by Dale Reeves

Story Pastor

 

This past Sunday at Christ’s Church, our senior minister Brad Wilson began his teaching on the sixth beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:8) by talking about the importance of Issue 1 on the upcoming November 7 ballot in the state of Ohio. If you missed the teaching on “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God,” you can check it out here.

 

If you listen to the ads on TV and have received numerous pieces of political mail in your mailbox and text messages on your phone regarding Issue 1 as I have, the information presented can be very confusing. At Christ’s Church, our leadership does not tell people which party and candidates to support as it is not our job to be a political force, but rather we stand on biblical and moral absolutes outlined in God’s Word. As Brad said last Sunday,

 

“Our leadership often chooses to stay neutral in political issues because of the divisiveness we see in our country and potentially in the church. But there are times when political issues and the Bible intersect. We believe that Issue 1 is one of those times.”

 

God Is Pro-Life and Pro-Family

Brad continues, “God speaks his foundational truths to us today through the Bible. He tells us in Genesis that he created us in his image and because we’ve been created in his image, we are loved and valued by him. In Psalm 139, God tells us that life begins in the womb, and that he knows us before our parents do—both those who’ve been born and the unborn are loved and valued by God. We also see in the Bible that God had a design and plan for families. Our children are a blessing and as parents God tells us to teach our children about him, about his ways, and about what living for him looks like. We do our best to raise our children and when they leave our homes and begin their own families, they’ll do the same. God values his family design, and we must do the same as his people.”

 

“A positive vote for Issue 1 on Ohio’s ballot this year does not value life, the unborn, or the family the way God does. If passed, Issue 1 would take away more protection for the unborn and it would also take away some of the important rights parents have in helping their children make some very important, potentially life-changing decisions.”

 

With early voting underway, and less than a week until the November 7 election, if you believe the recent Baldwin Wallace poll, 58% of those surveyed favor the passage of Issue 1, with 37% of evangelical Christians supporting the Issue. To view the poll, click here.

 

The State of Things

If you do some research on the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution, you will discover that a positive vote for Issue 1 would take a wrecking ball to existing abortion laws in the Ohio Revised Code. It would allow abortion-on-demand right up to the moment of birth. It would remove parents from their children’s medical decisions related to abortions and irreversible sex-change surgeries.

 

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he believes that Issue 1 is wrong for Ohio. He comments, “Whether you’re pro-choice or pro-life, Issue 1 goes much, much too far. . . . The people who wrote this constitutional amendment provided that this becomes a right for ‘individuals.’ They could have said ‘women,’ which would have denoted that it’s not dealing with people who are of age, but by using the term ‘individuals,’ that certainly includes minors.” While in office, DeWine signed into law a statewide ban on abortions after a heartbeat is detected in the fetus, which can occur in as few as six weeks after conception.

 

It’s All About Jesus

Christ’s Church senior minister, Brad Wilson, concluded his comments on the Issue last Sunday by sharing these thoughts: “I understand that in our church there are different thoughts and opinions on this issue. I understand that by speaking on this today you may feel as if I’m casting judgment on people who may see it differently than our church leadership. That’s not our intention and I want you to know that we love you, and that different views don’t change the fact that we’re a family here at CC.”

 

Brad continues, “I want to make sure that everyone here and everyone watching online realizes that you can come to this church as you are. There is nothing that has happened in your past that would disqualify you from being a part of this church today. We all have things in our past that we regret, that we wish we could change, and that we feel guilty about. Every single one of us has a need for forgiveness and a desire to feel that we can be forgiven by God.”

 

“I don’t expect us to agree on everything—except for Jesus—knowing that he can make all our lives better. If we can agree to make Jesus the starting point for our relationships with each other, then I am excited about where Jesus will continue to take us.”

 

If you’d like to come together with a group that prays about issues related to our country, our community, our leaders, and each other, we’d love for you to join Christ’s Church Prayer Group this coming Sunday, November 5, at 7:00 pm. You can find out more info here.

 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:13-16, NIV).

 

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV).