop from this activity. God observes it. We may not care about these things. We may not demonstrate the compassion 
of Jesus. We may not feel for these people, 
but God does. That's why I say we need to be 
like God when we talk about being godly. Well, when's the last 
time you prayed in opposition to this horrendous sin of abortion 
or euthanasia? I mean, this past little while 
and praise God, people are sympathetic and concerned about the loss 
of life in Haiti. And I know there's pundits and 
peoples out there saying, well, this is the judgment of God. 
Be careful about interpreting Providence. Be very careful, 
because the implication can be as well that our nation that 
is bloody and saturated with blood guiltiness, because God 
doesn't send an earthquake on us, he approves of us. We're 
good in his sight. Be very careful of being an interpreter 
of divine providence. But the nations of the earth 
are rallying around and showing mercy and compassion upon the 
Haitian people, and I'm I'm for that. Brethren, praise God for 
that. Churches are fired up and they're 
giving money and they're praying and they're earnest and they're 
they're wanting to do something. You know, this is out of sight 
and out of mind. Babies are murdered each and 
every single day. Older people in the infirm are 
murdered each and every day. Where's the church to cry out 
to God for that? Where's the church to pray for 
that? Reformation is never just one aspect in church life. Beware 
of the preacher. Beware of the ministry. Beware 
of the people that said we just get this one thing done, then 
everything will be great. No, we need to reform in all 
areas. And we need to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Christ with reference to these issues. 
You say, well, what's your warrant? The Lord's prayer. Jesus taught 
us to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I am happy and rejoicing that 
when I enter into Emmanuel's land, there's not an abortion 
clinic up there. There aren't murderous doctors 
up there. There aren't people that are selling kits for people 
to kill themselves with. That's not going to happen. So 
Jesus prayed that God's will be done on Earth as it is in 
heaven. Will it ever be fully fleshed out? Will it ever be 
a utopia? No, I don't believe so. But the 
people of God must take heed. We must pray. We must seek by 
the grace of God to involve ourselves in a proper way. The church's 
primary response is not a political focus, and it's not pietism. 
The church's primary focus is the preaching of the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. That's the way the church storms 
the gates of hell itself. Now, you as a private individual, 
you want to get active in certain things. Praise God. But the church 
must preach the doctrine of the atonement, justification by faith. Just thinking about this recently, 
when we finish Colossians, I'd like to get into Galatians. Some 
might say Galatians is a very heady, very justification oriented 
document. We just need to learn how to 
love Jesus. The most blessed time this side of the apostles 
was the Protestant Reformation. You know what they preached? 
Not 15 ways to be a better you. They preach justification by 
faith alone. That's what God used as a stone 
in David's sling to knock down the Goliath of Rome and to affect 
Western civilization. Seems to me the church needs 
to get back to that. We need to know the scriptures 
and we need to preach the whole counsel of God most high. God 
observes it. Fourthly, we know God hates murder 
or God. The wickedness of murder is seen 
in God's punishment. God's punishment of murder. Genesis 
nine, six. Whoever sheds man's blood by 
man, his blood will be shed. What's the reason? Because we 
want a better society? No. For in the image of God, 
he made man. Again, I mentioned, or I alluded 
to, Vos, Gerhardus Vos. He said, In life slain, it is 
the image of God, i.e., the divine majesty, that is assaulted. Luther, 
commenting on Genesis 9, 6, said, 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. And 
I hear the objections, brethren, do not think I haven't. That's 
the Old Testament. Well, Romans 13, one to four 
is New Testament. And God most high has given the 
sword to the magistrate for the punishment, not a thought crime, 
but of evil doers. Those who practice wickedness, 
those who are a threat to the governing, to the to the social 
society, they are to be removed. Watson said 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, as he should not let 
the sword be too sharply or too sharp by severity. So neither 
should the edge of the sword be blunted by too much levity. 
