Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: January is Sanctity of Life month, a time to address one of this generation's most painful issues. In this special four-part series, Chuck Swindoll doesn't shy away from the hard questions or the lingering heartache that many carry in silence. Beyond the heated debates and political divisions, real people wrestle with real consequences.

For those haunted by past decisions, can forgiveness truly reach this far? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck maps out a four-step path from bondage to freedom, showing that God's grace extends even to our deepest regrets. Chuck titled his message, Abortion... After the Fact.

Chuck Swindoll: Some sins incur greater consequences than others. There are even sins that are criminal and illegal—crimes against society—and they can result in financial penalty, loss of reputation, and a sentence behind bars, along with the humiliation of the family and the loss of not only occupation but respect in the eyes of the public. Some sins are scandalous and shameful, hurtful to our own spirit and damaging to our health. Some are a mixture of all the above.

I'm in Hebrews and we were in Psalms; I'd invite you to go back with me to Proverbs and let's stay there for a few moments. Proverbs chapter number five. Let me show you from this passage and chapter six as well, an example of these kinds of sins that bear greater consequences. Proverbs 5:20 says, "Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord and He watches all his paths."

His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. The vivid imagery of the writer pictures it as though there are tentacles that reach around a person and hold him with the cords of sin. Across the page in chapter 6, verse 27: "Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes into his neighbor's wife; whoever touches her will not go unpunished."

The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; he who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out. Under the general category of sexual sins or immorality, there is a lingering consequence or series of consequences that are inescapable. Just listen to a particular verse that conveys that in 1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body."

Sin is sin. It grieves God, though He understands and is never shocked or surprised by it. There are some sins that have lingering effects, that create within us and within others who are impacted by it an extremely lengthy and sad series of events. I'm turning now from Proverbs 6 over to Psalm number 32, verses 3 and 4. This is the word again of David following the act of adultery with Bathsheba. God even led him to record his experiences in it.

I spoke earlier of the sleeplessness that often follows sins that bear ramifications. He says in verse 3 of Psalm 32, "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." A couple of summers ago, I was engaged with our team in a summer ministry and we decided, following my morning message at this particular Christian camp, to show a film dealing with abortion.

We realized that there would be some who would be impacted by what was presented. Our hope was that we would capture the attention of the naive, as well as inform those who were ignorant of the facts and perhaps even reach some who were right teetering on the edge of this very decision. One young woman, after the film ended, had no interest in going on to lunch. She sat there dissolved in tears. As you would guess and would expect, she had had an abortion.

The abortion was years ago, but the reminder of what had happened, what had been done, of the life that had been taken, was almost more than she could bear. She sat there immobile, reliving the events of what had long since passed. Sin is sin, God is grieved, but some sins incur lengthy consequences. Though forgiven, they still bear consequences. There is still that recurring cycle of grief and depression.

Nathan said to David in 2 Samuel 12, "You are forgiven, but the sword will never depart from your house." Think of that. Indeed it didn't. David's life had moved from a little shepherd lad all the way to the zenith of the throne of the Hebrews. When Bathsheba came on the scene, and then the following murder of Uriah, and the hypocrisy of those months of waiting for the birth of the baby and the death of the child, from that time on his life was like the fever heat of summer.

Recovery and return to a fruitful life is God's desire for all of us. Recovery and a return to a fruitful life is God's desire for all of us. Just as there is not an earthly father who desires to discipline a son and leave him in a state of discipline for the rest of their relationship, so our heavenly Father, though He disciplines us and brings us to brokenness, has no interest in our living out our lives under the constant cloud of His discipline.

Discipline happens for a period of time, and then His grace comes to our rescue and gives us fruitfulness and purpose as we go on beyond the immobilizing impact of guilt and the horror of our failure. Now the question is how? What is needed to go on after I have committed an act that has lingering consequences? Let me conclude my message by spelling that out again in four ways. Number one: a full acknowledgment of the wrong that was done.

If we agree with God, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. A full acknowledgment of the wrong we have done. I don't want to just split through these four things and leave them with you to think about later on. I want you to think about each one as I go through them. If you are in the category of what we are addressing tonight—a person who has gone through this experience—you need to face each one directly.

Have you fully acknowledged the wrong that was done? No more defensiveness. No more excuses. No more human reasoning or logic to try to convince you, others, or God that a part of what you did made sense. Rather, a full and complete acknowledgment of the wrong of your act. That is what I understand the word confession to mean: to agree with God in every respect that sin was wrong and it is without defense.

