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SERMON: WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT
ABORTION
Steve Cole
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!
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