Sanctity of Life Sunday 2

I hadn’t planned on writing anything this Sunday. I wrote about evil of abortion a year ago on Sanctity of Life Sunday. You can read that article here. I am not going to repeat that post. I spent the morning at my church where our pastor preached from Proverbs 24:10-12 and Psalm 8 regarding abortion. You can find Pastor David Sunday’s message here. (As of the published time of this post, the message is not up yet, but should be up shortly at the link provided.)

I had to write today, though, after reading an opinion article published in today Chicago Tribune’s Perspective section by Sara Paretsky. I found it very disappointing that the Tribune would publish such a radical opinion on abortion without a corresponding pro-life piece, but maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. I have never heard of Ms. Paretsky before, but her opinion piece made it very clear she is a staunch supporter of abortion on demand as a vital woman’s right. She refers to pro-lifers as zealots in her piece and references “6,000 acts of terror [that] have been committed against clinics, patients and staff since 1973.” The irony is striking. Especially considering the 50 million unborn children murdered since 1973. And that’s just in the United States.

Let me be clear, I do not condone or approve of any violence against abortion providers or recipients. That is not a God-glorifying, Christ-honoring response. It is evil, too. Instead, Christians must be armed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must be ready to share the hope of salvation found in Christ alone through His death on the cross, how Christ paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, becoming sin for us, so that we may be clothed in the righteousness of Christ through faith. “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) Both the woman who has had an abortion and the doctor who performs them can find redemption in Christ as Savior and Lord.

In the last couple years, I have become firmly convinced that the issue of abortion is vitally important for us as a nation. It is inconceivable that we can turn our heads to the murder of over 50 million children. We must be clear, a child in the womb is a child and a person no matter what the stage of development. Any other line drawn is an arbitrary line that can be crossed at any time as we have seen in the recent closing down of an abortion clinic in Philadelphia last year and corresponding arrest of Dr. Kermit Gosnell who didn’t see the difference between an unborn child and a live child outside the womb, but saw both as inconviences to the mothers who came in for his services, and so brutally murdered infants born alive.

In my post last year, I linked to several excellent sermons on abortion and provided a few great steps that we can take as Christians to protect life. I will conclude with the important truth that this is not just a United States problem, but a worldwide problem, where in many places, unborn children are murdered simply because they are not boys. Take a look at this video.

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The Gospel in the Life of the Believer

“The reminder of what we have become by grace is a constant defence against slippingĀ  back into what were by nature.” (Ferguson, Sinclair. The Christian Life. (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2006), 114)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not merely the door by which we enter the Christian life. It is much more than that. It is the house within which we dwell as Christians. As Ferguson points out in his excellent work, The Christian Life, a regular reminder of the Gospel is the best defense against slipping back into old sinful habits. The Gospel needs to be preached weekly from the pulpit in our churches, returned to often in our small group Bible studies, and regularly remembered in our daily lives. Continue reading

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Abba, Father

In Galatians 4:6, Paul writes, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” And Romans 8:15 says, “For you did nor receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”

Never before have I noticed the exclamation points after both ‘Abba’ and ‘Father’ in both of Paul’s letters. This cry, enabled by the Spirit, is not a peaceful, tranquil address to our Heavenly Father. No, we have exclamation points! It is cry wrought with desperation, pain, anguish behind it. Sinclair Ferguson explains beautifully in The Christian Life (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2005):

Paul speaks here about the Christian crying ‘Abba! Father!’ The verb he uses is krazein, and in the New Testament it denotes a loud cry, often a cry or shriek of anguish. (cf. Mk. 15:39, our Lord’s cry on the cross; Rev. 12:2, a woman in childbirth). The picture is not that of the believer resting quietly in his Father’s arms in childlike faith, but of the child who has tripped and fallen crying out in pain, ‘Daddy, Daddy’. That cry is the mark of the presence of the Spirit of adoption, not least because it shows that in time of need it is towards our Father in heaven that we look. (p. 100)

Beautiful!

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Adoption

Adoption is a great doctrinal truth that is often overlooked in the Christian faith. Over the past year, my wife and I have been seeking the Lord’s direction in our desire to adopt. Consequently, I have also taken the time to study what Scripture tells us about adoption. Adoption is a wondrous doctrine. That we, those justified in Christ, should be called the “children of God” sits at the heart of the gospel message. Continue reading

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Tale of Two Mountains

This past Sunday, my pastor preached from Exodus 20, the giving of the Ten Commandments. As this was God’s inauguration of the Mosaic covenant, I found the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews description interesting as compares the old covenant to God’s new covenant established through the blood of Christ and His resurrection. Continue reading

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Already But Not Yet

As a follower of Christ, doctrine and theology have been important to me, particularly in the most recent decade of my life as both a means to better understand and articulate what God has done for me through Jesus Christ and fan my zeal for the Lord. The concept of “already but not yet” has been a great help in gaining a more full perspective of God’s story and, most importantly, His plan of salvation for His people. I first encountered the concept in my years interning for Young Life immediately following college. My understanding has changed much and continues to expand. Continue reading

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Behold Our God

Our church began a new sermon series titled “Behold Our God” back at the beginning of September. We will be working our way, as a church, through the entire Bible for the next 15 months. It is a tremendous series. You can listen to any of the messages here. Given the title and theme of this new sermon series, we have adopted Sovereign Grace Music’s song, “Behold Our God”, from the “Risen” album. I have been hearing it a lot lately as my kids sing it regularly around the house. What a joy! The words are beautiful, powerful, and worshipful. Here is a video clip on YouTube for you to enjoy. Continue reading

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