KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)–Christians must seize the God-given opportunity and speak out against the sin of abortion in America. The silence of God’s people must end. These were the pleas Lawrence White issued at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary September 6.
White, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas and an advocate for the unborn, built his theme of opportunity around the Biblical concept of “kairos.” The Greek word kairos, means an appointed time.
“The New Testament speaks of unique moments of divine destiny, when God confronts His people with a challenge and offers them an opportunity,” White said. “I believe the Christian church in America has come to such a time, a biblical ‘kairos,’ a moment of divine destiny.”
He urged Christians to act on this moment of opportunity. If Christians remain silent, they will share in the guilt of this grievous sin.
“We are the ones whom God placed here at this moment in our nation’s history to be the stinging salt and shining light,” White said. “We are responsible for what has happened to America.”
White compared the silence of American Christians on the issue of abortion to the silence of Christians in Nazi Germany.
Only a few Christian voices could be heard speaking out against the evils of the Nazi regime. Few were willing to risk their own lives for the sake of the gospel. As a result, many innocent Jews and those who defended them were killed.
In the same way, American Christians, he said, have failed to stand up against abortion and immorality. This fear, silence, and apathy on the part of Christians has resulted in the deaths of close to 40 million unborn babies. Morality in all areas of American culture has fallen to an all-time low.
“The issue before us as Christians and as Christian pastors is faithfulness to the Word of God and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,” he said. “To speak to the great moral issues of our day is an integral and essential part of that God-given responsibility.”
Pastors were encouraged to “summon” the nation to repentance from sin by “relentlessly” proclaiming God’s Word. This type of proclamation will not be welcome or popular, White noted.
“On the fundamental issues of life, morality, and family, God’s pastors must address the issues on the basis of Scripture, without hesitation,” he said. “The Lord God Almighty hates the murder of innocent, unborn children.
White’s message at Midwestern was recorded and is slated for radio broadcast on James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” in mid-October.
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