It has been said “a picture is worth a thousand words.” And when it comes to exposing and defeating the societal evils in fallen humanity’s long struggle for freedom and dignity, the power to “see” has been the deciding factor in changing a culture’s beliefs.

British abolitionist and cultural reformer, William Wilberforce, engaged in a twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade. Wilberforce made thousands of impassionate pleas before Parliament calling for an end to “that hideous traffic, so disgraceful to the British character.” His prophetic voice was slandered and his sound arguments ridiculed before a corrupt political assembly who had grown fat and prosperous on the backs of the slave trade.

His cause reached a tipping point when that which was done in secret was brought to the light. The dreadful treatment of those being sold as property was hidden from the view of the common person. The horrific evils committed by the slave traders were buried in the dark bowels of the cargo ships.

How could the conscience of a nation be awakened if the evil remained cloaked in a veil of darkness?

Josiah Wedgwood, a Christian pottery manufacturer, helped the cause by putting a face on the evils of slavery. In 1787 Wedgwood commissioned the image “that stopped a thousand ships.” This poignant antislavery cameo was reproduced on brooches, hat pins, cuff links, bracelets and dinner plates. It asked the simple question: “Am I not a man and a brother?” This powerful image became a rally point for the movement which eventually outlawed slavery in Great Britain.

The same thing is happening in our day. The ghastly practices of abortion giant, Planned Parenthood, are being exposed for all the world to see. The dismembering of tiny, defenseless babies, sacrificed on the twin altars of personal convenience and reproductive rights, are now being brought into the light. Despicable dinner chatter involving the sale of baby organs has been recorded for all to join the conversation.

Will we finally be able to hear the cries of the innocents: “I am a man and a brother. I am a woman and a sister.” Will we continue to deny the inherent value and dignity of the smallest and most vulnerable members of the human family?

Jesus promised, “Everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.” (Mark 4:22) I believe our good and gracious Father is exposing this evil to awaken a sleeping, apathetic Church and to prick the conscience of our nation. His merciful intentions involve reviving the Church and bringing repentance, salvation and healing to our nation. The plumb line of God’s holiness has been dropped. The evil is being fully exposed. On which side will YOU land?

Will you love darkness and hate what is evil? Or will you bury your head in the dark and pretend that these video are “fraudulent” or “politically motivated?” The Bible tells us, “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.” (John 3:19) It’s time to repent of our evil ways. It’s time to rid our land of the vile practice of child sacrifice. It’s time to run to Jesus, the Light of the world and the Source of our healing as a nation. It’s time for America to re-discover her soul.

I had the privilege today  of speaking at the Northwest Indiana March for Life Rally. Here is a written copy of my speech on behalf of the unborn and those who are courageously standing in their defense.

Stand & Speak
The Prophetic Voice of the Church
Dr. Ron Johnson
Northwest Indiana March for Life
January 22, 2015

I want to thank you for the great privilege of addressing you today as hundreds of thousands of Americans will be gathering in on nation’s Capital and in local communities like ours to be a prophetic voice for the unborn on behalf of Christ and His Church.

It is never pleasant to stand outside this or any other abortion mill. It is sobering and sickening to realize that every week we allow innocent unborn Americans to be slaughtered right in our own backyard. It is sickening to think of the men, women and families that will be devastated by the painful consequences of the lie of pro-choice.

And, like you, I am stunned by the darkness hanging like an ominous dark cloud over our nation, a deception so deep we are unable to recognize the unspeakable injustice and horror of abortion and unwilling to do anything to stop it. How have we become so callous, so cowardly and so complicit to the evil all around us?

I am not standing here today to be a prophet of doom and gloom. As Christians, we forever remain prisoners of hope. God is always on the move. The efforts of the pro-life community are making a huge difference both here and across the nation. I am here today to simply encourage your heart and to challenge us all to be the prophetic voice Christ has called us to be.

I want to direct our attention to the second chapter of Acts. If you know your Bible, you’ll recall this chapter gives the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ. What I want you to see is the unlikely way God chooses to work to accomplish His purposes.

First of all, why choose Jerusalem as the place to birth the Church? This is the city where the Son of God and the promised Messiah was brutally murdered. It was a placed filled with darkness and deception. After seeing the miracles and the ministry of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6), how could they kill the Author of Life? And who would think of planting the Church in such a wicked place? It’s an unlikely choice.

