As Bible-believing Christians, we find ourselves living in a culture that is increasingly hostile to our worldview. This didn’t happen overnight and it certainly isn’t a coincidence. It was the result of a zealous minority dedicated to the gradual erosion of the foundations that built Western Civilization. It was a marinade, not a microwave approach, to be sure.
It may be a fact that some believers desire to minimize, but it would only be to their shame. This strategy has been incredibly successful in undermining the value of human life and the Biblical family. All of our major societal institutions have been greatly impacted by worldviews that are antithetical to the Gospel. Education, media, and the political arena are perhaps where the fruit of these nefarious philosophies manifests itself so evidently. Secular humanism and religious paganism consistently mark the landscape of policymakers, cultural influencers, and those in positions of authority.
It is in this context that the Christian Church has been called to wage warfare against the enemies of the faith, casting down every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). When it comes to abortion there are physical consequences to the way we fight our great battle. Lives, as well as eternal souls, hang in the balance. However, the weapons of our warfare are spiritual as we are dealing with the renewal of the heart and mind.
The kind of change needed can only be produced through the Word of God and the Gospel, which is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). In our cosmic clash of hearts and minds, we are warned not to be deluded with well constructed, but fundamentally flawed argumentation that does not ultimately rest on Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-8).
In other words, we cannot have true knowledge of anything unless we have it in relation to Christ as the essential reference point. There is no neutrality. Jesus says that whoever is not gathering with him is scattering (Matthew 12:30). There are haters of God who oppose Him, and there are those that love God who are supposed to recognize this reality and stand on the Word of God to respond. All this to say, the task of tearing down ungodly philosophies that dominate the marketplace of ideas is not to be carried out by Christians apart from an appeal to their ultimate standard of authority: God’s Word.
Christian engagement in the area of abortion has largely seen an abandonment of an explicitly Biblical foundation in exchange for something less hard-hitting and more inclusive. It is not only believed that such an approach will yield progress politically, but that it will guarantee Pro-Life Christians a seat at the roundtable of cultural elites for their message to be judged in the courts of human reason along with other competing messages.
Sure, our Christian message and verbiage are good for those who believe as we do. But to those who don’t share our commitment to Christ, it is maintained that we ought to adjust our presentation. Surely, believers cannot simply go before a crowd like that and tell them point-blank the truth about the shedding of innocent blood the way that God does.
To state it bluntly, It has become seemingly unthinkable for those who stand for life in front of an unbelieving world to do so as Christians. Our pre-commitment to the Lordship of Christ must be divorced from our Pro-Life activism in order for the world to hear us out. Apparently, being seen as reasonable and respectable in the eyes of men outweighs the need for faithfulness to God and the establishment of true justice.
Somewhere along the way, those on the side of life ingested the idea that because the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), we shouldn’t use it at all. The analogy is simplistic, but it is like a robber attempting to hold us up for our riches while we sheath our weapon because the robber told us that he didn’t believe our sword was real.
Where we should be cutting down our attackers, we are disarming ourselves. We are told that using the word “murder” in the abortion conversation is out of the question because it will only turn women away from us. Why do that when we can be non-judgmental? We are instructed that phrases like “image of God” are unhelpful and unnecessary in establishing the essential dignity of pre-born children when we have biological science. We are told not to make abortion an issue of sin as defined by God when we have the self-evident truth of natural law testifying to the general consensus of the public that we shouldn’t kill innocent human beings. Lastly, we certainly cannot demand the immediate criminalization of abortion when we are helplessly limited by our legal system and must instead rely on the regulation of child sacrifice.
If we want to get anywhere in advancing the Pro-Life cause and win people over we cannot, under any circumstances, allow them to have their suspicions confirmed that we believe Jesus Christ actually died for sinners, rose from the dead, is seated on His throne, and speaks directly to the issue of abortion by commanding us to not only save children from death but have a law that promotes a culture of life. What’s more, we definitely cannot let them in on the fact that we believe he commands even the kings of the earth to obey Him or else he will punish their disobedience.
It should be obvious that such a strategy not only denies our Christian profession but is devoid of any saving power to bring about national transformation. The only way to confront a society of systematic unbelief is with a systematic belief that is Biblically faithful and philosophically consistent. Without the standard of God’s revelation, we can have neither of these.
The only remedy for the ideological strongholds propping up the trees of false worship in our culture is the razor-sharp axe of God’s truth laid to their idolatrous roots. This is why Christians must not be concerned with seeking a “seat at the table.” After all, our Lord and Master own the table. We are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). We are the administrators of the earth, called to disciple the nations and bring His rule to bear in every sphere of life. The authority to speak our message came with the death of our King. It is not granted by the permission of his earthly subjects. Let’s be faithful and trust God with the results as we chop away against the offering of Molech. Swing away, brethren!
