The Sacredness of Human Life

Best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland.

Best-selling author and apologist, Dylan Burroughs. Together bringing you truth. For a new generation, this is TNG Radio. For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. Well, with that very well-known beloved scripture from Psalm 139, we welcome you to today's edition of TNG Radio, Truth for a New Generation.

Alex McFarland here with Dylan Burroughs. And you know, Dylan, one thing I love about the new year, it's exciting, but it's also very special to me because January is Sanctity of Human Life Month, and our ministry is helping sponsor a major pro-life event in South Carolina this month. But all around the world, really, the church seems to emphasize in January the sacredness of life. And I thought we would take some programs this month to talk about the fact that human life is sacred in all contexts. So many people wonder why we would even continue to talk about the pro-life topic. But in case you were uninformed on the issue, the most recent report from 2016 from Planned Parenthood shows that they committed 321,000 abortions in one year.

That's an average of 881 babies every single day. So is this important to talk about still? I think for those children, the answer is yes. As a father of three children, I see what it looks like to watch the sonogram of your child as they develop in the womb and to see how special that is, what a creation of God that is, and the importance of protecting life in the womb. So we're excited to talk about this and to help equip you to do something that makes a difference where you are in your community.

Absolutely. You know, I believe if there are two things that hold back revival, that hinder the great move of God, that he wants to give to our nation. I mean, God is more willing to send an awakening than we're even willing to pray for and ask for it.

But I think the two obstacles to national revival and frankly the saving of our nation, one is disunity and fragmentation within the body of Christ. But the other thing is this, our killing of the unborn. I mean, how can God bless this nation? Frankly, I'm amazed that we're as blessed as we are given the fact that, as you said, 800 unborn babies a day at least are being aborted.

It's being subsidized and sanctioned by the U.S. government. By the way, Dylan, this month in Billy Graham's magazine, Decision Magazine, is my article on natural law and morality and how the nation really, with the implementation of no-fault divorce, and with the implementation legally of abortion on demand, we began 45 years ago plus to cut ourselves away from God and moral truth. Now since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, how many babies have died? Well, if you want to put it in perspective, it would be roughly the number of people killed by Adolf Hitler times around 15. Some ethicists say maybe more like Adolf Hitler times 20 to equal the number of human lives that have been snuffed out since Roe vs. Wade, and I have to believe God cares about that.

And Dylan, frankly, it's a mystery to me. Now in the 21st century, the makeup of the church and the spiritual depth and the biblical literacy of the church is different than it was in 1973, but really how the U.S. Supreme Court could not only violate known moral truth, the clear dictates of God's word, but frankly even the Declaration of Independence, which says that all people are guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Here's the thing. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness, these things mean nothing if they're not first predicated on the constitutionally protected right to life. And so here we are now 46 years into Roe vs. Wade, and why the 100 million evangelical adults in America haven't en masse stood up to defend human life, I don't know, but I do know the outcome, and the result of it is that I believe the hand of God is incrementally being withdrawn from this country, and we've got to rediscover an ethic of life if we want to survive as a nation.

And despite all of the struggles and all of the negatives you just shared, there is hope. It is encouraging to me to see change taking place at the city, local, the state level in our nation. For example, the city of Nashville recently became the largest city in the United States without an abortion provider, which is a very big deal in the state where I live in Tennessee, and they're encouraging signs when you look at the statistics from one year to the next and decrease in abortions. And it's also exciting to see the changes in attitude among younger Americans when they are surveyed regarding the pro-life issue. More and more you see the value of life in the womb versus past generations.

So there are some encouraging signs that can take place in your local community when you get involved, and we want to talk about some of the reasons you should get involved in that today. So Alex, get us started, if you would, on some of these reasons for supporting the pro-life issue, what the Bible says about it, and what we should know about this issue. Well, you know, I remember when George W. Bush in 2001 said, Human life is a sacred gift from our Creator.

Oh my goodness, the firestorm of pushback. First of all, human life as distinct from animal life, people reacted to that. Sacred gift, in other words, life being holy and life being a precious thing entrusted to us by a Creator. You know, people that are of a secular mindset, they don't like that kind of talk. But our founding fathers, the framers of the Constitution, they believed in life, they believed in God, they believed in objective morality.