And secondly, why would God allow such an unlikely candidate as Peter to deliver the first sermon? This is the guy who denied Christ three times. Couldn’t Jesus pick a better spokesman for His movement? How will a coward like Peter be able to preach to such a hostile crowd in such a wicked city? Peter is an unlikely choice.

And let’s not overlook the unlikely message he was preaching. A message that says, “No matter what you’ve done, whatever evil acts you have committed, there is forgiveness and mercy in Christ. Jesus not only forgives, he also redeems and transforms. If you repent and place your trust in Him, He will turn you into a new person.” What an unlikely message of good news to a people so undeserving of anything but judgment.

Perhaps that’s exactly why Peter is the preacher. He is the poster child of personal transformation. In Acts 2:14 we read, “Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them…” This verse gives us a model of what our Lord expects from us today.

First, Peter STOOD. This takes COURAGE. Standing for the TRUTH has always taken courage. There are many professing Christians who are content to remain comfortably seated within the safety of our places of worship. They argue we should limit our focus to getting people ready for the next life and not worry about abortion or any of the cultural evils of this life. How quickly they forget the example of Daniel who stood boldly in the face of idolatry and publicly refused to stay seated. He stood boldly for truth and so should we.

However, he didn’t stand alone. The Bible tells us he stood with the eleven. We are reminded to stand for truth in COMMUNITY. We need each other. That’s why events likes these are critical for sustaining the strength and vitality of our cause. Courage is caught before it is taught. We act courageously when we fellowship with courageous people. We can gather with men like Saul or we can join the ranks of leaders like David. David was a giant killer. Saul was a giant talker. David’s men slew giants. Saul’s men ran from giants. Stay connected with men and women who love Jesus and hate evil.

Finally, when Peter stood he had something to say. He spoke with CONVICTION. Do you remember the time when Herod had John the Baptist arrested and thrown in jail? What was John’s crime? He had the courage to tell the King that his sex life was out of bounds and in clear disobedience to God’s commands. John told Herod it was against God’s law for him to marry his brother’s wife (Matthew 14:3-4). Here we see the proper role of the Church being a prophetic voice to government.

It’s why we are here today to boldly declare that the shedding of innocent blood is an abomination to God and a stain on our great nation, and that God’s judgment will fall on our nation if we persist in this great wickedness. We stand here on the basis of our biblical convictions and not on what is culturally convenient or politically correct.

There are those today who mistakenly believe God’s commands apply only to Christians. They argue that abortion may be wrong for you but it is perfectly okay for me. And due to the modern perversion of the founder’s understanding of the separation of church and state, religious people need to keep their mouths shut and mind their own business!

The truth is God’s Word is not true because we choose to believe it. God’s Word is true whether we acknowledge and submit to it or not! Our job, as the Church, is to stand and speak the Truth with courage and conviction.

The good news is that, if we’ll do our part, God will do what only He can do. As Peter declared the good news, the Holy Spirit was moving on the hard, wicked hearts of the people. The Bible says they were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) and they wanted to know what they needed to do to live a life pleasing to God.

If the Church will stand together in unity and speak the truth, the good news, with love, conviction and courage, God will transform people and transformed people will reform our nation.

When freedom is reduced to mean simply the license to do what we want, when we want, then “choice” becomes the cardinal virtue. Freedom becomes synonymous with the right to choose. Choice itself, rather than the content of our choice, becomes the virtue. We end up valuing choice instead of making good choices.

This is readily apparent in the modern debate over “women’s reproductive rights” where a woman’s absolute right to choose what she wants to do with her own body trumps any other moral considerations. It makes no difference that her choice will involve the destruction of her own child. The choice itself is what makes the action virtuous, even though it involves trampling the rights of the tiny woman within her own womb.

This is why our forefathers built our legal system on the transcendent truth found in God’s Word. For them, freedom was not merely the ability to choose, but rather the power to choose what is right and good. These terms – right and good – have no meaning apart from an absolute standard. After all, what is “right” and what is “good”? Who defines the meaning of these terms?

Historically, that standard was found in the character of God and His revealed truth found in the Scriptures. If there is no standard by which to measure our freedom, then freedom becomes whatever you want it to be. The tolerance of choice becomes the chief virtue, and truth is “trampled in the streets” (Isaiah 59:14-15). The result is moral anarchy masquerading as enlightened freedom.