Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (ESV)
God spoke this to a young prophet named Jeremiah. God knew and loved this young man before he was ever physically conceived. And that goes for all of us. God’s knowledge and love are infinite. For his children, he sets them apart, setting a path before them before they are even born. He knows you before your birth.
Intro to Abortion:
The topic of abortion is all over the news and on the mouths of most people. Some people believe that it’s the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy at any moment, while others view the fetus as a human with its own inalienable rights; especially the right to life.Abortion isn’t just a ‘political issue’. There are clear moral implications. If life begins at conception, then it is murder to prematurely end the pregnancy, and we must defend the right of life of the unborn child.
This blog isn’t about the science of abortion, but the morality of abortion, and specifically if the Word of God speaks about this.
As Christians, we know that the Word of God: the Written and Spoken voice of Yahweh and the pursuit of him, is the foundation for all knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10). How God views everything is how we should view everything. It is the utmost importance to know what He says.
It doesn’t matter what my opinion on abortion is. Ultimately, God’s view is the only view that matters so let’s find out what God says about the morality of abortion “According to the bible”.
*a brief preface: This post is in no way meant to pass condemnation or as malice towards anyone who has had an abortion in the past, but an invitation to see what the bible says about abortion.
The Origin of Life
Psalm 51:5-6
For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.
David, the psalmist, wrote this. He talks about how at the moment we were conceived, when the sperm went with the egg, we were sinners. David is stating that at the moment of conception, we enter moral accountability, which is a primary aspect of ‘personhood’. He’s saying that the child in the womb is a human life and should be thought of as such. And even in the womb, God, the creator of everything, speaks to us and teaches us.
In Psalm 139, the psalmist writes this:
Psalm 139:13–14
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. (ESV)
It is God himself who creates us. We are knitted together by him in our mother’s womb. Putting a ‘soul’ in us doesn’t take place later in the pregnancy or made human later in the pregnancy, but the breath of God is present at conception. We see that in the book of Job:
Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 34:14-15
If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
It’s a very beautiful thing. We are lovingly and thoughtfully made by God’s hands (Jeremiah 18, Isaiah 64:8) and it’s his breath that brings us life (Job 33:4).
We see that John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, jumped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when Jesus was nearby, still being formed in Mary’s womb. John was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still developing!
Luke 1:15
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. (ESV)
Luke 1:41
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, (ESV)
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
It’s his will that we would all turn and run to him, (2 Peter 3:9, Matthew 18:14). Nothing demonstrates and shows us the value God has given us than him dying on the cross for us.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Romans 5:6–8
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Matthew 22:37–40
And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (ESV)
Ultimately true love is sacrificial. It’s easy to love someone when it’s convenient; when it requires no real hard work on our part. But try loving someone when they betray us; when they require us to sacrifice time, energy, money, etc. It becomes a burden to us, but it’s a burden that we should bare (Proverbs 3:27-28, Luke 3:11, Luke 10:25-37, Acts 4:34-35). If it comes to it, we should be able to lay down our lives for others because it’s the burden Christ took for us.
John 15:12–13
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)
For more study, check out these verses: 1 John 4:7-21, 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, Deuteronomy 15:11, Isaiah 58.
“Tophet is Moloch, which was made of brass; and they heated him from his lower parts; and his hands being stretched out, and made hot, they put the child between his hands, and it was burnt; when it vehemently cried out; but the priests beat a drum, that the father might not hear the voice of his son, and his heart might not be moved.”
It was horrific and evil. But what does this have to do with abortion? We know statistically that the vast majority of abortions are elect abortions; meaning that the mother's life wasn’t in danger, and not even as the result of incest or rape.
0.36% of abortions done to save the life or health of the mother (5,200 per year)
0.09% done in cases of rape or incest (1,300 abortions per year)
0.24% done for fetal birth defects (3,470 per year)
0.69% done for all the hard cases combined (9,970 per year)
99.31% of all abortions are therefore performed for social or economic reasons
Even if the majority of abortions were for mostly rape cases, that wouldn't change the fact that if they are human, they shouldn't be killed in the womb.
While women who get abortions aren’t literally sacrificing their child to a false god like Moloch, they are offering an innocent life in favor of their own ‘freedom’. They sacrifice their children for a career; the ability to remain independent; or even out of fear of motherhood. It is the direct opposite of God’s command of self sacrifice: the sacrifice of others.
Proverbs 24:10–12
If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? (ESV)
Proverbs 31:8–9
Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy. (ESV)
Romans 12:9
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
It is the call for us all to defend the weak, those who can’t speak for themselves; because that is what true love does. It fights to save lives, and lives a life of sacrifice for the preservation of others.
Jesus went to the cross to give us new life. Him overcoming the grave ended with more life; life for us. It’s not love to kill someone made in the image of God. God is so the opposite of that he even says that Hating your brother is equal to murder. “Come to me and I’ll give you life.” From before the moment of birth, john was bursting with life and joy.
If you have gotten an abortion, there is forgiveness. You're not cast out of heaven because you’ve committed the unpardonable sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
You're not hopeless. Jesus has paid for your sins. The bible says repent and believe (Acts 3:19) and you shall have eternal life. That’s it. You don’t have to atone for your sins. The atoning has been done on the cross by Jesus himself. So repent and believe in him, and have new life.
-
Thanks for reading, even those who don't agree with what was written above. I truly love every one of you and hope God blesses you, and if you don't know God yet, I pray you seek him and find him. If you disagree, let's talk in the comments!
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.
