Planned Parenthood video number five hit my inbox this morning. I plugged my headphones into my phone and moved away from my four children so I could watch it without them hearing or seeing anything that would certainly scar them. As I tucked myself into a back room of my house, I was disgusted to yet again hear the callous tone that Planned Parenthood top executives comfortably use to describe killing babies and then harvesting their body parts. As I spotted a little fully-formed arm pulled out of a freezer for “inspection,” I thought I might be sick.
The smell of bacon filling my house jolted me from my phone. Remembering I was preparing breakfast, I quickly ran to the kitchen to pull a sizzling pan from the oven… and I paused as my eyes began to burn with tears. I thought, The process that makes it possible for me to get and prepare this bacon is more humane than what we allow Planned Parenthood to do in this country daily to human beings — little people made in the image of God. Once again, I was grieved.
Video number five comes on the heels of a defeated Defund Planned Parenthood Senate bill. Oh, how I wish we had elected officials with the backbone and character required to stand for justice, righteousness, and truth. Maybe worse than that, this video also comes on the heels of a disturbing on-air exchange I had with a Christian man who asked, “How is getting on board and getting focused up on this war against abortion leading people to Jesus?”
No, I’m not making that up. The man continued, “It seems to me it would be a distraction from the Gospel.”
“A distraction from the Gospel”? What Gospel could he be referring to? I mean, what Gospel can you think of that doesn’t require us to come face-to-face with our sin in whatever form it is displayed in our life? What Gospel do you know that points people to Jesus yet ignores sin? We’re talking about murdering babies! We’re talking about strategically picking them apart or removing their intact bodies to later dissect like frogs. Just because an issue is politicized in our culture doesn’t mean it automatically leaves the care or concern of the Church.
God has dominion over all; all submit to Him. So we don’t bow out of issues of sin because the government says, “We’ll take over from here.” No — we expose “the unfruitful works of darkness.” (Ephesians 5:11) We agree with God in our hatred of the “hands that shed innocent blood.” (Proverbs 5:17)
A distraction from the Gospel? Absolutely not! How can you point people to a remedy when you haven’t shown them their ailment? Sin plagues our land. Sin propels women to murder their babies. Sin propels Planned Parenthood to dismember and sell them for profit. Sin even compels a person to ignore sin on display. Unless a person is born again, having received justification by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, he or she is still under the law and bound to keep it. Someone should tell Planned Parenthood doctors, receptionists, and janitors, “Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person” (Deuteronomy 27:25).
The Christian has never been called to hunker down and wait for the sweet by and by. Ours is a call to preach the Cross of Christ, and we cannot do that tucked away inside the safe four walls of our churches. So yes — we’re involved in policy and political issues as much as we are compelled to speak out and work to restrain evil so that people can come to the only Faith that will save them.
These Planned Parenthood videos present an opportunity for the Christian to speak out more loudly regarding sin and the impending judgment of God. Abortion is a moral issue; our government made it political. Murder is still sin, even if it is government approved. No, mister caller — defending innocent life is not a distraction from the Gospel. On the contrary, it points people to it.
