Counter culture

Jay Adams, who brought a biblical revolution to Christian counselling in the 1970’s wrote: “The church has a tendency to follow the swinging pendulum of the world”.

Why do we follow the world’s pendulum? After all, surely those who trust in Christ are freed from sin’s enslavement and automatically become more like Christ, and less like the world? As people who have been crucified with Christ, surely we die daily to the person that we once were, having a new and different way of life (Rom 6:6; Gal 2:20)?

Indeed, we are instructed to resist conformity to the world and to embrace true and lasting transformation that comes only from Christ, through His Spirit who lives within us. As Paul writes to the Colossian Christians, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him” (Col 2:6-7).

All this is true. But why are we so often drawn to the patterns of this world in our real-life struggles?

Perhaps the tendency to embrace the world’s way of thinking is because believers have become less and less convinced that the Bible is sufficient for understanding and solving all the problems of life (2 Tim 3:14-17). Perhaps we spend more and more time looking at our struggles through the lens of ‘experts’, psychologists, feminism and the media, than through the lens of Scripture.

But the apostle Paul comes alongside the believers living in the pagan city of Roman and earnestly begs them to respond to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, by becoming worshipers of God, set apart for him only, and renewed in him continually:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship² Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1)

In this text, Paul highlights three essential elements of true transformation:

1. We put ourselves at God’s disposal and under his loving authority.
2. We reject the world’s system and refuse to conform to its mold.
3. We renew our mind in the truth of His Word, allowing his Spirit to change us (2 Tim 3:14-17).

This is how sustained and substantial transformation takes place in the life of a Christian, so that the watching world can see the fruit of what our new Master has done within us— the righteousness and holiness of God (Rom 6:14, 18, 20, 22). This is known as sanctification.

Sanctification

The life-long process of sanctification in a believer’s life is brought about by the ministry of the Word, blessed by the Spirit of God, which brings a Christian closer to the likeness of Christ. This transformation is about substance, not just form. Although the Bible instructs us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”, we are barking up the wrong tree if we try to transform ourselves. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-23).

And so, in Romans 12:1-2, Paul tells believers that we are not transformed by our feelings or desires; our efforts, hopes or moral values; our will, behaviour or positive affirmations. We are transformed by renewing our thoughts and aligning our hearts to God’s Word. Let’s explore the three essential requirements for transformation:

1. We put ourselves at God’s disposal and under his loving authority.

Paul says that we are to “present our bodies as living sacrifices to God,” which is the only acceptable form of spiritual worship.

But what does “a living sacrifice” mean today?

These days we hear a lot of talk around ‘transformation.’ It often involves outward form rather than substance, and the appearance of virtue rather than reality. Very seldom is worship of God or self-sacrifice even mentioned in relation to transformation. But substantial transformation is impossible without first coming under the authority of the Lord Jesus and surrendering ourselves to Him entirely. We need to first belong to Christ.

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:24-25)

And so, whether in an individual or society, it is impossible to please God and keep in step with the Spirit, if we have not first raised the white flag of surrender. “It is impossible even to begin living the Christian life, or to know anything of true spirituality, before one is a Christian…As far as coming to God is concerned, we must all come in the same way. There are no exceptions. Jesus said in a totally exclusive word: “No man cometh to the Father but by me.” (Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality).

Paul makes a powerful appeal to those who have come to the Father through Christ the Son. He urges us to remember the fruits of God’s mercy, expressed in the gospel and the ongoing work of Christ in our lives.

And so, the ‘living sacrifice’ in Romans 12:1 is ongoing and continuous. It is also down-to earth and practical. Spiritually speaking, from the day we become Christ’s followers, we present our whole selves at God’s altar—soul, mind and body. In Ancient Greek thought, the body was thought of as unspiritual and unimportant, but Paul shows here that our bodies and our everyday lives are immensely important to God. We hold nothing back from the Lord when we become a living sacrifice.

For first century Jews and pagans, a sacrifice was a vivid image, because they brought sacrifices to the altar often. But this sacrifice was starkly different. It was a living person being brought to the altar, not a dead animal. For Jews, it brought up the idea of priestly service and holiness (Lev 1:10; Deut 15:21), remembering that a sacrifice needed to be unblemished and without defect.

