Abortion
Until I moved in with my grandpa at 16 I wore goodwill clothes, got free lunch, had little to no Christmas gifts, couldn’t join sports because mom couldn’t afford it. I had no money to go on trips with friends, nothing. Most nights for dinner I had cereal because that’s all mom could afford most of the time. Growing up in poverty gave me a respect for money, a hard working work ethic, and a drive to better my life. We cannot hope to change anyone’s mind, and we cannot hope to raise any kind of awareness without the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus shows us what the two greatest commandments are, and it’s our job to live them daily. Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV)36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” There is a distinct difference between Old Testament law, and a commandment. A law had a practical purpose for life at the time, while a commandment was a law against God. When you look at the commandments there is usually a substantial punishment that goes along with it, while the law at the time was about personal safety. (Yes we can talk about this if you want).
I was recently in a conversation in which I was told I pick and choose topics to discuss and I do not discuss topics I don’t wish too. While this isn’t true, and over 700 posts have shown I’ve talked a little about a lot, I would like to make it known here and now, I do not pick and choose what to talk about and what not too, I talk about what I see as needed when I see it as needed, and whatever that may be. So, let me first start off by saying I am a sinner, I am no better then anyone else. I have my own struggles with my own sins, and I confess them to those I need to, but most importantly I confess my sins to God. Second, I am not judging anyone for their actions, I am simply calling out a world sin phenomenon and giving scripture as to why it’s a sin. Okay, now that that’s covered there’s a few things I would like to talk about, first is abortion, obviously this is the title of the post, but next is pre-marital sex.
There’s a reason pre-marital sex is considered a sin, and that’s because at its nature, sex is not for pleasure but for procreation. Pre-marital sex is a sin against God because its very act is to create life, which all life is a gift by God. To have sex out of wedlock means to potentially create life outside of the family dynamic. This is a sin because the family was designed by God to work as mother, father, and Heavenly Father. While there may not be an immediate repercussion, having sex out of wedlock is like playing Russian Roulette. Eventually a condom will fail, birth control won’t work, sex with multiple partners extends the risk of STD’s etc. Now, that being said, there are areas in which unplanned or unwanted pregnancies do happen, and those may be rape or incest. This is a different category of care needed due to the trauma experienced.
This however does not mitigate or detract from the main idea, and that begs the question, what is life? That answer can be seen below.
“It is clear that from the time of cell fusion, the embryo consists of elements (from both maternal and paternal origin) which function interdependently in a coordinated manner to carry on the function of the development of the human organism. From this definition, the single-celled embryo is not just a cell, but an organism, a living being, a human being.
The American College of Pediatricians concurs with the body of scientific evidence that corroborates that a unique human life starts when the sperm and egg bind to each other in a process of fusion of their respective membranes and a single hybrid cell called a zygote, or one-cell embryo, is created.
As physicians dedicated both to scientific truth and to the Hippocratic tradition, the College values all human lives equally from the moment of conception (fertilization) until natural death. Consistent with its mission to “enable all children to reach their optimal physical and emotional health and well-being,” the College, therefore, opposes active measures23 that would prematurely end the life of any child at any stage of development from conception to natural death” (ACPEDS, 2017).
Now, it was also brought to my attention that I need to consider miscarriages, however, that seems to be irrelevant due to the fact, one is a natural occurrence, and the other is a man-made decision. Humans have free will, and while anyone in a situation of feeling the need to have an abortion I would like to say there is hope out there. There are options. There are ways to mitigate abortions by safe sex practices if you decide to have sex outside of marriage. There are adoption clinics where parents are waiting for a child. There are foster parents. (Yes I realize the system is not the greatest) however it is not our place to play God and determine what’s best for a child when we are opting murder is the best option. We determine life by a heartbeat and when that heartbeat stops we determine death. When a baby has a heartbeat is well beyond the point of a living entity. If a person commits murder of a pregnant women, that person is charged with a double homicide, however, if a mother chooses to end her own child’s life it’s considered to be her ‘choice’, however once the baby is born that same option to murder her child is no longer considered choice but murder. Even to the point where a child may be viable outside of the womb and now well into the 9thmonth, abortion is considered legal in states and is spreading. I was told recently that for a child with a deformity or debilitating issue, that is the main purpose to late term abortion, however, again are we playing God and determining what impact that child might have on others?
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.”
Psalm 127:3 “Behold, children are a gift from the Lord.” God is the author and creator of life. All life is an act of God.
We are not to pick and choose which part of the Bible we want to obey and which we want to pass to the wayside. We also must not make erroneous claims. Old Testament law is largely to keep people safe from illness, from death, to keep people clean, etc. As our laws change so do the laws of old. However, while laws change, Sins do not. We are all sinners, and while we do sin, there is hope in our chains. Jesus Christ bled for us, so our sins would not condemn us to hell, but give us a chance of everlasting life. The key however, is that we must come before God humble, and in acknowledgment of our sins, repenting of them, and asking God for His mercy and forgiveness. As Christ said to the women at the well, ‘Go forth and sin no more.’
We never know the joy a child may bring no matter what they may be born with. In the days of Sparta any baby born with a deformity was killed. This was to keep the Spartan line strong. In countries like Japan, babies who are women were aborted if a family had met its quota of babies of allowed of a certain sex. In parts of Africa women are circumcised to prevent them wanting to have pre-marital sex. We find it so repulsive to think about the holocaust and the murdering of thousands, but just because a baby had not been born yet we as a society somehow have justified that as acceptable. We find what Harod did when he murdered all the first born boys from infant to 2 years old in the search for Jesus an awful thing, but we do it every day.
Now, let me be clear, I am by no means justifying other sins, nor am I saying one sin before God is worse then another, however, I am saying it is our job as Christians not to judge, but to call out sin. We are to point it out, and attempt to stop the sin from happening by sharing the Word of God. There are plenty of other posts I’ve written that talk about other sins.
Dave Pelzer was born into a world where he would grow without a name, kept in a basement, abused, tortured, and was treated less then human. He grew up to be an amazing motivational speaker that talks about growing beyond your upbringing, to love, to forgive, and to find purpose in yourself.
My cousin was born with severe Cerebral Palsy and requires near 24-hour care. From the moment she was born there was a problem, and knowing she would be different who whole life. She is one of the happiest, smartest, most loving people on the planet, even with her disability. Just because she was born with a major disability does not make her life any more or less important. She is a child of God, a gift from God, and a joy to all who know her.
We never know the impact someone may have growing up, and trying to prevent someone from living in poverty, or free from a home where they are unwanted, there are millions of people living in poverty who are happy. There are options for those families who cannot take care of their children. There are organizations that help underprivileged homes. There are adoptions, and places that will help raise kids. Conception is a gift from God and that child is innocent. We shall not take an innocent life, lest we be judged for it. We have a responsibility as the church to help those who are in trouble with pregnancy. We as a church have a responsibility to help children in need, to help parents in need, and to be a greater bacon hope, not to pass judgment, but to help the needy. We all sin, but this is one sin we need to stand up for, and be a voice for the millions of babies murdered every year. We have an obligation to stand up and say something because scripture tells us those who watch sin and do nothing are just as guilty as sin. James 4:17 (NKJV)17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
We as a church must continue to support those in need, and support the sanctity of life.
Reference
When Human Life Begins. (2017, April 17). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/life-issues/when-human-life-begins
The Arrow Preacher 