A Warning For North American Christians
Philip G. Ney, MD, FRCP (C)
July 17, 2004
Revised: August 27, 2004

Consequences
The Problem
Remedy
Prediction

“Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. Even so, the LORD's anger burned against Judah because of all the great evils of King Manasseh, and he did not hold back his fierce anger from them.”
2 Kings 23:25-26

These disasters happened to Judah according to the LORD's command. He had decided to remove Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not forgive this.
2 Kings 24:3-4

In spite of the reforms instituted by the king, the shedding of innocent blood was not something God could overlook, then and now. It appears that God reacts to murder, particularly the murder of the innocent, in a different manner. “Anyone who hates another Christian is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them.”
I John 3:15

Speaking of the wicked, David writes, “They lurk in dark alleys, murdering the innocent who pass by.” Psalm 10:8 The old prophets wrote expressing God’s disgust and horror at the murder of innocent children. “They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech ….What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!”
Jeremiah 32:35

“For Israel has forsaken me…And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children.” “I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will have to eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.”
Jeremiah 19: 4, 9

“…where they sacrifice their little sons and daughters in the fire…So beware, for the time is coming," says the LORD,… They will bury so many bodies in Topheth that there won't be room for all the graves…The land will lie in complete desolation.
Jeremiah 7:31-34

Jeremiah’s castigation of Jehoiachin, “But you! You are full of selfish greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly." "And as surely as I live," says the LORD, "I will abandon you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.”
Jeremiah 22:17, 24

“Never put an innocent or honest person to death. I will not allow anyone guilty of this to go free.”
Exodus 23:7

“I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods--so I might devastate them and show them that I alone am the LORD.”
Ezekiel 20:26

“They have committed both adultery and murder--adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning their children as sacrifices on their altars.” “On the very day that they murdered their children in front of their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house!”
Ezekiel 23: 37, 39

“There is violence everywhere, with one murder after another. That is why your land is not producing. It is filled with sadness, and all living things are becoming sick and dying. Even the animals, birds, and fish have begun to disappear.” Hosea 4:2-3
In response to this, Hosea states, “O LORD, what should I request for your people? I will ask for wombs that don't give birth and breasts that give no milk.”
Hosea 9:14

“And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their immorality or their thefts.” Revelation 9:21

These warnings are forgotten, because it seems that they were long ago and far away. Yet we must realise that the majority of abortions are the first children. And they are truly murdered in cold blood. And truly they are innocent.

Consequences

The consequences of murdering the innocent are fearsome.

1. God does not overlook, and he is not inclined to forgive.



2. The land is polluted and the cities defiled. (Lamentations 4:13-14)



3. Children are devalued. "See how the precious children of Jerusalem, worth their weight in gold, are now treated like pots of clay."
   (Lamentations 4:2)



4. Allies desert. "Weep, for your allies are all gone…Not one is left to help you. When you were prosperous, I warned you, but you replied, `Don't bother me... And now your allies have all disappeared with a puff of wind." (Jeremiah 22:20-22)



5. "But if you kill me, rest assured that you will be killing an innocent man! The responsibility for such a deed will lie on you, on this city, and on every person living in it. For it is absolutely true that the LORD sent me to speak every word you have heard."
   (Jeremiah 26:15)



6. It appears that God is so disgusted with the killing of innocent people that he does not spare the righteous. "O Israel, and I am about to unsheathe my sword to destroy your people--the righteous and the wicked alike. Yes, I will not spare even the righteous! I will make a clean sweep throughout the land from south to north." (Ezekiel 21:3-4)
   

The Problem

Satan was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44 His object is to terrify or kill people so he can enslave their souls. But he cannot destroy souls; God can.
Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5

God is seeking to win friends and make them mature, all that He designed them to be from the beginning. He must stay in the background so that he doesn’t overpower people’s freedom to choose, but he keeps calling and reconciling and using his prophets to warn. While Godly people try to turn a blind eye, very few are doing anything. But God says, “Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die. Don't try to avoid responsibility by saying you didn't know about it. For God knows all hearts, and he sees you. He keeps watch over your soul, and he knows you knew! And he will judge all people according to what they have done.”
Proverbs 24:11-12

While other religious leaders are actually inciting people to be selfish, which eventually ends up in their killing their children. The preborn children who are inconvenient..?

The psalmist states, “Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!” “They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them.” Psalm 106:1,7 What follows is a progressive decline, until, “They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.” Psalm 106:38 There are no innocent bystanders. Jesus makes it very clear, if you’re not attempting to correct the problem, you are adding to it.
Mark 9:40

Remedy

Jesus said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Peter, in Acts 2:3,4 told them precisely what they did, and they repented.

“This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right. So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
I John 3: 11-13

When Jonah told the Ninevites what was about to happen to them, they repented, from the greatest to the least. So must we.
Jonah 3:5-6

Judas recognised what he had done. “When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and other leaders. "I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." The priests acknowledged Christ’s innocence. "We can't put it (this money) in the Temple treasury," they said, "since it's against the law to accept money paid for murder."
Matthew 27:3-4

Pilate recognised Jesus’ innocence, stating, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. The responsibility is yours!" And all the people yelled back, "We will take responsibility for his death--we and our children!"
Matthew 27:24-25

“I hate all your show and pretence--the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won't even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry.
Amos 5:21-24

Prediction

In spite of reforms in some countries, it is clear that the murder of innocent children is yet to be slowed, let alone halted. In the last ten years, 15-20 million innocent children have been cruelly murdered. In spite of this, there are so few warnings or calls to repentance.
“How terrible it will be for you who lounge in luxury and think you are secure in Jerusalem and Samaria! .... You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.
Amos 6:1,3

It is not hard to predict the future.

1. We can project into the future the current trends, and we know that people don’t learn from history. “Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution.” Ezekiel 23:11
   
   
2. There are natural consequences. God does not correct and seldom stops, because these are such serious choices.



3. Nations who don’t repent incur an acceleration of God’s sense of injustice.



4. God often treats the good and bad alike, He rains on the just and the unjust. “He does not forgive because of the murder of the innocents.”



5. Until people resolve their key conflicts, they keep contributing to the re-enactment of tragic history. They can contribute as a perpetrator, or as an observer, or a victim.

“Gather together and pray, your shameless nation. Gather while there is still time, before judgement begins and your opportunity is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. Beg the Lord to save you – all you who are humble, all you who uphold justice. Walk humbly and do what is right. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you from His anger on that day of destruction.” Zeph. 2: 1-3. We tend to think this only applied long ago. No. It always applies and it applies now, to us without exception. It is time we all repented and did our utmost to save the innocent, the preborn babies. It isn’t good enough to say “I would never kill a child”. Unless you are doing everything in your power to prevent preborn babies being killed, you are contributing to their murder.

“Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death: don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to avoid responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God knows all hearts and He sees you. He keeps watch over your soul, and He knows you knew.”
Pr. 24:11-12