And so, just as Jesus is our acceptable sacrifice and great High Priest, our lives should represent God accurately to a fallen world, like his holy priests in the Old Testament (1 Peter 2:5). Christians are nothing less than the holy priesthood of believers.

As a holy priesthood, God doesn’t just want our work or performance. Nor does he ask us to sacrifice a goat or perform a ritual. He wants our everyday living to be transformed into an act of worship. Our soul, mind, body, desires, homes, ministries, emotions, hobbies and relationships belong to him! Our families and plans belong to him. Our work and words belong to him. Our thoughts, responses and motives are his too. A living sacrifice excludes nothing.

In stark contrast, ‘transformation’ without surrendering our entire lives to Christ is like putting on a mask or dress-up costume. If we try to transform (or reform) ourselves, our changes will be, at best, superficial, and at worst Pharisaical. We will be like Ananias and Sapphira, who pretended to be self-sacrificial, but preferred to be thought holy than to actually be holy. Their blatant lie against the Holy Spirit was deeply offensive to God (Acts 5:1-11).

2. We reject the world’s system and do not conform.

Secondly, Paul’s instruction, “Do not be conformed to this world,” warns us that the ‘world system’, the popular culture, its ways of thinking and acting, are in active rebellion against God. That is why the world will try to force us into its ungodly patterns and even insist that we celebrate their ungodly choices and goals for humanity. This process of conformity must be actively resisted.

Last week, we were blessed to be in Cape Town for our daughter’s 21^st birthday party. She was expressing great joy at being able to celebrate with wonderful Christians and being part of a Bible-teaching church. But she also described her struggle to live as a faithful Christian at a pagan university, with constant pressure to conform to a godless way of thinking. She concluded, “It’s hard to always know what it means to be in the world, yet not of it.”

Nothing has changed. Paul warns first century believers to be wary about slipping comfortably into the world’s patterns, because they are insidious and alluring. They are hard to resist. It is much easier to go with the flow than to make the effort to renew our minds in the truth.

In reality, I wonder how many of us wake up each morning and prepare our minds for action? I wonder if we even realise that our minds are the crucible either for godly transformation or worldly conformity? We will either conform to the world or we will transform into the likeness of Christ.  There is no neutral ground.

Scripture warns us that we cannot love the world and God at the same time:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17).

Christians are to be molded by God’s Word, instead of allowing the world to squeeze us into its mold.

3. We renew our minds in His Word.

But it’s far easier to take the line of least resistance and be squeezed into the world’s mold. That’s why I’m so glad that Paul gives us the antidote! The key is the Holy Spirit’s inside-out work of transformation, by the renewing of our minds. Daily renewal is the only way that we can escape being shaped by the world and its steady flow of foolishness and disordered thinking.

It is the Holy Spirit who renews our thinking day-by-day, as we read the Bible. He does this by:

1) Teaching us God’s standards and principles;

2) Convicting us of sin;

3) Correcting and restoring us, and

4)  Training us in practical godliness (2 Tim 3:14-17).

T.C.C.T. That’s an acronym for the four-step process by which the Spirit renews and sanctifies us through the Word of God. Daily renewal is essential if we are to resist the patterns of this world and live more like Jesus.

This God-given four-step process of transformation will equip us for every struggle we may face in life, to do the good works that God has prepared for us. This biblical process of transformation is foundational to the series on “Practical Christian Living” that follows.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be exploring several common struggles of life in which Christians have a tendency to follow the swinging pendulum of the world, instead of being re-calibrated by biblical wisdom and truth.

Since I am training to become a counsellor, I am particularly struck by how easy it is for Christians to think and talk in the same way the world does, instead of looking to Scripture to diagnose our struggles and prescribe the right solutions to the problems of life.

The Christian message isn’t simply, “Trust in Jesus and you’ll be forgiven. Then wait for Christ to return to make you perfect.” Although a disciple of Christ will never be perfect in this present world, with the help of the Holy Spirit we can and should expect to be transformed, to increase in godliness and to die to sin, until our time on earth is done. This is the process of sanctification.

