{"id":3132,"date":"2022-01-28T16:32:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T16:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=3132"},"modified":"2022-01-28T16:33:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T16:33:53","slug":"what-leads-to-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/2022\/01\/28\/what-leads-to-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"What Leads to Abortion?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>January 22 marked the 49<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that overturned limitations on abortion in almost every state. Since that time, about 60 million unborn children have been aborted in this country.<\/p>\n<p>Three years after that decision, I was a 20-year-old junior at Davidson. I professed Christ, but thought I knew better than Scripture what was right and what was wrong. I had been in a relationship for more than a year with a young woman \u2013 let\u2019s call her Susan. We were involved sexually \u2013that was one area where I thought my moral judgment was superior to Scripture. But I thought \u2013 if we are involved this way, we should be responsible and make plans for what we would do should she become pregnant. So I told her: Should that happen, we can get an abortion in Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said something like: \u201cI don\u2019t want to get pregnant. We\u2019ll be careful so there\u2019s little likelihood that I\u2019ll get pregnant. But should that happen- I want to keep our baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said: \u201cOur baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had thought of the possible pregnancy as<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>inconvenient,<\/li>\n<li>unsettling,<\/li>\n<li>a distraction from our plans,<\/li>\n<li>a problem we would have to deal with.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And Susan said: \u201cOur baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She rightly saw that possible pregnancy as the beginning of a life \u2013 the life of <em>our child<\/em>. I, that potential child\u2019s father, had planned to do away with him or her. That is: had planned to kill him or her. If \u2013 as Jesus says \u2013 a man who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery (Matthew 5:27-28), surely the man who would have advocated abortion, who planned to pay for an abortion, is already guilty of it. I am guilty.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sad to say that that sobering moment in 1976 did not lead to an immediate change in my actions or in my attitude. But her statement did plant a seed that eventually sprouted and grew to a horror over abortion.<\/p>\n<p>I tell that story to make clear: I\u2019m guilty of this evil. If you have had an abortion or if you have advocated for an abortion, I share your guilt. Indeed, the message of this sermon is: <em>All <\/em>of us are guilty of what <em>leads to<\/em> abortion. The same factors that influence mothers to abort their children, the same factors that lead fathers to want their children aborted, influence <em>all <\/em>of us, tempt <em>all<\/em> of us to assert our autonomy and reject the God of the universe.<\/p>\n<p>We guilty sinners have only one hope. And that one hope is a merciful and gracious God Who sent His Son to die for guilty sinners like us so that we might believe in Him and so be saved. We need to believe this Gospel. And we need the light of God\u2019s Word to shine its truth on us, clarifying our thoughts, laying bare the lies, the falsehoods that lead us down the path to destruction. I pray that God would do that now, even in this sermon.<\/p>\n<p>Three headings today:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Abortion Kills a Person<\/li>\n<li>What Leads to Abortion?<\/li>\n<li>What Does God Say?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Abortion Kills a Person<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For many years abortion advocates argued that the fetus (and of course they deliberately use that technical-sounding term Instead of \u201cbaby\u201d or \u201cchild\u201d or \u201cinfant\u201d \u2013 words matter) is just a lump of tissue, part of the mother\u2019s body, and thus has no more moral standing than your appendix. Such statements are less prevalent now, in part because of the advances in ultrasound technology \u2013 we now can see these little ones only a handful of weeks after conception.<\/p>\n<p>But thousands of years before ultrasounds, God made clear in His revelation: That \u201cfetus\u201d is a person, is a human baby. We\u2019ll note three ways He does that this morning (we could add more).<\/p>\n<p>First: <em>Scripture uses the same word for children before and after birth. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>As noted, those who advocate abortion consciously use \u201cfetus\u201d to distinguish that supposed lump of tissue from a baby. The authors of Scripture \u2013 and thus God Himself \u2013 use the same word in both Hebrew and Greek. Check it out. Genesis 25:22 refers to Jacob and Esau in the womb by the same Hebrew word used for Moses after he is born in Exodus 2:2. In the New Testament, Luke 1:41 refers to John the Baptist in Elizabeth\u2019s womb by the same word used of Jesus after He is born in the next chapter (Luke 2:12).<\/p>\n<p>Second: <em>John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother\u2019s womb.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what the angel Gabriel says (Luke 1:15). Your appendix cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. A lump of tissue cannot respond to the presence of the incarnate Son of God (also in utero) as the unborn John the Baptist does in Luke 1:41.