← Back to sermon library

on this on this Lord's Day it is sanctity of life Sunday so the the preaching the sermon will be on that and we will we will open with Psalm 139 in a few moments with that in mind but in just in regards to announcements really there is only maybe two announcements that will be Bible study this Wednesday assuming that that the snow has all finished we're finished with the snow for a while we hope to have Bible study on Wednesday as well as this Saturday as has been announced there is a ladies fellowship breakfast so all ladies are certainly welcome to attend there was an email sent out there probably a reminder as well so maybe just a reminder to respond to the email so they know in terms of how much food to prepare for it if you don't mind just responding to the the RSVP and that's if you could respond by Thursday so they can plan food to that end so please respond I would say they're probably another reminder by email and that's at 9:30 this coming Saturday in the fellowship hall upstairs and any any who are new are certainly welcome to it's not just for people who have been coming for some time it's for any any and all women and young ladies well please turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 139 Psalm 139 to prepare for worship this morning Psalm 139 beginning at verse 1 for the chief musician a psalm of David O Lord you have searched me and known me you know my sing down and my rising up you understand my thought afar off you comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways for there is not a word on my tongue but behold O Lord you know it all together you have hedged me behind and before and laid your hand upon me such knowledge is too wonderful for me it is high I cannot attain it where can I go from your spirit or where can I flee from your presence if I send into heaven you are there if I make my bed in hell behold you are there if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me if I say surely the darkness shall fall on me even the night shall be light about me indeed the darkness shall not hide from you but the night shines as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to you for you formed my inward parts you covered me in my mother's womb I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed and in your book they were they all were written the days fashioned for me when as yet there was none of them how precious also are your thoughts to me O God how great is the sum of them if I should count them they would be more in number than the sand when I awake I am still with you o that you would slay the wicked Oh God depart from me therefore you bloodthirsty men for they speak against you wickedly your enemies take your name in vain do I not hate them Lord who hates you and do I not loathe those who rise up against you I hate them with perfect hatred I count them my enemies search me O God and know my heart try me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to him number 82 him 82 and I'll ask you to please stand [Music] amen you may be seated well let's go to God in prayer and ask his blessing to be upon our worship this morning let's pray our gracious in our loving Heavenly Father we come into your presence boldly through the name of your son the Lord Jesus Christ because father he has purchased an access of for us into your very presence this day it's not upon her own good what good works our own righteousness for father we have none that we come before a holy God this day to have dealings with that holy God how we praise you father that that access that that boldness with which we come this day his has been gained through the merits of your son the Lord Jesus Christ who came into this earth took upon himself manhood was born as an infant as baby and grew and was was obedient to his parents was obedient to all parts of the law for his whole life and ultimately died is a perfect sacrifice and was buried and rose again so that we might might enter into that into that holy of holies with his righteousness and father we have that as the his his death and burial as the firstfruits as well something that we have to look forward to as your as your as your children how we praise you for that we are in Christ Jesus those those here this day that that that know of the new birth through your son the Lord Jesus Christ how we praise You Father that we are part of that that family of God is at work that we have all of eternity look forward to in the presence of a holy God worshiping that that lamb that that was that was sacrificed on our behalf Lord how we pray that as we meet here together as the Church of Christ here at free grace and in Chilliwack father how we praise you that you have that you have given to us at this local church this local body to worship you in and we pray Lord that you would be pleased to keep us in truth guide us as a local church and cause us Lord to know truth we thank you for the word of God we thank you Lord that we have a pastor that desires to to open up that word and and to see the Holy Spirit to taken and help in in in the the dividing of truth amongst us and Lord we pray that you would be pleased to bless that that that opening up of the Word of God here in this place this day cause us Lord to know that know all the truth as contained in your Holy Word especially as we consider such a such a subject this this day as the sanctity of life we know follow these things to be true because we read them in tho in the Holy Word of God and so Lord how we pray that you would be pleased to cause us as your children to be convinced of these things first and foremost and Lord we do pray for our nation we pray Lord for your blessing to be upon our nation we know that we are a sinful nation we discard human human life so easily and we see this happening day after day week after week month after month year after year and father we pray against it we pray Lord for your protection for the unborn we pray for your holy law to be to be upheld in in this nation we pray that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven down here in our nation as it is in heaven where there is no killing there is no there is no death there is no sorrow so Lord how we pray that you would look down upon us as a nation with with with with mercy this day for father we do need your mercy and we pray that you would move in the hearts and lives of individuals across our nation we do not look for government to to institute the these things rather we pray father for the conversion of souls we pray that your word would run swiftly not only all over the all around this earth but across this nation of ours that father that we would that we would pray for these things that we would take them seriously that we would seek your face on behalf of our nation and pray law that said that you would convert and cause there to be a large number of people come to a knowledge of the God of heaven and earth experience that new birth of forgiveness of sins so they too would desire to see these things put away and and spoken of as in the past Lord be merciful to us we do pray as as a nation we pray and Lord your blessing would be upon upon other churches that meet here locally in Chilliwack we pray Lord that where the word of God is preached where is held up that you would bless it that you would add your blessing give to them your Holy Spirit as well that they might know of a truth that there is a God in heaven who has dealings