DEFENDING YOUR CHRISTIAN FAITH IN COLLEGE
Mike Cunningham
May 4, 2014

Welcome to Harvestime Campus Fellowship folks. It’s nice to see you again. What’s on your mind today? Billy started the ball rolling by handing everyone a printed copy of an email that was in his inbox a few days previously. He said, “I received this gem a few days ago. It was posted on the Grace Gems website by a man named Frank Hall. It was so repulsive that I was going to delete it immediately. Then I prayed and asked God what I should do. I firmly believe that He wants me to share it with you folks today. So here goes.”

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Romans 9:13 (ESV)

This is perhaps the most despised verse in the entire Bible! Contrary to popular religious opinion, God does not love all people. There are only two kinds of people in this world-Jacobs and Esau’s. These two men represent the entire human race. Jacob represents God’s elect-and Esau is hated by God.

God’s love is sovereign and free. God’s love for Jacob did not depend on Jacob. God loved Jacob, simply because He chose to love Jacob-not because He saw something in Jacob that merited His love. In fact, Jacob proved himself to be completely unworthy of God’s love-as do all whom God loves.

God’s love depends on God not Jacob. Jacob can’t earn God’s love, and Jacob cannot lose God’s love-because it does not depend on him. The love of God is completely sovereign and free. God gives and withholds His love as He sees fit.

God’s love is discriminating love. Love is always discriminating. By definition, love is never common to all. Jacob is set apart by God’s love, and being set apart by God’s love-he had God’s special favor and the affection of God’s heart. God’s love is always particular and distinguishing. He does not love all people-He only loves Jacob.

God’s love for Jacob and hatred for Esau are according to His eternal purpose, not according to their works. “Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad-in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works, but by Him who calls…Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.’ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’ It does not therefore, depend on mans desire or effort, but on God’s mercy!” Romans 9:11-16

Jacob was elected to salvation before he was born, and Esau was rejected by God before he was born-according to God’s eternal purpose. Because Jacob was loved by God-God sent His Son into the world to redeem him from his sins. Christ died for Jacob-not for Esau! “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Needless to say, the other students Amy, Gus, Wendy and Debbie were appalled. “Oh no! I can’t believe this,” “Who is this guy?” “As if we didn’t have a hard enough time overcoming peoples objections to Christianity.” “Yeah. I can already see the smirks and laughs this nonsense will generate.” “Me too. I’m tired of all the sarcastic ridicule I’ve been getting from some of my classmates. I wish I never told anyone that I was a Christian.”

The pastor joined the conversation saying “I assure you this isn’t an isolated instance of an erroneous interpretation of the Bible by well meaning Christians. Then he turned his iPod on and said, “Allow me to share portions of a sermon I preached fourteen years ago. It’s posted on my blog. I said that,

“It’s tragic whenever a baby is born into this world with some kind of physical and/or mental abnormality. There are newborn children that are addicted to crack cocaine or born with an infection such as herpes or HIV because of the sinful behavior of one or both of its parents. There were Jews that Jesus encountered who believed that an unborn baby that never even saw the light of day sinned in its mother’s womb before it was born. A case in point is recorded in the Gospel of John.”

John 9:1-3 (TLB)
1 As he was walking along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 “Master,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?”
3 “Neither,” Jesus answered. “But to demonstrate the power of God.

To believe that an unborn child can actually sin in his or her mother’s womb and then suffer some form of divine punishment such as being born blind is awful. How do you think a blind person would react if you told him or her that their blindness was caused by the sins that they committed while they were living in their mothers womb? If I was that blind person I would ask him or her what sins did they commit that they were born as an idiot.

It’s sad that there are many Christians with a similar view. When they are asked where an aborted baby’s spirit goes at the moment of death, the response of such people is that it depends on God’s sovereign choice. In other words, if back in eternity past before He created the world, God has already chosen to save them, then they will go to Heaven. However, if God has chosen to pass them by and leave them in their sins, then they will experience never ending excruciating agony in Hell.
At this point you’re probably wondering how any Christian could possibly arrive at such an erroneous conclusion. Would you believe; these folks also use Scripture to justify their position? For instance,

Romans 5:12-21 (NIV)
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned–
13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Some misguided folks insist that the word all in verse 12 has to include unborn babies in the womb. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” They insist that it includes babies that are living in their mother’s womb such as the man who was born blind. The Bible says, “all sinned.” Everyone! Case closed! These folks tell you that it doesn’t say that only those who eventually were born sinners. It says all! Furthermore, the Bible doesn’t say that those unborn babies won’t start sinning in their mother’s womb until they reach the second or third trimester. As inconceivable as it may seem, these mistaken Christians believe the baby starts sinning from the moment it was conceived.

Psalm 51:5 (NIV)
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Sinful from conception! Think about that. Can this verse possibly mean what it seems to be saying? How a tiny fertilized egg is capable of even being aware of God’s holy law much less breaking it is beyond me. How about you folks?
Let’s say that you are a college student. How do you explain these two verses to a sincere non-Christian classmate that you have been trying to lead to Christ when they ask you if you really believe them? If you tell them that you don’t, then what would be wrong with your friend also choosing to reject other bible verses such as the following?

