Here's a sensitive question we get not infrequently in the inbox and this time it comes from a nameless female listener who simply asks this Pastor John is it a sin to be pregnant before marriage? And pastor John, how do you go about answering such a sensitive question? one way to reframe this question Would be to ask are the effects of sin sin But when I when I thought that I thought no even that's not precise enough is it because Pregnancy before or outside of a marriage covenant may be owing to a woman's sin or may be owing to being sinned against like rape or both like if she Engaged willingly and he engaged willingly.

They're both sinning she's being sinned against by a man who should take better care of her and she's sinning by Willingly participating but Paul says in in first Corinthians 618 flee from sexual immorality the old translation fornication and we know from first Corinthians 7 - he's talking about extra marital sexual relations because he says because of the temptation to sexual immorality Each man should have his own wife and each woman her own Husband in other words sexual relations belong only in the safe holy beautiful Sanctuary of a marriage covenant between one man one woman while they both live So the the presence of a child in the womb Outside marriage is either the result of being sinned against in rape or the result of sinning Now back back to that original reframed question Assuming that this new mother of this unborn child did sin in having sexual relations outside The marriage covenant is the presence of this child in her womb Sinful is pregnancy or the child sin she asks The answer is no and let me surround that no with three observations to give some seriousness and Christ centered hope to this mother with an unplanned Pregnancy or to whoever else may be listening that way observation number one That there would be a stigma That attaches to pregnancy outside marriage is I think a good thing We have almost entirely lost it today because of the normalization of sexual immorality and Because of putting people's feelings above a call to holiness But having said that it is crucial that every Christian and every church Make clear that any stigma that attaches to pregnancy outside marriage is because the pregnancy signifies previous sin not because the pregnancy is Sin, and if there has been no previous sin say in the case of rape that should be handled really delicately and tenderly but Not I think in the church merely privately So I say again appropriate stigma attaches to a previous sin as its basis and to a present pregnancy only as a possible pointer to That sin and the reason that's important and hopeful hopeful Is is what follows in my second observation?

Here's a second observation the second thing to say is that a woman's experience of shame Should also only attach to the previous sin not the present pregnancy one of the reasons for that for for that is because Sin can be forgiven because of Christ a woman can confess That sin and be cleansed of it so that the shame is overcome and taken away by the merciful cleansing grace of God If if the shame attaches to the pregnancy or the child itself, then there's no overcoming in other words the solution to both the stigma and the shame is in the preciousness of the forgiveness of Christ and the forgiveness of a humble community of saved sinners and All of that assumes that the basis of the stigma and the shame the basis of both attach To the proper place namely the previous sin not the present pregnancy And here's the third observation Sovereign grace a sovereignty of God makes it possible For both a pregnancy and a child That is the woman's experience and the child's experience To be turned for good in the life of the woman and the child and the family and the church and the world No one needs to feel no woman needs to feel no family needs to feel That because the child originated in a sinful act if it did God Cannot make this child great He can't So I hope what our nameless friend feels is that it is wise and good to be serious and sober and honest about the stigma and the shame of the sin of sexual immorality if that's the case and That the remedy for that sin and the hope for a life of freedom and joy and peace and usefulness For mother and child and family and everybody affected should not be sought in the minimization of sin but in the maximization of God's grace This grace is very very Great your pregnancy is not a sin the sin that brought the pregnancy If it did is no less forgivable Than my sins or the sins of those in your church your experience of that forgiveness through repentance and faith in Jesus can become a mighty testimony to the beauty of Christ and That child can grow up in the beauty of Christ and become great Magnificent word pastor John pastor Ali is sensitive and biblically careful.

Thank you very much for your time on Friday We're gonna close out the week hearing from a listener who wants to know whether or not in heaven. We will fear God Will we fear God in heaven? And if we do fear God in eternity, what does that mean for our joy and delight in him?

It's a really good question This is somewhat complicated question But it's on the docket for Friday for more about this podcast to find our audio feeds or to search our archive of Episodes or to see the most popular episodes that we have released today You can do all of that from our online home at desiring God org Forward slash ask pastor John.

I'm your host Tony Ranke. Thanks for listening to the ask pastor John podcast You you you