By: Georgette Forney, President, Anglicans For Life®
Each day we make a variety of decisions: What shall I eat? What shall I wear? Some decisions are critical; others are not. Deciding what to eat each day is a typical daily experience. Deciding whether we believe in God and want to walk as a Christian is another choice each person makes. Once someone becomes a Christian and accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he will still make many choices. Do I buy a Ford or a Chevy? Do I order brown or black shoes? However, what we don’t get to decide is what parts of Holy Scripture are morally right or wrong.
As believers, the Bible is our authority. It starts with the basic facts: God is the Creator of everything. Scripture defines His laws. It explains His covenants with His people. It communicates His love and promises. It is also explicit in describing His judgment. The Bible is our relationship manual with the Triune God.
Therefore, if we call ourselves Christians, we must decide daily to adhere to His Word. We don’t get to choose what parts of Scripture we like and want to obey. The point of being a Christian is to walk by faith in obedience. As believers, every idea, concept, and theory must be brought captive to Him and screened by Scripture. Oswald Chambers says it best, “To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things.”
In believing that all Scripture is inspired by God and designed to teach Christians how to live; our values, priorities, and even our worldview are formed by God’s Word. From Genesis to Revelation, God teaches us everything we need to know so that every man and woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16)
One of the most common themes revealed in Scripture, is the Sanctity of Life*. The Bible tells us that human life has value because we are created by God. Male and female are made in God’s image (Gen 1:27), “a little lower than heavenly beings, crowned with glory and honor” according to Psalm 8:5. In Jesus’ death on the cross, God shows His love for human life in sacrificing His Son to redeem us. In our Lord’s resurrection and victory over death, God declares the sacredness of human life by including us in His eternity through Jesus. (1 John 5:11-12)
The Bible is the Word of Life from beginning to end. It declares the Sanctity of Life in its description of God’s sovereignty. “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39)
It declares the Sanctity of Life in its discussion of the incarnation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
It declares the Sanctity of Life in declaring Christ’s redemption. “But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10)
It declares the Sanctity of Life in its exposition of ethical justice. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” (Genesis 9:6)
It declares the Sanctity of Life in its exhortation of covenantal mercy. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
The Sanctity of Life is not one issue among many for Christians to consider getting involved in. Upholding the sacredness of life is a mandate in Scripture. The Bible directs God’s people and His Church to protect life, care for one another, and make disciples. (Genesis 1:28) A person’s commitment to the ethic of life is related to his or her commitment to the Word of Life given to them by the Lord of Life. It should be part of each believer’s worldview.
Instead, the Church and God’s people often place life low on the priority list of Christian concerns. One reason for this may be because the abortion debate has overshadowed the Sanctity of Life. Discussion about the dignity of life is now tied to the question of whether abortion should be legal or illegal and it is typically portrayed as a political and legal issue. Years and years of arguing about abortion has caused the majority of people (both Christian and non-Christian) to turn a deaf ear to any discussion that uses the words “Sanctity of Life” or “abortion.”
This apathy is frustrating to those of us who see the value of life and hate the destruction of it caused by abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia in our culture today. How can people choose to ignore the killing of God’s precious creation made in His image? Anglicans For Life has identified five great reasons why believers should decide daily to incorporate Life-Affirming activities into their devotional life.
First and foremost, we should choose to protect life because it is modeled in Scripture, remember Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1:15-21? The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So, God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Second, we must choose to defend life because our culture doesn’t. Since the fall of man, when sin was introduced into the world through Adam and Eve, we have experienced death and its power to destroy life. Mankind’s moral compass recognizes the taking of life as wrong, but we continually compromise our moral code because of the sin nature inherited at the fall. Every culture has embraced sins, passions and lifestyles that lead to death. Abortion, infanticide, exposure and abandonment of newborn babies became an accepted means of handling unwanted, deformed and illegitimate children throughout history. Pagan practices that were first described in the Old Testament include the sacrificial killing of children and virgins to their gods and continues in many cultures around the world today. From the embryo to the elderly, a culture of death lurks behind more doors than the average person realizes.
The third reason Christians and the Church must decide daily to protect life is because our Judeo-Christian heritage reflects a tradition of bearing witness to the sacredness of all life, both born and unborn, and it is incumbent upon us to uphold this legacy for future generations. In the book Third Time Around, author George Grant details the Life-Affirming teachings and ministries of Christians and the Church from the first century to present day. A brief synopsis of chapters two through six illuminates a rich Christian history that reinforces the importance of the Church honoring God by honoring His gift of life. It also encourages us by showing the success previous generations had in obeying God’s call to defend the dignity of life.
