The Sanctity of Life: Abortion and the Human Conscience

"The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good 
conscience and a sincere faith."-  1 Timothy 1:5

 

Today, thousands of churches in the US are celebrating what has come to be known as "Sanctity of Life Sunday". President Ronald Reagan designated January 22, 1984 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. That day was chosen to coincide with the 11th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that legalized abortions in the nation. Beginning in 1984, coinciding with the 11th anniversary of the ruling, the third Sunday of January was designated as Sanctity of Human Life Day, the closest Sunday to the original January 22 date.

This morning, I was blessed to hear our pastor Ryan Fullerton preach a great sermon on the human conscience, particularly as it applies to abortion. This post is almost entirely based on the sermon he preached this morning. I know there will be some reading this who have had an abortion, and others who have been involved in an abortion decision. Others still might be considering abortion and some could never see themselves getting an abortion. This post is meant to proclaim again the necessity of continuing to speak for the unborn and the power of the gospel in renewing consciences and giving new life. 

A clear conscience is the softest pillow. The Bible teaches that every person was created with a conscience as a barometer of morality and right living. However, this gift was not untouched by sin. As a result there is such a thing as a bad conscience and we cannot rely on our own Jiminy Crickets perfectly to tell us how we ought to live. We cannot just follow our hearts. The conscience of many has been seared when it comes to abortion in the US and even more so in Canada. In the last 35 years, there have been over 3,000,000 (reported) abortions in Canada. That's roughly the population of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, PEI, and Nova Scotia combined. The truth is that the Canadian conscience in general is not appropriately stirred when it comes to the issue of abortion. 

The Confused Conscience (Romans 2:14-15)
We have all experienced a conflicted and confused conscience. We all lack the clarity we need to make all the proper moral decisions we are forced to make daily. When it comes to abortion, the confused and conflicted conscience has resulted in the deaths of millions around the world. Nicole's testimony was recently published in New York Magazine as part of a series of testimonies in an article entitled "My Abortion". Listen to her conflicted and confused conscience:

"It was this past spring. The due date’s coming up—I’m dreading it. I wanted to keep it. My boyfriend always had football practice, so he couldn’t go to the doctor appointments with me. If he’d gone, he would’ve felt differently. But he said, “No way.” I wanted to show him that I loved him enough to do it for him. When I was thirteen weeks, we made an appointment at the closest clinic in Kentucky, four hours away, but the night before, we decided not to go. At two in the morning, he called and said, “Get dressed.” I said, “I don’t want to go.” We both cried the whole way there. I don’t think abortion is killing, but I’d always been against it. When I told him the credit-card scanner at the clinic wasn’t working, he asked if I was making it up. We went to get $1,000 from a gas-station ATM. I was hysterical, and he said, “Okay, you don’t have to go back.” I was so happy. Then he said, “We drove all this way. Stop crying, act like a woman.” I was angry, but I was so sleepy and tired of fighting. When I had the ultrasound, I asked for the picture and a nurse said, “Seriously?” A month later, he said he regretted it too. When I cry about it, I cry alone. He thinks it would make me sad to talk about, but I don’t want our baby to think we forgot. I’ve never heard of anybody else having an abortion here." [italics mine] 

The Defiled Conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7)
We have all heard the stories of mass murderers and criminals. However, many of us have also been disturbed by their incredibly clear consciences. They are actually convinced that they did nothing wrong. There is no regret, no remorse, no guilt. It takes a great deal of sin to get our conscience that hard and calloused, but the path towards this dead conscience is a conscience that is repeatedly defiled. It is fascinating how much shame and guilt we can feel even if we don't think we should. We can be intellectually convinced that our actions are morally permissible, but we might still experience the defilement of a conscience. Take for example this testimony entitled, "I Am Pro-Choice! Why Do I Regret My Abortion?": 