David, the psalmist, wrote this. He talks about how at the moment we were conceived, when the sperm went with the egg, we were sinners. David is stating that at the moment of conception, we enter moral accountability, which is a primary aspect of ‘personhood’. He’s saying that the child in the womb is a human life and should be thought of as such. And even in the womb, God, the creator of everything, speaks to us and teaches us.
In Psalm 139, the psalmist writes this:
Psalm 139:13–14
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. (ESV)
It is God himself who creates us. We are knitted together by him in our mother’s womb. Putting a ‘soul’ in us doesn’t take place later in the pregnancy or made human later in the pregnancy, but the breath of God is present at conception. We see that in the book of Job:
Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 34:14-15
If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
It’s a very beautiful thing. We are lovingly and thoughtfully made by God’s hands (Jeremiah 18, Isaiah 64:8) and it’s his breath that brings us life (Job 33:4).
We see that John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, jumped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when Jesus was nearby, still being formed in Mary’s womb. John was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still developing!
Luke 1:15
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. (ESV)
Luke 1:41
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, (ESV)
The Value of Life
Every single person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We all share his likeness. All of us, regardless of gender, ethnicity, and social status are created equal and are valuable to God, so that he died for all (Acts 10:34-35, Colossians 3:10-11, Galatians 3:26-29, 2 Corinthians 5:15).John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
It’s his will that we would all turn and run to him, (2 Peter 3:9, Matthew 18:14). Nothing demonstrates and shows us the value God has given us than him dying on the cross for us.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Romans 5:6–8
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God’s standard of Love
What does the bible say of God’s standard of love? What does he expect from us? In the book of Matthew, Jesus quotes two verses from the old testament, giving us the ultimate command of what true obedience to God looks like; Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18:Matthew 22:37–40
And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (ESV)
Ultimately true love is sacrificial. It’s easy to love someone when it’s convenient; when it requires no real hard work on our part. But try loving someone when they betray us; when they require us to sacrifice time, energy, money, etc. It becomes a burden to us, but it’s a burden that we should bare (Proverbs 3:27-28, Luke 3:11, Luke 10:25-37, Acts 4:34-35). If it comes to it, we should be able to lay down our lives for others because it’s the burden Christ took for us.
John 15:12–13
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)
For more study, check out these verses: 1 John 4:7-21, 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, Deuteronomy 15:11, Isaiah 58.
Child Sacrifice
Child sacrifice is strictly prohibited by God (Leviticus 18:21, Leviticus 20:1–5, Jeremiah 32:35) . It is an evil practice done by pagan nations. One specific example of this is in ancient Canaan. There was this Canaanite false god named Molech. In a commentary on the book of Jeremiah, Rabbi Rashi, he states this:“Tophet is Moloch, which was made of brass; and they heated him from his lower parts; and his hands being stretched out, and made hot, they put the child between his hands, and it was burnt; when it vehemently cried out; but the priests beat a drum, that the father might not hear the voice of his son, and his heart might not be moved.”
It was horrific and evil. But what does this have to do with abortion? We know statistically that the vast majority of abortions are elect abortions; meaning that the mother's life wasn’t in danger, and not even as the result of incest or rape.
0.36% of abortions done to save the life or health of the mother (5,200 per year)
0.09% done in cases of rape or incest (1,300 abortions per year)
0.24% done for fetal birth defects (3,470 per year)
0.69% done for all the hard cases combined (9,970 per year)
99.31% of all abortions are therefore performed for social or economic reasons
Even if the majority of abortions were for mostly rape cases, that wouldn't change the fact that if they are human, they shouldn't be killed in the womb.
While women who get abortions aren’t literally sacrificing their child to a false god like Moloch, they are offering an innocent life in favor of their own ‘freedom’. They sacrifice their children for a career; the ability to remain independent; or even out of fear of motherhood. It is the direct opposite of God’s command of self sacrifice: the sacrifice of others.
Why should we stand up against abortion?
I talked about God’s standard of love earlier. The Word of God says this:Proverbs 24:10–12
If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? (ESV)
Proverbs 31:8–9
Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy. (ESV)
Romans 12:9
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
It is the call for us all to defend the weak, those who can’t speak for themselves; because that is what true love does. It fights to save lives, and lives a life of sacrifice for the preservation of others.
Conclusion
I want to specifically speak out to the women; who are afraid of motherhood; giving birth to new life might seem like certain death for them. Some women have been tricked into believing that abortion doesn’t harm anyone; That this action of ending the pregnancy is normal and actually encouraged to preserve the life of familiarity and prosperity. But in reality, that’s not the case. Every termination of pregnancy results in the termination of a life. A life God created. A life that we are meant to love and cherish. A life that is meant to grow up, find love, and serve God in spirit and truth.Jesus went to the cross to give us new life. Him overcoming the grave ended with more life; life for us. It’s not love to kill someone made in the image of God. God is so the opposite of that he even says that Hating your brother is equal to murder. “Come to me and I’ll give you life.” From before the moment of birth, john was bursting with life and joy.
If you have gotten an abortion, there is forgiveness. You're not cast out of heaven because you’ve committed the unpardonable sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
You're not hopeless. Jesus has paid for your sins. The bible says repent and believe (Acts 3:19) and you shall have eternal life. That’s it. You don’t have to atone for your sins. The atoning has been done on the cross by Jesus himself. So repent and believe in him, and have new life.
-
Thanks for reading, even those who don't agree with what was written above. I truly love every one of you and hope God blesses you, and if you don't know God yet, I pray you seek him and find him. If you disagree, let's talk in the comments!
Comments
Post a Comment