2012 SINGLE SERMONS
SANCTITY OF LIFE: WHAT CAN WE DO
DR. JIM DIXON
SEPTEMBER 2, 2012
GENESIS 1:27-28
In the year 1882, a man named Russell Conwell became the new pastor at the Baptist Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the beginning, that church was called Grace Baptist Church, but it has been known through most of its history as the Baptist Temple. And Russell Conwell was a brilliant man as he started his ministry there. He had been an attorney. He had graduated from Yale Law School and had served as an attorney in Boston. But his great love was Jesus. His great love was the church. His passion was to teach the Bible, the holy scriptures. So he ministered at the Baptist Temple in Philadelphia with great passion, and the anointing of God was upon him.
In 1884, he started an evening program on Tuesday nights for high school kids because he had a, a great burden for young people. They met late into the night, and he tutored them in the scriptures. He called the group the Night Owls. Well, as the group, he began to have a burden for colleges and universities. He thought, what’s going to happen to these high schoolers when I’m done with them? And is there any kind of a setting that has a Christian environment where they might go to college or university? And it was out of this burden that Russell Conwell in the city of Philadelphia established Temple University.
Now, I assume that today all of you have heard of Temple University. Maybe you didn’t know it was established by a Baptist pastor, a one-time attorney who was in love with Jesus Christ, but he established Temple University in 1888. And of course, today, Temple University is the 27th largest university in the United States of America, with 30 different academic degree programs, seven national campuses, and international campuses in Rome, London, Singapore, and Tokyo.
And of course, you might think, well, how did this Baptist minister do that? How did he establish Temple University in the city of Philadelphia? And crazy deal is, well, he had this one sermon that he really liked. It was called Acres of Diamonds. He preached it everywhere. He preached it in Sunday school classes and in youth groups and in churches all over the country and in other nations. What Conwell always said is, “Whatever you’re facing in life, if you give it to God, He will turn it into acres of diamonds for you. Whatever you’re facing in life, God will bless you if you trust Him.” Acres of Diamonds. He preached the sermon 6,000 times. As a result of taking an offering on every occasion that he preached the sermon, he collected, over the course of time, $6 million.
It’s that $6 million he used to establish Temple University. And of course, it’s the Temple University Owls—from the Night Owls, the high school group that he was working with—and part of Temple University in those early days was named after Conwell himself: the Conwell School of Theology. And in 1969, the Conwell School of Theology joined with Gordon Divinity School and formed Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary on Cape Ann outside of Boston, one of the great theological seminaries in the world today.
It’s an amazing story, at least I think it is. There is no sermon that I have preached 6,000 times. I know it might seem like it, but there is no sermon that I have preached 6,000 times, and I have no sermon through which I have made $6 million. That just has never happened to me. But I have, through the course of my ministry, my 30 plus years here at Cherry Hills Community Church and my almost 40 years in the gospel ministry, I have dealt with certain themes again and again and again. That’s the call of a pastor. I’m unabashed and unapologetic. I know that, as a pastor, I’m called to deal with certain themes again and again and again. The Apostle Peter, in 2 Peter chapter one writes, “I intend to always remind you of these things, though you know them and are firmly established in the truth which you have. But I think it right, as long as I’m in this body, to rouse you by way of reminder.” So this is the call of all pastors, to remind people of things they already know.
One of the themes I’ve dealt with many times is the subject of the sanctity of life. I’ve dealt with it virtually every year throughout the course of my ministry, and some years on multiple occasions. So I’ve dealt with this subject before us today many, many, many times. And I don’t know what kind of a burden you feel with regard to this issue in our nation, and I don’t know the level of your passion, but I know that God has His tears run deep as He looks upon us as a nation. I believe that with all my heart. In the past, as we’ve looked at sanctity of life, oftentimes we’ve just looked at the problem. Life is not viewed as particularly holy in our culture and in our time. And we looked at the problem of abortion and what a problem it is. But today, what I’d like us to look at is what we can do about it—what we can do about the devaluation of life in the United States of America.