Genuine repentance follows the confession. We don't say much, we don't hear much about repentance. We should, and now we must. Genuine repentance following confession. Listen to Proverbs 28:13: "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." It is our tendency to make lighter of sin than God does and to stop merely with confession and to forget the additional statement: he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

A full and complete forsaking of the act. A turning around in the mind, a reversal of emotions from defense to a full acknowledgment, from an attempt to excuse it to an absolute and unguarded realization and confession that the whole of it was wrong and a desire never to do it again. Psalm 51 is of great help because it is in a context of sexual failure. Psalm 51, beginning at verse 1: "Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions."

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak and blameless when Thou dost judge." There is no sense of "how could You do this to me, God?" but rather, "I acknowledge Your right to do whatever You wish. I deserve nothing but judgment and I acknowledge Your right to bring it upon me."

I'm impressed with the attitude as well as the words of the man. Sometimes I hear confessions and I do wonder about the spirit of repentance. Confession is a statement; repentance is a series of acts worked out in attitudes. There is an unguarded and even an admitted humiliation that accompanies it. Often there are tears. There is a desire to return to whomever and whatever situation to make it right. Verse 12: "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation; sustain me with a willing spirit."

"Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee. O Lord," verse 15, "open my lips that my mouth may declare Thy praise. For Thou dost delight not in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." There is a difference between remorse and repentance. Remorse is sorrow over being caught—sadness brought on by the pain of the consequences.

The humiliation of the loss of image and the feeling of "what will people say?" and the remorseful feelings of knowing that you have brought reproach on the name of a family or on a church, or on your own life. Genuine repentance in that we lose all concern for ourselves. We accept humiliation that we deserve and accompanies our disobedience and the grief we have caused others. I'll tell you, it is revealed in a contrite heart. A contrite heart.

My concern now is not to make anyone do penance, but to make certain that a confession is accompanied by genuine repentance where there is this contrite heart and we are broken. The process begins to work its way out when that occurs. I don't know how, I don't know why, I just know that's God's pattern. Third: in the process, we claim the cleansing God offers. We've seen it again and again through this passage in Psalm 51. In the process, we claim the cleansing God offers.

Verse 2: "Wash me thoroughly, cleanse me." Verse 7: "Purify me and I shall be clean; wash me, I shall be whiter than snow." Verse 10: "Create in me a clean heart." Look at the references to cleansing, to being clean. A clean heart. Verse 12: "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation; sustain me with a willing spirit." Then look, I just read it: "Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways." I have found that God often uses individuals to assist others, called here "teaching transgressors Thy ways."

Teaching others who have made the same mistakes and committed the same wrongs in their lives. Who is better able to minister to those who are tempted to get an abortion than those who have had one? Who is better able to minister to those who are dying with cancer than you who have gone through the horrors of ministering to your loved one who died with cancer, or perhaps you yourself have the disease? You are, in the words of Scripture, able to teach others God's ways and who knows but what sinners will be converted?

What a great opportunity to minister to people when we work our way through the process of full cleansing and forgiveness. Maybe you've never thought of it before, but you who have gone through this might be on the verge of a ministry you never dreamed possible. Number four—and this is so important: deliberately refuse to allow the adversary or anyone else to hold you in bondage to former sins. Deliberately refuse to allow the adversary or anyone else to hold you in bondage to former sins.

To work through this process, some need a counselor. Some need a paid professional Christian counselor to assist them through the therapy of recovery. Some need a pastor, some—most—need a support group of some kind. Certainly we need a friend to help us talk and walk our way through so that we sense God's full cleansing and full forgiveness so we're able to go on and minister beyond and get away from the sinister nightmares and shadows of past wrongs.

It may be such that it changes your course of a career. I believe there are certain sins that cause a minister to forfeit the right to be in a pulpit. It doesn't mean that that person can no longer minister. There are many ways to minister beyond a place of highest public profile. Some of them become excellent in those areas of ministry. It may alter the direction of your future, but it doesn't mean you're finished, washed up, and shelved. Don't let anyone hold you under the bondage of forgiven sins from which you have repented.

Now a little bit of personal and compassionate counsel, which I have called advice to all who live with regret: you cannot undo the past; don't try. I meet up with folks rather regularly who think that if they travel far enough and long enough, then the travel will cause them to erase the past. It won't erase the past. Drugs won't do it. Alcohol won't do it. Finding a wife and getting married won't necessarily remove what has been done in the past. It certainly will soften the blow of it as you walk with God, but you can't undo what has been done. You can't unscramble an egg. It's there. Don't try.

