A
Message that I have listened to over
and over this week, by Pastor Michael L. Brown inspired
this update on Abortion. He is not one that minces words
- he gets straight to the point :
"I would challenge
every person here that is standing for Pro-Life
to be able, at the drop of a hat, to
give at least 10 clear scriptures as to why
you are doing what you are doing!"
Essentially,
Michael emphasises the need for all that we do to be
properly founded upon the Word of God saying that if
we are not grounded in the word we will find ourselves
floating and drifting. He also stresses the need for
our primary focus to be upon Revival ahead of Righteousness
quoting Charles Finney to explain the imbalance that
occurs when we lose sight of God's heart for the lost.
We
have transcribed part of his message below and have
also searched out and listed scriptures
that support a Pro-Life stand. You
will also find scriptural
answers to questions used
by those who use the bible to condone abortion.
Under
His Banner
Bev Holmes-Brown
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In
answer to the person that says, "those
against abortion should "speak when the Bible speaks and
be silent when the Bible is silent." the
Priests
for Life website have produced
an excellent article called "
"Why the Bible's Alleged
Silence on Abortion Cannot Be Used To Justify the Practice"
I
have adapted a lot of the information in a question and
answer format as follows :
The
Bible Does not Expressly Condemn Abortion - Why
Should we?
"...
while the Bible may not expressly condemn abortion,
it does condemn the taking of human life without
justification (Exodus
23:7; Proverbs 6:16-17; Matthew 5:21, etc.).
From this it logically follows that if Scripture
establishes the humanity of the unborn child, then
abortion-on-demand cannot be morally permissible.
Hence, the key question is not "Does the Bible
expressly forbid abortion?" but "Does Scripture
treat the unborn as human?" When framed this
way, it becomes clear that Scripture indeed establishes
the humanity of those in the womb." (Source
Link)
How
do we Know that God knows the Unborn personally?
The
Bible does not speak of the unborn child as an unthinking,
unfeeling tissue mass, but as a person with whom
God interacts. Jeremiah 1:5 quotes Jehovah as saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before
you were born I sanctified you." The Psalmist
declares (22: 10), "From my mother's womb you
have been my God" and later marvels at God forming
his "inward parts" and "weaving" him together in
the womb. He concludes by saying, "My frame was
not hidden from you when I was made in secret ....
Your eyes saw my unformed substance" (139:13-16).
Now some try to dismiss these passages as applying
only to prophets or other special persons. But Scripture
does not discriminate on the basis of status. Job,
for example, says of his slaves and maidservants
(31:15), "Did not He who made me in the womb
make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the
womb?" (Source
Link)
How
does the Lord view the life of the Unborn?
Scripture teaches that God not only knows the unborn,
but endows them with purpose long before birth.
The Angel of the Lord tells Samson's parents, "The
Child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to
the day of his death" (Judges
13:7).
Elsewhere, the Apostle Paul tells us (Gal. 1:15)
that he was "set apart in the womb" to serve
Christ -- something not likely to be true of a mere
tissue blob or "potential" human. But perhaps the
most vivid example is that of the incarnation: Christ
enters our world as a conceived embryo and hence
fully identifies with the whole spectrum of human
existence from conception through death. As the
writer of Hebrews tells us, "In all things He
had to be made like His brethren that He might be
a merciful and faithful high priest" (Hebrews
12:7). 4.
Nonetheless, some have questioned the use of these
passages to establish the humanity of the unborn.
Concerning those passages that describe the unborn
in personal terms, one author writes, "Such references
designate individuals not only before birth but
before conception... and so they are not really
to the point." But passages such as Jeremiah
1:5 do not claim that unborn children exist prior
to conception, but only that God knows and has plans
for them before they are conceived. As Beckwith
points out, "This is certainly possible for an eternal
God who knows all things simultaneously and is not
bound by time or space."
(See, for example, Ps. 90:2; Isa.46:9-10; Col. 1:16-17.)
In short, Divine foreknowledge cannot be used to
dismiss the full humanity of the unborn child.
How
would you describe the Cultural beliefs of the people
in the Bible?
1. The
Concept of "Life" was regarded as the Highest
Good, while "Death" was seen as the Worst Evil.
Hence
the challenge found in Deuteronomy 30:19--"Today
I have set before you life and death, blessings
and curses. Now choose Life, so that you and your
children may live."
2.
Man was not a Chance or a Mere Assemblage of Cells..
"
He was created in the image
of God. Hence, the shedding of innocent blood
was strictly forbidden
(Genesis 9:6; Exodus 23:7, Prov.
6:16-17)
3. Children were
never seen as "Unwanted" or as a Nuisance
But as a gift from God --
the highest possible blessing (Psalm
127:3-5, 113:9, Gen. 17:6, 33:5, etc.)
4.
Immortality was Achieved Through One's Descendants
God's "promise" to Abraham
to make of him a great nation was passed on to
Isaac, Jacob, etc. "Sons are a heritage from the
Lord, children a reward from Him," writes the
Psalmist
(127:3; See also
Gen. 48:16).
5.