with his people and we pray though that you would meet with your people throughout this city throughout this nation we do pray this day Lord we do ask your blessing upon upon the those who are sick amongst us we know there are some who are not with us this day due to illness due to sickness we pray though that you would just be pleased to minister to them on their sick bed cause them Lord to to to to know the things that you would have them to know this day we know father that sickness is not necessary evidence of sin is just simply that you would have dealings with us and so Lord we pray that those dealings would be would be kind and beneficial to them and that they would soon return to their to wellness and and wholeness and be amongst us so once again we do pray Lord you do do comfort them and encourage them by your by your Holy Word this day as they perhaps listen in or as they read the word of God we pray Lord that there would be a great comfort to them if you would aid them and help them with your Holy Spirit Lord we do ask your blessing to be upon the the missionaries that we that we pray for regularly if you think of those especially in the Far East we think of the families who who are currently leaving the the country of China Lord we pray that your blessing would be upon them and as they make make plans that we pray that those plans would be progressed well and that father you would land them and safe in safe countries and that the work of God would continue to go on and throughout the Far East we thank you Father that your word cannot be stopped it is a powerful word and it is a word that certainly the the enemy of our soul has sought to stop throughout throughout all time yet father your word continues to go forward your churches continue to be planted and many are called back to your into your holy kingdom and so Lord we pray for the furtherance for the continuance of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ that Lord you'd be pleased to do plant plant churches all across our that all across the world and cause those churches to be to be hedged up within and in good doctrine and good teaching bless those who are seeking to instruct through seminary or or through small groups we do pray Lord that you would be pleased to to raise up leaders raised up teachers pastors now to fill those pulpits and to fill those churches with sound doctrine and good teaching we do pray Lord we do ask your blessing be upon upon us as we meet now we pray Lord that you would be pleased to be with us and Tabernacle amongst us cause us Lord to to truly revel in and all that we enjoy in Christ Jesus and we pray these things in Jesus precious name Amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to the second hem which would be 256 to 5/6 and I'll ask you to please stand [Music] amen well please turn with me in your Bibles to our New Testament Bob reading and we're up to Acts chapter 15 Acts chapter 15 Acts chapter 15 and we will begin at verse 1 and we'll go through till verse 21 acts 15 1 to 21 and certain men came down from Judea and taught the Brethren unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and elders about this question so being sent on their way by the church they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria describing the conversion of the Gentiles and they caused great joy to all the brethren and when they had come to Jerusalem they were received by the church and the Apostles and the elders and they reported all things that God had done with them but some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses now the Apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter and when they had and when there had been much dispute Peter rose up and said to them men and brethren you know that a good while ago God shows among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe so God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith now therefore why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles and after they had become silent James answered sane men and brethren listen to me Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name and with this the words of the prophets agree just as it is written after this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down I will rebuild its ruins and I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord even all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does all these things known to God from eternity are all his works therefore I judged that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols from sexual immorality from things strangled and from blood for Moses has had throughout many generations those who preached him in every city being read in the synagogue every sabbath Amen well we certainly see a dispute here that rose up in amongst the church the the early church but I think the the wonderful thing here is the fact that they they eventually they came to a sense of unity and how did they come to that unity but by looking to the Word of God and it was the Word of God that that ultimately they judged all things by and I think perhaps if I were to say anything about my life here in the at free Grace Baptist Church or coming from more evangelical broader evangelical fundamentalism would be into the even into the reformed world is all things are measured by Scripture I think that is the that's the that's the key to whatever what is the reformed Baptists the reformed Baptists is someone who measures things according to scripture pastor dave american comes from Grand Rapids Michigan he was instrumental at the beginning of the start of this church and I always remember we had many questions in those early days and he always took us back to the scriptures back to the scriptures well is what the Bible says this is what the Bible says even today we're we followed the regulative principle where does that come from my wife and I were discussing away in the church today just the the the blessing of having that regulative principle it keeps us straight that helps us know what we what we ought to do what we ought not to do so it's not just left up left up to the opinion of men but rather we look back to the scriptures well what saith the scriptures what does the Bible say and and that's what we set our set our course by and I think this is clear a great evidence of it here in this in this chapter this could this could have become very divisive in that rule each earch but they sought to know the mind of God through the Word of God in that there was great great blessing and a great example for us who live in 2020 well let's pray our gracious and our loving Heavenly Father we we do praise you we thank you for the word of God these 66 books that we have and we you've graciously blessed us with your Holy Spirit to give us wisdom to give us understanding to give us insight into your Holy Word and so Lord how we praise you we thank you for for pastors for teachers for for for those who the disciples in the early days that that sought to make these things very clear to us and and down through the ages fall you have kept your word pure and you've caused the Church of Christ to march onward not certainly without its without its foibles not without its set without its sins along the way yet father we do desire as a local Reformed Baptist Church here in this place to to follow your word and and to seek you through your word and so Lord how we prayed you'd bless that bless the Word of