Abortion, the Church, and the Gospel January 23, 2012
Today is the 39th anniversary of the SupremeCourt’s landmark decision legalizing abortion, Roe v. Wade. Since that time,around 50 million preborn babies have been killed. That’s 10x the population ofColorado, over 15 percent of the population ofthe whole United States.Obviously, if human life is sacred, our country has a massive problem on itshands.
But there’s another more personal, more immediateproblem on my heart as I ponder this issue. It’s the problem the Americanchurch has had (in the past, at least) in dealing with abortion. Two problems,actually. We’ve over-politicized it, and we’ve under-personalized it.
By over-politicizing it, some Christians have reliedexclusively on governmental means to address the problem: legislation,single-issue voting, rallies, etc. Others have gone the opposite direction inover-politicizing the issue—so afraid to get entangled in politics that theydon’t do anything at all. Unfortunately, neither of these responses is faithfulto the gospel. The gospel is inescapably about life, and its veryshape—an innocent Savior dying for sinners—calls us to protect and serve andprovide for those who can’t do these things for themselves. But the gospel alsoreminds us that societal structures will never be transformed through power andcoercion. Jesus laid down His life so His kingdom could come; He didn’t starta political campaign.
By under-personalizing it, Christians have arrogantlyassumed that abortion is a problem restricted to “those naughty people outthere.” Jesus taught us the shallowness of that evaluation. He showed howabortion (i.e., murder) arises from the same heart as anger, and both aredeserving of judgment (Mt 5:21-22). Even more egregious has been our tendencyto ostracize those tempted by or connected to abortion—the unwed mom, thepanicked dad, the protective parents. We shouldn’t be surprised when thesepeople are drawn to a clinic who offers, “We will take care of you. We will notjudge you. We will make all of this go away.” Ashamed, they keep their painsecret. Shamefully for the church, our sanitized façade of goodness oftenforces them to keep it all concealed.
Once again, it’s a failure to follow the gospel. We whogather at the cross are sinners all, none better, none worse. We all deservehell; in Christ, we’ve all been there and back. And when desperate sinnersrealize they are desperately loved, it makes them happy—happy!—to welcome otherloved sinners into the family.