1. Is man his own creator?

a. "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20).   All that a man has to do is to look at himself and realize that God created him.

b. "Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3).

c. "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker" (Psalms 95:6).
 

a. Since God has made us, there is a purpose in our living.  "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice" (John 18:37).  Since Jesus had a purpose in being born, so also we have a purpose in being born.

b. Mordecai  said to Esther,  "Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14b).

c. God often calls people before they are born.

*   "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations"  (Jeremiah 1:5).

*   "Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen"  (Isaiah 44:2).

*   "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name" (Isaiah 49:1).

*  "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace" (Galatians 1:15).  Paul was chosen even in his mother womb.

a. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Genesis 1:28).  This is the very first commandment in Scripture.

b. One must bear children in order to be fruitful.  A couple must have more than two children to multiply.

c. We should recognize that some married women have difficulty in becoming pregnant.  SEE:  Infertility and Childbearing.

"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.    I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.    My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.    Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.    How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!    If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee"  (Psalms 139:13-18).  God is actively involved in the creation of life within the womb.

"And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23).  God knew the destiny of the children even before the children were born.

Yes, God can change the curse into a blessing!  Joseph told his brothers, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20).

"Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee" (Deuteronomy 23:5).

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

a. Yes, most definitely! "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Genesis 1:26).  Man is the only creature that is made in the image of God, thus having three dimensions: spirit, soul, and body.  He is also made in the likeness of God having a spirit or spiritual nature.

b. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).  This is only spoken of man.

c. "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" (Ecclesiastes 3:21).  There is also a distinction in what happens at death.

John the Baptist responded as a person to the news about the future birth of Jesus while he was in the womb.  "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:   ....  For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.   (Luke 1:41, 44).

8. What is God's view of those who take the life of an unborn child?

a. "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen"  (Deuteronomy 27:25).  An unborn child is an innocent person!  There is a curse placed upon one who takes the life an unborn child even if that person is a physician.

b. "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).  The taking of the life of an unborn child is one of the things that God hates.

c. "If men strive, and hurt a woman 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,  Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,   Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (Exodus 21:22-25).  The Hebrew word translated "fruit" in this passage refers to a "child born".  It is translated "child" 72 times in scripture.  The picture is that if the woman is hurt so that she gives birth to the child prematurely, but the child in not harmed, then the abuser is to pay according the demands of the woman's husband.  However, if the child is harmed (any mishchief follow) then the penalty is "life for life" or according to the harm.  There can be no conclusion, but the life of the child is EQUAL to the life of the adult.  It is obvious according to this scripture that one who performs abortions should face the death penalty.  I am in no wise advocating that any one should take the law into their own hands, but would strongly suggest that the current law in many countries should be changed.

NO! From the beginning, Satan has been out to kill the seed of woman. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).  It is an attack against God in that it is an attack against His creation.

The king of Egypt ordered the killing of the Hebrew male children because of fear that the Hebrews would overtake the Egyptians.  "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live" (Exodus 1:15-16).

The people offered their children (human sacrifice) to a pagan god of fertility in hopes that they would become more prosperous.  "But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel" (II Kings 16:13). "And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim" (II Kings 17:31). "And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech" (II Kings 23:10). "Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel" (II Chronicles 28:3).  Many women today get an abortion because they want to pursue their work or prosperity.

Herod the king also had the male babies killed because he was afraid that he might lose his kingdom.  "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men" (Matthew 2:16).   How many men have the wife or young lady to have an abortion because they don't want to bother with children or lose the attention of the mother?

NO!!!  This is the proverbial case of situation ethics.  God says that He will never put us in a situation where we HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WRONG!  "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it"  (I Corinthians 10:13).

First, God's desire is, "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4).  Second, God's desire is that children are born into the world and become Christians and lead others to the Lord.  "And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth" (Malachi 2:15).  Therefore, both divorce and abortion are a hindrance to God's purpose.

a. First, it leave a woman EMPTY.  "The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough"  (Proverbs 30:16).  Every woman that I have counseled that has had an abortion has in some way been left with a feeling of emptiness.

b. Second, it leaves women with a sense of GUILT.  Why?   One of the ten commandments is "Thou shall not kill".  Sooner or later, the woman has to face that issue in her conscience. "Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another" (Romans 2:15).

c. Third, because of physical and emotional scars it may be difficult for the woman to become pregnant even when she comes to desire to have children later in life.  Note: most women feel "FORCED" into abortion either by the pressure of parents, the men, the peers, or the dynamics of the situation.  This often brings lasting emotional scars.

1. Forgiveness is available.

a. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"  (Isaiah 1:18).

b. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

c. "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).

a. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15). We must forgive in order to receive forgiveness.

b. "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27).  Emotional wounds often leave the door open for anger and bitterness to enter.

c. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).

a. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,   To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).  Jesus was sent to heal the broken hearted and set free those who have been emotionally bruised.

b. SEE the following articles: Healing for the Emotions and Steps / Emotional Healing

a. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrew 13:5).

b. "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

c. SEE the following article: Overcoming Loneliness and Motivation From Within.

a. Paul vividly describes the life of those how once lived in sin and then declares, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (I Corinthians 6:11).

b. SEE the articles: Find Life, Purpose and Joy and My Personal Confessions.