God this day we pray to forgive us of all of our sins and cleanse us afresh and that precious blood of your son the Lord Jesus Christ that not our own sinful hearts our own sinful minds would not get in the way of understanding the Word of God this day bless our pastor strengthen him father we do pray and give to him your Holy Spirit so he might speak with with strength with might with power not his own but rather that which is it which is given to him by your gracious Holy Spirit and keep us in truth this day and going forward we do pray in Jesus precious name Amen well please turn with me your hymn books to him number 119 are before we go to the Word of God [Music] [Music] 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 asked 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 burned 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 saw and cry over the abominations of the land that we would be a prayerful people that we would be a thinking people that we 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 had blessed 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 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 forty five million dollars 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 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 mothers wounds again I suggest this is not a political issue it is a theological and an ethical issue the Bible addresses consistently we ought to sue 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. foreshadowed 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 mothers won't the very thought of it is horrifying this is not only not only or not Apple it 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 I realized euthanasia is barbaric as well the destruction of elderly people or the terminally ill the utter disregard for persons that 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 evidences 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 will 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 who 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 the 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 aforethought 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 of 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 see sir and the life of the one and then in terms of the six 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 imager that is images 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 sick person that's handicappers whatever their station whatever their status whatever their age whatever their place in life their image bearers of the Living God the best that a monkey can do or a dog can do or and 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 a 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 fault 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 living at 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 they profaned the name of your God I am the Lord what's that mean Moloch was worshipped the way that he's worshipped today through abortion by child sacrifice fact abortion has 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 built a fire around Moloch and the way that they would worship as they bring their babies and toss them up into the arms of Molech well Moloch was an idol Moloch was a statue Moloch was a thing he didn't have opposable thumbs he didn't have dexterity he didn't have the ability to cleave on to these children more often than not throw these children into the arms of Molech they'd bounce off and land in the fire this is the prohibition Ephesians six fathers do not provoke your children to wrath do not exasperate them why because their 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 I'm not deficient they're not somehow inferior they're not somehow Lassen and we can have a disregard with reference to their life and their their prosperity now their 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 that 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 truck 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 at 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 any you SEC 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 that it ought to shock our sensibilities when we see the way that young people treat adults or you know the elderly in our generation it is absolutely an 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 that the image of God in the pre born in the womb turn to Genesis 25 again several passages 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 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 his wife the daughter of Beth ul the Sirian of peda the Sirian of Padanaram 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 Rebecca his wife conceived but the children struggled together within her the children struggle together within her I'm gonna ask you to remember that as we move to the specific exposition of Exodus chapter 21 but consider the tax the children 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 read keep that in your head not that he saw was read but that they came out 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 their children prior to their coming out of the womb that's what the tax conspicuously highlights turn to the book of Job the book of Job indicates the personhood of preborn children in two places at least that will look at job 10 verses eight to twelve job 10 verses eight to twelve your hands have made me and fashioned me and 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 curdled me like cheese clothed 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 realized 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 I didn't treat them with with any degree of inferiority because God is the Lord of both both servant and masters 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 the womb make them did not the same one fashion us in the womb what's in the womb of job's mother its 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 salt the Salter 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 he 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 Adam 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 nation's 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 off children outside the womb the children that were permitted to come to our Lord Jesus Christ it's the same Greek word apply whether in the womb are 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 Clarke said one argument abortionists frequently used 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 then Clarke 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 at back and say how in the world could they do that there is scientific data now then shapiro says when i go out to try and convince people i don't use the bible for him the old testament as a jew i use science brethren weird we need to know what the Bible says but if you go knocking on Sciences door guess what you're gonna hear a unique genetic code in that baby in the womb what are you gonna hear you're gonna hear that science verifies what God has always told us is that that pre born in the womb is human it is a baby it has a beating heart it feels pain there is such a Apocrypha 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 absolutely hypocrite absolute Apocrypha 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 other words he identifies with us he took on our fleshy 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 nazi on nazi ANZUS 