We continue the doctrine series and we're on article number 63. It is entitled, Abortion is Murder. And it reads like this. Abortion is murder. When a woman conceives a man's seed, she is said to be with child. The child inside the woman is a separate life nourished through the means God gave in order that the child grows. The child is human, albeit unborn. To kill this child is murder." Now there are a string of scripture references to this article that we provided in our Statement of Faith. It's a revised Statement of Faith we adopted. some time ago of the 1644-46 London Baptist Confession of Faith. To begin this topic, I'd like to give a couple of statistics and then move into the lesson. The World Health Organization reported that there are 40 to 50 million abortions every year around the world and 125,000 every day. In the United States, there were reported 638,169 abortions. but pharmacy experts project that about 14 million chemical abortions occur in the United States each year. Planned Parenthood's income for the fiscal year 2013-14 was $1.3 billion. Total income was $127.1 million. Much of that is to fund abortions. According to the 2019 U.S. Census, the average age of females that aborted their babies is 15 to 44 years of age. In 2015, most of these women were in their 20s. We have a president that has a pro-life position. He wasn't always of this mind. But I want to give a couple of statements that he said. The abortion aspect of Planned Parenthood should not, absolutely should not, be funded. Again, in context of partial birth abortions, Our president said, but it's not OK with me. Again, he says, I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life. And finally, he said, I will be appointing pro-life judges. Immediately, we can see why so many do not like this man, to say it mildly. Christians should be thankful that in 2019 several states have adopted restrictive anti-abortion laws. I see 13 of them in front of me right now. Worldwide abortion rates from the highest to the lowest percentages, and I'm not going to give all these, I have a number of them before me, but it's interesting to note that the communist nations rank at the top. Russia's first with 37.4. Cuba then, 28.9. Kazakhstan, 27.4. Georgia, 26.5. And on it goes. Now, under the topic of abortion as murder, we read in the Word of God that He forbids murder. In Exodus 20, verse 13, it reads, Thou shalt not kill. Many don't understand that this commandment does not mean that all killing is wrong. It doesn't mean that the proper application of capital punishment is wrong. The law of God commanded that the authorities of Israel execute capital punishment for a number of crimes. In Genesis 9, verses 5 and 6, we have the first institution of human government. And there's so much confusion today about how the order of life and such, but there in those verses, there's clarity. We have human life presented as more precious than animal life. And that if even when animals would cause the death of or shed the blood of a human, Life was to be given the the animal is to be his life was to be taken So we have in order human life is more precious than animal life, but also in that is this is capital punishment Israel also had the commandments from the Lord to exercise capital punishment and there's a number of scriptures for these they were exercised capital punishment and Because God said so against homosexuality, against bestiality, against adultery, witchcraft, sorcery, blasphemy, violating the Sabbath, for deadly assaults, for harlotry, fornication, for rape, for men stealing, idolatry, and so forth. So there are killings that are justified. The government has a right and a duty to carry out capital punishment for various offenses. Soldiers will necessarily kill their enemies in conflict. The citizenry might kill someone that unlawfully poses a grave danger to them, their family, or their neighbors. The commandment, Thou shalt not kill, bans purposely killing the innocent. That's the idea. Killing the innocent is murder. And our Lord Jesus understood this to be the meaning of the commandment, thou shalt not kill. If you look in Matthew chapter 19, verses 16 through 18, the scripture reads, and behold, one came and said unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, which Jesus said, and here's the point, thou shalt do no murder. And that's how he interpreted it. That's how he understood it. It's the taking of innocent life. In the letter which James wrote, He defines this as killing the just in James chapter 5 verse 6. You have condemned and killed the just. To kill the just means to kill the righteous. Killing those clear of wrongdoing. Killing the innocent. Killing the guiltless. And that is to shed innocent blood. I'd like to consider this for a moment. The shedding of innocent blood. To begin with, shedding innocent blood includes, as an abominable crime, the killing of children. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel, because they began to worship the gods of the Gentiles, adopted the practice of human sacrifices. They sacrificed their children to various gods. You'll see this in Leviticus 18, 21, Jeremiah 19, verses four and five, Joel 3, 19, and others. By sacrificing these children, they shed innocent blood. And it's something we need to understand what it is. In Psalm 104, verses 34 through 38, They, referring to the people of Israel, did not destroy the nations concerning whom the Lord commanded them, but were mingled among the heathen and learned their works. And they served their idols, which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils. and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan. And the land was polluted with blood. In 2 Kings chapter 21, beginning at verse 1, it reads, Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. Notice, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven. in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son to pass through the fire and observe the times and enchantments and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He brought much wickedness in the side of the Lord to provoke him to anger. Drop down to verse 10. And the Lord spake by his