It was a very early, first-trimester abortion, but nevertheless, I was pregnant and I chose not to continue the pregnancy even though deep down I desperately wanted a child. I made this choice based on my relationship with the baby’s father, who dropped me off at the clinic and I never saw again, despite having a three-to-four-year, on-and-off relationship. He promised me marriage and more children when we were ready for it, i.e. 5 or 10 years from now.His last words to me were, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” But that never materialized. I am only 25 (24 at the time of the abortion), but I am now convinced I missed my only chance to have a biological child. Is that crazy? I haven’t dated, least of all had sex with anyone, since that day. It feels like a part of me died that day and will never return. I am no longer upset about the end of our relationship (good riddance!) but I am truly disturbed by the entire experience. I have nightmares about my experience at the clinic, though I know they followed every medical and legal step to the T. I wish I could forgive myself and move on, but I just can’t. I wake up every morning and it is the best minute of my life before the knowledge of what happened returns to me and the cycle of sadness and regret begins all over again. I am a liberal woman and as pro-choice as you can be! Which is even more upsetting! Can you please offer me advice on moving forward with my life and freeing myself from this unending cycle of regret?

The Clean Conscience (Hebrews 10:22)
So what now? The only hope for the misery of a guilty conscience is the death and resurrection of Jesus. You can't deal with your unsettled conscience by trying to be a better person. Turn to the Lord, he died to cleans the conscience and the guilt that leads to death. He died so that defiled consciences could be purified. Taste his sweet conscience-cleansing grace! 

What are the implications of understanding and believing in the sanctity of human life? It's not simply about abortion. It's not simply about thinking carefully about the method of birth control we choose to use (although that is a very important implication too!). Greed, sexual immorality, convenience, financial stability have all led to abortions. It is true that having less children might make your life more convenient. It is true that the raising of children does not come without many hard days and nights. Much in the same way, choosing to speak for the unborn will not be easy, convenient, or appealing most of the time. Genetic disorders are no legitimate excuse for abortion. Neither is teenage pregnancy, rape, or financial situation. How then should you and I live in light of these truths? Here are some suggestions:

1) Do not think yourself too high or too low to speak against abortion
2) Do not think yourself too high or too low to speak positively about all children
3) Financially support and volunteer at a "Women's Pregnancy Center"
4) Increase your political activity
5) Cultivate a culture in which every child is welcomed

The Doctrine of Sin

Last weekend Robbie taught the 9th sermon on the "Glorious Doctrine" series on the doctrine of sin. If you want to watch the video sermon, you can watch it by clicking here. The sermon focused on explaining the true meaning and implication of sin for all humanity. I didn't expect to hear too many things that were new and was just hoping that the truth would continue to transform and sanctify my heart and my affections for the Lord. I was wrong about the content, there was a lot of great content and important doctrine with which I've been wrestling and seeking to understand more clearly. 

THE WORD RENEWING MY MIND 

1. THE DOCTRINE OF SIN - LAWLESSNESS

"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" - 1 John 3:4

The first point in understanding the doctrine of sin, is what sin is. John defines it as lawlessness - anything contrary to the law. This law is the perfect, moral decree, as outlined by God, which defines righteous living. We learned this working definition of sin:

SIN - anything (whether in act, attitude, or nature) that does not express or conform to the holy character of God as expressed in his moral law.  

Because sin ultimately misrepresents the holy and perfect character of God as our creator, all sin ultimately is committed against God. A wrongful thought (even one that nobody else ever finds out about), a hateful comment, and an evil deed are all sins that are ultimately personal attacks on God. God as the creator and sustainer of the universe is also the law giver of the universe. As such, any rebellion to this law is a direct rebellion against the law giver Himself. 

