Sanctity of Human Life

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday—January 23

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19b, 20

You shall not murder. Exodus 20:13

On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court declared that abortion was legal in this country. Since that time there have been 40 million abortions performed in the United States. 93% of those have been for “social reasons”—that is, for reasons other than rape or incest.

Christians have always rejected abortion as nothing less than the murder of infants. The Didache (100 A.D.) says: “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.” The Epistle of Barnabas, another early church document written at the same time, contains exactly the same command. In this, they are merely reflecting the teaching of Holy Scripture.

Early Christians were recognized as being different from the pagan world around them because they did not expose their infants. When the Roman Empire became Christian under Constantine, abortion and infanticide were outlawed.

Christians do not get abortions. Christians do not induce others to get abortions. Christians do not perform abortions or assist in abortions. Christians do not facilitate abortions in any way. This is the teaching of the Christian Church.

But isn’t advocating for a pro-life point of view in the civil realm imposing our Christian views upon our fellow citizens who may not be Christians? No! As Christian citizens we desire to see all human life protected by law—not because that is our religious view—but because the right to life is the most basic of all human and civil rights. It is the right from whence all other civil rights flow and upon which all other civil rights depend.

There will come a day of reckoning when God will want to know what we did as tens of millions of our fellow human beings were murdered on the altars of convenience and autonomy. What can we do?

*Pray—Pray for those contemplating abortion. Pray for those who have had an abortion. Pray for our nation and its leaders that they would see truth about abortion and bring it to an end.

*Support the work of national groups like Lutherans For Life and local groups such as the Kleberg County Crisis Pregnancy Center.

*Educate ourselves on the issues. Stem-cell research, artificial insemination, and biomedical research are pressings issues in our day and call for us to keep up-to-date on the issues.
*Be involved politically. Vote. Know where candidates and political leaders stand on the issues. Be aware that there are pro-life Democrats and pro-choice Republicans and so political party alone is not a fail-sake indicator of where a politician stands on the issues. Make you’re your political representatives aware of where you stand when these issues come up for a vote.

*Proclaim forgiveness in Jesus’ name to those involved in abortion. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness—including those involved in abortion decisions and those who have remained silent while it went on.