servants, the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has done these abominations, of which was shedding innocent blood, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and has made Judah also descend with his idols, therefore, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it both his ears shall tingle. In verse 16 says Manassas shed innocent blood very much till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. Killing these children was but one step removed from killing unborn children. Killing the unborn exceeds an already heinous and barbaric act. If killing children that were born was shedding innocent blood, then killing the unborn must be more so. As we hope to prove in a moment concerning the murder of the unborn, the Lord hates it and we'll judge it. But first I want to note that he hates the hands that shed innocent blood in Proverbs 6.16. These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him. In other words, he abhors it. And that is a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. And he goes on. The Lord will judge the shedding of innocent blood in Psalm 94 verses 20-23. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But the Lord is my defense, and my God is the rock. my refuge and he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness yea the Lord our God shall cut them off he'll judge it he will judge the shedding of innocent blood one more scripture Psalm 106 verse 40 because of this the shedding of innocent blood Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people in so much that he abhorred His own inheritance and why why was that? Well verse 38 tells us because he shed they had shed innocent blood even the blood of their sons and of their daughters So there's no question that killing children The innocent children is to shed innocent blood We want to consider that The life of the unborn is protected. In the eyes of the Lord, the life of the unborn is as equal and precious as those that are born. In the following text of this Exodus, Exodus chapter 21 verses 22 and 23, there is much debate concerning whether only the woman is under consideration or both the woman and the unborn child. And I want you to know right up front that my view is that this text concerns both the woman and her unborn child, and whether there was any harm done to either of them when she was assaulted by a man in his struggle with her husband. I want to quote Dave Miller in his article, Abortion and Exodus 21, just a part of this. It's copyright 2004, Apologetics Press, Inc. He said, so Exodus 21 envisioned a situation in which two brawling men accidentally injure a pregnant bystander. The injury causes the woman to go into early labor, resulting in a premature birth of her child. If neither the woman nor the child is harmed, then the law of Moses levied a fine against the one who caused the premature birth. But if injury or even death resulted from the brawl, then the law imposed a parallel punishment. If the premature baby died, the one who caused the premature birth was to be executed life for life. To cause a pre-born infant's death was homicide under the Old Testament. Homicide punishable by death. I agree with him. So let's read that scripture in Exodus chapter 21, beginning at verse 22. It reads, if men strive and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit, in the Hebrew, it's also translated, fruit is also translated into plural, hurt her children. so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow." Mischief meaning injury. There's no subsequent disability noted in the wife or the child, other than that the child was born prematurely. If that's the case, then what? He shall surely be punished. meaning that he would be fined as further governed according as the woman's husband will lay up on him and he shall pay as the judges determine. So the husband says, you owe me. And the judges would agree with that. Maybe it was exorbitant. So he would cut that back. So through the judges, a fine was levied against this one. And there was no harm, no injury to the woman or the baby. But he goes on, and if any mischief follow, in other words, if there's injury, if in the injured there is lasting disability upon the wife and or the child or death, then what? Then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And here's the point. There is no second-class status attached to the child just because he is in the womb at the time the injury took place. Rather, the Word of God places the same value upon the life of the unborn because it is at conception that the child receives life. The Hebrew word for conception is hara, and it's translated mostly in two ways, either to conceive, as we just saw, or to be with child, which by that, we can gather that means that the time of conception is the time when the life of that child begins. Now, it's important to note it. Job chapter 3 verse 3 he wrote let the day perish wherein I was born But not only that he goes even further back to the time of conception let the day perish wherein I was born and The night in which it was said there is a man child conceived Why did he say that he was going back to the very time that I? his physical existence began, which was in the womb. In Luke 2, verse 21, and when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before, and it says, before he was conceived in the womb. Now, in Luke 1, verse 35, First, I'd like to say this about his conception, when he was conceived. We may take that for granted, but what that means is at that moment of conception, the eternal Son of God came to that holy thing, referencing the body which the Holy Ghost had made in her womb, and became its life. In Luke 135 it refers to that holy thing, and it's referred to the body. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Now, that holy thing refers to the body which the Holy Spirit of God prepared for the person of the Son of God to receive to himself. so that he might partake of the human experience. We all know if we truly believe in Christ that he is called Emmanuel because he is truly God with us in human form. When the seed of a man comes into union with the embryo of a woman, that becomes a person. I want you to notice in the Psalms, chapter 139, beginning at verse 13, I want you to notice the personal pronouns, my, me, I. Psalm 139, 13, for thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. Verse 15. He says, my substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect. And in that book, all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. But he had existence in the womb at conception. Job in chapter 10 verse 8 says the same thing thine hands Have made me and fashioned me together Roundabout he made Not an it he made me this person So that life in the womb is a child and there are very many scriptures which attest to this fact in Luke 1 verse 43 and 44 And whence is this to me? Elizabeth was speaking, Elizabeth being John the Baptist's mother. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Mary had come to visit Elizabeth. She says, For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation, referring to Mary's greeting, As soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe," that's referring to the unborn child who is at that moment in Elizabeth's womb, John the Baptist, what did he do? He leaped in my womb, she says, for joy. The scripture says that the babe leaped for joy. The babe responded to his mother's hearing the greeting of Mary. I remember when my beloved was carrying our eldest son. Now, he was a breech birth, so that his head was just under her ribs pretty much the entire time that she carried him. When he began to move, if I touched her there, just under her ribs, he would respond by pushing back. It was just a matter of fact. I did it often. It was kind of funny to watch this, but he responded. Sometimes he pushed so hard that she'd have to tell me to stop. Because the person, he could feel, my son could feel from the womb my touch. They can hear from the womb the voices and the sounds. We know that John the Baptist in the womb rejoiced at the hearing of Mary's voice, who was carrying in her womb our Lord Jesus. The Bible tells us of Jacob and Esau's struggle in their mother's womb in Genesis 25, verses 22 and 23. And the children, referring to Jacob and Esau, struggled together within her, that is, in Rebekah's womb. And she said, if it be so, why am I thus? She didn't understand what was going on. And so she did what we ought to do in an instance like this. She went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two men or people shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger. And after that came out his brother, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob, and Isaac was threescore. years old when she bare them. That wrestling between these two began at conception, the struggles in the womb were taking place. But we can't overlook the fact that this is a child, or these are children that are in the womb. In Genesis 16 verse 11, the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child. Notice that, with child. and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard thy affliction. In Judges 13, 8. Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. In 1 Samuel 4, 19. And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife, was with child, nearer to be delivered, see the child in the womb. Finally Matthew 1 18 now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise in this way in this manner When as his mother Mary was a spouse to Joseph before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost a Child by the Word of God a child is born or is delivered. It does not become a child until After being born or delivered in first Kings 3 17 and the one woman said oh my lord I am this woman dwelling one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the house Isaiah 9 6 that famous scripture for on to us a child is born on to us a son is given Now I want to consider Killing the unborn child that it is murder and Killing babies, and even those unborn babies, unborn children, is a despicable act of murder. It is a particularly heinous and cruel act because it comes to the womb of the mother to kill the child. It shows a brutal hatred and disregard for human life. In the Old Testament, there were those that hated the Israelites so much that they even ripped open the womb of mothers with child, to destroy that little life inside in her. In Hosea 13, verse 16, Samaria shall become desolate, for she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. 2nd Kings 8 verse 12 and Hazael said why weepeth my lord and he answered because I know the evil that thou wilt do Unto the children of Israel their strongholds wilt thou set on fire and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword and wilt dash their children and rip up their women with child again in chapter 15 verse 16 then Minnehem smoked tipsa And all that were therein and the coast thereof who tears up Because they opened not to him therefore he smote it and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up God would judge the nation of Ammon present-day Jordan for this very atrocity in Amos 113 notice this thus said the Lord for three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four. I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border." They showed this exceeding cruelty just so that they might have more land. And the Lord would judge them for it. No matter who it is that kills the unborn, it doesn't matter if it's a doctor or a soldier, rich or poor, it is an unbelievably cruel and barbaric act. How much more cruel it is when the mother and her father, perhaps grandparents, would have it so. These have lost any sense of the value of human life. As with all innocent blood that is shed, God will cleanse the land, even the whole earth from it, by bringing judgment. There are no alternative measures. God will not pardon the shedding of innocent blood. In Exodus 23 verse 7, Keep thee from a false matter, and the innocent and righteous slay thou not, for I will not justify. I will not clear the wicked of that crime, is what he means. Again, in 2 Kings 24, verse 4, says, breaking into this verse, for he, referring to Manasseh, filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon. We need to consider that. Perhaps we do not understand the gravity of shedding, of