<\/p>\n<p>Third: <em>David \u2013 and all of us \u2013 were sinners the moment we were conceived. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>David writes, \u201cBehold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me\u201d (Psalm 51:5 ESV). Or, as the NET renders that verse: \u201cLook, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.\u201d As the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 5, sin entered the world through Adam, and all of us inherit that sin, then add to it. An appendix cannot be a sinner.<\/p>\n<p>So, yes: Unborn children are human persons. Scripture makes that clear. Abortion kills a person.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What leads to abortion?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Listen to the following statements. Do they sound familiar?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cMy body is <em>mine<\/em> \u2013 I can do what I want with it!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAs long as I\u2019m not hurting someone else, who are you to tell me what is right and wrong?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI know who I am. <em>Only<\/em> I can know who I am. I know what I need to do to fulfill who I am.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are all claims to autonomy, to independence, to self-sovereignty. Though people rarely refer explicitly to God in such statements, implicitly they are saying, \u201cMy body is <em>mine<\/em>, not <em>God\u2019s<\/em>;\u201d \u201c<em>God<\/em> can\u2019t tell <em>me<\/em> what is right and wrong;\u201d \u201c<em>God<\/em> can\u2019t tell me who I am, what I need to do to fulfill who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You can see how such attitudes lead to abortion:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cMy uterus is part of my body \u2013 I can do what I want with it.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThis fetus is part of my body \u2013 I know it\u2019s right to get rid of it.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI know that having a baby now would not fulfill my identity, so I will do away with it\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some who make statements like these then proceed with abortions, apparently with no qualms. Some are even proud of their abortions. Others go into abortion with many qualms and misgivings, thinking, \u201cI\u2019m trapped \u2013 all options are terrible, all seem bad \u2013 but abortion seems the least bad.\u201d Or, someone with a church background who in the past has thought abortion to be wrong might think, \u201cI can\u2019t follow what God says because it\u2019s too hard, too painful, too disruptive.\u201d While even others are more like my 20-year-old self, not pondering the issue at all, just assuming abortion to be the responsible, right action.<\/p>\n<p>But, you see, both those with qualms and those who are unthinking are, like those with no qualms, <em>rejecting God\u2019s sovereignty <\/em>and asserting <em>their autonomy. <\/em>They are acting <em>as if there is no God ruling over them, as if they are not created, contingent beings. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>This attitude leads to abortion. This attitude leads to almost every sin. It\u2019s often unstated. It\u2019s often not even conscious. But when we reject what God says and choose our own path, we say by our actions, \u201cYou do not rule me, God. I rule myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Does God Say? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We could look at many specific statements from Scripture to combat this attitude. In a bit, we will look at a few. But the primary, most powerful argument against this attitude, comes from the overarching story of the Bible. Here\u2019s a summary:<\/p>\n<p>God created mankind for a purpose: To glorify Him by trusting Him, depending on Him, and enjoying Him forever. But the first man and the first woman rejected that purpose by asserting their autonomy. They acted as if they knew better than God what was in their own interest. So believing Satan\u2019s lie, they rebelled against God. All of us since then, throughout history, are infected with that rebellion.<\/p>\n<p>God would have been just, He would have been righteous to destroy all humanity after that initial rebellion. Instead, He instituted a plan \u2013 a plan to create a new, redeemed, perfected humanity that <em>would <\/em>fulfill His purpose.<\/p>\n<p>He promised that a descendant of the first woman would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). Later He chose one man, Abram, out of this rebellious world, and promised that through his descendant God would bless all the families of the nations (Genesis 12:1-3). Although his descendants, the Hebrews, are rebellious themselves century after century, od continues to carry out His plan faithfully. He shows them that sin and rebellion necessitate a death if justice is to be done. Eventually from His people He raises up a king, David, and promises that this man\u2019s descendant will rule over an eternal kingdom of righteousness and peace (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:6-7). Indeed, He promises that a suffering servant will take on himself the just punishment for the people\u2019s rebellion (Isaiah 53:4-6).<\/p>\n<p>The people clearly show that they cannot fix themselves. God\u2019s plan, God\u2019s action alone can fulfill His purpose for humanity. They are dependent. He is sovereign.