A Prairie Pastor's Ponderings

Lately, I’ve been reading through a book I got from the LivingWaters Ministry (www.livingwaters.com). It’s called Why Pro-Life? Caring for the Unborn and Their Mothers by Randy Alcorn. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even order the book; it just came for free with some 180 videos I ordered. I’m finding that Mr. Alcorn’s book is good, despite being a little shallow. I’m only part-way through it now, but something has stood out to me.

In what is probably (I’m not done reading the book yet) the shortest chapter in the book, Alcorn addresses a question that is so often brought up by Pro-Choice advocates; “Is abortion right when pregnancy presents risks to the mother’s life?” In fact, that’s the name of the chapter.

I think that so many believers, myself included, have been reluctant to answer the question because we don’t understand the issue. Let me try to clarify; the question is this: If Mom’s life is threatened because of her pregnancy, is abortion right? The implication is that if it is not, you are condemning both mother and baby to death, just to uphold this opinion that abortion is wrong. In truth, the whole issue is filled with ignorance (the kind that just doesn’t know, not stupidity).

Although I don’t have express written permission, and will remove this long quote if asked to, I’d like to quote this whole (short) chapter and make some comments as I go. It is found on pages 76 and 77 in Alcorn’s book. His words are in italics.

Is abortion justified when a woman’s life or health is threatened by pregnancy or childbirth? It’s an extremely rare case when abortion is required to save a mother’s life. While he was the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop stated that in thirty-six years as a pediatric surgeon, he was never aware of a single situation in which a preborn child’s life had to be taken in order to save the mother’s life. He said the use of this argument to justify abortion was a “smoke screen.” Dr. Landrum Shettles claimed that less than 1 percent of all abortions are performed to save the mother’s life.

It is interesting that the U.S. Surgeon General himself would be so clear about the fact that abortions to save a mother’s life are (to him anyways) unheard of. From the rest of the article, we will find that they are not altogether nonexistent, but that such cases are extremely rare. These have, however, been used to lend credibility and morality to the killing of children in the womb. One could liken this kind of thinking to saying that since some murderers are to be put to death, we would be right to kill as many criminals as we want. Please don’t misconstrue my words to liken children to criminals – I am merely pointing out the absurdity behind the argument at hand. But this does not mean that we have reached a conclusion on the matter. Read on.

SAVE THE LIFE THAT CAN BE SAVED

A woman with toxemia will have adverse health reactions and considerable inconvenience, including probably needing to lie down for much of her pregnancy. This is difficult, but normally not life-threatening. In such cases, abortion for the sake of “health” would not be lifesaving but life-taking.

My wife had toxemia during her first pregnancy. It was a fairly severe case, though there have been far worse ones out there. Fortunately for her, this happened at about 34 weeks and our daughter was born at 36 weeks, so she did not need to endure it long. That being said, we are not unsympathetic to the inconvenience and discomfort caused by such an illness but we also recognize that it is not cause for aborting a child. With enough rest and medical attention, a woman and her baby can be kept well through the rest of the pregnancy. This is the case with the extremely vast majority of illnesses that a woman can face during her pregnancy.

However, if the mother has a fast-spreading uterine cancer, the surgery to remove the cancer may result in the loss of the child’s life. In an ectopic pregnancy the child is developing outside the uterus. He has no hope of survival and may have to be removed to save his mother. These are tragic situations, but even if one life must be lost, the life that can be saved should be. More often than not that life is the mother’s. There are rare cases in later stages of pregnancy when the mother can’t be saved but the baby can. Again, one life saved is better than two lives lost.

Friends of ours were faced with a situation where removing the mother’s life-threatening and rapidly spreading cancer would result in their unborn child’s death. The pregnancy was so early that there wasn’t time for the child to develop sufficiently to live outside the womb before both mother and child would die. The surgery was performed. But this was in no sense an abortion. The surgery’s purpose wasn’t to kill the child but to save the mother. The death of the child was a tragic side-effect of lifesaving efforts. This was a consistently pro-life act, since to be pro-life does not mean being pro-life just about babies. It also means being pro-life about women.

Notice that every effort is made to save both lives, but that only one is saved when only one can be. This is not a question of maybes but a matter of fact; if the baby cannot survive the pregnancy, then no abortion is being done. If the baby cannot survive the pregnancy, then all efforts should be made to save the life of the one who can be saved. If the baby can survive the pregnancy, let it. From the tone of this chapter, as well as the rest of the book, I don’t believe Alcorn is dealing flippantly with this issue; there has to be certainty that one life will be lost during the pregnancy before any child-endangering procedures should take place.

The point is that abortion for the sake of the mother’s health is unnecessary. It may be that a crucial, necessary procedure or treatment in the mother may tragically take the life of a baby, but this is not done intentionally.

Are there many more questions to be asked here? Absolutely. Is this the final word on the topic? By no means. But I think it is a step in the right direction for us to understand how to answer those who espouse abortion on the grounds of the mother’s health. “Smoke screen”… I like it. Don’t forget it.

