Adolf Hitler killed 6,017,760 Jews as part of his “final solution.” Hitler justified these murders by saying that the Jews were sub-humans and could be killed whenever their existence was “inconvenient.” But there is an even larger slaughter in our day called “abortion.” In the USA alone there have been over 53,000,000 unborn babies aborted since 1973! It would only take 84,000 school buses to carry all of the murdered Jews (a line from Tulsa to Denver). But it would take a massive 736,000 of the same buses to carry all of the babies killed by abortion (that’s a line of buses from California to Japan)!
Some justify abortion by saying that an unborn baby is “sub-human” (sound familiar?) or a mere “lump of tissue.” Others say that “some” babies can be killed since their mothers are poor and can’t give them enough material “things.” Are these reasons really sufficient to justify killing a baby!?
Was it wrong for these people to have been killed? Some say 'yes,' and others say 'no.' Now if two people disagree, who decides between them? Well, imagine if you lived in an apartment, and two tenants disagreed on the rules. Who gets to decide? The Landlord! He alone has “ownership rights” and has the final say on what rules should apply to his property.
So who “owns” the world and can make the rules? Well none of us made the place. Instead, according to the Bible, God made the world and everything in it [1]. As “owner” God gets to make the “rules” about “His” world and the people that live on it (including unborn babies). The Bible says God “made man in His own image [2]” in terms of being a moral being with a conscience, a sense of justice, self awareness, a will, and an eternal existence. Because of this, man is different than the animals.
Who Decides?
God alone has the right to decide when a person should die. When men usurp God’s ownership by killing another person; they are violating God’s authority. God has forbidden shedding another man’s blood because people are made in His own image [3]. The punishment for murder is death and eternity in God’s place of punishment called Hell, [4] which is a place of darkness, flames, and wrath [5]. This is justice because any sin is an offense against an infinitely Holy and perfectly Just God [6].
“But” you say, “I haven’t killed anyone. I’m no Hitler, and I don’t murder babies.” Well, Jesus said if you even hate a person without cause; you're in danger of judgment. [7] Some people might say, “I don’t hate people either.” Well, have you ever told a lie, stolen something (regardless of value), or lusted after someone (which is adultery of the heart [8])? One lie makes you a liar and the Bible is clear, all liars have “their part in the lake of fire. [9]” If you break even one of God’s commandments then you are guilty of all. [10]
Our Problem...
Our problem is that God is GOOD and we are NOT. God is full of grace and mercy, but “the soul that sins shall die. [11]” and that He will not allow the guilty to go unpunished. [12] The Bible says that it is evil to justify the wicked [13] but none of us have been sinless, [14] so how can we have any hope?
God, because of His great love, made ONE way for the guilty to be forgiven without violating justice. [15] God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, [16] both fully God [17] and fully man. He lived in perfect, sinless obedience to God that you never could. [18] Then Jesus offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. [19] God laid sin on Jesus, [20] who bore the wrath of God for sinners. [21] Jesus died, was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead. [22] His resurrection proves the sacrifice was fully acceptable to God. [23]
Good with God?
But you might ask, “If Jesus paid for my sin, then I should be fine with God, right?” Not exactly. You see, God commands “all men everywhere to repent” and to put their faith in Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross alone for salvation. [24] To “repent” means that you now turn from your sin and turn towards God. You see the Holiness and justice of God, you see the forgiveness provided through Jesus, [25] you see the magnitude of your sin, and you now believe you deserve Hell. To put your “faith” in Jesus means that you are now trusting ONLY in what Jesus did on the cross as though your life depends on it. Stop trusting in your “good” works. Salvation is by grace (you cannot earn and you don’t deserve it, it’s a gift), through faith, in Jesus alone. [26]
So repent; cry out to God for salvation, confessing and forsaking your sins, and put your faith in Jesus. [27] Your sins will be forgiven because they will have been “paid” for by Jesus. You will become a new creature in Christ and the Holy Spirit will come and indwell your spirit. [28] You won’t become sinless, but God will begin changing your heart to desire Holiness and become more like Jesus Himself. [29]
Examine Yourself...
You might say, “I am already a Christian.” Really? The Bible commands “examine yourself. [30]” We are warned that many will say “Lord, Lord” but Jesus will say “depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you. [31]” How do you know that you won’t be one of these false believers? God answers that question in the Bible. [32] So make your “calling and election sure. [33]” and compare yourself to Scripture. Jesus warns that “you shall know them by their fruits. [34]” To know what kind of “fruit” you are producing, read Galatians 4 and 5. If you have been truly saved, you will be changed and you will produce “good fruit.” The Bible warns that if you claim to have faith in Jesus, but continue in unrepentant sin then you are deceiving yourself. [35]
What Now?
Get a Bible and read it daily. Start in the Gospel of John. Obey what you read and “study yourself approved unto God. [36]” Find a Bible-preaching church [37] where the pastors preach from the Bible verse by verse and explain it. [38] Then go tell everyone what Jesus did for you!
References: 1: (Psalm 24:1), 2: (Genesis 1:27), 3: (Genesis 9:6), 4: (1 John 3:15), 5: (Matthew 22:13, Revelation 14:11, Luke 16:23), 6: (Isaiah 6:3, Psalm 119:142), 7: (Matthew 5:22), 8: (Matthew 5:28), 9: (Revelation 21:8), 10: (James 2:10), 11: (Ezekiel 18:4), 12: (Exodus 23:7, 34:7, Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 1:3), 13: (Proverbs 17:15), 14: (Romans 3:23), 15: (John 3:16, Romans 3:26), 16: (John 1:14), 17: (John 1:1), 18: (John 4:34), 19: (John 19:17, 1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Peter 1:19, 1 John 2:2, Revelation 1:5), 20: (2 Corinthians 5:21), 21: (Hebrews 2:17, 9:14, 1 John 2:2, 4:10, Romans 3:25-26, 5:9, 1 Corinthians 5:7, Ephesians 1:7, 2:13), 22: (Luke 24:6, Mark 16:6, Acts 2:24), 23: (1 Corinthians 15:12-14), 24: (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 17:30, 20:21, Luke 13:5, Matthew 4:17), 25: (Romans 2:4), 26: (Ephesians 2:8-9), 27: (John 6:29, 35-39, 6:65, 10:28, 17:2, Luke 6:47, Romans 4:24, 1 John 3:23), 28: (2 Corinthians 5:17, John 14:16-17, 15:26, Acts 1:4, 5:32), 29: (2 Corinthians 3:18), 30: (2 Corinthians 13:5), 31: (Matthew 7:22-23), 32: (1 John), 33: (2 Peter 1:10), 34: (Matthew 7:16-17), 35: (1 John 1:8), 36: (2 Timothy 2:15), 37: (Hebrews 10:25), 38: (2 Timothy 4:2)
