Genesis and The Sanctity of Life

SERMON TOPIC: Genesis and The Sanctity of Life

Speaker: Ken Paynter

Language: ENGLISH

Date: 14 September 2018

Topic Groups: GENESIS, ETHICS, BOOK STUDY

Sermon synopsis: God has given us a free will and all through life we are faced with choices. (Every choice has consequences).

- Does the Bible endorse capital punishment?
- Is abortion wrong?
- Is euthanasia wrong?

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Genesis and The Sanctity of Life

Does the Bible endorse capital punishment?

Is abortion wrong?

Is euthanasia wrong?

The age of Innocence and choices.

God has given us a free will and all through life we are faced with choices. (Every choice has consequences)

The Garden of Eden. (Only one rule)

Adam and Eve made a choice. (The consequences of which we still feel today)

Spiritual death (separation from God)

Physical death

Banished from the garden

The ground cursed

Pain during child-birth

Sickness

A sinful human nature

The rule of conscience and choices.

Genesis 6:9-13.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.

God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

The rule of conscience and choices.

Genesis 6:9-13 (continued)

So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.

I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

The consequences of man’s choice: God destroyed mankind sparing only 8 people.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

After the flood, God instituted The Everlasting Covenant.

Genesis 9:5,6.

And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting.

I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

Genesis 9:15-17.

I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

So God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

Those who object to a murderer being put to death, I pose this question.

Would you prefer that God once again pours out His judgement as He did in the flood, because that is exactly what the Bible says is going to happen.

Man has chosen to break this covenant and once again the consequences of his choice are clear for us to see in Scripture.

Isaiah 24:1-6.

See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

Isaiah 24:1-6.

The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.

The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth.

The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

God’s wrath will be poured out on the nations that have broken the Everlasting Covenant.

2 Peter 3:1-13.

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.

I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

2 Peter 3:1-13 (continued)

They will say, Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

The Everlasting Covenant and Choices.

2 Peter 3:1-13.

The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Genesis and The Sanctity of Life

Romans 13:1-4.

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Capital Punishment.

140 countries around the world do not practice the death penalty by law or implementation.

Although there is some evidence to support using the death penalty as a deterrent, there is also evidence that shows it doesn’t work at all. 6 out of the 10 lowest murder rates on a state level are in states without the death penalty. It may work in specific instances and that may be a good thing when it does, but as an overarching deterrent, the choice seems to be with the person looking at the data.

In spite of the clear Biblical teachings to the opposite, the western world has slowly but surely done away with capital punishment and described it as inhumane.

God’s view on abortion.

There are two main issues to consider:

Is the unborn child (“fetus”) a human being?

If so, is it ever acceptable to kill the unborn?

The answer to both questions is found in the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis.

…and Rebekah his [Isaac’s] wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her… (Genesis 25:21-22).

Note that Rebekah’s unborn twins, Jacob and Esau, are referred to as “children” (the Hebrew word used, banim, plural of ben), commonly refers to children after birth, and often has a more specific meaning “sons.”

The New Testament uses the usual Greek word for baby, brephos, to refer to the unborn John the Baptist, who “leaped in her [Elizabeth’s] womb” because of the presence of the unborn Christ (Luke 1:41-44).

God’s view on abortion.

The main issue to consider: Is the unborn child (“fetus”) a human being?

The answer is found in Genesis.

Genesis 25:21-22. and Rebekah his [Isaac’s] wife conceived, and the children struggled together within her.

Note that Rebekah’s unborn twins, Jacob and Esau, are referred to as “children” (the Hebrew word used, banim, plural of ben), commonly refers to children after birth, and often has a more specific meaning “sons.”

The New Testament uses the usual Greek word for baby, brephos, to refer to the unborn John the Baptist, who “leaped in her [Elizabeth’s] womb” because of the presence of the unborn Christ (Luke 1:41-44).

God’s view on abortion.

Psalms 139:13-16.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Unborn babies are not disposable clumps of tissue, despite the claims of many pro-abortionists. They are always human right from fertilization, because all the DNA coding needed to build each individual’s physical features is there in the fertilized egg.

Stages of development of unborn child.

God’s view on abortion.

Jeremiah 1:5.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Exodus 21:22.

If people are fighting and 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. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

God’s view on abortion.

There are four basic types of abortion being performed in America today, while two more types may be added in the near future.

First, there's the suction type abortion:

This is where the unborn child is literally vacuumed from the mother's womb during the early stages of pregnancy.

The currette-type abortion:

The child is cut from the mother's womb with a spoon-like object.

A third type is similar to a Caesarean operation.

The baby is surgically removed from the mother and allowed to suffocate, because the child's lungs aren't developed.

God’s view on abortion.

The fourth type of abortion is the Salt Brine technique:

With this method, the unborn child is literally "pickled" to death by the injection of a strong salt solution. A few days after the injection the child is still born.

There is currently much debate about partial-birth abortions:

This is where a child is partially delivered, then stabbed in the skull to have his or her brains sucked out.

Ninety-three percent of all abortions in America are performed just because someone doesn't want a child!

Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)

For some time now, one Scripture verse keeps coming to mind, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)

Allow me to offer several thoughts among the hundreds that could easily be observed (no particular order):

I saw this morning where an Ohio woman may get 50 years in the pokey for beheading her boyfriend’s pig. I wonder what her potential prison time would be if she had murdered the boyfriend?

