Abortion: A Biblical Perspective (3)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ
"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" (Psalm 139:13-16).
This passage explains why no Bible believer can be pro-abortion. David described the formation of his body in his mother’s womb. This “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) described himself as a person even when his body was “unformed.” He also acknowledged God’s awareness of his existence and development during this unborn stage of his life. Incidentally, anyone who has ever considered the amazing process of conception and fetal development will agree with David’s wording that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We most certainly are!
Jeremiah is another Bible character whose existence, personality and character were acknowledged before his birth. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “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.” God here tells Jeremiah that He had plans for Jeremiah before his was even born, and the Bible contains numerous examples of this kind of thing. Again, no honest Bible believer can approve of the practice of abortion.
Exodus 21:22, 23 is a very helpful and instructive passage relating to this issue. Moses wrote, “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life.” The contrast is between a “premature” delivery and a “miscarriage.” In the case of an injury resulting in a miscarriage, the life of the killer was to be taken as a punishment for the life of the baby. The life of the unborn baby is considered to be equal in value to the life of the man who caused the loss of the unborn baby’s life. Under the law of Moses it was a capital offense to kill an unborn baby!
Look for our next article in next week’s paper. View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please visit us at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.
