It dawned on me recently that I’d never written a church newsletter article covering this topic. I’ve referred to it in sermons here and here. I even preached an entire sermon on it here. However, I never thought to address this topic in writing.

​Here are a few points for you to consider when thinking about abortion:

1) The Bible uses the word “baby” a lot like we do – it’s a word used for a person both before and after their birth.

For instance, in Luke 2:12, the same Greek word (βρέφος; brephos) that is used to describe the little baby Jesus being wrapped in swaddling clothes in the Christmas story, is the same word used to describe John the Baptist when he is still in the womb in Luke 1:41. John Piper (a pastor from Minnesota) is the first person I that I heard this from - the thing that Jesus is after birth is the same thing that John the Baptist is before birth. The Bible uses the word baby for both.

​This is similar to what we do in our culture. When I went with Heidi to OB/GYN appointments back when she was pregnant, the doctors would say things like, “How’s the baby doing?” or “The baby is coming along just fine.” I can’t ever remember hearing them say “How’s your fetus feeling?” or “The clump of cells is coming along just fine.” That’s because, like the Bible, we use the word “baby” both for pre-born persons, and for already-born persons. The only exception (in our culture) is when the baby isn’t wanted. Then we use a special, more scientific-sounding term for it. But regardless of what we call it, it is the same thing. 

Check out Job 31:15, Jeremiah 1:5, and Psalm 139 and see if that is not correct. We would do well to consider that aborting a pregnancy is not merely interrupting something biological, but is also interrupting something theological; it is destroying a project that God takes credit for as His work.

Notice how that verse refers to pre-born persons as God’s knitting. How acceptable is it to interrupt an action that God is in the middle of performing?

Now, let me cut in on this Bible teaching with a story. This is a true story that was told to me by the woman that it happened to. 

Years ago, a woman told me that she was nearly 40 years old when she found herself in an unplanned pregnancy. The father was not her husband, rather, he was someone else’s husband. She didn’t intend on having a baby with him. In fact, the way she told the story to me, she basically said that one of the reasons she had unprotected sex with the guy is because he gave her the impression that he was unable to have children.

Well, it turns out he could; he got her pregnant.

The woman went to the doctor for prenatal care and was told that because of her age (she was 39 at the time) she was at risk for having a baby with down syndrome. The doctor proceeded to ask her if she wanted an abortion. What should she do?

Now, I really want you to think about that last question. What would you advise this woman to do? She is pregnant out of wedlock. The baby belongs to a man who is married to someone else. The woman didn’t even want to have the baby; she was sorta’ tricked into having the baby because the man talked her out of using birth control. Lastly, the doctor was telling her that the baby might come out with a disability. 

Considering all those factors, what would you tell her to do? Would you say that it’s “her choice” and that this is a decision that only she and her doctor can make? That’s what most Americans say when presented with this situation.

Well, if you had said that to this particular woman, you’d have been advising my mother to abort me; the woman in the above story is my mom. 

Those are the things my mom told me as I was growing up. She never kept it a secret from me; I always knew that was my origin story. My mom wasn’t even a Christian when she was pregnant with me (she didn’t hear the gospel for another two years after this.) But she decided to keep the baby.

I am glad that she didn’t treat this decision as if it was one that wouldn’t have consequences for generations. 

I don’t know how often you think about this, but there are things happening in Ocala in 2026, that are connected to decisions that were made back in 1980. And there are decisions being made in Ocala in 2026, that will have ramifications in 2072 and beyond.

Ok, one last point about abortion.

I can remember, years ago, a woman coming up to me after a church service and asking me if it would be possible for her to be forgiven since she had had an abortion. This is a real problem that women struggle with. Men do, too. Even though they can’t have abortions, men certainly can celebrate them, perform them, fund them, or pressure someone into having one. And, therefore, they can feel the shame that comes from this sin as well.

Here is the answer to that question. Abortion is not unforgivable. The Bible only lists one sin that will not be forgiven (see Matthew 12:31-32) and abortion isn’t it. If you are a follower of Jesus who has an abortion in your past, praise Jesus for dying on the cross for that sin, and all your other sins! If you are not a Christian, but you are reading this and thinking about an abortion from your past, turn to Jesus Christ that your sins may be wiped out.

For further teaching on that topic, feel free to listen to these sermons on the gospel of Jesus Christ.