Choose Life!
by Bryan Carlson
Church, what am I missing?
Abortion is ending an innocent life.
Ending an innocent life is murder.
Intentionally ending an innocent life is premeditated murder.
Premeditated murder, in every other scenario, is condemned and punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Anyone who practices or advocates for mass-premeditated murder is generally considered deranged and evil—Hitler, Dahmer, Bundy, Manson, etc.
Yet, many “Christians” vote for those who actively advance this “freedom of choice” in our country and around the world.
There are two (and only two) diametrically opposed forces active in our world today: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. The kingdom of God stands for love, light, life, mercy, defending the innocent, protecting the defenseless and the vulnerable. The kingdom of Satan stands for evil, deceit, darkness, lies, murder, hatred.
“And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:10-12).
Jesus said very clearly of Satan: “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44); and “the thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
“…Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21).
Abortion—kind, responsible, and good?
The billboard across from the Planned Parenthood in Lincoln proudly proclaims that they are here for GOOD. They actually believe they are doing good in ridding women of their inconveniences. In their minds, they are providing a safe form of birth control—a normal part of natural family planning. They are empowering women to have control over their bodies. Their name says it all—they help men and women plan whether or not they want to become parents—if they are not ready, for whatever reason, they can abort the pregnancy. Many align with this way of thinking and believe they are doing good for women in their support of their right to choose.
There is nothing about abortion that is good—it is pure evil, the most egregious sin in the history of our country—literally the ripping apart of a baby inside his or her mother’s womb and sucking the remains out through a tube. This gruesome practice has taken place nearly 60 million times since 1973—all protected by the laws of our country.
Let’s hear it directly from plannedparenthood.org:
“How do abortions work? Suction abortion is the most common kind of abortion procedure. During a suction abortion procedure, the doctor or nurse will:
Insert a thin tube through your cervix into your uterus
Use a small, hand-held suction device or suction machine to gently take the pregnancy tissue out of your uterus
They may use a small surgical tool called a curette to remove any tissue that’s left in your uterus, or check to make sure your uterus is totally empty
What happens during a D&E (dilation and evacuation) procedure? D&E is usually used for abortions later than 16 weeks after your last period. For later second-trimester abortions, you may also need a shot through your abdomen (belly) before the procedure starts. During a D&E abortion, the doctor or nurse will:
Inject a numbing medication into or near your cervix
Stretch the opening of your cervix with a series of dilating rods
Insert a thin tube through your cervix into your uterus
Use a combination of medical tools and a suction device to gently take the pregnancy tissue out of your uterus
Once the procedure is done, you’ll hang out in a recovery area until you feel better and are ready to leave.”
They’ll use a thin tube, and a small suction device, to gently take the pregnancy tissue. And if they are not successful in sucking all of the baby out, they use a small scalpel to cut up the rest of the baby so your uterus it totally empty. And for D&Es they use a combination of medical tools to gently cut up your baby into pieces so it can all fit through the thin tube used to suck out your baby. And then you get to “hang out” in a recovery area until YOU feel better. How nice.
What is God’s opinion of this practice?
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;’…And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:26a-27).
“For You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty” (Psalm 139:13-19)!
“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
“And if a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death” (Lev. 24:17).
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).
“There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Prov. 6:16-19).
Is this political?
Believers should never align with those who support this practice—in any circumstance. Believers should never support Planned Parenthood over a Crisis Pregnancy Center; we should never support a political candidate who supports murder over one who doesn’t. This should so clearly be a black and white issue for believers. We are being deceived by the lies of the devil.
“But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3)
“He who walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov. 13:20).
“Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22).
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever” (2 Cor. 6:14-15)?
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:1-2,5-6).
“Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it; do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; and they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble” (Prov. 4:14-19).
“He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 17:15).
Should a born-again Christian should ever align, voting or otherwise, with an abortion advocate. This is a moral argument, period. To vote for those who support abortion is 100% a vote for the murder of the unborn. It’s hypocritical to say we support the unborn and vote for those who support the murder of babies.
