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God Has Spoken Concerning Abortion
On the 22nd of January 1973 the US Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to privacy must be broad enough to include abortion. At that time the highest court in the US ruled that “legal personhood does not exist prenatally”. In other words a foetus in the womb is not a person until born. From that date multiplied millions of unborn babies have been destroyed in that land of the free and home of the brave. Many other nations have since come to similar decisions.
In South Africa it was 3 years after the new government came into power, February 1997, that the “Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act” came into force, opening the way for abortion on demand in RSA. It was deemed appropriate by the rulers of this land that within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy a woman of any age may have an abortion. No questions asked. No need to consult parents if under age. No need to consult spouse if married. From 13 to 20 weeks a woman must prove the need to abort. But this is easily done. She need only demonstrate that she is not financially able to have the baby.
Abortion is one of the greatest crises the human race has ever faced, the death toll far exceeding any human disaster. In 1990 Dr. James Dobson wrote, “We in the United States – this great bastion of liberty and protection for the weak – have now slaughtered more than twenty million innocent babies! We have mercilessly torn them to pieces without anaesthetic and poisoned them within their mothers’ wombs. My God! Forgive us for this wickedness! We know from Scripture that the Lord is infinitely tender and compassionate toward the little children with whom He has blessed us. What must He be feeling now, as we spill their blood for our own convenience and economy?” With so much at stake we simply cannot be ignorant of this matter. The main concern for the believer is the question of what God’s Word says. It just doesn’t matter what ministers or magistrates say. It matters not what laws men have written into effect. It doesn’t matter what parent or pastor think. But what has God spoken with regard to abortion?
Such a vital principle can be found in Proverbs 29:18,
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he”.
Now we must understand that when the Bible speaks of vision it refers to God’s revelation coming to us through His prophets. The 2nd half of the verse sheds light on this in giving the contrast. So God is telling us that where His words are not proclaimed the people perish or run to ruin. The point is we so desperately need to know clearly what God has said, because His words are a preserving force so vital to our well-being.
So does God speak then on the matter of abortion? Does He speak clearly? Please stay with me and find the answers my friend. But understand there is a way so common among men, even among many who call themselves Christian. Folks tend to see things they’re not happy with in the Bible as unclear. It’s an old human ploy. “Since it cannot be clearly affirmed from the Bible, therefore it is a matter of individual conscience”, many are quick to proclaim. Thus by refusing to really hear God they sweep away things they don’t want binding on their conscience. One Christian author wrote, “The Bible tells us that ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin’ (Rom. 14:23). If an individual or family doesn’t have peace about going through with an abortion, they should refuse it. On the other hand, if after counsel, prayer, and much meditation they decide upon an abortion, the rest of us are not to condemn them. That’s not our prerogative. We are told specifically in Romans 14 that we do not have the right to make judgments when the Scriptures are silent”. Do you see? A touch of wilful deafness goes a long ways toward keeping the peace. But whenever we compromise on the truth, for whatever reason, somebody is going to get hurt. In this case a helpless little baby, “secure” in his mother’s womb. No my friend, that will not do! With every concern we must go to the Word of God with an open heart to honestly hear what God has spoken. If the Bible does indeed speak clearly on this matter of abortion then it cannot be left to personal choice. So let’s go to God, utterly open and honest of heart, looking for His answers.
Sanctity of Human Life
We must recognize that God’s Word presents human life as a sacred thing, and this for a couple of main reasons. Firstly, because man was created in God’s image. Six times we’re reminded of this in the Bible, four of the six times in the book of Genesis;
- Genesis 1:26 – “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”.
- 1:27 – “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him”.
- 5:1 – “In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him”.
- 9:6 – “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man”.
The Lord lays great emphasis on this theme in that book of beginnings. Man is not to lightly shed the blood of man because he is made in God’s image.
Another reason human life is sacred is because it is the gift of God;
- Psalm 100:3 – The psalmist proclaims, “Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves”.
- Psalms 127:3 – “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward”. A doubled statement here confirming that children are from God’s hand, indeed His “reward”.
In fact conception is ultimately in God’s hand. Think of the many examples of this in Bible;
- Sarah – “And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said . . . For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son” (Gen. 21:1).
- Rebekah – “And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (Gen. 25:21).
- Ruth was barren in her first marriage. But then with Boaz “the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son” (Ruth 4:13).
- Hannah – “And the Lord remembered her” according to her earnest prayer (I Samuel 1:19). “And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters” (I Sam. 2:21).
It is God who gives conception. This speaks volumes! Children are a gift from His hand, even His “heritage” or “reward”. Therefore the life of a child should be valued highly. When conception and children are given, it is God Himself who gives them! Therefore when man steps in to violently interrupt that gift of God through abortion it is not only the heartless murder of a defenceless child in need of our protection, it is the work of rebels who would trash God’s priceless gifts. Woe upon proud man!! Woe upon godless, “progressive” government to endorse such treachery!!
