The Sanctity of Life

“Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.'” – Genesis 1:26a (NLT)

September 1, 2021 marked the day that the state of Texas took a major step for pro-life legislation, banning all abortions for pregnancies that are in week 6 or beyond. Considering this topic is such a heated and controversial one, you can imagine the outcry that very quickly followed this new law. Even amongst some who proclaim to be Christians (which we will discuss in a bit). And then there is the group of professing Christians who won’t even talk about this because they see it as nothing more than a political issue, and they believe in the separation of the church and the state (government). That idea is not accurate, and abortion is beyond being just a political issue. It’s an issue of morality.

As professing believers in Christ, we attest to holding Biblical values, correct? And of these many values is the belief of how life came into being. As stated in the opening verse, God created man to be the bearers of His image. His likeness. Out of all of creation, God made mankind to look like, act like, and be like Him (this is in the context of pre-fall keep in mind). At the moment of our creation, we were perfect, created by a perfect God. But as the story goes, mankind took matters into their own hands and gave birth to sin, making the perfect creation imperfect because of their choices.

But here is what did not change in the midst of the birth of sin in the world: the sanctity of life. What does sanctity mean? “The quality or state of being holy or sacred” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Life is sacred. All life. Not just the lives we humans (who are so prone to sin) deem as sacred. All the way from the womb to the tomb.

Now the same God who created mankind also gave this law to the people of Israel: “You must not murder” (Exodus 20:13 NLT). Why did He say this? We find that answer in Deuteronomy 32:39 (NLT) – “Look now; I am He! There is no other god but Me! I am the One who kills and gives life; I am the One who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from My powerful hand!” God also gives the command to not murder because murder is the opposite of loving our neighbor, which Jesus tells us that “the entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” – Love God and love people (your neighbor) (see Matthew 22:34-40). Who is your neighbor? Every human being that inhabits the earth (yes, that includes the ones still in the womb).

I made mention earlier of two groups of Christians that revolve around this topic. The side that supports abortions and the side that shies away from the topic because it’s “political.” Let’s understand something very important: You can not be a true Christian and advocate for abortion. The entire idea of Christianity, being a follower of Jesus Christ, is to give life and support life. Which means that you also can not be a true Christian and remain silent on the conversation of life. Harsh, I know. But it’s true.

Along with this topic comes the questions of, “What about the women who get pregnant because they were raped?” or “What about the women who have health issues that would cause complications in the pregnancy, and possibly kill the mother?”

To the first question, I think Scripture, from the beginning to the end, gives us a clear picture that our choices and actions have an effect on everyone around us. The choice of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the forbidden tree caused sin to enter the world, which has effected the entire human race for all of time until Jesus returns. We are having to deal with the consequences that were produced by the decision of two people way back at the beginning. We didn’t ask for it, and we didn’t choose it. We didn’t even have a say in the matter. But that’s the reality of our decisions. And the same is true in the case of rape. The nature of mankind is to do evil. And because of that nature, humans do abominable things. But the answer is not to kill the child because it was a “mistake.”

Now for the other question. A parent’s job, their duty when they have a kid, is to lay their life down for their children. It’s plain and simple. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:14, “Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don’t want what you have – I want you. After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children.” Parents provide for their children. In other words, the duty of the parent is to take care of the life of their child/children.

Hear my heart in this though. Both of these situations are extremely terrible, and I would never wish them on anyone. But the children should not have to be punished for the things that are beyond their control.

There is also this idea that many believe as truth that the “fetus” is not a person until it is out of the womb (and even some still think abortions should be allowed for a time AFTER birth). A while back, the government passed a bill called the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. This act states that if a federal crime is committed against a pregnant woman and the unborn child is either injured or killed in the crime, the person who committed the crime is charged with the injury/murder of both the mother AND the unborn child. Essentially this bill makes it to where an unborn child, which supposedly is nothing more than a “fetus” and has no rights, actually has rights if it is killed in a crime. Yet, it’s nothing more than a “fetus” right? Let’s face it and call this what it is: Hypocrisy. Either the unborn baby (“fetus”) has rights in ALL circumstances, or it has rights in none of them. You can’t put the same shoe on both a left and a right foot.

This is such a hot topic these days, and I know that plenty of people will disagree with the words written here, and that’s fine. Our country was founded upon the idea that we the people could live freely in our differing opinions and still get along. However, as stated already, you can’t be on the side of “Christian” and be “pro-choice” or “pro-abortion” because the two are total opposites.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” – Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)