2. THE UNDERSTANDING OF SIN - THREE ASPECTS

Robbie spent most of the time explaining and expositing the three aspects of sin outlined in the Bible: Inherited Sin, Sinful Nature, and Sins of Commission & Omission

a) INHERITED SIN / ORIGINAL GUILT - Rom 5:12-14 

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" - Rom 5:12

  The doctrine of Inherited Sin (also referred to as Original or Inherited Guilt) refers to the guilt of sin inherited from Adam by all human beings. Romans teaches that through the sin of Adam sin came into the world, death came through sin, and at that moment, spread to all men because all sinned. Adam acted as a "Federal Head" and the guilt and consequence of sin (death - Rom 6:23) was imputed to all humanity at that time. The easiest way for me to understand this is that Adam's soul died in that moment, and although he himself remained alive, his soul had been separated from God. In procreation, Adam and Even passed on this "dead soul" to their offspring, as such we are all born with this inherited sin (Ps 51:5)

b) SINFUL NATURE - Rom 7:15-20

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do" - Gal 5:16-17

The "nature" part of our sin has to do with the effects of our inherited sin in our day-to-day lives. The sin we inherited from Adam manifests itself in us by the tendency to sin. Our "default" mode is not to do good, but to do evil. Our sinful nature renders us completely unable to do any spiritual good towards God. The sinful nature in us is sometimes referred to as "the desires of the flesh" - these evil tendencies are linked and tied to our physical bodies. Our "flesh" has urges, desires, tendencies - these are often thoughts or desires that seek to invoke a behaviour out of us and make a decision to walk in sin.

c) COMMITTED & OMITTED SINS - 1 John 1:8-9

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " - 1 John 1:8-9 

The most well understood part of the doctrine of sin is this third aspect. Any evil deed, thought, or attitude we have is a sin of commission, where we commit an act that is contradictory to the character of God that He created us with and dishonours and offends Him. This third aspect also includes any good that is left undone - the sins that are committed by failing to do something right. We are commanded to love God with all our mind, soul, and strength. Failing to do this perfectly at all times is an example of failing to do what we are required to do.

3. THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN - DEVASTATING - Rom 3:9-13 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Rom 3:23

There is no greater disaster than falling short of the glory of God. Because we fall short, because we don't measure up to God's standards due to the continuous and relentless evil in us, we are cursed and deserving of the most devastating punishment. Our sin, this attack on the character and perfection of God as the ruler of the universe, rightfully condemns us and renders us culpable and guilty, deserving death.

THE WORD TRANSFORMING MY HEART

The biggest take away for my heart in this sermon, is the light that this doctrine shines on my dark and unhealthy heart. This doctrine reveals what is behind all the evil that exists in the entire world and all the evil that I am responsible for. Our actions and our decisions are only the fruit and the result of an inherently tainted and dark nature. I believe that if you could put all of my thoughts, my desires, my words, my attitudes, my decisions, and my priorities on a screen for all the world to see, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that I am not inherently a good person, but rather a very imperfect and downright sinful person. This, according to the Bible, is the reality of all of our hearts and is the reason our souls are in such desperate need of new life and of a Saviour. Jesus Christ is the one that has given me new life and made me a new creation, my sinful nature no longer has free reign in me but now wars with the Spirit of God within me. I am saved, I have been freed from the futility of my natural being, and can rejoice in the hope of the promised eternal life.

THE WORD FORMING MY BEHAVIOUR

My behaviour and my decisions can reflect one of two realities – they can reflect the presence of the tendency within me to rebel against God, or they can reflect the miracle of new birth through the Holy Spirit of God. Whereas before I was a Christian I couldn’t help but act in accordance to the sin within me, now with the Spirit in me I have the promise that it is the Spirit that will bear fruit in my life (Gal 5:22) in the form of good works for which I was prepared for (Eph 2:10). My job is to allow the Spirit to lead every area of my life and to submit to the Lord.

CLICK TO WATCH THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON THIS SERMON

The Doctrine of Mankind

Robbie taught last week on the doctrine of mankind, the 8th sermon on the "Glorious Doctrine" series. If you want to watch the video sermon, you can watch it by clicking here. This sermon focused on bringing an awareness and a holy reminder to our minds of who we are so that our hearts would be better informed and more accurately lead to worship our Creator, for the glory of God.

