Category: Miscellaneous

Marks of a True Church

How do I know a true church? Or does it really matter which church I go to? These are important questions because a church is not just a club that one belongs to. Christ established the church for the purpose of salvation and sanctification of all who believe so that at the end of time he might present them to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:27).

So, how do I know a true church? Well, before tackling this question, it is important to clarify on the onset that we will never have a perfect church in this world. It is only in glory that we will have it as Ephesians 5:27 tells us; nevertheless, we can still find a true church. The true church is characterized by three main things or marks namely the faithful preaching of the Bible, proper administration of the sacraments, and proper exercise of church discipline as taught in the Scriptures.

First, a true church is where the Bible is preached faithfully (Acts 20:27). Now, almost all churches and even cults claim to preach the Bible. However, if you go to a church where the preacher  uses a text of the Bible as a springboard to teach his own thoughts or ideas that is not faithful preaching. Faithful preaching recognizes that the Bible is holy and inerrant word of God hence the preacher strives to present its truths as they have been revealed to us without adding or subtracting from them.

Faithful preaching also is not afraid of offending people with the truth. It doesn’t seek to please men at the expense of God’s word. It proclaims that all men are sinners in need of a savior, Jesus Christ, who after saving them by grace through faith also calls them to walk in holiness by his grace. Faithful preaching regards growing in grace, faith and knowledge of Christ and not material or physical prosperity as the main goal of our salvation in this world (2 Peter 3:18). So, a true church always believes that preaching is the major element of worship that should not be compromised or underrated at all.

Secondly, a true church is where there is faithful administration of sacraments. The Bible clearly teaches that there are two sacraments, which were established by Christ himself namely baptism and the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:19). A true church makes sure that these ceremonies are always observed according to the directions given to us in the Scriptures for they are one of the means that God uses to grant grace to his people. They are “channels of grace” as some have said.

A true church, therefore, does not allow people who are living in open sin and rebellion against God to receive these sacraments, yet at the same time it encourages all who have made profession of faith and are striving to walk in the manner worthy of their gospel calling to come and participate in these ordinances, particularly, the Holy Communion after humbly examining themselves (1 Cor. 11:28).

A couple of years ago, somebody shared with me a story of a pastor who announced to his congregation that the following Sunday they will have the Lord’s Supper and every one from the community was welcome. Well, this might sound as being gracious but it is complete rebellion against the standards laid out in the Scriptures regarding the Lord’s Table. It is a deliberate provocation of God’s judgment. It is also an act of “blasphemy” as Calvin rightly puts it, “For it is very true that he to whom its (Lord’s Supper) distribution has been committed, if he knowingly and willingly admits an unworthy person whom he could rightfully turn away, is as guilty of sacrilege as if he had cast the Lord’s body to the dogs.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion 4.12.5).

Thirdly, a true church is where church discipline is practiced according to the teaching of Scriptures (Matt. 1815-22). This, sadly, is a mark that is fast diminishing in a number churches. There are some churches that chicken out or deliberately ignore to discipline members who have going astray in sin and refuse to repent. If a church cares so much to keep their members irrespective of whether they are living their lives according to God’s will, then, you be afraid and do not be part of it.

But what do we mean by church discipline. Let me explain it with an illustration of a family. When children in a family misbehave, parents discipline them according to the offence committed. If the offence is minor, the chastisement or reprimand is also minimal. But if the offence is a major one, the punishment or rebuke is also severe. The same applies to the church. The church being a larger family, its members might commit various sins, which require a rebuke and correction from the church. Some sins are minor so a pastor and sometimes with some elders will correct the person in private. Others sins are major and public hence the Church should openly rebuke the sin in its strongest terms and even excommunicate the member if he is unrepentant after being spoken to.

