The Discussion Around Abortion, Part 1

The topic around abortion is extremely sensitive and has lots of emotions attached to it. I realize many people in our church have personal experiences around this topic that can make a hard topic already, even harder. My hope is to help shepherd us through this hard conversation in a way that honors God and each other.

Our Church Council is going to take a team approach to this topic and this will be the first of several posts we plan to talk through. Some topics include:

  • What about cases of rape or similar sexual hardships?
  • What about cases where there is a choice of life and death between the Mother and baby?
  • Does a woman have the right to do with her body as she wills?
  • How do poverty and systemic injustice play into this debate?

We also want to make space for you to submit questions on this topic that we will be able to address in the future. You can do that by clicking here.

I am also aware I am speaking as a man, but I am first speaking as your pastor. My hope is to convey scripture and not a comprehensive understanding of abortion. The Apostle Paul was able to talk to married couples as a single man because he was conveying God’s truth, which is my hope to do now. You will also hear from women on our Council throughout this conversation in future articles planned.

Today, I will give a high level overview and set some black and white ground rules for the discussion to start.

How should Christians think about abortion?

I have seen a lot of our church sharing different posts, articles, and videos about abortion and many of them with mostly a non-Biblical worldview. As your pastor, I want to help lead us towards truth and God’s perspective as revealed in scripture. So how should we think about abortion?

Abortion is one of the topics that many people (Christian and non-Christian alike) know that generally Evangelicals and Catholics are against. The main reason for that is in scripture, we hold the view that life starts at conception and ending a baby’s life in the womb would be considered murder of an innocent child.

Here are some scriptures to read that show life starting in the womb: Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13-18, Luke 1:41. 

Does that mean it is wholly unbiblical to be ok with pro-choice legislation as a Christian? Not necessarily. 

But, if you are going to be ok with pro-choice legislation as a Christian, I am going to challenge you on how to do that within a Biblical framework and not on an emotional argument.

Before we get there, there are some ground rules we have to lay.

There are never any good justifications for sin

When we follow Christ, our relationship with sin is not negotiable. We cannot justify sinful actions. Instead, as Christians, we are called to confess and repent from them. If we walk the road of self-justification, then we nullify the cross and disavow Jesus’ free gift of salvation for ourselves.

If you steal from someone and say, “Well they had it coming because they never helped me when I was in need.” It is still a sin to steal. 

If someone makes you angry and you hit them, the thing they did to make you angry does not justify the sin of responding in rage.

The only thing that justifies us before God is Jesus’ sacrifice and to receive it we renounce our sins through confession and turn away from them through repentance.

Murder is sin

In the 10 commandments murder is given as a sin. Jesus affirms this in Matthew’s sermon on the mount. With the other affirmation that babies are human life within the womb from scripture, killing them there would be seen as the sinful act of murder.

So now the question is, can we justify murder for different causes?

This is where the argument becomes sticky, and very emotional. We hear stories of how women are not supported through whole-life for post birth, how there are not enough resources for children born in unloving or unwanted conditions, and about the hardships babies can cause in certain circumstances. These are all true, but do they justify sin? The answer has to be no, because that is the only Biblical response we are allowed.

So can a Christian be Pro-Choice?

Christians can only be arguably politically apathetic under one circumstance: the belief that we should not legislate morality in a non-Christian nation. Paul did not rail against the Roman empire and how they needed to change their laws to ban adultery. No, he told the church they were supposed to live a different way within the nation. 

If your thought process is, we should not legislate morality because we do not live in a Christian nation, then that is consistent with some biblical frameworks that have Christians as a separate nation and not as concerned with laws of the ungodly.

But to take that thought process all the way, then you cannot be for other justice reforms that stem from your Biblical worldview such as seeing more care for immigrants or better government programs for the poor.

If you will fight for pro-choice legislation and immigration reform, bail reform, universal healthcare and the such then you do not have a biblical framework, you have a liberal one.

Just like if you fight for pro-life legislation but will not fight for the immigrant to be taken care of and the poor and needy among us to be cared for, you have a conservative framework and not a biblical one.

Are Christians who are generally pro-life uncaring about the poor and children once they are born?

One concerning piece of misinformation I have seen spread is that Christians only care about babies in the womb but not babies when they are born. That is simply not true. Here are some stats to consider:

  • Practicing Christians adopt at a rate of more than double non-Christians
  • Practicing Christians have been a foster parent 50% more than non-Christians
  • Practicing Christians volunteer their time more frequently for causes specifically to end global poverty than non-Christians 
  • Practicing Christians are the most engaged segment of the population when it comes to fighting poverty

*These statistics are from Barna Group 

This is helpful to remember because the current cultural narrative will make it seem like the opposite is true.

What if I had an abortion in the past?

The simple answer is this: God forgives. He tosses our sin as far as the east is from the west. We can confess and repent of all sin and God is faithful in His love and care for us. Many times this can be a traumatic experience and if you need resources to process it, please reach out.

Abortion is not an easy topic to talk about. In my call last week that we not be ignorant Christians, understanding the topics of the day and how our faith relates to them is part of it. If something written here caused anger, my hope is that we can discuss rather than retreat.

This year I am committed to helping our church enter the post-birth care phase through partnerships with other non-profits that help us engage in the foster care process.

I hope this helps us start a long, loving and great conversation as a family together.

In Love,
Justin M.

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