Friend,
I wanted to give you an update on what happened at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) last week. It was definitely a much different story than the national convention in Nashville earlier this year. While we rejoice at the successful passage at the National SBC convention of the resolution to Abolish Abortion, we can see that here in Texas there is much more work to do.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to sign the petition we sent out to support the resolution on Abolishing Abortion that we brought before the SBTC. And special thanks to each of you that showed up to help pass out copies of the resolution prior to the debate and vote.
Your investment of time in advocating among the Southern Baptists of Texas for equal protection for all preborn babies is not for nothing. The conversation is shifting.
I wish I could tell you the resolution to abolish abortion sailed through the SBTC Resolutions committee and received overwhelming support on the floor of the convention.
It did not.
The Resolutions committee chose not to present our resolution to the convention for a vote. Instead, they put forward a resolution celebrating the passage of the Texas Heartbeat Act. That resolution was ultimately adopted by the convention.
Friend, of course it is disappointing to us that the SBTC would use their voice to celebrate a law that is partial and unjust by God’s standard INSTEAD of making a clear call for righteous legislation.
God’s Word tells us that the law is a tutor, and every time laws like the Texas Heartbeat Act are established they do the job of teaching and training people that abortion isn’t really murder and preborn babies aren’t really human beings created in God’s image like you and I are.
The Heartbeat Act, which the SBTC chose to celebrate, not only discriminates against the most vulnerable babies who don’t yet have detectable heartbeats by denying them equal protection BUT it also specifically prohibits the civil authorities from exercising criminal enforcement which is their God-given duty.
Friend, that is not legislation that should be given any kind of approval or support in the name of Christ.
We continue to mourn the deaths of thousands of our preborn neighbors each year who will continue to be murdered even with the Texas Heartbeat Act in place. Even more, we mourn the timidity of the Church in exercising her prophetic voice to speak out boldly against the ongoing genocide, without compromise.
While the resolutions comittee didn’t bring forward the resolution on abolishing abortion for a vote, we were still able to bring our resolution before the convention for consideration by way of introducing it as an amendment to the heartbeat resolution.
Pastor Aaron Wright of Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston made a motion that the text of the proposed heartbeat resolution be replaced with the complete text of our resolution to abolish abortion. This provided the opportunity for our resolution to be read in its entirety, and for debate to be heard on our resolution by the body of Messengers in attendance. See video of the debate here.
We were able to ask the SBTC Messengers to consider what the prophetic role of the Church is in calling our magistrates to establish justice in our land.
When I spoke for the resolution, I reminded the SBTC that we say we believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. We say we believe in the Imago Dei and that all humans are made in the image of God. So why do we continue to affirm measures that show partiality by not protecting our preborn neighbors the way we protect born people?
When the Bible clearly tells us that God hates partiality in law, these are important questions for God’s people to consider.
In this context, the SBTC isn’t actually writing law; that is the job of the legislature. But the Church has a God-given prophetic voice, and we need to decide what we are going to use that voice to speak for.
Are we affirming, celebrating, or calling for anything that God would call unrighteous?
With the resolution celebrating the Heartbeat Act it seems clear that we are.
We must stop supporting in any way legislation that denies equal protection.
If we are ever to succeed, we must fight this fight in God’s ways and on His terms.
God tells us that we are not to pervert the justice due to the fatherless. He tells us we must not do evil that good may come. He tells us that we must not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness. The Church must be the uncompromising voice of righteousness and justice for even the least of our preborn neighbors.
Our motion to replace the heartbeat resolution with the resolution on abolishing abortion was ultimately voted down. Even so, we were glad for the opportunity to speak up for our preborn neighbors on the convention floor and be heard. Using our voices at every opportunity makes a difference. Like always, our duty is to sow the seeds and trust God to bring the increase.
We don’t expect the fight for abolition to be won overnight, but a consistent and uncompromising call for equal protection is what is and will continue to change the conversation.
We want to see more and more Christians engaging on this issue wherever they have influence: in their churches, personal networks, and in the public sphere. That is how change happens. We humbly declare what God’s Word says and then pray and trust that He will bring about repentance and faithfulness in response.
That is why AATX works to mobilize and equip Christians to use their voices to call for what God says is righteous.
We continue to do this work with the help of our Sustaining Members who choose to make a monthly donation to our work. These partners make it possible for us to keep you informed and active in the fight for the abolition of abortion in Texas.
Please consider joining us today with a monthly donation of $15, $25, or even $50.
Thank you for standing with us for life, for justice, and for the glory of God!
J.R. Haas
Vice President
Abolish Abortion Texas
P.S. Join us as a Sustaining Member today and help us move into 2022 strong! We continue to work daily to mobilize Christians like you to be involved in the fight to abolish abortion in whatever ways you are able. And we are committed to keeping you informed on current legislation and Action Alerts when you can help with petitions or contacting legislators. We couldn’t do any of this without the support of our Sustaining Members.