Political
discussions are front-and-center right now in the media as we draw closer to
the presidential election in November. I rarely speak on political issues from
the pulpit for two reasons. First, I think there are many issues on which
Bible-believing people can legitimately disagree. For example, the Bible
doesn’t directly say how the United States should respond to the civil war in
Syria. I think there’s room for Bible-believing people to disagree on that
issue. Second, I believe very strongly that the systematic study of the Bible
is just simply more important than discussing political issues. Political
discussions are not unimportant, they
are simply less important than a careful study of God’s Word—particularly in a
setting like a worship service.
However, as
we study the Bible, I think we discover some very straightforward teaching
about two issues that currently play a big role in American politics. Those
issues are abortion and homosexuality. So, because our nation is currently
focusing on such issues, we will be taking a biblical look at these issues over
the next couple of weeks, beginning today with the subject of abortion.
The
political discussion about abortion in our country brings up many different
questions, but I would like to suggest to you this morning that the most
important question—from a biblical perspective—is the question, “What is the
fetus?” Is it a part of a woman’s body just like any other part—even just a
temporary part like baby teeth, which are not meant to be permanent? Or is the
fetus a human being in its own right, even though it is located within the
mother’s body? If the fetus is a human being, then it should be given all the
dignity, respect, and protection that the Bible gives to human beings.
As we scour
the pages of Scripture, we find a very clear answer to this question. Without a
doubt, the Bible describes the fetus as a complete human being—a person, who just happens to be in the
earliest stages of growth and development. In fact, this conclusion is so
overwhelming that I have never once heard someone use the Bible to attempt to
prove that an unborn child is not a human being. We can state the complete
teaching of Scripture this way:
The child in the womb is a human
being from the moment of conception.
Let me show you this morning how we come to this conclusion
from Scripture.
1. Children in the womb are
viewed as ancestors of future generations (Gen. 25:22-23)
This
passage mentions Isaac, the son of Abraham, and his wife Rebekah becoming
pregnant, then it says [READ 25:22-23]. I should
point out that the Hebrew word translated “children” in v. 22 is the same word
that is used for children who have already been born. So whether a child is in
the womb or out of the womb, it is called the same thing in Hebrew.
Now notice
how the children are described in v. 23—they are described as human beings who
will become fathers to other human beings. Now we all know that only a complete
human being can reproduce. An individual body part cannot reproduce on its own,
so these children are not seen as merely a part of their mother’s body. They
are already seen as complete human beings who will one day be capable of
reproducing. Also, they are human beings with destinies which are already
distinct from each other, even though they are still in the womb.
2. Children in the womb are
given the same legal protection as adults (Exodus 21:22-25)
In Exodus 21,
we read an Old Testament law about the penalty for a situation that caused
premature birth [READ Ex. 21:22-25]. The penalty
for harm to the child that is mentioned in vv. 23-25 is the same penalty that
was given in Leviticus 24 for someone who caused harm to an adult. The point is
clear: the child in the womb is viewed as a human being—just as an adult is
viewed as a human being.
Our own
country is sadly and strangely inconsistent on the legal rights of an unborn
child. Even though abortion is permissible under federal law, the federal
government also passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act in 2004, which
recognizes unborn children as victims when they are injured or killed during a
violent crime. So which is it? Does unborn child deserve the status and legal
rights of a human being? According to the Bible, the answer is clearly “yes.”
3. Children in the womb already
have a place in God’s plan for humanity (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Let’s read
about Jeremiah’s call to be a prophet in Jer. 1:4-5 [READ
Jer. 1:4-5]. Notice that the Lord’s knowledge of and plan for Jeremiah
were actually there before Jeremiah
was even conceived! Thus, from the moment he was conceived, God had a purpose
and a plan for him. Notice that God also said, “I formed you in the womb.” More
on that thought in just a moment.
4. Children in the womb already
have a moral identity (Psalm 51:5)
In Psalm
51:5, King David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth
in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Now keep in mind
that David is writing about his own sinfulness in this psalm, so he is not
saying that his mother committed a sinful act when she conceived him. He is
saying that from the moment he was conceived, the moral category of
“sinfulness” already applied to him. This statement is significant because sin
applies to the human soul, so David’s claim means that he had a soul from the
moment he was conceived. This fact would make him distinct from his mother.
Various parts of the body do not individual souls—only a complete human has a
soul, so the unborn child must be a complete human in its own right from the
moment it is conceived.
5. Children in the womb can be
filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15)
Luke 1:15
is part of the story of John the Baptist, whom we might say was like the “opening
act” for Jesus. He was supposed to prepare people for Jesus’ ministry. In Luke
1:15, an angel speaks to John’s father and says of John,
“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.”
Now being filled with the Spirit is a spiritual experience, so it is only
possible for a human being, who has a spirit or a soul.
