Sunday, August 30, 2020

Christian Politics – Part 3: Matters of Life and Death – Suicide & Euthanasia

 

Christian Politics –

Part 3: Matters of Life and Death – Suicide & Euthanasia

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

Online Audio Files | HOF Church Facebook | Truth Digest Facebook

 


This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church

 

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Last week we examined what the Word of God had to say about whether it was important for Christians to participate in elections, and whether or not Jesus Himself would vote if He were physically here in the United States.

 

We see scripture establishes some of the following facts about Christians and politics.

 

Ø  Do not conform (to the world) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

 

Ø  Everything we say and do should be a reflection of this transformation, the way we think, the way we talk, the things we do and support, everything.

 

Ø  John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:8-10 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance and do not think you can say to yourselves, “we have Abraham as our father.”…the axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name (Christians), will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at some of the following issues.

Ø  Would Jesus vote if He were physically here in the USA today?

Ø  What about the matters of life and death?

o   Healthcare

o   Suicide & Euthanasia

o   Abortion & Stem Cells

Ø  Crime and punishment

Ø  War, defense, and national security

Ø  Guns and matters of defense

Ø  Immigration and matters of national security

Ø  Marriage

Ø  Education

Ø  Economy, budget, trade, campaign finances

Ø  Green Values

These are the major issues at hand today, and we need to remember, we have the choice to defend values during an election for our nation.

Today we will be discussing suicide and euthanasia.

 

SCRIPTURE READING

Deuteronomy 30:19a

 

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life…”

             I.        What “is” suicide and euthanasia?

a.    Suicide (the word)

                                                 i.    The term suicide can be traced to Oxford English Dictionary 1651

                                               ii.    Before this term self-murder was usually used in its place

 

b.   Euthanasia (the word)

                                                 i.    Is from the Greek word’s Eu (meaning well) and Thanatos (death)

                                               ii.    Meaning “well-death” or “mercy-killing”

 

c.    In both suicide and euthanasia someone decides, and someone dies

                                                 i.    Suicide a person decides to murder themselves

 

                                               ii.    Euthanasia a doctor/patient/insurer/government decides to murder someone either by means of action or passively

1.    Active suicide/euthanasia would be to “cause death through actions performed upon victim”

 

2.    Passive would be to cause a death through not-preventing causality of death. (i.e. removing feeding tube, not providing medicine/treatments needed to prevent death)

 

                                              iii.    Whether active or passive, suicide and euthanasia is someone deciding death upon a living person through their action or inaction.

           II.        What does the bible say about it?

a.    What about the 10 commands? (Exodus 20)

                                                 i.    You shall have no other gods

                                               ii.    You shall not make idols

                                              iii.    You shall not take the Lords name in vain

                                              iv.    Keep the sabbath day holy

                                               v.    Honor your mother and father

                                              vi.    You shall not murder

                                            vii.    You shall not commit adultery

                                          viii.    You shall not steal

                                              ix.    You shall not lie

                                               x.    You shall not covet

                                              xi.    The sixth command, you shall not murder, the word used for murder in the original Hebrew is ratsach, which literally means “murder”

                                            xii.    In Hebrew chalal means “kill”

 

 

b.   Why does it matter if we say kill or murder in the commands of God?

                                                 i.    Because there is a difference between kill and murder.

 

                                               ii.    Our modern laws recognize and reflect this in our court systems.

 

                                              iii.    If I lose control of my car because of icy conditions and “kill” a pedestrian, someone is still dead by my actions, however I did not willfully seek out to end another’s life because I am wicked.

1.     Exodus 23:7 “don’t murder the innocent, for I will not justify the wicked.”

 

                                              iv.    Wicked and evil people seek out the deaths of others, and God says He will not justify them.

 

                                               v.    If I drive my car onto the sidewalk and run over a pedestrian, someone is dead from my actions, however, they were murdered, not killed.

1.    Both situations involved me driving a car into people, and someone is dead from my actions, YET, in one case they were killed, in the other, murdered.

 

                                              vi.    The Bible states you shall not “murder”

 

                                            vii.    Remember, there IS justifiable killing, both in the bible and our lives here on earth.

1.    Remember, God allows us to defend our homes, family and belongings!

 

2.    Exodus 22:2a “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;”

 

3.    This is a killing, not murder.

 

                                          viii.    So, God says “murder” is a sin, but killing (justifiable) is not

 

 

c.    So, is suicide and euthanasia killing or murder?

