ProLife Pragmatism or Preaching?

I am a Christian.  I want to be grounded upon the word of God, and be a faithful ambassador of Christ.  This is why I am an abolitionist.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (I Corinthians 5:20)

Our King, the King of kings, has commissioned us to declare His message.  Carrying His Gospel into this world, we are heralds, not negotiators.  

"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).

We call abortion murder because it is murder, and we know the God Who can save and forgive repentant murderers.  Abortion is sin and the only answer for sin is repentance and a saving faith in the finished work of Christ (Mark 1:15).  The Gospel brings redemption from destruction; it is the wellspring of love, hope, and joy, and is the real answer to abortion.  We are to use the word of God, His declaration of Creation, the Law, and the Gospel.  It is all “according to the Scriptures”. 

As abolitionists, we are committed to the unwavering truth of the good news that God the Son, Jesus Christ, entered the womb to redeem the world.  The Eternal Word became flesh in the form of a zygote (John 1:14) and went through all the stages of development in the womb, was then born as a baby and grew to manhood.  Fully God and fully Man, Jesus lived a sinless life, testified of the truth, and laid down His life in the place of sinners, the Just for the unjust (II Corinthians 5:21; John 18:37; I Peter 3:18).  His precious blood was shed to atone for sin, for "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).  He died for our sins, and rose again the third day (I Corinthians 15:3-4).  His payment upon the cross purchased redemption for a lost, wandering, and wicked people from the punishment of their sin (Romans 6:23; I Timothy 2:5-6). 

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (I John 4:14). 

All Christians are commissioned as ambassadors of Christ (I Corinthians 5:20), and are to proclaim the good news to every creature, bringing the Gospel of the kingdom into conflict with the culture of death.  So we go into the fray, engaging the culture, unashamed of the Gospel of Christ, knowing it is the POWER of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).  This we seek to do, not only at the mills, but elsewhere too, in conversations, in the open air, on campuses, and at statehouses, speaking the truth about life and life everlasting.  We plead in the name of Jesus Christ, in the cause of little babies made in His image, and for the good of all who will turn!

For instance, at the abortion mills, the gates of death, we speak the truth…"Your baby is not your problem, your baby is your blessing.  Sin is your problem—the selfishness in your heart.  The only remedy for your sin is turning and trusting in Jesus Christ alone, Who died and rose again to pay the price for sin!”  

However, it is the accepted "wisdom" among a large portion of the ProLife community to NOT do this: 

To NOT call abortion “sin” or "murder", 

To NOT warn their hearers about God's judgment for abortion as murder, or openly share the Gospel as the only remedy for sin, 

when conversing with a student on a campus, with a congressman in his office, or counseling a woman who plans to abort her baby. 

I have been told that preaching outside the abortion mill has never made a difference.  I know better.  We have had prolife people, even Christians, reprimanding us, yelling at us to stop proclaiming the way of salvation.  One abolitionist sister I know was standing beside a car, sharing the Gospel with a mom, and was suddenly shoved out of the way by a prolife woman, who said, "This is not the place for that!" 

So why would the ProLife Movement lean this way?  

A large percentage of people in the ProLife Movement are not Christians and cannot be expected to promote the one true way of salvation that they do not possess themselves.  In fact, it has been the Roman Catholic Church, for over 40 years, that has been the main mover and shaker within the Prolife Movement.

Sadly, even numerous evangelical ProLife leaders and organizations have been influenced by Catholic leaders that it is better to keep the Gospel out of any initial dialogue with mothers who are looking for an abortion, and they do not always contain a clear Gospel message when it is discussed due to ecumenical involvement. 

There are numerous Christians who rally for the ProLife position, take time and opportunity to boldly engage others in dialogue regarding abortion, and even go to abortion mills to pray or protest are often carefully trained to NOT use the Gospel with people unless the other person brings up spiritual matters. There are two reasons for this (and perhaps more):

1. In their objective to save a baby they use pragmatic (not providential) reasoning—they are taught that moral, emotional, logical, and scientific arguments are what works and that sticking to those facts foremost are necessary to persuade a woman to not go through with her abortion.  Abolitionists use logic, science, etc. as well, but we will not shun to share the Gospel openly.

2. They are afraid of offending the hearer and therefore losing a conversation. Although they do not deny the true Gospel or the need for sinners to come to Christ, they instruct ProLife Christians to "keep the Gospel in your back pocket"—having it readily accessible if the other person brings it up!  I have heard this in training sessions and lectures, and have been told personally by ProLife leaders that the abortion mill is not the place to preach the Gospel.  It could offend them and turn them away from listening to you.

ProLife Pragmatism wants to pursue what the professionals propose will produce.  The multitudes want to do what works, and follow the experts their leaders. 

However, abolitionists first of all seek to follow Jesus Christ.  "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).  All the world includes the streets, sacrifice centers, statehouses, and all of society.  And there happens to be "creatures" there in those places.  We speak the truth in love, for our Lord has instructed: 

"And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious" (Ezekiel 2:7).  We trust God to use His word.  

And we believe that God's work done God's way will work for God's glory.

Abortion must be abolished. 

[I do not want to leave out the fact that there are within the Prolife Movement, Christians that are truly saved and hold to the Gospel with unwavering allegiance.  They unashamedly preach the Gospel and call their hearers to repent from any murderous intent toward their children and turn to the Savior.  I greatly appreciate the testimony of these saints—our family has ministered with them at the very gates of death—our family was one of them for many years! 

But it is all too easy as a Bible believing Christian to assume that everyone else who is part of the ProLife Movement is believing about the subject the same as you.  It is the ideology and practice of the ProLife establishment that I are contrasting.]