In this series, God willing, I hope to delve into the Scriptures concerning common struggles that many of us face, applying the four-step process for transformation in 1 Timothy 3:14-17:

1. Biblical prescriptions for mental health.
2. Ageing with grace.
3. Just one more! Unmasking addiction.
4. How men should lead their families.
5. God’s goals for fruitful moms.
6. Stewarding our time.
7. Whom shall I fear?

Useful sources and further reading on transformation:

Jay Adams, How to Help People Change, Zondervan, 1986.

Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, 1972.

Dr Helen Roseveare, Living Sacrifice– Willing to be Whittled as an Arrow, Christian Focus Publications, 1980.

The Days Ordained for Me

Part 3 of Psalm 139, by Rosie Moore.

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were ordained for me,
    when as yet there was none of them (Ps 139:13-16)

David is confident that his Creator not only formed and saw his ‘unformed substance’ at the start, but also at the finish and every day in between. Since the Lord pre-ordained David’s life, God will remain actively involved in his future. And because God has written David’s name in his book of life, the Psalmist has hope and significance until his final breath, and beyond into eternity.

Even before the Messiah’s appearance, David was assured by the doctrine of predestination (Eph 1:4-5).

Not a day too many, not a day too few.

Like David, we will not live one day too many or one day too few. Before we were even born, God numbered and recorded the days of our lives. And if our lives have been redeemed by Christ, God’s purpose is to make us more like Jesus every day. He will use all circumstances and stages of life to achieve this end (James 1:2-4; Rom 8:28-29; 1 Peter 4:1). Therefore, God gives meaning and purpose to each new day, even when our lives seem worthless or obsolete.

As Christians, the Bible tells us that our life’s purpose is to experience and proclaim God’s glory until Christ takes us home (1 Peter 1:7). Therefore, the days of our lives are irreplaceable and highly significant. They are not just one mundane thing after another. Each day is preparing us for “an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4:17-18).

Today we will look at the final two practical implications of Psalm 139:13-16 in the light of the gospel.

1. God has ordained our days.
2. Our bodies matter to God.

1. God has ordained our days.

In Ps 139:16, David writes about God’s “book” which records all the days of his life. Most likely, he is referring here to the Book of life, which records the names of all those who have come into God’s righteousness. Elsewhere David prays: “May the wicked be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous” (Ps 69:28).

The book of life is mentioned several times in the Old and New Testaments. It is significant for us, because it was the basis for David’s assurance in verse 16.

In Daniel 12:1, when describing a future time of great distress, Daniel foresaw that everyone who has their name in “the book…will be rescued”. The book here likely means the Book of life which contains the names of all God’s redeemed people.

This is great assurance for everyone who has put their faith in God’s Saviour, whether in Old or New covenant times. Jesus Christ knows the name of every redeemed person in the book of life, his “book of remembrance” (Rev 3:5). And as Matthew Henry said, “Christ will not erase the names of those whose faith is in him”.

God records the name of every person destined for Heaven and the world to come in the Lamb’s book of life. Through our salvation in Christ, He makes us pure and able to pass through the gates of heaven (Rev 21:27).

Thus, we can be confident that everyone who believes the gospel has their name recorded in God’s book and will enjoy eternity with the Lord. This provides a sustainable motivation and model for all the days of our lives.

God’s providence and our purpose.

In a world which links human value to productivity and performance, David’s prayer offers hope for the walking wounded, the lonely, weak and depressed who are tempted to think that their lives are too painful or meaningless to continue. I know many believers who are battling with chronic pain and a great sense of futility.

But we must resist the world’s lies and believe that God continues to see and care for us all the days of our lives. Take heart and be assured that you are significant, no matter how redundant, powerless or dispensable you may feel. For as long as you have breath, God’s providence will run alongside your purpose.

Seen through the gospel prism, we all need the same thing, which is to be saved by Jesus Christ. Born or unborn, young or old, weak or strong, sick or healthy, dependent or independent, human beings are precious in God’s sight and he invites us to have a relationship with him through Christ all the days of our lives. This is our purpose.

