God hates murder. The Bible teaches that human beings are unique among all the species of life that God has put on the Earth, because they are made in the image of God. Someone who kills another person in cold blood is guilty not only of causing harm to his brother or sister, but of desecrating a sacred image. God takes it personally when human beings murder each other.
Abortion is murder. The Bible makes it clear that unborn children are made in the image of God just like other human beings (Jeremiah 1:4-5, Job 31:14-15, Psalm 139:13-14). The sin of abortion is an especially horrible sin because the victims are so powerless to defend themselves. Of course God hates every kind of sin, but He is especially angry when it is committed against someone who is weak. The Bible says: “A Father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.” (Psalms 68:5-6). Therefore I believe that God hears the silent cry of pain given by unborn children when they are ripped apart with pieces of metal or by deformed by chemicals. His love for them requires Him to be angry towards those who have brutally mutilated them.
So how do you think God feels when churches that call themselves Christian receive tithes from those who make their livings committing this kind of murder? Frankly, I think God is appalled. The Old Testament is clear how God views those who kill children and then try to worship Him afterwards:
“On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.” (Ezekiel 23:39)
As Christians we need to take a stand against this kind of sin. We should not want our local church gatherings to be defiled by abortion doctors and nurses the same way the ancient temple was defiled by those who sacrificed children to idols. Churches need to be very careful about whom they allow into their fellowship. Frankly, I think it is disgusting that some churches today not only allow abortion doctors to become members, but they let them partake of communion as well! This is blasphemy on an extreme scale. The wine that symbolizes the innocent and Holy blood of Christ should not pass through the lips of someone who still makes a living by shedding innocent blood! Concerning communion, the Bible says:
“He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (I Corinthians 11:29).
I think an abortion doctor who eats the Lords’ supper clearly falls into this category, and will face horrible judgment in the hereafter if he does not repent. This kind of hypocrisy should never be knowingly allowed in a church, and if it is allowed by accident, the one who did it should be told to pray to God for forgiveness. It is no small sin to blaspheme God by abusing the memory of the body and blood of Christ.
That is not to say, however, that we should never allow abortion doctors to pass through the doors of the church. Unbelievers and sinners should always be welcomed to observe true Christian worship, whether they be murderers, adulterers, thieves, liars, or gossips. God loves everyone, and wants them to repent of their sins in order that their relationship with Him might be restored (I Timothy 2:4, II Peter 3:9). Those of us who are true Christians are not better than they are, since we too have committed horrible sins in our past. I pray that many abortion doctors will walk into truth-preaching churches in the following years, hear the gospel and repent of their sins. God loves abortion doctors, and so do I.
About a year ago I communicated with a pastor over the internet who said that it was inappropriate for a church to take a position on the abortion issue. He claimed to personally believe that abortion was wrong, but he did not preach it from his pulpit, because he did not think that this would allow him to show Christ-like love to those in his congregation who were pro-choice. I disagree! I believe his silence was more a symptom of convenience than love. It is not loving to allow a person to sin without warning them of the judgment that they are storing up for themselves (Ezekiel 33:1-20). As Christians it is our responsibility to warn others about the impending consequences of their sins.
A very well explained specially the topic is pretty sensitive. Great Job !
Faree Imaan
It is disheartening to read about a pastor who is afraid to speak the truth. Let us pray for him and all others who are unable to defend human life from conception to natural death.
Luke 12:8-9 (NAB) comes to mind:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others
the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God.
For those who think abortion is acceptable, I would suggest an alternative view as presented by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King in the film BloodMoney – http://bloodmoneyfilm.com/
It’s a good thing we in this life time do not have to worry about people like Paul (a murderer) and Matthew (a thieving gov’t worker) and Peter (physical attacker) trying to be part of us.
Church belongs to good people. Keep them sinners out! Wait… did I really say that out loud? Hmmmmm ….
Thanks for your comment Debbie. You make a good point that some of the greatest Christians in the history of the church have committed some pretty bad crimes. That is why I still have hope that abortion doctors will repent of their sins and become great Christians. Those examples you quoted are proof that past sins are never a limitation to the future spiritual growth of someone who turns to Christ.
But… God is love. And if we are supposed to be imitators of Christ, we should love the unlovable. Jesus, when He was here on earth, ate with the lowest of the low. I feel like we need to have the love of Christ shine through and that these doctors will see Christ in us. “They will know we are Christians by our love” So if we aren’t showing love to these people I would argue that we are NOT Christians…
And you cannot be the judge here. What right do you have by saying that they can’t be involved in a communion service. You cannot judge someones heart. It is not your place. It’s between God and that individual. GET RID OF LABELS!!!! They have no place in our Churches and Christian communities. If we label people we are becoming like them. Don’t you see that? “Take the PLANK out of your own eye before you tell someone to take the SPECK out of their own eye”
Yes, God is love. We are absolutely supposed to love abortion doctors. The second to last paragraph in my article explains how we are supposed to love abortion doctors:
“God loves everyone, and wants them to repent of their sins in order that their relationship with Him might be restored (I Timothy 2:4, II Peter 3:9). Those of us who are true Christians are not better than they are, since we too have committed horrible sins in our past. I pray that many abortion doctors will walk into truth-preaching churches in the following years, hear the gospel and repent of their sins. God loves abortion doctors, and so do I.”
Thanks for your comment Maggie.
I believe that anyone, regardless of their past should be allowed to partake of communion, no matter what they have done. But their present is an entirely different matter. They must repent and believe in the gospel. Communion is only for believers, not unbelievers.
Of course I am not saying that I can see someone’s heart and know if they are a true believer. I am not responsible for judging their heart. But I am responsible for judging their actions (references/explanation to follow). The Bible says that when Christians commit certain sins continuously without repenting that they should be barred from Christian fellowship.
The Apostle Paul Wrote: “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” (I Corinthians 5:11)
I want to be very clear that this rule only applies to those who call themselves believers. It does not apply to our relationships with those who are openly non-believers (I Corinthians 5:10, 12,13).
Concerning “judging,” the Bible actually commands the church to judge those in their congregation (I Corinthians 6:2-5). This seems to contradict the verse that you referenced above (Matthew 7:1). So why does the Bible say opposite things in two different verses?
I think the answer is clear if we examine the context. When Matthew 7:1 says don’t judge, it means “don’t make up your own rules, and apply them to other people.” Instead, we are to accept God’s rules and to apply them to ourselves first, and to other people secondly (Matthew 7:2,3). It does not mean that we are never to criticize other people or tell them they are wrong. Actually, the Matthew passage is very clear that we are supposed to approach our brother about his error. That is to say, we are supposed to take the speck out of his eye, we are not to leave it in his eye. (Matthew 7:5). Of course, as you have correctly pointed out, we are to take the plank out of our own eye first.
This entire process must be done in love. When we tell an abortion doctor that he cannot partake of communion until he stops killing babies, we must do it with love. It is very easy for us to blow things out of context and to criticize other people over little things. It is easy for us to develop a “holier than thou” attitude. This is clearly forbidden by the Bible (Luke 18:10-14). Nevertheless, if our friend is clearly committing a sin, it is not loving for us to ignore the sin (Ezekiel 33:6). If an abortion doctor is truly my friend, I will tell him (lovingly) that what he is doing is wrong. It is not lovingly for me to tell him that what he’s doing is alright, because it’s not.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6)
Thanks again for your comments. Take care!
-Daniel