THE WAY OF THE CROSS

NO CHEAP SOLUTIONS

By Reverend Flip Benham
Director Operation Rescue National

Operation Rescue unashamedly takes up the cause of preborn children in the name of Jesus Christ. We employ only biblical principles. The Bible is our foundation; the Cross of Christ is our strategy; the repentance of the Church of Jesus Christ is our ultimate goal. As the Church changes its heart toward unborn children, God Himself will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and bring healing to our land. We believe that Jesus Christ is the only answer to the abortion holocaust. It is upon our active repentance at abortion mills, abortionists' homes, churches, and practices that the Gospel is visibly lived out. We become to the church, to our city, and to our nation living parables which rightly represent God's heart toward His helpless children. 

Where do the Michael Griffins, the Rachelle Shannons, the Paul Hills, and the John Salvi's come from? They come from a church which will not stand to defend the defenseless, thus opening the door to vigilantism. They come from a culture in which the value of human life is cheapened. They come from the pain and aftermath of abortion. They come from a political system that imposes greater penalties for sitting in front of an abortion clinic door than for dealing drugs or for theft. They come from the frustration of knowing children are dying and being helpless to do anything about it. They come from a compassion for the innocent children and a concern for exploited women. Having had due process, they are not paying the price society exacts from them. As for all of us, their forgiveness is found only in the blood of Christ. 

Whether or not their motives were pure is impossible for us to discern but this we know: Two wrongs never make a right! Vigilantism invariably brings with it lawlessness. One never has the right to take upon himself the roles of judge, jury, and executioner. God's answer is in the repentance of His church, not in the extermination of an individual abortionist, or in the extermination of all abortionists. His answer is not in the destruction of every clinic. His answer is in the changed heart of His church. As the heart of His church is changed, the heart of our nation will be changed. And, as the heart of our nation is changed, our laws will reflect that change. The question that begs explanation is: How would God, through us, bring about that change? His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are higher than our ways. 

It is imperative for us to theologically think through the means by which the Church of Jesus Christ is to rescue children being led away to the slaughter. The ends never justify the means in God's economy. He is looking for us to walk with Him by faith. Often, He is more concerned with the means we use than the ends we achieve. He is looking for us to trust Him, rather than relying on our own cunning. The Scripture is replete with examples of godly men and women who thought their way would be more expedient than God's way: Abram and Sarai's self-help program with Hagar (Genesis 16); Moses' identification with his Israelite brothers and sisters and his ensuing murder of an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15); Moses smiting the rock twice rather than speaking to it (Numbers 20:7-15); David putting the ark of God on a cart rather than having the priests carry it on poles (2 Samuel 6:1-8); Peter not wanting Jesus to go to the cross in Jerusalem (Mark 8:27-33). 

"There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is death." When man does things his way rather than God's way, he becomes an enemy of the cross. Severe consequences and death are the inevitable result. 

In each of these cases there was a way that seemed right but totally missed the plan and purposes of God. God patiently, purposefully, and painfully brought His children to His way. Though well intentioned and with great zeal for our Lord's work, these men and women actually became impediments to our Father's providential hand. 

They did it their way! In so doing they became enemies of the cross. 

Might it be that our brothers and sisters, in committing themselves to "justifiable homicide" and to the razing of death mills, are actually working in contradiction to God's express purpose? They may feel they exude more courage and commitment to our preborn brothers and sisters than most of us, but is their way God's way? 

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Pr. 19:2 

God's way is the way of the cross! Everything in the Old Testament is preparation for and points toward the fact that the cross would be the means by which men shall be saved. Everything in the New Testament shows that Jesus, on the cross, fulfilled all that was necessary for man to enter into the presence of Almighty God. The cross is the center and the crux of Father's revelation to us in His Word. Any attempts to accomplish His purpose apart from the cross, however sincere and faith-filled, are doomed to frustration and failure. They may initially appear fruitful (the enemy is good at this) but, in the long run, they bring only heart break, sorrow, and death. 

Peter thought he could protect his friend Jesus from going to the cross. In so doing, Peter became an enemy of the cross. He found himself working in opposition to Father's will. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men," (Mark 8:33) Make no mistake about it, Peter loved Jesus. He simply did not understand the enigma of the cross. His way seemed right but it denied the cross. One cannot doubt the courage of this disciple. He was willing to fight and die for his Lord, yet his way was not God's way. No, God's way is the way of the cross. The cross was waiting for Jesus at Calvary. That same cross is waiting for you and for me. 

Peter, after much testing and fire, soon would come to know the way of our Lord's cross. When he finally came to an end of himself, his thoughts, his ways, God was able to bring Peter to his true destiny. Dying daily to self, reputation, and fears from without and within, he went forth into a world filled with darkness and proclaimed the wonderful light of the Gospel and the lordship of Christ. He picked up his cross and carried it until it finally killed him when he was crucified upside down. The cross of Christ became Peter's friend and, as it did, God was able to do marvelous and powerful works through his life. 

Is our way the way of the cross? Or do we, in our exuberance to bring an end to the abortion holocaust, become enemies of the cross? Certainly, the cross does not appear to be the most expedient way to defend the lives of little boys and girls waiting to be born, but it is, nevertheless, God's way. Ours is a spiritual battle which manifests itself in the physical world. 

The call in 2 Chronicles 7:14 for God's people to repent has never changed. Only as the heart of our Great Redeemer is turned toward His people will His hand be loosed to bring healing to our land. We, in and of ourselves, are helpless to fix the problem. 

It is in repentance, then, both in word and deed, that our cross takes form today. In 2 Corinthians 6:8-12, we see that great difference between Godly sorrow, which brings repentance, and worldly sorrow that brings death. Worldly sorrow brought death twice in Pensacola, a shooting in Wichita, and two deaths in Brookline. Godly sorrow brings repentance, leaves no regret, and produces earnestness, eagerness, and readiness to see justice done. 

Had thousands of Christians been in active repentance at abortion mills in Pensacola, Wichita, and Brookline by laying their lives down, a shot never would have been fired. It would have been virtually impossible for any abortionist to ply his horrible trade. This is the way we despise, for it costs so much and seems so futile. The great irony is that if thousands were at the mills, it would cost little and God would be free to move. 

The Barabbas-type insurrectionist personified by Griffin, Shannon, Hill, and Salvi holds no fear for the enemy of God's children. Barabbas can be turned loose and allowed to cause trouble for a time but he can always be subdued by the governing power. He is easy to stop. It is Jesus who is the great threat to the devil. He cannot be compromised. He cannot be subdued. He cannot be dissuaded. He cannot be overcome. It is as we allow His life to become alive in us that the stronghold of Satan's child-killing industry will be utterly destroyed. 

Operation Rescue will continue to live out the Gospel. This will never change. Jesus physically intervened on our behalf. Our call is to physically intervene on behalf of others. 

Operation Rescue is a movement birthed in repentance and sustained by grace. While the responsibility of others may be to seek to make abortion illegal, our biblical mandate is to confront the church and our nation with the sin, the immorality, and the horror of abortion. This is our cross. We will carry it to the streets. We will carry it to the churches. We will carry it to the clinics. We will carry it to the hospitals that give sanctuary to the child killers. We will continue to follow the way of the cross and the example of our Lord Jesus Christ as we rescue those being led away to slaughter. We must hold so tightly to the cross of Christ that there is no room to hold any other weapon.

God is looking for an excuse to work powerfully on behalf of His children.

Will you give Him one?

Or will you go a way that seems right to you?