God in history punishes murder. Now, most people that accept 
the biblical doctrine of the death penalty, there's a bit 
of debate as to what crimes are capital offenses. But to a man, 
they all agree that murder is certainly a capital offense. So God not only punishes it temporally 
through the civil magistrate, but he will punish it eternally 
in hell. In hell. That means if mothers 
and abortionists and legislators don't repent, they will find 
themselves in the lake of fire, according to Revelation 21 and 
verse 8. The apostle, under inspiration, 
describes for us who's in the lake of fire. The cowardly, unbelieving, 
abominable murderers, sexually immoral sorcerers, idolaters 
and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns 
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. In conclusion, 
we need first to understand biblical doctrine. We must understand 
the Scriptures and their application to all matters of faith and practice. The day that this church stops 
preaching the whole counsel of God, I heartily encourage you 
to find somewhere else. The day that we put our emphasis 
on focus groups and encounter sessions and whatever it is that 
goes on under the banner of evangelicalism today, leave. You need doctrine. You need truth. You need theology. 
You need the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments. 
You need good confessional data like we have in our 1689 London 
Baptist Confession. You need the historic reformed 
theology that speaks to these issues. A whole orb approach 
to God's word. where all of it is expounded, 
all of it is applied, all of it is subscribed to. Reverend, 
the necessity today is to understand the scripture. We must have a 
thorough understanding of the biblical doctrine in order to 
counter the prevailing attitudes in our society. That reformation 
wouldn't have taken place if Joel Osteen was leading. That 
reformation wouldn't have taken place if Benny Hinn was at the 
helm. That reformation wouldn't have 
taken place if the prevailing mindset of evangelical and, dare 
I say, reformed theology was at the helm. It was an emphasis 
upon the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments. There 
was a return, there was a historic return. The Renaissance, if it 
did anything, called men to go back to the original sources. 
And that's what Luther and Calvin did. They took the Greek New 
Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament and they searched the 
scriptures and then they preached, they taught and they wrote. In 
fact, Luther has a quote that's amazing. He said, it wasn't me. 
All I did was preach, talk, wrote and drank beer and God did the 
rest. That was Martin Luther. He didn't 
say, oh, I'm the great Martin Luther. No, I just taught theology. 
Preach the word. God bless that. Do you think 
there's that lacking in our churches today? We say we believe the 
Bible. We say we believe the truth. 
But if we don't see something immediately, we want to give 
up. We're going to see something of this in Zechariah chapter 
four tonight. I got to tell you, some of that lampstand and the 
oil flow and all of the things going on in there are a bit difficult. 
But I think there's two lessons that are brought home by God 
through the Prophet Zechariah. The first is anything that happens 
is by the spirit of God. And secondly, don't despise the 
day of small things. You be faithful. You do what 
you're supposed to do. You persevere. You go forward. 
You may not be the David that drops the Goliath, but maybe 
you'll be one that supports the David that drops the Goliath. 
