Maintaining Balance in our Spiritual Conflict
The World / The Flesh / The Devil
Ephesians 2:1-3 (See the connection also in James 3:15; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:7-10)
What is the world and how does the world influence me?
World = “the unhealthy social environment in which we live. This includes the ungodly aspects of culture, peer pressure, values, traditions…customs, philosophies, and attitudes. The world represents the prevailing worldview assumptions of the day that stand contrary to the biblical understanding of reality and biblical values.” Clinton Arnold
According to 1 John 2:15-17 the world consists of:
Desires of the flesh
Desires of the eyes
Pride in possessions
These are from the world, and according to 1 John 5:19 the world lies in the power of the evil one.
What is the flesh and how does it influence me?
Romans 7:5, 14, 18, 25; 8:3-9, 12, 13; 13:14
James 1:12-15
Persons are tempted when they are lured and enticed by their own desire stemming from their fleshly inclination.
Flesh = “the inner propensity or inclination to do evil; the part of our creatureliness tainted by the fall that remains with us until the day we die. It is our continuing connection to this present evil age which is destined to perish…” Clinton Arnold
Insights about the world / flesh / devil (use PowerPoint drawing of circles)
1. These three influencers do not work separately, but in concert
2. These three influencers, although one may have a greater influence at certain times,
exert force against us in our battle
3. Be aware of the tendency to focus on one and diminish the others. Keep these in balance.
(use pp on number 3)
Implications on life and ministry:
1. We must understand that we face multiple opponents in the battle to keep the faith and follow after Christ
James 3:13-15 (earthly = world) (unspiritual = flesh) (demonic = devil)
Meekness = prauteti = gentleness, humility
He has told them if they need wisdom to ask God who gives generously to all w/o finding fault.
They have had trouble taming the tongue and the same mouth is blessing and hurting.
James says let a person display his works in the “prauteti” of wisdom.
The wisdom that is brash, arrogant and loud is:
Earthly / Unspiritual / Demonic
A. We have to identify and combat lies that are theological in nature
- ABC Nightline 3/26/09 “Is Satan real?”
- abc.com/nightline
B. We have to watch out for cultural lies
- Materialism (I need more; Madam Blueberry = happiness waits at the stuff mart)
- Saving with the goal of having enough to stop working (Jesus said this was foolish)
C. We have to watch out for our flesh’s tendencies and cravings
- What is your craving or tendency? (fill in the blank)
2. We view life and ministry in a wholistic fashion
A. Solid discipleship to combat the world influence and our sinful nature’s assault on truth
1. We try and provide preaching & teaching to educate, inform and equip
2. We have connect groups to learn, fellowship, grow and do ministry from
Be Radical
Be Together (1 John 1:1-7)
Be Christ-Like (Matthew 5-7)
Be Obedient (Ezekiel 36)
Be a Doer and Not a Hearer Only (James 1:22-25)
3. Use a Bible reading plan to saturate your mind with truth
http://www.esv.org/biblereadingplans
4. We need a theological foundation to stand on
- Listen to the series on systematic theology on the website
5. We must be intimately anchored to a local, bible believing, bible teaching church
B. Solid biblical perspective on spiritual conflict to combat the enemy
3. Following Jesus is a life long fight, not a one time fix
- Romans 7
- Beware of believing the good and easy days are here to stay
- Good and easy days are often followed by dark and lonely days
- Beware of believing that repenting of a sin is the last time you will be tempted to do that
sin
- A good repentance session is usually followed my the most intense temptation
- Beware of believing that the hard days are all that there are and good and victorious
days will never come
- You will have good days. They are often hard fought victories, but they do come.
- Beware of believing the lie that you have arrived and are dead right in everything and
that you are the one that needs to tell all the truth to all the sinners
- Be humble
- Enjoy the fact that when God’s people worship the enemy must flee
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Spiritual Conflict 3 Demonization
Demonization
How do Satan and his forces fight against us?
There are 3 factors that come to bear on us in the spiritual conflict we are in: The World, The Flesh and The Devil.
Each of these plays an equal role in their fight against Father and his kingdom. The enemy, the devil, can manipulate these in his fight against us.
Next week, we will mention more about these other factors, but today we are going to talk more about the enemy of our souls, the Devil and his host of principalities and powers.
Unclean Spirit
Matthew 12:43
Mark 1:23, 26; 3:30; 5:2, 8; 7:25; 9:25
Luke 4:33; 8:29; 9:42; 11:24
Revelation 18:2
Demon
Matthew 9:33; 11:18; 15:22; 17:18
Mark 7:26, 29f
Luke 4:33, 35; 7:33; 8:29; 9:42; 11:14
John 7:20; 8:48f, 52; 10:20f
Devil
Matthew 4:1, 5, 8, 11; 13:39; 25:41
Luke 4:2f, 5, 13; 8:12
John 6:70; 8:44; 13:2
Acts 10:38; 13:10
Ephesians 4:27; 6:11
1 Timothy 3:6f
2 Timothy 2:26
Hebrews 2:14
James 4:7
1 Peter 5:8
1 John 3:8, 10
Jude 1:9
Revelation 2:10; 12:9, 12; 20:2, 10
Satan
1 Chronicles 21:1
Job 1:6ff, 12; 2:1ff, 6f
Zecheriah 3:1f
Matthew 4:10; 12:26; 16:23
Mark 1:13; 3:23, 26; 4:15; 8:33
Luke 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:3, 31
John 13:27
Acts 5:3; 26:18
Romans 16:20
1 Corinthians 5:5; 7:5
2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14; 12:7
1 Thessalonians 2:18
2 Thessalonians 2:9
1 Timothy 1:20; 5:15
Revelation 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9; 12:9; 20:2, 7
Serpent
Genesis 3:1f, 4, 13f
2 Corinthians 11:3
Revelation 12:9, 14f; 20:2
The Scriptures recount stories of demons and their leader, the Devil, Satan, having influence over people.
There are 3 ways of approaching theses stories:
1) Dismiss the stories about demons altogether
This is the tact of the “demythologizing” approach of the twentieth century led by such scholars as Rudolph Bultmann who debunked these stories as reflecting a primitive worldview.
2) Reinterpret the strories about demons
The value to these stories is found when one gets behind their surface and discovers the deeper message. Some have suggested that “demon” is a code word for the Pharisaical religious establishment or that “unclean spirit” should be seen as a psychological projection of our inner self or that the “demons” were probably only outward displays of a mental illness altogether.
3) Accept the stories as what really happened
This does not necessarily mean that all Christians will find what is said in the bible about demons as relevant for today.
Some are still convinced that demonization only happened back in the first century.
The issue of possession
First, possess means to own. We are owned by Christ, and we, as followers of Jesus Christ cannot be owned by Satan.
Second, the word “possession” that is attached to the word “demon” in many current translations such as (KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV, NIV, NLT) is not actually in the Greek text.
The idea of possession is the interpretation of the translator from a single Greek word “daimonizomai”.
This is probably because since the translation of the KJV, the standard was set in interpreting the meaning of the single term.
This wording has come to create some, perhaps, false concepts of the work of the enemy in the life of Christians and even non-Christians.
I, along with many others, prefer to use the term “demonized”.
This is a transliterated word that comes straight from the Greek word and I believe captures the essence of the work of the enemy against us and the rest of humanity to continue the rebellion.
How might demons exert their influence on Christians? How can we be demonized?
Note: There is a distinction between what the enemy can and does in the life of the Christian and the life of the non-Christian.