<\/p>\n<p>So, at exactly the right time, God sent His Son Jesus into the world. He alone of all those born to women was not infected with sin from conception. He alone of all humanity loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day. He alone of all humanity loved every person He encountered as He loved Himself. Thus He alone of all humanity did not deserve to die for His own sins.<\/p>\n<p>Fulfilling God\u2019s plan, rebellious humans then killed Him, nailing Him to the cross. Through that act, God fulfilled the promise of a suffering servant dying for the sins of His people. God then raised Him from the dead, exalting Him to His right hand, where He reigns until He returns to crush Satan\u2019s head and to conquer all rebels, establishing His promised eternal kingdom. God then sent His Holy Spirit to open the eyes of rebels, to bring us to faith in Jesus, and to empower us to go to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to speak this Gospel. God thereby is fulfilling His promise to Abram that some from every people group will believe. We see that great fulfillment in Revelation 7:9-12.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the story of the Bible.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not the existentialist story of courageous men and women looking inside themselves, deciding who they are, and boldly striking out on their own to fulfill their purpose.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a story:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>of man\u2019s inability and God\u2019s ability,<\/li>\n<li>of man\u2019s evil and God\u2019s goodness,<\/li>\n<li>of our moral darkness, and God\u2019s moral light,<\/li>\n<li>of man\u2019s repeated failures, and God\u2019s continual faithfulness,<\/li>\n<li>of man\u2019s dependence on God for <em>anything<\/em> good and God\u2019s grace in showering us with undeserved goodness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That overarching story shows clearly that the lies that lead to abortion and other sins are indeed <em>lies<\/em>. <em>Only God<\/em> can tell us what is right and wrong. <em>Only God<\/em> can tell us how to fulfill our purpose. We do not belong to ourselves. We belong to <em>Him b<\/em>y right of creation \u2013 He made us for Himself \u2013 and by right of redemption \u2013 He gives us life when our rebellion deserves death.<\/p>\n<p>Although we can draw those conclusions from the overarching story of the Bible, as promised, now let\u2019s look at some specific texts that counter the three primary lies mentioned above. Having seen the big story, the specific statements become that much more powerful.<\/p>\n<p><em>First Lie: \u201cMy body is my own.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Word: \u201cDo you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,<sup> \u00a0<\/sup>for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body\u201d (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).<\/p>\n<p>Your body is <em>not <\/em>your own. Your body belongs to God.<\/p>\n<p><em>Second Lie: \u201cOnly I can decide what is right and wrong for me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Word: \u201cThe heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?\u201d (Jeremiah 17:9).<\/p>\n<p>The Hebrews word translated \u201cheart\u201d refers not only to desires, but to the entire inner self, including the mind. This verse tells us that we cannot think straight. Our moral sense fails, again and again and again. We rationalize and justify all sorts of evil. The story of the Bible brings this out hundreds of times. Thus Proverbs 28:26: \u201cWhoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered [by God].\u201d (The word translated \u201cmind\u201d in this verse is the same word translated \u201cheart\u201d in Jeremiah 17:9). Similarly Proverbs 14:12: \u201cThere is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.\u201d Think of walking along a trail and coming to a fork. The trail to the right looks easy, while the trail to the left looks exceptionally challenging. The trail to the right seems better \u2013 but God tells you what you can\u2019t know on your own: There is great danger around the corner of the supposedly easier trail. Will you believe Him?<\/p>\n<p><em>Third Lie: \u201cOnly I can forge my identity.<\/em> <em>God\u2019s way would hinder me from becoming who I really am.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Word: Isaiah 48:17: \u201cThus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: \u2018I am the LORD your God, who teaches you <em>to profit<\/em>, who leads you in the way you should go\u201d (emphasis added). He has to <em>teach <\/em>us to profit, to <em>teach <\/em>us what will be to our good. Indeed, that\u2019s why He gives us commandments: Deuteronomy 10:13 (NET):\u00a0 \u201cKeep the Lord&#8217;s commandments and statutes that I am giving you today <em>for your own good\u201d<\/em> (emphasis added). His commandments are not arbitrary. Nor are they simply His preferences, for <em>His<\/em> good. His way, His road, is the road to <em>life<\/em> \u2013 as Isaiah 55:1-3 tells us:<\/p>\n<p>Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;<br \/>\nand he who has no money, come, buy and eat!<br \/>\nCome, buy wine and milk without money and without price.<sup><br \/>\n<\/sup>Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,<br \/>\nand your labor for that which does not satisfy?<br \/>\nListen diligently <em>to me<\/em>, and eat <em>what is good<\/em>,<br \/>\nand delight yourselves in rich food.<sup><br \/>\n<\/sup>Incline your ear, and come to me;<br \/>\nhear, that <em>your soul may live<\/em> (emphasis added).