March 3, 2008

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“Speak Up!”

That’s what Lutherans For Life encourages God’s people to do! It is tragically true that too often the Church, as a whole, has failed to speak up For Life or has done so weakly. It is also especially disappointing since God Himself has never been silent when it comes to life.

On the positive side, there are many congregations, pastors, and teachers speaking up, speaking out, and speaking well on life issues. For that we are grateful!

One of the main teaching tools in the Lutheran Church is Luther’s Small Catechism and Explanation (1). Does the catechism have anything to say about life? Yes!

We see God’s gift of life addressed early on in the Fifth Commandment: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13 NIV). Martin Luther explains this commandment wonderfully in these words: “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.” Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is anyone who is vulnerable and in need. That would certainly include the pregnant teen and her unborn child. We could also include the elderly man in a hospital bed who is slowly dying and his family who is struggling with what to do next.

The catechism has a great way of explaining things in a simple and straightforward way. In talking about what God forbids in the Fifth Commandment it says, “God forbids us to take the life of another person (murder, abortion, euthanasia) or our own life (suicide).”

Why does God forbid this? Genesis 9:6 is quoted. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” Because of sin that image has been marred, but the fact remains that every one of us is a special and unique person created by God.

When does God consider someone a person?

Again, the explanation to the catechism says it simply but truthfully: “The living but unborn are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception. Since abortion takes a human life, it is not a moral option except to prevent the death of another person, the mother.”

Actually, the rare medical procedures needed to save the life of a mother that result in the death of her baby are really not abortions. The intent is not to kill the baby, but to save the mother, and it is not the death of the baby that saves her life. An example would be an ectopic pregnancy where the removal of the fallopian tube to save the mother’s life results in the death of her child.

The Scriptures used in this section of the catechism are familiar, but very powerful and persuasive.

Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

Psalm 139:16: “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

A great For Life text, Luke 1:41-44, is also referred to: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’”

Since Mary left to visit Elizabeth immediately after the Angel spoke to her, the unborn baby Jesus would have been only about a 10-day old embryo! Yet the unborn John the Baptist recognized Him with a joyful kick!

Lutherans are not ashamed to sing about this event!

Before he yet was born, he leaped in joyful meeting,

Confessing Him as Lord, whose mother he was greeting.

By Jordan’s rolling stream, a new Elijah bold,

He testified of Him, of whom the prophets told. (2)

How can the Lutheran Church not speak up when, every day, 3,250 babies, created by God and for whom Jesus Christ died, are being killed! That figure is for the United States alone! That works out to be 135 babies killed every hour, one every 30 seconds, 42,000,000 since 1973 when abortion was legalized in all nine months of pregnancy for any reason whatsoever. Tell your family, friends, and neighbors these numbers—many people do not realize what is going on!

We are also reminded in the catechism that “the severely handicapped, infirm, helpless, and aged are persons in the sight of God with life given by Him and to be ended only by Him.”

Proverbs 6:16-17: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood.”

Proverbs 31:8: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Acts 17:25: “He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”

It would seem obvious that “of course they are persons”! Yet, we have people like Professor Peter Singer (of Princeton University, no less) who advocates allowing parents —up to 28 days after birth—to decide whether they want to keep their disabled child or kill him or her. This whole concept is the coldly logical result of considering unborn children in the womb, or those born “less than perfect,” as “less than human.”

It is not just ivory-tower types that promote this kind of thinking. There are over 40 national Christian, Jewish, and other religious organizations that belong to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, which advocates abortion on-demand for any reason—even opposing a ban on partial-birth abortion!

Not only does God forbid in the Fifth Commandment, but He requires of us that “we should help and support our neighbor in every bodily need” and that “we should be merciful, kind, and forgiving towards our neighbor.”

Romans 12:20: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Matthew 5:5,7,9: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth … Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy … Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

Matthew 6:15: “If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

In explaining the Fifth Commandment, the catechism also refers to the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:33-35, where the above verses are put into practice.

In an excellent book, To All Eternity (The Essential Teaching of Christianity), (3) it says, “When Jesus’ disciples first heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, they did not comprehend its full meaning. Today, we can see Jesus’ parable about compassion in light of His own sacrifices. Finding us stripped of our righteousness, Jesus took pity on us. He bandaged our wounds, provided for our healing, opened the treasures of heaven, and paid for our care. Jesus became poor so that we might become rich in God’s righteousness, life, and peace. Because of His compassion, we possess heaven. Because of His ultimate sacrifice, we have the power to help others to care for all they are and possess.”

They may not make the morning paper or the evening news, but pro-life people are being Good Samaritans to their neighbors in special ways every day. Among Lutherans For Life people alone there are Diaper Derbies, Christmas Cribs (filled with diapers, and blankets, etc.), and all kinds of creative fundraisers for Caring Pregnancy Centers, help in providing for single parents, adoptions, and an incredible variety of pro-life educational opportunities for people of all ages.

We have talked about what we should be doing For Life as Christians.

Why should we do these things?

The motivation should be what God has done for us!

Here’s one more quote from the catechism: “God offers the forgiveness of sins only in the Gospel, the good news that we are freed from the guilt, the punishment, and power of sin, and are saved eternally because of Christ’s keeping the Law and His suffering and death for us.”

John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

Romans 10:4: “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”

Colossians 1:13-14: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

This Gospel message—and helping Lutherans faithfully apply the Gospel to life issues—is what Lutherans For Life is all about! So many more Lutherans need to hear that message—those living in the darkness of guilt because of a past abortion, or sexual sin, or an end-of-life decision.

Will you help?

There is so much that needs to be done!

(1) Luther’s Small Catechism, © 1986, Concordia Publishing House; An Explanation of the Small Catechism, © 1991 Concordia Publishing House.

(2) When All the World was Cursed, Lutheran Worship, #187, verse 2a.

(3) To All Eternity – The Essential Teachings of Christianity, © 2002 Concordia Publishing House, Item #14-2126.