It has oft been said that there are no scriptures against abortion.  Sadly many just accepted this lie without seeking out the truth.  What follows is what I found when I first began this work.  Before we begin though, I’d like to point out what should be the simple logic of the matter.

When our Heavenly Father created us, He did so to have us as His companions.  That literally means He intended for us to live.  Now if it were acceptable for us to kill our children, that companionship would naturally diminish. So, we can logically infer that He intended for our children to live also.  For Him to be apathetic about their lives is utterly ridiculous since no one would go to so much trouble to create with the intent to destroy their creation at inception.

Now, let us look at whether God cares about, or even acknowledges, these little preborn children in the scriptures.  We’ll start with a “word” study.

Brephos is a Greek word associated both with preborns and newborns. Luke 1:41 speaks of John the Baptist leaping in the womb. Luke 2:19 refers to Jesus in the manger. Yet, brephos is used in both instances.

Ben is used in the Old Testament too many times to count. (Young’s Concordance has 4 pages.) Translated "son", it is used for preborns, newborns, older children and adults. Genesis 25:22 describes the conflict between the twins in Rebecca’s womb. While Exodus 2:25 refers to the entire nation of Israel.

All right.  So the same words used for children that have been born are used for children in the womb.  Logically speaking that means that they have exactly the same value in God’s eyes.   But God, knowing our desire for deception, took it one step further and saw to it that the same word was also used for adults.  Still think we should be killing these precious little beauties?  Let’s see if it’s possible He might have had any plans for the little lives we so readily destroy.

Judges 13:3,5 “The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son . . . because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”   Sampson

Psalms 139:13-16 “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”  David

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Jeremiah

Luke 1:13-15 “But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord . . . ” John the Baptist

Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”   Jesus

I’m fairly sure this is an incomplete list, but you get the idea.  We take these liberties with His creation that He has plans for.  I think the real reason we have abortion in our nation today is not so much that we think it a “necessary right” as that we no longer believe God has any rights over His own creation. Or perhaps it’s just that we don’t really believe in God?

We should be able to agree that the blood of the children in the womb is innocent.   They haven’t had a chance to do much more than a newborn would so they haven’t earned any kind of punishment.  So let’s see what the scriptures say about the shedding of innocent blood.

Gen 4:10 The Lord said, “What have you done?  Listen!  Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 

Exo 23:7 "Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty."

Deu 19:10 "Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land . . . so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed."

Psa 106:37-38 “They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.  They shed innocent blood, the blood of their son and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.”

Pro 6:16-19 "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood . . ."

Jer 7:6-7 "If you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood . . ."

Again, I’m sure this is an incomplete list.  Did you notice the anguish in the Lord’s words over Abel?   Just imagine for a moment how He feels hearing the thousands of little babies our nation has killed.  For nothing has changed since Cain killed Abel, innocent blood cries to the Lord.  If you comprehend the Lord’s compassion even a little, you must see how distressed He is over their pain. 

I hope you also noticed that there were consequences for taking innocent lives.   The Lord was angry at Cain.  He worked hard on His creation.  Cain showed no respect at all by taking a life the Lord had not only created, but was pleased with. 

So let’s see if the Lord takes any action against those whose have so cavalier an attitude.

Gen 4:11 “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground . . .”

Gen 9:5 I will demand an accounting from every animal.  And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellowman.” 

Deu 27:25 "Cursed is the man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person."

Amos 1:13 "This is what the Lord says: For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead . . ."

When Cain killed Abel, He was sent away from everything and everyone he knew, including the Lord.  By his own confession his punishment was more than he could bear.  In today’s world some take being cursed by God lightly.  Truly it is the arrogance of ignorance for to be cursed of God is to not be able to escape punishment. 

Though this too is an incomplete list, I think it very clear that taking innocent lives is unacceptable to our Heavenly Father.  Not only that, but I think we are in danger of incurring His wrath, because to a great extent we take the attitude it isn’t our problem.  So let’s see what the scriptures say about that.

Proverbs 21:12 “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”

Ezekiel 35:6  “. . . Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you"

Eph 5:11 “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins"

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death . . ."

In Matthew 18:1-14  there is a whole discourse on how the Lord feels about those who harm  little children.  (Remember, the same word is used for preborns.)  The final verse sums it up quite clearly.

"In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."

Notice how this points out that not one of the little ones is expendable to Him.  Again He is saying that  the children are NOT ours to trifle with.  To take their lives lightly is to invite the judgment of verse 6:

" . . . It would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be  drowned in the depths of the sea."

Please note that the Lord is not saying they would suffer this punishment.  No, He is saying they will suffer much worse!

So, let's review.

1.  Babes in the womb and older children have the same value to Him.
2.  He has a plan and purpose for them.
3.  He hears when their blood cries out.
4.  Killing them brings His inescapable judgment.
     a. on those that kill
     b. on those that ignore it

Lastly, we need to get a firm grip on the reality that just being Christian doesn't give us a "free pass".

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

We’re at top of the list, those of us who claim to believe the Bible.  He’s going to correct our flaws first. So, tell me, where’s the prudence in pretending we don’t have something to lose by not defending the children?  If you’re waiting around for Him to punish the abortionists, you need to realize we will be punished first.  In part that is because we are to be the “light of the world” (Mat 5:14), not bury our heads like a bunch of ostriches! 

© Children of the Heart 2003