Season 3 Episode 18: Why Christians Defend The Unborn - Walk for Life

The Unsexy Church Podcast

New episodes drop every Wednesday Morning

ABOUT THE PODCAST

The Unsexy Church is a weekly podcast exploring the real, everyday life within our church family. Each week, join Pastor Bob (Senior Pastor) and Darren (Worship & Discipleship Pastor) as they sit down to discuss a wide variety of subjects—from deep theological questions to the practical, often "unsexy" work of following Jesus and building a healthy local church.

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We want to help every person make a genuine commitment to follow Jesus and then follow through with that commitment in Connecting People to a Thriving Life in Christ. These Thriving disciples should Dig In to the Bible, Grow Up in Christ, and Branch Outinto the community.

Our Mission: To Connect People to a Thriving Life in Christ. What is a thriving life in Christ? Scripture says that Jesus Christ came “that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Our mission in the city of Tampa is to make disciples who follow the pattern of the believer in Psalm 1 and desire God’s glory above all things.

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Transcript

Welcome And Church Life Updates

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Hey gang, welcome back to the Unsexy Church Podcast. Podcast Ministry of First Baptist Church, Tampa, Florida, where our mission is to help you connect to a thriving life in Christ. Good morning, everybody. Morning, morning. How are we doing? We're good. We're good. Yeah, we're good. It's uh crunch time for Bob and I. We're getting ready to get uh get out of town on a little trip. Um on an old gospel ship. That's an old that's an old song. Sorry. That's an old song. Um no, we're getting ready to get out of town, and so we're trying to get some stuff done, and so we're glad to be here with you guys this morning. How are you, Jordan?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

I'm doing awesome.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

You're looking a little sleepy today. Like your eyes are a little puffy.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

You've been what you been doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:53

I went to actually this past week. I went to Arizona. That was brown. Yeah. That's one way to describe Arizona. I always I always try to do that. I have one word of my first word when I go to a new state. Yeah. No, yeah. It's my first word. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Gotcha. Gotcha, man. So, what were you doing in Arizona?

SPEAKER_00 1:17

I was shooting a wedding. All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Wow, man. Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. We had a good weekend here at FBC Tampa. As always. As always.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

And busy, as always.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

As always, right? Sunday morning was was good. Um had two baptisms Sunday. They're just really sweet, man. Really neat. Um, a a couple, not not married, but a a couple, and uh just very articulate with their testimony and the gospel. And it was just a really good, a really good picture. Um, that was that was good. Yeah, their videos were really really good.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Did you see that surprise of why why I told you I was gonna not tell you?

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Well, I meant to say something to you about this, but I so now I guess I'll just call you out on the case.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Yeah, I know, I know. I know, I already know.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

What do you know, Jordan?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Pure and heart. Pure and heart.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Was misspelled in the captions. That's okay. Or was it what was that word?

SPEAKER_00 2:15

I don't know. AI. Transcripting.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

There's the lesson. You cannot depend on AI. You still have to double check AI, right? No, yeah, that was cool. It was cool uh to hear um just some gospel fruit coming out of uh one of our Wednesday night studies. You know, while last fall we went through uh uh a study with our men and with our women separately, uh called Pure in in Heart, and just how the impact that that had on that and that young man. That was that was pretty cool. That was really cool. That was really cool. Because I know going through it, we're like sometimes we're like, oof, why this is tough. Why why are we doing this? But uh it it it was that was pretty neat.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

That was that was that was a big part of his testimony, and then just them being transparent with their testimonies before the whole church was really powerful.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Yeah, I think we could all uh for me, even I just had to kind of take a step back and think, you know, this is it's good to be transparent. It it it's not fun sometimes, but it's good to be transparent and just very genuine, right? And uh and it's okay. I mean, God, God's grace covers a multitude of sins, right? And just we got to see that, and that was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

And in the church, we you should be able to do that, right? It should be a safe place for us to accept that we're all sinners and we're just here saved by grace.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

And that was one of the things we talked about in the pure pure in heart. Uh just this ought to be a safe place to have gospel conversations, to confess to one another, to pray for one another, and spur one another on.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

So it was it was a good morning.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

It was a good morning. And after that, we had our VBS training. We're getting we're getting all dialed up, ready for VBS, and so we had our mandatory training. We had uh man, we had a full dining room of folks uh you know getting ready to uh just pour into your children and disciple them and share the gospel with them. So that was exciting. And then I know there are a couple, there was a young adult event and a student event uh yesterday afternoon. So just lots, lots going going on here at FBC Tampa. So if you're not plugged in, get plugged in. There's there's always something going on here for sure.