In a case where the church has been forced to excommunicate a member, three goals are intended to be achieved. First, it is to reclaim the person back to the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. Through this act the church trusts that the Holy Spirit will work in the heart of the member to bring him back to the Lord in repentance (1 Cor. 5:5). Secondly, it helps to maintain the purity of the church. By expelling the unrepentant sinner, the church intends to guard against the corruption of the entire body since an undisciplined member might act as an encouragement to others to live in sin. Lastly, excommunication aims at protecting the testimony  of the church in the world. Those who refuse to repent and deliberately continue in sin should not claim to be part of the body of Christ since their lives and actions reject Christ’s teaching (1 Cor. 5:9-13).

Now, although a true church practices proper administration of discipline, it should also be borne in mind that no single church enjoys disciplining its members just as parents do not enjoy the actual act of disciplining their children. But this being an essential mark of a true church, churches should not chicken out from it for “All who desire to remove discipline or to hinder its restoration – whether they do this deliberately or out of ignorance – are surely contributing to the ultimate dissolution of the church” (John Calvin, Institutes 4.13.1) .

So, my friend, a true church is where you will find all these three marks. Not just one or two of them, but all of them. If you find or are in a church that ignores any of these marks, you should be afraid! In fact, I would encourage you to leave it if you are already a member. If you are not yet a member then do not go near again for it is not a true church.

A true church is not just a building but people called by Christ to live in holiness by his grace.

Beware of False Prophets

I believe John Calvin has a better commentary on these words of Christ than I could ever pen down.  Therefore, I will let him speak.

“But beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15).  These words were intended to teach, that the Church would be exposed to various (impostors), and that consequently many would be in danger of falling from the faith, if they were not carefully on their guard. We know what a strong inclination men have towards falsehood, so that they not only have a natural desire to be deceived, but each individual appears to be ingenious in deceiving himself.

Satan, who is a wonderful contriver of delusions, is constantly laying snares to entrap ignorant and heedless persons. (Jesus) therefore warns his disciples that, if they desire to persevere (in the faith), they must prepare themselves to avoid the snares of Satan. It is the will of the Lord, (as has been already said,) that his Church shall be engaged in uninterrupted war in this world. That we may continue to be his disciples to the end, it is not enough that we are merely submissive, and allow ourselves to be governed by his Word. Our faith, which is constantly attacked by Satan, must be prepared to resist.

It is of the greatest consequence, undoubtedly, that we should let ourselves to be directed by good and faithful ministers of Christ: but as false teachers, on the other hand, make their appearance, if we do not carefully watch, and if we are not fortified by perseverance, we shall be easily carried off from the flock. To this purpose also is that saying of Christ: “The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd; and a stranger. They do not follow, but flee from him,” (John 10:3, 5)

Hence too we conclude, that there is no reason why believers should be discouraged or alarmed, when wolves creep into the fold of Christ, when false prophets endeavor to corrupt the purity of the faith by false doctrines. They ought rather to be aroused to keep watch: for it is not without reason that Christ enjoins them to be on their guard. Provided that we are not led astray through our own sluggishness, we shall be able to avoid every kind of snares; and, indeed, without this confidence, we would not have the courage necessary for being on our guard.

Now that we know that the Lord will not fail to perform his promises, whatever may be the attacks of Satan, let us go boldly to the Lord, asking from him the Spirit of wisdom, by whose influences he not only seals on our hearts the belief of his truth, but exposes the tricks and impositions of Satan, that we may not be deceived by them. When Christ says, that they come to us in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves, his meaning is, that they (will seem to be true), if prudence be not exercised in subjecting them to a thorough examination” ~ John Calvin (July 10, 1509 to May 27, 1564)

Family Worship

A couple of years ago I lamented the passiveness of some Christian fathers and husbands who are not taking up their spiritual leadership roles as given to them by God in his holy and inerrant Word here. I also went on to appeal to my fellow Christian husbands and fathers to stand up and guard their families from various errors and false teachings that are bombarding us everyday. Today, I would like to continue and point out one of the ways of doing this namely family worship.

We are all familiar with the worship that takes place in our churches when we meet on the Lord’s Day. But there ought to be another worship that takes place in our homes when we are not gathering with fellow saints. Parents, especially, fathers should gather their children, and teach them the word of God, pray, and sing hymns and psalms with them. These are some of the means that God uses to bless his people and to build strong and godly families and churches that are able to discern false doctrines.Thomas Manton was right when he observed, “A (Christian) family is the seminary or theological school of Church and State.”

