If you were in an American church yesterday, there was probably reference to Sanctity of Life Sunday, a day set aside to remember that God is the giver and taker of life. This fact, of course, was spit upon with the Roe v. Wade decision 33 years ago and in countless back alley abortions before then. Since that January 22, 1973 decision, an estimated 44 million abortions have taken place.

Government approval of abortion should give us reason to pause for reflection. The most obvious reason, of course, is that the legality of something doesn’t make a “something” right. It is legal for me to murder my almost-born baby, but it is wrong. It is legal for me to hate my brother, but it is wrong. It is legal to park my kids in front of MTV for all their waking hours, but it is wrong. Christians are governed by a different standard– the Word of God– not the legal whims of whatever nation they happen to live in. The reason for this is because the Word of God is infallible and the men who govern us are not.

When we say that the Scriptures are the only infallible rule for our faith and practice (II Peter 1:20, 21; John 5:39), it follows then that our practice—that is, the way we live our lives—can be sufficiently ordered by Scripture. In other words, I do not have to panic about the matter of my children watching MTV, because Scripture has already ordered my conduct on the subject. It is true that MTV is missing from Bible concordances, but wisdom is not absent.

I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
Psalm 101:2-4

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
Isaiah 5:20

But you know that I’m not writing about MTV, Sponge Bob, and iPods. Our culture is something we must reckon with, but it is impossible to influence a culture when Christians are being swept along with it. New methods, pop psychology, and gimmicks will not ultimately reach our culture for Christ. Radical Christians who embrace the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture (whether or not they know this intellectually) and live as such is a much more powerful tool than a free DVD giveaway at the local mega-church.

4D baby

As I await the arrival (in much discomfort) of our fifth child next month, God’s Word is my consolation. Margaret Sanger says, “The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it.” In contrast, God’s Word says in Psalm 127:4-5, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”

My culture tells me to limit producing children in favor of a lifestyle of personal peace and affluence. Sleeping in on Saturday mornings is more desirable than pouring Cheerios. Let’s not mince words: children are work. However, the Bible would tell us that children are a heritage, a reward (Psalm 127). This is what the Lord’s blessing looks like:

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
Psalm 128:1-4

Upon the remembrance of Roe v. Wade, let us not only pray for our nation and its repentance, let us not only remember the atrocity that occurs daily, let us not only mourn our losses–but may we also live in such a way that we embrace God’s Word as sufficient. If we agree that abortion is murder, is the only way stand against such a thing, ourselves, to merely not murder?

Lord, help us to love the things you love, and despise the things you hate.