While we’re on animals, if you abuse or kill an animal, you’re in for trouble, but rip the brains out of an unborn human baby then throw it in the trash and that’s just fine. I have had pets since I was a child, but I have never had a problem recognizing that they are animals, not family members. They should not be mistreated, but they are animals folks, not humans! Today people have gone off their rocker in treating an animal as if it were a family member. Many animals are even treated better than family members.

Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)

Many areas are usurping the rights of property and/ or business owners by banning smoking in public, but then alcohol consumption is brought in to replace it. I have never known anyone to use their family for a punching bag because they smoked a cigarette, but it is very common from those who love to drink.

Our government takes hard earned money (called taxation) from those who work, and rewards those who are too lazy to work by giving it to them. It’s called “vote buying” with your money, but it’s legal.

Manger scenes and “Merry Christmas” have been pushed out of sight since they honour Jesus. Instead, Satan is honoured with witches and hobgoblins on Halloween.

For those who do actually get married, divorce is quite common. “If it doesn’t work out, that’s okay I’ll just get me another one.”

Virginity has been replaced with free sex. It’s more common today than a kiss was when I was young.

Calling evil good . (Grant Phillips)

Clean language has been replaced with gutter mouths.

Clean and neat dressing has been replaced with dressing “down”; punk, sloth, exposed, etc.

Clean movies have been replaced with trash.

If a lady is raped, she is more on trial than the rapist. In other words, the offended is persecuted, while the offender is defended.

The prisons are overflowing because murderers aren’t executed, and convicts are paroled so they can commit more crimes.

Ban prayer at the ballgame, but cuss all you want.

Bible stories have been removed from the schools, and replaced with free condoms.

The 10 Commandments have been replaced with pornography.

Capitalism is being thrown out the window, so we can have socialism.

Good and evil. (Don Koenig)

Parents are told not to discipline their children physically contrary to scripture and the results are seen in children who are disrespectful to parents and to everyone in authority. More and more little kids with discipline problems are then given the world's solution to discipline called "mind altering drugs".

Addictions and character flaws are now called diseases so everyone is a victim and no one is accountable for their own choices and actions anymore. Any moral failings will be blamed on the "disease" they have.

Homosexuality is being pushed as normal behaviour even though the Bible, common sense, medical science and nature testifies that the practice is unhealthy and that this practice is abominable.

Abortion is state sponsored and encouraged. Therefore, instead of unborn children being a blessing from God the lack of children will be a curse to many nations. When the present generation ages there will be few to support them. The young will then find ways to get rid of the old.

Euthanasia.

Euthanasia is the idea that a patient can choose to end their own life with a doctor’s help. Belgium now allows children of any age to choose euthanasia.

Death is an enemy, an enemy that only Jesus Christ can and will destroy (1 Corinthians 15:26). If death cannot be avoided—and it cannot—many of us would like some control over how and when it happens. After all, we as adults do not like relinquishing the independence we spent our entire lives acquiring! As people around the world grapple with the issue of whether euthanasia (“mercy killing”) and physician-assisted suicide should be legal, it is the desire to retain control over our lives until the end that motivates many to push for a legal “right to die” on their own terms.

Euthanasia.

Euthanasia.

Euthanasia.

The Dangers of Euthanasia: from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops.

Life is full of blessings, challenges and opportunities. Even dying brings its own unique blessings, challenges and opportunities. ‘Dying well’ is as important as reaching our potential at school and at work, or finding happiness and fulfilment within our families and with our friends. The work of dying well often involves the healing and/ or deepening of relationships.

In 1995 we wrote:

“Euthanasia occurs when a doctor, not an illness, kills a patient.”

Euthanasia.

At that time we drew attention to a very important distinction: it is one thing to withhold or withdraw extraordinary methods of keeping a person alive when it is no longer sensible to do so; it is another thing to do something, or omit to do something for the purpose of terminating a person’s life. In the former case, we are simply allowing a person to die. In the latter case, we are killing.

Even if it is done for what seems a good reason, (e.g. to prevent suffering), and even if it is done with the patient’s consent, it is still killing.

Euthanasia.

In a society in which many regard suffering as meaningless and intolerable, euthanasia is presented as a way of avoiding suffering. This can be made to look like an attractive option, or even a right. But to legalize the killing of those who are suffering would be to introduce a whole new, and dangerous, dimension to society.

What kind of society would we have if euthanasia were legalized? People with advanced progressive illnesses, or simply in old age, may well find it difficult to trust their doctors and nurses. We need to ask: What would that do for the regard we have traditionally had for the medical and nursing professions? How would this impact on the ability of doctors and nurses to help those who are not quite sure they can trust them?

Euthanasia.

The experience of those countries that have already legalised euthanasia shows that the demand for euthanasia cannot be limited to a carefully defined group.

In the Netherlands euthanasia was initially only available to dying adults with terminal illness who were able to give informed consent and who repeatedly requested euthanasia. Since 1973 all of these restrictions have fallen away and lethal injections can now be given to newborns and teenagers with disabilities, as well as to persons with dementia and depression. In some of these cases there is no explicit request from the person concerned for euthanasia.

The commands of God about not committing murder is thrown aside by our modern day lawmakers.

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB:

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