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 the around us having looked at this afresh in this past week and this is always the hardest sermon of the week of the year to preach and 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 a hundred thousand 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 from the civil state I mean these are horrific and wretched and and wicked realities that obtain in our own generation and in our own situation that should in fact horrify us and disgust us and he vote 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 she shot or 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 oh that's what I was going to say just before this tax so going over this this past week I popped on to it's Matt Walsh his his blog he had a thing about this group called a child free you look at this it's all it's a it's a discussion site at reddit he says they have him on on Facebook as well child free these people hate children they they hate babies they refer to them as goblins they refer to their abortion as 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 have this this story this past week a woman that 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 on wanted and sometimes parents are are not able to have a children or a child so you know abortion is the right thing what about this whole shout your abortion madness shouting your abortion these are people that would be standing around Molech and and rejoicing and praising Molech from whom all blessings flow it may be a little more sanitized it may look a little bit polished ER now adays 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 10 commandments the 10 commandments are given in Exodus chapter 20 we refer to that as the Decalogue or the 10 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 you our way how do we do life in the land based on these Ten 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 that 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 replying under the inspiration of the Spirit is the ten commandments and so notice this application of the six commandment in Exodus chapter 21 now we need to speak concerning the translation notice what our tax says in verse 22 if you're using the New King James if men fight and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely yet no harm follows the text literally says in the New King James in 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 quant repertoire whatever quad 5 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 flutter flying she gets struck it 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 not give me a not 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 tax 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 cause distress to somebody who is pregnant but the tax 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 I for eye tooth for tooth burned 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 dissent or the protection of the babies to the degree that if someone hurts them they will be executed the Lex talionis applies that is an amazing sort of admission when we look at the current situation abortion is an 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 the it'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 prophets 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 are 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 what 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 the notice in verse 13 however if he did not lie in wait but God delivered him into his hand then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee but if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor to kill him by treachery you shall take him from my altar that he may die now the difference there again is between accidental 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 are faced with here so when it comes to verses 22 to 25 I could hear that phone I didn't mean to hit her I didn't mean that her 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 that 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 miss a 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 fraid 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 judges determined but but if any harm follows then you shall give life for life doesn't it not only underscore God's judgement 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 seriousness are 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 the full heartache 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 in a manual called to dedicate 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 threw 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 our nice little pets that we you know we have around and they bring companionship when Paul speaks of dogs in the New Testament you got to remember these were the sort of mangy beings that roamed city streets and would eat babies if they found that and and that's what happened and that's why the early church and again probably 81 is when scholars date the Didache a 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 gods 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 probe courts will say hey said fetus yeah genius fetus simply means unborn baby you know they use the word fetus to try to be personalized it this has a long pedigree this a deep personalized your opposition D Humana dehumanize that treat them is somehow inferior so that it's okay to dispense with them as we see fit fetus simply means unborn babies so every time you hear a probe or 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 some lines of application proverbs 6 16 to 19 these six things Yahweh hates j7r an abomination to him a proud look a lying tongue hands at 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 sews 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 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 had just dismissed this and say well you know the church should 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 its 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 Johnny 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 url' 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 once 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 six 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 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 portion clinics in having 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 they'll never be utopia I'm one of them they'll never be utopia the eschaton is the eschaton the Golden Age is to come the 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 that are so filled with 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 aren't 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 them that the desires of their man and that's horrific it was a video clip of that some months ago and it's 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 okay 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 yeah the the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in our v Morgentaler 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 well right up there with China with Korea or North Korea well we're right up there with the the best and the brightest in terms of God hating rebels it's pathetic you've seen that we need a law dot 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 P but a judge says that a baby isn't a baby until it takes its first breath and intriguingly this man invokes his have angelical faith