Moreover, God’s providence means that our lives will always have significance. We are anchored in something much greater than what we can do or contribute.

The late J.I Packer offers encouragement to seniors and all those who may think that their lives are worthless,

“We humans are hopers by nature. Hope motivates, energizes, and drives us. It is natural for us to look ahead and long for any good things that we foresee. That is how God made us. It was always in his plan that we, his embodied rational creatures, should live our lives in this world looking forward to, and preparing for, something even better than we have known already…

As seniors’ powers of body, memory, and creativity grow less, so their conscious focus on their hope of glory should grow sharper and their meditations on it grow more joyful and sustained. Passion to continue being of use to God and his people, in holiness, love and what Scriptures conceive as neighbourliness, should and will intensify to the end”

(Finishing your course with Joy, by JI Packer).

2. Our bodies matter to God.

Finally, our bodies matter, because God has made them ‘fearfully and wonderfully’– male and female, regardless of race or ethnicity. God’s works are wonderful indeed, especially in designing the human body.

There is no way to detach our bodies from our spiritual lives before God. While there is a danger of obsessing about our bodies, there’s also a danger in de-valuing them.

The body is not ‘unspiritual’.

After all, “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Jesus became a human being with a mortal body like ours. He gave his own body to redeem us in order to re-create our bodies on the last day (1 Cor 15:41). Our new bodies will resemble the glorious body of our resurrected Saviour (Phil 3:21).

David has a high view of his mortal body, describing it as a ‘frame’ that God has ‘intricately woven in the depths of the earth.’ His imagery sounds like a complex tapestry of meticulous hand stitches. In fact, each one of us is a walking miracle of irreducible complexity that science cannot replicate. We are not less than the bodies that God has given us, even if sin has made them mortal and liable to decay (1 Cor 15:47-48).

Do we ever look at the design of our bodies and ask, “Why did God design me like this?”  It’s a good question to ask in the light of Ps 139:13.

Just think for a moment of a mother’s body. Abigail Dodds praises God’s idea of giving women wombs so that babies could grow in them. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every woman must have a baby, but wombs to grow babies is God’s idea. Dodds marvels at God’s design of a woman’s anatomy which is suited to provide nourishment and love:

“If God designed our bodies to be a home to a tiny person for nine months, then that understanding will help us understand the instructions in Titus or 1 Timothy to work and manage the home. Why? Because he actually made our bodies a home…The weight of influence that comes in making a home, in ordering a dwelling place for others, is practically incalculable. Proverbs says the wisest of women builds her house (Prov 14:1). That’s one reason God gave us hands and arms—to build our house and make a home.”

And so, regardless of our imperfections, David reminds us that human beings are made up of both body and soul. These two parts are distinct but inseparable, except in death. Both are equally important for human life and experience. As Paul Helm writes,

“Your body is unique to you, and in this life it is you, while in the life to come it will be with you again.”

David’s description challenges me to view my body as a gift from God, and be thankful. Our bodies are not rubbish bins for unhealthy food, degrading acts or substances that have no place there. We should not reject, harm or show contempt for the body that God has given us.

For this reason, I believe that it is wrong to objectify, change or use the human body for power, lust or money. Our bodies have been created through Christ and for Christ, to do the things that God has made them to do (Col 1:16-17).

David clearly has respect for himself, as his Maker has for Him. Self respect is not prideful, but demonstrates a sound grasp of the biblical doctrines of God and humanity.

David and the Apostle Paul were in perfect agreement: “The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body” (1 Cor 6:13). Therefore, “glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:20). Our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit” who dwells in us (1 Cor 6:19). Since our bodies belong to God, it matters what we do with them (1 Cor 6:13-20).

What we do with our bodies.

Glorifying God in our bodies is not just about what we avoid and don’t do, but also about what we do positively—how we work, whether we exercise, what we do with our arms and legs to help others, what we feed our minds, how we deal with our emotions, what we say with our mouths and how we regard our bodily imperfections.

