The Class that Never Was
Radio, 2002
It is graduation time around the country, and we congratulate the class of 2002.
• At the same time, could we spare a moment to think about the kids who aren't there with their class?
• No, I am not talking about the drop outs. I am asking for a moment to remember the 1,577,200 kids who were aborted 18 years ago and never even given a chance at life.
You heard me right. There were over a million and a half babies aborted in 1984. Kids who would be graduating from high school at this season of the year.
• How many potential high school football players went up in smoke in hospital incinerators?
• How many cute potential cheerleaders had their little body parts sold off for cosmetics or medical research.
• How many researchers, scientists, poets, novelists, playwrights, artists, musicians and composers did we lose?
• How many mechanics, pilots, soldiers, farmers, truck drivers, and bankers went up in smoke with that million and a half babies?
The cost of abortion in that one year is staggering. I'm not talking about money. I am talking about the cost to society of living, breathing, working human beings.
• If it weren't for the losses to abortion, we would have an additional 14 million people in the workforce today.
• 14 million more people buying stuff and creating jobs.
• 14 million more people at work and increasing the productivity and economic strength of the country.
But that is just the people who would be over 18 now. The total cost is much higher than that. Since Roe v.Wade became the law of the land in 1973, there have been over 40 million babies killed.
• It beggars the imagination. Do you realize what that means?
• It is the equivalent of wiping out the population of the combined states of:
Georgia 8
Alabama 5
Mississipi 3
Lousiana 4
Arkansas 3
Tenn 5
So Car 4
Kentucky 4
Missouri 5
Not just the children, mind you. The entire population of 9 states cut right out of the heart of America.
Gone.
They tell us we are headed for trouble in the Social Security system in another 20 years. The reason is the retirement of the baby boom generation. But they aren’t the real reason. It is the baby bust that followed.
• By the time we hit the crunch with social security, there will be some 45 million workers missing from the system due to abortion.
And there will have been some 65 million aborted children.
The cost is staggering, socially, economically, morally, spiritually.
I am not an economist or a sociologist, and I am certainly not a politician.
But when people start talking about the right or wrong of abortion, I can’t help wondering what it is that is informing their conscience.
And since my field of interest is the Bible, I wonder what the Bible can say to our conscience on this much vexed issue.
Listen to this message, and when I come back, we’ll talk about what the Bible might say about abortion.
At what point does human life begin? The two clearly defined moments in the process are conception and birth. They are about the only two places where a clear line can be drawn.
Let me tell you a story from the Bible and we’ll work our way from there.
Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.
20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Psalm 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
• I can’t help thinking of the thousands of babies being dismembered in the womb. All their little body parts which are already written in God’s book when as yet they didn’t exist.
• I take this to mean that they all these members exist in the embryo before they ever take shape.
• John the baptist, from the womb, recognized the identity of the Messiah when Mary walked into the house and called out.
• This is not just a blob of tissue to God. It is a real, identified human being in process of being formed.
Oh, I realize that we can’t take God’s book into the senate and ask them to take that into consideration. I am not talking about this as a political issue, but as a moral issue, a spiritual and religious issue.
Genesis 25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
(Jeremiah 1:1-5 KJV) "The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: {2} To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. {3} It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. {4} Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, {5} Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
Then there is the law:
(Exodus 21:22-24 NIV) ""If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. {23} But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, {24} eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,"
• This is of special interest, because it deals with a viable fetus caused to be born prematurely.
• In the womb or out of the womb, we have a human being who can be harmed. And there were sanctions against the man causing the harm.
(Matthew 19:13-14 KJV) "Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. {14} But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Chances are, some of you will get graduation announcements soon, with a picture of the proud senior.
• Some of you will even attend a graduation somewhere and listen to the valedictorian give his speech.
• But you should know there will be ghosts there. The ghosts of hundreds, thousands, even millions of kids who never had a chance.
• Maybe during graduation this year we should wear a little black ribbon of mourning.
• For the graduating class that never was.
PSALM 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
• Children are the strength of a nation.
Ezekiel 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?