A Marine Battle And Pirates

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Speaking of sins. Uh-oh. Wow. Here we go. Okay, here we go. They're always teasing me about a uh my dark history fact. Uh this one's not this one's not, I wouldn't consider this dark.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

On this date in history?

SPEAKER_02 4:41

On this date, April 27th, 1805. 1805. So the country that we live in, the U.S. is fairly young still, right? Um, US agent William Eaton had marched 500 miles from Egypt to Tripoli, where they won the Battle of Durna. I think I'm pronouncing that correctly. It was the Marines' first battle, and the first time that an American flag was raised over a conquered US city on or a conquered city on foreign soil. Yeah. So you're familiar with the Marine song, right? Yes. To the shores of Triple E, right? So this was like their first major battle. Do you guys know what this was all about? You you probably do, but once I start telling you about it, there was uh a uh a group of nations uh on the Barbary coast, and uh these nations uh there were Muslim pirates basically that arg that would come out and rob us, rob our ships, take cap they would capture sailors, merchants, and military, and just you know hold them for ransom and demand exuberant uh bounty or or money for for them. Uh and so Thomas Jefferson got sick of it. One of our presidents, and uh, and this was the the end of that, basically, is the the the Marines' first battle. They marched 500 miles, relatively small force. They took the city and and were able to hold it and ended, kind of broke broke the back of that uh terror on the seas. Wow. Yeah. There's more to it than that, but that's you know, there's a lot. I mean, there's a lot to the story it builds up to it, but it's pr that's how it ends. First time the U.S. flag was ever planted on foreign soil over a conquered city, April 27th, 1805. There you go. Pirates. Do you guys ever want to be a pirate? No. Man, I wouldn't. Other than Gasparilla Day. As a kid, I kind of wanted to be a pirate, man. I mean, yeah, I didn't really understand, you know, everything, I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah. I thought I remember this is so dumb. Yeah, yeah. But as a kid, uh I uh had you know had the chicken pox at a real you know, relatively young age. And uh you know what the chicken pox are? Okay, and so and my parents would tell me, um, don't scratch them, you'll get a scar. You know, don't don't don't but they itch. Dude, I literally like Were you trying to get a cigar? Like just as a as a kid, like on my face, you know, like I've tried to like even when I've scratched it, I've scratched it in the shape of a scar. There are some things you shouldn't share there. I don't know. That's I thought yeah, because I that I thought it'd be cool to have a scar on my face like a pirate, man. I thought that would be pretty cool. Um, but that's not the way that works. No, apparently not. Apparently not. So uh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

I I uh tried to avoid scurvy when I was young, so you know piracy was not at the top of my list.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

Not not something you aspired to. Wow, man. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Uh yeah, I wanted to, you know, there was a time I wanted to be a pirate, you know. I thought that'd be pretty cool. Thought that'd be pretty cool. And then you learn what pirates really are and what they really did, and you're like, eh, that's not uh not so much um for me. Um yeah. And then we moved to Tampa, which they have a whole festival about a pirate. About a pirate. Everybody wants to be a pirate here in Tampa, so that's right during Gasparilla days. So uh yeah, that's that's always fun.