And by the way – I’m no authority on medical issues, nor have I really studied out this issue enough to make dogmatic statements but I do know that killing children is wrong. (You’d think far more people would find that statement a no-brainer…?) In any case, if you feel I’ve left something out or missed the point here, feel free to let me know through Facebook.

God bless!

Although you will hunt in vain to find many New Testament teachings in the Old Testament, like, for example, the Church, there are many that are found there. It is surprising to me, though I know that God does not change, how many things there are that are consistent throughout the two Testaments. Think about it… 66 books written by over 40 authors over a span of about 1500 years. And yet, it all agrees. I mean, if you were to take 40 Baptists and ask them to write 66 books, you’d end up with 1500 opinions. But the Bible is perfectly uniform in doctrine. (I’m being sarcastic about the Baptists, of course!)

Although you may not have thought of it in such words, you probably recognize that the Old Testament does teach the doctrine of salvation. For example, in Psalm 21:1, David says “O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! ” But did you also know that the doctrine of eternal security –  the teaching that you cannot lose your salvation – is also found in the Old Testament? In verse 4, David says of himself, “He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. ” Certainly, David did not expect to live forever without dying (1 Chronicles 17:11), but He did expect to live forever and there is no hint of doubt in that statement. Verse 7 even teaches that it is not because of our own doing, but because of God’s that we cannot lose our salvation! This is reminiscent of the New Testament verse, 1 Peter 1:5, “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

It is wonderful that God so perfectly tied all of His doctrines together throughout the Bible. That knowledge should give us all the more assurance that He will never fail us and that our salvation is eternally sure.

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3)

I’ve been in ministry now for about 4.5 years. That’s not a long time, I know. But every year, God puts before me some new challenges that I hadn’t faced before. Recently, I’ve had to face someone who obviously didn’t believe in the sufficiency and authority of Scripture in life…. Twice!

Before leaving on this trip, we had a man come to two services. After our Annual Business meeting, which he stayed for, he asked me who our Deacons are. I told him that since we didn’t have any other men in the active membership, we don’t have any Deacons at the moment. He asked me if the women in the church couldn’t be Deacons. “Well,” I said, “It would be awfully hard for them to be the husband of one wife.” That’s one of the qualifications of a Deacon in Scripture. (1 Timothy 3:12) He answered me, sarcastically, “And I suppose you think you get that from the Bible.” I said yes and he called me a legalist and stormed off to get his coat. I followed him, open Bible in hand to show him the Scripture. He informed me that I would be wasting my time on him with that! Wasting my time?!? By using the Bible?!? I answered him that if using the Bible was a waste of time, I will waste a lot of time with him. He left and we didn’t see him again.

This last Sunday I was in a church in Milltown, Wisconsin. The Friday before, I attended their Reformers Unanimous meeting to check it out, since I’d like to run one at PBC someday. I met a man who began asking me questions and then said, “I suppose you’re one of those premillennialists too…” I am and unashamedly so. He told me then that he would plan on being in church Sunday morning and would critique my message following the service. Well, Sunday he met me at the back door after the service. He said my message was “ok” he would write me a letter to critique it and send it up to me at home. I asked him if it would be about eschatology and he said that he has a hard time having the mind of Christ on these things. I asked him if he meant he can’t seem to think Christ-like on this and he agreed. I informed him that I don’t want his letter because my interest in doctrinal things is based on Scripture, not on man’s ideas. We ended up having a long discussion on many things.

That’s twice recently that I faced that. Just a week ago I was reading through First and Second Peter, preparing some messages for when I get back to Swift Current. As I spoke to this man, the verse above came back to my mind. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3) God has given us, in His Word, ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness. That means two things.

First, i don’t need anything else to tell me how to live or what to believe. God’s Word is sufficient for these things. All that I need to know for what to teach, all that I need to know to raise my family, all that I need to know to be a good husband, everything I need is in there! I need nothing else!

Second, it means that there is no other source of Truth that is able to teach me anything that will build me up and make me more godly. Nothing else has the quality of life found in the Bible (Hebrews 4:12), nothing else comes from the mind of God (2 Peter 1:16-21), no other book can give life (1 Peter 1:23). Not only do I not need anything else, but nothing else can help. Not only does this apply to me, but it applies to you also! This is the Truth, the Absolute Truth! Truth is not subjective; this is not true to me but untrue to you. It is true for all men, women and children the whole world over whether they recognize it or not.

If I am a legalist in the eyes of some because I believe in the sufficiency and authority of Scripture, so be it. I gladly bear the insult. 

Do me and yourselves a favor – the day that some other book or source becomes the authority for life and godliness in my life and/or pulpit… Fire me.

Have you ever been blindsided? That word can mean a couple of things. Often, it is used in the context of a car accident, where one person’s vehicle was struck by another that they didn’t even know was there. Sometimes it is used by people saying that certain events were unexpected; they took them by surprise. In any case, it usually means something like, “I didn’t see that coming!”

