The Facts on Abortion (Harvest House, 1995) pp. 37-38

What does the Bible teach about abortion (con’t)?

Can one imagine Jesus accepting the idea of abortion? Did He not teach: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven…. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish” (Matthew 18:10,14 NASB). Another way to decide whether abortion is a justifiable practice is to think through the implications of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The question is, At what point was the personhood of Jesus present? In brief, it had to be present at the point of conception. Both the New Testament and the doctrinal creeds of the church affirm that God became man at the point of conception. The eternal Son of God became incarnate in Mary’s womb. Christ’s personal history on earth began not when He was “born of the virgin” but when He was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:31,35). It is significant that God chose to begin the process of Incarnation at the point of conception rather than at some other point. But Christ “had to be made like His brethren in all things” (Hebrews 2:17 NASB); His human history, like ours, had to begin at conception.