ABORTION: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
There are many sides to the abortion issue: moral, logical, legal, ethical, and religious. I believe on every one of those fronts abortion is wrong. As Christians we have a duty to search the scriptures for answers to the abortion questions that so often arise. Many Christians know in their hearts that abortion is wrong, but they have never found the word "abortion" mentioned in the Bible. Because they have been taught to be silent where the Bible is silent, they dismiss the subject altogether. The Bible, in fact, contains more scriptures that apply to abortion than could possibly be listed in this article. It is not silent. It doesn’t use the word abortion but the message is there. It originated in a different language.
The first Bible verse that most likely comes to the Christian's mind as including abortion is, "Thou shalt not kill." (Ex. 20:13) The Hebrew word for "kill" could more accurately be translated "murder." Killing in war is not considered murder. Killing an unborn, innocent baby who fights to live when aborted is murder.
The Lord speaks in many places in the scripture about taking the life of the innocent: Ex. 23:7, Jer. 7:6 and 22:3, Ps. 10:8, Prov.1:11 and Proverbs 6:16-17, which lists as one of the seven things the Lord hates "hands that shed innocent blood." Who is more innocent than a child who has not yet entered the world--one who is, in a sense, still in the hands of God?
This thought brings to mind another scripture from Isaiah 49:15-16, which says, "Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son (child) of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven (carved) thee upon the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me."
There is a popular ideology taught by pro-abortionists which maintains that the unborn are not human. By God's design, every form of life reproduces after its own kind. Genesis 1:24 says, "Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind...' and it was so." James 3:12 says, "My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water" (NIV). Humans, therefore, reproduce humans, and at no stage of pregnancy is the unborn child anything but human--not a fruit, not an animal, but human. The unborn differ from other children only in their size and their abode. All human life is important to God from the moment of conception. He has plans for each and every life. God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee..." (Jer.1:5-KJV) If God knows every star by its name, and every sparrow that falls, He surely knows and cares about each of us just as surely as He did Jeremiah.
David praised God for the miraculous and wonderful way God knit him together in his mother's womb in Psalms 139:13-16. The 16th verse says, in part, "Your eyes saw my unformed body," (NIV) referring to the short period of time in his mother's womb before his body took the human shape, that time being from conception to approximately seven weeks. One pro-choice argument justifies abortion by alleging a "blob" is expelled, not human life, but regardless of how the child is shaped or where it is located, the child is still a child of God.
Much emphasis is placed on love throughout the Bible. Some of the definitions of love, as described in the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, include: "Love is patient, love is kind...does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own...bears all things...hopes all things, endures all things." There is no room in this description of love for the majority of excuses given to justify abortion.
When a woman speaks of the right to choose and the right to her own body, etc., she is usually thinking of one person: herself. The Christian is taught through scriptures to think of others first which, in this case, would include the father, grandparents, and first and foremost, the baby. As it should be, the mother should relinquish her right to her own body when another comes to abide there. But the law, in a classic case of misplaced compassion, gives the mother exclusive rights to decisions made about the child's welfare (or demise). The father has none until (and if) the baby is born.
Paul warned the Corinthians that "the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord..." (I Cor. 6:13-NIV) and that "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (I Cor. 6:19-20 NIV). God receives no honor, nor does the woman, when she causes death to another who abides within her body.
When God asked Cain, "Where is Abel, thy brother?" Cain replied, "Am I my brother's keeper?" God then said, "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." (Genesis 4:9-10 KJV) The blood of aborted children is surely crying out from sewers, furnaces, dumps, and research laboratories across America. As Cain was held accountable for the spilling of his brother's blood--he was, in fact, his brother's keeper--so will we as a nation be held accountable for the spilled blood of these innocent children. The shedding of their blood has defiled our land. Not until our nation ceases to sacrifice its children on the altar of selfishness will God heal our nation. If our nation continues this practice, our punishment, like Cain's, may be more than we can bear.
Malachi tells why God hates divorce and cheating husbands: “Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. Malachi 2:15.”
So, what can we, as Christians, do? We can no longer be silent; we must be bold. We can become informed, then write letters and make phone calls to politicians. A yea or a nay will do. If we don't, our silence will be taken as approval of the existing laws. We can show strength in numbers.
In addition, we can lend our support to the local, state and federal right-to-life organizations. Participate in their fund-raising efforts, give them encouragement for their efforts (This is a very depressing cause), and contribute if you can. Do telephone networking by informing others of upcoming legislation and events, have them pass the message on, and so on. Talk to your children on a level equal with their understanding. Join the marches and the life chains. Set up a booth wherever booths are allowed and fill it with literature, videos, and if you have anatomically correct examples of unborn babies at every stage, that is ideal.
Ministers should increase awareness about the abortion issue among the members of his congregation. Write about it, talk about it, but don't let the issue die. Edmund Burke once said, "The only thing necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." The Bible condemns complacency. Proverbs 24:11-12 says, "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does he not repay each person according to what he has done?" (NIV). I hope that people will act more out of love for the innocents being slaughtered than out of fear of condemnation for complacency or inaction, though.
The most power we have is in our vote. The "right to life...and the pursuit of happiness" should take precedence over any so-called right to privacy. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. KJV). When an election is held every two years, vote for the candidates who choose life, who want to keep all life sacred. Proverbs 28:5 says "Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully" (NIV).
All of God's laws must come before economics or foreign policy or any other issue, because if we turn our back on God, our nation will fall, and these other issues will become irrelevant. What law is more sacred than the right to life. Consider abortion and all other moral issues the next time you enter a voting booth. We must regain and maintain Christian principles and serve the King who is above all kings and rulers.
--Becky Wall
