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January 25, 2004
Special Message
Thirty-one years ago this past Thursday, on January 22, 1973, the U.S.
Supreme Court legalized abortion in the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. As
Christians, we need to remember that what is legal is not necessarily moral in
God’s sight. Morality is not determined by popular or judicial opinion, but by
what the Bible says. So I want us to look at what the Bible says about abortion.
I could (and have, in a public school classroom) argue against abortion without
reference to the Bible. It is a human atrocity. But since most of you accept the
Bible as God’s inspired Word, I want to explain what it says on this important
subject.
Some who call themselves “evangelicals” argue that since the New Testament
does not directly address the matter, we should not be dogmatic about it. They
say that it is a “difficult moral issue,” where we need to allow room to differ
and not impose our personal views on others. Many evangelical pastors refrain
from speaking on the subject because it is controversial and potentially
divisive. And many pastors dodge it because they have drifted from the Bible as
the source of absolute moral truth.
Christian pollster George Barna recently reported that only half of the
country’s Protestant pastors have a biblical worldview, which he defined as
believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and
having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching,
the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and
omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to
evangelize). Southern Baptist pastors ranked highest, with 71 percent holding to
a biblical worldview. Among other Baptist pastors, it fell to only 57 percent.
Other denominations ranked much lower.
I believe that the Bible gives us God’s absolute moral standards that apply
to every culture and every age. Furthermore, the Bible warns that God will judge
every person based on His righteous standards (Acts 17:31; Rev. 20:11-15). We
cannot plead ignorance as an excuse for disobedience or apathy (Prov. 24:11-12).
God holds us accountable to the standards of His Word, whether we know those
standards or not. We dare not be uninformed!
Also, our consciences need to be informed by Scripture, not by popular
opinion or slogans. I have found professing Christians who have been influenced
by the popular pro-abortion rhetoric. For example, the slogan, “Pro-family,
Pro-child, Pro-choice” makes perfect sense to some, or it wouldn’t be plastered
on bumper stickers. But stop and think, “What is the choice that they are
advocating?” The answer is, the choice to kill your baby! So that bumper sticker
is about as logical as saying, “I’m pro-women, pro-rape”! It is utter nonsense!
Another bumper sticker reads, “Against abortion? Don’t have one.” That
assumes that abortion is a personal preference, not a moral issue. Imagine a
bumper sticker, “Against rape? Don’t commit one”! That’s fine if rape is just a
preference, but if it is a heinous crime, that’s ludicrous! Another slogan says,
“Keep your laws off my body!” In other words, “We can’t legislate morality.” But
we do have laws against rape, incest, child abuse, theft, and murder. Those are
moral issues, all of which stem directly from the Bible! One of the main
purposes for law is to protect the innocent and the weak. Laws about abortion
relate directly to these matters.
Before we look at what the Bible says about abortion, let me briefly comment
on what abortion is and on what the Supreme Court decision was all about.
Abortion is the extraction or expulsion of the immature human fetus from the
mother’s womb with the intent to end the life of that fetus prior to natural
birth. Fetus is a perfectly good medical term, as long as you remember that it
refers to a developing human baby. But you will never hear abortion advocates
speak of it as a baby or child. Sometimes they even call it the “product of
conception,” or a piece of tissue! Have you noticed how often the news refers to
anti-abortion activists (not pro-life activists), and refers to those advocating
baby-killing as pro-choice or defenders of abortion rights? How did we ever come
to think that we have an inherent right to kill our children?
Of course many abortion advocates argue that it is not a human baby that they
are killing, but science is against them. Before conception, there is not a new
human life. But at the moment of conception, there is a new life, possessing 46
chromosomes, distinct from both the mother and the father. Genetically, the baby
is not the mother’s body! By 21 days, the first heartbeats have begun. At 45
days, brain waves can be detected. By the ninth and tenth weeks, the thyroid and
adrenal glands are functioning. By 12 or 13 weeks, he has fingernails, sucks his
thumb, recoils from pain, and has his own unique fingerprints. The only things
that developing life needs to become what we are, are time and nurture.