John 10:10 And Walk For Life

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Today we're gonna talk about though something I think pretty pretty serious. I don't, it's hard to transition to the next one. How do you how do you segue to exactly? Yeah. Um maybe I would say it like this. John 10 10, Jesus is talking uh just about the those in John chapter 10, he Jesus is talking about how those uh who know him follow him, hear his voice, he keeps them, right? And and in the middle of that, John 10 10, there's there's a uh there's a verse that says a thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but have come that they may have abundant life. And so um, you know, as a that's what a pirate would do steal, kill, destroy, right? And um and that's kind of what we're gonna talk about, the the thief a little bit. We're gonna talk not necessarily about this, but uh we have an event coming up in our in our church. One of our local mission partners is um uh gosh. New life solutions. New Life Solutions, thank you. I I keep wanting to say the event name. And they hold an event every year called Walk for Life. And um where uh you can you can sign up, you can raise sponsors and raise funds, and then we all go meet at at a uh a location, which we'll talk about here in just a minute, and we we walk as just kind of a visual witness uh walk for life. So new creation solutions, one of our ministry partners, New Life Creation. New Life Solutions. New Life Creations, yeah. I don't know what you said, but it's New Life Solutions. New Life Solutions. Man. Having trouble today. Yeah, they they exist. I mean, to to basically help um women who are involved and men who are involved in unplanned pregnancies, uh, they they they battle to save babies' lives, basically. And I mean that's what it boils down to. Just uh so to uh not to get too dark or too somber, but there are I mean over 73 million abortions globally uh every year. I mean, that is almost that it that's almost more it's it's it is the leading cause of death in the world, in the US for sure, but in the world, and matter of fact, all the other leading causes combined don't quite they may they're they're close to being equal to that. So it's just it's crazy 73 million, and I'm not sure how m you know, because we've seen a since especially in the US, um, since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, we've seen a decline in surgical abortions, right, but a massive increase in chemical abortions, or what people would refer to as medical abortions, right? Which I mean I'm not trying to be crass or even cruel or or unfeeling toward, but I mean the Hippocratic oh this do no harm. And then we and then we call the taking of an innocent infant life a medical procedure. I don't know. Anyway, we can go on and on about that kind of stuff. You know, that that equals about $200,000 or 200,000 deaths a day globally just in abortion. Uh that's 1,500 anywhere. It's hard to know with the chemical abortions because now you don't have to go anywhere. They'll mail chemical uh you know pills over state lines. It's hard to track.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Right, which sounds so sterile and so easy, except for those women are going through that in their bathrooms by themselves without medical care.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

And there's there are risks. High risks, yeah. So there's that's 1,500 to 2,500 a day in the US. 29%. 29% of all pregnancies end in abortion. That's just astounding to me. Over a quarter. That's astounding. Right. So there's been an increase in abortions. Uh like I said, we've seen a decrease in surgical abortions, but an overall 21% increase from like 2020 to 2025. 21% in increase. So new life solutions uh exist to fend that off. Right. Basically. And so they they hold a uh um fundraiser each year, which we'll talk about walk for

Why Christians Value Unborn Life

SPEAKER_02 13:36

life. But before we talk about that, maybe we can just kind of talk about why why do we as believers um why do we feel so strongly about this topic, this this subject? What you know oh man. I want I just want there's like there's a oh there's a Christian worship band out there who had a drummer a few years ago who went on social media holding up a sign basically saying men shouldn't make laws about women's bodies. That just sickens me, first of all. But so but what's our answer to to to that, right? Why do we why do we care so much about this? Why is this such a a heavy topic for us?

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Uh I would say we care about it because God clearly cares about life. He is the creator of life and he creates um all life in his image. Yeah. And every every created being um is an image bearer of God and is worthy of worthy of life, yeah, first of all, right? Worthy of protection, yeah, worthy of protection, worthy of dignity, dignity, value, yes, all of those things. And so God's word clearly tells that. Um and he tells us to protect those who can't protect themselves.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

I mean we go, but this is a this is not a cultural thing, right? This is not a um um and even a recent thing in the sense of um this goes back to founding principles. If we think, you know, you use the the you know you use the term, and it's a biblical term and a biblical truth that every every person is created in the image of God. Right, right. We see that in Genesis chapter one, when he makes man, he says, Let us make man in our image, right? Male and female, right? Right. Uh there's another lesson there, but we won't go to we won't go to that one today, but right, but um, but he's and and then he says to he gives them a a mandate to to uh take dominion over creation, to be fruitful, multipl multiply and sub and subdue the earth, right? Right. And so this goes back the the taking of life is it just goes against these some of these first principles of of of um taking control and and dominion over the earth and sub and subduing it and and managing it for the glory or stewarding it for the glory of uh of God. And when we see this um very I think very clear clearly in Genesis chap chapter one.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

And so when you're uh taking life um like this, it's just it's a clear uh just rebellion against that, you know, and uh yeah, against God's design, against God's uh image. Yeah, all those things. Even as you continue in uh Genesis and into Exodus, as God begins to give um sundry laws to the nation, yeah. He gives them the Ten Commandments, of course, and then he gives them other laws as they're living with one another, and some of those laws protected unborn children. So if if uh if somebody caused a pregnant woman to be injured, and it also injured her unborn child, if the child would be born unharmed, there would be no ramifications. But if the child died, then there was ramifications for that to the ones who caused the injury, exactly, which just points out God's saying that is a human being. That is a person, that is a person with rights, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

Yes, yeah. We can go to Psalm 139, which talks about how he has knit us together, he's formed us in the secret place, right? I mean, right before we were, he knew us, right? And just we we see every life as a gift of from God, again, valuable, valuable, worthy of protection, worthy of dignity. And um, and so we just we that's why this is a big deal to us. And again, going back to John 10 10, the thief comes to steal, kill, destroy, but Jesus gives life and he gives it abundantly.

