A Date That Will Live in Infamy – Psalm 139:13-16

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(Abortion Sermons presented in 2005,  2006,  2008,  2012,  2013)

Text: Psalm 139:13-16

Introduction

1. “December 7, 1941.  A date which will live in infamy.”  The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

2. 9/11/2001 is a date which will live in infamy.

3. January 22, 1973.  A date which will live in infamy.

a. Why this date?

b. What is significant about it?

Body

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

A. Roe v. Wade.

1. In 1970, attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington filed suit in a U.S. District Court in Texas on behalf of Norma L. McCorvey (“Jane Roe”).

a) McCorvey claimed her pregnancy was the result of rape.

b) The defendant in the case was Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade, representing the State of Texas.

c) The purpose of this suit was to challenge Texas’ anti-abortion laws.

2. After three years, the case was heard by the Supreme Court.

3. On January 22, 1973, the Court issued its decision.

a) On the virtue of a 7-2 vote, the court voted to strike down Texas’ anti-abortion laws.

b) The Opinion of the Roe Court was written by Justice Harry Blackmun.

c) The basis for their decision was that to prohibit a woman from terminating her pregnancy was to violate her “right to privacy” under the 14^th Amendment.

d) In the Opinion, he stated that a fetus does not qualify as a “person” under the 14^th Amendment.

(1) The relevant part of the 14^th Amendment states, “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

(2) In the opinion he stated that the Court’s decision decided that the original intent of the Constitution did not include the unborn.

e) The court ruled that the State cannot restrict a woman’s right to an abortion in her first trimester.

f)  The State was permitted by the decision to restrict abortions in the second and third trimesters.

B. Since that day…

1. Nearly 22% of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) have ended in abortion.

2. Over 45,000,000 babies have been aborted.

a) That amounts to 3315 abortions per day.

b) 2,388 men and women died at Pearl Harbor.

c) 2,998 men and women died on 9/11.

3. That is more than the number of people who have died in every war this country has ever fought.

a) Revolutionary War:  25,000.

b) Civil War:  498,000.

c) WWI:  116,000

d) WWII:  545,000

e) Korean:  54,000

f)  Vietnam:  56,000.

II. IS A FETUS A PERSON?

A. Abortion proponents refuse to call a baby in the womb a “baby.”

1. Instead, they use the term “fetus.”

2. Fetus = An unborn vertebrate.  So scientifically, the term is applicable.

3. But have you ever heard someone say, “What are you going to name the fetus?”  OR “I just felt the fetus kick.”

4. The real reason that the term “fetus” is used is in order to take away the baby’s humanity.

5. It is easier for people to kill a fetus than it is to kill a baby.

B. By looking at the development of baby in the womb we can see that it is a distinct human being from the very point of conception.

1. From the moment of conception, 46 chromosomes with 30,000 genes combine to determine all of the baby’s physical characteristics: sex, facial features; body type; color of hair; eyes and skin.  All the genetic material for the baby is present at this point.  Now, all that is needed is time and nutrients for the baby to grow.

2. The heart starts to beat at 18 days.  The baby has its own blood supply independent of its mother.  The blood of the baby passes along the umbilical cord, runs through the placenta and approaches the maternal blood vessels found in the womb.  Across the dividing wall, the two blood supplies exchange their gaseous loads; the baby passes to its mother it’s carbon dioxide waste and she passes to her baby oxygen and nutrients.

3. Brain waves have been recorded as early as 40 days.  The baby has become sensitive and responds to touch.

4. The baby starts making spontaneous movements at about seven weeks.

5. By the eighth week, all of the baby’s organs are now present.

C. We know that God considers an unborn baby to be a person.

1. Psalms 139:13-16.  For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

a) My frame was not hidden from you.

b) Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

2. The Holy Spirit used the same word to describe the child in the womb and out of the womb.

a) Luke 1:41.  And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

b) Luke 2:12.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

c) In both cases, the term <a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=1025″>brephos</a> is used.  It has two meanings:  an unborn child, and a new-born child.

d) There is no distinction with God.

3. God hates the hands that shed innocent blood.  Proverbs 6:16-17.   These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: ¹⁷ A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,

D. It is interesting to note that Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) has become a Pro-Life advocate.

1. She wrote in her book, Won by Love, “I was sitting in O.R.’s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. “Norma,” I said to myself, “They’re right.” I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that’s a baby! It’s as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth–that’s a baby!  I felt “crushed” under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn’t about ‘products of conception.’ It wasn’t about ‘missed periods.’ It was about children being killed in their mother’s wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion–at any point–was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear.”

2. In 2005, she petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 decision, arguing that the case should be heard again in light of evidence that the procedure may harm women, but this petition was denied.

III.   WHAT CAN CHRISTIANS DO?

A. Pray.

1. Pray for government officials.  1 Timothy 2:1-3.   Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

a) Proverbs 14:34.  Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.

b) Proverbs 29:2.  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

2. Pray for women with difficult pregnancies.

a) Most aborting moms are panicked, uninformed, and desperate.

b) Some are pressured by boyfriends or even parents.

3. Pray for abortionists.  Matthew 5:44.  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

B. Vote.

1. We are blessed to live in a country where we ARE the government.  It is a government Of the People, By the People, For the People.

2. As Christians we are told to be the salt of the earth.  Matthew 5:13.  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

3. We are the light of the world.  Matthew 5:14-16.   You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

4. Our Christianity follows us even into the voting booth.  HWJV

5. We should not put party loyalties or any other value before the preservation of the lives of unborn babies.

6. In the 1990’s congress passed (on two different occasions) a ban on partial birth abortion which was promptly vetoed by the sitting president.

a) Congress then tried to override his veto.

b) They failed by THREE votes.

7. In 2003, the current administration approved a ban on partial birth abortions.

a) It was immediately challenged and three different U.S. District Courts declared the law unconstitutional.

b) However, in April of 2007, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision upheld the ban stating that it does not violate the constitution.

c) While, as Christians, we would like to see all abortion banned, we realize that this is at least a step in the right direction.

8. We can make a difference in the voting booth.

9. We need to know where our candidates stand on this issue.

C. Teach.

1. Teach and practice Biblical sexual morality.  Hebrews 13:4.  Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

a) All sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong

b) Prevent unwanted pregnancies through abstinence!

2. Teach the biblical view of human life.

a) Genesis 1:27.  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

b) Matthew 7:12.  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

3. Teach the facts about abortion.

a) You may be surprised at how little people know about abortion.

b) We can be sure that Pro-Choice people are teaching their position.

4. Teach the plan of salvation.

a) Unless we do this, we are just treating the symptoms.

b) The cause must be removed and then the symptoms will be gone for good.