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Belched out of the Bowels of Hell

BELCHED OUT OF THE BOWELS OF HELL

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

MARCH 12, 2006

I think we would all probably agree that there have been occasions when we were engaged in a conversation and we acted contrary to the way we usually do. For instance, instead of speaking out about something that we disagree with and expressing our own view as we normally would, sometimes we said nothing. Then there have been other times when we have done the exact opposite and immediately told the other person exactly how we felt.

In relating such experiences to a friend we might say something such as, “I really surprised myself by biting my tongue and keeping quiet” or, “I still can’t believe I spoke out like I did. All I can say is that at the time I had this gut feeling that it was the right thing to do, and so I either kept quiet or expressed my opinion.” I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had these kinds of experiences, am I?

In my wildest imagination, and some of you have told me I have a fairly good one; I couldn’t imagine myself having to address the issue I want to speak about this morning, but I must. It’s the same kind of inner inclination which prompts me to respond to something I may have read in The Burlington Free Press, an inclination to expose a subtle spiritual work of darkness reflected in a newspaper article. It seems to be saying, “Expose it Mike! Expose it!”

And so this morning, I would like to follow up on something I was only able to touch upon briefly last week.

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him John 9:1-3 (ESV).

It’s awful whenever a baby is born into this world addicted to crack cocaine or infected with HIV because of its parent’s sinful behavior. But to imagine that an unborn baby can actually sin in its mother’s womb and then suffer some form of divine punishment such as blindness as soon as it is born is something I must reject.

Not only did the Jews of Jesus time believe an unborn baby that never even saw the light of day sinned but so do some Christians today. When asked where an aborted baby’s spirit goes at the moment of death, the response from such people is that it depends on God’s sovereign choice. In other words, if God has already chosen to save them they will go to Heaven. If He has chosen to pass them by and leave them in their sins they will experience eternal punishment in Hell.

No doubt you are wondering how any Bible believing Christian could possibly arrive at what I believe is an absurd conclusion. You can’t help wondering how anyone can come up with this kind of stuff. Needless to say, these folks use Scripture to justify his or her position.

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 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.

”And that includes babies still in their mother’s womb such as the man born blind” they insist. “The Bible says all sinned. Everyone!” These folks tell you it doesn’t say that only those who eventually were born sinned. 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, such mistaken folks believe the baby starts sinning from the moment it was conceived.

Psalms 51:5 (NIV) 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Sinful from the moment of 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?

So how do you explain these two verses to a sincere non-Christian that you have been trying to lead to Christ when they ask you if you really believe them? If you tell them you don’t, then what would be wrong with your friend also choosing to reject other verses such as:

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 friend 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 God has said. Tell your friend the truth. All people, both the born and 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.

The first 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 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 time known only to God, every child will deliberately break God’s 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.

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 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 great 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 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 never born baby’s or tiny new born infants die because they have personally 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 to say the least.

However, the Bible does teach that all human beings, both the born and 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 [one] 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 [one act of willful] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s 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, and then rose again in Him. Christian’s 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 we literally was crucified and died with Christ and was literally buried with Him and then was literally raised with Him which is absurd.

Off hand I can’t think of many people who believe the way I have been speaking about aborted babies being condemned to Hell but I suppose they are out there. I haven’t met many people who insist that an unborn baby who has had a pair of scissors jammed into its scull and then opened to enable a tube to be inserted in order to suction out the little girl or boy’s brains, and whose head collapses like a burst balloon 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.

For the sake of the reputation of Christ’s church and the spread of His Gospel I hope there aren’t many like minded people spreading such heresy. The deplorable condition of today’s evangelical church in America already leaves an awful lot to be desired.

Can you just envision 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; 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 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 poor child has been preordained to suffering an eternal separation from the One who is the very personification of love?

Some folks are willing to believe this silliness because of their misunderstanding of verses such as the ones we have been considering this morning. I’m always saddened whenever I learn of Satan’s success in deceiving fellow Christians into believing that this teaching is Calvinism, because nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, if I were asked to put a label this doctrine, I would have to say it is a form of Demonism that has been “belched out of the bowels of Hell.”

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March 12, 2006 Posted by Categories: Uncategorized 2 comments

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