Autonomy Culture And Abortion Logic

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Right. And yeah, I think we're even seeing um some cultures, some nations even, uh, because of a culture of death that they have in their in their countries, they're struggling now uh with um not having enough people. You know, back in the 70s or 60s, somebody I can't remember the professor's name, but he he wrote a book talking about how, you know, by the 70s there'll be so much starvation and and population overflow that we won't be able to feed everybody and all that kind of stuff. And it just proved to be totally untrue. And a matter of fact, we're living in in a time where there are countries that are not, there are there are people groups that will not be in existence in 30 years because it's almost, and it is for some of them, too late to to turn around. Um China is close to not being able, I mean, they're they're paying people to have babies now. Um Japan, it's the same thing. They they they can't, they don't have an there will not be a Japan in 30, 40 years uh because of the um population decrease in uh you know the one child policies in China, et cetera. And they're and we're even facing that in the United States. Um there's uh we we're not replenishing fast enough, right? And so um, so there's there's just all kinds of ramifications that that come from abortion, that that come from this culture of death. Um there are just I I just think about just how many different people we don't know because they were never they were never born, right? And so um and just what God would have, could have done, not that he's out of control, but just what what what he would have done with them, you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

So and that's not to be insensitive to situations, right? It's not to be insensitive to um ladies who find themselves in a in an unanticipated pregnancy. Right. Uh and some of those can be in in very extreme circumstances. Very hard, hardcore. Yeah, and and there's a there's a spectrum of those things, you know. But um I think we get into this situation because we have pushed personal autonomy so far that it's become we've we've talked about it this in in previous podcasts, it's become an idol. It is it has become an idol. And thus when when when we start saying my body, my choice, those kind of things, well, there's limits to personal autonomy. Yeah. Um and there's a recognition of limits to personal autonomy.

SPEAKER_02 20:41

We do have a responsibility to those around us to not harm those around us. Right. And um, you know, and just thinking this back this personal autonomy issue, you have um especially like in the you know late 50s throughout the sixties in America, you have the sexual revolution and with the invention of birth control, the the pill and things like that, but what people wanted was sex without the natural consequences, right? You know, and so um because of uh autonomy, I I want to do what I want to do with who I want to do it with and not have to worry about the responsibilities that that come with that. Right. And so, and that's and we have we see the rise of abortion's been around a lot longer than that, but um, we just see the the the rise of these kind of things. Um I you know, gosh. I knew people, I knew guys in school that had a certain amount of money saved up just in case because they they knew that's what it was gonna cost. And just to it it's a man, I want to be careful because I don't think people really think through. This, but going back to the autonomy thing, it's a way of child sacrifice to the idol of self. Right. And we don't think about it that that way. And again, and I know there are there are again there are women who are are forced into it, either by parents or by a a a boyfriend or a husband. There are people that don't know all the facts. Right. Um that are are, you know, then there are there are medical situations.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

So I don't I don't want to be on people who find themselves in situations they don't see another way.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

They don't see another way out. They just yeah. And we're not justifying, we're just rationalizing, we're understanding. Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

And so the bottom line though for us as believers is we celebrate life no matter how it comes into existence. Right. Um, and there's it's not just your body anymore. That's right. You know, there's a there's there's a mom, there's a dad, and then there's a baby. Uh, you know, because of scripture, because uh we think the clear teaching in scripture is life begins at conception. Uh anything that would end a life after conception, we would we would say is unbiblical, and and we would we would even call that murder. And again, not not trying to be insensitive, but because I don't think people just think think through these things real, real clear.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Which is why the the pro abortion side, the pro-choice side, if you want to call it that. Yeah, um, they have to redefine terms, they have to rethink about when does life begin? Right, what is growing inside the the the mother, you know, is it a fetus, is it just a lump of cells? What is it? And so and when does it become when does it take on rights? When does it become a person with rights? Yeah. And they keep pushing that line and pushing that line and pushing that line because they have to. They have to in order to support this personal autonomy position.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

So, I mean and again, we're not going to get into all of the ins and outs of the abortion or pro-life arg argument, but we just want to kind of lay out a you know, we've kind of laid out, I think, where why Christians think this is a big deal.