THE WORD RENEWING MY MIND

1. THE STARTING POINT - As Creator God is Worthy of My Worship

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” – Rev 4:11

God my Creator is worthy of my worship. "The doctrine of mankind must begin with the source of mankind - not to mention the source of all creation". This is indeed the starting point in understanding the doctrine of man – the deepest, purest, and truest understanding of who we are as human beings. Everything that it means to be human, every purpose for humanity, and every source of identity as a human race is found in the fact that we are creatures – we are not just beings, we are intentionally and purposefully created by God.

2. THE FOCAL POINT - I've Been Made in the Image of God

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” - Gen 1:27

Human beings are the pinnacle of God's creation. Men and women have been created in the likeness of God and they are more "like" God than anything else in all creation. We were created to represent the character and nature of God. Our worth is not autonomous, our worth is not separated from God. We have no value apart from our Creator. Sin, even though it distorts God's image in us, it does not remove God's image from us. God created and continues to create every human being in his own image. We bear God’s image in 5 different ways:

Spiritually:

We are spiritual beings – we have a soul. No other created thing biological creature has a soul that will live eternally whether in heaven or in hell. We have the ability to interact in the spiritual realm - we can understand and see the spiritual things in this world, we can pray, we can worship.

Morally:

We are moral beings – we have consciences that weigh down on us when making decisions. We were created to make moral decisions and with a sense of “right” and “wrong” that is not inherent to any other creatures.

Mentally:

We have a mind that is unparalleled in all creation – we are the most intelligent creatures in the universe (maybe not the smartest all the time…) but the things our mind is capable of are not seen anywhere else in the universe. The hundreds of languages, all the arts, the sciences, the mathematics… Our minds are created in the image of the Lord

Relationally:

We are relational creatures, in the image of God. God has always existed in the perfect and holy community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has created with a need, dependence, and desire for relationships. We can have a deep relationship with God, unlike any other creature.

Physically: (this one I found a little tricky to understand)

This does not in any way imply that God is a physical being. We are created in the image of God, and that means physically too. While God does not have any physical attributes to Himself, He created us with physical bodies unlike anything else in all creation. These physical bodies were perfectly designed to reflect the glory of God and to reflect His “image”. Our fingers and thumbs allow us to work the ground like no other creature, our brains allow us a level of understanding and communication necessary to communicate and understand the truths of God. 
 

3. THE TURNING POINT - I Have Been Created for God's Glory

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Col 3:17

Fundamental to understanding the doctrine of mankind is understanding the purpose of mankind. The purpose of mankind is to live seeking to give God the glory and honour He is due. God created us with the purpose of being honoured, that is the reason we were created and exist. When man seeks glory, we are seeking something that is not ours and we rob God of the glory that is His. When God seeks glory for Himself, he does not rob anyone of anything they deserve, and therefore He can be justly, and perfectly good to demand all His creation for honour, reverence, and worship.

THE WORD TRANSFORMING MY HEART 

These truths have lead my heart to rejoice and worship God for the intentional way in which I have been created. I have also been reminded that God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him. My daily pursuit of living in a way that accurately and purely reflects the character and the nature is really a pursuit of living joyfully. I am pursuing the highest level of satisfaction by pursuing this! There is nothing more fulfilling as a human being created in the image of God than to live our purpose out. 

THE WORD FORMING MY BEHAVIOUR

These affections for my Creator will advise and determine my day to day life. I will seek to love others, with the mind that all people bear the image of God and have an infinite value because of that. I will seek to "think God's thoughts" and walk in His ways. If I am to be a mirror to reflect who He is, my decisions, thoughts, and attitudes should all reflect His character and what has been revealed about Him. Lastly, I will long for continued growth in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Sin has distorted God's image in me, but through daily battle with the sin nature within me, sanctification will daily transform me to conform more and more to the image of Christ. I do all this with the hope that one day in glory, my glorified "me" will perfectly reflect the glory of my God in heaven, forever.