More importantly, we need to do family worship because it is our act of obedience to God’s Word. God’s command for it dates back to the Old Testament times. “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deut. 11:18, 19). Similar directions are also given in Psalm 78:1-4 and Ephesians 6:4.

I hope, by the grace of God, you are convinced of the need to observe this important practice, if you were not doing it. But you might wonder on where to start. Be encouraged, it is not as complicated as you think. To begin with, set aside time for family worship in the evening when every member of your home is available. If you can do it both in the morning and evening, why not! That’s far much better since you can’t overdose prayer.

Before the worship, take some time to prepare what you are going to share from God’s word. To make it easier for yourself, plan to go through one book of the Bible after another. You can use John Calvin or Matthew Henry’s commentaries in your preparation, which you can access for free here and here. After your preparation, pray for God’s blessings upon your family worship. Then gather your family together. Pray together that God would speak to you through his word, and then read the Scriptures. Explain the passage and give a chance to your children to ask questions regarding the passage. After that sing at least one or two psalms or hymns then pray that God will apply the truth of the words you have shared to your hearts. Remember also to pray for the needs of your family, and to thank God for his blessings. Keep on doing this at an established time until it becomes an inseparable part of your family.

May God bless you as you continue or venture into this wonderful experience.

The Gospel Will Always Work: It Doesn’t Depend on Us

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as servants for Jesus’ sake…we have this treasure (the gospel) in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us,” (2 Cor. 4:5-7).

The Gospel will always work. This is obvious, is it not? I am afraid, it is not! In the last two decades, I have noticed, especially, here in Malawi the growing temptation to make the gospel more relevant. We look at the gospel and think that on its own it lacks significance. Thus we seek means of making it more attractive and appealing.

Let me illustrate my point. Slightly over a decade ago, Malawi witnessed the rise of “apostles.”
I even remember one preacher who had to change his title from pastor to “apostle.” His explanation was that God had promoted him. This was all done in order to make “the gospel” more relevant since then people were attracted to the preaching of “the apostles.” Many were made to believe that these apostles had special powers and authority more than a “mere” pastor.

But now things have changed. Apostles are no longer crowd-pullers and they are slowly fading away from the scene. Now enter, prophets! Almost every preacher now claims to be a prophet who receives direct revelations from God. The crowd-pulling mantle has shifted from apostles to prophets. But trust me, just as apostles are now no longer popular, these prophets will also sooner or later fade into oblivion. What will be next? I don’t know. We have to wait and see.

The point is: the gospel is perfectly relevant. It does not depend on anybody for it to work. Preach and proclaim it the way it has been given to us in the Scriptures and it will work because it is the power of God (Rom. 1:16). Charles Haddon Spurgeon once noted, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.” I would paraphrase Spurgeon and say, “Do not bother to make the gospel relevant because is already more than relevant. Let it loose by proclaiming it faithfully in the power and grace of Christ and it will always work.” It will work not because of us, but because its surpassing power is from God.

A Tale of an Agony of Prosperity “Gospel”

A few days ago I received a letter from an old friend. We first met in secondary school and one thing that brought us together was our religion then, Rastafarianism. However, the Lord was gracious to both of us. The Lord saved my friend a year before he saved me. After our secondary days, we parted ways and never knew what was going in each other’s life until recently when my friend through his brother traced me and sent me this letter. When I finished reading it, I was angry but also sorrowful at the reality of the agony that prosperity “gospel” is bringing to many in my motherland, Malawi.

Dear friend,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It has been a long time…Time really flies. But memories are still fresh of us eating chiwaya pa Bright pa break. Kale lokoma ndi losayiwalika (during break time we used to go and have pieces of fried potatoes commonly called chips at a place owned by a man simply known as Bright).