                                                 i.    First and foremost, only God can judge this!

1.    Only God can know and understand our hearts Jeremiah 17:9-10

 

2.    The Lord judges us by our hearts, not any outward appearances 1 Samuel 16:7

 

                                               ii.    We cannot know or understand fully another person’s heart or mind, where they are mentally, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, we can only judge to the best of our ability from their fruit.

 

                                              iii.    However, the actions themselves (suicide and euthanasia) we CAN judge, just not the people taking these actions.

 

                                              iv.    There may be a case where God deems something a killing that we see as murder, it is for Him alone to judge.

 

                                               v.    However, the Augustine teaching adopted by the Catholic church that “Suicide is an unforgivable sin”, is both nonsense in the fact that we cannot see a man’s heart, and unscriptural.

 

                                              vi.    The ONLY unforgivable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit according to the actual bible, simply meaning, anyone who denies salvation brought about by the Holy Spirit through Christ Jesus will NOT be forgiven and condemned. Makes perfect sense.

 

d.   What are some examples of Suicide & Euthanasia in scripture?

                                                 i.    Judges 9:54; 1 Samuel 17:23; 2 Samuel 17:23; 1 Kings 16:18; Judges 16:29-30; Acts 16:27-28

1.    We see here examples of suicides form many “reasons”, everything from “I don’t want the enemy to get me”, to “I betrayed Christ”

 

2.    Some of these are examples of euthanasia as well, Abimelech not wanting to be captured after being mortally wounded, etc.

 

                                               ii.    By the way, true martyrdom is NOT considered suicide, dying for preaching the word (even if you know they will kill you) doesn’t count.

1.    ALSO, tying a bomb to yourself or shooting up a bunch of people in the name of God is NOT martyrdom!

 

2.    This falls under “murdering innocent lives” which we read in Exodus 23:7 is considered a sin to God and breaks the 6th command.

 

                                              iii.    Exodus 20:13 you shall not murder

 

                                              iv.    Deuteronomy 30:19 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life…”

 

                                               v.    Job 1:21 Life is God’s to give and take

 

                                              vi.    1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”

 

 

 

          III.        How should followers of Christ view/vote about it?

a.    72% in a Gallup poll believe

                                                 i.    Doctors should be allowed to end a patient’s life

                                               ii.    We are not talking about making a dying patient comfortable before death, but taking their life.

 

b.   Though we cannot judge a someone’s heart, we can judge the act

                                                 i.    Suicide is wrong because you are deciding whether you live or die rather than God. Murdering yourself is still committing murder, which is a sin

                                               ii.    Our bodies belong to the Lord, they are not our property, and we do not have the right to destroy them

 

                                              iii.    Euthanasia is wrong for the same reasons, murder is a sin, and it is not for us to decide whether anyone should live or die.

 

c.    What about voting?

                                                 i.    Suicide and euthanasia only become voting issues when the government tries to control them through either a government healthcare system, or private providers through laws allowing the legal murder of others.

 

                                               ii.    “Doctor or assisted suicide” being legal does not make it moral.

 

                                              iii.    Morality cannot be determined by society which is in a constant state of decline.

 

                                              iv.    We must, as proclaiming followers of Christ, “vote” biblical morality and God’s values into our system if we wish our government system to reflect God’s values.

 

 

CONCLUSION – Do you want to live in a Christian Nation?

 

If we allow the government to decide what is moral, we may one day find ourselves in a nation where the ritualistic murders of babies and virgins are socially acceptable as the case of the Mayans.

 

The perfect case where society and government determined morality.

 

Our government has already deemed it “moral” to murder babies through abortion, nearly 1,000,000 per year.

 

And now we see a push from pedophiles to make their immoral and abusive sexuality socially acceptable. With who knows how many thousands of perverts there are in Hollywood perverting the minds of youth through movies, in government with perverse laws and bills, Disney twisting the perceptions and making our kids numb to perversion so they will readily accept it, it may not be long before pedophiles too are accepted by our society.

 

We must vote God’s morality into office if we ever want to see our children protected by ourn moral decisions.

 

Honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

 

And as John the Baptist said, show fruits worthy of your repentance.

 

We must renew our minds and have a mind like Christ in our actions, thoughts and deeds if we are to create a world, nation, government, state, town, home where the moral laws of God will protect our children and the next generation of those who love the Lord.

 

NEXT WEEK: Part 4 - Matters of Life and Death – Abortions and Stem Cells

 

 

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