Why I take Certain Anti-Abortion Practices to be Unwise

First, preaching at women going into an abortion clinic is, in my opinion, not the wisest approach in our culture. And yes, we do have to pay attention to such things. The reason I think it is unwise is because the method has the effect, most often, of drowning out the message. In other words, the women in that setting generally only here anti-abortion rhetoric rather than the gospel. The gospel takes a back seat in their mind to the tactic that is being employed.

Rather than use a megaphone at the clinics, I would suggest that you simply do your best to approach the women calmly, respectfully, and politely. Ask them for their permission to speak to them for a moment, or to just ask them a few questions. Or, you could simply provide them with a gospel track and ask them to read it before they make a decision and ask them to contact you. Tell them that you would like to help them make a fully informed decision about their future and that you may be able to provide assistance in their circumstances.

Second, holding up signs of dead babies having been ripped to pieces during abortions is not at all a wise approach. Not only do such images distract from the gospel, they make you seem calloused and insensitive to the woman’s plight. They do not communicate love in any sense of the word love. And in most cases, they only desensitize people that see them, over and over and over again. I must confess that I am not at all a fan of this method in any way. Some conservative fellows are afraid to speak out about this for fear of being painted as soft on abortion. I am not at all soft on abortion. This has nothing to do with abortion. It has to do with a tactic. Those who employ this tactic are no more opposed to abortion than I am and if they think using these tactics means that they are, then they are sadly mistaken. It simply isn’t true.

Instead of holding up these kinds of signs, if you insist on holding up a sign, hold up a sign of a baby at whatever stage that is completely intact so that mothers can see what their baby looks like at that stage. That is a much better, more tasteful, less distracting, and more sensitive approach. And in my opinion, it is an approach that is far more consistent with Christian charity even if we are demanding repentance while holding up those signs.

Third, you should never, ever, under any circumstances allow young children to enter the anti-abortion protest environment. They will be exposed to these images and that is not something young children ought to be exposed to. You may think your children can handle it. But that is a hollow response that has little to support it. It rings empty. The truth is you have no idea what impact these images could have on your children’s psyche. To think that you’re doing this with the approval and endorsement of God is another error in judgment. God has nothing to do with your decision to expose your children to such nonsense. That decision is all yours. It isn’t good ministry and in my opinion, it isn’t good parenting. A second reason you should not bring your children into that environment is because you have no control over who will be there and what tactics they may employ in the name of God. Once your children are exposed, they are exposed. Third, it can be a dangerous environment and one that children should not be placed in if it can be avoided. Going to an abortion clinic is not nearly the same thing as going shopping or whatever. These locations attract all sorts of people for and against abortion who will resort to all sorts of tactics to protest or defend abortion, even violence. It is exactly the wrong environment for young children. If these facts are not enough to give you pause, and to help you get over yourself for a moment, and rethink your actions, then I suppose there is no argument that would convince you to do otherwise.

Abortion is a very wicked practice in this world. It is one that we have to expose and reprove as Christians living in a very dark, very fallen world. It has been around for thousands of years. Christians have had to deal with it for 2,000 years. Let us take care to deal with it using all the wisdom we can acquire and let us not allow our desire to end abortion (something God has not called us to do) bring division and disharmony in the body (something God has certainly called us to avoid). That’s right. Some people are willing to disregard God’s command for unity in order to engage in certain tactics that have no divine imperative behind them at all. And that is a very sad state of affairs. We must all be willing to assess our passions, motives, and actions to make sure we are attempting to be kind of New Testament witness to the New Testament message we all have a duty to carry.

The Church, Complacency and Abortion

A friend of mine recently told me that he thought the church had been complacent about abortion over the years. We didn't have time to get into his measuring stick for what I think he really meant by complacency, but I wanted to share a few more of my thoughts here. The word complacent means self-satisfied, smug, content. Has the Church taken a stand against abortion? The true Church? Please understand that I am not talking about those churches where everything is challenged from Christ's deity to eternal damnation to the inspiration and authority of Scripture and even the exclusive nature of salvation. I am talking about the true Church of Jesus Christ. Has she been complacent on the issue of abortion? If you were to ask secular culture, they would surely say that the Church has been anything but complacent, refusing to mind her own business on the subject. They would affirm that religious nuts have been far too outspoken on the issue. So what does my friend mean when he and others who think like he does claim that the Church has been complacent on the issue of abortion?

