 People pleasers make traitors (John 12:43). "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? If I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 The Sanctity of Life This Friday is being observed as a National Day of Repentance for the national sin of abortion. The 1st February 2014, marks the 17th anniversary of the legalisation of abortion on demand in South Africa. Christians who respect the sanctity of life observed Sanctity Life Sunday on 26 January, or will do on 2 February, Christians in Cape Town will be marching to Parliament on Friday, 31 January to conduct a memorial service and wreath laying ceremony in memory of the 1,200,000 babies killed by abortion in South Africa since 1997. March for Life In the United States of America over 650,000 Christians marched to Washington DC in extremely cold and freezing weather, last week Friday, 22 January, to commemorate the Roe v. Wade landmark decision, which legalised abortion in their country. Sanctity Life Sunday was observed by tens-of-thousands of congregations in the USA. It would be embarrassing to note how few congregations in South Africa observe Sanctity Life Sunday, or participate in a National Day of Repentance here.  A Deafening Silence We have received numerous letters and phone calls from concerned Christians asking us why they "never" hear their pastor speaking on the abortion holocaust and the duty of Christians to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and to rescue those being led away to death. I was recently given an insight as to why many pastors are silent of the issue of the Sanctity of Life and the abortion holocaust in South Africa. Hijacking a Christmas Carol Service At a Christmas carol service, which I attended with my family, we were shocked when the pastor used the occasion to promote a political personality. The Scripture readings and carol service were Christ-centered and God-honouring. However, the sermon was jarring in its idolising of a politician and in the blasphemous comparisons of this idol of the New World Order with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Evaluating the Service As I was a guest, I waited until after the service to speak to the pastor concerned. I approached him and said that the choir was tremendous, the Scripture readings powerful and appropriate and the Christmas carols inspiring. However, I had some concerns about his sermon. Contemporary Analogies When he had pointed out that Jesus was born in poverty as many today are born in poverty and we need to be concerned for the poor, I agreed. When he pointed out that Jesus, and His earthly parents had to flee to Egypt as refugees and we should be concerned for refugees today, I heartily concurred. At this stage I had felt sure that I knew what his next point would be. The Scripture that had been read, Matthew 2, dealt with the horrendous massacre of the innocents by the soldiers of King Herod. I had thought that the pastor would then point out that as King Herod saw menace in the manger and had mobilised his men to murder the baby boys in Bethlehem, we should be concerned for the victims of abortion today. Avoiding Abortion Application The pastor stared at me in apparent blank amazement: "I missed that!" He declared.  Idolatry and Blasphemy "Yes, you did." I replied. "Then you spent the rest of your sermon exalting and idolising the man who legalised abortion in South Africa. I never thought that I would see a Christmas carol service abused and hijacked to promote any human being, let alone a politician responsible for the legalisation of abortion, pornography and perversion in this country." "I am sorry if I offended you," he responded. In the Light of Eternity "Oh, do not worry about me. My opinion does not matter at all. What you need to be concerned about is offending God. I believe that on the Day of Judgment you will be ashamed of what you did here tonight. It was blasphemous and idolatrous. Tonight I believe you compromised the integrity of this church, you bowed before an idol of the world, you burned incense before the image of a new caesar. By joining the chorus of the world, in exalting this politically correct idol, you have grieved the Holy Spirit, quenched the Holy Spirit, disobeyed the most condemned sin in Scripture: Idolatry. You have dishonoured God in a sanctuary dedicated to Christ." "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Proverbs 27:5-6 Loving the Praise of Men Our Lord Jesus spoke of this phenomenon during his earthly ministry: "Even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." John 12:42-43 The Curse of Cowardice Compromise and cowardice hurts everyone concerned. Cowardice is destructive and short sighted. In Revelation 21:8, cowards are at the top of God's list of who will be condemned for all eternity – thrown into the lake of fire. The Fear of Man is a Snare The Word of God commands us not to be afraid of any man (Deuteronomy 1:17). We are warned that the fear of man will prove to be a snare (Proverbs 29:25). The Scriptures tell us of those who would not say anything publically about Jesus for fear of the people (John 7:13).  