What was Roe v. Wade all about? By a vote of 7-2, the U.S. Supreme Court held
that until a child in the womb is viable (capable of sustaining life outside the
womb) or “capable of meaningful life” (the court reckoned this to be six or
usually seven months), the mother’s desire for an abortion should take
precedence over the baby’s right to life. For the last two or three months, the
court said that the state may protect the unborn, but that it must allow an
abortion if the life or health of the mother is threatened. The court defined
her “life or health” to mean her physical, emotional, or psychological health,
her age, her marital status, or the infant’s prospects of a distressful life
and/or future. In other words, a woman can kill her child in the womb legally
for any reason right up to the moment of birth!
According to former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, the most common
reason for abortion is convenience. Only three to five percent of all abortions
performed are for reasons of rape, incest, the possibility of a deformed child,
or severe threat to the life of the mother. In the U.S., one out of every six
women who have an abortion describes herself as an evangelical Christian
(Newsweek [5/1/89], p. 31). In other countries, such as China and India, where
male babies are favored over female babies, the abortion and infanticide of
girls has led to a severe shortage of brides for young men.
Now let’s consider what the Bible says about abortion:
Since God is the creator and sustainer of human life, we should value and
protect the lives of all innocent humans.
By saying “innocent humans,” I am allowing for the authority of the state to
exercise capital punishment and to wage war for national defense. Being pro-life
does not require us to be against capital punishment or to be pacifists. For
sake of time, I cannot deal with those topics in this message. I want to present
five lines of biblical evidence for valuing and protecting unborn children.
1. Human life is unique in that God created us in His image.
In Genesis
1:26, God distinguished humans from the rest of the animal creation. Only of man
did God say, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” He
appointed man to rule over the other creatures on earth. By the way, apparently
before the Flood, man was vegetarian, but after the Flood, God ordained the
eating of meat (Gen. 9:3-4). The animal rights movement erroneously puts animal
life on the same plane as human life. That concept stems from Hinduism, not from
the Bible.
The Bible clearly affirms that human life is not the product of impersonal
chance plus time. Man did not evolve from lower forms of life. God directly
created man in His image, which means that we have the capability of rational
thought, personality, and moral responsibility. Someone may argue that this is
simply a matter of faith. I would say that it is a matter of reasonable faith.
The view that something as complex as human life is the product of pure chance
is a matter of unreasonable faith, because there is simply no evidence or other
example of such complexity arising from random chance.
Also, even the most ardent evolutionist behaviorally affirms that human life
is distinct from animal life. Imagine Mr. Evolutionist driving along when he
encounters a squirrel in the road, still writhing from being hit by a car. He
slams on his brakes, jumps out of his car, and frantically dials 911 on his cell
phone. “I’d like to report an injured squirrel! If the paramedics get here
quickly, they may be able to save him!” But, alas, they are too late! The man
sits by the squirrel corpse, sobbing, until the mortuary arrives. He will never
forget this tragic scene.
Ludicrous? Yes, but change the squirrel to a human baby and that scene would
be truly horrific. Why? Because we all recognize that people are distinct from
animals. The reason, according to the Bible, is that people are created in God’s
image; animals are not.
2. The Bible forbids us from shedding innocent blood.
The Bible clearly commands, “You shall not murder” (Exod. 20:13). As already
mentioned, the Bible does not forbid all killing, such as in capital punishment
by the government, national defense, or personal defense. But murder is
forbidden. The Bible uses the phrase “innocent blood” about 20 times, and always
condemns shedding innocent blood. God chastised the Jews for shedding innocent
blood when they sacrificed their children to the idols of Canaan (Ps. 106:38).
As John Piper argues, “Surely the blood of the unborn is as innocent as any
blood that flows in the world” (Brothers, We are Not Professionals [Broadman
& Holman], p;. 222).
3. Pre-natal human life is fully human and thus precious to God.
Consider a few of the many biblical passages:
A. God superintends life in the womb (Ps. 139:13-16).
David is affirming in poetic language that God superintended his formation in
the womb (also, Job 10:8-12). The Bible repeatedly affirms that God’s providence
governs everything from the weather (Ps. 148:8; Job 37:6-13), to animals’ food
and behavior (Ps. 104:27-29; Job 38:39-41; Jonah 1:17; 2:10), to seemingly
random events, such as the rolling of dice (Prov. 16:33). Surely if God governs
these relatively minor things, then He also governs the formation of people in
the womb. The Lord tells Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute
or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Exod. 4:11). So even birth
defects, which science attributes to freak occurrences in nature, are under
God’s direct superintendence for His sovereign purposes!
