Rally for Life 2016
Note: This is the manuscript for the speech given by Rev. Stephen Baker of Clearnote Church in Bloomington, Indiana. This is not identical to the speech that Rev. Baker delivered at the rally, which you can see in full on our YouTube page.
If you are here today—if you have taken the trouble and braved the cold and opened yourself to the derision of those driving by—then you are deeply aware that abortion is a great evil.
It is, in fact, murder.
Now, many who work for the end of abortion say it is not helpful to call abortion murder. They call that language inflammatory. They say we shouldn’t be so negative. They say we should focus on the well-being of the mother.
Of course, we absolutely want to help the mother! We want to love her in the name of Jesus Christ. We want to offer her all the help we can.
But failing or refusing to call abortion murder works against all of that. By refusing to call abortion murder is to cut off the two most effective tools we have in this fight. Those two tools are the Word of God and the conscience of that mother.
If we aren’t allowed to call abortion murder, then how can we use God’s Word in the fight against it?
The Holy Spirit has given us words—the very words of Scripture are God’s words. Scripture is God-breathed. And the words of Scripture are eternally true. And the word that God has given us in His Word is murder.
Exodus 20:13— “You shall not murder.”
This is the Word of God! This is the Law of God!
And as soon as anyone says, “No, no, no! We can’t call abortion ‘murder!’ That will offend people! People won’t accept that! That’s not helpful!” As soon as anyone says that, they strip away the Word of God.
But the Word of God is the only thing that has divine power. The Apostle Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 10:4, “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
That divine power is the Word of God!
In 2 Corinthians 6:7, the Apostle Paul says that he fights “in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left.”
The Apostle Paul tells us that the “sword of the Spirit” is “the Word of God.”
And the Word of God is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword”!
God Himself declares in Jeremiah 23:29, “Is not My word like fire? And like a hammer which shatters a rock?”
You see? The Word of God is the Power of God!
But many of us—many who want to end the great evil of abortion in this nation—many of us believe that the Word of God is not helpful in this fight. But nothing could be further from the truth! Our only hope for making any advance in this fight is to use God’s Word.
So, that’s the first reason we need to call abortion “murder.” It’s what the Word of God calls abortion. And the Word of God is the Power of God.
There is another reason we need to call abortion murder, and it’s related to the first. The Law of God is written in the conscience of every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth.
Every woman who walks into an abortuary knows what she is doing. She has a conscience that witnesses against her that she is breaking God’s Law. Every man who walks his wife or girlfriend or daughter into an abortuary knows what he is doing. Even the escorts who seem so calloused—and yes, even the so-called nurses and so-called doctors know what they are doing.
Listen carefully to God’s Word from Romans 1:28-32
.“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
Do you see? They know! They know the ordinance—the Law—of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death. Now, to be sure, that in itself does not stop them! Because even though they know, they continue to do—they continue to commit murder. And they continue to “give hearty approval” to those who commit murder.
But the Law of God and the conscience He has given to every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth work together. And as soon as we remove the Word of God from our work—as soon as we stop using the Law of God in our witness against abortion—we conspire against the conscience.
We as a nation are bent on removing the Word of God and the Law of God: from our legislation, from our courts, from our classrooms, from our churches, and from our witness against abortion. But to prevent consciences from coming into direct contact with the Words of God and the Law of God is terribly unloving and remarkably unhelpful!
So, what will it take to end the murder of little children in their mother’s wombs in America?
Ultimately, there are only two things that will work.
Over the years, we have put our hope in all kinds of things that have not produced lasting fruit. Most recently, we thought that the videos exposing the calloused, greedy wickedness of Planned Parenthood would turn the tide. I’m glad those videos were produced, but they in themselves will not end abortion.
Ultimately, there are only two things that will work.
One is the wrath of God—the judgment of God. God judges nations for their sins. He destroys nations for their wickedness. Somehow, America thinks it’s immune to God’s judgment. But that is a delusion. It’s a delusion that our pastors have promoted. Our pastors in churches of all sorts across this nation have said, “Peace! Peace!” when there is no peace.
God’s Words in Jeremiah 6:13-19 apply exactly to us—to this nation:
“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD. Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, O nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also.”
Mark my words—mark God’s words—this nation will fall if it persists in this wickedness. And then the murder of little babies in their mothers’ wombs will end, also.
But there is another way to end abortion in America: the mercy of God.
When God pours out His mercy, people change. The gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. And the gospel—the good news—is that even though we as individuals and as a nation deserve the righteous anger and judgment of God, God Himself poured out His judgment on His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And God Himself raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him at God’s right hand. And God gave to the Lord Christ all authority in heaven and on earth, and He is reigning until He makes all His enemies a footstool for His feet.
And God is offering you mercy, right now. Free pardon for your sins! Forgiveness for all your wicked motives and words and acts! And not only that, but He offers to cover your wickedness with the spotless righteousness of Jesus our Lord.
And God offers all of that to you if you will believe. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
If your conception of salvation depends on your works, then you do not possess salvation. God’s salvation rules out our boasting.
But what happens to a man—a woman—a child—who repents of their sins, hangs all their hopes on the blood of Jesus Christ alone—and is reconciled to God Almighty?
That man—that woman—that child—begins a new life of obedience to God’s Law. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, he walks in newness of life. And that new life is marked by repentance and faith and sanctification. And that new man or woman or child—made new by the work of Jesus for them on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit in them in regeneration and sanctification—turns away from the lust and the greed and the pride and the selfishness that fuels abortion.
And these new men and women begin to have families that honor and obey God. And these families join together in churches that honor and obey God. And these churches fill a town and a city and a state and a nation.
And then, that nation begins to honor and obey God. And the words of our Lord in His great commission to His Church become reality: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” (Matthew 28:18-20).
And the great abomination of child murder is over! Because the nation observes God’s commandment, “You shall not murder.”
That’s it! God will end this great evil either by His wrath or by His mercy.
Do not put your hope in politicians. Do not put your hope in protests. Do not put your hope in prayers to anyone but the Sovereign King and great Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Put your hope in God. And may God have mercy on us and our nation. Amen.
