Powerful quote all the way back from 391 A.D... We might sometimes think that abortion is a modern issue, but it is not. An early Christian named Chrysostom is in the middle of arguing that drunkenness leads to illicit sexual intercourse, which leads to murder (of a child). He begins this section by using a farming analogy to talk about how unwise it is to enter into a prostitute...
“Why sow where the ground makes it its job to destroy the fruit? Where there are many efforts at abortion? Where there is murder before the birth? For even the harlot you do not let continue a mere harlot, but make her a murderess also.
You see how drunkenness leads to whoredom, whoredom to adultery, adultery to murder; or rather to something even worse than murder. For I have no name to give it, since it does not take away the thing born, but prevent its being born.
Why then do you abuse the gift of God, and fight with His laws, and follow after what is a curse as if a blessing, and make the chamber of procreation a chamber for murder, and arm the woman that was given for childbearing unto slaughter?”
How sad! Yes, all of these are terrible sins — drunkenness, adultery, murder — and we can’t make excuses for these sins... As the apostle Paul says, “I warn you (as I did before!) — those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21b).
Yet, I also want to take a moment to mention that I am so thankful that no matter what kind of past we have — no matter what kinds of sins we may have piled up:
Even if we got to the point that we didn’t know what the word “sober” meant anymore...
Even if we cheated on our spouse countless times and had numerous partners before marriage...
Even if we killed other people (or wished they were dead!)...
Even if we destroyed a life in the womb...
Even if (like Paul) we had persecuted and killed the very people of God...
No matter what kind of past we’ve had — we can be washed up and made new! As Paul continues in another place, “Some of you used to be that way [past tense!]. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Hallelujah! No matter our past, no matter our story, we can be washed; we can be made new!
As Paul said:
“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:3-7)
Do you see it? Our old life can be completely buried! We don’t have to continue in sin!
Praise God!
Yes, there are multitudes of terrible sins we can commit. Yes, it can be so easy to justify our actions and say, “Well, it’s really okay, because...” But God’s Word doesn’t change based on our social norms or cultural standards.
It doesn’t become okay to have sex before marriage just because culture says so and you’d look like a wimp if you didn’t...
It isn’t okay to get drunk just because all your friends are doing it and you’ve had it really rough lately...
It isn’t okay to kill a child in the womb because it would be inconvenient to take care of a child or (God forbid) someone had come upon you forcefully...
To continue living in these sins disqualifies us from life in God’s Kingdom.
Yet — praise the Lord! — “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone! The new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God is willing to give you a fresh start and a clean slate, washing away and forgiving everything rotten in your past! And not only that — He wants to give you His own Spirit to live inside you, to give you the power to live a life set apart for Him.
If you’d like this new life, my friends, just send me a message, or write a comment saying so. I’d love to talk to you about it. Even if you already consider yourself a Christian but do not feel like you have the freedom from sin that you would like, or if you feel tormented by guilt from your past, hit me up. Maybe I’ve learned something that can help you.
We’re all in this together, my friends. And, “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)