Reformers’ pro-life views recounted

By David Roach

EDITOR’S NOTE: During the coming months, Baptist Press will periodically publish stories observing the 500th anniversary of when Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 31, 1517.

NASHVILLE (BP) — With pro-life rallies and events making headlines in the past few days, ethicists and historians have issued a reminder that the pro-life ethic has deep historical roots, including advocacy by the 16th-century Protestant Reformers.

Reformation leaders John Calvin and Martin Bucer both condemned willful termination of a pregnancy directly while Martin Luther addressed the dignity of unborn children and the glory of childbearing. Anabaptists likewise dignified unborn life.

The Reformers’ “anthropology — their doctrine of humanity — led them to confess that abortion was the killing of a human being,” said Union University bioethicist and provost C. Ben Mitchell.

“Similarly, for pro-life evangelicals, biblical anthropology leads…..

 

 

 

Read the entire article here.

The Wednesday Word: The Pathetic 12-Months of Mercy!

Recently, I was stunned when reading the present Pope’s declaration concerning his upcoming ‘Year of Mercy’. Accordingly during that period Pope Francis will give priests a special dispensation of power to forgive those who have committed the sin of abortion.

A line from W.C. Fields sprang to my mind, “Hour of mischief, what kind of skulduggery is this?”

In his statement, the Pope expressed compassion for those who have aborted their babies. Furthermore, during the Holy Year of Mercy, he will permit priests to absolve penitent women of the sin of having had their pregnancies terminated.

How sweet of him, but who in the name of thunder does he think he is to give permission to anyone to forgive sins? Only God can forgive sins…and He doesn’t limit His forgiveness to a 12-month window of opportunity.

This entire Papal proposal reeks of arrogance from start to finish. It is another example of how Francis, mild-mannered as he is, assumes the position of God Almighty! How does he take it on himself to allow his priests to forgive a particular sin for a particular period of time?

All sin is sin against God (Psalm 51:4), it’s not against Pope Francis. Thus only God, not Francis, can forgive (Mark 2:7). Yet the Pope presumes to give power to his priests to do just that. But then again, there should be no surprise here for Francis claims to be the “Vicar of Christ.” That implies that he has the same power and authority that Christ has over the church. Why, in the light of this, do evangelicals in their droves now embrace the Pope as a Christian leader instead of declaring him to be Antichrist? Nary a whimper is to be heard from the pens and sermons of many Bible Believers as Francis perpetrates, perpetuates and promulgates his falsehoods and deceptions upon the gullible and the credulous.

There is only one priest who can deal with sin and his name is not Francis, His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the God-Man. He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).

In contrast to Rome’s 12-month period of mercy, the Bible speaks of unlimited mercy found in God. We read in Ephesians 2:4-5, for example, that God is rich in Mercy… literally He’s ‘plush’ with mercy. And what is more, mercy for those who have aborted their babies is not limited to the time frame of one year. The throne of Grace is open to everyone who approaches by faith, at any time, for any sin regardless of the Pope’s sell by date. In fact, Hebrews 4:16 urges us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” There is mercy for those who come to Christ. He is the faithful High Priest, no other priest is required.

As I read the Pope’s statement, I was also reminded of how some years ago an old lady was lying on her death bed. A local priest came to see her and announced that he was there to absolve her of her sins. ”Let me see your hands, “she demanded.

“My hands?”

“Yes, your hands.”

Reluctantly, the priest proffered his hands for examination. After a minute or so the old lady said; ”Sir, I perceive that you are an imposter. The only one who can absolve me has got nail scars in his hands….Scars that were received at the cross of Calvary.”

Perhaps someone who has had an abortion is reading this. It has deeply troubled your conscience. The guilt pierces you. You believe you are beyond forgiveness. I implore you, therefore, to look to Christ Jesus, plead guilty and throw yourself on His mercy. Your sins and iniquities He will remember no more.

May the Lord grant that you see the mercy and grace that is available to you in Christ Jesus. He is the only priest who can and will forgive sin for He alone is the God/Man!

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles.

www.milesmckee.com 

Question 55-Puritan Catechism

Q. Which is the sixth commandment?

A. The sixth commandment is, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon-A Puritan Catechism

John Owen on Abortion

Reformed Baptist Fellowship

Paul tells us of the old Gentiles that they were “without natural affection (Rom. 1:31). That which he aims at is that barbarous custom among the Romans, who ofttimes, to spare the trouble in the education of their children, and to be at liberty to satisfy their lusts, destroyed their own children from the womb; so far did the strength of sin prevail to obliterate the law of nature, and to repel the force and power of it. Examples of this nature are common in all nations; amongst ourselves, of women murdering their own children, through the deceitful reasoning of sin. And herein sin turns the strong current of nature, darkens all the light of God in the soul, controls all natural principles, influenced with the power of the command and will of God. But yet this evil hath, through the efficacy of sin, received a fearful aggravation…

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An apologetical argument against abortion

Argument for the Silent: A Biblical Case against Abortion

by Robert M. Bowman, Jr

 

Nowhere in the Bible is abortion mentioned specifically. That silence may seem to leave room for Christians to hold different opinions as to the morality of abortion while remaining faithful to the teachings of Scripture. Yet within Christianity an interesting alignment has developed on this issue. Nearly all churches and groups that view the Bible as the unerring Word of God also view abortion in all or nearly all instances as immoral. By contrast, nearly all churches and groups that view the Bible as a fallible human witness to God view abortion as a matter of personal choice rather than of objective morality.1 It seems reasonable to conclude that biblical values (at least some of which are shared by some non-Christians) inform the position that abortion is immoral, while the opposing view is in some respects out of keeping with biblical ethics. This article supports this conclusion by setting forth a biblical case against abortion.2

First, a brief comment about terminology is in order. Those who say that abortion is immoral label their position pro-life, indicating that for them the issue is not women’s rights but the life of the unborn. Those who argue that abortion is not generally immoral label their view pro-choice, emphasizing their belief that the issue is the right of women to choose whether to continue their pregnancy or end it by abortion. These terms will be used, since they are the labels each side prefers to use for themselves.

