For Whom the Bell Tolls
Everyone agrees that murder is wrong. God says, “Thou shalt not kill.” As this is commonly agreed upon, it seems that those who favor liberalized abortion laws spend much of their efforts in trying to convince people that abortion is not murder because the unborn child is not a person. They speak of the unborn as a “tumor,” “tissue,” “blob of protoplasm,” or at best “a part of the mother.” Some say it becomes a person at six months after conception, others at eight months (when it can be taken from the mother and live), and still others argue that it is not until birth when it takes its first breath.
The Bible leaves no room for doubt in this consideration; and realizing many may be misled by cleverly expressed arguments and “case histories” which are often quoted, we have felt it good to briefly review what the Word of God has to say about the unborn child.
In Genesis 25:21-23 we read, “And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife…and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her…and the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb.” They were not referred to as “tumors” or “tissues” but as “children” while still in her womb. God identified them as “two nations” because they already were living human beings and would be the fathers of two nations of people.
David said in Psalm 51:5, “In sin did my mother conceive me.” (He meant by this that he was a sinner from birth, as we all are, not that his mother had committed some sin, which resulted in his conception.) He did not say, “In sin did my mother conceive a ‘blob of protoplasm’, which became ‘me’ at six months, eight months or at birth.” No! He was “David” from the moment of conception.
David said again, “Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14). Yes, David was “me”; he was a person long before he was born. Had David’s mother aborted, David would have been killed just as surely as if she had waited until after his birth and then chosen to end his life.
Isaiah said, “The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name” (Isaiah 49:1). In verse 5 he adds, “The Lord formed me from the womb to be his servant.” From the time of conception Isaiah was formed and prepared to be the Lord’s servant. God did not wait until after he was born to begin the work. Isaiah was a living person in his mother’s womb and God began preparing him for His service.
Jeremiah writes (chapter 1, verses 4 and 5), “Then the Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Before Jeremiah was even formed in the womb God separated him as His prophet. Even at that early stage God referred to him as “thee” and “thou.” He was a living person.
Notice the illustration of John the Baptist in Luke 1:36. The angel is talking with Mary and says, “Thy cousin Elisabeth hath also conceived a son in her old age.” John was referred to as a “son” from the time of conception. When Mary went to tell Elisabeth of the angel’s visit we read in verse 41 that “the babe leaped in her womb.” John was referred to as “the babe.” He was as much a person then as he was after birth.
We have saved the clearest example until last – the Bible record of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, first, Matthew 1:18-23. We read, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise; When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child…and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
The moment the Holy Ghost came to Mary and she conceived, the child was there. The Lord Jesus Christ was present within her as much then as He ever was. Luke was a medical doctor. He writes in Luke 1:30, 31 and 35, “The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou has found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus – therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Compare this with Philippians 2:6,7 where Paul speaking of the Lord Jesus writes, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”
Our Lord left the glory that was His in Heaven and came to this earth through the lowly portal of Mary’s womb, being made in the likeness of man. WHEN DID HE CEASE TO BE? At what time in Mary’s womb was He a “tumor,” “tissue,” or “blob of protoplasm”? You know the answer as well as I. Never! Did he become a living person at one month, three months, or six months? He was the blessed Son of God throughout the entire nine months. We repeat: The moment the Holy Ghost came to Mary and she conceived, the child was there. The Word of God clearly establishes the fact that from the time of conception the mother has a living human being within her. To abort at any stage is as much murder as it would be to wait until the child was born and proceed with a dastardly deed. To suggest that there was ever a time when the second person of the Holy Trinity was non-existent is nothing less than heresy.
Do not be misled by the clever arguments of the ungodly. Abortion is murder! Hear the voice of the Lord, take heed to the clear statements of Scripture and blessings of the Lord shall follow.
John Donne, wrote: “…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
- Pastor Pope -