Bill Campbell

This coming January 22, 2019 will mark the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. This landmark judgment created a legal line in the sand around which people have taken sides. Since 1971, an average of more than one million helpless pre-born human lives have been snuffed out annually as women exercise their legal rights to privacy.

The very mention of abortion often elicits in the average person feelings of anger, guilt, shame, hurt, remorse, grief, or loss. Thus, discussions around this topic often generate more heat than light. How then might Christians reflect thoughtfully and intelligently about this painful topic? One way is to look for insights from history.

“What did the early Christian leaders and thinkers have to say about abortion?” This is a good question to ask. The early Christians were closest to the life of Christ; we might expect them to have a better handle than we do on the thoughts of Christ. Moreover, the moral climate in Rome during Christianity’s first few hundred years was remarkably similar to ours today. Abortions were commonplace in Rome, performed primarily for convenience and to cover up unwanted pregnancies. Women in that day drank abortifacient brews to remove unwanted fetuses from their bodies and to prevent conception. And their abortions often were performed by gruesome procedures similar to those used by modern medicine.

The primary difference was this: The early church Fathers — those who led the thinking and theology of Christians in the first several centuries of Christianity — universally condemned abortion as a sinful and immoral practice that violated the Scripture and the purpose of God for humanity. They did not waver on this issue as do some who claim to be Christians today. Even though they lacked our understanding of genetics, of the continuity of human life from conception to birth, they soundly condemned abortion at all stages of life. For them, if the aborted baby had already-developed limbs (between eight and ten weeks of pregnancy), the abortion was considered murder. If the life of a fetus was taken prior to this early stage of development, some of the Fathers still considered it murder, and others deemed it a sin, but not necessarily murder.

The early Christians did their best to honor Scripture. How can we, who call ourselves Christians and who know about the continuity of human life do less? Let us resolve to graciously and boldly stand for life at all ages and stages, doing our best to provide alternatives for those who are contemplating abortion. And for those who have suffered abortions, let us also resolve also to be merciful and kind to those precious mothers.

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William Campbell is the founder and president of Scripture Awakening.

Imagine if God had shown up in the world as grand president rather than as a gentle baby. Everything would have been different for every one of us. You and I would have been excluded from God’s great purpose.

On January 20, 1953, Harry Truman climbed onto the platform next to Herbert Hoover for President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration. He looked at Hoover and said, “I think we ought to organize a former Presidents club.” Truman replied, “Fine. You be the president of the club. And I will be the secretary.” Eventually the idea became a reality, establishing the most exclusive club in history.

If the Presidents Club is the most exclusive club ever formed, what might be the second most exclusive club? Some people would point to the Christian faith. “Yours is the only religion,” people have told me, “that makes itself the one way to heaven. By your very belief, you exclude the rest of the world.”

It is true that Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6, NIV). But does this emphasis on ‘one way to heaven’ make Christ’s message exclusive? Actually not. Rightly understood, Christianity is the most inclusive world religion in existence.

Imagine a city with a single gate that welcomes all who are willing to enter. Let us call it the gate of faith. Above that gate are written the words, “Only Believe.” Put next to it a thousand gates of works, representing the non-Christian religions of the world. Above each of these gates is a list detailing the things a person must do to pass through them. And if one succeeds in opening one of these gates, he or she will be immediately confronted by a wall rather than by direct access to God.

If you don’t know what I am talking about, speak with a devout Muslim, a member of the second largest religion in the world. Ask Islam’s most devoted adherents if they know for certain that they will be brought into heaven after they die. They will tell you they cannot be completely sure. For the god of the Koran requires us to “do” certain things to be pleasing to God. And we can never be sure if we have done enough. And so it is for every religion in the world … except for Christianity as taught by Christ.

God came as one of us that he might experience death for each of us and rise from the dead, offering new life to everyone who believes. The world says, “do” to enter God’s presence, and Christ said, “done.” It matters not how much knowledge, how much money, how much influence, or how much good behavior one can demonstrate. If you believe in the work that Christ has already done on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins, the gate is opened wide to you (John 10:9).  And God is right there, on the other side, waiting to fill you with his Spirit that you might live a life pleasing to God and challenging to the world.

God did not come as president, but as a baby. He came into the world as one of us, that we might become one with Him.

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Dr. William P. Campbell is Senior Pastor of Hendersonville Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina. He is also Founder & President of Scripture Awakening, which helps others to READ (Bible in 90 Days), STUDY (BNEXT Studies), and LIVE the Scriptures (Beyond Words Radio). See ScriptureAwakening.com to find resources to strengthen your faith and to renew your church.

It was my first trip to Asia and I overpacked. Halfway across the world, I abandoned a huge and heavy suitcase at the Bombay airport filled with what I had once thought to be essentials. I retrieved it a month later on my way home, not having missed a single item in the unopened bag. For the traveler, extra possessions are burdens.

You are on a journey from this world to the next. As a sojourner on planet earth, if you believe the Gospel, your “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). And you should travel light. Here are two of the top travel tips for lightening your load, borrowed from international travel blog sites and adapted for your interworld journey:

Packing Tip #1: Don’t waste time and space packing things you can find or purchase at your destination. This tip, helpful for international travel, is essential for your interworld journey. When you reach your homeland, you will find everything you need and much more, already paid for 2,000 years ago. What the religions and philosophies of the world hope for, the citizens of heaven can already claim as their own. In heaven, you are promised:

A supernatural body, fully insured; the most delicious interworld cuisine taken fresh from the tree of life; full ownership of your mortgage-free heavenly real-estate; unlimited light with no electric charges; free entertainment including interview opportunities with Adam and Eve, Abe Lincoln and other favorites to fill your first ten thousand years; and, above all, an atmosphere composed of the unremitting and wondrous love of God.