A couple of years ago, my son started saying that a lot. Actually, it was quite funny. He would be building this huge, lopsided tower of blocks that would eventually come crashing to the floor with a loud noise and he’d say “Whoa! Didn’t see that coming!” I would laugh, but inside I would think to myself that if he were a little wiser and a bit more observant, he would have known that would happen. Incidentally, he is no longer so surprised by falling towers.

Why not? Because he’s learned and become wiser. Ephesians 4:22 says “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires”. At one time, many of the things we craved, desired or lusted after ruled our thoughts and often our lives. We would chase after these things only to find that they didn’t bring the happiness, the joy, the satisfaction, the pleasure or the self-fulfillment we had expected. These desires were, as the text says, deceitful.

Scripture abounds in verses that teach that sin is deceitful:

Hebrew 3:13 “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Romans 7:11 “For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

When God asked Eve what she had done, her answer to Him was “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Ever since the beginning of sin, it has been found to be deceitful.

The husband who loses his temper and yells at his wife momentarily thought it would relieve his stress, but it only brought guilt. The wife who spends time building an online relationship talking to another man who seems more sympathetic than her husband finds out she only brings shame. The teen who snuck out of the house to go to a party thought they would have fun but it only brought trouble. The young couple who thought their “innocent” physical relationship would bring pleasure only ends up finding that it brought sorrow. The thief figures what he stole would be enjoyable until he is caught and ends us with less than he started with. The Christian who follows the world thinks that they will enjoy the popularity and friendship but only ends up with a damaged testimony and conscience before God and others. People are blindsided all the time.

But a Christian should never be blindsided. How so? Because God has given us plenty of warnings and equipped us so that there are no “blind spots” in the Christian life. The next verses after our text read “and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23,24) First, your thinking has to change. You have to start thinking Biblically about everything, and as we have already seen, there is plenty of evidence about the deceitfulness of sin in Scripture. We are even told of Moses and his decision; “choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:25) As a Christian, taught by the Word of God, you know that sin will never bring you joy; you know it will only bring guilt to your conscience before God. Oh, it will be fun at the time, but you will regret it! That’s why it’s so important for you to be in the Word of God – you need to know what is right and what is wrong before God.

Second, you need to live the new life, not the old one. The new life is one of righteousness and holiness – Christlike living according to God’s will with a pure conscience undefiled by sin. And, by the way, when your thinking is right and God’s will is always in your thoughts, this becomes a whole lot easier. Do these things and you’ll never be blindsided.

So now, if my son builds a funky shaped lopsided tower and seems surprised by it falling down, I know better – and so does he. He’s just playing it up or trying to make it look like an innocent mistake. Kids do it all the time…. Do you?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Why do you go through the trials you go through? Why are you blessed and comforted when you are? God has many reason for what He does and doesn’t always explain His reasons. But in Scripture, He has given some hints as to why some things happen.

One of these reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 20:28: “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”. Similarly, the trials and blessings that we experience are not always about us. In actual fact, they are always about God, but humanly speaking, they are often about others.

In this passage, Paul says that the reason why he and his company have experienced trials and comforts is so that the Corinthians may be comforted. How so? If Paul and his company have experienced trials, God has prepared them to be able to minister to and give comfort and assistance to those experiencing trials. If they have been comforted, then those who see them can know that they also will be comforted of God when they have gone through trials and been victorious.

What about you? Are you experiencing trials? Take comfort; the Apostle Paul was tried and comforted, and you will be too. Are you comforted? Give praise to God before others who will be comforted by your testimony or by the knowledge that God shall soon comfort them. Esther must have wondered why she was experiencing the things she was, both comfort and trials. Mordecai’s statement to her in her difficult trial was a good challenge to her, and it is a good challenge to you and I also; “who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) 

We know that God’s plan for each Christian is to be serving (Ephesians 4:11-16). So rest assured, whatever He has you going through now, it is partly a kind of training so that you may be able to comfort others later. Take joy in that – God has counted you, in Christ, worthy to be His instrument in the lives of others!

You may find this a bit odd, but I’ve never had a blog before. I say it might be odd because of my continued love for and appreciation of computers and all things related to them. But I’ve decided to give this thing a go.

As I’ve been planning this trip I will be leaving for on Saturday, I’ve noticed that many pastors have begun using blogs as a means to be sharing, with their churches, more than just their Wednesday and Sunday messages. Many are regularly posting thoughts they’ve had on Scriptural issues that don’t end up in Sunday’s sermon. Many also use their blogs to speak out against and warn the flock about up-and-coming trends that worry them.

I’d like to try and do those things here. We’ll see how often it happens. Acts 17:11, speaking of the Bereans says “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” We also find that the early church met daily, in one form or another (Acts 2:46, 5:42). This would be tough to do in our culture. Perhaps a blog is one way a pastor can be in touch with his people just a little more often?

So check back here from time to time and see what’s new and feel free to leave comments or questions for discussion. The ministry doesn’t end at the church doors.

Pastor Mike.