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Biblical Perspective on Abortion Some people mistakenly believe that the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion; however, the Bible clearly takes a stand for the sanctity of human life. The unborn baby is viewed as a beautiful creation of God that is known and loved by him. Human life is special to God Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him." God sets man apart from the animals. Psalms 8:6 says, "You have made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet." Human life is given special priority to God. Matthew 6:26 records Christ saying, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Not only is human life as a whole important to God but each individual is important as well. God personally knows the unborn The Lord tells the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." God knows us and has a plan for our lives even before we are born. Isaiah 49:1 says, "Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me." Luke 1:15, speaking about John the Baptist, says, "He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb." How can someone who is not yet alive be filled with the Holy Spirit. In God’s eyes, personhood does not begin when we are born, but when we are created. Human life is a creation of God Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in the mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things." The value of human life is fundamentally based on the origin of life. Life begins with God. He is the creator. Because of this truth, we must look to Him for the standard of when life begins and what value is to be placed on life. Psalms 100:3 says, "It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves." The Bible views life beginning at conception Job, lamenting over his life, declares in Job 3:3, "Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’" Job traces his personal history beyond birth back to conception. The Lord, speaking to Rebekah who was pregnant with both Jacob and Esau, tells her in Genesis 25:23, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated." The Bible condemns murder The Ten Commandments are clear. The sixth commandment, recording in Exodus 20:13, says, "You shall not murder." This leaves no room for argument. If you accept the Biblical standard of life beginning at conception, then you must accept that abortion is murder. The question is not whether or not the Bible specifically forbids abortion. Just because something is not specifically forbidden then it is not necessarily permissible. If the Bible views the preborn as persons, then abortion is murder. Love your neighbor Some argue that they are "personally opposed to abortion" but for individuals having the right to choose. The Bible address this apathetic attitude in Mark 12:31 when Christ commands us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Christ tells us that this command is second only to loving God. We should be motivated to stop abortions not only by a hatred of sin but by a genuine concern for our fellow man. Matthew 5:13-16 commands us to be "salt and light." If we as Christians do not take a stand for life, who will? Choose Life "This day
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set
before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life,
so that you and your children may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19) |
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