Fighting Crime? – Pt. 2
Yesterday, I discussed the logic behind abortion and how abortion itself reduces our respect for the rights of others, particularly the right to life. I also demonstrated that abortion condemned the innocent and allowed the guilty to go free, and that we, as a nation, had codified it into law. The last statement I made was “I wonder what the LORD has to say about that . . .”
There really is no need to wonder. If we can figure out logically that abortion condemns the innocent, does not respect the right to life, and destroys the most defenseless among us, it is not difficult to know what the LORD thinks about abortion and allowing it to exist under legal protection. Nonetheless, we would do well to look into the word of God so that we can understand why we are being judged as a nation, and what our end will be.
Before beginning, it ought to be understood that the LORD God used Israel as an example for all nations to look to pertaining to what He will tolerate, and what He will not. The LORD made this very plain in both Leviticus 18, verses 24-28, and Deuteronomy 18, verses 9-18, when He plainly told Israel what they could not do as the Canaanites did, as those were the reasons the Canaanites were being driven out of the land. In so doing, the LORD God lets us know that all nations are held to the same standard of conduct, whether they acknowledge the LORD or not. Indeed, we would do well to remember, the LORD God’s existence is not predicated upon whether anyone believes in Him. The LORD God is the I AM and nothing is going to change that.
In beginning, it is essential to understand that the LORD God is a God of judgement, and that plainly means that when someone is guilty, they are held accountable. Moreover, the innocent are never to be made to pay for the crimes of the guilty.
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. (Exodus 23:7)
Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. (Deuteronomy 27:25)
Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:3)
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)
The above makes it very plain that the LORD God is not pleased with those who deem it necessary to destroy the innocent for the convenience of the guilty. But that is not all. It becomes even more egregious when it is a child who suffers for the sake of the parents. To the LORD, children hold a special place. In all His creation, a little child is a precious thing to the LORD:
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:14)
Now the statements the Lord Jesus Christ made sit in the context of the salvation the LORD offers to all through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Such a comparison, being drawn by the LORD Himself, shows the gravity of looking down upon children, and the egregiousness of killing a little child for the convenience of the parents. When the LORD compares the despising and destruction of little children and that loss; to the loss of a soul, it is a clear picture of what the LORD thinks of those who despise and kill little children.
The why of this is also plain in the rest of the Scripture.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5)
This alone is enough to show what is wrong with abortion. After all, a child in the womb is a direct gift from God. It is a blessing he bestows. Yes, it is indeed a consequence of actions taken, but there are few consequences so full of joy and the potential for joy as this one is. Thus, to reject it — is to reject the LORD and is an affront to God. Moreover, as previously shown, it is to deny the responsibility for one’s actions.
However, that is compounded by the fact that children, particularly those in the womb, are the most innocent among us. No child in the womb has done anything to anyone, at any time. They did not ask to be there, and they have no choice in the matter. Hence, to kill them is to commit the most egregious of all crimes. The LORD condemned Israel for this — and they did not touch those in the womb. Instead they took their babies and sacrificed them to the “gods” of the heathen:
They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. (Psalm 106:34-38)
Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon. (II Kings 24:3-4)
What innocent blood did Manasseh shed? It was the sacrificing of little children to the heathen gods so that Manasseh could be absolved of his sin. ‘Ah,’ the advocates of abortion would say, ‘we are not sacrificing little children to gods, therefore we cannot be held to this.’ However, they miss a very important statement made by the Lord Jesus Christ to the scribes and Pharisees when challenged about being the Son of God:
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? (John 10:34-36)
Of course, the law He spoke of was Psalm 82:
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. (Psalm 82:6)
Thus, the “gods” the little children in the womb are sacrificed to, are none other than the parent(s) of the unborn child. Like “gods,” the parent(s) take upon themselves that which belongs to God only — the determination of who lives and who dies. Indeed, this is worse than the slave owners of old, who the LORD instructed they were not to take the life of their slave, nor were they to arbitrarily punish those under their power. Here, we have a child that has done nothing at all, and yet the parent(s), decide to usurp a prerogative of God only, and put the child to death. Not to justify Manasseh and the ancient Israelites, but at least they allowed the child to be born. As we can see, the LORD God destroyed them for their wickedness.
No, for this thing there is no excuse. Moreover, in our heart and soul we all, even those who perform the abortions and those who have them done, know that this is egregiously wrong. The LORD God is angry at America for this, if for nothing else. Moreover, like ancient Judah, we will not be pardoned either.