Now, I think you all know that since the passing of Roe v Wade in 1973, more than 50 million babies have been aborted—by most statistical analyses, 55 million babies have been killed in our nation since 1973. And regardless of your politics, whether you be Republican or Democrat, this is a national nightmare. It’s just a nightmare, and it’s a blood path. I want to say, if you’ve had an abortion, I don’t know what your life circumstance was but I want to say we’re not here to condemn you. God loves you, and where there is repentance God in His love offers forgiveness. But let’s now seek to be part of the solution. Let’s take a look at what we can do to maybe change America as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, a few weeks ago, I had a meeting in my office with one of our elders. Now, we have active elders who serve on our current elder board. And these are men and women are chosen by God and approved by you to serve this church. And they serve well. We also have elders who have retired from active service on the board, but they’re elders for life, and we call them emeritus elders. Dutch and I and other members of our staff meet regularly with our active elders. But Dutch and I also meet regularly with our emeritus elders in order to receive their collective wisdom and in order to be blessed by their guidance and also to keep them up to date on what’s going on in the life of the church.
I had a meeting a few weeks ago with one of our emeritus elders, Gilman Hill. He rarely comes to our church services now, although sometimes he’s here. But he’s 89. He’s 89, and he’s kind of frail in body, but his mind is sharp and his love of Jesus is also sharp. And Gil’s wife Vonnie just passed away this year. And Barb and I were able to go over and visit Gil and Vonnie before she went home to be with Jesus, and she was having a particularly good day that day. We were able to really have a great time kind of reminiscing and even laughing, but also praying together. But I know Gil misses her tremendously.
Well, to kind of prepare you for what I’m going to say, Gil is a great man. I mean, for years he’s been a geologist and very active in oil exploration. He has given millions of dollars, quite literally, to Christian causes in different parts of the world. And he’s worked actively with members of the Knesset in Israel, having a passion for the Holy Land and for the Jewish people. He’s also worked with the Palestinian leaders to try to negotiate peace. He has that kind of a heart. Gil attended Stanford. He has a brilliant mind. Now, Vonnie also has been blessed by God throughout her life, blessed with a deep love for Jesus Christ and great wisdom and skill. Gil just told some of us in recent weeks that he had a vision wherein Vonnie spoke to him from heaven.
Now, I must say to you that, as a pastor, I do not sit in judgment of such visions. In the course of my 40 years in the ministry, I’ve heard many, many stories from many of you and from many members of our congregation regarding mystical things in Christ. And I know that we serve a supernatural God, and I also will admit to you that my discernment is not perfect on these things. Like the Apostle Paul says, “I see in a mirror dimly. One day I will see face to face.” But I really believe that Gil is credible. So when Gil says Vonnie spoke to him, I listened to that. And he said that what she said to him was, “I miss you, but I’m also happy. It is so wonderful here. And I had this burden I am to share with you, for up here in heaven are millions and millions of souls of babies that were aborted on earth. And God weeps. And Gilman, he wants you to do something about it.”
So Gilman makes an appointment with me. And I have no doubt in my heart that God weeps. I don’t need a vision to tell me that. I’ve absolutely no doubt just reading the pages of holy scripture. I know God weeps. He weeps at sin. He weeps at tragedy. He weeps at suffering. He weeps at death. And yes, for 55 million babies, surely, He weeps. What can we do about it? Well, Gilman brought to my office that day the national director of the Personhood Movement. This is the national director of that movement to create a personhood amendment that would bring into law a new definition of the unborn. And of course, just recently, this personhood initiative did not get enough signatures to go on the ballot. But it’s a continuing movement across the country. And of course, the idea is that a person would be defined as fully human from the moment there is the fertilized egg and that would be a fully human person with full human rights.
Well, I got into a discussion with this guy, and he said he loves Christ. And he’s a great guy, but we disagreed on a lot of stuff. I really don’t believe that this is the answer to abortion. I do think if the personhood amendment were established, we would be a better country because I do think life would be more valued. And I do think most abortions would cease, but I have problems with it. And so we’ve got into this discussion, and part of my problem is theological. Part of my problem is doctrinal. I seek to draw my theology and my doctrine from the Bible, and the Personhood Movement goes further than the Bible does.