 

Read the rest here.

Dr’s. R. C. Sproul and R. C. Sproul, Jr. Discuss Abortion

Pregnant teen wins abortion battle

As one ages it is assumed that they will gain more wisdom. This should have been due to the fact that as one ages they will have experienced hardships and struggles that mould and shape someone into a wiser person. For instance, when someone is younger they tend to be a bit loose with their finances or tend to be more reckless with their driving and how they live their lives. This is why insurance rates are a whole lot higher for younger adults, than they are for older adults.

However, when it comes to what is morally right, one doesn’t always gain more wisdom as they get older. In other words, if someone thought that it was alright to shack up with their potential spouse, when they were younger, then they might not change their views as they get older. This is also true of those who think it is alright to have an abortion. If a young person believed it to be alright to have an abortion, then they may not necessarily change their views as they age.

The moral law of God presses down on the consciences of every individual that is born. And since we are born sinners, none of us obey this moral law. This moral, however, does convict us of sin.  When we are young and tender of heart, we are more likely to feel guilty when we violate God’s moral law. But as one gets older and hardens their hearts to God’s word and laws, then they tend to be more hardened than they were when they were younger.

This is true concerning a recent case between some parents and their daughter. The parents of a 16 year old, who reside in Texas, found out that their daughter was pregnant and instead of supporting her, they instead demanded that she have an abortion.

Now certainly it was sinful for the 16 year old to go out and have a sexual relationship outside of marriage but, these 16 year old’s parents wanted to add murder to the sin of fornication. This shows that they have no wisdom in the things concerning morality and have seared what consciences they do have.

I praise God that the court system sided with this teen.

Here is a portion of the story:

 

A pregnant teen who sued her parents, claiming they were coercing her to have an abortion, will be able to give birth to her baby.

Attorneys representing the 16-year-old girl were granted a long-term injunction against the girl’s parents in Texas family court on Monday, according to court documents.

The teen is 10 weeks pregnant and the injunction will last for the duration of her pregnancy.

As part of the order, the girl will be able to use her car to go to school, work and medical appointments. Her parents had taken away the use of the car as part of their effort to force an abortion, court papers stated.

The teen’s parents will be liable for half of the hospital bill when she gives birth, unless she is married to the baby’s 16-year-old father.

“We are extremely happy with the judge’s decision today and we are very proud of our teenage client for being strong enough to stand against her parents to save her unborn child’s life,” Greg Terra, president of the Texas Center for Defense of Life, said in a blog post on the group’s website.

Attorneys filed a lawsuit on the teen’s behalf earlier this month arguing that her parents “are violating her federal constitutional rights to carry her child to term by coercing her to have an abortion with both verbal and physical threats and harassment.”

 

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Letter to Obama concerning abortion

Here is an excellent letter, written by a mother, to the President of the United States; concerning abortion and his speech to ‘Planned Parenthood.’

This mother touches on many issues of abortion, of which Obama simply ignores. She makes her case plain and accurate while calling Obama out.

 

Dear Mr. President,

I had a conversation with my kids the other day. We talked about the Gosnell case, as we try to talk about several current events. I tried to spare them of the gruesome details and give just the short version. They had so many questions, though. They wanted to know what abortion was. I explained that some mommies don’t want to grow a baby just then. I explained, and pointed out how much work babies were. I said that when most women have an abortion, the baby is still forming all of the organs, and not all the parts of the body work outside the mother just yet. I talked about how hard being pregnant was sometimes. I did not want to glorify anything.

My kids understood how hard it was. They’ve seen me go through it a few times. They understood the work, as we live it day in and day out as a family. However, the reality of what an abortion is…they thought I was making that up. They could not believe that anyone would do such a thing. They have an easier time believing in the tooth fairy. When I told them I was serious, they sat in horror.

I did not show them pictures. I was determined not to villainize my opposing side of view or seek to give them nightmares. But I want to teach my children how to form ideas. I want them armed with facts. I also told them about my experience with a crisis pregnancy center. I told them what some of the woman were like, and the challenges they faced. I talked about how some were forced into abortions by loved ones. I talked about the ones who faced depression, or were unable to ever have children because of an abortion procedure they had years earlier. I told them some women have abortions, and never feel bad about it.

 

To read the rest of this letter click here.

China has admitted to aborting 336 million children in barely 4 decades

This is very sad to hear that nations will legally kill babies. Here is part of the article:

 

“WASHINGTON (BP) — China has aborted 336 million unborn children, many of them forcibly, during slightly more than four decades, the government has announced.

The staggering number of abortions should prompt mourning for the victims, but it should not be shocking, said pro-life observers of China’s policy, because the Communist government has enforced a coercive, “one-child” policy for more than 30 years.

On March 14, the Chinese Health Ministry reported the following statistics for its family planning practices since 1971, according to the Financial Times:

 

— 336 million abortions performed;

— 196 sterilizations conducted;

— 403 million intrauterine devices inserted.”

 

Read the rest at Baptistpress.

God shall surely judge these murders and judge those who sat back in comfort while these atrocious crimes take place.