Why Address Life and Abortion
Why is faithful teaching and preaching today on life and abortion so
important, pressing and essential? Four reasons immediately come to
mind—though others could be listed, too:
First, truthful teaching and preaching on this matter are mandated by the
Gospel itself. The Gospel is the Gospel of Life, and the Gospel of Life is for
the lives of “the least of these” (Matthew 25), including the unborn child
and mother. From the beginnings of primitive Christianity to the present,
post-modern days of Christianity, the Church has consistently taught and
preached the Gospel of Life, practiced solidarity with the unborn child and
mother, and opposed abortion because it involves the total destruction of one
innocent life and the severe harming of another.
( Download Erik Braun
2006 SOHL sermon at Four Oaks
Community Church, Tallahassee Florida )
Second, instruction on life and abortion is important because abortion is
such a prevalent temptation throughout American society today. In the United
States, for example, around 1,300,000 abortions will be performed this year.
This means that nearly 4,000 abortions each day will be chosen as the “best”
response to difficult circumstances. In other words, ours is an abortion
culture. In this kind of environment, the Church's word on life and abortion can
and must be clearly spoken.
Third, if the pastor of the local church is silent on life and abortion, then
the following is communicated: each of you can and should make up your own mind,
follow your own conscience, make your own decision. By his silence on life and
abortion, the pastor, without saying so, is actually advancing a pro-choice
position within a congregation. That is, pastoral silence by default allows the
general culture—the prestige media, the entertainment industry, and the
educational establishment (all of which are generally pro-abortion)—to shape
the thinking and morals of the congregation on this matter of life and death.
And fourth, if a pastor refuses to address life and abortion, a kind of moral
vacuum is created in a congregation. Into that vacuum more strident voices can
and will rush to try to establish their positions. In confronting pastoral
silence, well-meaning, pro-life laity can become overly zealous while trying to
advance an anti-abortion agenda. Their zealotry will ignite the fires of the
pro-choice and pro-abortion elements in the congregation. This can result in
unfortunate, destructive conflict in the congregation.
For these reasons—AWPC has chosen to provide Sanctity of Human Life
material to our local churches. Our goal to equip those who teach the Word
to spread the Word of Life and we exist to enable you to make this as easy as
possible. We invite you to download our sample
sermon and if you are located in the Tallahassee area and need materials we
would be happy to assist you.
