GOD'S LIFE IN YOU IS SACRED

Date: Mon Aug 20 08:30:41 2007

Most serious Christians know that aborting a baby in his or her motherís womb is wrong. If a baby canít be safe inside his or her own mother, where on earth CAN that baby be safe? Not many people who have children 2 years old, 12 years old, or 22 years old would consider killing them because they detract from their lifestyle or because they cost too much. Yet, an alarming number of expectant mothers are willing to kill the yet-to-be-born child within for those same reasons. Back when Roe v. Wade was decided, much less was known about the preborn child than is known today. Even the Supreme Court that rendered that pivotal decision noted that their decision would be void if the congress ever declared personhood for the unborn. There is a move afoot to pass such a law, and Christians should check it out and see if any proposed legislation would in fact bring protection to the most vulnerable of Godís creation.

However, the purpose of this message today is not to fret and fume about the abortion of so many preborn and almost-born babies. My purpose is to encourage YOU that if you have invited Christ into your heart, the life God has formed in you is sacred. This may sound like a ìduhî statement, but I am convinced that a whole lot of Christians do not truly understand the life within. They do not understand that Christ is being formed in them, and that they have responsibilities in the matter. For those who are with child, extra care is needed. Proper diet, rest, and abstention from activities and substances that will harm their baby go with being a good mother-to-be. So does regular care from her doctor.

This spiritual life within did not just happen. It is just like our physical life did not happen on its own. Moses records in Genesis 2:7 that 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. We received our lives from God himself, and we are therefore accountable to God. When we died to the old man and were born again, we have new life likewise breathed into us by God. ìDo you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.î- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Christians who have invited Jesus Christ into their hearts often behave as if he isnít really there. They live in disconnection to the Holy Spirit. How can you be a temple of someone who is an enigma to you? If you are born in the Spirit, you must walk in the Spirit. Romans 8:5 says that those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. A natural mother with love for her child looks out for what her baby desires. The true and mature Christian looks out for what the Spirit desires. An ignorant and selfish pregnant woman often has no clue about what her baby needs. Ignorant and carnal Christians also have no clue what the Spirit wants. They do not read the Bible and obey it. Their prayers are sparse and selfish. James 4:2b-3 says that we do not have, because we do not ask God. When we do ask, we do not receive, because we ask with wrong motives, that we may spend what we get on our pleasures.

They do not alter their lives in any meaningful way. They go along in accordance with the same old patterns. They do not change their diet ñ they watch the same TV programs, they engage in the same pastimes, they order their lives essentially the same way as the world. Such neglect is foolhardy. We need to feed the spirit man within us. Sowing to the flesh reaps corruption, but sowing to the spirit reaps life everlasting (Galations 6:8). We all want to reap everlasting life, so take care that the life within is properly nourished so that Christ is fully formed in us.

Christians who have invited Christ into their lives often continue to do harmful things. It is bad enough when a woman smokes in terms of what it does to her body, but for a pregnant woman to smoke is far worse. Likewise, there are things worldly people do which affect their lives for the worse, but when Christians do those same things, it can be fatal.

Christians also need regular care. The Body of Christ is here to advise you and to check on how you are doing. Sometimes we believe all is well until we get checked out by someone who knows more than we do. The Corinthian and Galatian churches thought they were OK until Doctor Paul took inventory. Paul wrote in Galatians 4:19, ìMy dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.î The Galatian church was leaving the freedom they had and were growing a different direction (not all growth is good ñ Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 that the love of MOST will grow cold). The Laodicean Church was pleased that they were rich and had need of nothing. It took the Spirit of God through John to know that they were poor, wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. How can our own assessment be that different from the real condition we are in? Most Christians believe they are doing just fine ñ a little problem here or there, perhaps, but great on the whole. Ignorance may be bliss, but it is better to get a true assessment so that your behavior can be modified so that Christ will be fully formed in you.

Donít you look forward to the day when Christ will be revealed in you? 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 ìWe always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.î

Here are some other scriptures to meditate on (and there are many more)ñ Proverbs 4:23, Isaiah 38, Matthew 12:2, 24:12, Luke 12:15, John 4:14, 5:21, I Corinthians 3:5-7, Galations 2:20, Colossians 3:3-5, and 2 Thessalonians 1:3. Praise the Lord!