JERRY POOVAKKALA (CHAIRMAN LICO) WWW.JERRYPOOVAKKALA.CO.NR What the Bible says are the responsibilities of civil authorities in upholding justice is a point being missed by some people in the pro-life movement in particular and by the public in general. The Bible commands the civil authorities to administer justice "upon him that doeth evil" (Rom.13:4). If Christians do not report very clearly about what the Bible says is sin, then the people will never know how to repent. "For by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom.3:20). The Bible has always regarded abortion - killing the child in the womb as murder, a crime punishable by the death penalty. The grounds for this judgment are "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex.20:13); Child Sacrifice, "he shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus 20:1-5); and Exodus 21:22-23, where an example of abortion is found: "If men strive, and hurt a women with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life" (Ex.21:22-23). In Exodus 21: 22-23, the Bible sets forth a minimal case with larger implications for justice to be served by the civil authorities: (1.) "If men strive... ." The plural "men" is employed for the purpose of speaking indefinitely, because there might possibly be more than one person involved in causing injury. (2.) "So that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow... ." An example of a premature birth. Even if no injury results to either mother or child, the man who causes the "premature birth" is liable to be fined and, in fact, must be fined. The Bible strongly protects the pregnant mother and her child, so that every pregnant mother has a strong hedge of legal protection around her. (3.) "And if mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life... ." An example of accidental abortion. If the penalty for an "accidental abortion" is so severe, it's obvious that a deliberately induced abortion is strongly forbidden. It is not necessary to have a separate ban on any form of deliberate abortion since the
maximum penalty is served by this statute. If man through his own reckless actions, unintentionally hurts a pregnant mother and causes her to abort a child, he must suffer the death penalty. How much more so for any person who intentionally induces an abortion? (4.) "if any mischief follow... give life for life." The Bible strongly protects human life from the moment of conception. With the phrase "if any mischief follow," the child has equal protection under the law from the moment of conception "life for life." God does not make exceptions that tolerate injury to any pregnant mother, or any child in the womb. In fact CURSES "come upon" and "overtake" nations that refuse to administer justice (Deut. 28:15). If God does not tolerate exceptions to the administration of justice concerning murder by abortion, then neither should His people. The perspective that abortion is murder depends on two points: 1) The Bible condemns murder (taking the life of another human being), and 2) The unborn baby is a person—a human being. Point #1: What is murder? Exodus 20:13, usually translated "Thou shalt not kill," one of the Ten Commandments, actually means "Thou shalt not murder." (There is a difference. Taking the life of another person in war, for example, is not the same thing as murder.) Point #2: The humanity of the unborn 1. Both Hebrew and Greek (the languages of the Bible) do not make a distinction between preborn and born babies. Whether they live inside or outside the womb is not important as to their value or personhood. 2. my
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in Your book before one of them came to be. (Ps. 139:13-16) This portion of scripture is written about the unborn baby. 3.
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Lord
called
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from
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from the body of my mother He named me. (Is. 49:1) The prophet Isaiah says he received God's calling and naming while still in the womb. 4. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51:5) The psalmist states that he was a spiritual being from the point of conception. This isn't saying that he sinned while in the womb, but that he recognizes that from the earliest part of life, he was a sinner. 5.
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appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jer. 1:4-5) Jeremiah declares that God knew him, consecrated him (set him apart), and appointed him a prophet before he was even conceived! From God's perspective, Jeremiah's humanity began even before conception. 6.
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The unborn John the Baptist had a physical reaction to the presence of Mary and ESPECIALLY her unborn Child. At this point, Jesus was probably only a week- or two-old embryo. (Scripture tells us that as soon as the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary about God's plan for the Holy Spirit to overshadow her and conceive the Messiah in her and she consented, she hurried to see Elizabeth, who lived about 70 or so miles from Nazareth.) I believe that these verses indicate that abortion is murder, but all you can do is offer the light they provide. Some people who don't want to believe that abortion is murder or that an unborn baby is anything more than a "potential human being" can and will refuse to accept it. (Remember what the Word says in Jeremiah 17:9—"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?") Your job is to pray for God to open the eyes of the hearts of the others in your class, humbly offer the truth, and leave the results to God