We are inhabited by the Holy Spirit and have God’s seal on us. The enemy cannot do to us anything we do not allow them to. We have authority over the enemy. The enemy must submit to us.
This is not the case for the non-Christian. They have no authority, because the authority giver is not in them defending them and giving them authority over the evil one.
When we are transformed by the gospel and the Holy Spirit takes up the work of regeneration in us, we are not completed yet. We belong to Jesus Christ, however, we still wrestle against sinful tendencies and a system of lies that we have a tendency to believe. So, we have a war to fight, and the enemy brings the battle to us.
What might that look like? How might the enemy exert it’s influence on Christians?
1. Temptation
“So, too, by an influence equally obscure, demons and angels breath into the soul, and rouse up its corruptions with furious passions and vile excesses” (Tertullian, Apology, 22).
1 Thessalonians 3:5 The enemy is called “the tempter” and the object of his work was the Thessalonian’s faith.
1 John 3:12 (see John 8:44 Satan a murderer from the beginning) Cain was tempted by the murdering Satan to murder his brother because his deeds were right and his own evil.
Acts 5:1-11 (see verse 3) Ananias and Sapphira were tempted to make themselves look more generous than they were.
2. False Teaching
1 Timothy 4:1
2 Timothy 2:24-26
Colossians 2:8
Galatians 4:9
3. Initiating Feelings of Guilt, Doubt and Fear
Revelation 12:10 We are said to be accused by the “accuser” continuously.
“He likewise reminds believers of their shortcomings, unworthiness and sin. By stimulating feelings of guilt, he hopes to keep Christians from feeling well-assured in their relationship to Christ and unworthy to receive his empowering grace” (Clinton E. Arnold 99).
1 Peter 5:8 The image of Satan as a roaring lion depicts his attempts to instill fear into believers.
“Anxiety, panic and terror are feelings that Satan endeavors to arouse as a means of paralyzing Christians and preventing them from yielding to and experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives” (Clinton E. Arnold 99)
Illustration: Tent, Malawi, voice telling me my sister was dead
4. Physical Attack
2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a “messenger of Satan” to harass and torment him in order to keep Paul from becoming conceited because of the great things he had seen in visions and revelations from the Lord.
1. This was graciously allowed by the Father
2. Paul did not seek help from an intermediary, but he went straight to the Father
3. But the enemy was able to make sick
4. Father’s grace can sustain and he can make strength rise from weakness induced by the
enemy
5. Persecution
Revelation 2:8-11 Satan is behind the imprisonment of some in Smyrna
Revelation 2:12-13 Satan is behind the death of a faithful servant in Pergamum
Revelation 12-13 Satan’s seething violence toward God’s people is symbolized here
Revelation 13:7 The beast is given authority to make war on the church
Ignatius of Antioch describes saw his own suffering and eventual martyrdom as incited by Satan when he wrote his letter to the Romans:
“…fire and cross and battles with wild beasts, mutilation, mangling, wrenching of bones, the hacking of limbs, the crushing of my whole body…cruel tortures of the devil” (Letter to the Romans 5.3).
How do we deal with these demonic forces and gain victory? That is next week.
But for now, fight with this as a means of warfare and giving you a glimpse at next week:
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”
How do Satan and his forces fight against us?
There are 3 factors that come to bear on us in the spiritual conflict we are in: The World, The Flesh and The Devil.
Each of these plays an equal role in their fight against Father and his kingdom. The enemy, the devil, can manipulate these in his fight against us.
Next week, we will mention more about these other factors, but today we are going to talk more about the enemy of our souls, the Devil and his host of principalities and powers.
Unclean Spirit
Matthew 12:43
Mark 1:23, 26; 3:30; 5:2, 8; 7:25; 9:25
Luke 4:33; 8:29; 9:42; 11:24
Revelation 18:2
Demon
Matthew 9:33; 11:18; 15:22; 17:18
Mark 7:26, 29f
Luke 4:33, 35; 7:33; 8:29; 9:42; 11:14
John 7:20; 8:48f, 52; 10:20f
Devil
Matthew 4:1, 5, 8, 11; 13:39; 25:41
Luke 4:2f, 5, 13; 8:12
John 6:70; 8:44; 13:2
Acts 10:38; 13:10
Ephesians 4:27; 6:11
1 Timothy 3:6f
2 Timothy 2:26
Hebrews 2:14
James 4:7
1 Peter 5:8
1 John 3:8, 10
Jude 1:9
Revelation 2:10; 12:9, 12; 20:2, 10
Satan
1 Chronicles 21:1
Job 1:6ff, 12; 2:1ff, 6f
Zecheriah 3:1f
Matthew 4:10; 12:26; 16:23
Mark 1:13; 3:23, 26; 4:15; 8:33
Luke 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:3, 31
John 13:27
Acts 5:3; 26:18
Romans 16:20
1 Corinthians 5:5; 7:5
2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14; 12:7
1 Thessalonians 2:18
2 Thessalonians 2:9
1 Timothy 1:20; 5:15
Revelation 2:9, 13, 24; 3:9; 12:9; 20:2, 7
Serpent
Genesis 3:1f, 4, 13f
2 Corinthians 11:3
Revelation 12:9, 14f; 20:2
The Scriptures recount stories of demons and their leader, the Devil, Satan, having influence over people.
There are 3 ways of approaching theses stories:
1) Dismiss the stories about demons altogether
This is the tact of the “demythologizing” approach of the twentieth century led by such scholars as Rudolph Bultmann who debunked these stories as reflecting a primitive worldview.
2) Reinterpret the strories about demons
The value to these stories is found when one gets behind their surface and discovers the deeper message. Some have suggested that “demon” is a code word for the Pharisaical religious establishment or that “unclean spirit” should be seen as a psychological projection of our inner self or that the “demons” were probably only outward displays of a mental illness altogether.
3) Accept the stories as what really happened
This does not necessarily mean that all Christians will find what is said in the bible about demons as relevant for today.
Some are still convinced that demonization only happened back in the first century.
The issue of possession
First, possess means to own. We are owned by Christ, and we, as followers of Jesus Christ cannot be owned by Satan.
Second, the word “possession” that is attached to the word “demon” in many current translations such as (KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV, NIV, NLT) is not actually in the Greek text.
The idea of possession is the interpretation of the translator from a single Greek word “daimonizomai”.
This is probably because since the translation of the KJV, the standard was set in interpreting the meaning of the single term.
This wording has come to create some, perhaps, false concepts of the work of the enemy in the life of Christians and even non-Christians.
I, along with many others, prefer to use the term “demonized”.
This is a transliterated word that comes straight from the Greek word and I believe captures the essence of the work of the enemy against us and the rest of humanity to continue the rebellion.
How might demons exert their influence on Christians? How can we be demonized?
Note: There is a distinction between what the enemy can and does in the life of the Christian and the life of the non-Christian.
We are inhabited by the Holy Spirit and have God’s seal on us. The enemy cannot do to us anything we do not allow them to. We have authority over the enemy. The enemy must submit to us.
This is not the case for the non-Christian. They have no authority, because the authority giver is not in them defending them and giving them authority over the evil one.
When we are transformed by the gospel and the Holy Spirit takes up the work of regeneration in us, we are not completed yet. We belong to Jesus Christ, however, we still wrestle against sinful tendencies and a system of lies that we have a tendency to believe. So, we have a war to fight, and the enemy brings the battle to us.
What might that look like? How might the enemy exert it’s influence on Christians?
