Misconceptions Clarified XIV; "Does God Condone Abortion?"

Welcome to Misconceptions Clarified XIV where this episode will focus its attention on the highly sensitive subject of abortion. Now, before this article delves into the thick of the conversation, it is absolutely essential that whoever reads this understands the intention of this particular episode. It is by no means attempting to condemn anyone who has had to make the difficult decision to have an abortion or to tear anyone down. If you are reading this and had to make such a decision or you know somebody personally who has gone through the procedure, please know that the God of the Bible is a merciful and forgiving God. Exodus 34:6 says, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.” Paul also said in Romans 5:8 that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. Make no mistake about it, God loves you very much and He demonstrated his love for you by sending his one and only Son to this world to die for you. So, if you’re struggling with this particular area, God is inviting you to meet Him at the cross of Christ to receive the healing you are searching for, which only He can provide. Please know that there is no sin (except for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) that is too big for our God to forgive.

Additionally, this episode on abortion is not geared towards the one percent; those who had to have an abortion because of rape, incest, abuse, or for medical reasons where the mother’s life was in jeopardy. Only the Lord knows the amount of suffering and trauma they had to endure. Please know that we at Christian Way Ministries are praying for you as a church, and are here to provide counseling if needed free of charge. It is also important this article clarify that abortion is not solely a woman’s issue, even though she has the ultimate decision to make. Abortion is a humanity issue! Abortion is the number one epidemic against humanity, and there are a magnitude of variables that has contributed to the overall number of abortions, in which this article cannot cover them all. However,  believe it or not, men (not all men) who are supposed to be the head of their own households play a significant role for why 50 million plus abortions have been performed since the landmark decision of Wade Vs. Roe in 1973. Now, before the men start screaming, “it’s the woman’s decision,” know that if men (not all men are guilty of this) stop treating women as sexual objects and start being the leaders God has called them to be, by reminding our women that they are precious in the sight of God, maybe we are not having this conversation. If men would encourage marriage first before sex, and form their families the way God has designed it to be, maybe abortion wouldn’t be as prevalent as it is today. So, when it comes to a woman having to make the ultimate decision on whether or not to keep their baby, if the man would step up as the leader and take responsibility to reassure the woman that he is going to provide and make the necessary commitments to her and the baby, maybe the woman wouldn’t have to face the pressures of having an abortion. Just maybe….

The same argument that can be used against the man for not stepping up to the plate of responsibility regarding his commitment to the family dynamic, can obviously be used against the woman as well, which is why abortion is an issue of humanity. If women would start setting their standards a little higher and start saving themselves for marriage with the right man, again, this could be a different conversation. Nevertheless, there is one thing that is for certain.., the people of God need to stop using sex as a means to try out their potential partner! Sex should not be practiced as a sport, sex should not be practiced whenever one has a sexual urge, and sex should not be practiced to see if you’re dating the right person. The people of God need to learn how to control their own sexual urges and desires. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 makes clear, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans who don’t know God.” According to the Scriptures, sex is strictly reserved for marriage. The whole reason why this conversation on abortion exists today is because humanity has moved away from God and his intended purpose for sex within the confines of a marriage between a husband and a wife.

Unfortunately, the reality of abortion is still at 50 million and counting, and we need to seriously contemplate how humanity can curve the numbers? Maybe, if the laws allowing for abortion weren’t so lenient, the statistics wouldn’t be so high. Only time will tell the direction America will travel with all the new laws being passed at the state level. Yet, the purpose of this particular episode is to bring awareness to the reality of the current epidemic of abortion, and to answer the question, “Does God Condone Abortion” according to the Scriptures? Now, there are a variety of reasons why people believe it is a woman’s right to have an abortion, but one of the main factors that contributes to the idea that abortion is ok comes from the notion that your body belongs to you. “My body, my right!” However, there are a couple of objections this episode believes you should consider concerning this notion. First, what does God have to say about your body, and how should you treat your body according to the Scriptures. In today’s society, it is easy to get caught in the weeds of worldly deception, and many times the people of God set themselves on the throne of God, and become the final authority over their own life and how they treat their own bodies. Be careful! It is important to remember, especially for those who believe in God and who try to live by his Word what the Bible says in Ephesians 6:12; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 1 John 5:19 also affirms that the whole world lies under the influence of the evil one. Meaning, the battle of humanity is against Satan himself, and one of the ways Satan wages war against God and his people is by influencing them to do the things that stand in direct opposition to God’s Word. For example, if God told Adam and Eve in the beginning not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan’s main objective is to get them to eat the fruit. Likewise, if the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that your bodies are not your own, but that you were bought with a price, Satan is on the attack to deceive the people of God into thinking that their bodies belong to them. If Satan can convince you that your body belongs to you, then this is how Satan can influence the people of God to do things with their bodies that stand contrary to the Word of God. This lie that Satan uses to deceive God’s people into thinking that their bodies belong to them is the small fire that sets the whole forest of your body ablaze.

