Essential Truths For Our Times

God’s Design For Life

The Bible declares that God, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). At the center of creation God created humankind, setting them in the world as His representative to steward His creation. Humans were not like anything else God created. They bore the image of God Himself.

After God created humanity, He gave them His first commandment: “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Nowhere in Scripture does God rescind that command or see the development of the human race as a threat or danger to the earth. There is no biblical justification for reducing the surplus population by destroying human beings.

In contrast to popular secular thinking, God places great value on every human life as each living soul is known intimately by God. When God first spoke to the prophet Jeremiah, He told him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jeremiah 1:5). This verse indicates that a person is already wholly known by God before conception. This biblical truth defeats the argument that embryos are not living organisms or actual people.

The Book of Psalms proves this point even further by explaining God’s intricate and detailed work when forming a person in the womb. Psalms 139:13 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb… for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” This verse clarifies that God’s power forms each human being from the first moments of life. There is never a point that a human fetus is not a living soul.

The Bible declares that when God gave Moses the Law, one of the Ten Commandments was “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Laws like these separated the people of Israel from the other surrounding nations regarding the sanctity of life. Both the Bible and history tell us that it was common practice for pagan nations to destroy their children as sacrifices upon the altars of idols. In response to this practice, several Scriptures declare God’s judgment upon those who “pass their sons through the fire” (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Kings 21:6, Ezekiel 20:31, 2 Chronicles 28:3). Passing through the fire was to place a newborn baby upon a burning altar to a pagan god. This act of infanticide was an egregious sin and demanded the justice of God.

Continuing in the New Testament, when Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, was about to appear, King Herod ordered the killing of all children under two years old in an attempt to destroy Him (Matthew 2:16-18). Again, we see the brutal nature of evil rooted in demonic power that sought to destroy infant life. It is worth noting that according to the Biblical narrative, these murderous actions are not accepted or passively viewed as a matter of one’s political perspective or personal choice. The Bible condemns these actions and deems them worthy of judgment.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus addressed the religious leaders of his day, comparing them to the devil because they carried his nature. Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). According to Jesus, the nature of Satan is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). The conclusion is that Satan wants to kill human beings and wants to kill God Himself. Since he cannot kill God, he seeks to attack God by destroying the creation that bears His image.

Finally, the Bible describes the blessing of having children stating that they are “a gift of the Lord” with the “fruit of the womb” being a reward (Psalms 127:3). The idea of trapping women into having their bodies used as a host to carry a child, not their choosing, is foreign to Scripture. While this trapping narrative sounds politically correct, the Bible makes no room for such positions. Those who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord must accept the Biblical truth that life begins at conception. To destroy life in utero is the sin of murder and has no place in God’s Kingdom.