1. Temptation
“So, too, by an influence equally obscure, demons and angels breath into the soul, and rouse up its corruptions with furious passions and vile excesses” (Tertullian, Apology, 22).
1 Thessalonians 3:5 The enemy is called “the tempter” and the object of his work was the Thessalonian’s faith.
1 John 3:12 (see John 8:44 Satan a murderer from the beginning) Cain was tempted by the murdering Satan to murder his brother because his deeds were right and his own evil.
Acts 5:1-11 (see verse 3) Ananias and Sapphira were tempted to make themselves look more generous than they were.
2. False Teaching
1 Timothy 4:1
2 Timothy 2:24-26
Colossians 2:8
Galatians 4:9
3. Initiating Feelings of Guilt, Doubt and Fear
Revelation 12:10 We are said to be accused by the “accuser” continuously.
“He likewise reminds believers of their shortcomings, unworthiness and sin. By stimulating feelings of guilt, he hopes to keep Christians from feeling well-assured in their relationship to Christ and unworthy to receive his empowering grace” (Clinton E. Arnold 99).
1 Peter 5:8 The image of Satan as a roaring lion depicts his attempts to instill fear into believers.
“Anxiety, panic and terror are feelings that Satan endeavors to arouse as a means of paralyzing Christians and preventing them from yielding to and experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives” (Clinton E. Arnold 99)
Illustration: Tent, Malawi, voice telling me my sister was dead
4. Physical Attack
2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a “messenger of Satan” to harass and torment him in order to keep Paul from becoming conceited because of the great things he had seen in visions and revelations from the Lord.
1. This was graciously allowed by the Father
2. Paul did not seek help from an intermediary, but he went straight to the Father
3. But the enemy was able to make sick
4. Father’s grace can sustain and he can make strength rise from weakness induced by the
enemy
5. Persecution
Revelation 2:8-11 Satan is behind the imprisonment of some in Smyrna
Revelation 2:12-13 Satan is behind the death of a faithful servant in Pergamum
Revelation 12-13 Satan’s seething violence toward God’s people is symbolized here
Revelation 13:7 The beast is given authority to make war on the church
Ignatius of Antioch describes saw his own suffering and eventual martyrdom as incited by Satan when he wrote his letter to the Romans:
“…fire and cross and battles with wild beasts, mutilation, mangling, wrenching of bones, the hacking of limbs, the crushing of my whole body…cruel tortures of the devil” (Letter to the Romans 5.3).
How do we deal with these demonic forces and gain victory? That is next week.
But for now, fight with this as a means of warfare and giving you a glimpse at next week:
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Spiritual Conflict (Part 1)
Spiritual Conflict (Part 1)
Ephesians 6:10-20
1. Spiritual Conflict is a real issue and not to be neglected
2. We are in a struggle and largely unaware that our battle is not against people
3. We must learn to shed our post-enlightenment world view and take on a Christian world view
4. There are two extremes that must be avoided:
5. Jesus has won the battle over the powers Colossians 2:15
Ephesians 6:10-20
1. We are in a fight whether we want to admit it or not v. 10
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and watchful
- Don’t always dismiss your thoughts without analyzing them as to
their source
- Pay attention to your weaknesses and guard yourself against temptations
in those areas
- Evaluate your doctrinal beliefs
- 2 Timothy 2:24-26
- Be careful to whom you listen in spiritual matters particularly
2. We are to be strong in the Lord v. 10
- Ephesians 1:15-21; 2:1-7; 3:14-19
- Our strength is found in knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son
- Our strength is found in the ability to see and discern truth / reality
- Our strength is found in living in the hope we are called to
- Our strength is found in the resurrection power exercised in Christ that is at
work in us
- Our strength is found in our unity with Christ now and the unity to come in full
- Our strength is found in the fact that Christ Jesus dwells in us by his Spirit
3. Satan and his demons are schemers v. 11
- 2 Corinthians 2:11 Encouragement to not be outwitted by Satan because we are not
ignorant of his designs
- Satan’s primary scheme is the extinguishing of the truth of the Gospel
- Be aware that our conflict is a doctrinal conflict
- Demons teach doctrine 1 Timothy 4:1
- Keep a close watch on your doctrine
- 1 Timothy 4:16
- Satan schemes to deceive us regarding who is in charge of the universe or even
to deceive us into thinking he (Satan) is an equal and opposing force of evil
against God
- 1 John 5:19 is not a reference to the “Evil One” ruling the universe
- It is a reference to him being in charge of the system of
lies that are contrary to the Gospel
- Satan also schemes to distract our attention from our identity
- Ephesians 2:6
- We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
- Satan also schemes to bring ethnic disunity to the church
- Ephesians 3:10 (note the context of chapter 2 and Colossians 1:15-20; 2:8-23)
- Beware of ethnic tensions between Christians
- Satan also schemes to impugn our moral character by tempting us to act like what we
used to be
- Ephesians 4-6:9
- Satan also schemes to blind us to the real conflict and thus trash unity
- Ephesians 6:12
Clinton E. Arnold, Principalities and Powers in Paul’s Letters, Inter-vasity Press, 1992.
Clinton E. Arnold, 2 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare, Baker, 1997.
Ephesians 6:10-20
1. Spiritual Conflict is a real issue and not to be neglected
2. We are in a struggle and largely unaware that our battle is not against people
3. We must learn to shed our post-enlightenment world view and take on a Christian world view
4. There are two extremes that must be avoided:
5. Jesus has won the battle over the powers Colossians 2:15
Ephesians 6:10-20
1. We are in a fight whether we want to admit it or not v. 10
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and watchful
- Don’t always dismiss your thoughts without analyzing them as to
their source
- Pay attention to your weaknesses and guard yourself against temptations
in those areas
- Evaluate your doctrinal beliefs
- 2 Timothy 2:24-26
- Be careful to whom you listen in spiritual matters particularly
2. We are to be strong in the Lord v. 10
- Ephesians 1:15-21; 2:1-7; 3:14-19
- Our strength is found in knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son
- Our strength is found in the ability to see and discern truth / reality
- Our strength is found in living in the hope we are called to
- Our strength is found in the resurrection power exercised in Christ that is at
work in us
- Our strength is found in our unity with Christ now and the unity to come in full
- Our strength is found in the fact that Christ Jesus dwells in us by his Spirit
3. Satan and his demons are schemers v. 11
- 2 Corinthians 2:11 Encouragement to not be outwitted by Satan because we are not
ignorant of his designs
- Satan’s primary scheme is the extinguishing of the truth of the Gospel
- Be aware that our conflict is a doctrinal conflict
- Demons teach doctrine 1 Timothy 4:1
- Keep a close watch on your doctrine
- 1 Timothy 4:16
- Satan schemes to deceive us regarding who is in charge of the universe or even
to deceive us into thinking he (Satan) is an equal and opposing force of evil
against God
- 1 John 5:19 is not a reference to the “Evil One” ruling the universe
- It is a reference to him being in charge of the system of
lies that are contrary to the Gospel
- Satan also schemes to distract our attention from our identity
- Ephesians 2:6
- We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
- Satan also schemes to bring ethnic disunity to the church
- Ephesians 3:10 (note the context of chapter 2 and Colossians 1:15-20; 2:8-23)
- Beware of ethnic tensions between Christians
- Satan also schemes to impugn our moral character by tempting us to act like what we
used to be
- Ephesians 4-6:9
- Satan also schemes to blind us to the real conflict and thus trash unity
- Ephesians 6:12
Clinton E. Arnold, Principalities and Powers in Paul’s Letters, Inter-vasity Press, 1992.