For instance, the Bible provides practical wisdom on sleep (Ps 127:2; Prov: 9-11; Eccl 5:12); laziness (Eph 4:28; 1 Thess 4:11-12); indulgence (Rom 13:13); gluttony (Prov 23:2-3, 21, Heb 12:16-17); stress (Phil 4:6-8) and mastering our body’s sinful urges (Matt 5:30; 1 Cor 9:24-27).

The Bible equips us to live in our bodies at all stages and ages, dealing with ageing, illness, death, sexuality and identity. We should not look to the world for wisdom on these matters.

How we view our bodies has massive implications for how we flourish as God’s people. Given the ancient serpent’s hatred of God and humanity, we should not be surprised to find ourselves swimming upstream when it comes to polarizing issues surrounding our bodies. In our cultural moment, Christians need to equip the youth with a sound doctrine of God and humanity, so that believers can take a stand and give reasons for what we believe.

Knowing that God has created every human fearfully and wonderfully, in his own image, and for a purpose, provides a framework whereby we see everything else:

Addictions, self-harm and assisted suicide; gender ideology in education and the sexualization of children; trans surgeries, puberty blockers and pronouns of choice; LGBTQ and feminist agendas; marginalizing heterosexuality, men and boys; misuse of prescription drugs; pornography and sexual grooming;  genetic engineering and genome therapies; eugenics and trans-humanism; gender-based violence and female circumcision; euthanasia, race and abortion; informed consent and much more.

A sound theological framework will guide us in answering three big questions that seem to be shaking our society at its core: What is a man? What is a woman? What gives human beings value?

These are not just social or cultural questions. They are issues of the human body with deep spiritual roots, in which Satan has profoundly vested interests.  Let us never forget that our bodies and our days belong to the Lord, and to Him alone.

Lord, thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are built and designed by you. Our unique bodies, brains, eyes and ears, emotions and gifts bear your unmistakable marks as master craftsman, master designer and master builder. Thank you that we are not just the product of impersonal forces such as time and chance and natural selection, but that we’ve been given a unique body to use for your glory.  Help us to trust in your providence all the days of our lives. Help us to see our intrinsic worth and to treat others with dignity and respect too. Amen.

Sources:

1.To read Part 1 (Knowing and being known by God) and Part 2 (Wonderfully and Fearfully Made) in this series on Psalm 139, please click on the links.

2. Abigail Dodds, (A)Typical Woman– Free, Whole, and Called in Christ. Crossway, 2019.

3. J.I Packer, Finishing Our Course With Joy. Crossway, 2014.

4. David Helm, Created Body and soul, TGC.

Dr James Marcum, MD, Medicines that kill, Tyndale House Publishers, 2013.

5. Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body: Answering Questions about Life and Sexuality.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Part 2 of Psalm 139, by Rosie Moore.

“For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them (Ps 139:13-16)

David is remembered as a great king and leader, poet and musician, courageous warrior and tender shepherd, sinner and man after God’s own heart. But I doubt any of us would regard David as a man of science. Yet, three thousand years ago, he understood the truths about conception and human development, which have been confirmed by the study of embryology and DNA in the last few decades.

The process of three-dimensional DNA helixes, winding and unwinding to make proteins for human growth, looks a lot like knitting or weaving.  And now we know, without a doubt, that an unborn child is a living, distinct, unique, whole human being from the time of conception.

In these verses, David demonstrates a healthy attitude towards himself and his Creator. He assumes that God rules providentially over his life even when he was just a dot in his mother’s womb. He doesn’t view himself as an accident or a mistake. Thanks to ultrasound technology, we are now able to see just how fearfully and wonderfully God has made every human being, as He is the inventor of procreation.

An unborn baby not only bears a unique human fingerprint, but also the fingerprint of a loving God stamped on its forty-six chromosomes.

From the moment of conception, the embryo has its own unique genetic code that is different from its mother and father’s. It grows by cellular reproduction; metabolizes food into energy and responds to stimuli. Between twelve and eighteen weeks, the foetus feels pain and reacts to stress in a way that resembles an adult’s response.