all the while married to a man I mean that's how strange things have become and then were lambasted for preaching on politics and then we've 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 our sake 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 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 listen to that 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 to love that feminists in the United States on Saturday were protesting how bad they have it they're protesting how wicked and oppressive 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 girl's 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 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 encountered 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 like say it's up to and it's probably heading this way it's up to a man and a child whether pedophilia is 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 and drive-by shootings either oh well okay then I guess drive-by shootings are 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 and 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 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 image-bearers 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 grass and mate great Greta J Gresham 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 matron 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 which 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 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 that 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 is justice are the foundation of his throne and while the civil government in America in 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 nation 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 preborn babies some states are trying to eradicate abortion completely brethren that is good and encouraging the fact is it's prevalent the fact is is that abortion is is rampant the fact is is that we live among a people that are ghoulish in nature in terms of how they respond to little babies and their mothers wounds it is horrific I would suggest first the church needs to have the knowledge that the Bible sets forth I 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 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 in this book is dated that kids within professing church backgrounds born-again backgrounds are having abortions it's horrific and a 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 a would you do that probably not but with abortion you know it's a constitutional right it's a woman's right to choose it's her body she can do whatever she what why are we so foolish like that oh yeah I'm gonna vote for this guy he's he's the pedophilia candidate or he's the rape candidate I you know what his personal life is it really doesn't matter but 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 I just imagine how miserable your life must be to target babies for destruction it's just a it's why they always look so unhappy I guess when you reject God and when you violate his law no good comes from men 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 contemplated he's 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 well whatever you gotta do so when you're 18 19 20 you get married you have babies you do what you know what God calls you to do it's typically a 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 well I have the surefire way I can tell you a hundred percent you Plusle Paul in 1st 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 in reduces inhibition pornography objectifies persons and people pornography oftentimes is the 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 of the the uterus or 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 grandpa ask anybody around you those 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 where you're free and content and everything's 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 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 the theologian from a former day caryl FHN reset 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 laws of conscience or law of conscience hinders sin among the unregenerate it has the role of a magistrate who is a terror to evil doers 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 in 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 and I've never been that way but the church has been complicit in not faithfully declaring the whole Council of God with reference to these things and I want to add 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 8 Nehemiah and the brothers they read the law they preach the law that's the sort of the the origin of the pulpit they build a platform the men stand on there and they give this 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 they rejoice and then in Nehemiah chapter 9 they confess their sins to Yahweh now remind 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 and 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 fifth or rather sixth or fifth century BC so Babylon is 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 concurrently 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 a holy God we have all defied him whether or not we've aborted babies whether or not we've euthanized you know a 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 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 center 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 murders 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 is your people to be prayerful concerning these things give us grace is 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 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 him 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 handbook and we should stand to do so [Music] so want to read two sections from the Prophet Habakkuk in chapter 3:3 - he says Oh Lord I have heard your speech and was afraid Oh Lord revive your work in the midst of the years in the midst of the years make it known in Wrath remember mercy the end he says though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vines though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation the Lord God is my strength he will make my feet like deers feet and he will make me walk on my high hills amen Father in heaven may these things be the case with us may we take to heart the reality of your wrath and your judgment and your fury I mean we cry to you for that mercy as the Prophet displays here but as well may we have that steady resolution that we are in Christ that you are our God that you are for us and that we join in the god of our salvation thank you for what you have done in giving us grace to believe to repent giving us grace to come out of darkness and the marvelous light and God we confess that light is so wonderful and we learned that many more people would come to see it know it we pray for our children and our young people should not only protect them from things like sexual immorality and the sorts of wickedness that we see but God give them life give them that that hope in Jesus Christ give them that desire to know him in the power of his resurrection and God do this for your glory do this for the good of this church for the families represented here for each of us as individuals go with us now help us to sanctify the day and bring us together tonight and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen close with a brief time of meditation