Can a Christian Support Abortion?

In this episode, Pastor J.D. is answering a listener question: Can a Christian support abortion?

Show Notes:

• The way I hear the question is, can a Christian consciously support abortion and is this an area where Christians can disagree? My answer to that would be no.
• What I’m not hearing in this question is, is every person who has ever voted pro-choice or said they were pro-choice automatically not a Christian? That’s a different question.
• So, to answer your question, I want to talk about the heart of the abortion issue. That is, that all people are instilled with the imago Dei – the image of God. And all those made in God’s image are precious to God and their lives deserve protection. Attacking the unborn is tantamount to attacking God since all life is created in his image and that includes life in the womb.

Now, there are always objections to this from the pro-life side. 

• People say, “Well, the baby is a part of a woman’s body, and we need to respect her right to privacy and sovereignty over her body.” And I agree that the right to privacy over our bodies is precious. 
  • But here’s the thing: The baby is not part of her body. That baby is intimately attached to her body for a period of time, yes, but it’s not part of her body. 
  • Scripture certainly presents the preborn child as its own person: The Psalmist of Psalm 139 says that in the womb God knew me by name, as a person; there I was fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together according to the plan of God with his purpose for me already in mind. 
• Someone says, “But it’s still IN my body.” 
  • Yes, but we all know our rights over our bodies are not absolute as far as the law is concerned. Prostitution is illegal in most states, and I don’t know of anywhere in the US can you legally pour drugs into your body just because it’s your body. Your rights to your body stop precisely at that place where they begin to affect someone else’s. And that’s exactly what is happening to the pre-born.

• Others say,“Well, saying life begins at conception is a matter of opinion, and you shouldn’t force your opinion on others.” But we’re not in the realm of opinion, here; we’re in the realm of biology and Scripture. 
  • I would argue that the more helpless a person is, the more vulnerable–the less viable–the more we as a society should do to protect them. 
  • Even if you are unclear on this, and are not convinced that personhood begins at conception–shouldn’t you err on the side of life? “If you’re hunting in the woods and hear a rustling in the bushes and you’re uncertain as to whether it’s your friend or a deer, morality and common sense dictate that you don’t pull the trigger, given the potential risk of murder.”

• I’ve heard people say, “Abortion sometimes help poor women escape crushing financial burdens. Banning abortion would cause overpopulation and massive poverty.”
  • This kind of statement confuses “finding a solution” with “eliminating a problem.” Think of it this way: If the neighbor’s dog keeps pooping in your yard… you go out and shoot the dog. You’ve eliminated a problem, but you haven’t come up with a solution.
  • If poverty is a problem, let’s keep working to find a solution. 
  • Again, the point is–the pre-born are people. You can’t justify killing a person because it eliminates a problem. I mean, if you use that reasoning there, where does it stop? Couldn’t you use that same line of reasoning to justify eliminating other financially burdensome groups? 

Listen: That little human life, that little person, regardless of how they got there, when it’s no bigger than a speck, the size of a period at the end of the sentence, is made in the image of God. That speck has more value than all the planets and stars in the vast cosmos! It has a soul made in the image of God, that Jesus died, that has an eternal future.

BONUS: Why does The Summit Church Plant Churches?

• We believe in the power of multiplying churches — planting churches that plant churches.
• It’s not about one church, but multiple churches being raised up. So, we measure our church’s success not by seating capacity but by sending capacity.
• God has really blessed us in this — we’ve planted 59 churches in the United States, and
• If you are someone who wants to be a part of a church plant or even plant a church, we’d love to have a conversation with you.
• The goal is to plant churches that plant churches. To facilitate that, we’re trying to raise $1 million. We’d love you to be a part of that, and I can’t think of a greater impact in the kingdom of God.
• For more information, email Matt Love at matt@summitcollaborative.org

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