I think what he really means is that the Church has been complacent on the legality of abortion. I think he means that we have not done enough to change the laws that protect and allow for abortion. And that is really a very different accusation. You see, if I accuse the Church of being too complacent when it comes to basic bible teaching, or to holding firmly to core doctrines, I am saying that the Church has a God-given responsibility that many of her members are ignoring. But what is it that I am saying when I say that the Church has been complacent about the laws that protect abortion? Is my friend saying that the Church has been complacent about the structure of the American legal system? And if so, based on whose standards? Do the NT authors issue clear mandates for the Church to go out and change the legal system in their respective culture? Is there even the slightest hint that the authors of the NT even implied that the civil government was to come under the guidance and direction and yes, the authority of the Church? That is after all what many anti-abortion activists are advocating whether they say so or not.

You see, dear Christian, there is a remarkable difference between being complacent about our God-given responsibilities and being complacent about the standards that others wish to place around our necks. Would it be a good thing if abortion were illegal? Of course it would. So my friend would say that we ought to work toward that end then. But this would leave the Church in a very awkward position, seeking to impose divine law on her respective cultures. For instance, would it be a good thing if homosexuality were illegal? Of course it would. Would it be a good thing if taking God's name in vain were illegal? Yes it would. Would it be a good thing if it were illegal to violate the law of God? I think it would. Does that mean Christians have a responsibility to work toward that end? If you think so, then you would be classified as a theonomist. My friend denies any links to theonomy in his thinking. Does the New Testament advocate for such action? Does a single apostle or any one of their associates, under divine inspiration, instruct or command a single local Church to engage in such political activism? The answer is clear. There isn't a single incident in the NT where God directed the Church even once to engage in activities designed specifically to change the civil codes of their culture. Not one!

Where abortion is concerned, the Christian is not complacent about the issue so long as we stand in opposition to it the same as they stand in opposition to any other sin. They are not complacent when they refuse to practice abortion. They are not complacent when they share the gospel with women considering abortion, urging them to repent and place their faith in Christ. They are not being complacent when they take those opportunities to speak out against it. But when the goal shifts to restructuring the laws, and when we infer that God has laid the responsibility of changing existing laws in a culture, on the Church in order to conform that culture externally at least, to Christian values, we have stepped outside the mission of the Church given by Christ Himself. The Church has a responsibility to preach the pure gospel. She has the responsibility to make disciples. She has the responsibility to do good deeds and to let her light shine into this dark world. She has the responsibility to expose and reprove the sins of her culture. She does this by living a peculiar lifestyle. She does this by preaching the gospel. She does this by preaching the biblical doctrine of repentance. She does this when she helps unwed mothers navigate through their pregnancy. She does this when she helps these mothers find loving homes for their children.

I realize that the anti-abortionists will think this tone is far too soft. They will think that it does not go far enough. Some will probably claim that I am part of the problem...just one more complacent member in a complacent Church. Others will even accuse me of not loving the unborn children and not showing mercy. And some will question my devotion to Christ and the legitimacy of my conversion. That is unfortunate. I only hope that they can do a better job of managing their emotions when it comes to this issue rather than allowing their emotions and passion about the issue to consume them.

The Church of God will continue her stand against abortion. Some of her members will work with young mothers through ministries like Crisis Pregnancy Centers. Others will hand out tracks and speak with women entering abortion clinics. Some will preach at abortion clinics. Some will simply teach, preach, and write about the sins of abortion. But the Church of God does not have a mission to end abortion in the world. She cannot possibly accomplish such a lofty goal. Some may retort we just want to end it in America. Really? Why? How dare you stop with America! Abortion, in case you have not noticed is a worldwide problem. And babies that are being aborted in Asia and Europe and Africa are just as much your neighbors as those being aborted in America. The Church of God remains in the earth not to stop abortion. She remains in the earth to preach the gospel and make disciples. Let us NOT be complacent about that!

