sanctity of human life part 1 abortion

The Sanctity of Human Life
part 1 - Abortion in America.  Why I am Pro Life - abundant life for both mother and child. 

In America, abortion is legal. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy.  From a Christian biblical perspective, Abortion is murder.  Why is abortion such a big deal to so many people? What makes it a sin before God?

Every human life is precious to God. The Bible says that God knew each of us before we took our first breath of air.  From the beginning, every human being is made in the likeness of God. 
Genesis 1:26-27 says
"Then God said Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life - the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and all the livestock, wild animals and small animals.  So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them." 
We are God's masterpieces. Life is precious because every human being is made in God's image to reflect who God is.  When we damage a life, we mutilate God's artwork.

In the Bible, in the book of Exodus chapter 20, the moral law of God given to His people, we call it The Ten Commandments.  A list of 10 rules that summarize what sin is - what will separate us from God. We look at the Ten commandments as the foundation of the moral law of life, it reveals what is acceptable before our holy and good God.  The law is Relevant today. The bible says (romans 3:20) that the law brings knowledge of sin. (over 2000 years later, God's son Jesus fulfilled God's promise to deliver and redeem His people from their sins. Under the new covenant/promise, called the New Testament. click here to read about why each of us Need Jesus. )

In the Bible, Jesus summarized the FIRST 4 commandments when He said we should LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART SOUL MIND and STRENGTH.
This is a shortened list of those 4 commandments:

1)have no other gods  2)Make and worship no idols 3)do not say God's name in vain 4) keep sabbath day holy

And then Jesus said secondly, TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF … Which covers Commandments 5-10. This is  short list of commandments 5-10: 5)Honor mother and father 6)do not kill 7)do not commit adultery 8)do not steal 9) do not testify falsely, do not lie 10)do not envy others' property.

The 6th commandment plays a big role in loving our neighbor as ourselves. We may think that we've got this one covered - that we have not broken this rule. Are you sure?

Let's take a closer look:

In Exodus chapter 20, verse 13: “You shall not murder.”

This statement may sound straightforward in English.  In hebrew it says lo ratsach. In the Hebrew language, there are 8 different words for “killing.” This word, ratsach, was specifically chosen for this commandment. WE SHALL NOT UNLAWFULLY KILL ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. This word, ratsach is never used in the bible to describe acts in the *legal system, or *military, or *in execution of death sentence, or *kind of killing a soldier does in combat, or *for hunting or killing animals. 

This commandment is forbidding murder, the unlawful killing of a human being. Unlawful in God's eyes includes *premeditated taking of innocent life, *deliberate killing of a personal enemy, *any form of wrongful death like a crime of passion or *some forms of accidental deaths, although unintentional are also liable. Leviticus and Deuteronomy cover all sort of situations where killing is against God's law. Deut. 4.42.

So, is it ever ok/ lawful/ or not sinful to kill someone? Some situations are covered in the laws of Moses in Leviticus and Dueteronomy and each situation reveal how God wishes to preserve life. Certain forms of *self defense, *capital punishment, *as a soldier in war...are not sinful acts. 

Why does God permit some forms of killing? His goal is not the destruction of life, but its preservation. To Preserve Life.  This is True in the case of *self-defense - Sometimes it is necessary to take a life in order to save a life. This is also True in the case of a *just war, the same principle applies on a larger scale. This same life-preserving principle even holds true for the death penalty. Life is precious so when someone who takes a life unlawfully must be put to death. 
Genesis 9.6 WHOEVER SHEDS THE BLOOD OF MAN, BY MAN SHALL HIS BLOOD BE SHED; FOR IN THE IMAGE OF GOD HAS GOD MADE MAN.

Human Life is precious because every human being is made in God’s image to reflect who God is. God has put His stamp on every human being just like a great artist signs His name to a work of art. Therefore, for us to unlawfully damage a life is to mutilate one of God’s masterpieces. The 6th commandment is to preserve the sanctity of human life….

Now, not all forms of murder are obviously violent.  Sometimes Death comes in the form of a medical professional.All because more people are believing the world's lie that killing can be beneficial, suicide is logical, natural death is humiliating and caring compassionately for people who are elderly, prematurely born, disabled, despairing, or dying is a burden that wastes emotional and financial resources.  That is a lie. And this is the kind of talking that has convinced many Americans that some lives are not worth living at all. 
When we humans decide that God's creation is not worth our time or money, we have then lost our faith and trust in God, we try to control life by considering ourselves as gods. And the result ... abortion and assisted suicide are now exceedingly common… This is murder… violations of the sixth commandment. 
I see this idea in America growing as people grow older, many people see them as a burden and useless.  We must respect and treasure our older generations, they still have much to offer and we should honor them.  

In the Bible, Psalm chapter 139, verse 13-15 ​states, “You (God) made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thanks you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.”

This verse tells us a child in the womb is a living human being who already has a relationship with God and with its mother.  What is true of the unborn is true of ALL God’s children. *The young and the *helpless, *the elderly and the *sick, the *diseased and the *disabled—we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Every life is precious in his sight. None can be discarded; all must be preserved.

Proverbs 31.8-9 states, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” 
Other bible references are Isaiah 58.7, Acts 20.35, Romans 15.1, Galations 6.2, Hebrews 13.3. James 1.27 

This means that as Christians we have a duty to oppose assisted suicide, oppose suicide. We are to preserve life… 
We are to be pro life… 
We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

To illustrate this point, Jesus told a story in Luke chapter 10, verses 25-37, the Good Samaritan…

verse 30: “​A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.”

The robbers were guilty of murder, for violating the sixth commandment. They did not actually kill the man, they almost did, and God forbids any form of lawless violence.

But the robbers were not the only men who broke the sixth commandment that day. 
 Notice verses 31 and 32…Jesus continued His story... “​Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. [32] So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

For Jesus to tell this story would be shocking in that day… Because the priest and the Levites were respected religious leaders in that day…like pastors or Elders or deacons or even you or I … they both see the man who is half dead, but neither of them did anything to help save this man’s life…

Why did they pass on by? We could name many possibilities, but the reason does not excuse the sin. They both made a deliberate choice NOT to save this dying man. Sometimes all it takes to break the sixth commandment is to do nothing at all.

we must Never be guilty of doing Nothing! As Christians, it is our duty, our call to protect life. We should desire to love our neighbor. We should be active, each of us, to protect life, one life at a time.

In other words, we are called to be like the hero of Jesus’ story in Luke chapter 10… Look at verses 33-35 … Jesus said:

“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. [34] He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35] And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.”

The Samaritan took the time to see what the man needed, and when he saw the need, he was filled with compassion. He acted. He invested his time and money. And he followed through, making sure that the victim was fully restored. But, listen, this is important.- The samaritan was not on the Jewish good people list - they were enemies. But rather than giving into that kind of ethnic hatred and racism, the Good Samaritan treated his enemy the same way he would treat a friend. 

Remember who Jesus is telling this story to…Verse 29, a man asked him who to count as his neighbor… And when Jesus finishes the story, he asked that same man a question: Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?... And the man questioning Jesus replied… "the one who showed him mercy"… And Jesus told him, "GO AND DO THE SAME"

Jesus is saying the same thing to us… GO AND DO THE SAME!

Because Keeping the sixth commandment means more than not murdering anyone.  It means showing kindness to strangers and mercy to our enemies.
It means loving our neighbor more than we love ourselves.