Chapter two begins with the Apostles’ disciples, the early Christian Church, affirming life in both word and deed. Documents like the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas promote a reverence for life. The Didache is a compilation of the apostolic moral teachings from the first century and it states: “There are two ways: the way of life and the way of death, and the difference between these two ways is great. Therefore, do not murder a child by abortion or kill a newborn infant.” [pg.24] Tertullian, a third century apologist connected the Sanctity of Life with the very integrity of the Gospel in his Apology: “Our faith declares life out of death. Therefore, murder is forbidden once and for all. We may not destroy even the fetus in the womb. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man killing. Thus it does not matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. In both instances, destruction is murder.” [pg.25]
Grant also explains the ministry of the early Christian Church. In Rome, Christians rescued babies that had been abandoned on the exposure walls outside the city. They adopted the children and taught them the way of the Lord. The Christians in Corinth offered charity, mercy and refuge to temple prostitutes who had become pregnant. Grant states that wherever the Gospel went, believers expressed their faith in good works, including founding hospitals, establishing orphanages, and starting rescue missions and relief agencies. “The hungry were fed; the naked, clothed; the homeless, sheltered; the sick, nursed; the unborn, protected; and the handicapped, cherished.” [pg.26]
In chapter three, Grant summarizes the Life-Affirming philosophy of the Middle Ages: “The medieval pro-life movement was first and foremost an outgrowth of the ministry of the church. It was a societal manifestation of God’s work of covenantal reconciliation… Every effort on behalf of innocent life, from criminalization of abandonment to the care of the unwanted had it genesis in the sacramental Body of Christ. The medieval church, despite all our preconceived notions about its monolithic uniformity, was remarkably diverse. Yet in the substantive areas of the Gospel, it maintained steadfast unity: and because the pro-life movement was essentially a movement of the church, it too was marked by an unwavering solidarity.” [pg. 46]
Chapter four of Grant’s book, Third Time Around highlights the work done by Vincent De Paul after he learned about midwives performing illegal abortions in the slums of Paris. In this quote, he makes it clear that upholding the Sanctity of Life was not an optional activity for believers: “When’ere God’s people gather, there is life in the midst of them. Christ’s gift to us as a people is life and that more abundantly. To protect the least of these, our brethren, with everything that God has placed at our disposal is not merely facultative, it is exigent. In addition though, it is among the greatest and most satisfying of our sundry stewardships.” [pg.53] The Society of Vincent De Paul still exists today living out the Gospel and serving others. Grant also refers to John Calvin and Ignatius Loyola as examples of men influencing the church to affirm and protect life during the Reformation.
The role of the great commission is the focus of chapter five. “As missionaries moved out from Christendom to the uttermost parts of the earth, they were shocked to discover all the horrors of untamed heathenism. They found abortion all too prevalent, infanticide all too commonplace, abandonment all too familiar, and euthanasia all too customary…. To cultures epidemic with terrible poverty, brutality, lawlessness, and disease, those faithful Christian witnesses interjected the novel Christian concepts of grace, charity, law, medicine, and the Sanctity of Life…. They established hospitals, they founded orphanages, they started rescue missions…. they changed laws. They demonstrated love. They lived as if people really mattered.” [pgs.79 and 80]
The final chapter to note is six, where Grant focuses on the American effort in the late 1800s to protect life. After a series of articles began exposing the deaths of women from abortion, church leaders took up the cause for life, including the Right Reverend Arthur Cleveland Cox, Episcopal Bishop of the New York Diocese. In an interview for the August 4th, 1868 issue of The Christian Mirror, he stated “Though physicians and journalists have laid much of the groundwork for the exposure of this awful crime against God and man, it was the Christian churches, all of the churches across the broad spectrum of denomination and sect, that have brought hope and help to the innocents. For a glittering moment, I have seen Christ’s Body as one.” [pg.99] It was this unified effort among Christians, journalists, physicians, politicians and feminists that made abortion illegal in the United States by the end of the 18th century.
This review of the early church fathers’ ministry for life must inspire us today. They have given us a rich heritage of respect for life, reminding us, that with God’s help we too can make a difference for life.
The fourth reason why believers should incorporate Life-Affirming activities into their devotional life is due to the gift of technology. Four-dimensional ultrasound technology provide a clear window into the womb of a pregnant woman. It allows us to see the unborn baby at various stages of development. These pictures are now published in books, the internet, and seen in National Geographic television specials. We know the baby’s heart begins beating at 28 days and all ten toes and ten fingers can be counted by week 12. We can now watch God knit each life together in his/her mother’s womb.
The fifth, and final reason why believers should actively affirm life is that the consequences of killing another human life not only affect the murderer; they are also felt throughout society. As a woman who has had an abortion, I have personal experience with playing god; I’ve ended another person’s life. Even though I know God has forgiven me after I repented, I often wonder who my baby would have grown up to be. The world missed out on being blessed by her and I lost the chance to know one of God’s precious children. Murder, abortion, and euthanasia, not only end a life; these actions also impact the one who took the life. Furthermore, those related to the ‘life-ender’ also live with the truth that their loved one was capable of taking the life of another human being. Finally, the family of the one who died also experiences the impact of the death; pain, anger, sadness and grief are commonly felt.
These five points remind us of the need to choose wisely each day, how we will live and obey God’s mandate to protect life. But are we as contemporary Christians and the Anglican Communion specifically, living the Word?
Those who call Jesus, Lord and Savior cannot adopt the disposable life ethic promoted in society and many of today’s churches. Quality of life, stage of development, condition of health, economics, and productivity cannot be the baseline on which we decide the value of a life. God is the only one who can number a man’s days.
God is the only one who can number a man’s days.
God calls His people and His Church by extension to celebrate, protect, and honor life daily. Doing this gives us the opportunity to glorify Him and thank Him for creating and redeeming us and all whom He has made. We owe our existence to God. He sustains us; we don’t sustain Him.
We must encourage one another to affirm life through biblical advocacy, education, pastoral care, and ministry. We must challenge one another to uphold the tradition of caring for life as we are directed in Scripture. Obeying His Word will unleash His power and love in a way this generation of believers has never experienced. It is time for Christians everywhere to decide… This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. (Deut. 30:19-20)
Promoters of death are working overtime to secure the legalized killing of humans, both born and unborn, worldwide. With the truth of Scripture to empower us and the sacrificial example of Christ and early Christians to inspire us, God’s people must embrace His mandate to affirm the value of all human life. No exceptions, no excuses.
*Editor’s Note: Visit shopafl.org/ScripturesAndBibleStories to view a resources featuring Life-Affirming Bible stories and Scriptures.