In the Bible, God tells us how beautiful human beings are. The Bible describes and defines human beings in a unique way. If you look at the secular world, people are oftentimes just viewed as biological entities. We are the sum of our DNA. So we are, for the secularists, are simply sophisticated, highly evolved animals. And this is contrary to the biblical view, because the Bible says we’re not just biological beings. We’re not just physical beings. We’re not just the sum of our DNA. We are body-soul unions. This is how the Bible defines us. There’s no theologian anywhere in the world who would deny this. The Bible defines us as a body-soul union, unique in all the world. This is why we’re the crown of the creation. It is the result of God creating us in His image and likeness. It’s the result of the imago Dei, and it’s why we have been given dominion over the animals, because we are this body-soul unions, and therefore, very complex.
The big question is, when do we get our souls? When did I get my soul? I stand before you, 66 years old. When did I get my soul? I know when I got my DNA—you know, the egg was fertilized, I’m a zygote, and I got my DNA. And so it’s all going to proceed biologically from there. But when did I get my soul? If I’m this body-soul union, when did I get my soul? Have you ever pondered that? Have you ever asked that question? Have you ever given it a thought?
Of course, in Christian history, there are two views. One is the Lutheran view, and it is called traducianism. And according to traducianism, as taught in the Lutheran church and Lutheran history, your soul is passed on from your parents. God breathed on Adam and Eve, God breathed on the original human couple into their nostrils the breath of life, and they became a living soul, “nephesh.” And then, from generation to generation, the soul was passed on. That’s traducianism. And of course, by that definition and understanding of the soul, the soul is there the moment the egg is fertilized, right? Because it’s comes from the parents. And there are some traducianists who are paternal. They think the soul comes from the Father. Some traducianists are maternal. They believe the soul comes from the mother. Some traducianists are egalitarian. They believe the soul is passed on jointly by the father and the mother. But it comes from the parents, and it’s there the moment the egg is fertilized. If you have the zygote, you have the soul. That’s the prevalent view in the Lutheran movement now.
Now, the other view is called the creationist perspective. It is the dominant view in the reformed movement, and it is also the dominant view in the Roman Catholic movement. And again, the problem is that the Bible is silent on this. The Bible doesn’t tell us whether the soul is passed on by the parents, and it also doesn’t tell us the other perspective, which is the creationist perspective. That perspective is that God creates a new soul for each person born and God implants the soul. He endows it, He gifts it as He’s uniquely crafted it. He vests it on the biological human life individually of each person born. And of course, this is called the creationist view.
Now, the big question there is, well, when does God do that? When does He gift the soul? Does He gift the soul the moment the egg is fertilized? So is it the moment you have a zygote, boom, the soul’s there, or is it later? In the first trimester? Or is it in the second trimester? Or is it in the third trimester? Or is it at the moment of birth?
I’m just saying, the Bible doesn’t answer any of this. The Bible does tell us we’re precious to God in the womb. God beholds us. God loves us. He even molds us. So the Bible is very clear that God is very loving and active towards us in the womb, but it doesn’t tell us when and how we get the soul.
Now, for me this means, wow, if possible, stay away from abortion. I mean, that’s what that the soul might be there from the moment the egg is fertilized means to me. You might have, even from a biblical perspective, a fully human person, body and soul union, right at the moment of the fertilized egg. Or it might be a little bit later—in the first trimester or the second, or third, or at birth. I think it very likely that the soul is given prior to birth, even from the creationist perspective.
But you can see the issue is pretty tough. So when you look at a personhood amendment and you’re asked to sign something that defines a fertilized egg as a complete human being, body-soul union, how can I sign that? It might be true, but it says more than the Bible says. You understand what I’m saying, right? So it just says more than the Bible says. I can’t in good conscience sign something like that.
But furthermore, I think it’s kind of a roundabout way to deal with the abortion issue. I think there’s some legal dangers in going the personhood route, because whenever there’s a miscarriage, you’re going to have to give an explanation for what is now defined as a full human being with full human rights. Was something done by the mother that might have contributed to that miscarriage? Boy, this is going to open up a legal can of worms, don’t you think? Certainly it’s difficult to apply that law, and kind of scary, I think, for moms. I think there’s a better way to go.
