John Piper's Pro-life Preaching

Every January (Sanctity of Human Life Sunday) for the past 22 years John Piper has preached on what God’s Word has to say about the topics of abortion and life. 

The following is an excerpt from Justin Taylor’s essay of “Piper’s Passionate, Prophetic Pro-Life Preaching”. 

(A full essay on this topic is found on the Gospel Coalition website at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/files/2011/01/Taylor-chapter-Fame-Book.pdf)

In 1994 Piper unpacked Psalm 8, observing that it begins and ends with the same statement:

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  (vv. 1, 9)

Verses 3–5 teach that God manifested his majesty through his supreme creation, human beings. Piper explains the relevance of Psalm 8 to abortion (and racism):

The vision is that God is majestic above all the majesties of the universe and this majesty—though dimmed and besmirched and defiled by sin—shines in the glory of God’s supreme creation, human beings. And the truth that flows from this vision is that we cannot worship and glorify the majesty of God while treating his supreme creation with contempt.

In verse 4 David asks, “What is man?” and makes three points in response: (1) humans are made by God (“You have made him”); (2) they are radically different from animals (“a little lower than the heavenly beings”); and (3) they are “crowned . . . with glory and honor” (v. 5).

This, Piper suggests, is the reason that the infant humans and nursing babies of verse 2 can overcome the enemies of God. “Out of the mouths of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.”

Piper says:

Let all the adversaries of God take note and tremble. If they treat God’s supreme creation with contempt, they will lose. They will be silenced. And so I appeal to you, do not join with the adversaries of God in killing unborn children or scorning any race of human beings. Because the truth of this text stands sure: You cannot worship and glorify the majesty of God while treating his supreme creation with contempt.