… God, who separated me from my mother’s womb … (Galatians 1:15)
Paul, in making his case to the Galatians for his apostleship, makes a striking statement that is overlooked or blatantly ignored by the proponents of easy abortions. Sadly, a large number of so-called Christians fall into this camp. Here, Paul states in no uncertain terms that his call “to preach him among the heathen” (v. 16) came before he was even born.
That human life is precious to God is clearly demonstrated in the pages of the Bible. When Cain murdered his brother Abel, God quickly called him to account: “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened up her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood” (Genesis 4:10-11). Then to discourage others from murdering Cain, “the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” (Genesis 4:15). Over a millennia and a half later, when Noah exited the ark, God assigned the protection of life to man: “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:5-6).
Then the question arises, “When does life begin?” To the biologist, human life begins at the union of the sperm with the ovum, but to the secular scientist, that is “biological” human life (Greek: bíos) without the essence (Greek: zoé) of humanity or “personhood.” This then becomes a philosophical question. Does the “thing” become a person at conception, or after the first trimester from conception, or after the second, or the third? Some go so far assign the quality of personhood long after the birth of the creature, even up to three years. Killing such a creature can then be justified seeing “it” is not a “person.”
God makes no such distinctions. From the moment of conception, and even before then, the child is a human being, a person – the image of God. To make this point clear, God established laws to protect the child in the womb making it a capital offense to take the life of a fully developed unborn child. (Exodus 21:22-23). The psalmist declares “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 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” (Psalm 139:15-16). God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Life is precious to God. Even before conception He has devised a plan for every life He creates in the womb. Since it is God that creates, gives and sustains life, abortion is never justified or acceptable from His perspective. That being so, it makes sense that anyone who fears God, would and should share the same perspective.
Ernie's Musings 