Clinton E. Arnold, 2 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare, Baker, 1997.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Justification
Justification
Justify in the bible is the work “dikaio” – to make right our just; imputed righteousness; declare and treat as righteous
Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.
1. Instantaneous legal act of God
When we are converted (faith and repentance) God instantly justifies us in the legal act of justification.
When one believes and turns there is no delay, we are “saved”. We are justified
Legal act of God: “dikaio” – to make right our just; imputed righteousness; declare righteous
Romans 3:20; 26; 28
Romans 5:1
Galatians 2:15-16
2. God thinks of our sins as forgiven
God think of our sin as forgiven
- We have no penalty to pay for sin (past, present, future)
- Romans 8:1
- Romans 4:4-8
- Palm 103:12
“Forgiveness of sin will get you out of hell, but it will not get you into heaven.” – R.C. Sproul
“We must rather move from a point of moral neutrality to a point of having positive righteousness before God, the righteousness of a life of perfect obedience to him.” – Wayne Grudem
3. God declares us to be righteous in his sight
How does God declare us to be righteous?
God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us
The word “impute” is a word chosen on purpose by the reformers partly to counter the Roman Catholic view of “infused” righteousness (See Grudem for further discussion p. 726-729) and to communicate what the biblical text is telling about how God declares us righteous.
There are three instances of imputing:
1. When Adam sinned, his guilt was imputed to us (Romans 5:12-21)
2. When Jesus suffered and died our sin was imputed to him (2 Corinthians 5:21)
3. Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us
- Impute – to ascribe to someone something
- When it is said that God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us it means
that God thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us. Or God counts
Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us.
- Romans 4:1-3; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9
1. We do not act righteous, but God counts us as though we are and declares that we are guiltless
- Watch out for the demonic attack of unhealthy guilt (guilt that feels like God is
condemning you)
- Romans 8:1
- Be thankful for the gracious gift of healthy guilt (the feeling one gets when we
sin and realized God not only loves me but still likes me so I know I must and want to
repent)
- Romans 2:4
- It is God’s kindness to us and his love of his and his acceptance of us that
causes us to desire repentance.
- Be humbled and worship in response to God’s grace to us
2. We are accepted
- God not only forgives us, he reckons, counts, imputes Christ Jesus’ righteousness to us
and calls us “sons” and “daughters” and “children” and “heirs”
- Watch out for anyone or place who makes your acceptance by God
“conditional” based upon what you do or do not do (legalism)
- Watch out for anyone or place who allows you unfettered access to
blatantly wrong behavior and says that it’s ok because you are
forgiven (antinomian = lawless)
- Forgiven and accepted does not equal lawless
- We have the law of our conscience informed by the Holy Spirit
who inspired the Scriptures to apply to us, and we must listen and
obey
3. We enjoy the peaceful fruit of certainty that God loves and accepts us
- Do not put your hope in uncertain investments (Luke 12:13-21)
4. Preach this message
- Believe that this message communicates in an increasingly diverse background of
spirituality and religions
- This message can speak to suffering and evil and its cure
- This message has divine power to transform a lost hear without our manipulation
- This message provides a lens / framework through which the Christian must learn
to engage its world
- It was certainly noticeable that, following September 11, the church was mostly unable to offer any public reading on the tragedy that did anything more than commiserate with those who had lost loved ones. There was virtually no Christian interpretation, no wrestling with the meaning of evil, little thought about the cross where Christians contend its back was broken. –David Wells
5. Use your God ordained vocation as a means of propagating this message
- Don’t forget your vocation is where God has put you and there is where you preach from
Justify in the bible is the work “dikaio” – to make right our just; imputed righteousness; declare and treat as righteous
Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.
1. Instantaneous legal act of God
When we are converted (faith and repentance) God instantly justifies us in the legal act of justification.
When one believes and turns there is no delay, we are “saved”. We are justified
Legal act of God: “dikaio” – to make right our just; imputed righteousness; declare righteous
Romans 3:20; 26; 28
Romans 5:1
Galatians 2:15-16
2. God thinks of our sins as forgiven
God think of our sin as forgiven
- We have no penalty to pay for sin (past, present, future)
- Romans 8:1
- Romans 4:4-8
- Palm 103:12
“Forgiveness of sin will get you out of hell, but it will not get you into heaven.” – R.C. Sproul
“We must rather move from a point of moral neutrality to a point of having positive righteousness before God, the righteousness of a life of perfect obedience to him.” – Wayne Grudem
3. God declares us to be righteous in his sight
How does God declare us to be righteous?
God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us
The word “impute” is a word chosen on purpose by the reformers partly to counter the Roman Catholic view of “infused” righteousness (See Grudem for further discussion p. 726-729) and to communicate what the biblical text is telling about how God declares us righteous.
There are three instances of imputing:
1. When Adam sinned, his guilt was imputed to us (Romans 5:12-21)
2. When Jesus suffered and died our sin was imputed to him (2 Corinthians 5:21)
3. Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us
- Impute – to ascribe to someone something
- When it is said that God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us it means
that God thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us. Or God counts
Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us.
- Romans 4:1-3; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9
1. We do not act righteous, but God counts us as though we are and declares that we are guiltless
- Watch out for the demonic attack of unhealthy guilt (guilt that feels like God is
condemning you)
- Romans 8:1
- Be thankful for the gracious gift of healthy guilt (the feeling one gets when we
sin and realized God not only loves me but still likes me so I know I must and want to
repent)
- Romans 2:4
- It is God’s kindness to us and his love of his and his acceptance of us that
causes us to desire repentance.
- Be humbled and worship in response to God’s grace to us
2. We are accepted
- God not only forgives us, he reckons, counts, imputes Christ Jesus’ righteousness to us
and calls us “sons” and “daughters” and “children” and “heirs”
- Watch out for anyone or place who makes your acceptance by God
“conditional” based upon what you do or do not do (legalism)
- Watch out for anyone or place who allows you unfettered access to
blatantly wrong behavior and says that it’s ok because you are
forgiven (antinomian = lawless)
- Forgiven and accepted does not equal lawless
- We have the law of our conscience informed by the Holy Spirit
who inspired the Scriptures to apply to us, and we must listen and
obey
3. We enjoy the peaceful fruit of certainty that God loves and accepts us
- Do not put your hope in uncertain investments (Luke 12:13-21)
4. Preach this message
- Believe that this message communicates in an increasingly diverse background of
spirituality and religions
- This message can speak to suffering and evil and its cure
- This message has divine power to transform a lost hear without our manipulation
- This message provides a lens / framework through which the Christian must learn
to engage its world
- It was certainly noticeable that, following September 11, the church was mostly unable to offer any public reading on the tragedy that did anything more than commiserate with those who had lost loved ones. There was virtually no Christian interpretation, no wrestling with the meaning of evil, little thought about the cross where Christians contend its back was broken. –David Wells
5. Use your God ordained vocation as a means of propagating this message
- Don’t forget your vocation is where God has put you and there is where you preach from
Friday, February 13, 2009
Vocation
Question: How do I know my vocation / calling and why does my job matter if I’m not in the ministry?
Vocation
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
The doctrine of vocation has its root in Latin(voca) and means “calling”.
The Latin comes from the Greek “klesis” which means “one's temporal status and position in life, social role, vocation, situation, station”
The word vocation came to be used of the ministry and religious order in the Catholic Church.
However Luther, in the Reformation, was the first to apply that word to the occupations and offices of the regular lay person.
Today the word “vocation” as become common place and is a synonym for a profession or job.