Opposing Abortion without Losing Your Salt

Planned Parenthood has yet another video exposing them for the murderous organization that they are. The Center for Medical Progress has revealed a video exposing Planned Parenthood for intact harvesting. The behavior is incredibly disturbing. But I find American shock to be outrageously hypocritical and extremely inconsistent. After all, if the fetus is not really a human life, then why not harvest the organs? Is selling the organs any worse than murdering the child? What this admits is that deep in their conscience, Americans know what abortion really is. It is murder. And they have known this all along with few exceptions. Still, it remains high on their list of demands. Don’t worry America, God has some demands of His own and sooner than later, I suspect you’ll be paying the piper his due.

There is no question that the sin of lust, the sin of murder, and the sin of greed combine to create a tsunami of demand for the murder of the unborn in this country. Unrestricted sex, undisciplined greed, and a wholesale disregard for the sanctity of life have created a country that is about to become drunk with the wrath of the divine barring radical repentance. What is the Church to do? It should be noted that the ancient Church of the first-century had to deal with conditions far worse than the ones we deal with in modern America and the West, to include abortion, homosexuality, idolatry, and extreme persecution of the worse kind imaginable. We haven’t even scratched the surface of the sort of environment that early Christians lived in. Not even close. In fact, most of the Church has lived in much more desperate times across the world and throughout her history than modern Christians in American culture. Indeed, we have been incredibly blessed and there are more than a few that think it is high time we join the rest of our persecuted brothers and sisters in the world. And perhaps it is.

The issue of abortion has become one of contention even within the body of Christ. The manner in which some people approach the subject can be classified as quite extreme. Some within the Church preach about the sin of abortion within the context of calling the culture to repent in general of her rebellion against God and to place their faith in Christ trusting in Christ alone for forgiveness and redemption. Others, however, are not so measured in how they take up the issue of abortion. For them, abortion stands out above other sin or at least their actions indicate that such is the case. These people, in the name of loving their neighbor, and in the name of showing mercy march down to the abortion clinics, hold up signs of ripped up little babies, and use megaphones to preach (scream?) to/at women who are going in to get an abortion. While I am perfectly fine with abortion clinic ministry so long as its main aim is to preach the gospel and make disciples. However, when it graduates to holding up repulsive signs, screaming on megaphones, and even exposing one’s children to such an environment, I am seriously opposed to such practices.

To approach women at an abortion clinic calmly in order to have conversation with them, handing them a track, and perhaps some accurate information on abortion I think is a good deed. Perhaps asking them how you can help with their situation could be the sort of loving act that might actually influence more of them than we might imagine, to not kill their babies. But to take it to these extreme measures is without justification in Scripture regardless of what abortion activists claim. It is unnecessary to carry signs of dead babies in order to preach the gospel at abortion clinics. It is unnecessary to use megaphones or scream at people entering the clinic in order to preach or give the gospel at abortion clinics. Preaching/Screaming at women entering abortion clinics is not required to love your neighbor or to show mercy. The approach undertaken by these individuals has nothing to do with God-given convictions about a calling and everything to do with their own personal preference for how to stand against abortion. I am not saying their approach is prohibited at all. What I am saying is that their methods are entirely the product of their own personal preferences. And if these methods are a matter of personal preference, no amount of Scripture at all can be used to defend them. At best, Scripture defends opposing abortion and evangelism. But it does not defend the carrying of these signs and it certainly does not defend bringing young children in such an environment. If you think young children ought to be exposed to screaming down at the clinic and signs of twisted, mangled babies in order to expose them to the truth, something is surely wrong with your thinker. While it is true that Scripture provides no imperative for engaging in such activities, the next question is does Scripture provide any prohibition against engaging in such activities.       

