Immanuel Bulletin Series:
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The right to life is the first right listed by Jefferson and is without doubt the most important right we possess as American citizens.
The right to life has a biblical foundation. God created life at the beginning of time and continues to create life every time a child is conceived (cf. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:13-14). God wants us to respect His gift of life, and He Himself protects life by forbidding murder (cf. Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13). God gives us life as a time of grace, for He wants all people to have an opportunity during their lives on this earth to come to know Him and gain everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Isaiah 55:6-7; 1 Timothy 2:3-4). God alone, not man, has the right to end life (cf. Deuteronomy 32:39).
The right to life, unfortunately, is being ignored and undermined within several areas of American culture today, as our country moves away from its biblical moorings. Among those areas are abortion, stem cell research, and mercy killing.
Since the legalization of abortion in the United States in 1973, over 40 million unborn children have been murdered in our country by means of legal abortion.1 Abortion is sin, for it violates the expressed will and commands of God. Those who support abortion, knowingly or unknowingly, choose to deny or to ignore the fact that God creates life at conception. In their desire to defend what they perceive to be a woman’s right to end an unwanted pregnancy, supporters of abortion fail to respect God’s gift of life within the womb. They thereby advocate the violation of God’s 5th Commandment, which is intended to protect life. The right to life of the unborn is thereby violated, and the unborn remain unprotected in our society. While we Christians will want to assist those facing difficulties when pregnant, we will want to remain consistent advocates for life. As Christians we ought to promote adoption rather than abortion when a mother does not want to or is unable to keep her child.
The issue of stem cell research has arisen, because some researchers within the medical field believe that stem cells can be used to create various types of body tissues. These tissues, it is hoped, can then be used to combat debilitating diseases or ultimately to replace diseased organs. This issue is not as difficult to resolve as it may appear, if we keep the biblical principles concerning the right to life in mind. There are two types of stem cells—fetal stem cells and adult stem cells. To obtain fetal stem cells, embryos must be destroyed, which means destroying life created by God. To obtain adult stem cells no life is destroyed. The option we as Christians should advocate is further research using adult stem cells, which up to this point has already proven much more successful in laboratory testing.
Mercy killing, also called euthanasia, is advocated by those who want our society to recognize a right to die. Advocates claim that individuals should be able to die with dignity, which means choosing their own time and means of death, thereby avoiding what is viewed as unnecessary pain and suffering. However, the advocates of a right to die fail to recognize once again the basic biblical principles of the right to life. God alone, not man, has the right to end life. He is in control of our lives, and no good will come from our attempts to wrest that control from His hands. There is no right to die within our U.S. Constitution. Such a concept usurps God’s authority and opposes biblical principle.
As Christian citizens, we will want to bear these thoughts in mind as we consider the various candidates seeking our support for political office. While no candidates may, in fact, follow biblical principles in all areas of concern, we will want to vote whenever possible for those candidates whose views best reflect these principles, and whom we believe will best serve our country.
1 Information from http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/