If Babies Go to Heaven, Why Oppose Abortion?
00:00:00.000 | Another week is upon us here at the Ask Pastor John podcast and we start the week on a somber note
00:00:10.080 | Rodrigo from Brazil writes in to ask of this Pastor John
00:00:14.140 | Hello, I've seen your effort to combat the terrible abortion policy that has literally ripped apart thousands of precious lives
00:00:20.680 | Jesus says let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these
00:00:27.240 | So my question is do aborted babies go to heaven
00:00:30.640 | Even not having the chance to be born and to piggyback on this question in recent online debates
00:00:37.260 | Critics of the pro-life movement say that if aborted babies do go to heaven
00:00:41.720 | Then why is abortion really a big deal in the end for Christians? What would you say Pastor John?
00:00:47.220 | Well, I have argued
00:00:49.560 | numerous times
00:00:51.400 | that
00:00:52.560 | infants who die
00:00:54.520 | Do go to heaven and the articles and sermons can be found at Desiring God by simply searching to infants who die go to heaven
00:01:01.120 | I do believe they are in a sinful condition when they die. I don't believe
00:01:07.840 | Believe that they're saved because there's no original sin. That's not what I'm arguing
00:01:13.760 | My view is not based on how cute or innocent they are
00:01:18.320 | It's based largely on God's apparent commitment to a kind of public justice in which
00:01:25.640 | He makes the rejection of observable
00:01:29.500 | evidences of truth the basis for his final condemnation
00:01:34.760 | Romans 1 20, but that's that's not what I'm arguing for now in this answer
00:01:40.840 | I'm just going to assume that Rodrigo can go to
00:01:44.520 | The website and get more on that. I'm gonna tackle. Why would you oppose abortion?
00:01:50.080 | If you thought you were sending many many babies
00:01:55.280 | wonderfully to heaven
00:01:57.960 | To put it the way Rodrigo put it in recent online debates
00:02:01.880 | critics of pro-life say if aborted babies go to heaven
00:02:07.160 | Then why is abortion really a big deal in the end for Christians?
00:02:11.480 | And my answer is it is a big deal for six reasons at least
00:02:17.400 | Number one, it's a big deal to kill babies in the womb because murder is a big deal
00:02:25.240 | We know it's a big deal because the reason capital punishment was inaugurated by God after the flood
00:02:32.560 | Was because of how big a deal it is to murder someone
00:02:36.920 | Who's in the image of God?
00:02:38.920 | Genesis 9 6 whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed for God made
00:02:47.120 | Man in his own image. That's what makes it such a big deal. You don't kill
00:02:54.080 | Beings uniquely created in the image of God number two
00:02:59.280 | It's a big deal to kill the unborn to try to justify
00:03:04.800 | murder by the
00:03:06.560 | heavenly destination of of the one being murdered because the same
00:03:11.760 | Justification could be used for a one-year-old or a two-year-old who are incapable still of processing and construing
00:03:19.760 | God's revelation. So if Christians were to buy the argument sure, that's fine
00:03:24.520 | you can go ahead and take the lives of of
00:03:26.720 | Infants in the womb because they're gonna go to heaven then we can just go around kill all the one-year-olds and guarantee they go
00:03:33.040 | To heaven kill all the two-year-olds and guarantee that they go to heaven and and we'll draw the line maybe around
00:03:37.840 | I don't know three or four. That's a horrific
00:03:40.800 | Position to take and is it a big deal number number three?
00:03:47.000 | It's a big deal to justify murder that way by the heaven-bound
00:03:51.360 | Destination of the one being murdered because the same thing would be used in to justify killing Christians
00:03:59.280 | Let's just let's go out and convert people then kill them quick before they can commit apostasy or backsliding
00:04:06.080 | it's a
00:04:08.040 | Horrible logic number four. It's a big deal to kill those who committed no crime
00:04:14.000 | Just in order to dispatch them to heaven because the Bible addresses this very kind of twisted thinking
00:04:21.760 | When it says shall we sin that grace may abound?
00:04:27.120 | In other words somebody was trying to use the logic
00:04:30.280 | against Paul that
00:04:33.160 | Grace would abound wherever sin abounds. And so well goodness gracious. Let's do some more sin and
00:04:41.880 | Paul
00:04:43.800 | Responded shall we do evil that good may come God forbid. So his answer is no. No, it's it is a wrong
00:04:52.840 | Logic to sin in order that some good might come from it. We're dealing with God here. Not just pragmatics
00:05:00.840 | Number five it is a big deal because life on earth is good and wonderful
00:05:07.840 | It is a right thing to want to be alive on the earth and the Apostle Paul when he weighed
00:05:16.080 | dying and going to be with Jesus and
00:05:20.440 | Staying alive and serving the church. He opted to stay alive. Here's what he wrote
00:05:25.680 | For to me to live as Christ and to die as gain
00:05:28.920 | If I'm to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me at which I shall choose. I cannot tell I'm hard-pressed
00:05:34.800 | Between the two my desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better
00:05:38.920 | Okay, so that that would you well then just choose death for goodness sakes, but he says verse 24
00:05:45.200 | but to remain in the flesh is
00:05:48.720 | More necessary on your account
00:05:50.720 | Convinced of this. I know I will remain and
00:05:55.280 | Continue with you all for your progress and joy in faith
00:05:59.120 | So it is far better
00:06:01.240 | He says to be with Christ in one sense if it's just me and my sufferings that are being taken into account
00:06:08.720 | Please Lord, I would rather be home
00:06:12.560 | But if I take into account my ministry my relationships the good I might do in glorifying God and serving
00:06:20.040 | People for the season that he gives me here on the earth
00:06:23.840 | Larger purposes are in mind and we ought not to to take that a possibility away from anyone
00:06:31.480 | So if there's an unborn person, we shouldn't say oh, well, they get to go to heaven
00:06:35.400 | So don't give them any chance to serve God on the earth that that doesn't follow from biblical
00:06:40.680 | Reasoning and lastly it's a big deal because it is
00:06:45.200 | presumption to step into God's place and
00:06:49.320 | Try to make the assignments to heaven and to hell
00:06:52.560 | God is the judge not us our duty is to obey God not play God
00:06:58.520 | So yes, babies do go to heaven I believe and no don't kill them
00:07:04.840 | because they're in the image of God and because earth is their home on the way to heaven and
00:07:12.000 | Rightly, so and because we are not God
00:07:15.960 | Amen, very good. Thank you pastor John and tomorrow
00:07:19.720 | We return to the abortion topic and talk about whether or not Christians can in good conscience
00:07:24.480 | Pay taxes to a government that subsidizes the abortion industry
00:07:29.000 | It's an important question on the table and for everything related to this podcast
00:07:32.560 | You need to know go to desiring God org forward slash ask pastor John. I'm your host Tony Reinke
00:07:38.520 | I'll see you tomorrow on the ask pastor John podcast
00:07:40.920 | [BLANK_AUDIO]