CLICK TO WATCH THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON THIS SERMON

Harvest, My Home

I decided to add a whole section to my blog that focuses on my local church and how it influences my life week to week. I’m thinking most of these posts will have to do specifically with the sermon preached during the weekend worship service but because there is so much more that goes on at church and so many other ways in which it impacts me, there will be some non-sermon related posts as well. Before getting into any of these posts, I thought I would take this first post and introduce my church.

My church home is Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville. It has been the community of people with whom I worship for the past 4 years, where some of my dearest and closest friendships have begun and developed, where Courtney and I got married, and where we joyfully serve. I started attending Harvest in my first year of University (2007) occasionally with some friends from school. This was during a time when I was feeling growingly dissatisfied and almost bitter with the church I was attending at the time. This church had taught me many important things in my walk with the Lord – how to deeply and genuinely worship, the importance of a Christian community, it had given me opportunity to invite friends to church, it had given me a church family to encourage me, and teach me, and love me. But slowly my heart began to grow dissatisfied with some crucial aspects of this church and I knew I had to start looking for a different church to serve in and worship. It was during this time that I started visiting and attending Harvest’s weekend worship services and young adult meetings. This new church was similar to my old church in many ways (which made the transition quite easy) but there was one aspect in specific that caught my attention and attracted my thirsty and hungry heart to this church – the faithful, transformative, exposition of the Word of God.

Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville is a plant out of the Harvest Bible Fellowship. It was one of the first churches in the fellowship planted in Canada, back in 2003.

"A Bible study began in the summer of 2003 in response to the demand from people who were passionate about this church plant. The first Bible study met in a local office space. When those quarters became too tight, the Bible study was moved to a church basement in Mississauga. By the grace of God this core group continued to grow and develop and attract high quality disciples of Christ. It was in the early fall of 2003 that God clearly led the leadership from HBC Oakville to be connected with the leadership from Calvary Baptist Church in Oakville. In what can only be described as miraculous, God arranged for Calvary Baptist Church to become Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville which included giving Harvest their church building, property and most importantly their people”.

As a Harvest Bible Chapel plant, HBC Oakville exists to “Glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) in the spirit of the Great Commandment” (Matthew 22:37). With Jesus Christ as our foundation, the four pillars on which Harvest stands are:

1. Proclaiming the authority of God’s Word without apology (2 Tim 4:2)
2. Lifting high the name of Jesus through worship (Jn 4:24)

3. Believing firmly in the power of prayer (Eph 6:18)

4. Sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness (Eph 6:19-20)

Since first coming to Harvest, I've had the opportunity to serve in the worship ministry (playing violin) a couple of times a year. Playing with the worship band at Harvest has been and continues to be a HUGE blessing. I love worshiping God through music and the talents and abilities He has given me. Courtney and I have also been serving with the youth ministry by leading Gr.9 boys (myself) and Gr.9 girls (Courtney). We've had great opportunities to lead, teach, and mentor the youth in our church. We've had the great opportunity to listen to and befriend the youth in our church through our weekly meetings, camping trips and retreats. We've also helped out and served in the library and bookstore (I love books!). It's amazing the excitement that helping people find books and CD's can bring! It is a joy to see how the Holy Spirit uses authors, pastors, and artists to encourage and build up His Church, and we got the chance to serve in this area. We are currently serving in the Discipleship 101 ministry, getting to know people who are wanting to look more into Christianity, who are learning about what church is all about, and who are learning what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We love, Love, LOVE are church, and we are infinitely grateful for this faithful, imperfect, blessed group of people that the Lord has given us as a community for our sanctification and edification and for the glory of His name.