New Life Solutions And Real Help

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Um, because it is a big deal, because every person is made in the image of God.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

One of the one of the things I love about New Life Solutions is um they are the their their stated mission is protecting the unborn, sharing the gospel, and transforming our communities one life at a time. Yeah. Right. So their goal is to help women that find themselves in this situation, men also who are there less frequently that the man is there with the with the with the with the woman, but they are there at times. And helping them make biblical, discerning decisions about this. And then just not not abandoning them, walking through them, whatever their decision is, right? Walking through that with them and loving them and helping them, and ultimately sharing the the life-transforming uh good news of the gospel with them. Uh and and what I love about New Life Solutions is that's what they do. They they they walk through it. If you're gonna make this choice to have this child, we're not abandoning you. We're we're here to help you, we're here to help you find resources and connect you to ministries and things that can help you. Um and and and they're also there for those who have in the past made choices to um terminate a pregnancy, right? Um and still love them and help them to see God is a gracious and forgiving God.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

Yeah, and that was kind of that was kind of what I was gonna say. Just in in in all these things, man, our God is so gracious and so merciful. And that's why Jesus came, right? He came to give life. That's right. And and even if if you you you've made that choice to to terminate a pr a pregnancy, there is grace and there is forgiveness for that. That's right. I mean, available to any who would go who would come to him. And so I just want to make that very, very, very plain. And uh God is so good, right? So we we love New Life Solutions. We partner with them each year for this event. This event, again, is a fundraiser. With these funds, they they do um ultrasounds, they provide um maternal and and baby supplies, they do uh some some well women exams, they uh can provide pregnancy tests or just they they do life coaching, like you said. They don't just get you across the decision line to keep a baby. They get they once you're once you make that decision, they link arms with you and walk with you the whole rest of the way. We we we love this. And so we partner with them each year. This is probably their major, one of their major fundraising events of uh of the year. I think it's a visual witness to watching world uh when we stand together with other believers, other people that that that see the value in in life. And so uh that is gonna happen here really soon, uh, this Saturday, right? May 2nd, um at the uh North Shore Park in St. Petersburg. Um, and so you can sign up for that. Uh, we've got a team here at FBC Tampa. If you want to support our team at FBC Tampa, you can show you can do that by praying for them, by walking with them, and by raising uh funds. And so you can uh get on our website and find the the links to to all those all those things. Um but again the you know, I just would say to maybe close this this section, I don't know, before I say anything else, what do you want to say, Bobby?

SPEAKER_01 27:38

No, uh uh our our church has really embraced this ministry and and the walk for life over the last several years. We've we've had um we've probably had the largest group showing up and walking, and that's not to brag, that's just to say that's what our church has done. They they they enjoy doing this together and making this stand together, raising funds for this great cause together. Um it's not all we do with them, but it is a big part of what we do. And right, and uh you and I are gonna be out of town. We always go and walk, and we're uh our spouses, we're gonna be out of town, so we can't do it this year, but we still want a a a big group from our church to show up and support this. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

For sure. Um again, and I would just the gospel is so beautiful, right? And just the sense that um there is grace and forgiveness for all who come to the cross. And uh and so don't uh if you're if you're struggling in this, struggling with this kind of decision, have made these kind of decisions in the in the past, and you're and you're just kind of struggling through it, man. We we we want to love you, we want to help you, we want to pray for you and and help get you connected to some some good resources. So please uh reach out to us if if if if that's you or if you know someone, uh help us help them. All right. Well I think that's enough for that today. I mean we could we could get it's a deep subject, but we it's a deep well, man. Yeah, it is. But uh but God is but God is good, and uh we are very thankful for His for His forgiveness in our lives.

Final Encouragement And Review Request

SPEAKER_02 29:09

So we're glad you joined us today. Make sure that uh if you're listening to us, you write us a review, give us a one of those five-star ratings, share it with all those around you, and remember to stay unsexy.