Today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. There has been much in the way of blog posts devoted to this over the past week and into today, yet I leave myself wondering much the same as Pastor John Piper in his book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. I’ve included some worthy quotes from the chapter in that book entitled “Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn”, along with commentary of my own and some relevant Scripture:
“I believe pastors should put their lives and ministries on the line in this issue [abortion]. The cowardice of some pastors when it comes to preaching against abortion appalls me. Many treat the dismemberment of unborn humans as an untouchable issue on the par with partisan politics. Some have bought into the incredible notion that they can be personally pro-life but publicly pro-choice or non-committal.”
The question for us today really is, where are the pastors, the evangelicals, even those who speak out for every injustice you can think of, on the issue of abortion? Why is the Trumpet for the Unborn not being sounded loudly and clearly? Where is the voice of those who are created in the image of God, speaking out for those who are also created in the image of God, yet never given a chance for life outside the womb. It is not merely a matter of politics to be “dealt with” every four years. It is a moral issue. It is a justice issue. It is a life issue. Equally, it is a murder issue. A complicity to commit murder issue. It is a murder for hire issue.
“The law of our land is immoral and unjust. That should be declared from tens of thousands of pulpits in America.” – John Piper, Brothers
Psalm 139:13 “For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
Job 31:13-15 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?”
Psalm 82:3-4 “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
“They [abortionists] know there is a lethal inconsistency between doing fetal surgery on babies in the womb to save them while their cousin, at a similar stage of development, is being killed just down the hall” – Piper, Brothers
“I am personally pro-life, but politically pro-choice” – Pontius Pilate (via Piper)
As the Church, we must repent and pray.
Here are links to some to a few well-written and timely posts on abortion:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/01/22/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-jane-roe
http://www.dennyburk.com/crushed-with-regret-after-an-abortion/
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/01/20/anniversary-pictures-remembering-roe-v-wade/
http://www.epm.org/blog/2013/Jan/18/every-life-precious
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/pro-choice-what-does-it-mean/