But behind the term and its root (klesis in Greek or voca in Latin) is the notion that every legitimate kind of work (plumber) or social function (mommy) is a distinct "calling" or “vocation” from God, requiring unique God-given gifts, skills, and talents.
Moreover, the Reformation doctrine of vocation teaches that God himself is active in everyday human labor, family responsibilities, and social interactions to display his love and care for creation and particularly his people.
That is to say that God uses means to interact with his creation and his people.
Examples: Medical profession as a means of healing;
Farming as a means of feeding people as a common grace;
teachers who teach people to read that will end up reading the Scriptures and being saved or held accountable for the information they rejected in sin and rebellion;
welders or machinists that produce parts that make life easier as a means of God’s kindness to us to allow us to do more and serve more and give more;
mothers who nurture and train as a means of grace in equipping the next generation to be good citizens;
fathers who set an example of hard work and trust in God, etc…
It’s hard to have a discussion about vocation apart from the doctrine of God’s providence.
God’s providence: God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.
Question: How do I know my vocation / calling and why does my job matter if I’m not in the ministry?
1. Your vocation is to be found in the place you currently occupy
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Context of the passage: stay in your God-ordained relationships; do not seek to abandon them or destroy them
V. 17 (perfect tense) (remain ethnically unique)
V. 20 (each one is to remain in the call {station} to which he is called)
V. 24
In verse 17-24 the first context is regarding one’s ethnic uniqueness when they are converted.
The next context is regarding one’s station / vocation in life v. 20, 21, 22, 24
1. Where one is, is just right
2. Where one is, is God’s work not one’s self determining power
- Be content with who you are
- Be content with what you are doing (as long as it’s legitimate)
- Be humbled
- Be submissive
- Do your absolute best where you are as your worship
2. Your vocation is a “means” of showing God’s love to his creation
Isaiah 45:1-7
- This is why your vocation / calling matters among the nations
- This is why your vocation / calling matters among the hurting in Floyd County
- God is at work in your daily work to grace mankind and particularly his church
- God uses even the unsaved to show his kindness to man and even the church
- We can remember that God is working for our good
3. God is concerned with how you execute your vocation not whether you are “doing ministry”
Colossians 3:23
* It does not matter what you do (as long as it is legitimate), your work is holy 1 Peter 2:9
* Keep your heart in check while you work
- If you are whining, then repent
- If you are learning, growing, supplying, productive, then keep worshipping
4. Focus on abiding in Christ not changing vocations unless a better job is offered or you have the opportunity to seek a better vocation, and then do that with integrity
* Focus on longevity not instant gratification
* Give above and beyond the typical notice if allowed
* Make sure you employer is better off for having you as an employee
5. You may have more than one vocation
* Married and employed
* Mother / Father and employed
* Employed and Civil Servant / Volunteer
6. Being a Parent is a vocation and is as important as being a King
* Mothers need not let feminism rob them of a high calling
* Fathers need not let playing rob them of a high calling
7. Wherever you are currently is where God has you 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 21, 22, 24
(# 1 repeated in different words for effect because I believe many have sought ministry for fulfillment because they were dissatisfied with their jobs and gone to ministry with the wrong intention of fulfilling themselves and not to serve Christ and his church)
- We do not end up anywhere because we are self-determining beings.
- We are where we are because our loving Father has put us there.
* We are placed rightly (indicated by the perfect tense)
* God has placed us where we are (indicated by the passive voice)
Vocation
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
The doctrine of vocation has its root in Latin(voca) and means “calling”.
The Latin comes from the Greek “klesis” which means “one's temporal status and position in life, social role, vocation, situation, station”
The word vocation came to be used of the ministry and religious order in the Catholic Church.
However Luther, in the Reformation, was the first to apply that word to the occupations and offices of the regular lay person.
Today the word “vocation” as become common place and is a synonym for a profession or job.
But behind the term and its root (klesis in Greek or voca in Latin) is the notion that every legitimate kind of work (plumber) or social function (mommy) is a distinct "calling" or “vocation” from God, requiring unique God-given gifts, skills, and talents.
Moreover, the Reformation doctrine of vocation teaches that God himself is active in everyday human labor, family responsibilities, and social interactions to display his love and care for creation and particularly his people.
That is to say that God uses means to interact with his creation and his people.
Examples: Medical profession as a means of healing;
Farming as a means of feeding people as a common grace;
teachers who teach people to read that will end up reading the Scriptures and being saved or held accountable for the information they rejected in sin and rebellion;
welders or machinists that produce parts that make life easier as a means of God’s kindness to us to allow us to do more and serve more and give more;
mothers who nurture and train as a means of grace in equipping the next generation to be good citizens;
fathers who set an example of hard work and trust in God, etc…
It’s hard to have a discussion about vocation apart from the doctrine of God’s providence.
God’s providence: God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.
Question: How do I know my vocation / calling and why does my job matter if I’m not in the ministry?
1. Your vocation is to be found in the place you currently occupy
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Context of the passage: stay in your God-ordained relationships; do not seek to abandon them or destroy them
V. 17 (perfect tense) (remain ethnically unique)
V. 20 (each one is to remain in the call {station} to which he is called)
V. 24
In verse 17-24 the first context is regarding one’s ethnic uniqueness when they are converted.
The next context is regarding one’s station / vocation in life v. 20, 21, 22, 24
1. Where one is, is just right
2. Where one is, is God’s work not one’s self determining power
- Be content with who you are
- Be content with what you are doing (as long as it’s legitimate)
- Be humbled
- Be submissive
- Do your absolute best where you are as your worship
2. Your vocation is a “means” of showing God’s love to his creation
Isaiah 45:1-7
- This is why your vocation / calling matters among the nations
- This is why your vocation / calling matters among the hurting in Floyd County
- God is at work in your daily work to grace mankind and particularly his church
- God uses even the unsaved to show his kindness to man and even the church
- We can remember that God is working for our good
3. God is concerned with how you execute your vocation not whether you are “doing ministry”
Colossians 3:23
* It does not matter what you do (as long as it is legitimate), your work is holy 1 Peter 2:9
* Keep your heart in check while you work
- If you are whining, then repent
- If you are learning, growing, supplying, productive, then keep worshipping
4. Focus on abiding in Christ not changing vocations unless a better job is offered or you have the opportunity to seek a better vocation, and then do that with integrity
* Focus on longevity not instant gratification
* Give above and beyond the typical notice if allowed
* Make sure you employer is better off for having you as an employee
5. You may have more than one vocation
* Married and employed
* Mother / Father and employed
* Employed and Civil Servant / Volunteer
6. Being a Parent is a vocation and is as important as being a King
* Mothers need not let feminism rob them of a high calling
* Fathers need not let playing rob them of a high calling
7. Wherever you are currently is where God has you 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 21, 22, 24
(# 1 repeated in different words for effect because I believe many have sought ministry for fulfillment because they were dissatisfied with their jobs and gone to ministry with the wrong intention of fulfilling themselves and not to serve Christ and his church)
- We do not end up anywhere because we are self-determining beings.
- We are where we are because our loving Father has put us there.
* We are placed rightly (indicated by the perfect tense)
* God has placed us where we are (indicated by the passive voice)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The Will of God
In answering questions about the will of God there are generally at least four kinds of misunderstanding:
1. God’s will is lost and they have to find it
2. God is a kill joy and doing God’s will is no fun
3. God’s will is like a lottery ticket (only a few find it and are happy)
4. God’s will is a dot I have to get on in order to be blessed (one man, one woman, one job)
Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do your will O God.”
