Abortion (Book)

I am particularly concerned for those who read this sermon who have already had or encouraged an abortion. We believe in God‟s forgiveness. The grace of God is so great as to include all of us who confess and turn away from our sin. The Bible speaks of the forgiveness of all kinds of sins, even the worst (witness the experience of the Apostle Paul). God can and will forgive anyone and any sin. Many women and men have been party to abortions in the past and have already or even now seek God‟s forgiveness. We believe God will definitely forgive and restore. The following sermon must be understood in the light of that grace.

One woman‟s experience:
“Place it in a basin, cover it with a towel, move it to the utility room, and check it every five minutes until the heart stops beating,” the doctor ordered over the telephone. Marcy, seventeen years old, decided with great difficulty to go ahead with this abortion just recently, twenty weeks into an unwanted pregnancy. Usually, after several hours of hard labor caused by an injection...the fetus is stillborn, but Marcy had delivered a critically ill baby girl who weighed under a pound. The Nurse wrapped the baby in a towel, cut the umbilical cord, and headed for the utility room, agonizing over what to do. “I can't do this,” the nurse decided. “This baby is alive. I may get in serious trouble but I must give her a chance.” She contacted the pediatrician on call and her response was, “I'd rather not get involved. The intent of the procedure was the death of the fetus–besides it couldn‟t possibly survive at this age and size. You can take it to the nursery if you want but I won't treat it.” Gently the nurse placed the newborn in a bassinette, kept her warm, tried to soothe her and watched helplessly for an hour as she struggled to survive. After an hour the struggling stopped and the child was dead. The nurse wondered, “Do we need to complete a birth and death certificate? We would have if the mother had wanted this child. In that case we would have done everything possible to save her and we would have all shared in the sorrow of her death.”¹

Doctor Robert Orr asks: “What kind of societal ethic allows taking the lives of unborn babies in one room while encouraging the medical team in the next room to heroically save lives of babies the same size and age, when the only difference is that one is wanted and the other is not?” ² Can both actions be right?

Jerry Nelson has served as the senior pastor of Southern Gables Church (EFCA) since 1978. Expositional preaching is  his  passion  and  practice.  He  holds  undergraduate degrees  from  Moody  Bible  Institute  and  the  University of  Minnesota,  a  master's  degree  from  Denver  Seminary and  an  earned  doctorate  (D.Min.)  from  the  Trinity Evangelical  Divinity  School  along  with  an  honorary doctorate  (D.D.)  from  Trinity  College  and  Seminary  of India.  He  and  his  wife  Barbara  live  in  Lakewood, Colorado and have four children.

Copyright 2009 by Dr. Jerry Nelson

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