We need to take heed to biblical doctrine. Secondly, we need a 
biblical response. A biblical response to this issue, 
what can we do? I don't think I can answer that 
fully, but I know at least three things demonstrated by the psalmist 
in Psalm 119. When he looked around and he 
saw wickedness all about him, he responded with anger. I don't 
think that means he strapped C4 to his body and walked to 
the nearest abortion clinic and said, see, on the other side, 
that wasn't the anger in view. He saw these things and it bothered 
him as image bearers of God. If God is angry with the wicked 
every day, it is legitimate for us to be angry. But don't go 
sinning. Don't get angry and justify whatever 
you do because you had a righteous anger. The brethren, I mean, 
when you think about this, it cannot but provoke in you something 
of a response. I remember when I worked at Northrop 
Grumman, I worked graveyard shift. This guy was coming to work one 
night and he had a T-shirt on and the T-shirt had a picture 
of a garbage can. And he said, America, this is no place for 
babies. That's what's going on. George Grant, who's a prolific 
author and a reformed thinker, says that the thing that got 
him interested or involved in the whole pro-life movement was 
that I don't know where he was or how he was, but he came to 
a dumpster behind an abortion clinic and it was filled with 
babies. So once I saw that, I couldn't stop. I couldn't go back. I couldn't 
pretend that it just didn't exist. Anger is legitimate, but the 
Bible calls us to be angry and do not sin. It's tough, but it 
can be done. But you know, when that Psalmist 
in Psalm 119 looked around at the wicked, he not only got angry, 
not only had indignation, but he had compassion. Psalm 139 
or 119 verse 136, he says, rivers of waters run down from my eyes 
because men do not keep your law. I take from that a bit of 
compassion, something what we see in the Apostle Paul, remember 
when he walked into Athens, he's waiting for his companions. He 
looks around at a city given to over over to idols. And what 
does it say? His spirit was grieved within him. Well, we might go 
to visit today and say, wow, look at the architecture, look 
at the beauty, look at how advanced they were. When Paul stood amongst 
those idols, the second commandment was real and alive in his own 
heart. And he was grieved. He was provoked in his spirit 
because he looked at a city given over to idols. Yes, be angry, 
but be compassionate and never think for a moment that this 
murderous activity is beyond the blood of Jesus Christ. We 
must preach not only the heinousness of sin, but the glory of the 
gospel, the beauty of Christ, the majesty and the excellency 
of the atonement that God made him who knew no sin to be sin 
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 
How does Paul describe himself prior to his conversion? It was 
a blasphemer. It was an insolent man. I persecuted 
the church even unto death. There's that instance in Acts 
7 and 8 when the godly man, Stephen, is being stoned to death and 
all the people take their garments off. I think it's so they'd have 
increased mobility to throw rocks at Stephen, probably also to 
reduce the amount of body heat so they could keep to their task. 
Well, they take these garments and they lay them down at the 
feet of a young man named Saul. And it says there that Saul consented. He agreed. He was with them while 
they were throwing stones at this godly man, Stephen. Matthew 
Henry, in his commentary, said we have reason to suspect that 
Paul told Luke to include this. Paul and Luke were buddies. They 
were friends. They were companions. When Luke 
sets out to write the book of Acts, Henry's contention is, 
is that Paul said, make sure you include that. Why? To show 
the depravity of man and the freeness of grace. You go out there and preach about 
the heinousness of abortion, you out there and preach about 
the glory of gospel. the glory and the power of the 
cross, for which of us, which of us deserve anything better 
for our sins? I'm all for it. Here's what the 
law of God says, but here's what the gospel of free grace says. 
Yeah, thunder down Sinai upon this abomination. Shine the light 
on Calvary. We have a gracious Savior who 
came not to seek and to save the beautiful people, not to 
seek and to save the accomplished people, not to seek and to save 
the people that had never engaged in murder. He came to seek and 
to save that which was lost, that which was undone, that which 
was depraved, that which was ruined, that which had blood 
all over their hands. Remember that picture we saw 
last week in Zechariah three, the high priest is standing before 
God and he's filthy. Remember, he's not only standing 
there for his own sins, he's standing there on behalf of Israel 
as a covenant community. Remember that one of the sins 
that the covenant community themselves had engaged in was taking their 
babies and throwing them into the fire to sacrifice to Moloch. What's God say? Take those filthy 
clothes off of him and put on clean clothes, put on festal 
robes, put on garments of righteousness. So thunder forth, Sinai, my brethren, 
but thunder forth Calvary, because there is salvation in Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Compassion, anger, prayer, all 
these things are exemplified in the life and the ministry 
of Jesus. What does Jesus do with the religious hypocrites 
of his day? Well, you know, you guys should 
just get a little better. You guys should really try a 
bit harder. You guys should really adjust 
yourselves to the... No, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites. How many times does he do this? 