God’s will is not a matter of information but of obedience.
There are two ways to talk about the will of God.
1) The will of God that God himself does, God himself fulfills, God himself accomplishes
2) God’s will for man
The Sovereign will of God
Psalm 33
Isaiah 46:9
Daniel 4:34-35
Ephesians 1:11
God’s Will for Man
Saved
1 Timothy 2:3-4 This is not a statement of God’s sovereign will but his benevolence to man in taking no delight in the death of the wicked and displaying his great desire that all types of people be saved.
2 Peter 3:9 God has provided salvation for anyone who will believe. God has willed salvation for man to receive by faith
Mark 3:32
1 John 2:17
Spirit-filled
Ephesians 5:17-18
Colossians 3:16
Sanctified
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
Submissive
1 Peter 2:13-15
Suffering (from doing right not from doing wrong, that is discipline)
Philippians 1:29
2 Timothy 3:12
1 Peter 2:20; 4:19; 5:10
Conclusion
Psalm 37:4
1. God’s will is lost and they have to find it
2. God is a kill joy and doing God’s will is no fun
3. God’s will is like a lottery ticket (only a few find it and are happy)
4. God’s will is a dot I have to get on in order to be blessed (one man, one woman, one job)
Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do your will O God.”
God’s will is not a matter of information but of obedience.
There are two ways to talk about the will of God.
1) The will of God that God himself does, God himself fulfills, God himself accomplishes
2) God’s will for man
The Sovereign will of God
Psalm 33
Isaiah 46:9
Daniel 4:34-35
Ephesians 1:11
God’s Will for Man
Saved
1 Timothy 2:3-4 This is not a statement of God’s sovereign will but his benevolence to man in taking no delight in the death of the wicked and displaying his great desire that all types of people be saved.
2 Peter 3:9 God has provided salvation for anyone who will believe. God has willed salvation for man to receive by faith
Mark 3:32
1 John 2:17
Spirit-filled
Ephesians 5:17-18
Colossians 3:16
Sanctified
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
Submissive
1 Peter 2:13-15
Suffering (from doing right not from doing wrong, that is discipline)
Philippians 1:29
2 Timothy 3:12
1 Peter 2:20; 4:19; 5:10
Conclusion
Psalm 37:4
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sanctity of Life
Abortion is an issue that will require William Wilberforce like Christians who will love their unborn neighbors enough to pour out their lives in defense of them.
Ephesians 5:11
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
1. We must be active in exposing evil and darkness
2. We must, like imitators of God, have God’s values as a primary means of determining our actions
3. We must expose the foolish values of fallen man and illuminate darkness with truth
4. We must not sacrifice foundational truth for the sake of western values
- It’s not the economy stupid
- Western values are not God’s reality
- God values: poverty of spirit, mourning over our state as fallen humans,
meekness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart
peacemaking, being persecuted for righteousness
Lets apply our the doctrine of man to this issue and use God’s wisdom to help us address this issue.
The issue is threefold:
Personhood
The False Argument of Choice
Competing Rights
Personhood
There are essentially two issues which must be resolved concerning unborn embryos and fetuses. The first is, "Are they human beings?"
The second is, "Should they be recognized as persons under the law?"
This is established, primarily as Christians, by God, his word and the doctrine of man.
Medical science also bears this out.
The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th ed.
Keith L. Moore, Ph.D. & T.V.N. Persaud, Md., (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1998), 2-18.
"[The Zygote] results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm ... unites with a female gamete or oocyte ... to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual."
Essentials of Human Embryology
William J. Larsen, (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998), 1-17.
"In this text, we begin our description of the developing human with the formation and differentiation of the male and female sex cells or gametes, which will unite at fertilization to initiate the embryonic development of a new individual. ... Fertilization takes place in the oviduct ... resulting in the formation of a zygote containing a single diploid nucleus. Embryonic development is considered to begin at this point... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development."
Human Embryology & Teratology
Ronan R. O'Rahilly, Fabiola Muller, (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996), 5-55.
"Fertilization is an important landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed... Fertilization is the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments... The zygote ... is a unicellular embryo... "The ill-defined and inaccurate term pre-embryo, which includes the embryonic disc, is said either to end with the appearance of the primitive streak or ... to include neurulation. The term is not used in this book."
Adding to the consensus of contemporary textbooks is the testimony of older medical texts as well:
Human Embryology, 3rd ed.
Bradley M. Patten, (New York: McGraw Hill, 1968), 43.
"It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoa and resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitutes the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual."
Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics
J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Friedman, (Philadelphia: W.B. Sanders, 1974), 17.
"The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of a new life."
Pathology of the Fetus and the Infant, 3d ed.
E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig, (Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1975), vii.
"Every time a sperm cell and ovum unite a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."
In addition to the consistent testimony found in medical textbooks, there is some equally conclusive evidence that exists on the public record. In 1981, a United States Senate judiciary subcommittee received the following testimony from a collection of medical experts (Subcommittee on Separation of Powers to Senate Judiciary Committee S-158, Report, 97th Congress, 1st Session, 1981):
Professor Micheline Matthews-Roth
Harvard University Medical School
"It is incorrect to say that biological data cannot be decisive...It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception."
Dr. Alfred M. Bongioanni
Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, University of Pennsylvania
"I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception."
Dr. Jerome LeJeune
Professor of Genetics, University of Descartes
"After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being. [It] is no longer a matter of taste or opinion...it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception."
Professor Hymie Gordon
Mayo Clinic
"By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception."
Dr. Watson A. Bowes
University of Colorado Medical School
"The beginning of a single human life is from a biological point of view a simple and straightforward matter – the beginning is conception."
The official Senate report reached this conclusion:
Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being - a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings.
This, of course, should come as no surprise since the American Medical Association (AMA) declared as far back as 1857 (referenced in the Roe. v. Wade opinion) that "the independent and actual existence of the child before birth, as a living being” is a matter of objective science. They deplored the “popular ignorance...that the fetus is not alive till after the period of quickening.”
Doctors knew it during the 1800's and doctors know it today. Human life begins at conception.
If this were not true, if unborn children were not human, there would be no need to even talk about rights of personhood.
"Removing a fetus" would be the moral equivalent of pulling a tooth. This, however, is not the case, and so the debate must now enter the political arena.
There is a very real sense in which the need to answer this second question is, in itself, an absurdity.
If you look up the word "person" in your dictionary, you'll find something like this:
Person - n. A human being.
A person, simply put, is a human being.
This fact should be enough.
The intrinsic humanity of unborn children, by definition, makes them persons and should, therefore, guarantee their protection under the law.
For more than thirty years, however, this has not been the case. The situation we are left with is this:
In America today, there is a huge and singular group of living human beings who have no protection under the law and are being killed every day.
There have been at least two other instances in American history in which specific groups of human beings were stripped of their rights of personhood as a means of justifying their horrible mistreatment.
African-Americans and Native-Americans both felt the brunt of a system which denied their humanity, stripped them of their personhood and subjected them to horrors beyond measure.
While the legal framework that made such injustice possible has now been removed, it remains firmly in place for unborn Americans.
There remains one, and only one, group of human beings in the U.S. today for which being human is not enough.
The inconvenience of their existence has resulted in a legal loophole of shameful proportions.
What is a person?
A person is a human being (unless, of course, you haven't been born yet, in which case we'll define personhood in any way possible so as to exclude you, kill you and forget you).
The False Argument of Choice
Since abortion is impossible to justify on its own merits (it kills a living human being, remember), "choice" has become the foundation of its political justification.