So, as followers of Jesus Christ, looking at this national nightmare, what do you think we should do? And obviously we pray, but I think the honest answer is to overturn Roe v. Wade. I believe this with all my heart. I think the honest answer is to overturn Roe v. Wade. I really believe we can do it. I really believe that there’s a growing tide that’s moving the way of pro-life in our culture and in our nation. And I really believe Roe v. Wade can be overturned.
Now, I think if we pass legislation that makes abortion illegal, we’re going to need to allow for exceptions in order to get that law passed. What are the exceptions? I think we would most of us agree that danger to the life of the mother, would be an exception. I think abortion should be legal if there’s danger to the life of the mother. And don’t say to me, oh, you never have to make that choice. I’ve heard that from people. It’s just not true. Sometimes you do have to make that choice. I served on the national board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and one of the people that Barb and I were privileged enough to get to know was Tom Landry, who was the coach of the Dallas Cowboys. And while Tom and I both served on the board, his daughter became pregnant. And Tom was so excited. But within the same week that she became pregnant, she was diagnosed with cancer—very, very serious cancer that they could not delay treatment on. And they said, you gotta make a choice. I mean, we could treat your cancer, but it will kill the baby. Or we could take the baby, treat the cancer, and probably save your life.
Tom Landry’s daughter said, I’d rather have the baby and risk my life. I’d rather have the baby. She made that choice. But don’t say that you don’t ever have to make the choice. Sometimes you have to choose between the life of the mother and the life of the baby. It’s a legitimate crisis. And I think you have to allow for that choice in the event of danger to the life of the mother.
Now, we live in a culture and in a nation where, for many people, it seems reasonable to allow for abortion if there has been rape or incest or gross fetal deformity. Now, let me say personally, as your pastor, that I counsel people not to have an abortion when there’s been rape or incest or gross fetal deformity. It’s not that I’m without compassion. I know that rape and incest are just evil at the core. And I know that to be a victim of rape or incest is overwhelmingly tragic at every level of your being and devaluing. But I always have said to people in counseling through the years that if you’ve been a victim of rape or incest and now you’re pregnant, that what was done to you was wholly evil. It was wholly evil, but the child within you is not wholly evil. This is the miracle of God. The child within you is not wholly evil. The child within you actually has the imago Dei, the image of God, the likeness of God. This is an amazing thing. I certainly have compassion, and I do not condemn, but I always counsel for life.
And then gross fetal deformity. How do you define deformity? And boy, that’s a tough one. But even if you have a case where the EEG is almost flat, even if you have a case where the mental brain activity is just so devastated, that can be so, so tragic, but still I believe with all my heart that that baby born has a soul. I believe with all my heart that that baby born has a soul. And I know these are tough, tough issues.
I have my convictions biblically, but I also recognize, hey, we live in a democracy. We live in a democratic society. I understand we have freedom of religion. Not everybody’s a Christian. Some people are Buddhists, some are Muslims, some are Jewish, some are Hindus, some are atheists, and some are agnostics. There’s a melting pot of people. E pluribus unum—”one out of many.” And of course, there’s a marketplace of ideas out there. I understand that, and I understand that for most people in America it seems reasonable to them that if you’re going to outlaw abortion, you have to allow exception for danger to the life of the mother, rape, incest, and gross fetal deformity. I understand that. And I think that might be a good strategy for us as evangelical Christians, in the sense that we can save millions and millions of babies. Do you care about life? Do you realize that if abortion were only allowed in the case of danger to the mother, or rape, incest, or gross fetal deformity, 50 million of those 55 million babies would not have died?
Do you realize that? And do you care about these babies? Do you care about this life? And of course, there are some people who are such moral idealists they just let people die, wanting to hold onto their idealism. I mean, someday Christ will return and He will establish moral idealism, and He will implement it. Right now, let’s try to save some lives. I mean, that’s my thought.