Anyway, the main reason for writing this letter is to share with you what has happened in my life. Probably, you heard that I was arrested and charged with three accounts: abuse of office, corruption and theft by public servant. As I am writing now I am in one of the prisons in our country waiting for trial. For you own information, I will plead guilty to all these charges because I am indeed guilty, and I don’t intend to contest against them when my trial begins.

It all started that time when the Lord saved me. I began to go to this other church where our pastor always preached about prosperity gospel. Again and again, he emphasized that God’s will for us is that we should enjoy His blessings to the full. We should have better jobs or own big businesses, big and beautiful houses, and very expensive cars among other blessings from the Lord. The verses he often cited were 2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” and 3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”

We believed and incessantly absorbed this “truth.” He challenged us to pray and claim these blessings for ourselves in Jesus name. Indeed it seemed to work. Many of my friends began to do well. They secured better- paying jobs. Some started business which within a few years were growing and thriving wonderfully. But it was not so with me. I prayed and fasted but things didn’t seem to work. I approached my pastor a number of times and asked him why I was not prospering like my friends. He replied and said that that my faith was weak. He challenged me to fast more and pray more. He also observed that I was probably not faithful in my giving to the church.

“You cannot have God’s blessings if you do not sow faithfully and abundantly,” he challenged me.

Friend, from that time onwards, I prayed harder and fasted even more. I remember one time, I took a one-week leave from my organization to go to a mountain to fast and pray for three days also called Esther’s fasting. That month and the following months, I took almost half of my salary and gave it as “tithe” to the man of God. I sowed the seed faithfully and waited for the harvest but to my surprise no single blessing came.
Every Sunday when I went to church I felt like a failure as I listened to my friends giving testimonies of how God was blessing them. I felt that I was not a true Christian since most of my friends were driving nice cars, but I was still walking to church.

“You are of little faith, my brother. Put your faith into action. Trust the Lord more and give more and he will bless you,” my pastor challenged me again after I poured out my frustrations to him.

The pressure to appear that I was also receiving blessings from the Lord was huge on me. In no time, I started getting involved in various malpractices at my work place. As my job involved handling finances I started swindling my organization. It all began with small amounts and after noticing that I was able to get away with it, I stepped on the accelerator even harder. Soon, I was driving a nice car and started building a mansion in one of the city suburbs.

My pastor was very happy with me. I remember meeting him one Sunday after service when I had just given a lot of money to the church as my tithe and he said, “You see now…your faith has grown and you have sown the seed faithfully. The blessings are now pouring. The Lord has showed me that this tap of blessings will continue to flow and never dry because you are faithful.”
I was very happy, even though deep down my heart I wondered, “Can’t this man of God tell what is happening behind the scenes for me to have these blessings?”

My church friends who were shunning me before because I was not doing better financially finally began to befriend me again. We called ourselves “Sons of the Wonderful and Answering God (SWAG).” There was literally competition among us as we aimed at outdoing each other in “God’s blessings.” I continued to defraud my organization so that I could be on top of SWAG. Almost every Sunday, the man of God gave me the pulpit to share the testimony of God’s blessings in my life.

So, all was well until last year when the cat went out of the bag and all the skeletons in my closet were exposed. I was arrested and charged as I have already mentioned. Anyway, to cut the long story short, I have been in this prison for over eight months now because I was denied bail. My pastor is no where to be seen. He has never visited me. All my property was seized by the authorities and my bank accounts were frozen. Every day, I cry for my wife and my two beautiful little daughters. I have put them in a great predicament all because of my sin and the so called prosperity gospel.

Now, you may wonder why after this long time my first letter should be of this sort. Well, I have heard that you are studying for ministry. Please my brother, if God wills that you become a preacher of the gospel make sure that you preach the gospel of Christ alone. You should know that preachers have great influence on their members; therefore, please, please, use this God-given influence to lead your members to Christ and not to false hood and selfish ambitions.

Lastly, please remember me and my family in your prayers. I have repented of my sin and I believe Christ has forgiven me, but I am ready to face the consequences of my sin which might be spending a number of years in this prison.

Greetings to your family.