Therefore, this episode wants to clarify this misconception that your body belongs to you! God bought you with the blood of his own Son Jesus Christ, and with that price tag come instructions on how you should live your life. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-25, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” In other words, once you become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you no longer belong to yourself, you belong to God and must live by his Word. Which means, you can’t do whatever you please with your own body. Now, if you are reading this and do not believe in Christ, it will be difficult for you to make the argument from a naturalistic perspective that you own your own body when you did not create yourself. So, if you didn’t make yourself, how can you really justify rationally or philosophically that you own yourself? Who signed over the deed to your own life? Furthermore, the fact that you can’t number how long you will live, or prevent your body from succumbing to the reality of death is further proof that you really don’t own your life. Only God can set the parameters for life, which He did when He said in Genesis 6:3, “their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” On the other hand, what God did give humanity is the choice to do right or wrong with what God has given us, and the question that remains to be answered pertains to whether humanity is making the right choices with their bodies, with how they think about sex, and with how they are living their life? Are the people of God making the right choices surrounding the epidemic of abortion, and how we are to move forward as a human race? Is taking the life away from a baby really the right decision according to God’s Word? Again, this episode is not trying to point fingers at anyone or condemn anyone who had to make the difficult decision to abort, or to neglect the one percent mentioned earlier. The main objective of this episode is to point out the lies of Satan, to hold humanity accountable as a whole regarding the epidemic of abortion, and to clarify the misconception that our body and our life belong to us when they don’t.

It is clear from the scriptures that humanity is not the author of life, and thus does not have the authority to take life. The Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” According to this particular verse, life begins before the moment of conception with the very knowledge of God. Of course, there are two sides of the debate regarding when the life of a baby actually begins in the womb, i.e., at the moment conception, when the baby has a heart beat, or when the baby is born. This episode does not have the room to tackle all of the complexities and dynamics involved with this conversation. However, it does make sense, and there are scientific arguments available to support this position that once a male sperm and a female egg come together, life begins. Once life begins, the question that we have to answer is, does humanity have the right to take life away? Does the woman have the authority by God to end the life of a baby in her womb? If the people of God could just remove their emotions out of the equation for one second and attempt to objectively answer the question, “does God condone abortion according to Scriptures,” the answer would be no. Again, can God forgive anyone who made the decision to abort their baby for whatever reason? Absolutely! But if humanity is going to make any lead way in curving the epidemic of abortion, it is important to know what God says in His Word about the issue.

Hence, if the answer is no that God does not condone abortion and if the answer is no to the question, do we own our own bodies, then what can humanity do to help curve abortion. The answer is to turn back to God and his Word! The answer is to practice abstinence and save yourself until you find the right person, which goes for both the man and the woman. The answer is to be aware of the mystery of lawlessness that is already at work in our society that is trying to influence you with the lies of Satan. The answer is to know that you cannot do whatever you want with your own body, that abortion is not condoned by God, and that it is not ok to have sex before marriage. The answer is for the people of God who know the Word, and for the church to become more engaged in this conversation and to become a voice in the wilderness on abortion and other prevalent issues instead of being idle. Silence is another contributing factor to why abortion reached the level that it did. The only way to scale back the atrocities that are occurring in our day and age is to return back to the living Word of God that instructs his people how they should live their life and what they are to do with their own bodies. That’s the answer that will afford our society the opportunity to overcome the tragedy of abortion. James 5:19-20 says, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Humanity as a whole needs to turn back to God, follow Jesus, obey the Word, and preach the truth out of love. If every person took on that responsibility, none of the epidemics humanity experiences today would exist.

Lastly, for those who have had to suffer the trauma and emotions of having an abortion, remember God is a merciful and graceful God, who forgives us of our sins if we confess them to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God can work all things together for the good of those who love him, including our sin and the past decisions we made. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But, once we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and his Word, it is important for us to turn away from our sins and become an advocate for righteousness. Once you know the truth that set you free, it’s imperative to share that truth so others don’t fall for the lies of the devil. And for those contemplating abortion, it is critical that you understand there are other options and resources available to you that you can take advantage of.

Please click on this website for further information on five alternatives to abortion: https://www.americanadoptions.com/pregnant/alternatives-to-abortion

Please remember that statistics show women will experience emotional distress following an abortion, and here go two more websites you can review to understand the emotional toll of having an abortion: https://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/abortion-emotional-effects/

https://adviceandaid.com/the-very-real-effects-of-abortion-emotional-facts-you-need-part-2/

Also, know that there are a plethora of resources and assistance available in your particular state to single mothers, and to families who are struggling financially to provide for their children. For those living in the state of Virginia, here go a link to those resources:

http://www.singlemom.com/virginia-assistance/

Our church is not here to tear anyone down, but to build them up, to encourage them, to preach the truth in love, to bring awareness to contemporary issues, and to find solutions to those issues. Please know that if there is anything we can do for you as a church, please scroll down to the bottom of this page and you can email us, connect with us on Social Media, you can message us directly, you can visit us physically on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM or on Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM, or you can call us at (757) 278-6460. It is our prayer that no matter how difficult the decision may be for you to keep your own baby, (even in the extreme case for rape) that you will know there are people who can help you, there are resources available to you, and that you will always choose life for your baby if possible and trust God. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.”

May the Lord be with all of God’s people and may they always strive to do what is right!