Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men (Matt. 2:16).

In the wake of the recent passage of an abortion bill that will legalize abortions past 24 weeks, we in the church are right to be heartbroken. No society can long survive when the murder of infants and children become acceptable and commonplace. History shows us that time and time again. Abortion was allowed in Ancient Rome and Greece, and look where those societies are now. The ancient cultures that practiced child sacrifice are gone. America and other countries that allow, practice, and encourage abortion will fare no better, for God is impartial as well as just.

I have often asked the question, and I ask it again, “What more can we expect from the unregenerate?” We have men and women in leadership that, even though they may claim Christ, their actions show different. The church must shed the long-held myth that America is a Christian nation and embrace the truth that America is run by those who oppose Christ and His teachings. For too long, the church has made America its home, getting comfortable in, and thus being conformed to, a society that shows less and less regard for the truths of the Bible.

Jesus warned us that it must be so: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). When the nation as a whole (through its leaders) supports the murder of the innocent, is that anything other than cold, hardened hearts? God has and will continue to use America for His purposes, that is certain. Those purposes now seem to be moving quickly toward the end of the age.

This is no call for revolution on the part of the church. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). This is rather a call to do what the church was created to do—spread the Light. Not by angry picket signs, yelling and screaming at women who have abortions and the medical staff who perform them. Not even by writing your elected representatives—there will come a time (soon, I believe) that the Christian voice will be silenced. No, we are to spread the Light by praying for those people and counseling them in the light of His love. Yes, love. Though they are guilty of the most heinous crimes against God, we must remember this: So were we. I’ll repeat that.

So were we.

You might object, “I’ve never murdered anyone!” To which I reply, “Murder begins with hatred in your heart and words that tear down instead of build up” (Matt. 5:21-22). And again, I remind you, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:10-11). In God’s eyes, any stain is worthy of hell. And we were all stained with sin. Yet, when we trusted Christ, He put our sin away from us, washing us white as snow (Isa. 1:18). Therefore, we are no better than they. The only difference is that we have found the freedom of forgiveness.

We will not see lives changed, people set free, crime decrease, abortions stopped, by the force of law or political solutions. We will only see those things change when the heart of stone within people is replaced by the heart of flesh through the Gospel. They need no more condemnation, for they are already under His condemnation. We must be the church. We must be His hands, feet, and voice.

Our hearts must break, yes, for the innocents who are slaughtered. But, until our hearts break for those who are caught in the grip of sin—even this sin—we have no idea what it is to love like Jesus loved.