The Babe in the Womb
Let’s consider further the unborn babe in the womb. In Psalm 139 we find a most wonderful description of God’s prenatal work. It’s David marvelling in God’s matchless handiwork and intimate care. Consider verses 13-16;
Vs. 13 – “For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”
Vs. 14 – “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Vs. 15 – “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”
Vs. 16 – “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”
Oh there is so much we could say about things spoken here. But consider just two important questions;
- Who is doing the forming in the womb?
- Who is being formed?
Through this window into the womb we see God at work;
- 13 – “For You have possessed my reins”.
- 13 – “You have covered me in my mother’s womb”.
- 14 – “Marvellous are Your works”.
Clearly the womb is God’s workshop. He Himself intimately, intricately fashions human life there. But as well, listen carefully to the way David refers to himself here. In fact that’s the point. He refers to himself. Writing under God’s inspiration, David does not speak of developments in the womb only as a forming of his body. There is that of course, but notice that he speaks of himself there, his person. Listen to the personal pronouns “my” and “me” in vs. 13. And it’s “my substance” (vs. 15) and “my members” (vs. 16). Do you hear? David expresses distinct personhood as well. This is not his mother’s body, implying her freedom with what is hers. Yes it was his mother’s womb, but this was David’s body, indeed David himself the Lord was so skilfully knitting together there. We are forced to recognize a distinction in lives or persons, between mother and child. This can only mean that in abortion a woman is making a decision concerning another person distinct from herself. It is not her decision concerning her own body only!
Consider a few other Bible portions speaking along similar lines;
- Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” – Again, who was conceived? From conception David says it was “me”, “I was shapen in iniquity”. The person of David was there, not just his body.
- Isaiah 49:5 – “. . . the LORD that formed me from the womb” – God did the forming of Isaiah in the womb as a person (“me”).
- Jeremiah 1:4-5 – “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee” – So Jeremiah did not come to existence only through the natural process of human reproduction. God was there, actively forming him in his mother’s womb. And it was the person, Jeremiah, formed, whom the Lord knew before the man was even capable of knowing. These are not things to be spoken of an impersonal foetus or mass.
- Luke 1:41-44 speaks of John the Baptist when still in his mother’s womb;
Vs. 41 – “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit:”
Vs. 42 – “And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”
Vs. 43 – “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Vs. 44 – “For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”
John, as an unborn infant of 6 months, showed recognition, even joy, when meeting with Mary, who was carrying Jesus in her womb. This denies the notion of an impersonal mass in Elizabeth’s womb.
What do we discover from these portions? Clarity! A far greater clarity than many wish to admit on this matter of abortion. So the Bible is not silent! What do we discover? That God Himself is actively interested and intimately involved in shaping the lives of the unborn. This then makes abortion a direct act of man against his Maker. Imagine if your father was a clock repair man. You, his young child, walk into his workshop one day and see a clock all carefully stripped and labeled, the tiny parts all laid out in order on his desk. And so you walk up to his desk while he’s busy there and sweep it all off onto the floor in one motion. Can you imagine his reaction to such heartless insolence? Even so when small man intrudes into and violates God’s intimate handiwork, daring to violently rip from God’s hands a marvelous work He is busy with even now.
We find as well that it is indeed already a person in the womb throughout those formative months. Life in the womb is human life, possessing the special sacredness the Lord assigns to human life. This makes inducing their death the treacherous murder of an innocent person, a sector of humanity that could not possibly be more innocent or helpless or harmless!
So what can we do about abortion? We begin by calling it what it is – murder! We then confront such treachery when opportunity arises, doing what we can to bring to the unborn the protection they need. We go in love to those with unwanted pregnancies, and to those who have killed the innocent and are hurting. We go with humility, understanding they are no greater sinners than we ourselves. To be both informed and informers must be our purpose, preachers of truth, advocates of the unborn.
Understand as well that the only truly effective cure of the symptom is to cure the fallen condition behind it. Abortion is a symptom of unredeemed hearts that despise God’s authority. The preaching of the gospel of salvation in Jesus is the only cure for the scourge of abortion. It was in fact God knitting us together from the time of our conception, caring for our life from those earliest moments, mindful of our needs. And it was God who in grace sent His own Son to die the death our sin deserves, in our place!
Could it be that you have been involved in abortion? Is God perhaps working through His word in your heart even now, bringing you to genuine repentance for your evil? Oh it is indeed wickedness, but God is a God of pardons. Never was there greater treachery than what wicked men did to Jesus. Yet He allowed it knowing that by enduring the judgment of suffering and death in your place God was able to make a way for your sin to be removed “as far as the east is from the west”. In Jesus you can be “whiter than snow”. Oh there is wonderful deliverance from our sin and guilt in Jesus Christ! Confess before Him the evil of what you have done. Go to Him as a sinner undone. Receive Him as the Saviour from your sin He wants to be. In His wonderful grace Jesus is so ready to receive any sinner who at last comes to Him for cleansing.