I do want to mention that Dylan and I have a book coming out later this spring about life and moral truth. But let me just say this, going into this, and I want to quote my former boss, James Dobson, who, what a great hero the faith and champion of life, Dr. Dobson is. But speaking of the unborn, and the embryonic life that is at mortal risk unless, you know, the mother courageously takes the baby to term, Dr. Dobson said, we're talking about life here, not, quote, little black dots.

Like some people in Congress are referring to them. The bottom line here, are these little human embryos tiny as they are people or property? Are we going to create a class of human beings just for research, experimentation, harvesting, and destruction? Or are we going to view them as life?

Friends, think about it. At the moment of conception, you've got the four criteria necessary for life. A unique DNA footprint, metabolism, cell growth, and response to stimuli. Those are the four criteria for life. They're present from the instant of conception and will be throughout life. The unborn are human beings.

It's a sacred gift from God, and they should be protected. As we take a break, let me tell you about three tens, three books that will answer questions that come your way from others or even yourself about the Christian faith. Book number one, 10 answers for skeptics. Today, skeptics are looking for authenticity, integrity, and straightforward faith. And in this book, you'll learn how to answer intimidating questions, identify the root issue behind those questions, and dismantle the spiritual bombshells dropped by non-believers.

Those usually end up just being a puff of smoke. Number two, 10 answers for atheists, where Alex looks at the philosophical assumptions at the root of atheism and agnosticism exposing logical, historical, and conceptual fallacies. Alex shares clear explanations of beliefs and biblical answers to those questions that often leave you stumped, but no more. And number three, the 10 most common objections to Christianity and how to answer them. You know, many Christians hear these objections and have a crisis of faith, but Alex and Dylan have been around. They've visited many places and talked with many people through the years and can offer straight answers that'll give you confidence and understanding about your beliefs. So the three 10s once again, 10 answers for skeptics, 10 answers for atheists, and the 10 most common objections to Christianity and how to answer them.

Find them wherever Christian books are sold or at alexmcfarland.com. We care about justice and aren't afraid to ask hard questions. In fact, we care about a lot of things. We have passion for truth. We are engagemagazine.net, an online group of millennials brought together by a common goal to share truth, apply scripture, and to get involved in our lost and hurting world. Engagemagazine.net hosts discussions that help you apply a biblical worldview to your daily life.

Engagemagazine.net. Welcome back to Truth For A New Generation Radio. I'm Dylan Burrows here with Alex.

Alex McFarland. And we're talking about the importance of human life from conception forward. And this month is the time of the year when many people in churches across America talk about the importance of personhood for the child that is still in the womb. And we're talking about it here as well. I know that Proverbs 31 8 tells us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

And we believe this applies to the preborn child in the womb as well. And Alex, I want you to share a little bit about the ministry and then bring us back to our topic today, where we talk about the sanctity of human life. Oh, well, thanks, Dylan. And thanks to everyone listening.

And thank you for all the prayers and correspondence and support. You can find us online at Truth For A New Generation. That's truthforanewgeneration.com. And we have an app that's compatible with all mobile devices.

You can find us at the App Store. We've got articles and the schedule of the events we're doing around the country, one of which is at the Cove, March 22, 23 and 24. I will be in western North Carolina, the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove, and we'll be doing Bible prophecy going through Daniel and Revelation. And we would love to have you join us.

We would encourage you if you've never been to the Cove. Oh, my goodness, it is undoubtedly the finest Christian retreat in North America. And so we would love to see you there at the Cove when we do Bible prophecy, March 22 through 24. Dylan, I do want to also say how much we appreciate Liberty University helping us do our conferences around the country. And I would encourage you if you're praying about a Christian university or starting or finishing your degree, either in residence or online, the events we do all around the nation, Liberty helps us with those and their website is liberty.edu. We appreciate that great partner in the ministries of truth for a new generation.

Well, back to the subject of human life, as January is Sanctity of Human Life Month. Dylan, I want to go over some convictions that will elevate one's view of human life. I often say that we want the church to have a high ethic of life. But really, the first and most important conviction on this would be the Bible, that the Bible is God's Word. And it's a book shown to be divinely inspired by many compelling lines of evidence. And the Bible declares that God is Creator. And so that alone would lead us to be pro-life. Life is not ours to take because God is the Creator, God is the giver of life, and therefore God is the owner, isn't He?

