Biblical Morality
Disinterested detachment does not fulfill the Great Commandment.
Page Summary:
When God prohibits murder, he is commending its opposite: love. Not participating in abortion is only half of the equation. Love demands more. What are you doing to love the women who are contemplating abortion and to love the children whose lives are threatened by it?
All of Scripture's commands are summed up for us in two succinct statements. Love God with everything you have, and love other people as much as you love yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). The person who does this fulfills the law perfectly. Everything else, all of the Bible's commands and prohibitions fall under this grand umbrella.
The Christian ethic, biblical morality, is all about love... real love, not the kind of love which seeks it's own at the expense of others. It is about kindness, compassion and mercy. It is loving someone enough to humbly tell them the truth even if they hate you for it. Here is the question, then. Is abortion an act of compassion and love or is it an act of cruel selfishness? Is the mother loving her child as much as she loves herself when she decides to abort that child? If the shoe were on the other foot, and the mother was going to be an inconvenience for someone or enter into a life of potential hardship, would she rather be killed or would she rather be let live? This question and others need honest answers.
The Bible commands us to offer protection for the weakest and most vulnerable members of humanity. Psalm 82:4 tells us to, "Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked." Proverbs 31:9 says, "Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." Ask yourself, does abortion defend and protect the most vulnerable members of the human community or does it destroy them?
Proverbs 6:17 proclaims that God hates, "haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood". Psalm 106:37,38 speaks of God's contempt for child sacrifice saying, "They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood." Look at the pictures of abortion and ask yourself honestly, does abortion shed innocent blood?
I John 1:7 tells us to walk in the light. John 3:20 says that the deeds of darkness hate the light. They hate being exposed. Ask yourself, does the abortion industry want the light to shine brightly upon their handiwork? Are they happy for the world to see what they do, or would they prefer it to stay hidden in the darkness, far away from public scrutiny?
Finally, consider John 8:44. Satan is a murderer from the beginning. Ask yourself, does abortion seem more consistent with Satan's desires or with God's desires? Is abortion love and mercy or is it murder?
Ultimately, biblical morality requires both the rejection of evil and the embracing of good. Where one action is prohibited, the opposite is implicitly commanded. Thomas Watson explains it this way in his book, The Ten Commandments.
The law of God forbids not only the act of sin, but the desire and inclination; not only does it forbid adultery, but lusting (Matt 5:28); not only stealing, but coveting (Rom 7:7). Lex humana ligat manam, lex divina comprimit animam 'Man's law binds the hands only, God's law binds the heart.' In the commandments there is a synecdoche, more is intended than is spoken. Where any sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded. When we are forbidden to take God's name in vain, the contrary duty, that we should reverence His name, is commanded...Where we are forbidden to wrong our neighbor, there the contrary duty, that we should do him all the good we can, by vindicating his name and supplying his wants, is included.
Biblical morality is not simply "Do not murder." It is "Do not murder, but rather love!" Love those who are being murdered. Love those who are being aborted, and love those who are doing the aborting.
Incidentally, this kind of love is impossible...but by the grace of God.
This page was last updated on September 03, 2009. To cite this page in a research paper, visit: "Citing Abort73 as a Source."
