#ThisIsWhy Abortion Is Still Legal

Hello everyone and welcome to This is Why, a mini-series on reforming the pro-life movement with the biblical worldview. My name is Zach Conover and I'm the Director of Communications for End Abortion Now, a movement of the local churches dedicated to doing just that.

The National Catholic Register Article on Sidewalk Counseling

Without further ado, let's jump right in. A blog post was released by the National Catholic Register last week detailing the importance of the role that sidewalk counselors play outside of local abortion clinics.

Author Patti Knapp says, Now, the pro-life movement is big on this phrase, changing hearts and minds, or just changing hearts. But what exactly does this phrase, change of hearts, mean within their understanding?

And what leads to someone's heart being changed? The author, Patti, gives a couple stories about sidewalk counselors outside of abortion mills that led women to local pregnancy centers, and this is how she describes one such encounter.

Why Facts Alone Do Not Change the Heart

Now, are all of these things true? Absolutely. But as Christians who are coming at abortion from a biblical perspective, are they the reason that a woman shouldn't murder her baby?

No.

You see, it's a lot like saying that the reason that sex outside of marriage is wrong is because, statistically speaking, married couples that lived together beforehand are more likely to end up divorced.

Therefore, don't do it. No, the reason we tell mothers and fathers not to kill their children isn't because probability says that their quality of life will suffer, but because the Bible tells them that the holiness of God will be offended.

That's point number one. Now, point number two, is it really the relaying of facts that lead to heart change? Or is it what the Bible calls regeneration, the removal of the heart of stone and the replacement with the heart of flesh, like we're told in Ezekiel 36, 26?

I mean, sure, a child's life can be spared for the moment, as the post goes on to tell us, and praise God for that. But has the condition of the woman's heart gone from someone whose feet are swift to shed blood to that of someone who no longer desires murder within their heart?

Even the Scriptures tell us that Judas knew that he had betrayed innocent blood when he tried to return his bounty money to the temple treasury, only to later hang himself. He knew he had betrayed innocent blood, but his realization didn't lead to restoration.

Godly Grief, Repentance, and the Gospel

The Bible gives us a much clearer picture of the kind of sorrow that takes a rebel and makes him a son. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, starting in verse 9,. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting.

For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. Which is why the gospel message itself is life, and not death to the one who experiences sorrow over their sin.

It's godly sorrow that is needed for repentance to take place. It's knowledge that the person has seen their sin as not only an offense against their unborn child, but against God himself. And the only message that can change the state of a sinner's heart is the gospel message itself.

It's the message that God has ordained that calls sinners to turn from their sin and come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and peace with God. And because the pro-life movement does not cling to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it has failed and will continue to fail in truly changing hearts, and as a result, ending the murder of children in the womb.

Why the Pro-Life Movement Needs the Biblical Gospel

As this blog post points out, sidewalk counselors are indeed crucial to reaching women considering abortion. However, sidewalk counselors offering information and practical help apart from the message of the biblical gospel cannot truly hope to change anyone's heart.

Merely educating someone doesn't change their nature. Only the power of God's Spirit through his gospel can do that. For over 40 years, the pro-life movement has sought to enact a spiritual change, primarily using worldly means.

Basic to their methods are the vain foundations that prevent them from having a decidedly Christian approach to ending abortion. And this is why babies are still murdered every day, and why you should go to EndAbortionNow .com and partner your church with us to receive materials that will help you bring the gospel to your local abortion clinic.

Please also consider partnering with us financially so that we can continue equipping The Church of God with the materials that they need to continue this work. Thank you for watching.