Why Is Abortion Wrong?
Roe V. Wade lies on the brink of reversal. If you crawl out from under your rock for a moment, you can see the uproar caused by the leak from the Supreme Court of the United States. While many reaction videos and tweets have flooded the internet, I thought it may be helpful to explain why Bible believers stand so staunchly against the killing of unborn babies in the womb.
This argument exists not as a polemic against any individual but simply a brief portrait of the biblical position; however, I believe an understanding of the biblical principles will lead to life change. I do not hold myself up as someone “holier than thou.” In fact, I share the sentiment of Paul when he names himself as “chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). My hope rests in God’s providential control and sovereign work through His Holy Spirit in the study of Scripture. That being said, let’s get into the argument.
God created man in his image (Genesis 1:27).
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26–27 NKJV)
The building block of this argument comes from the work of God in creation (see Genesis 1-2). After God finishes the creation of other creatures through word-of-mouth, He turns to the creation of mankind. In trinitarian voice, God declares “let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” The word “image” here does not refer to physical appearance but to moral capabilities. The Bible Knowledge comments on this word saying, “Being in God’s image means that humans share, though imperfectly and finitely, in God’s nature, that is, in His communicable attributes (life, personality, truth, wisdom, love, holiness, justice), and so have the capacity for spiritual fellowship with Him.”1 Man exists ontologically different than animals as our basis for creation lies in the likeness of God.
It’s also interesting that God created man for a specific purpose, which hits at the issue at play as well. In Genesis 1:28, God charges mankind to “’Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’” (Genesis 1:28 NKJV) God’s original goal for man likes in the procreation of humanity and subjugation of the earth.
Along with man’s creation in the image of God lies another important point about the origins of man now: God creates every human being in His image and plays an integral part in their development in the womb. David says in Psalm 139 – “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14 NKJV) God has explicit care for the unborn as He lovingly creates them in a way that fits His will.
God delineates murder as the unwarranted killing of an image-bearer (i.e. Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:9-11).
“And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” (Genesis 4:10–11 NKJV)
Man’s creation in the image of God adds weight to the discussion. The discussion now lies in the laps of beings with moral capabilities and decision making. That being true, God delineates the crime of murder as the unwarranted killing of those who bear His image.
To illustrate the point of this argument, I’d like to continue to let Scripture do the speaking and turn to the story of the first murder in Scripture: the story of two brothers, Cain and Abel. The Mosaic Law did not exist yet in this part of the progressive revelation of Scripture, yet we can still see some interesting points about murder and killing from its teaching.
In this story, as you may know, Cain acts rashly out of the hot jealousy in his heart when God accepts Abel’s offering but not his. God confronts Cain about this anger saying “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7 NKJV) The first problem Cain had was not just the murder of his brother but the anger in his heart.
Despite this warning, the story goes on to depict the brutal killing of Abel in a field. Blood flowed from the body of Abel into the field where he lay, and Cain stands guilty as charged – murder of his own brother, an image-bearer of the Almighty God and Creator of the Universe. The verdict by the Righteous Judge Himself? “So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” (Genesis 4:11 NKJV) God has always and will always value human life, whether in the womb or out of it.
Murder is wrong (Exodus 20:13)
“You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13 NKJV)
With this in mind, let’s glance at God’s command concerning murder. It’s simple, really: Don’t do it. Unwarranted taking of an image-bearer life directly contrasts the morally excellent law of God – Creator of life.
God does have a judgement for those who do, as evidenced in the life of Cain. In Cain’s case, God declares him to be a “A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” (Genesis 4:12 NKJV) Later, after the declaration of the 10 commandments and the express prohibition of killing, God strengthens the punishment for murder, saying, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:12 NKJV) Murder is the unwarranted killing of another human being. How can a person be “pro-life” and “pro-death penalty?” Because God, just and holy Judge, declares punishment equal to the crime.
More sobering news shows itself in Scripture on the topic of murder, and that is that almost all human beings are murders. Jesus declares “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21–22 NKJV) The very hate that led Cain to murder Abel stands as incriminating a witness against him as the very act.
Let me ask you a question then: have you ever hated someone in your heart? If so, that makes you guilty of murder! It’s something all of us are guilty of at one point or another. How sobering is it that many of us have committed this very sin and will be found guilty on judgement day? There is hope.
Conclusion: If man exists as the image-bearer of God, and murder of said image-barer is wrong, then abortion is indefensibly wrong. Yet, there is hope. For those who have had an abortion and those who have committed the same atrocity in their heart, the grace of God covers the sins of all. Jesus, perfect and sinless, died on the cross and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). By doing this, he took the punishment you deserved. He walks up to the judge on your behalf and pays your fine (Colossians 2:14)! How do you accept this gift of forgiveness? Turn from your sins and follow Jesus alone. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:13 NKJV)
What about Cain, where was his hope? As the first murderer, Cain feared the repercussions of his actions. What did God do? He placed a special mark on Cain, protecting him from the potential retaliation of those around him.
Will you accept God’s mark of salvation?
Josiah Sansone serves as Youth Pastor at Westside Baptist Church, Eugene, OR.
Photo by: Dave Winer. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 Generic License.
- Allen P. Ross, Genesis (The Bible Knowledge Commentary; ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck; Accordance electronic ed. 2 vols.; Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 1:29. [↩]