the shedding of innocent blood, for taking the life of the innocent, whether they are in the womb or not, the Lord requires satisfaction. Now, satisfaction is made when the guilty person dies for his crime. In Deuteronomy 19, 13, Thine eye shall not pity him. But thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. the king said unto him do as he referring to joab as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which joab shed from me and from the house of my father and the lord shall return notice that his blood upon his own head That's the only way to remove blood guiltiness for the shedding of innocent blood is by the death of the guilty. Now the burden to exact this punishment obviously falls upon those that God has put In authority, in Romans 13, 4, for he, referring to the ruler, a ruler or power that is ordained of God, he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou wilt do that which is evil, be afraid, for he bears not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Again, in 1 Peter 2, 14, Orin the governor is breaking into this thought. as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well. If these rulers fail in their duty, then all the people become liable for the deaths of any shed innocent blood. In Deuteronomy 19, 10, that innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. In Psalm 106, 38, and shed innocent blood, breaking into this, but you get the thought, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. There's blood guilt in this. But what remains, since the authorities won't judge the slayer of the innocent, is that God must judge him or them. By this judgment, the land, when it is executed, when the Lord brings it about, if men won't, but by this judgment, the land is cleansed of the pollution incurred for the innocent's deaths. Cleansing means that he expels the people from the land, which mostly means they themselves are exiled or killed. In Leviticus 18 verse 26, Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled. He states that as a matter of fact. And so you don't get involved in this, Israel, my people, the Lord speaking to them, that the land spew not you out also when you defile it, referring to the land, and as it spewed out the nations that were before you. In this instance, when a government sanctions abortions, it legalizes the shedding of innocent blood, and as a result, blood guiltiness is charged to that people, to that nation. What is the Christian side of this matter? Let's be clear. Yes, there is forgiveness with God by Jesus Christ. God has forgiven all manner of sin through the death of Christ. True. But forgiveness doesn't remove consequences. I might have done something that requires that I spend years in prison, and yet I could be forgiven of God for sin. In the instance of committing capital crimes, there's a consequence of capital punishment. Our Lord Jesus, while hanging on the cross, forgave a criminal that was hanging next to him of his sins, and yet that criminal still had to die. for his crimes, the consequences of his acts. In Luke 42 and 43, we read that account. This one criminal said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, today thou shalt thou be with me in paradise. But it was certain that He be punished by men for his crimes. And he was. Those that abort their children are no exception. And because the sin is not punished, the whole land is polluted with the blood of the innocent. We're going to be judged as a nation. So is every other nation, by the way, that has followed this course. And many are. I, like some of you, have prayed for some time about our sins as a nation, that we might be turned from them. Most people think little, if anything, about the sins of nakedness, sexual sins of homosexuality, adultery, fornication, of covetousness, of idolatry, fraud, drunkenness, drug abuse, uncleanness, and the deaths of the innocent. Don't give it a second thought. But God doesn't overlook these things. These things shall be punished. These crimes are going to be punished. And though we have seen the nation maybe turned ever so slightly away at this time from abortion, the fact remains that our country must be judged for the shedding of innocent blood. Perhaps the Lord will judge us to the extent that we would be turned to repentance and allowed a space to continue for a little while longer, but it doesn't change the fact that there must be satisfaction for the bloodshed of the many unborn. Perhaps Jude sums this best in his letter in verses 14 and 15. And Enoch, also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their harsh speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Let me close with these remarks. The day in which we live has made it necessary for the churches of Jesus Christ to speak out against abortion. There's no question that abortion is the act of murdering innocent children. What do sinners need to know in light of this? I'll tell you what they need to know. Sinners need to know that God commands repentance. That means they are to change their minds about themselves and about God. They are to believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, come to die on the cross to satisfy God for their sins. So I'd ask, have you believed this about Jesus Christ? Have you professed that with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believed in your heart that God raised him from the dead? If so, You shall be saved from the wrath of God which is coming on the earth, in part because of the things which we have said today about the shedding of innocent blood. Though we might have to bear the consequences for sins done in our body, if we believe that Christ died for us, we have forgiveness of sins with God. We are no longer under condemnation, but we have everlasting life. Though we might have lived like the devil at this time, We've truly believed on Christ. We should desire to live for him from this day forward. I Know like the previous topic this Was a very dark subject but a necessary one and I tell you it's right that we have included it in our confession of faith if you're a Christian and I hope that you will agree with the word of God about this subject. Abortion is murder.