Scripture and Discernment

Today I would like to let the scriptures settle an issue that has been argued for quite a while, and put the whole abortion issue into the only context that it can truly be viewed in. That issue is the question, "At what point does a conceived human being become a soul?" The first thing we need to do to find the answer is to identify what part of the human being is sinful. I think we can trust the words and understanding of Jesus on this matter: "And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, OUT OF THE HEART of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come FROM WITHIN, and defile the man" (Mk. 7:18-23). There it is, plain and simple. The nature of sin is within the heart, or the spirit of a person; and as Jesus said, every evil thing that a person does, comes from the heart, which is the spirit. Next we need to look at how and why it is that everyone is born with sin. The scripture clearly tells us that being in sin is equivalent to spiritual death: "And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were DEAD in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). The Bible also plainly shows where this spiritually 'dead' condition originated: "For as IN ADAM all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Cor. 15:22). We already clearly have our answer straight from the scriptures, but let me just set in order what we have seen here. As the last verse quoted says, we all took on a spiritually dead state IN ADAM, which is to say we became sinners while we were in the loins of our common earthly father, Adam. We became sinners in Adam for two very specific reasons. The first is because Adam chose to follow his wife into sin, which is to say disobedience to God's word; and when he did he defiled himself. The second reason we became sinners in Adam is because we WERE IN ADAM. That means that our spiritual substance was in Adam the same as our physical substance was in Adam, because as Jesus said, sin is in the heart or spirit of a man. That means our spiritual substance took on sin while we were in Adam.

The spiritual substance of a person comes from their father, whereas the physical substance comes from both the mother and the father. That is how the scripture could say that "in ADAM all die," and not "in Eve all die," or "in Adam and Eve all die." The fact that we 'died' in Adam means that we took on sin while we were in Adam, which means our spiritual substance came from Adam; and therefore is passed down through the man, and not the woman. We see this evidenced elsewhere in the Bible as well: "And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him" (Heb. 7:9,10). So the obvious and only answer to the question of when a conceived human becomes a soul, is as soon as conception takes place. The spirit of a person does not get 'placed' by God into the body of the fetus at some point, but rather it is there all along, same as the body. It is certain that a person's spirit doesn't come from heaven as some suppose, otherwise it would come without sin, and could not have 'died' in Adam as the Bible tells us. So without question abortion is just plain old murder, and anyone who supports the 'right' to do it is plain old wicked. There is no such 'right' granted by God to be a direct and blatant transgressor of his own law by exterminating the life of an innocent, defenseless soul. When that 'right' is granted by men, then men are exalting themselves above God and they are overtly defying and despising his law. I've known people who have been on both sides of an abortion, whether the man or the woman. Everyone I have met who has been through an abortion were grievously tormented by it. Someone can be coerced into abortion by a lot of means, but afterward they feel the abject defilement of their conscience, which knew it was wrong all along. I have also seen those who have been healed of that torment by the grace and power of God, so it is not something that is unforgivable. However, let's call it what it is and not be ignorant of the severe nature of the issue. At the same time we shouldn't get caught up in the religiously militant 'anti-abortion' mindset that many judgmental 'Christians' get into. If you know someone who has had an abortion, they don't need any more condemnation than what they are already experiencing. They need help from someone who has God's love in them, who will neither pacify them for what they have done, or finish them off with a harsh, judgmental beating. May God have mercy and help one and all. Amen.