Sanctity of Life
As the events of the day unfold around us, we as a
culture seem to be trying to decide who should live and who should die. Should children with birth defects be
aborted if we can discover the defect before birth? Should the elderly or disabled be allowed to starve to death if
they have no “quality of life?” And who
determines quality of life? Does the
will of an individual take precedence over the will of God? Or the legal system? Or mom and Dad?
Since “sanctity” is the word we choose to describe
our position on life, let’s take a look at the definition of sanctity. Sanctity is defined as the state of being
sanctified or sacred. To be sanctified
means to be set apart as holy. Life, by
today’s standards, seems to be defined by whatever happens to be the most
convenient position for whatever personal or corporate agenda you
advocate. Perhaps we should remember
that life is a gift from God in the first place:
Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and
before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee
Genesis 2:7 And
the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast
covered me in my mother's womb.
We believe in the sanctity of life because it is God that sanctifies
it, and not mere mortals.
Genesis 9:5 at
the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt
not kill.
The Hebrew word translated “kill” here is the word for “murder.” Murder is the unwarranted taking of a
life. If we take away that which
sustains life, we are murderers.
We try to excuse ourselves by blaming the legal
system, or the constitution, or any number of other straw men, but one day we
will answer for our actions. And we
will not answer to a circuit judge. We
will answer to the one and only judge, whose laws are above our laws. If it is the will of a person to die, then
the person will find a way to die.
Other than that, we should do all in our power to preserve life.
31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory:
32.
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world:
35.
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36.
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me.
37.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38.
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed
thee?
39.
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40.
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.
41.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42.
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me no drink:
43. I
was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and
in prison, and ye visited me not.
44.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did
not minister unto thee?
45.
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46.
And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.
Where
will you be?