There are so-called bio-ethicists that are consistent in applying their
evolutionary bias to human life, but their conclusions are horrifying! For
example, James Watson, one of the discoverers of the double helix structure of
DNA, suggested in 1973, “If a child were not declared alive until three days
after birth, then all parents could be allowed the choice only a few are given
under the present system. The doctor could allow the child to die if the parents
so choose and save a lot of misery and suffering. I believe this view is the
only rational, compassionate attitude to have” (cited by Francis Schaeffer &
C. Everett Koop, Whatever Happened to the Human Race [Revell], p. 73).
In 1978, Watson’s partner, Francis Crick, said, “… no newborn infant should
be declared human until it has passed certain tests regarding its genetic
endowment and that if it fails these tests it forfeits its right to live”
(ibid.). Peter Singer, who incongruously is professor of bio-ethics at
Princeton, argues that if a child is born with hemophilia, to allow the parents
to kill him so that they could replace him with a normally healthy child may be
morally right (cited by Piper, ibid., p. 217, note 3)!
B. The Bible ordains the penalty of life for life when the life of an unborn
child is taken (Exod. 21:22-25).
The earlier edition of the NASB had an unfortunate translation that slanted
the reader toward one of two possible interpretations, but not to the best one.
The updated edition has corrected the problem. The earlier edition read, “And if
men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a
miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the
woman’s husband may demand of him….” The translators added the word “further”
and they interpreted the Hebrew, “her children come out,” as, “she has a
miscarriage.” The implication would be that to kill the fetus is only punishable
by a fine, nothing more.
The updated edition reads, “… so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there
is no injury….” As the following verses (23-25) make clear, if there is an
injury, then the offender must be penalized, life for life, eye for eye, etc.
These are the same penalties as in offenses against adults (Lev. 24:20). The
Hebrew verb translated “to depart” or “come out” (Exod. 21:22) refers to a live
birth in 11 separate Old Testament passages. It never refers to a miscarriage,
although in one text (Num. 12:12), it refers to a stillborn. There is another
Hebrew verb that is used for miscarriage. So the most likely meaning of Exodus
21:22-25, based upon verb usage, as well as the Old Testament high regard for
pre-natal life, is that the baby in the womb has as much value as an
already-born person.
C. The Bible affirms the distinctiveness of individuals in the womb, thus
showing that they are fully human.
We won’t take the time to look up each reference, but consider the following
examples:
*Jacob and Esau were distinct individuals in the womb (Gen. 25:23; Rom.
9:11-12).
*Samson’s mother was not to drink wine, because her son was to be a Nazirite,
who would abstain from alcohol (Judges 13:3-5).
*Jeremiah and Paul both acknowledged that God formed them in the womb and
knew them by name (Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15). Isaiah 49:1, 5 affirms the same thing
about Messiah.
*John the Baptist recognized Jesus while both were still in the womb (Luke
1:35-36, 39-44)! This is an amazing text! Elizabeth was in her sixth month of
pregnancy when Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Mary went to visit
Elizabeth before John was born. Thus Elizabeth would have been in her last
trimester, while Mary was in her first trimester. Yet John recognized Jesus in
those early months of Mary’s pregnancy! I think that this is the strongest
passage that a baby in the womb in the first trimester is a person created in
God’s image. We are not free to take the life of such a child just because it is
not convenient to have a baby!
We have seen that human life is unique in that God created us in His image.
The Bible forbids us from shedding innocent blood. Pre-natal human life is fully
human and thus precious to God.
4. To view babies as inconvenient to the point of killing them is to violate
Jesus’ view of children.
As I mentioned, about 95 percent of all abortions are done for convenience. A
girl gets pregnant through out-of-wedlock sex. Neither she nor her boyfriend are
ready for the responsibility of being parents. It would be an economic hardship,
or it may require interrupting her education. An abortion is a convenient way to
dispose of the whole problem.
In Luke 18:15-17, people were bringing their babies to Jesus so that He could
touch them. The disciples rebuked the parents. Jesus had better things to do
than to bless babies! It was a great inconvenience! But Jesus rebuked the
disciples and welcomed the children. The Greek word for infant in Luke 18:15 is
the same word Luke uses for the infant in Elizabeth’s womb (1:41, 44). God shows
His great love for us by calling us His children (1 John 3:1). Surely, we should
have the same attitude as Jesus towards our children from the time of conception
onwards!
