“You shall not murder.”
Exodus 20:13
This is the sixth of the ten commandments given by Almighty God to guide and direct the moral life of all people. This command does not only stand over Christians, but over all people. The command not to murder is given to restrain the hand of the person that would take another life for reasons outside of justified war and self-defense. Murder has a clear definition that is prosecuted in courtrooms all over the globe every day. Murder is defined simply as “the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.”
The first part of this definition relates to the unlawful nature of killing. In all such cases the moral law of God stands as the foundation for human civil law. No person or court has the right or authority to declare as good what God has declared as evil. The authority of human governments and courts is a delegated authority from God.
The second part of this definition speaks to premeditation – an action taken with planned thoughtfulness. The opposite of this would be striking and killing someone with your car after spilling coffee on yourself and swerving. This would not be a planned action, although you are still accountable for the death, it is not at the level of planned murder.
The third part is killing another human being. Animal life certainly has value, and we should treat all animals with a humane kindness, but killing a dog or a bird is not morally equivalent to killing another human being.
We must face squarely the moral question of whether abortion is murder.
I think this question is most clearly answered by looking at the definition of murder in reverse. First, is an unborn child a human being? The answer is absolutely, yes. From the point of conception, the fertilized embryo has the future potential of full flourishing human life. Dependence does not lessen the humanity. An unborn child is dependent on its mother’s body for nourishment. The child is not less human for this. An infant child is dependent on the constant daily care of mother and father. The child is not less human for this. The elderly infirmed person has their situation reversed, dependent upon their child for care in their old age. The elderly person is not less human for this dependence.
Medical practice understands this, that’s why Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) exist in the best hospitals around the world. Parents with sick, prematurely born children need special care for these ultra dependent children. There is a limit to this care as modern medicine is not able to reach the level of care that only the mother’s body can provide for the first half of gestation. Unborn children are certainly human beings. They are not some other form of being or less than human. Children are human at conception; they do not become human through the willful decision of the mother to give birth to the child.
The second part of the definition of murder has to do with premeditation. Abortion is a deeply premeditated act. It involves discovering pregnancy after a sexual act. It involves considering the life altering consequences of giving birth to a child. It involves willfully choosing to set an appointment, do paperwork, give intimate access to one’s body so that another can take the life of the baby. Abortion is not accidental, but a willful premeditated act.
The first part of the definition of murder speaks to its lawfulness. Currently in the US, abortion is not deemed legal nationwide. Abortion legality is determined state-by-state. The states where it is legal are states that have a majority of citizens that reject basic Christian morality. The people that make up these states have rejected God’s definition of life and personhood, and chosen to find identity in sexuality.
All people root their identity in something. Identity is the foundation by which you define yourself as a person. Christians define their lives by relationship to Jesus Christ and discipleship to His ways. Those who define their lives by sexual expression (toward a certain type or sex of people) or through hedonistic sexual pursuits, do not want their self-expression curbed or derailed by the birth of children. They are willing to change civil law to declare evil as good, and change language to speak of unborn children in dehumanizing ways, and speak of murder as healthcare.
As designed by God, heterosexual sex is inherently related to the bearing of children. A sexual act is a procreative act. Modern secular people are striving through medical technology to harness and control the procreative aspect of sexuality, but this cannot be done without tremendously negative side effects – physical, physiological, and spiritual. Birth control drugs cannot be taken without the risk of serious physical side effects to the woman. The entire fertility cycle of a healthy woman cannot be hormonally stopped without other effects on the body and mind. Methods of permanent sterilization taken upon young people are usually understood, even by the non-Christian, to be unwise. Even those who don’t want children in their younger years recognize that they may one day value children.
The issue is that various methods of non-permanent birth control are imperfect. As a part of the heavily sexual culture we live in, millions of unwanted babies are conceived every year. Murdering these children cannot be the answer, but America aborts over one million unborn children year after year – every year. We are choosing death rather than submit ourselves to God’s will and purpose related to sexual morality. The conscience of the nation is seared.
We must come to a place of believing in the salvation and goodness of Jesus. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins and enter God’s good ways. This involves for most people marriage, children, and family. Marriage is a blessing. Children are a blessing. Raising children in the context of marriage is not easy, but it leads to sanctification and deep relationships. God uses our children to work in our lives as parents. Through our children God works to teach us selflessness, patience, love, service, humility, character, and spiritual leadership. Through children we gain heritage, traditions, beautiful memories, and shared joy.
As Christians we MUST be a people committed to life from the point of conception. We must not give way to this culture of death and unrestrained sexual expression. We must find our identity in Jesus Christ. We must forgive those who have aborted their children when they ask for and seek forgiveness from Jesus. Our grace must mirror the unconditional grace of Jesus. We must celebrate and remain within the marriage boundaries of sexual expression. We must nurture and protect our children, and we must be willing to take into our homes unwanted and orphaned children.
Let us be a people that cherish, protect, and love children,
Pastor Vic
Note: It should be noted that there are exceptional circumstances where the life of the mother and the life of the child are pitted against each other and a medical choice of life must be made. This circumstance does not fit the definition as framed above. This is an exceptional circumstance, but the exception does not cancel the rule of seeking life.