Abortion advocates don't want to talk about facts or science, or even theology but they love to talk about "choice".
"This is America...We're free to choose...You can't legislate morality!"
Nothing has so clouded and confused the politics of this debate more than the misconstrued application of this one little term, “choice”.
The bottom line is this. Choice is nothing apart from the context to which it is applied.
Individual choices are either recognized or restricted based upon the circumstances at hand.
That's how our laws work. You simply cannot talk about choice in isolation.
For thirty years, however, abortion advocates have sought to bestow upon choice a nobility all its own, nobility it has no claim to.
They refuse to be called "pro-abortion", but they gladly accept the label "pro-choice" (despite the fact that there are countless other issues for which they are decidedly not pro-choice).
The fact is, laws against rape, murder, assault, theft, speeding, drunk-driving and even smoking are all "anti-choice".
They take away legal protection from one particular choice in order to protect a more foundational freedom.
All such laws are "legislating morality".
That's the only way society can survive w/o anarchy.
Personal choices that infringe on the life or livelihood of another human being must be legislated against.
Therefore, anyone who defends legal abortion by simply arguing that people must be free to make their own choices is either ignorant or dishonest.
Furthermore, in almost 99% of all U.S. abortions1, the woman having the abortion chose to have sexual intercourse in the first place.
Therefore, it could just as easily be argued that these women already made their choice when they chose to engage in behavior that often leads to pregnancy.
Ultimately, restricting a woman's right to abortion does not restrict a woman's right to not be pregnant.
Abortion, after all, does not keep a woman from being pregnant. Not having sex does that.
Abortion simply ends the pregnancy of an already pregnant woman by killing the embryo or fetus living within her.
In the end, we are only free to choose so long as that choice doesn't kill or harm someone else, and our government exists to take away those choices that do.
Nobody argues that a man should be free to choose when the context is sexual assault.
What a fool he would be to try and justify rape by saying, "My body, my choice." Why? Because rape is a violent assault which involves more than just one body.
And so is abortion. The heart of the issue is not "choice".
The real question is humanity, and nothing short of anarchy can guarantee the perfect freedom of choice.
Choice is the “god” of many.
Illustration: States that have fetal homicide laws
It is murder to kill a fetus or embryo, intentionally except in the case of abortion.
There are 36 states that have this law, including Georgia.
It’s strange that if someone else kills the child, it’s is “feticide”, but if the mother chooses to abort the child it is “choice”.
1. Just over 1% of all abortions in the United States happen as a result of rape: Torres A and Forrest JD, Why do women have abortions? Family Planning Perspectives, 1988, 24(4):169-176.
Competing Rights
Politically speaking, abortion is an issue that involves competing rights.
1. On the one hand, you have the mother's right not to be pregnant.
v/s
2. On the other hand, you have the baby's right not to be killed.
The question that must be answered is this: Which right is more fundamental? Which right has a greater claim?
Abortion advocates argue that outlawing abortion would, in essence, elevate the rights of the unborn over and above those of the mother.
"How can you make a fetus more important than a grown woman?", they might ask.
In reality, outlawing abortion wouldn't be giving unborn children more rights; it would simply gain for them the one most fundamental right that no one can live without, the right to life.
If a baby is not to be aborted, then the pregnant mother must remain pregnant.
This will also require of her sickness, fatigue, reduced mobility, an enlarged body, and a new wardrobe.
Fortunately, it is not a permanent condition.
On the flip side, for a pregnant woman not to be pregnant, her child must be killed (unless she is past her 21st week of pregnancy, in which case the baby may well survive outside the womb).
Abortion costs the unborn child his or her very life and it is a thoroughly permanent condition.
This is what's at stake, both for the child and for the mother. It is not an issue of who is more important, but rather who has more on the line.
Any time the rights of two people stand in opposition to each other, the government must protect the more fundamental right.
Let's consider crosswalks on Broad Street. A car is driving down the street while a person is crossing the street.
The law requires the driver of that car to slow down and stop (giving up their right to drive where they want, when they want, and at what speed they want) so that the pedestrian may cross the street in front of him. Why?
Why must the driver temporarily give up his right to drive down the street just because someone else is walking across the street? Why is the right of the man on foot upheld while the right of the man in the car is denied?
It is not because the pedestrian is more valuable than the driver but rather because, if the driver doesn't stop, the pedestrian will likely be killed.
In order for the driver to proceed down the street at full speed, at that moment, it will cost the pedestrian his life.
In order for the pedestrian to finish crossing the street, at that moment, it will cost the driver a few minutes of drive time.
Obviously, for a woman to remain pregnant, she gives up far more than a few minutes of drive time, but she gives up far less than the baby who would otherwise be killed.
This is what it all comes down to.
Abortion permanently takes away the life of the unborn.
Pregnancy temporarily takes away some of the freedoms of the mother.
Since there is far more at stake for the child, the more fundamental right to life must be upheld.
Arguments taken from www.abort73.com
Ephesians 5:11
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
1. We must be active in exposing evil and darkness
2. We must, like imitators of God, have God’s values as a primary means of determining our actions
3. We must expose the foolish values of fallen man and illuminate darkness with truth
4. We must not sacrifice foundational truth for the sake of western values
- It’s not the economy stupid
- Western values are not God’s reality
- God values: poverty of spirit, mourning over our state as fallen humans,
meekness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart
peacemaking, being persecuted for righteousness
Lets apply our the doctrine of man to this issue and use God’s wisdom to help us address this issue.
The issue is threefold:
Personhood
The False Argument of Choice
Competing Rights
Personhood
There are essentially two issues which must be resolved concerning unborn embryos and fetuses. The first is, "Are they human beings?"
The second is, "Should they be recognized as persons under the law?"
This is established, primarily as Christians, by God, his word and the doctrine of man.
Medical science also bears this out.
The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th ed.
Keith L. Moore, Ph.D. & T.V.N. Persaud, Md., (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1998), 2-18.
"[The Zygote] results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm ... unites with a female gamete or oocyte ... to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual."
Essentials of Human Embryology
William J. Larsen, (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998), 1-17.
"In this text, we begin our description of the developing human with the formation and differentiation of the male and female sex cells or gametes, which will unite at fertilization to initiate the embryonic development of a new individual. ... Fertilization takes place in the oviduct ... resulting in the formation of a zygote containing a single diploid nucleus. Embryonic development is considered to begin at this point... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development."
Human Embryology & Teratology
Ronan R. O'Rahilly, Fabiola Muller, (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996), 5-55.
"Fertilization is an important landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed... Fertilization is the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments... The zygote ... is a unicellular embryo... "The ill-defined and inaccurate term pre-embryo, which includes the embryonic disc, is said either to end with the appearance of the primitive streak or ... to include neurulation. The term is not used in this book."
Adding to the consensus of contemporary textbooks is the testimony of older medical texts as well:
Human Embryology, 3rd ed.
Bradley M. Patten, (New York: McGraw Hill, 1968), 43.
"It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoa and resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitutes the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual."
Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics
J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Friedman, (Philadelphia: W.B. Sanders, 1974), 17.
"The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of a new life."
Pathology of the Fetus and the Infant, 3d ed.
E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig, (Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1975), vii.
"Every time a sperm cell and ovum unite a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."