But what about an “unwanted” child, whose birth would be an extreme hardship?
What about a baby conceived by rape or incest? What about a deformed baby, who
will suffer all his life and never be normal? Wouldn’t it be the lesser evil to
abort these babies and spare them and the parents a life of hardship and pain?
5. To kill babies in the womb in an attempt to avoid suffering is to try to
dodge God’s purposes for suffering.
The Bible is clear that in this fallen world, God ordains suffering for His
wise and good purposes (Rom. 8:28). Sometimes we suffer as the consequences for
our own sin (Heb. 12:3-11), which can include the hardships associated with
having a baby out of wedlock. (Sometimes it may be wise for an unwed mother to
give up her baby for adoption, but even that is a painful consequence of sin.)
Sometimes we suffer on account of other people’s sins (Gen. 50:20). This would
include the hardship of having a baby conceived through rape or incest.
Sometimes we don’t know the reason that God permits suffering, except that He
wants to display His grace and power through our weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
To abort because having a child would cause emotional or economic duress is
always wrong. To argue that it is better to kill a deformed child in the womb
than to allow him to live is an affront to the thousands of people born with
severe handicaps, but who live meaningful and productive lives. It is an affront
to the many families that love and care for such children. On rare occasions,
there may be the difficult dilemma of performing an abortion to spare the
mother’s life. But even then, the goal should be to preserve the lives of both
the mother and the child, if possible.
Conclusion
Much more could be said if we had time. There are other biblical arguments
against abortion. There is mounting evidence that many women who choose abortion
suffer severe long-term emotional and physical problems.
I want to conclude by suggesting some action points. Some of these are things
that every Christian can and should do. Others are things that only some will be
called to do. But at some level, all of us need to come to the defense of unborn
children.
(1) We can pray about the situation. It is ultimately a spiritual battle
(Eph. 6:10-12). Pray for pro-life judges to receive Senate confirmation,
especially to the Supreme Court. Pray for the horrors of abortion to become
obvious to our self-centered culture. Pray for Christians to get involved in the
pro-life cause.
(2) We can vote for pro-life candidates. Don’t vote for pro-abortion
candidates. You ask, “Are you a one-issue voter?” I grant that being pro-life
does not qualify a person as a good political leader. But being pro-abortion
should disqualify anyone from public office. For example, if a candidate said,
“I believe that black people should not hold public office,” that one issue
should disqualify the candidate from office. Why doesn’t favoring killing babies
disqualify a candidate? The person who favors abortion is an immoral person!
(3) We can write our legislators and the newspaper to support the pro-life
cause. Hold them accountable!
(4) We can support the pro-life cause with our money and time. Godly women
are needed to counsel young women with problem pregnancies, so that they choose
life for their babies. Godly families that are able should consider taking in
such young women and helping them carry their babies to term. There are many
ways to get involved.
(5) Our church should discipline any members who advocate abortion, perform
abortions, or obtain abortions in disobedience to being counseled about God’s
truth on the matter. It is a national tragedy that two of our former Presidents,
Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both claimed to be Southern Baptists, but were
pro-abortion. Their churches should have disciplined them publicly.
In conclusion, I want to speak to any who may already have had an abortion or
who may have urged someone else to have an abortion. Perhaps you did it in
ignorance, but now you realize that you committed a serious sin in God’s sight.
The great news of God’s Word is that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). The apostle Paul, who persecuted the church and was
responsible for the deaths of many innocent people, wrote that, and then
claimed, “among whom I am foremost of all.” Paul found God’s forgiveness and
mercy at the cross. No matter how great your guilt, if you will turn from your
sin and trust Jesus Christ as the one who bore your sin on the cross, God will
pardon all of your sin and credit the righteousness of Jesus to your account
(Rom. 4:4-5).
Discussion Questions 1. Does being pro-life mean that all forms of birth
control are wrong? Are some forms of birth control wrong? Why?
2. How would you answer someone who said with reference to laws against
abortion, “I don’t believe you should be able to force your religious views on
others?”
3. Should Christians practice civil disobedience to protest the current
abortion practices? Give biblical support.
4. Should Christians support “compromise” legislation, such as banning
abortion except for rape, incest, or severe deformity? Why/why not?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2004, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American
Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
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