What I would encourage you to do is at least think about this. Pray about this, because studies show that now, because the tide is turning, most of the people in the United States of America would like to see abortion outlawed if there are exceptions for danger of the life of the mother, rape, incest, and gross fetal deformity. This is a battle that can be won.
Do we care about the lives of these kids? Do we care? It’s a tough issue. I get in trouble and everything, so I know I’m going to get in trouble again, but at least I care. And I’d like to see us save some lives. And you know, don’t tell me God never compromises. I have had so many people tell me that, well, God never compromises. And I don’t know whether people are reading the same Bible. I look at divorce and what God did under the Mosaic Law because of the hardness of heart. You know, certainly God made an accommodation. I look at polygamy and what God demanded during the monarchy and the united monarchy, and even the patriarchal period. God made an accommodation. I look at slavery, which clearly in the Bible is an abomination before God. And yet there were periods of time where clearly His counsel was accommodation for the sake of the furtherance of the gospel, in a Roman world where the entire socioeconomic system was predicated on the existence of slavery. So don’t tell me that God never accommodates. One day, as we said, He will implement perfect righteousness, but we’re dealing with a fallen world, and we’re in a democratic society. So I say, let’s try to save some lives.
Well, if you’re looking at life and the sanctity of life and we’re not just concerned with the unborn, we’re concerned with old people. Life is precious to God at every level, at every age. And so we don’t believe in euthanasia. We don’t believe in mercy killing. I do believe in mercy dying. I think sometimes we just keep people alive artificially and without mercy when God’s just trying to take them home. But that’s mercy dying. That’s not mercy killing, right? You know, “Thou shalt not kill.” Deuteronomy chapter five and Exodus chapter 20 say, “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house nor thy neighbor’s wife,” et cetera. And the word for kill in both passages, Deuteronomy five and Exodus 20, is “rasah.” There are seven different Hebrew words for kill. This one means, “to murder another human being.” We don’t do that at any age in the womb or late in life. “Thou shall not murder.”
We have out in the lobby today and in the atrium many ministries with which we’re holding hands seeking to serve life. And we have out there in the lobby today the Alternative Pregnancy Center folks with whom we hold hands. And they have a booth out there, and they offer counseling. They offer counseling to families and they encourage parenting or, as an alternative, adoption. We have our baby bottle blessings where we raise money for them, and they’re our friends and partners, and we put coins in these baby bottles and we have them out there. We’d love you to get involved if you care about life.
And of course, we have our Homecomings Adoption Ministry, and they have a booth out there. And we offer families support. We offer counseling with regard to adoption. We offer education, prayer, and relational support all through Homecomings Adoption Ministry.
Just a few months ago, we had a guest speaker, as we do from time to time. And the guest speaker a few months ago challenged us all regarding the orphans of the world, and the call of the Bible to care about the orphans of the world and the orphans of society. And our daughter, Heather, and her husband, Chris, their hearts were so touched. I mean, they have three kids already, Abigail and Nina and Dixon. But they just felt touched that they were to adopt. And so they came home, they called us, and they felt led of God.
So they just were given this week approval on a boy in Ethiopia for adoption. His name is Aubush, and Aubush is an Ethiopian word which means Abraham, or “father of nations.” And his father is unknown. His mother is HIV-positive and she dropped Aubush off at the orphanage. So we’re kind of excited about what God is doing. But pray for our family in this process. And take a look at what God might be asking for each of you to do with regard to the possibility of adoption.
We have Teen Moms. What a wonderful ministry to our teenage girls. And some of them who have had very tragic and hard lives and they’re either pregnant or they’ve given birth, and they’re trying to figure out how to make it. We help them with through their pregnancy and in their parenting. And what a wonderful ministry. I know our daughter, Heather, was involved in that for some period of time.
We have Colorado Citizens for Life out in the lobby, people with a wonderful love for people. And we have our AIDS Initiative global justice team out there. We need many partners. I mean, this deals with so many issues relating to life and the value of life. What we’re saying is, “Get involved.” There’s so much to do. And it will all put a smile on the face of Jesus. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.