Second: you may not be able to cope with the present; don't quit. You may not be able to cope with the present. Some of you are having a whale of a job trying to do that and I commend you for not quitting. Get help. Go back to that statement I gave you under that third fact regarding the process of finding full forgiveness and walk through that very carefully. Have I fully acknowledged my sin before God? My part of the wrong? It might include forgiving the partner who walked away.

It might include avenues of great pain right now in your life. Walk through the process. Don't hold anything back. It might include going to individuals that were hurt or offended or wronged in some way, in whatever area—not just the abortion area, but whatever area. Don't quit. Being unable to cope simply means the process isn't complete. Don't quit. Finally: you must not waste the future; don't hide. I cannot believe that God gives anyone breath in his or her lungs for the purpose of just existing.

God has a purpose for us. He is well able to take our lives whenever He wishes it to be our last; it will be our last. There is a reason to go on. Every time I come back from a plane trip and our wheels hit the ground and we move to a safe arrival, I go, "Whew, there is a future," and I go on. There are times in your life as well when you come to a place and you realize you felt the hot breath of death on the back of your neck. There's a reason to go on.

If we're going to say with full faith to people who have gone through the horrors of divorce "there is a future," then I must say to you who have gone through the sin and disobedience and humiliation of an abortion "there is a future." God has a purpose and it's not that you spend your days in hiding. The best kept secret in most churches and many a family is abortion. If you question that, when's the last time you had anyone say in any sense of public gathering, "I have had an abortion"? You probably will live your entire adult life and not hear those words.

These statistics that we shared with you earlier are true—and indeed they are—even in evangelical circles, it has happened often. My hope is that you will be able to get beyond it and stop those statistics and be a part of the answer. I'd like for us to bow together for a few moments of reflection and preparation. I would like to lead us in a time of prayer and give you time to reflect on your own life.

Have you dealt fully and completely with the wrongs of the past? Scripture says if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. Have you forgiven yourself and agreed with God about the forgiveness, having repented and having come to terms with the wrong? If not, do so. Today can truly be the first significant day of a fruitful life for you. This is the time to start. This is yet another moment for you to recognize the death of Jesus Christ on your behalf and to turn your life over to Him.

Our Father, we acknowledge fully and without reservation our need for forgiveness, for we have all fallen short. Not one person in this place is in any realm above another; we all are in the category of sinners. Most of us have gone to the cross and gone beyond it because of Christ's death and we thank You for His forgiveness at Calvary. Some have yet to come to that place. I pray that You will use these moments of reflection to bring them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we worship, whose name we adore until He returns. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Bill Meyer: Such a heavy topic on today's edition of Insight for Living. Chuck Swindoll titled his message, Abortion... After the Fact. It's just one of four studies in the mini-series called The Sanctity of Life. Insight for Living has an excellent resource on this topic; it's a book written in our Bible Companion format and it's called The Sanctity of Life. During January, churches across America are drawing attention to this issue, and we're hoping and praying that Chuck's four messages in this special series will equip Christians with biblical conviction and compassion.

This isn't just a study for your own library. It's the perfect resource to pass along to a son or daughter who's navigating these complex issues, or to a grandchild who needs biblical wisdom in a confused world. It would also make a thoughtful gift for your pastor, equipping him with compassionate counsel for those he shepherds. Because here's the reality: not everyone struggles with abortion, but everyone wrestles with the sanctity of life. We all wonder what to say when the topic comes up, how to respond with both truth and grace, and showing you how to stand strong in a culture that devalues what God declares precious.

Chuck's Bible Companion is thoughtfully designed to be read alongside your copy of Scripture, helping you think through these issues biblically instead of just emotionally or politically. You can request your copy of The Sanctity of Life Bible Companion when you support Insight for Living with a donation. Call us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/donate. Remember when you first started listening to Chuck Swindoll teach the Bible? Well, that moment was sponsored by someone you may never meet. It was a monthly companion who sponsored you.

If you're one of our regular listeners, isn't it time you took that step to provide for someone else what was once provided for you? We invite you to become a monthly companion. Call 800-772-8888 or you can become a monthly companion by going to insight.org/monthlycompanion. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll continues his special four-part series on an inescapable issue, The Sanctity of Life, Monday on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, Abortion... After the Fact, was copyrighted in 1990, 2014, and 2024, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.