He is. And we want to be clear that when we talk about God as Creator of human beings, that this is much different than God creating the rocks and the trees and the mountains and the seas. God created humans in His image, Scripture tells us. So we are unique from all other aspects of creation, and therefore in greater need of standing up for those who cannot speak up for themselves when it comes to human life still within the womb.

Well exactly. You know, the Bible is very clear that God is the maker of heaven and earth. Isaiah 45 18 and John 1 verse 3, John 1 says there's nothing made that Christ didn't make. Colossians reiterates that. And you know, part of the impetus for abortion on demand has been humanism, secularism. The idea that man is the measure and humanity we call all the shots, that's humanism.

Secularism, there is no God, there's just this physical material world. But Acts 4 24 says all that exists has been made by God, and that includes human beings. I began the program with Psalm 139, and Job says it as well, Job chapter 10 verse 11, that we have been wonderfully formed by God in our mother's womb, and every life is valuable. I want to say to everyone listening, you know, you're not just an evolutionary accident, your life is not just happenstance or purposeless, you are valuable in the eyes of God. God loves you, and while we sin and our sin must be addressed, Christ on the cross paid for our sins, the fact is God loves you, and God loves every person, and every human life is valuable to God. Dylan, I've often thought about this in the abortions that are taking place daily by the hundreds.

Man is taking something that is not his. We want to proclaim that life matters, human life is sacred in the eyes of God, and all people should be pro-life, certainly the church should be. Dylan, I want to say this, that one of the paradoxes of those that are pro-abortion, even the most ardent pro-abortionist is glad for at least one person that happened to have been pro-life, their mother. So it's a contradictory position. Yes, and as we look at these convictions that elevate our view of human life, you are very clear, Alex, that the Bible declares God is creator, and that leads us into the second conviction that as our creator, God is also the owner of all things. It's not this attitude that it's my body, I can do what I want with it if you're considering an abortion or even other life choices that could be harming to you or to others. We have to consider that God is not only creator, but owner of all things. Talk a little bit about what that means for us today.

Well, Dylan, I was in Louisville, Kentucky at a medical school to speak and do a presentation about a month ago, and we'll be back there actually in 2019 to host a debate with the famed apologist John Lennox. But one of the students came up and said, you know, how dare you make a claim on my body, my body is my body, no person can say what a woman has to do with her body. And there are a number of things to say about that, not the least of which is that the baby in the mother's womb has a separate DNA blueprint than the mother. And so abortion is not about the mother's body primarily, it's about the body of the human being that she is carrying. But also, let me say this, we're talking about natural law. We're talking about moral truth. And just because the baby is in the mother's womb does not give the mother the right to suspend moral obligation and terminate the life of another person.

Abortion is the termination of a life other than the mother's life, even though it does endanger the mother's life. God is the owner, and God is also, as we say, the ground of moral truth. And just because I made a decision, and there are physical repercussions and consequences for the choice people make to go to bed with somebody, because I don't like the outcome of the choices I made, that does not give me the right to suspend objective morality, to do something that I might assume for the moment will give me a solution to the dilemma that I'm in. We have to realize that moral truths are not ours to bend or to break. That's so important, Alex, and we encourage you to stick with us. We'll talk more about this in our final segment.

We'll be right back. Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of ten current issues, such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography, and environmentalism, as he echoes the biblical invitation, Come, let us reason together. Only by engaging the scriptures deeply, thinking clearly, and speaking truthfully, can we and God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose. Ten issues that divide Christians.

Find this book and many others at AlexMcFarland.com. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide and video series. You'll find it at AFASTORE.NET.

Welcome back to TNG Radio. We're talking about human life sacred in all contexts. We're talking about some convictions that elevates one's view of human life.

Number one, the Bible is the Word of God and it declares that God is Creator. As Creator, God is the owner of all things. Our lives, our time, our physical body, that's why we're not to abuse our bodies. That's why we're not to harm ourselves because God is the owner. But Dylan, I want to hone in on this, a conviction that really will reshape all of our perspectives, our priorities if we would take this to heart, that God creates human lives for a purpose.

Way back in the book of Genesis, it says that God made man in His image. I think about this even when maybe somebody cuts you off in traffic or you get aggravated with somebody. Think about all of your fellow human beings, even the ones that get on your nerves or rub you the wrong way. Let's be honest, we all think things, we get angry, we think things that are just not even repeatable.

If the inner thoughts and motives of our hearts were exposed, I think most of us would be horrified. But, think about this, all people, they're made in God's image. They're a sinner for whom Christ died.