Your old-friend in Christ,

JK.

 

Meditations Toward Christmas: Deuteronomy 18:15

Another passage worthy of our meditation during this Christmas season is Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen”

A prophet, according to the Bible, is the one who speaks on behalf of God to his people. Moses was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, and as his life approached to an end, he foretold of a greater prophet to come. The Bible does not leave us to guess as to who Moses was referring to because Apostle Peter in Acts 4:22 tells us that Moses was speaking of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is greater than Moses and all other prophets because he does not merely speak on behalf of God, but he himself is God. The author of Hebrews also emphasizes this truth and writes, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power,” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Unlike the other prophets whose word had authority because God had sent them to speak, Christ speaks with his own authority. This why the other prophets had always to say, “Thus says the Lord…” while Christ says, “I say to you…” because he is the prophet per excellence.

Now this greater prophet came to us on Christmas day, and he called everyone to believe his word for salvation. The same call still stands today, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life,” (John 5:24).

Jesus Christ’s words show us that there is no middle ground. Believing the word of this prophet leads to life and rejecting it leads to death. May our celebration of the birth of this prophet also afford us time to reflect on which ground we stand.

“A little child, thou art our guest
That weary ones in thee may rest
Forlorn and lowly is thy birth
That we may rise to heav’n from earth” (Martin Luther)

Blessed Christmas!

Meditations Toward Christmas: Genesis 12:1-3

Another Old Testament passages that points us to the coming or birth of Christ is Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”

In this passage God promises to bless Abraham. The Lord also promises to bless the families of the earth through Abraham. There is no better commentary to this passage that the Bible itself. In Galatians 3:16, Apostle Paul looks back at this passage and writes, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”

God’s promise to bless all the families of the earth was ultimately fulfilled through his offspring, Jesus Christ. Today many families of earth have been blessed through Christ. Families that were once not a people, but now are God’s people; once they had not received mercy, but now we have received mercy (1 Peter 2:10).

Today, every nation, race or tribe has people calling upon the name of Christ. John confirms this truth in his vision of heaven. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,” (Revelation 7:9).

This is the real meaning of Christmas namely that in Christ God is pouring out his rich blessings of justification (forgiveness of our sin and declaring us righteous in Christ) and sanctification (transforming us more and more in holiness after Christ). These blessings will climax in our glorification in which we shall be completely like Christ without sin, and we shall live with him in glory eternally. What a blessing!

For sure the hymn writer was right when he penned:

Ponder nothing earthly-minded
For with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descend
King of kings, yet born of Mary…
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly glory.

Meditations Toward Christmas: Genesis 3:15

In a few days’ time, the world will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas. Christ’s birth is worthy celebrating because it marked God’s coming down to dwell with his people ( as his name, Immanuel, means) and to save them from their sin ( as his name, Jesus, means). Therefore, as we move toward Christmas, God willing, I would like us to reflect and meditate on a number of passages from the Old Testament that point us to the birth of Christ. I pray that these passages will help us celebrate the season meaningfully and with gratitude for God’s indescribable gift to us ( 2 Corinthians 9:15).

The first passage is Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

At the completion of creation in Genesis 1 and 2, God saw that everything was good. Man was also God’s best friend, and he enjoyed uninterrupted communion with his Creator. But in Genesis 3 we see the entry of sin,evil and death in a once good world. Man being deceived by the evil one sinks to his lowest end. He sinks deep in a quagmire of sin, misery, and shame.

Due to sin, man is alienated from God.  Once a friend of God, man now hides himself from his best friend. Man is also alienated even from his fellow man. Adam and Eve no longer enjoy the sweet companionship of husband and wife. Hear the words of Adam describing his wife whom he once called the bone of my bones and the flesh of my flesh, “The woman whom you gave to be with me…” He doesn’t call her his wife. Sin does not only alienate us from God but also from our fellow man.

God being just and righteous comes in judgment upon man. To Adam he says, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat from it; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

To Eve he says, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).

