What is Your Life?
Intro:
1. More than one million abortions are performed in our country each year.
2. More then 2% of U.S. women of reproductive age obtain abortions each year.
3. 1/4th of all pregnancies, including miscarriages, are aborted.
4. If God really doesn’t exist & you are simply a product of evolution, then life isn’t really very valuable - unless, of course, it’s yours!
5. But - if God does exist & His Bible has what He wants you to know about Himself, that He actually created human life - then all human life is valuable & should be respected & preserved!
James 4:13-14
I. Life is Sacred
A. Life is a creation of God.
1. Gen 1:11-12 - Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
2. Gen 1:20-22 - And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
3. Gen 1:24-25 - And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
B. Human life is a special creation.
1. God created Adam & Eve.
a. God took special care & effort to form him. Gen 2:7 - the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
b. God, then, took special care & effort to create women. Gen 2:20-22 - But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
2. God personally created you! Ps 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.
C. Human life is more sacred than plant & animal life.
1. We are instructed to eat plants. Gen 1:29-30 - Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
2. We are instructed to eat animals. Gen 9:1-3 - Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
a. There were restrictions in the Old Testament about what kind of animals we could eat.
b. But Peter’s vision on Simon the Tanner’s rooftop made most of the Old Testament food laws obsolete. (Act 10:9-16)
c. I am aware of only 1 restriction: we are not to eat blood! (Act 15:29 & 21:25)
II. Life has Value
A. Therefore - you are not to commit murder!
1. The 6th Commandment: You shall not murder. - Ex 20:13.
2. Lord Jesus even took the principle of respect for human life even further. Matt 5:21-22 - You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
B. Therefore - you are to care for your physical bodies.
1. So that you will have a maximum amount of productive years to serve the Lord.
2. So that you can show respect for your Creator by taking care of His creation!
C. Therefore - you are to share your life & possessions with others whom God created.
D. Therefore - you are to procreate children. Gen 1:28 - God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it . . .
III. Life has Purpose
A. God created you to serve & have fellowship with Him. Gen 3:8-9 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
B. God created you to develop spiritual fruit. Gal 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
C. God created you to share Him with others. Matt 28:19-20 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Since God created you & you are valuable to Him -
Respect the breath of life He has provided you.
Live your life for Him & respect the lives of others!
http://biblelifemessages.org/