In addition to the consistent testimony found in medical textbooks, there is some equally conclusive evidence that exists on the public record. In 1981, a United States Senate judiciary subcommittee received the following testimony from a collection of medical experts (Subcommittee on Separation of Powers to Senate Judiciary Committee S-158, Report, 97th Congress, 1st Session, 1981):
Professor Micheline Matthews-Roth
Harvard University Medical School
"It is incorrect to say that biological data cannot be decisive...It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception."
Dr. Alfred M. Bongioanni
Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, University of Pennsylvania
"I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception."
Dr. Jerome LeJeune
Professor of Genetics, University of Descartes
"After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being. [It] is no longer a matter of taste or opinion...it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception."
Professor Hymie Gordon
Mayo Clinic
"By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception."
Dr. Watson A. Bowes
University of Colorado Medical School
"The beginning of a single human life is from a biological point of view a simple and straightforward matter – the beginning is conception."
The official Senate report reached this conclusion:
Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being - a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings.
This, of course, should come as no surprise since the American Medical Association (AMA) declared as far back as 1857 (referenced in the Roe. v. Wade opinion) that "the independent and actual existence of the child before birth, as a living being” is a matter of objective science. They deplored the “popular ignorance...that the fetus is not alive till after the period of quickening.”
Doctors knew it during the 1800's and doctors know it today. Human life begins at conception.
If this were not true, if unborn children were not human, there would be no need to even talk about rights of personhood.
"Removing a fetus" would be the moral equivalent of pulling a tooth. This, however, is not the case, and so the debate must now enter the political arena.
There is a very real sense in which the need to answer this second question is, in itself, an absurdity.
If you look up the word "person" in your dictionary, you'll find something like this:
Person - n. A human being.
A person, simply put, is a human being.
This fact should be enough.
The intrinsic humanity of unborn children, by definition, makes them persons and should, therefore, guarantee their protection under the law.
For more than thirty years, however, this has not been the case. The situation we are left with is this:
In America today, there is a huge and singular group of living human beings who have no protection under the law and are being killed every day.
There have been at least two other instances in American history in which specific groups of human beings were stripped of their rights of personhood as a means of justifying their horrible mistreatment.
African-Americans and Native-Americans both felt the brunt of a system which denied their humanity, stripped them of their personhood and subjected them to horrors beyond measure.
While the legal framework that made such injustice possible has now been removed, it remains firmly in place for unborn Americans.
There remains one, and only one, group of human beings in the U.S. today for which being human is not enough.
The inconvenience of their existence has resulted in a legal loophole of shameful proportions.
What is a person?
A person is a human being (unless, of course, you haven't been born yet, in which case we'll define personhood in any way possible so as to exclude you, kill you and forget you).
The False Argument of Choice
Since abortion is impossible to justify on its own merits (it kills a living human being, remember), "choice" has become the foundation of its political justification.
Abortion advocates don't want to talk about facts or science, or even theology but they love to talk about "choice".
"This is America...We're free to choose...You can't legislate morality!"
Nothing has so clouded and confused the politics of this debate more than the misconstrued application of this one little term, “choice”.
The bottom line is this. Choice is nothing apart from the context to which it is applied.
Individual choices are either recognized or restricted based upon the circumstances at hand.
That's how our laws work. You simply cannot talk about choice in isolation.
For thirty years, however, abortion advocates have sought to bestow upon choice a nobility all its own, nobility it has no claim to.
They refuse to be called "pro-abortion", but they gladly accept the label "pro-choice" (despite the fact that there are countless other issues for which they are decidedly not pro-choice).
The fact is, laws against rape, murder, assault, theft, speeding, drunk-driving and even smoking are all "anti-choice".
They take away legal protection from one particular choice in order to protect a more foundational freedom.
All such laws are "legislating morality".
That's the only way society can survive w/o anarchy.
Personal choices that infringe on the life or livelihood of another human being must be legislated against.
Therefore, anyone who defends legal abortion by simply arguing that people must be free to make their own choices is either ignorant or dishonest.
Furthermore, in almost 99% of all U.S. abortions1, the woman having the abortion chose to have sexual intercourse in the first place.
Therefore, it could just as easily be argued that these women already made their choice when they chose to engage in behavior that often leads to pregnancy.
Ultimately, restricting a woman's right to abortion does not restrict a woman's right to not be pregnant.
Abortion, after all, does not keep a woman from being pregnant. Not having sex does that.
Abortion simply ends the pregnancy of an already pregnant woman by killing the embryo or fetus living within her.
In the end, we are only free to choose so long as that choice doesn't kill or harm someone else, and our government exists to take away those choices that do.
Nobody argues that a man should be free to choose when the context is sexual assault.
What a fool he would be to try and justify rape by saying, "My body, my choice." Why? Because rape is a violent assault which involves more than just one body.
And so is abortion. The heart of the issue is not "choice".
The real question is humanity, and nothing short of anarchy can guarantee the perfect freedom of choice.
Choice is the “god” of many.
Illustration: States that have fetal homicide laws
It is murder to kill a fetus or embryo, intentionally except in the case of abortion.
There are 36 states that have this law, including Georgia.
It’s strange that if someone else kills the child, it’s is “feticide”, but if the mother chooses to abort the child it is “choice”.
1. Just over 1% of all abortions in the United States happen as a result of rape: Torres A and Forrest JD, Why do women have abortions? Family Planning Perspectives, 1988, 24(4):169-176.
Competing Rights
Politically speaking, abortion is an issue that involves competing rights.
1. On the one hand, you have the mother's right not to be pregnant.
v/s
2. On the other hand, you have the baby's right not to be killed.
The question that must be answered is this: Which right is more fundamental? Which right has a greater claim?
Abortion advocates argue that outlawing abortion would, in essence, elevate the rights of the unborn over and above those of the mother.
"How can you make a fetus more important than a grown woman?", they might ask.
In reality, outlawing abortion wouldn't be giving unborn children more rights; it would simply gain for them the one most fundamental right that no one can live without, the right to life.
If a baby is not to be aborted, then the pregnant mother must remain pregnant.
This will also require of her sickness, fatigue, reduced mobility, an enlarged body, and a new wardrobe.
Fortunately, it is not a permanent condition.
On the flip side, for a pregnant woman not to be pregnant, her child must be killed (unless she is past her 21st week of pregnancy, in which case the baby may well survive outside the womb).
Abortion costs the unborn child his or her very life and it is a thoroughly permanent condition.
This is what's at stake, both for the child and for the mother. It is not an issue of who is more important, but rather who has more on the line.
Any time the rights of two people stand in opposition to each other, the government must protect the more fundamental right.
Let's consider crosswalks on Broad Street. A car is driving down the street while a person is crossing the street.
The law requires the driver of that car to slow down and stop (giving up their right to drive where they want, when they want, and at what speed they want) so that the pedestrian may cross the street in front of him. Why?
Why must the driver temporarily give up his right to drive down the street just because someone else is walking across the street? Why is the right of the man on foot upheld while the right of the man in the car is denied?
It is not because the pedestrian is more valuable than the driver but rather because, if the driver doesn't stop, the pedestrian will likely be killed.
In order for the driver to proceed down the street at full speed, at that moment, it will cost the pedestrian his life.
In order for the pedestrian to finish crossing the street, at that moment, it will cost the driver a few minutes of drive time.
Obviously, for a woman to remain pregnant, she gives up far more than a few minutes of drive time, but she gives up far less than the baby who would otherwise be killed.
This is what it all comes down to.
Abortion permanently takes away the life of the unborn.
Pregnancy temporarily takes away some of the freedoms of the mother.
Since there is far more at stake for the child, the more fundamental right to life must be upheld.
Arguments taken from www.abort73.com
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