Packing Travel Tip #2: Limit yourself to a single suitcase or small backpack that is much smaller than you think necessary, and don’t overstuff it. This exercise brings the idea of living as citizens of heaven up-close and personal. It’s the part that requires hard adjustments for packrats like me. It is the standard of heavenly citizenship that many want to ignore, but sometimes cannot.

I have recently been forced to re-evaluate how much “stuff” I really need for my life’s journey. A few weeks ago, during North Carolina’s record-breaking rains, my basement was flooded — the very place where my wife and I store everything we never wanted to let go of and yet never use. Being forced to move it all out was like taking it all on a trip. Now we don’t want to move it all back. In assessing what we own, we are asking what owns us. In other words, we are trying to be more serious about simplifying.

Jesus traveled light. His disciples traveled light. I want to be more like them. How about you?

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WP (Bill) Campbell is pastor of Hendersonville Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville, NC. He is also the Director of Scripture Awakening (ScriptureAwakening.com), which offers resources to help individuals, families, small groups, and entire churches to read, study, and live God’s Word.

Andrew Brunson faces a court appearance in Turkey again on October 12. Having gone to the previous trial, Bill Campbell writes with personal reflections on what it all means.

Relations between the United States and Turkey seem to hinge on a single man: Andrew Brunson. The story of his two-year detention in Turkey has our country riled, Turkey reacting, and the world reeling. Most of the media coverage focuses on the politics that have transformed this pastor-turned-prisoner into a pawn.

There is another way to look at this international showdown. If we turn the spotlight away from the American and Turkish presidents to the populace, we see an angle that becomes somewhat personal. Stated concisely, Andrew’s plight highlights a spiritual problem. I am not talking about a clash between religions; I am talking about the gradual erosion of America’s faith.

I am a pastor in the region Andrew Brunson calls home. It was with a sense of obligation and a hope to encourage him and his wife that I attended his most recent, July 18, trial in Turkey. I came away with a new perspective. I saw in Andrew and his wife, Norine, and in the Turkish pastors who attended, something that we are rapidly losing in America. I was with people who so embraced their Christian convictions that they were willing to put their lives on the line to keep them. The pastors attending Andrew’s trial had also served time behind bars for their beliefs. Being around them was life changing for me. It deepened my long-held Biblical convictions.

True convictions are not things we own; they own us. They grow and eventually glow once refined by fire. Such convictions gave birth to the early Church. They were also seen in the principled resolve through which our forefathers led a revolution and out of which America was born. For most of our history, such a depth of character and resolve continued to guide Christians. We may recall, for example, leaders of revival, abolition, civil rights, and social justice. Or, we may remember the student volunteer missionary movement in the early 1900s, when more than 20,000 missionaries sailed from our shores on the fuel of their belief, taking their coffins with them because they knew they would probably not come back alive.

The comforts of America have made our convictions cozy. Cultural experts have declared America a “post-Christian” country. Seventy percent of us register as Christian and yet where is the evidence that we are following Christ? Sociologists also label us a “post-modern” generation because most of us don’t believe in absolutes or definitive truth. Hence the confusion about what a true Christian should look like. The moral standards embraced by many who attend church are not much different than those who do not. The root problem is not a lack of morality, but a lack of commitment to beliefs from which morality arises.

It can be difficult to see what we have lost because it is so close to home. Some history about Turkey, however, is eye opening. Once called Asia Minor, the Turkey of Bible times was the cradle of Christianity. It is now the nation with the slimmest percentage of Christians. Paul spent more time doing ministry work in the Ephesus of Asia Minor than in any other city. Jesus’ closest disciple, John, later pastored in Ephesus. He was then exiled to the Island of Patmos, from which came his letters to the seven churches, each located in cities of ancient Turkey (Revelation 2-3). These letters have living application for today. Ephesus was warned that if they did not regain their first love for God, they would lose their light. Only ruins remain. Andrew Brunson is being held in the city noted for the persecution and killing of Christians, then called Smyrna. Persecution continues there, though the name has been changed (to Izmir).

Here is the point: America, the nation with the greatest number of Christians, can gradually become much like Turkey if we don’t wake up and live our faith with true conviction. And Turkey may experience a great awakening before God if we continue to pray, and if believers there continue to live with boldness. This same story is being replayed worldwide.

In his trial, Andrew Brunson boldly proclaimed his beliefs. The judge told him to keep his beliefs to himself, to which Andrew declared they were the reason he was in prison. Andrew proceeded to say that he forgave Turkish officials for persecuting him, even as Christ, dying on the cross, forgave us and continues to forgive. I listened to his words with amazement. The Turkish pastor next to me who was interpreting for me, paused to explain that he had offered himself as a witness for Andrew at the trial. I thought that to take such a stand could lead to repercussions in his life. What I know for certainty is that it led to repercussions in my life. I’ll never be the same.

I came away from a week in Turkey with a sense that I and others who claim to be Christians need to pray not only for Andrew’s release from Turkey, but for our release from materialism and half-hearted, lukewarm Christianity. I already knew I needed such a release, but visiting Turkey and seeing the plight of Christians there first-hand, was for me the opening of a prison door.

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William P. (Bill) Campbell is pastor of Hendersonville Presbyterian Church, in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. He is also president and founder of Scripture Awakening, Inc. (ScriptureAwakening.com), which offers resources to help people read, study, and live the Scriptures. Also provided are study guides to help people better understand Turkey and the Seven Churches of Revelation.