A friend of mine says the Church has been complacent about abortion over the years. He thinks the Church must change. In other words, the Church is partially to blame for legal abortion. Seemingly, he thinks the Church ought to focus more time on the activity of making abortion against the law in America. And apparently he thinks this is loving your neighbor and showing mercy. I think focusing on making abortion illegal is a misplaced goal for Christians. Christians are not called to end murder, adultery, stealing, war, or world hunger. We are called to shine the light of the gospel into a dark and sin-loving, God-hating, self-worshipping world. We can end abortion, but for the most part, only in cases where the gospel has produced the supernatural change of regeneration. Has the Church been complacent about abortion? The Church has been complacent about a lot of things. But surely the reality of abortion is not the fault of the Church and those who use such rhetoric ought to be ashamed of themselves. Such tactics are nothing more than emotional arguments designed to guilt people into signing up for their cause. And their cause is usually, hook, line, and sinker their way.

Where does that leave us as Christians grappling with the sin of abortion? It leaves us in the same place we are in grappling with every other sin in our culture. We don’t do it. I think it is a mistake to single out one sin, such as abortion, or homosexuality, or human trafficking and focus more on those sins than on others. Jesus commanded us, where the culture is concerned, to focus on one and only one sin: the rebellion of unbelief. The Church, where the culture is concerned, is to condemn all sin equally. American culture is guilty of rejecting God at every level. The Church must preach Christ and Him crucified. The law of God convicts the human heart of its need for radical change. Repentance from their rebellion against God means entire repentance. It does not mean peace-meal repentance. When the gospel of God overwhelms the sinners heart, that sinner will be set free from sexual sin, murder, lying, stealing, idolatry, and the whole lot of wickedness.

What does this mean? It means that Christians do not need to feel guilty that abortion is a reality of American culture nor feel like they are responsible in some way. It means that Christians do NOT have to go down to the abortion clinic in order to avoid sinning against God in not loving their neighbor or not showing mercy. It means that Christians do not have to carry megaphones in front of abortion clinics to oppose and condemn the sin of abortion. It certainly means that Christians do NOT need to carry signs and images of babies ripped apart by the pernicious procedure of abortion in order to oppose abortion. And it certainly means that Christians have much better means available to them than carrying their young children down to abortion clinics and exposing them to this environment and especially to such disturbing images in order to educate them on this sin. This means the Christians who engage in anti-abortion activities are engaging in an activity that is not the product of any divine imperative. Christians are not instructed, encouraged, or commanded anywhere in Scripture to engage in these kinds of activities. And this means that Christians who do this, are doing what they want to do, not what God has commanded them or called them to do. Is it wrong for Christians to go to abortion clinics and give the gospel? It depends on their motives for doing so. If their primary motive is to stop abortion, rather than to glorify God by giving the gospel, it is possible that such a motive is misplaced. Is it wrong to hold up signs of dead, ripped apart babies? It could be. I think great wisdom must be brought to bear here. We should not allow our tactics to give offense and detract from the gospel. And such tactics can have the tendency to do precisely that very thing. Offense, if it exists, ought to be caused by the gospel itself and not our personal method for delivering it if at all possible. Should we take young children down to the clinic or expose any young child to these images? A resounding no is my response! Where is the wisdom in exposing young children to such horrific images? Where is the discernment?

Let it be the gospel opposition to abortion that causes offense and nothing more! That is my point of view.

Planned Parenthood, Abortion, and Christian Faith

As you may notice, I took down my post regarding how Christians should approach the abortion issue. That blog centered around some specific comments my friend, Justin Edwards’ made regarding the church and abortion. Having spoken to Justin and reached a better understanding of where he was coming, I thought it best to remove my post. There are some things that I think need to be said about the recent revelations of some practices of Planned Parenthood.

First, as a Christian, it seems impossible for me to accept that one can be reasonably mature, intellectually and spiritually healthy Christian and consider abortion to be anything less than murder. I may understand how a newly born Christian could have some misunderstandings in this area. But I cannot understand how it could be possible for any responsible, mature believer, to actually condone abortion or even consider it to be a social issue about which the Church has nothing to say.

Abortion is murder. The unrepentant sinner that defends or practices the murder of babies abides under and one day will experience the wrath of God. The law of God is expressly set down in the conscience of men as well as in Scripture: You will NOT murder! The Church cannot mince words when it comes to the issue of abortion. She must call it precisely what it is without compromise and without sensitivity to those murderers who do not want to be called murderers. Someone who practices abortion and who defends abortion is not an ounce different from a deranged serial killer. Now, before you get worked up about this, we are all guilty before God and apart from Christ, we stand condemned. Paul said, “and such were some of you!” Yes, we ought to see the abortionists as murderers but we ought also to see ourselves as murderers. Jesus said the one who hates his brother is a murderer. And which one of us has not at one point in time over the course of our lives not been guilty of hating our brother or neighbor? The Church has no choice but to speak out against the sins of the culture in her message of repentance for it is in the indictment and the guilt that the good news can be brought to bear. We do no one any favors by relegating abortion to a social issue about which the Church has nothing to say.

On the flip side of the coin are those who think that unless the Church is routinely preaching about the sin the abortion, sanctioning an evangelistic team to go down to the abortion clinic on a regular basis, and calling on their local and state civil leaders to change the law, that she is guilty of complacency on the issue. But there are a host of problems with such a view. First of all, we must be very careful in how and why we extend rebukes to fellow believers in Christ. And we must be extremely guarded in how we speak to those who hold the office of elder in the Church. If a correction is needed, then it ought to be given. But the question is, is a correction or rebuke appropriate?

There are three basic groups of people in the Church, the real Church I mean. There are those who are less involved with the abortion issue. They condemn it as a sinfully wicked practice and speak against it, calling it what it is: murder. There are those who are moderately engaged in some sort of activism around abortion. They may hand out tracks, provide counseling, etc. And then there are those who go to the clinics, hold up signs of aborted babies, and preach to women going into those clinics.

The problem I see with these groups is not their activities but more often, their attitudes. The first group may consider preaching outside an abortion clinic embarrassing, offensive, and even primitive. They may condemn the act entirely and criticize those who are involved in it. On the flip side, the latter group, being far more aggressive and emotion about the subject has a tendency to be judgmental about anyone that does not share their passion. I think both attitudes are wrong. There is nothing in Scripture prohibiting preaching or demonstrating publicly against abortion. If done with the right motive and with good taste, using wisdom, I support the approach. In addition, there is no principle of Scripture that dictates to Christians that they have to become abortion activists either. The “love your neighbor” answer is a misuse of Scripture and ought to be abandoned by those who use it. It is activist propaganda and unhelpful rhetoric. Additionally, if one is using evangelism to stop abortion, that would constitute a misuse of the gospel and an illegitimate use of evangelism. Essentially, that isn’t evangelism. If your purpose for being at an abortion clinic is anything other than the supernatural conversion of these expectant mothers, then perhaps you have your cart before your horse. Moreover, if you read some websites, it is clear that abortion is first and everything else is secondary. That simply will not do. We are to make disciples, not mothers.

Often, abortion activists will claim that they are interested in conversion, and that their activities really are mainly focused on the gospel. They will claim that they do not look at non-activists with judgmental, self-righteous contempt. But deep in the recesses of their heart, they know they are not being honest. The message to all Christians is the same. You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Do you need to be an activist in order to be the light God called you to be? Do you need to seek out cultural and social change in order to be the light God called you to be? Jesus didn’t. Jesus was uninterested in external change. And He was the light of the world. Jesus did not seek to end Roman oppression and mistreatment of the poor. He was not an activist. He preached the gospel. His mission was spiritual.

The reality is that abortion existed in Paul’s day. Yet, we do not read one word about the practice in the New Testament writings. Of course it was abhorrent to Paul and the other writers of Scripture. That is beyond dispute. But if activism is required to avoid the sin of complacency, then I suppose the New Testament Church was also guilty of the sin of complacency when it came to the practice of abortion in that culture.

In summary we would say to all groups involved to love one another and allow Scripture and Scripture alone to guide your practices. It amazes me that the issue of abortion is elevated above the issue of love and unity in the body of Christ. We are quick to separate simply because someone’s methods differ from our own. And believe it or not, disharmony in the body of Christ is every bit as tragic as the tragedy of abortion.