If they're a Christian, they're a person that is my brother or sister in Christ and they've got inherent worth and value and purpose and dignity. And the definition of purpose from God's perspective is independent of our definition for purpose. What is your life's purpose? For centuries, people have had a variation of the thought of eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.

Nowadays people say party on. Hey, life is not just to party or to get intoxicated or to buy stuff or be a materialist or a good little consumer or a socialist. No, life is purposeful from God's perspective, that you can know your Creator, that you can be conformed to the image of Christ. Ultimately, Dylan, God's purpose in life, this world, it's a workshop for the making of saints. God wants to turn us into holy people and God wants to make us saints whereby we can enjoy His presence and the glories of heaven and the rewards of eternity forever. And we don't, humanly, we don't think that way, but the purpose of life is, as the Catechism says, to know God and enjoy Him forever.

And that's a good way to put it, Alex. And I think of the saying that God has created us on purpose and for a purpose. And one of the top verses in Scripture about this concept of being created on purpose for God is found in Jeremiah chapter 1, verse 5. The word of the Lord came to him, telling him, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart.

Think about that for a moment. How powerful is that that before you were formed in the womb, God knew you were coming. Before you were born, while you were still in the womb, God set you apart for special plans, for a special purpose in this world that He has designed for you. So if your heart is still beating and there is still air in your lungs, God has a reason for you to be here, whether you're young, whether you're old, or somewhere in between. There is a purpose for your life. And we must remember that not just for our own lives, but for those who have yet to live their lives outside of the womb. And that's why we're talking so much about this important topic of the sacredness of human life. Exactly. You know, the Bible says, Whatsoever you do, do it under the glory of God.

So think about this. It's not hard to imagine that, you know, somebody doing some grandiose thing has a purposeful life. But Dylan, you know, I believe that the two greatest gifts God ever gave the human race, number one is salvation, but number two is family. And I want to say out there, and I believe this to the core of my soul, if you're walking with Christ and loving your family, men, if you're serving your wife and being a faithful spouse and a good provider, and you're raising your children in the nurturing admonition of the Lord, as the Old Testament says, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, if you're loving God and serving your family, that is a holy calling. And Mom, changing that diaper and raising those children and loving them to Jesus, and pouring the third glass of spilled milk at breakfast this morning, and cleaning up the dirt and the mess, yet again, that is service as unto the Lord, really. Sometimes people are at a point that they feel like their purpose is finished. And I would disagree, Dylan. Even if you're on your back in a hospital bed, you can still pray.

You can still be an intercessor. In fact, Dylan, it might be that some of the most vital, valiant work being done by the people of God are being done by people that physically are very limited, but in their heart and in their mind and in their soul, they are mighty for God. And we could give more examples, but I want to say whoever you are, whatever your age, whatever your station in life right now, you matter to God. And your life has great worth. Christ laid down His life for you, and what you do in this life in time can count for all of eternity. So I want to say these things, and we're going to come back to them.

Listen to these thoughts, folks. We as a Christian, and I hope you're a believer, you need to advance an understanding of the humanity of the unborn, the inherent sacredness of human life. You need to remind people that our Constitution recognizes the legal protection that the unborn is due. I think we need to oppose the anti-life, pro-death assumptions that currently permeate our culture, and then through our words and our deeds, and yes, our vote, we need to promote the message of life. John 10 10, abundant life here, eternal life hereafter, which is through Jesus Christ. And then finally we need to pray, pray, and pray. And I really don't have a lot of hope for our country unless we recover an ethic of life, and that's got to begin in the hearts of Christians and in the life and the influence of the Church.

James 5 16 tells us the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective. You can begin there today by praying that God would do something powerful in your life and your community and across our nation regarding the sacred value of human life. But let us encourage you as well to step up and do something locally to participate with those ministries and those organizations and those local churches that stand for life. And you can begin where you are and see where God takes you in making a difference in our culture.

Thank you for being with us. Join us next time for part two on this topic at Truth For A New Generation radio. Truth For A New Generation, in association with Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, exists to equip Christians with a biblical world view through conferences and camps. For information about upcoming events, visit truthforanewgeneration.com or give us a call at 877-YesGod1. That's 877-YesGod and the number 1. TNG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. That's P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. Or give online at alexmcfarland.com or truthforanewgeneration.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG radio.