But David’s positive understanding of his life and his body is not just a mantra to affirm his self esteem, nor is it wishful thinking. It is firmly rooted in the imago dei, namely  that human beings are different and distinctive from animals, plants and the rest of Creation. As God’s image-bearers, men and women are made to be the Creator’s visible representatives on earth (Genesis 1:27), to rule in his place.  Thus, David’s self esteem is based squarely on God’s estimation of him:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”.

David understood himself through the lens of Genesis 1:27-31, which our society seems to be defying at the deepest level. He knew that God has a plan for each of his image bearers from conception, throughout their lives, through death and into eternity.

David knew that mankind was made to “be fruitful, increase in number and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28); to rule over every living thing and produce food from the earth, whilst living in harmony with the rest of creation (Gen 1:29-31). Of course, sin spoilt everything, but David knew that God’s image remains in humanity.

And because David assumed the imago dei, he knew that his intrinsic worth had nothing to do with his accomplishments or status as king. His value was not conferred on him by society, but endowed by God the Creator. His value as a human was therefore inalienable.

We can either praise God for being the wonderful Creator that He is, or depose Him and adopt our own ideas of what it means to be human.

Whatever happened to the human race?

Recently I re-read Francis Shaeffer’s classic, “Whatever Happened to the Human Race,” and was struck by his prophetic warnings about the war on Western society’s foundations for faith and freedom. In 1979, Schaeffer wrote,

“If man is not made in God’s image, nothing stands in the way of inhumanity. There is no good reason why mankind should be perceived as special. Human life is cheapened. We can see this in the many major issues being debated in our society today: abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, the increase of child abuse and violence of every kind, pornography (and its particular kinds of violence as evidenced in sadomasochism), the routine torture of political prisoners, the crime explosion and the random violence which surrounds us.”

I think there are at least three practical principles that flow out of Psalm 139:13-16:

1. Every human has intrinsic value.
2. God has ordained the days of our lives.
3. Our bodies matter to God.

Today we will focus on the first one. Let’s ask the Lord to make this principle real in our lives.

1. Every human has intrinsic worth.

Ps 139:13-16 answers two crucial questions: What does it mean to be human? What makes us valuable? These questions are the volcanic hot spot of every emotive debate in our culture.

The fact that God creates, knows and cares for the unborn in the unseen haven of a woman’s uterus, means that God’s concern for all life begins at conception. And logically, this must mean that God’s people also have the responsibility to care for children in the womb.

The reason for abortion on demand is that our society has assumed the right to determine human value. Humanity has re-defined what it means to be human and usurped God’s right over life and death. Quite simply, our culture no longer believes that God has knitted us together in our mother’s womb, nor that there is a purpose for our existence.

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

The recent overturning of Roe v Wade should be celebrated by every Christian worldwide as a small step in pushing back what Francis Schaeffer described in 1979 as “the slaughter of the innocents”. Schaeffer warned that the judgment of God would be upon any nation involved in this slaughter.

Yet, today’s desperate fight for the right to kill babies in the womb, (and even shortly after birth for the harvesting of human tissue) is framed as a reproductive health or choice issue; a women’s rights or constitutional issue; an economic, philosophical or religious issue. It is often seen as a private matter between a woman and her doctor. It’s presented as the compassionate option.

But it’s impossible to ignore the silent, small victim who is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ by our loving Creator. What if the unborn had a voice and could express their choice? One person’s unfair or hard circumstances can never justify intentionally taking the life of an innocent victim.

So, while God is concerned for every pregnant mother, he sees another person in the mother’s womb who is worthy of care and protection. Psalm 139:13-16 tells us that an embryo is not a constructed thing, a clump of cells or a piece of flesh. God sees both the unborn child and the mother, made in his image.

Human worth is totally unrelated to how independent or ‘viable’ a person is. My son is dependent on an insulin pump for survival, but his life has equal value to any other twenty-three year old. The elderly, sick and disabled rely on caregivers and chronic medications, but that doesn’t make them less worthy of protection. Human dignity and worth only exists because we’ve been made in God’s image.

Moreover, since we are not the Creator, we do not have the right to confer or withdraw the rights of ‘personhood’. Human beings have rights simply because we are human. They are automatic and intrinsic, because God has bestowed them. This is the basis for human dignity and the only safeguard against terrible atrocities and degradation.

