What Does It Mean To Be Theologically Pro-Life: Thou Shalt Not Murder

While the issue of abortion has been mainstreamed into a political issue, to Christians, this is a spiritual issue. Yet so many believers and theologians, have over-complicated such a simply, basic, theological concept- “what does it really mean to be pro-life?” The answer is really simple: If you believe what Exodus 20:13 says, “Thou shalt not murder”… that alone is sufficient to be theologically pro-life. I’ve heard other ludicrous assertions that Christians should be “pro-life, not just pro-birth.” (Whatever that even means). They’ve also added qualifiers that in order to be pro-life then we needed to guarantee a certain quality of life to the people (i.e. the unborn lives) that we save.

We are followers of Christ and servants of the Lord before we are democrats or republicans. We yield to God’s Word to tell us how our hearts should be postured towards life inside the womb and to women in crisis, not Donald Trump, George Bush, Barak Obama, Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris. Not only does science point to the fact that at the moment of conception we have undergone the process of growth and development, but the following passages clearly and unequivocally reveal the Lord’s heart toward His creation inside the womb.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”– Psalm 139:13

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”– Jeremiah 1:5

“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood…”- Proverbs 6:16-17

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.’”- Isaiah 44:24

 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”– Psalm 127:3

“When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. [And she exclaimed], ‘when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’”- Luke 1:41, 44

 “The Lord called me from the womb… formed me from the womb to be his servant.”- Isaiah 49:1,5

Christians have a duty to protect ALL forms of life- no matter the stage of development, gender, color, race, or creed. Simply because they are made in the image of God. Period. There is no debate. And unborn lives have been in grave danger in America for decades. No lives matter until unborn lives matter, especially to Christians.

Knowing these forgoing verses, we can know that when innocent life inside the womb has been destructed by human hands, murder has been committed.

And let us be reminded that it is not a competition as to who’s lives matter more. Too many Christians find offense in the pro-life movement because they believe that other forms of life have been forsaken. They believe that pro-lifers ONLY care about the unborn and discard all other forms of life. Which is categorically and unequivocally untrue.

If you believe in the Scriptures cited above, that all humans are made in the image of God and have inherent value, and that life begins at conception, then it shouldn’t be offensive to your sensibilities when you are convicted to fight for and protect all lives (born and unborn) that are under attack by the enemy, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. It should be no more offensive to you than rising to the call to protect black lives from police brutality, to stand against racism/white supremacy, to protect women, orphans, children in foster care, the poor, or any other marginalized group that the Bible speaks of. Being theologically pro-life doesn’t insinuate that unborn lives are more important than other lives, it is boldly proclaiming that they are equally as important as all other forms of life and are just as worthy of protection. Because frankly, too many people in the world treat their lives as disposable. Being theologically pro-life simply means believing that ALL humans are made in the image of God and therefore, have inherent value. Being theologically pro-life means believing that they deserve protection the moment they are conceived. Being theologically pro-life simply means believing that it is wrong to kill other people- born or unborn- and that they deserve the right to live. Don’t over complicate it. Don’t politicize it. Don’t be dogmatic about it.