Sterility and Barrenness were seen as a Curse,
a Source of Great Shame and Sorrow
Hence, Peninnah's harsh
ridicule of Hannah, the prophet Samuel's mother,
because of the latter's initial barrenness
(1
Samuel 1:6. see also Gen. 20:17-18, 30:1, 22-23,etc.).
Conclusion
:
Among a people who saw life as the highest good
and death the worst of evils, who saw man as being
created in the image of God, who saw children
as the highest possible blessing, who saw immortality
as being achieved through one's descendants, who
saw sterility and barrenness as a curse, who saw
God at work in the womb--among such a people,
the concept of induced abortion was extremely
unlikely to find a foothold. Hence, the Old Testament's
silence on abortion indicates that prohibitions
against it were completely unnecessary, not that
the practice was tacitly approved.
What
do the scriptures say about Abortion :
The
following scriptures are just a few that highlight the
origin of life and the value of life :
The
Lord's thoughts on Life :
The
Lord considers the life of an unborn baby to be
of equal value to the life of a man.
Exodus
21:22-25
If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so
that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm
follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly
as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he
shall pay as the judges determine. But if any
harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot
for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe
for stripe.
NOTE
: "..the law tells us that a man who induces
an abortion or miscarriage is to be punished,
indicating that God values life before birth.
(Link)
Life
... Man is Highly Valued .... Death is a Curse :
Deuteronomy
30:19-20
I
have set before you life and death, blessings and
curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children
may live and that you may love the LORD your God,
listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
Psalm
8:5-7
"Lord,
what is man that you care for him, mortal man that
you keep him in mind? . . . With glory and honor
you crowned him, giving him power over the works
of your hands"
Each
of us belongs to the Lord :
Ezekiel
18:4
Behold, all souls are mine, the soul of the Father
as well as the soul of the son is mine.
Human
Life is different to all other life (We are Made
in the Image of God) :
Genesis
1:27
"God
created man in His image; in the divine image he
created him; male and female he created them"
James
3:9-10
"With
[the tongue] we bless the Lord and Father, and with
it we curse human beings who are made in the image
of God . . . This ought not be so, brothers"
We
stand before God for the good and bad things we
have done :
Proverbs
24:11
Rescue
those being led away to death, hold back those staggering
toward slaughter. If you say "But we knew nothing
of this," does not He who weighs the heart perceive
it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will
he not repay each person according to what he has
done?
Exodus
23:7
Keep
far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent
or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
2
Corinthians 5:10
For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each one may receive what is due him for the
things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
From
Conception :
We
do not see the work of creation within the womb,
but the Lord knows how the unborn child will look,
their personality and also their destiny:
Psalm 139:13-16
For
You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my
mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not
hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And
skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being unformed. And
in Your book they all were written. The days fashioned
for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Psalm
51:7
"In sin my mother conceived me,"
NOTE:
The phrase "conceived and bore" is used repeatedly
(see Genesis 4:1,17) and the individual has the
same identity before as after birth. ... The same
word is used for the child before and after birth
(Brephos, that is, "infant," is used in Luke 1:41
and Luke 18:15.) (Link)
Creation
& the Womb :
The
Lord fashioned the baby in the womb.
Job
10:8-12
Your
hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate
unity; Yet You would destroy me. Remember, I pray,
that You have made me like clay. And will You turn
me into dust again? Did You not pour me out like
milk, And curdle me like cheese, Clothe me together
with bone and sinews? You have granted me life and
favor and Your care has preserved my spirit.
Psalm
119: 73
Your
hands have made me and fashioned me;
Psalm
139:15-16
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.
Isaiah 44:1-2
Yet
hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I
have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you And
formed you from the womb…
Zechariah
12:1
The Lord. . . forms the spirit of man within him.
. .
Luke
1:15
"For
he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he
will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled
with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's
womb."
The
Lord knows the child before birth ... name speaks
of a destiny & calling :
Isaiah
49:1
Listen
to me, all of you in far-off lands! The LORD
called me before my birth; from within the womb
he called me by name. (NLT)
Jeremiah
1:4-5
Then
the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before
I formed youin the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained
you a prophet to the nations.
Gal.
1: 15-16
But
when God, who set me apart from birth, and
called me by his grace,was pleased to reveal his
Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles..."
The
unborn child is a human being in the womb with an
identity & calling .... Jeremiah considers himself
as being protected from death :
Jeremiah
20:17
Because
he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother
might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged
with me. (NLT)
Luke
1:41
When
Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped
in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the
Holy Spirit.
We
are all Made by God :
Malachi
2:10
Have we not all one father? Did not one God create
us?
Acts
17:25
... He "made the world and all things in it."
From
Birth :
The
Lord is with us at every stage of our life :
Psalm
22:9-10
But
You are He who took Me out of the womb; You
made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was
cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
Psalm 22:19
Yet
you brought me out of the womb; you made
me trust in you even at my mother's breast.
Psalm
71:6
From
birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth
from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you.
Isaiah
49:15
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."
(KJV)
The
Lord's thoughts Children :
Genesis
4:1
"I
have brought forth a man with the help of the Lord"
NOTE
: A & E were told to be "fertile and multiply"
(Ge 1:28). Love always overflows into life.