The basis for human dignity.

The ‘image of God’ remains the only basis for human rights. We have taken these rights for granted in Constitutional democracies, but they are under siege from every angle—The right to life and freedom from cruel treatment; the right to property, privacy and bodily integrity; the right to work, think and express one’s thoughts, the right to human dignity and equal protection under the law.

But what happens to human rights if we reject the imago dei? We are walking on dangerous quicksand if we remove the foundation set out in Genesis 1 and 2.

One example of this quicksand is evident in the Sustainable Development goals imposed on the world’s nations as part of Agenda 2030. As Christians, the Bible says that God has entrusted mankind with dominion over Creation, but it’s limited because we are creatures and not the Creator. So our role is to responsibly rule the creation and make it a suitable habitat until the Creator comes back to reclaim it. We are to be good stewards of the earth.

However, there are many who argue that the world can only sustain around half a billion people. They claim that we have until 2030 to get the numbers down in order to survive, as we’re in a climate emergency.

I am tempted to ask: “Who are the seven billion people that must eliminated on this planet, and who is going to decide that? What if the fertilizer bans and zero carbon emissions goals destroy agricultural industries and lead to mass famine and starvation?” Time and time again in history, so-called ‘utopias’ have led to human devastation, degradation and enslavement.

The dangerous truth is that atheists do not believe that God created human beings in his image. They reject God as Creator, his order of Creation, man’s inherent value and the mandate to rule that God established at the beginning of the world. Consequently, this worldview does not see human beings as unique, worthwhile and irreplaceable. We are no different from the animals and the trees.

When the human race is no longer seen as made in God’s image, there is really no basis for treating people well and no barrier to abusing or even eradicating them. Even the words ‘crime’ and ‘cruelty’ lose their meanings.  Thus, the cruel calls even for late term abortions come as no surprise.

When humanity is devalued for long enough, the unthinkable becomes acceptable.

A fierce spiritual battle.

While we should pray for those who do not see the value of every human life and show grace and truth in conversations with those who disagree, Christians cannot celebrate choices that inflict suffering on the poor and the weak, even if they’re couched in compassionate words.

As Randy Alcorn points out here, there is a fierce spiritual battle raging at the heart of abortion. “Abortion is Satan’s attempt to kill God in effigy by destroying the little ones created in God’s image.” It is essentially a war against God.

As a final word on the principle of intrinsic worth, I thought I’d share the comments of a profoundly handicapped man called Craig who was born without a left leg and without arms below the elbows. Today he would probably have been eliminated in the womb due to serious birth defects:

“They don’t really see that what they are talking about is murder. I know, when I was born, the first thing my dad said to my mom was that “this one needs our love more.” An individual with a handicap needs our love and needs us to help him grow into the being that God has made him to be. They are advocating that we destroy these children before they’re even given a chance to live and conquer their handicaps.

I’m very glad to be alive. I live a full, meaningful life. I have many friends and many things that I want to do in life. I think the secret of living with a handicap is realizing who you are—that you’re a human being, someone who is very special—looking at the things you can do in spite of your handicap, and maybe even through your handicap.” (Schaeffer, Whatever happened to the human race?)

Prayer

Lord, thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in your image. We are built and designed by you. Our unique bodies, brains, eyes and ears bear your unmistakable marks as master craftsman, master designer and master builder. Thank you that we are not just the product of impersonal forces such as time and chance and natural selection. Help us to trust in your providence as our Creator and to represent you well on this earth until you return. Help us to to protect the dignity and worth of every human being, as you do. And help us to nourish and respect our bodies, as we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen.

Join us next week for our final devotion in “The Days formed for me.” We’ll look at the last two principles from Psalm 139:13-16:

1. God has ordained the days of our lives.
2. Our bodies matter to God.

Sources:

1. Megan Almon, The Case for Life and the Gospel, Life training institute, June 2022.

2. Francis Schaeffer, Whatever happened to the Human Race? (Crossway Books, 1979)

3. Randy Alcorn, There’s a fierce spiritual battle at the heart of abortion.

4. Randy Alcorn, Why Pro Life? Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers.