Silence Or Hope From the Pulpit

Tomorrow, January 22, 2012, is the 39th anniversary of the infamous U. S. Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, that essentially legalized the killing of unborn human beings anytime during the nine months of pregnancy and for virtually any reason.

 55 + million unborn children have lost their lives in the intervening years as America has not had the moral courage or political will to end this state sanctioned barbarism. Has the church remained largely silent for fear of man and/or quest for acceptance by the world?

Some churches will remember this tragedy by observing Sanctity of Human Life Sunday tomorrow. A time for public mourning for the lives lost and an opportunity to remind the Church of God’s great love affair with the human race. 

Then there are the 55 + million parents of the 55 + million children lost through abortion - the silent multitude, most of whom are scarred emotionally, spiritually and even physically, by the often repressed trauma of having killed their own offspring. 

They are in the church in great numbers. 43% of women having abortions identify themselves as Protestant, 27% as Roman Catholic (AGI “In Brief” July 2008) Getting a little more specific, it’s not a pretty picture in the largely “pro-life” evangelical church either. It is reported that one out of six women who have had an abortion are evangelical Christians; 5.6 million women in evangelical churches have aborted unwanted children; and 250,000 evangelical women choose abortion each year. (Heartlink - Focus on the Family)

No national sin can rival abortion in its negative impact on society. It is the greatest moral evil of our day - literally eating away at the moral and spiritual fabric of our nation. The blood letting has invited and empowered demonic forces in their quest to steal, kill and destroy human life and reap havoc in human behavior. 

The vast majority of the post-abortive have never experienced the forgiveness, healing and restoration available through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what is even more sobering is that the gospel message linked to abortion, will not be heard tomorrow in most churches.

One mother who aborted three of her children and subsequently found forgiveness and healing through the gospel, wrote these challenging words,

 “The consequences to women who have had abortions (and men as well) cut deep into the soul… The post-abortive women sitting in church on a Sunday morning need to hear about forgiveness for ALL SIN through Jesus Christ,….abortion is not the unforgivable sin so many think it is...women need to know there is healing and hope in Christ - that they may also forgive themselves.”   

I believe Rev. Flip Benham of Operation Save America was right when he said,

“Abortion will come to an end, when the Church of Jesus Christ makes up her mind it will come to an end – not second sooner. The responsibility for ending abortion in America rests squarely upon the shoulders of the Church of Jesus Christ.”

Ultimately, the gospel is the solution to America’s abortion crisis. Innocent blood has polluted the land and profaned the name of the Lord. But there is a greater blood shed on Mount Calvary that can transform the heart of a mother and father to choose life for their child and that can cleanse the guilty, forgive, heal and restore those involved in abortion. 

What America needs to hear is God’s truth about abortion wrapped in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To that end we can be silent or give hope from the pulpit tomorrow.