John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Are you prepared to explain the hope that you have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? (1Peter 3:15) Can you defend the authority of the Bible? How do you answer that non-Christian classmate who tells you that Romans 5:12 and Psalm 51:5 are ridiculous and then says to you, “You can’t possibly believe such nonsense, can you? Don’t ever be embarrassed by anything that God has said in the bible. Tell your friend the truth. All people, both the born and the unborn are sinners just as these verses say.
Furthermore, all people really have been sinful from the moment they were conceived. Speak with sincerity and with a humble spirit. And don’t say something such as; “The Bible says they’re all sinners and that’s good enough for me; the insinuation being that if they don’t go along with your way of thinking they’re stupid.

One thing we need to remember is that if anything in the Bible appears to be ridiculous, then there has to be something wrong with our understanding. These verses we are looking at this morning are great examples of this principle.

Allow me to try to shed some light on these admittedly difficult passages. I don’t think that any Christian disagrees that because of “The Fall” all human beings are born with a sinful nature. This is known as the doctrine of “Original Sin.” Therefore, at a specific moment in in time known only to God, every child will deliberately break God’s holy law. The little boy or girl will eventually commit sinful acts in the course of time because he or she is a sinner and has been born with a sinful nature. I refer to that as entering this world infected with a sin virus.

But can we truthfully say that everyone, including unborn children are guilty and therefore deserving of eternal death because they have a sinful nature? That’s a tough pill to swallow and it ought to be because it isn’t true. Well then, is it accurate to say that after a baby is born, sooner or later he or she will then become a sinner and then become guilty of breaking God’s law? We could, but we would be wrong once again.

Nowhere does the Apostle Paul or any of the other divinely inspired writers suggest such a thing. Look at the verse again. Is Paul saying that in God’s eyes we are regarded as being guilty and deserving of death because we have a sinful nature? Absolutely not! Nor is Paul saying we are made right with God because we have become renewed, or because we have been given a new nature in Christ and have become righteous in Him. On the contrary, Paul says in so many words that God brings us into a restored relationship with Himself through His Son while we still had a sinful nature.

The belief that unborn baby’s or tiny newborn infants die because they have actually sinned or that they are being punished with death because they have a sinful nature is a gross distortion of God’s Holy Word. However, the Bible does teach that all human beings, both the born and the unborn, are indeed guilty of sin. That is why all human beings die, either in or out of the womb. But what kind of an awful sin can an unborn baby possibly commit so that he or she deserves to die?

Romans 5:12 (ESV)
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

What Paul is saying here is that the one sinful act of Adam, and death as a consequence of that transgression, was charged, not only against Adam, but the entire human race, both the born and those who never even lived to see the light of day. In God’s eyes every human being, past, present and future, became sinners the moment Adam sinned. In other words, God does not regard people as being “sinful” but rather as being “sinners”. In that sense we are all guilty of disobeying Him even though Adam was the only one who committed the actual act of eating the forbidden fruit.

Romans 5:12 (ESV)
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through [one] sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned [in] Adam—

Romans 5:13 (ESV)
13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

Romans 5:14 (ESV)
14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over [all] those whose sinning was not like the [one] transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Romans 5:15 (ESV)
15 But the free gift is not like the [one] trespass. For if many died through one man’s [single] trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Romans 5:19 (ESV)
19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s [single act of willful] obedience the many will be made righteous.

In God’s eyes every one of us became sinners the moment Adam fell even though it was only Adam who actually sinned. That’s the bad news. But the wonderful news is that in God’s eyes, every one of His people became righteous when His Son died and rose again. In Adam all sinned. In Christ, every one of those the Father gave to His Son (John 6:37), every one who believes in Him (John 3:16), every one of these people, and only these people, died spiritually, and then rose again in Him. Christians are folks who have become new creatures in Christ.

Romans 6:1-10 (ESV)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

To believe that we literally sinned in Adam would be the same as believing that we were literally crucified and then we literally died and also were literally buried with Him and then we were literally raised with Him. How’s that for an absurdity? To insist that an unborn baby who has had a pair of scissors jammed into its skull and then opened to enable a tube to be inserted in order to suction out the little girl or boy’s brains; a child whose head collapses like a popped balloon; that that poor baby will suffer eternal agony in Hell if our Sovereign God has chosen not to elect and forgive the never born baby of the one sin the child has committed in Adam.

Can you imagine such a person explaining their belief to a non-Christian? A conviction that because God the Father has not chosen to elect some sinful unborn baby to eternal life in His Son; that a baby who never saw the light of day and who never had an opportunity to learn of God’s law, much less personally break it; that that tiny baby who never even had an opportunity to plead for mercy and beg for forgiveness of the one sin it committed in Adam; that that poor child has been preordained to suffering an eternal separation from the One who is the very personification of love?

Lord willing, next week….