The
help of the Lord is essential, for He has dominion
over human life and is its origin.
Psalm
127:3
"truly children are a GIFT from the LORD; the fruit
of the womb is a reward".
Lamentations
4:3
Even
the jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless like ostriches
in the desert.
Proverbs
31:8-9
Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves.
Bloodshed
and the Land :
Numbers
35:33-34
Do
not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed
pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made
for the land on which the blood has been shed,
except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do
not defile the land where you live.
NOTE
: God's judgement against the killing of an innocent
life grows out of His love for humankind. The
crime of murder is not only an offense against
the sanctity of life, it is a pollutant upon the
very land we live. God wants to spare us of the
variety of ways this pollution is manifested.
When the land becomes defiled with sin, people
cry out "where is God?" yet they refuse to take
responsibility for breaking His laws which were
only given to us for our protection and good.
Each sin that we commit is not merely an isolated
incident, but will set off a chain reaction of
other sins if not dealt with. Since the legalization
of abortion for instance, child abuse has increased
over 1000%. This is the exact opposite of what
those who legalized abortion thought it would
do since it was assumed that only children who
were initially unwanted were abused. (Link)
Genesis
4:9-11
Then
the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
The Lord said. "What have you done? Listen! Your
brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.
Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground
which opened it's mouth to receive your brother's
blood from your hand."
Psalm
106:35, 37-38
"They
mingled with the nations and learned their works…They
sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons,
and they shed innocent blood, the blood of their
sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to
the idols of Canaan, desecrating the land with bloodshed"
NOTE
: The killing of children is especially condemned
by God through the prophets. In the land God gave
his people to occupy, foreign nations had the custom
of sacrificing some of their children in fire. God
told His people that they were not to share in this
sin .... This sin of child-sacrifice, in fact, is
mentioned as one of the major reasons that the Kingdom
of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians and the
people taken into exile. "They mutilated their sons
and daughters by fire … till the Lord, in his great
anger against Israel, put them away out of his sight"
(2 Kings 17:17-18). (Link)
1.Keep your Focus on Revival,
along with the abolition of Abortion.
Keep a focus on winning the lost,
the greatest way to bring about change is by bringing
people from darkness into light.
Charles
Finney wrote a letter sometime before the Civil War.
Charles was a staunch abolitionist, he was a revivalist
and a reformer and Pastored in New York City. If you
were involved in the Slave Trade or had slaves, which
was tragically so common in all facets of society, he
would not serve you communion.
He wrote a strong letter of caution because so many
people were so gripped by the abolitionist movement
and he said :
"If you put abolitionism
first and you put revival and the conversion of sinners
second," he said, "I fear there will be a
massive bloodbath through our nation."
Basically he prophesied the Civil
War ... I want to encourage you, especially as resistance
comes against what you are doing, it's very easy to
get more entrenched and more militant and that's necessary,
that's part of the battle, but keep your focus where
it is, Keep praying for revival...Keep two things
before us, revival and righteousness. God moving in
society, by His Spirit moving in the Church and eradicating
abortion ... then I believe we will keep a strong balance
and God will continue to back everything we are doing"
2. Secondly, I want to encourage
you to stay grounded in the Word.
I
don't mean bible roulette either. I mean have the word
in your heart and your mind with understanding.
If you are not grounded in the Word you will find yourself
floating and drifting. The Word must be the foundation
of everything and I would challenge every person here,
that's standing for Pro-Life, to be able, at the drop
of a hat, to give at least 10 clear scriptures as to
why you are doing what you are doing. The Word is a
Living Word. Let it dominate our heart and our mind.
The Spirit puts wind in our sails but the Word is our
anchor. It's our compass, it's going to give us direction.
I am jealous for long term fruit like you are .... I'm
jealous for lasting fruit.
Jesus
prayed in John 17:17 that the Father would Sanctify
us through the Word and He said Your Word is Truth.
Isn't that what the Psalmist said in 119:11, "I've
hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against
You." It is having the Word in our heart and mind
that is going to give us strength and a foundation.
Dictionary.com
describes a "Sentinel" as one
that keeps guard. The french and latin roots speak of vigilance and
combine the words "watching" and "feeling" in
their description.
I think of "Sentinels" as being those the Lord positions
in specific areas to Guard over Community, National and Governmental
issues needing Prayer.
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alerts are created in good faith and Sentinels is careful to be
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All
About GOD
-
The Christian Community for people seeking the truth about God,
Jesus Christ,
the Bible, and the meaning of life.
Essentially,
Michael emphasises the need for all that we do to be
properly founded upon the Word of God saying that if
we are not grounded in the word we will find ourselves
floating and drifting. He also stresses the need for
our primary focus to be upon Revival ahead of Righteousness
quoting Charles Finney to explain the imbalance that
occurs when we lose sight of God's heart for the lost.
Charles
Finney wrote a letter sometime before the Civil War.
Charles was a staunch abolitionist, he was a revivalist
and a reformer and Pastored in New York City. If you
were involved in the Slave Trade or had slaves, which
was tragically so common in all facets of society, he
would not serve you communion. 