on the abolition of abortion

WE AFFIRM that abolitionists are ambassadors of Christ’s kingdom and ministers of reconciliation.¹ We affirm that the only answer to sin is the gospel of Jesus Christ,² that abortion is the sin of child sacrifice,³ and that the darkness of child sacrifice can only be meaningfully pushed back by the light of the gospel.⁴ The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy all works of the devil, and we strive to follow Christ, who leads the Abolitionist Movement, in so doing.⁵ We affirm that abolishing abortion, while not the content of the gospel (see Article XI), is an implication of the gospel, thus, a Great Commission issue, wherein Christians are charged to teach people to obey all that Christ has commanded⁶ (See Article X). 

WE DENY that anti-abortion activism detached from the gospel and a Christian worldview is sufficient to address abortion because abortion is, fundamentally, sin resulting from suppression of the truth.⁷ We deny that activism centered on a false gospel is abolitionist in nature.⁸

WE AFFIRM the work of abolition is to be led by the body of Christ: the Church. We affirm that the gospel has been entrusted to the universal Church of Jesus Christ¹ which is made up of individual believers and expressed in local churches according to the Word of God.² We affirm that only those to whom the gospel has been entrusted can truly and consistently bring the gospel into conflict with the culture of death.³ We affirm that the modern Church has been largely negligent of its duty to love its preborn neighbors and has largely lost its saltiness.⁴ We affirm that abolition is a work of the people of God who rise up and do exploits in His name.⁵ We affirm that it is an obligation of every local church to oppose the abortion holocaust in word and deed.⁶ 

WE DENY that any political party, parachurch ministry, or abolitionist organization should be the primary driving force behind the Abolitionist Movement.⁷ We deny that God approves of any church that remains silent and refuses to act in the midst of a holocaust.⁸

WE AFFIRM that the only appropriate demand from the Church of Jesus Christ regarding the abortion holocaust is for repentance.¹ We affirm that abolishing abortion represents repentance, and that an incremental bill does not.² We affirm that incremental legislation which regulates and thereby allows abortion is an iniquitous decree.³ We affirm that pro-life legislation is often used as a substitute that distracts Christians from the call for abolition and allows pro-life civil magistrates to be celebrated for doing less than they are commanded by God in Scripture. We affirm that a bold, prophetic call for the total and immediate abolition of abortion is both

Biblically faithful and powerful to shift culture and politics. We affirm that to compromise with abortion is to forfeit the objective standard by which the pro-abortion position can be adequately combatted, which undercuts the anti-abortion argument in the courts of law and public opinion. We affirm that incrementalism in theory is perpetuity in practice. 

WE DENY that pro-life incrementalism is either faithful to Christ or effective as a means of abolishing abortion.⁴ We deny that our demand for immediate abolition means that the goal will necessarily be achieved immediately because the work of bringing about national repentance and abolition usually takes time and is not guaranteed for any nation.

WE AFFIRM that abortion is murder and must be criminalized as such, that preborn children are image-bearers who deserve the exact same legal protection afforded to everyone else,¹ that scripture’s repeated prohibitions of partiality² prohibit the legal classification of abortion as anything other than homicide, and that the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from classifying abortion as anything other than homicide. We affirm that scripture often places special emphasis on ensuring justice for the fatherless, which includes preborn children.³ We affirm that there are varying circumstances in each instance of

abortion that should be taken into account by prosecutors, judges, and juries on a case-by-case basis.⁴ We affirm that anyone who knowingly and willfully takes part in the murder of a preborn child is guilty and should be subject to prosecution.⁵ We affirm both that there is forgiveness for the sin of murder⁶ and that justice for victims must be established.⁷ 

WE DENY that any woman coerced into abortion under threat of bodily harm or who otherwise acted without criminal intent should face prosecution.⁸ We deny that the mother of the preborn child should be given blanket statutory immunity from prosecution in the killing of her child because this partiality is unjust and enables a self-managed abortion industry.⁹

WE AFFIRM that the mainstream Pro-Life Movement has been an obstacle to the abolition of abortion in many states. We affirm that the Pro-Life Movement is so adrift in secularism and compromise that it is strategically necessary for well-meaning pro-life Christians to cease identifying with it and instead identify with the Abolitionist Movement. We affirm that careful linguistic differentiation between abolitionist and pro-life ideas, organizations, bills, and candidates is necessary to the existence of the Abolitionist Movement as a separate entity from the compromised Pro-Life Movement and helpful to the success of abolitionist initiatives and efforts. We affirm that blurring the line between abolitionism and pro-lifeism blurs the line between sound and false doctrine and hinders necessary repentance in the culture and in the Pro-Life Movement. 

WE DENY that this linguistic differentiation has anything to do with tribalism or branding for any particular organization. We deny that every pro-life individual is in need of repentance for abortion apathy or compromise, or that anyone needs to repent merely of identifying as “pro-life.”

WE AFFIRM that the gospel is the royal announcement to the world about God acting in the person and work of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit to abolish sin and death¹ and reconcile sinners and the world to Himself² through His sinless life, substitutionary death, resurrection, ascension, reign, and future return³ just as God graciously planned from eternity,⁴ promised throughout Scripture,⁵ and achieves within history. We affirm that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, and to the glory of God alone.⁶ We affirm that all sinners are commanded to repent and believe the gospel and upon doing so are justified before God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and caused to love God and His Law and to walk in zealousness for the good works that God has prepared.⁷ We affirm that Christ’s kingdom is at hand and that He will continue to work until all His enemies are defeated and justice is established in all the earth.⁸ 

WE DENY that there is any salvation from sin outside of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as described in the Bible alone. We deny that a man’s works contribute in any way to his salvation.⁹