The debate continues.
When does life begins and when does it end?
President Bill Clinton’s “spiritual advisor”, Immanuel Baptist Church Pastor Dr. W.O. Vaught, taught that because Adam wasn’t alive until God breathed life into him, then a child isn’t alive until the baby takes his first breath; therefore they did not consider abortion to be a murderous act.
This is not the view shared in Scripture.
About 30 times in the Bible, there is a reference to a child inside the womb. And in each of those instances, the Bible speaks the same of a child inside the womb as it does a child outside the womb.
Consider Luke 1:30-31, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary:
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.”
Then, Mary went and visited Elizabeth, as we read in Luke 1:39-41,
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Did you catch that? John the Baptist, who was inside of Elizabeth’s womb leapt with joy!
Science has only recently caught up to the fact that children express emotion in the womb. A child in the womb has fully functioning organs, fingerprints, can grip things, and responds to stimuli… as early as eight weeks!
If they’d only read Luke 1:41, they’d have learned that we already know that!
Jesus verifies and sanctifies every aspect of human life from conception to natural death because He experienced all of it! Yes, even death is sanctified by Christ. He even sanctified suffering because He suffered.
We argue about whether or not a person should suffer, when the Bible tells us to rejoice in suffering (Romans 5:3); share in suffering (2 Corinthians 1:7); be patient in suffering (James 5:7); and that our present suffering does not compare to the glory that is to be revealed to us! (Romans 8:18 & 2 Timothy 4:5), if we endure.
Therefore, we must protect and cherish every aspect of life, from beginning to end, just as the Bible says in Deuteronomy:
I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your children may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Life is a gift from God, and we are made in the image of God. We clearly understand this, when we understand the text.