6. Children in the womb can
experience emotions (Luke 1:44)
You mothers
can probably testify to this fact! This point also comes from the story of John
the Baptist. At one point, Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to visit John’s
mother, Elizabeth, and in Luke 1:44 Elizabeth says, “behold,
when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for
joy.” This child was experiencing emotions, which are reactions that
flow from the connection between body and soul. So this child was not just a
part of Elizabeth’s body—it was something that possessed its own soul.
7. Children in the womb are the
handiwork of God (Psalm 139:13-16)
Psalm 139
is by far the most familiar passage about the child in the womb. In the first
part of the psalm, King David is describing God’s complete knowledge about us
and the fact that we are always in His presence. In v. 13, he starts to explain
one of the reasons for this [READ v. 13a]. The
Hebrew term translated “inward parts” is literally “kidneys.” The ancient Jews
spoke of the kidneys the same way we speak of the heart today. When I tell my
wife, “I love you with all of my heart,” I’m not talking about the muscle that
pumps blood! I’m talking about my spirit or my soul.
So when
David writes in the next line, “you knitted me together in my mother’s womb,”
what we have is a description of God forming David’s body and soul. Again, this
is very important to note, because if the child in the womb has its own soul,
then it is a human being, since individual body parts do not have their own
souls. Thus, we cannot say that the child is simply a part of the mother’s body
like all other parts.
David’s
description continues in v. 14 [READ v. 14-16a].
“Unformed substance” refers to the earliest days of a child’s
development—before it has started to look like a human. So once again, the
Bible pushes the idea of personhood all the way back to the earliest days of
pregnancy—even to the moment of conception.
Finally,
David writes [READ v. 16b-d]. As we read in
Jeremiah, the child in the womb is already part of God’s plan for humanity. God
knows about every day that the child will live before it is even born.
I think you can
see that the Bible is very consistent on this point—the child in the womb is a
human being in its own right, not simply a part of its mother’s body. Now because
the Bible teaches us this perspective, its not surprising to find that
scientific and medical observations agree with the Bible. Let me quickly
mention a few of these observations.
Scientific observations confirm the claims of the Bible!
1. The child in the womb has its
own unique DNA
Your DNA is
like your genetic fingerprint—it displays your unique identity at the genetic
level. So just as two different fingerprints would identify two different
people, the difference between the mother’s DNA and the baby’s DNA shows us
that we are dealing with two different people.
DNA has
also been called, “the blueprint for your body,” because it contains the
information that determines how your body develops. Now if an architect has two
different sets of blueprints, he knows that he is dealing with two separate
buildings. So the child’s unique DNA shows that it is a unique human being,
distinct from its mother.
2. The child in the womb is
recognized as a foreign object by the mother’s immune system
I thought this
fact was fascinating when I first learned about it. I’d like to read a quote
for you from a medical doctor who describes this observation:
The baby is a completely new
individual, with unique genetic material that expresses foreign markers on his
cells that are not recognized as "self" by the mother. The mother's
immune system should destroy the new baby's first cells within just a few cell
divisions, but substances secreted by the placenta and baby promote a complex
suppression of the maternal immune response only within the implantation site
of the uterus. The placental tissue that touches the uterus has decreased
expression of markers that would provoke an immune response, and the mother's
body therefore accepts it. Without this immunological acceptance, no baby would
ever survive.1
This is
amazing, and its also amazing that anyone would continue to claim that a baby
is simply a part of its mother’s body. How could we make that claim when the
mother’s own body doesn’t recognize the baby as being part of itself?
3. The child in the womb meets
the medical criteria for life from its earliest days
Medical
authorities determine a person to be “alive” if there is either a detectable
heartbeat or brain-wave activity.2 A baby in the womb meets both of
these criteria from its earliest days. A fetal heartbeat can be detected as
early as 18 days after conception, and brainwave activity can be detected as
early as 40 days after conception. Virtually all abortions occur after both of
these criteria have been met, so there should be no doubt that abortion ends a
human life.
So we have
seen this morning that the Bible clearly teaches that the child in the womb is
a distinct human being, and since the Bible describes the world the way it
really is, it is not surprising to find scientific and medical facts that agree
with the Bible. Thus, if the unborn child is a human being, then it should be
given all of the dignity and protection that Scripture gives to human beings—including
the prohibition against murder. Now let me be clear—I doubt if there has ever
been a woman who walked into an abortion clinic thinking, “I’m about to murder
my baby.” So many people just don’t know these facts, which only compounds the
tragedy of abortion since mothers just don’t realize what they are doing. Next
week, we are going to discuss how we can offer a biblical response to our
culture of abortion with our head, our heart, and our hands, but this morning
let us all understand that Bible-believing people should be morally opposed to
abortion, and this conviction should influence our voting choices as well as
all other areas of our lives.
Notes:
1. Guliuzza, R. J. 2009. Made in His
Image: Human Gestation. Acts & Facts. 38 (2): 10.
2. Sanctity of Life, C. Swindoll, Word, 1990, pp.
11-12.
From http://bible.org/illustration/heartbeat Accessed 9/5/12.
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