4 Christian Beliefs About Abortion
Not all professing Christians believe the same essential truths about abortion. Furthermore, as shocking as it might be, not all conservatives who tout Republican politics push the pro-life agenda out of a genuine fear of the Lord and love for children. There are those who see a pro-life position as just another box to check in order to get an evangelical vote, ultimately playing a political game for power and money.
As with all matters of faith and practice, Christians should be discerning and thoughtful about how they view abortion and the pro-life movement. To be more blunt I’ll say it this way: Christians should face the fact that not all pro-lifers have a biblical position on abortion and should make sure their own beliefs are based on Scripture.
You and I have a responsibility as believers to submit to Scripture whether it is convenient to do so or not. To help you consider this, here are 4 Christian beliefs about abortion that come straight from what the Bible teaches:
1: Life Begins at Conception
The Bible places a high value on all human life, including that of the unborn. Biblical teaching declares that life is a sacred, God-given gift (Genesis 1:26–27, 2:7; Deuteronomy 30:15–19; Job 1:21; Psalm 8:5; 1 Corinthians 15:26), especially the life of children (Psalm 127:3–5; Luke 18:15–16), and condemns those who take it away (Exodus 20:13; 2 Kings 1:13; Amos 1:13–14). The development of unborn life is controlled by God (Job 31:15; Psalm 139:13–16; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Isaiah 44:2, 46:3, 49:5; Jerimiah 1:5; Luke 1:15; Galatians 1:15). The personhood of the fetus is clearly taught in Exodus 21:22 where the unborn is called a “child” (yeled) rather than a “fetus” (nephel or golem). Hosea 9:11 implies that life begins at conception, while Luke 1:41, 44 recognizes the consciousness of an unborn child. (1)
If you are a professing Christian, this is what a biblical worldview on the origins of life looks like. Our view on life, conception, and human value comes from Scripture alone.
2: Abortion is Sinful Murder
In Scripture, we see that God commands that no one be murdered (Exodus 20:13), God values people more than anything (Luke 12:6-7), that pregnant women and babies be protected during pregnancy (Exodus 21:22-25), that He forms life in the womb (Psalm 139:13), and has literally given breath and life to man (Acts 17:25). All life is precious in God’s sight. As Feinberg and Feinberg so poignantly put it, “Being in God’s image not only qualifies one as a human person but is also a major reason why human life is sacred…Life is sacred because God gives and sustains it. Because it is his gift, we must treat it with care and not discard it.” (2)
Abortion is sinful because it is the taking of a human life by force. A tragic miscarriage is not an abortion, and a child dying in the midst of a surgery as doctor’s attempt to save the child’s life is not an abortion. Abortion is the intentional and willful act of ending a child’s life.
This is a foundational Christian belief on the subject of abortion and will dictate much of your ethics on this matter. If abortion is not murder, it is not a moral issue. If it is murder, it is of utmost concern to the Christian who submits to God’s moral standard for human life.
Jay Adams’ explanation of abortion counseling offers us an important moral perspective on this issue when he writes,
“The post-abortion counseling that one does must emphasize both the heinous nature of the sin and the gracious forgiveness that God provides to those who are truly repentant. Neither of these elements may be absent. Not only must the woman involved in the act be dealt with, but also, if possible, the man who brought about the conception and death of the child. If he acquiesced in the abortion, he too must be considered as guilty as she.”
This leads to perhaps the most controversial of all Christian beliefs regarding abortion.
3: Only Children Are the Victims
The victimhood of children is an essential belief for the biblically-minded Christian. Sadly, this particular point is hotly debated and convoluted by people who play the politics, rather than hold to Scripture.
I recently learned about a pro-life organization being led by Christians. The language in their material refuses to call abortion “murder” because they think it’s too strong of an accusation. Furthermore, they categorize both babies and the mother as the victims in all abortions and refuse to support any type of belief or legislation that holds women responsible for murdering their child. I believe Scripture disagrees. In a common abortion (I will deal with rape shortly), there is only one victim: the baby. One can say that all involved have fallen into the trap of sin, but if sinning only makes you a victim, then why is it wrong? Try calling a husband who cheated on his wife a “victim” and people would call you crazy! This truth will cause even more evangelicals to exit the building but before you do, think!
What about situations that involve rape? A woman who is raped and impregnated is a victim of a heinous crime and I believe the rapist should be punished. However, if the baby is murdered, the baby is still the only victim in the act of abortion. While it may be more culturally acceptable to victimize everyone involved in the situation, believers need to think biblically about how to categorize these matters with calm, clear, and wise logic. Two categories exist in these matters:
Rape with no abortion –
The man has sinned heinously by raping the woman, the woman is the victim who should be cared for, and the child is born to either be cared for by his mother and (hopefully) a godly father one day, or to be given up for adoption by a family who will raise the child as their own.
Rape with abortion –
The man has sinned heinously by raping the woman, the woman is still the victim of rape and should be cared for, the woman has sinned heinously by murdering the child, the doctor who performed the abortion has sinned heinously by murdering the child.
Nothing of what I have written here should be controversial within basic Christianity. Why? Because abortion is murder, therefore, it is sin against a holy God, those who commit abortion are sinning against a holy God, which is why we care so deeply about abortion in the first place. Yet there are still numerous evangelicals and self-professing Christian politicians who refuse to hold anyone responsible when a baby has been murdered. They either do not want to offend anyone with truth, or they are playing a political game and don’t want to lose the support of their constituency.
4: The Gospel Saves Sinners
If life begins at conception, abortion is murder, and murdered children are the only victim, then we must surely preach the gospel and believe that God can save sinners who are lost just like you and I once were. In churches across America this Sunday there will be countless Christian men and women who have caused and committed murder through abortion. They have been forgiven. Just like there will be countless former adulterers, thieves, liars, manipulators, slanderers, abusers, and money-lovers who have all been forgiven because they repented of their sins and place their faith in Christ, so too can the one who murders be forgiven. As a friend of mine often says, “The ground at the foot of the cross is level.” It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, the grace of God is greater than your greatest sin.
Preach the gospel on this matter. Do not be a coward and toss the need for repentance under the rug for the sake of political correctness. If babies and women are victims in the act of abortion, then where is the gospel necessary in this? What sin has been committed? Was Christ the atoning sacrifice for all sin, except abortion since perpetrators are mere victims? May it never be!
Only the gospel will cleanse the blood from our hands. Only the gospel will awaken dead hearts. Only the gospel will open blind eyes. Only the gospel will end the demonic cycle of abortion that is so prevalent in our world today.
References
Paul H. Wright, “Abortion,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 10.
John S. Feinberg and Paul D. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 191.
Jay E. Adams, “Abortion,” The Practical Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 2.