He does it eight times. And then what does he do? He 
cries. So Jesus did. I had a guy tell 
me once, I just don't cry, you know, like Jesus. Now, I believe 
with Watson, sometimes we got the tears, but the cistern hasn't 
quite broken, so it doesn't actually flow out. It's a different story. 
Jesus condemns, Jesus pronounces woes upon scribes and Pharisees. 
And prior to telling how God's going to deal with them in Matthew 
24, he laments over the city and he says, how many times I 
wanted to gather you to myself, but you were not willing. So 
you see, these are consistent positions. Paul the Apostle in 
Pisidian Antioch, when the Jews refused him, when the Jews rejected 
him, what does he do? He sounds like Ezekiel. He says, 
because you've judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we're 
going to the Gentiles. You think, wow, that's callous, 
that's harsh, that's brutal. What's he say in Romans nine? 
I tell you the truth, I'm not lying. I have continual grief 
in my heart. I'm agonized over what's going 
on in Israel. I am agonized in the fact that 
I go to these synagogues and I preach the Messiah and they 
reject and they refuse. So the same man who said you 
judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we're going to 
the we're going to the Gentiles. Nevertheless, as I have continual 
grief in my heart over that. So you see, it can be done. It 
can be done. And then as well, we need to 
be committed to justice for all peoples. We need to understand 
all those categories that are addressed in Holy Scripture. 
God provides protection and affords protection to them. And then, 
you know what? Real practically, especially 
the young people here, very practically. You need to embrace the biblical 
doctrine of marriage. Sex and marriage. Don't want 
to get too far, don't want to go too high, but I do want to 
exhort you to get this down and probably the best one volume 
on abortion you can pick up by Randy Alcorn. It's called pro-life 
answers to pro-choice questions, something to that effect. He 
highlights. That the church. Professing Christians. Evangelicals probably reform 
the numbers within the church in terms of abortion are quite 
high. What does that lead us to believe 
there is an unbiblical appreciation for the doctrine of sex and marriage? Very often, young people, they 
don't even have to be young, older people are promiscuous. They engage in something that 
God has not lawfully authorized. God then gives them a pregnancy. And the way they think to deal 
with it is not through the blood of Jesus, not through confession 
and forsaking and finding mercy, but in the abortion clinic. So, young people and children, 
get this doctrine down. God is not anti-sexual relations. He has defined sexual relations 
within the covenant of marriage, within the context that he has 
authorized it. Do not engage in this folly. And as I've already said, brethren, 
there is forgiveness with Jesus that he may be feared. I know 
I sound like I'm raving madman at times. I know that sometimes 
I raise my voice, but I've met considerable amount of people 
who have engaged in this particular sin before the Lord God Almighty 
and who are worshiping and praising God through Jesus Christ today. 
The psalmist was absolutely right. If you've ever had any cause 
to doubt him, then I invite you today to believe the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus. The psalmist said to God, if 
thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? He says, 
but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. There's forgiveness for Bartimaeus. There's forgiveness for Zacchaeus. 
There's forgiveness for Paul. There's forgiveness for David. 
You know, we talk about David as a hero in Israel, and he is. But he engaged in thuggery. He engaged in wickedness. And 
yet he knew the mercy of a crucified and a risen Savior. If you have 
sinned, come to Christ. He will forgive all those who 
come to him. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
give you thanks for the Holy Scriptures, we thank you for 
their clarity on these issues, and we just pray that you give 
the church clarity in our thinking and help us, God, to take every 
thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Help us, God, to to 
pray and to have compassion and to have a biblical and a righteous 
anger to express it in a godly way. Help us to be like our Lord 
Jesus and to be like the Apostle Paul and to be like the psalmist. 
And Father, we pray against these prevailing sins in our own generation. We know that life is held to 
be at a very low value. It is disposable in the minds 
of many. We know that's simply not the 
case with an open Bible. We know that men bear your image 
at all stages and all facets of life. And we just pray that 
you would help us, God, in our praying, in our living and all 
that we do to demonstrate the scripture stance on such things. 
We ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.