But that’s not the end of the story. God also being gracious and merciful announces salvation and redemption for man as he condemns the evil one: “I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The good news or the gospel comes in a form of enmity. It is important that God re-establishes this enmity because before sinning, man was a friend of God and enemy of the evil one. But when he sinned, he became a friend of the evil one and enemy of God. Therefore, God re-establishes this enmity as his gracious means of reconciling man to himself. What a gracious LORD. What an amazing love!

The seed of the woman ultimately refers to Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who crushed the head of the serpent (Romans 16:20; John 12:31, 32; Colossians 2:15) triumphing over him in victory. This victory began with God’s promise coming true on the day of Christ’s birth.

Therefore, Genesis 3:15 forms the backbone of our rejoicing on Christmas. The promised seed is finally here to crush the head of the serpent and give us life. Charles Wesley hit the nail right on the head when he composed:

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us…
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever.

Malawi, Legalization of Abortion is Really a Bad Idea

As I am writing this post, my heart is filled with fear. I can literary feel it as if it is sinking down into a bottomless pit. Why am I afraid? I hear that the movement pushing for legalization of abortion in Malawi is gaining momentum. They are courting religious leaders, chiefs, law makers and other people of influence and power in our land to sway them towards supporting legalization of abortion.

I cannot help but fear for my country. Friends, legalization of abortion not matter on what grounds is ugly and should not even be the last thought for Malawians. Please let’s learn from the countries who have taken this path before and we will discover what a dangerous beast legalization of abortion is to any society. It will devour our nation.

Right now, I am living in a part of the world that has taken this path. It is sad and heartbreaking to hear that every day women are killing so many unborn children even for lame reasons like “I just don’t want this baby.” Just open your browser and google the numbers of children being killed in their mothers’ womb in the countries that have legalized abortion and you will be shocked. Malawi should not cheat herself that she can legalize abortion and never reach that point because she will sure do.

It is a very dangerous trajectory but it all starts with that one step of legalization. The advocates of legalization of abortion are making it to sound as if it is a very good and harmless idea as they fly their statistics in our face of how many women are dying due to the so called unsafe abortion and how much money our government is spending in post abortion care, but believe you me the consequence of legalizing abortion will overwhelm us. Once Malawi opens this door, there will be no any other way of closing it. Any woman even without any reason would choose to murder their unborn baby. Who would stop them if the law would leave the door wide open?

Those advocating for legalization of abortion argue that they are many women who are dying due to unsafe abortion. But what is causing abortion? Is it the law that prohibits it? Definitely not! No one would abort just because the law states that abortion is illegal. There should be factors that are causing this murdering of unborn children. Why not then address the causes instead of spending more energy on effects.

Life is very sacred and priceless. God the creator and giver and sustainer of life has not entrusted the right of taking it to a mother who thinks that she does not need the child in her womb for various reasons . “You shall not murder,” he commands us in Exodus 20:13. He also tells us in his word, the Bible, that life begins at conception (Psalm 51:5) hence abortion is murder and sinful.

Malawi, seriously ponder on this: according to God’s Word, God’s wrath shall rest heavily on a nation that perseveres in such murderous tragedies as abortion. Dr. Joel Beeke and Jim Beeke have explained this point very well in their essay, “Is Abortion Really So Bad?” and I will borrow some of their thoughts to expound it.

In Exodus 21:22-23 we read: “When men strive together and hit a woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judge determines. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life.”

If God commands such a heavy and great penalty for an accident like this one, will he stand aside and idly look at a deliberate and planned abortion? Legalizing abortion is tantamount to calculated and legalized murder of nameless, voiceless, helpless human beings created by God. Like those ungodly nations we read in the Bible who sacrificed their infants to their gods (Deuteronomy 12:31), I am afraid that if we legalize abortion in Malawi, it will also one day be said of us that Malawians sacrificed their unborn sons and daughters to the god called Selfishness on the altar of abortion. I pray that we will not reach that extent. May God bless Malawi and keep it a land of peace where we continue to value, respect and appreciate the lives of unborn children just as we value, respect and appreciate any other human life.