<\/p>\n<p>Far from hindering you from becoming who you really are, God\u2019s way is the way to <em>true life<\/em>, to <em>true joy<\/em>, to <em>true fulfillment<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ve seen both from the overarching story of the Bible and from specific texts that the attitudes that lead to abortion and other sins are all lies. They are falsehoods. They lead in the end to sorrow, to failure, to death, to destruction.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of such arrogant, rebellious attitudes, Scripture tells us:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Come to God as little children;<\/li>\n<li>Submit to His wisdom, His strength;<\/li>\n<li>Delight in your dependence on Him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As Jesus says in Matthew 18:3: &#8220;Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.\u201d So the Psalmist writes:<\/p>\n<p>O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;<br \/>\nI do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.<sup><br \/>\n<\/sup>But I have calmed and quieted my soul,<br \/>\nlike a weaned child with its mother;<br \/>\nlike a weaned child is my soul within me.<sup><br \/>\n<\/sup>O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 131).<\/p>\n<p>When we become like children, we come to God acknowledging that we don\u2019t know what is best for us. My three-year-old grandson Simon apart from his parents\u2019 intervention would eat nothing but fruit. Similarly my 7-month-old grandson Shepherd would gobble up watermelon, even though it gives him hives. They <em>need<\/em> loving guidance; they <em>need<\/em> restrictions; so do we all. God graciously gives us such guidance in His Word \u2013 through its overall story and through specific texts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As you know, the Supreme Court is considering a case that could overturn Roe v Wade. I pray that that happens. But while that would reduce dramatically the number of abortions in many states, abortions would continue \u2013 and would probably increase \u2013 in other states. And all the other sins that flow out of the attitudes that lead to abortion would continue as before.<\/p>\n<p>Our hope is not in a Supreme Court decision. Our hope is in God &#8211; in His mercy, in His grace, in the power of the Gospel through the Holy Spirit. So I ask you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have you had an abortion?<\/li>\n<li>Have you advised someone else to have an abortion?<\/li>\n<li>Would you \u2013 like me \u2013 have argued for abortion or had an abortion in case of an unplanned pregnancy?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Confess that to God \u2013 and to a strong Christian. Jesus died to take on Himself the punishment for that sin \u2013 if you throw yourself on God\u2019s mercy. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to <em>cleanse us <\/em>from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). You can be clean before a holy and righteous God. Confess. Trust Him. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise (Psalm 51:17).<\/p>\n<p>And I ask you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How has this cultural obsession with autonomy affected you?<\/li>\n<li>How have these same attitudes led you into sins other than abortion?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The exhortation to you is the same: Confess. Repent. Throw yourself on God\u2019s mercy. Identify those wrong attitudes \u2013 those wrong attitudes that bombard us every day in this culture. Turn from them. Become like a child before God, basking in His love, crying out to Him in your pain, submitting to His wise counsel. Come to the Father through the sacrifice of the Son by the power of the Spirit. God redeems rebels:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rebels who acknowledge they are children before God<\/li>\n<li>Rebels who acknowledge they are dependent on God<\/li>\n<li>Rebels who know that true life is found only in Jesus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019m a sinner. From the moment I was conceived I have been a rebel. So please join this rebel. Come to God. And know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p>Come, ye weary, heavy laden,<br \/>\nBruised and broken by the fall;<br \/>\nIf you tarry &#8217;til you&#8217;re better,<br \/>\nYou will never come at all.<\/p>\n<p>Let not conscience make you linger,<br \/>\nNor of fitness fondly dream;<br \/>\nAll the fitness He requireth<br \/>\nIs to feel your need of Him. (Joseph Hart, 1759)<\/p>\n<p>[This sermon was preached January 23, 2022. The audio is available <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eqotw.org\/media\/?p=2443\">here.<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>January 22 marked the 49th anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that overturned limitations on abortion in almost every state. Since that time, about 60 million unborn&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,24],"tags":[83,158,2470,290,331,391,558,644,687,707,2098,1290,1363,2252,1506],"class_list":["post-3132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-devotions","category-sermons","tag-abortion","tag-arrogance","tag-autonomy","tag-christian-hedonism","tag-confession","tag-dependence","tag-forgiveness","tag-gods-sovereignty","tag-guilt","tag-heart-is-deceitful","tag-lies","tag-rebellion","tag-roe-v-wade","tag-story-of-the-bible","tag-storyline-of-the-bible"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3135,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132\/revisions\/3135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hi10.in\/dgcc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}