Yes, we have the right to vote. We also have the moral obligation to defend and protect the innocent. Which one wins? If, in your opinion, there are no good candidates, don’t vote! Voting does not trump our faith. We are not required as Christians to vote and absolutely should abstain if it violates the law of God or our conscience.
“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
If voting causes you to sin, don’t vote!
Core truths:
As Christ followers, we agree that certain core truths must be believed in order to be accepted as Christian doctrine—the Trinity; the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin; salvation only by grace through faith, etc. In the same way, there should be certain core beliefs that affect who we choose to support—abortion, without a doubt, should be one of those issues.
If a political candidate/platform from either party came out in full support of sex trafficking—good for the economy, meets the needs of men, a way for young women to earn a living—as Christians we would be outraged and obviously not support this candidate or their party. Why? Because it’s morally wrong. I sure would not assume any Christian would say that there are other important issues to consider that their platform stands for—other things they believe that still make them worthy of our consideration. How would this not be a single-issue vote? Once again, this is not first-and-foremost a political argument. We don’t start with politics and then decide how our faith fits into that box. We start with our faith and only vote if the candidates and the platforms they support don’t violate God’s law and our consciences.
How are the issues of sex trafficking and abortion any different? Other than one of them has been the law of the land since 1973. They both grieve the heart of a loving, just God. We as Christians have become numb to the fact that innocent babies are being murdered every day. But their blood is still on our hands—especially if we cast our vote for those who support this inhumane practice.
Aligned with Christ:
As Christians, this world is not our home. We are called to not be of this world. According to Ron Hutchcraft, Christians live 20 miles closer to God than the world. The problem is that as the world moves farther away from God, so do Christians. (To the point we are no longer recognizable.)
Look at Paul; he used to celebrate the murder of Christians—until he was miraculously saved. He then preached the truth. At the moment of salvation, he became perfectly aligned with the way of Christ and completely opposed to the teaching of the Pharisees—his former people. He didn’t become just a little bit closer to God than them—to make himself look even holier in their eyes. No, He ran to the cross, distancing Himself so far from the world that they hated him and eventually killed him. When we were saved, according to John 5:24, we crossed over from death to life. We now support a different agenda.
“But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove to myself to a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:17-20).
“For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God…and such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirt of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10)
“As you therefore received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col. 2:6-8).
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).
Who will avenge the innocent?
“Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take a stand for me against those who do wickedness? Can a throne of destruction be allied with thee, one which devises mischief by decree? They bind themselves together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death” (Prov. 94:16,20-21). May we never be party to these things that grieve the heart of God!
Love:
Is what I am saying loving? What is love? To lead each other toward the truth. Being nice or tolerant is not love. There will be a lot of well-adjusted people in Hell. We are to all “…attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, ever Christ” (Ephesians 4:13-15). We are supposed to speak in love, yes; but we are also supposed to speak truth.
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death” (Prov. 12:1,26,28).
By the way, so I am not accused otherwise, I am in favor of loving women (and men) who have had abortions. Jesus came to save sinners. All sins can be forgiven. These individuals need to know there is hope and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
Are there different severities of sin and different judgements for certain sins?
Yes. Positionally, before a holy God, we are all sinners. We are as deserving of Hell over one lie as we are if we were murderers.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12).
But there are clearly different levels of punishment we receive from God. Noah for example, was a sinner but was not destroyed with the rest of the world. The Bible speaks often of the day of judgment coming for those who do evil. They prosper now but will soon face destruction.
Even using common sense, we know that exceeding the speed limit does not carry with it the same level of punishment as murder. God hates all sin; however, he does punish some sins more severely. Hitler will be more severely judged than Mother Theresa, for instance. This has been made clear from the Mosaic Law: if a man kills another man, his very life is demanded of him, while if he kills another man’s animal, only restitution was to be made for that animal.
“And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things that were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds” (Rev. 20:11-13).
In conclusion:
All Christians must be aware of the fruit we are producing—what we are building. None of us want to get into heaven just escaping through the flames.
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Cor. 3:10-17).
Above all we need to pray—pray that God will allow us to see the end of this atrocity and the role we have played in it during our lifetimes.
“…and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