Fear God Alone "Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die and of a son of man who will be made like grass? You forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the Heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor… And where is the fury of the oppressor? But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roar – the Lord of Hosts is His Name. And I have put My Words in your mouth…" Isaiah 51:12-15 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 The Scandalous Sin of Silence It is shocking how few pulpits proclaim the Law of God and the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). It is a disgrace how few pastors teach on when life begins, and the Christian duty to rescue those being led away to death, to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Idolatry in the Church While Sanctity Life Sunday and the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church are not very widely observed, reports would indicate that many thousands of congregations engaged in what can only be called idol worship during the Mandelamania that swept South Africa in December. Some have reported to us that there was more emphasis on Nelson Mandela than on Christ during this last Christmas season.  Mass Marketing the Mandela Myth It is understandable that communists would want to honour Nelson Mandela. He was a dedicated member of the Communist Party and he sacrificed his own freedom for the cause. However, for Christians to idolise a secular humanist, a communist, one who not only participated in, but actually launched, the terror bombing campaigns and abortion holocaust, which cost the lives of many thousands of innocents, is inexplicable. Ethical Contradictions What would you think about Christians in another country who supported a leader who rammed through Parliament the legalisation of abortion for all ages, and all reasons, legalised pornography and forced the inclusion of privileges for perverts into the Constitution, effectively laying the groundwork for the later legalisation of same-sex marriages? Would you vote for a pro-abortion candidate? Why then would one honour and exalt such a controversial politician in a Christmas carol service? Blasphemous Abuse of the Church In fact, the pastor that I heard at that Christmas carol service, not only compared Nelson Mandela to Christ, he used Christ as a platform and a springboard for exalting Nelson Mandela! Others who attended the same service confirmed that they also received the same impression that I did; that the sermon was more about exalting Mandela than worshiping Christ. The Most Condemned Sin in the Bible Christians in the Roman Empire were not persecuted for worshipping Christ, but for refusing to worship Caesar. Throughout the Bible, commandments and warnings against idolatry are the most repeated of all. There are more denunciations of idolatry than any other sin in the Bible. While we have seen the launch of a new religion, the disgraceful fact is many millions of Christians worldwide have enthusiastically participated in this blasphemous idolatry, repeating the mantras of the world and idolising this god of the New World Order. Conflicts of Interest Having done so, how can they then stand up and speak out against the abortion holocaust, which he unleased? Nelson Mandela initiated and rammed through Parliament, against all opposition, the legalisation of abortion Bill. He would not even allow a conscience vote, but compelled his members of Parliament to vote the Party line, which he had dictated. "Do not pollute the land, bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for a land on which blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it." Numbers 35:33  The Abortion Holocaust
Every year we lose more babies to abortion than the combined death tolls of crime and car accidents! Since 1 February 1997, over 1,200,000 babies have been killed in South Africa, by abortion, legally, officially, with taxpayers' money. "Rescue those being led away to death, hold back those staggering toward slaughter." Proverbs 24:11 Legalised abortion is a national disgrace. "Who will rise up for Me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for Me against the evildoers? Those who condemn the innocent to death." Psalm 94:16-17 Dr. Peter Hammond Livingstone Fellowship P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725 Cape Town South Africa Tel: 021-689-4480 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: www.FrontlineMissionSA.org Website: www.ReformationSA.org Website: www.hmsschoolofchristianjournalism.org Books, Audios,Data Disks and boxsets are available from Christian Liberty Books, PO Box 358, Howard Place 7450, Cape Town, South Africa, tel: 021-689-7478, fax: 086-551-7490, email: [email protected] and website: www.christianlibertybooks.co.za Prices exclude postage. See also: Do Christians Care? ABORTION IS MURDER National Repentance
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