I Don’t Want To Talk About This – Part 3

Review Key Questions

• Do you trust Jesus?
• Can you handle the truth? 
• Why do you call Jesus Lord?

There is no area of life that Christ’s lordship does not cover.

What Does Jesus Want us to Do about Abortion?

1. Come to Him. (Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV) – ²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”)
2. Define the relationship. (Luke 6:46–49 (ESV) – ⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?)
3. Act Accordingly.

What if God’s will on abortion is not obvious to me?

• Do what you already know to do.
• Do your due diligence to seek God’s will on matters that are less obvious.
• Before you know what God thinks, prepare your heart for obedience.
• Do what God says, even if you don’t want to.

Abortion is Not About Abortion, but about Lordship

For disciples of Jesus, there is no abortion controversy. There is only obedience.

• 2 Timothy 2:3–4 (ESV) – ³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
• Philippians 2:8 (ESV) – ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Calling Out False Categories of Christian Commitment

Revelation 3:15–16 (ESV) – ¹⁵ “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Lukewarm (i.e. slightly warm) Christianity:

• Creates the illusion that you are more spiritually mature than you actually are.
• Rebrands disobedience as enlightenment (e.g. spiritual, but not religious)
• Fosters a relationship of convenience at the expense of a relationship of commitment.
• Claims the status of a disciple without the sacrifice of a disciple.

If you reject God at the front door, He can save you at the back door.

• 1 Corinthians 5:1 (ESV) – ¹It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
• 1 Corinthians 5:5 (ESV) – ⁵ you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Why You Abandon What You Prefer to Follow Jesus?

Luke 6:46–49 (ESV) – ⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

If we create a society based solely on personal preferences and pet causes, there will only be a matter of time before it collapses.

The only reason not to follow Jesus is to believe that your way is better than His way.

You can’t just have a moral sentiment. You need a moral system.

e.g. Men Should stay out of the abortion debate.

Boxes a Moral System Must Check

Transcendent

• Beyond or above the range of human bias.
• Beyond or above what’s merely good for you.
• Beyond or above personal preferences and pet causes.
• Question: Do you value the good or do you just value what’s good for you?

Comprehensive

• complete; including all elements or aspects of life
• Once you consider everything and everyone involved, you place boundaries on your behavior.
• This may be sacrificial in the short-term, but beneficial for you and everyone else in the long-term.
• A comprehensive moral system invites us to submit to things we don’t personally prefer for the sake of the common good.
• We are naturally inclined to focus on our private interests; morality draws us away from our self-centeredness to sacrifice for what’s best for everyone (including us). (Matthew 6:33 – ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.)

Sustainable

• We can keep doing this indefinitely.
• We can flourish multiple generations into the future.

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2022