Introduction: This Tuesday will mark the 29th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, the impact of which has been to make abortions legal and easy to get in all 50 states. Prior to that time, it was up to each state to determine the legality of abortion. Many states criminalized abortion. Some states legalized it, and women traveled to those states to have abortions. Prior to Roe vs. Wade there were about 500,000 legal abortions done per year in the USA. After 1973 the figure steadily rose to about 1.4 million, and it has held pretty steady at that number for years. This morning I would like to outline the problem of abortion, and what Christians can and should do about it.

I. Abortion is a problem that won't go away.

A. It is important to be aware of the history of abortion and other forms of infanticide around the world and in America. Infanticide, the killing of babies, in its many forms is nothing new to the human race. It has been done often in every nation and in every era.

B. A 19th century American physician: Dr. Hugh L. Hodge, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote in 1869....

"The history of almost every nation is blackened by the hideous, unnatural crime of infanticide.

You have all read of the horrible sacrifices of infants among barbarous nations, to appease or propitiate [sic] their idol gods. You know that Greeks and Romans, with all their boasted wisdom and refinement, habitually exposed their infants to the most terrible deaths; that this crime is not forgotten in modem times; that among nations, deprived of the light of Christianity, the sacrifices and the wanton destruction of infants still prevail, whether we extend our view to Asia, Africa, or America, or the islands of the sea.

Criminal abortion is almost as prevalent. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, alludes to the potions taken by wicked women, or administered by still more wicked and detestable men, to procure delivery. The females of Rome have their depravity, in this respect, recorded on a monument, perennius ære, the Satires of Juvenal.

Would, gentlemen, that we could exonerate the moderns from guilt on this subject! It is, however, a mournful fact, which ought to be promulgated, that this crime, this mode of committing murder, is prevalent among the most intelligent, refined, moral, and Christian communities.

We blush, while we record the fact, that in this country, in our cities and towns, in this city, where literature, science, morality, and Christianity are supposed to have so much influence; where all the domestic and social virtues are reported as being in full and delightful exercise; even here individuals, male and female, exist, who are continually bathing their hands and consciences in the blood of unborn infants; yea, even medical men are to be found, who, for some trifling pecuniary recompense, will poison the fountains of life, or forcibly induce labor, to the certain destruction of the foetus, and not unfrequently of its parent.

So low, gentlemen, is the moral sense of the community on this subject; so ignorant are the greater number of individuals, that even mothers, in many instances, shrink not from the commission of this crime, but will voluntarily destroy their own progeny, in violation of every natural sentiment, and in opposition to the laws of God and man. Perhaps there are few individuals, in extensive practice as obstetricians, who have not had frequent applications made to them by the fathers or mothers of unborn children (respectable and polite in their general appearance and manners), to destroy the fruit of illicit pleasure, under the vain hope of preserving their reputation by this unnatural and guilty sacrifice."

C. Abortion and infanticide are fixtures of world history. This is not just an American problem. Abortion techniques are described in the oldest known medical texts. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians had their methods and recipes to cause abortion, and Greek and Roman civilizations considered abortion an integral part of maintaining a stable population. Ancient medical instruments used to bring about abortions, such as the ones found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, were much like modern surgical instruments. The Greeks and Romans also had various poisons administered in various ways. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all known to suggest abortion. Roman morality placed no social stigma on abortion.

Where medicinal or surgical abortion is too dangerous, or impractical or too expensive, people have not hesitated to kill their living babies after they have been born, if that was financially or socially advantageous.

Judaism, Islam and Christianity all prohibit infanticide. But female infanticide has been for centuries a prominent event. Recent research suggests the number of missing females may top 100 million. 30.5 million females are "missing" from China, 22.8 million in India, 3.1 million in Pakistan, 1.6 million in Bangladesh, 1.7 million in West Asia, 600,000 in Egypt, and 200,000 in Nepal.

In the Western world, where we can afford the most modern and safest medical procedures, abortion, or more recently "termination by pill," is the leading choice for getting rid of unwanted children. In the USA, we kill about 1.3 million unborn babies per year (600 in 1998 in Chattanooga). In Britain, it is 160,000 per year. In Russia, 3 million abortions performed each year, more than double the number of births. In France, there are almost one million abortions each year, equal to the number of births. Note also that the use of pregnancy terminating pills is more prevalent in Europe than it is here, and those "terminations" are not listed as official abortions. In the USA and Europe we kill an estimated six million pre-born babies every year. I don't have any figures for South America or Africa. Western society is no more moral than China or India, we just have more options and more money to afford those options.

D. Pastors, religious leaders and denominations have been inconsistent on the issue. The Roman Catholic Church, and the more fundamentalist-leaning Protestant denominations, including the PCA, declare abortion to be immoral. However there are many denominations which are "Pro-choice" rather than "Pro-life," and who actually provide money to organizations that promote abortions. It is the officially approved policy of one famous main-line denomination that abortion is justified in the case of any physical deformity of the baby; or if the mother would be upset by having a baby; or if the mother cannot afford to raise a child. It is the official position of this denomination that churches and taxpayers should cover the expenses of abortions for women who cannot afford to pay.

E. The point is: because of the selfishness (and that is basically what "the woman's right to choose" is all about), and the sinfulness of human nature, we "pro-lifers" have not been able to make infanticide and abortion go away. Bible-believing Christians have struggled for thirty years to overturn Roe vs. Wade and to make abortions illegal, but we have been repeatedly defeated, and some polls (not all) show that the majority of Americans want abortion to remain legal and widely available. We have not even been able to outlaw the "partial-birth-abortion" procedure, which is particularly grisly and obviously immoral.

II. What shall Christians do?

A. Hang on. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, Jesus said to the Christians in Thyatira:

"Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come." (Rev. 2:24-25)

We must preserve the churches and denominations where God's truth is taught. I believe that the general trend of Christianity is onward and upward. Jesus said that the Kingdom was like a mustard seed. It starts small, and grows very large. We have grown from 12 disciples to a fourth of the human race. There has been great progress, and I hope that progress will continue until Jesus returns.

However, we must be realists. The growth and strength of the Church is like a business chart that has its peaks and its valleys. Sometimes we are moving with the tide. Sometimes the tide is pushing us back. At this present time in America the tide seems to be against us. The popular worldview of 2002 is called "post-modernism," which says that there is no real truth, and that nothing really matters. "There is no morality or immorality; no right or wrong;. You do your thing and I'll do mine. Who cares about the rights of unborn babies?" Theologically we need to stand against that pagan worldview.

We should also continue to hang on politically as well as theologically. We should continue to vote for pro-life officials. We should continue to teach the Bible's reverence for life to our culture. But we must learn to depend on God, and not on human institutions or human nature. As David wrote in Psalm 146:3

"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help."

On many of the ocean shores of the USA, the oceans are encroaching on the land. The beaches are gradually disappearing. A community that dumps rocks, builds pilings, and so on, and which hangs on to its existence for another 10 or 20 years has gained a great victory. I think the Christian church is in that sort of era at this present time. We need to teach our youth. We need to preserve our allegiance to God's Word. We need to continue to be salt and light in our culture. We need to hang on. Some day the tide will change directions. The change can come at anytime, and the change can come overnight. September 11 is a big date in American history. Some things about our nation changed literally overnight. God can change the nation's mind overnight about abortion, too, when He gets ready to do it.

B. Reach out. This is Jesus' Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20: "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Our "anything goes, nothing is immoral" post-modern culture creates substantial numbers of women in crisis. Women who find themselves pregnant, and who have been abandoned by the fathers of their unborn children. Women who don't know what to do or where to turn. Here we find opportunities to reach out. AAA alone ministers to thousands of Chattanoogans every year.

Here's where AAA Womens Services, or Bethany Christian Services, or like-minded ministries come in. There are tremendous opportunities to share the love of Christ. To win men and women to faith in Christ. To meet needs. To provide food and clothing. To preserve the lives of babies. To find babies for Christian families who want to adopt. To comfort women who have had abortions, who are are grieving, and seeking God's forgiveness. Your money is needed. Your time is needed. Your prayers are needed. Your committment is needed.

C. Pray for God to bring a revival to America. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 the Bible says:

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Now some precise theologians will point out to me that America is not God's chosen nation, as Israel was in the Old Testament. Well, I know that already. I realize that this verse was not written directly to Christians living in America in 2002. BUT, the Apostle Paul also tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." That means that 2 Chronicles 7:14 has a message for us today. That message is that God's people need to humbly pray for God to work in our society. We cannot change hearts, but God can change hearts. We cannot make people believe in Jesus and live for Him, but God can do that. We cannot change human nature and bring abortion to an end in the USA and around the world, but God can do it. Jeremiah the prophet wrote:

"Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." (Jer. 32:17)

A wise man once said, "We should work as if it all depends on us; and we should pray as if it all depends on God." There's a lot of truth in that saying. We should pray for God to turn the tide, because He is truly has the power to do it.

Conclusion: Have you ever been snorkeling in crystal clear seas, or been to a large aquarium, and seen a school of fish, with literally hundreds or thousands of fish? They will be swimming along in a certain direction, and suddenly, with a flash of light, all 1000 fish will make a 180 degree turn, and the entire school will be swimming instantly in the opposite direction. That's what God is able to do with people. Of course we are not fish, but God can bring revival, and God can turn us around, even overnight, in His own good time. Pray for God to bring revival to the world. Someday, maybe sooner than we think, God will bring in the Kingdom in all its fullness, and abortion will no longer be a problem. Amen.