Recently I received an e-mail that raised the following questions:

* What about health problems or a troubled marriage 

*   It causes a lot of anxiety to be engaged in sex with your spouse when you know you don't want to have any more children and birth control methods are not 100% guaranteed or they just don't work for you.

 * Yes, children are a gift from God, but not everyone should have that gift and not everyone who does have them should keep on getting them. I know my limit and “birth control” just seems the wise thing to do 

 * I agree it is wrong to become infertile if it's done out of rebellion.  However, it is better a person have NO children than to have abortions, or to have children and not love them and care for them right 

 *  I'm against abortion but I don't believe the same with a man or woman having their tubes tied. One is prevention and the other is murder 
 

These are all relative comments and important things to be addressed.   Most of these issues are addressed in considering God’s original intent for mankind which is in direct and violent collision with the pressures and standards of the society we live in.  Because we are Christians, we are to be obedient to God’s point of view, so let’s examine some relevant scriptures.
 

IN THE BEGINNING
 

 Our original parents were commanded to be so fruitful that they would replenish the entire earth and subdue it. This command was given to them before the fall into sin and since God declared that everything He had created was “very good” - it is a safe assumption that having many children was His perfect will for His highest creation. 

No where in the Bible has God rescinded his command to be fruitful and replenish the earth. The fruit of each generation populates the earth for the subsequent generation.

THE BIBLICAL ATTITUDE TOWARD CHILDREN

Throughout the Bible (both testaments), childlessness was considered a reproach to man, and sometimes even a punishment of God.  There are numerous accounts of women in Scripture, beseeching God for a son. Consider, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Hannah to name just a few.  Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of King David was rendered childless because she valued royal dignity more than worship of God.
 
 

The Law of Moses states that a childless condition was part of God’s judgment for very sinful acts. For example:
 

THE GIFT OF A CHILD CONSIDERED A REWARD

The Shunammite woman, who materially blessed the prophet Elisha was empowered to conceive a child as a reward for her service to the Kingdom of God.
 

Shortly before he passed into eternity, the patriarch Jacob pronounced a prophetic blessing upon each of his sons.  He blessed his favorite son Joseph, with the blessings of heaven above and of the deep below, and blessings of the womb.  Genesis 49:22   There was never an indication of the remotest thought in the mind of any that the number of children born to a family should be limited.
 

A MIRACULOUS MOVE OF GOD – PRODUCES THE CHILD OF PROMISE

God moved miraculously in some cases to bless unlikely recipients with a child of promise.  Consider Abraham who was called the “friend of God”. He was financially and spiritually blessed, but without a child, his death would mean the end of the family line.
 

Those of you who are familiar with the Scriptures may remember that Abraham fathered a son named Ishmael through Hagar, a secondary wife, given to him by Sarah when she did not conceive according to her own timetable.  When God spoke with the elderly patriarch, Abraham expressed a thought that those who believe they have enough children can relate to.  Here’s the story.
 
 

It is apparent that the fleshly wisdom of Abraham kicked in here. He saw no reason why all the promises made to him could not be fulfilled through the son he already had.  Legally, Ishmael was considered Sarah’s since she was mistress of the household.  “ O that Ishmael might live before thee” is Abraham’s intellectual evaluation that he and Sarah were just too old to deal with a baby.
But God had a different view of the situation!
 
 

All the promises made to nation of Israel, including the birth of Messiah Jesus, were fulfilled through the line of Isaac.  Praise the Lord, that Abraham and Sarah were obedient to the Lord and did not decide that Ishmael was enough for them. 
 

HOW GOD VIEWED THE SECOND SON BORN TO ABRAHAM

At the crowning moment in Abraham’s life, when he was willing to offer his son in obedience to God on Mount Moriah, the Scripture shows how God viewed Isaac, the child of promise.
 
 

The obvious response of the casual reader is that here is an error in the Bible.  What about Ishmael?  The answer is that Isaac is the son of the covenant, and as such, he is viewed by God as Abraham’s only son.

When we refuse God’s blessing and prevent conception, not only are we being disobedient to the command to be fruitful and multiply, but we never know whether the refused child is the very source of fulfillment through which God’s plan for us is to be accomplished.  We are quick to say, “Let Ishmael live before you”.

A BIBLE EXAMPLE OF BIRTH CONTROL MEETS WITH SWIFT JUDGMENT

Onan and the Levirate Marriage Law

Expanding a family through the birth of offspring was so important, God made provision for a Jewish man to have a family tree, even if he died before his time.  The provision was called Levirate Marriage and works like this:
 
 

There was a provision in the plan of Levirate marriage for a brother who did not want to take his former sister-in-law as his wife.  The brother would be considered socially incorrect, but was not forced into a union he found objectionable.
 
 

There is a scripture that has been used to support the concept that God does not approve of birth control since the time of the early church fathers.  It was also the accepted view among Hebrew scholars until this past century when many doctrines got the “liberal” treatment.  The scripture in question is found in Genesis 38 and references a son of Judah who was to perform the duty of the Levirate marriage to Tamar, his bother’s widow.  Some have attempted to refute this scripture saying it is not a judgment on birth control by saying that Onan’s problem was not that he refused to father a child, but that the child would be considered the son of his deceased older brother.  If that were the case, it is logical that Onan would have declined to marry his brother’s widow at all. The penalty for that infraction was the acquisition of a nickname, “the Unshod”.  Onan had no problem having sex with her, he just did not want the child period, since it would not be credited to his account.
 
 

Had he refused the marriage, Onan might have suffered some social consequences, but God’s opinion of the matter was quickly demonstrated in a more permanent fashion. 

The saga of Onan is the only example of refusing the gift of a child recorded in the scriptures.  The only other negative comments about bearing children refer to times of great judgment. Jesus spoke a word that referred to the invasion that was to come upon Jerusalem.  The constraint of caring for an infant during the ruthless attack of Rome in 70A.D. easily explains this reference. 
 
 

A similar event is prophesied in the Olivet discourse in which Jesus spoke of events of the last days.  Many believe this is yet to be fulfilled.
 
 

Although caring for a child under these circumstances would be difficult, there is no suggestion that steps be taken not to conceive.
 

                                                 BIBLE FACTS OF LIFE:

                           HOW DOES THE SCRIPTURE TELL US THAT PREGNANCY ACTUALLY OCCURS?

Eve’s concept: 
 
 

Our concept that the intellectual ability of our ancestors was severely limited has been formed by negative pictures of cavemen dragging their unwilling mates into some dark region in order to procreate.  Actually they were pretty smart folks.  Consider Adam who named all of creation and Noah who built the ark with very sketchy blue prints - no small feat even for the engineers of today.   Eve was smarter than we give her credit for.  She correctly understood the source of her children. 

The Lord closed up the wombs of the subjects of Abimelech.

Abraham, the man of faith, was not always a sterling example of perfect trust in God, but had to grow into this distinction.  Early in his life he lied to the king concerning his wife Sarah.  Because of Sarah’s beauty, Abraham feared for his life and so he told Abimelech that Sarah was his sister.  This was a half truth. Sarah was taken and put into the King’s harem, but God protected her by closing the wombs of all the women in the kingdom.  When the truth was revealed, Abraham was used by God to reverse the curse.
 
 

 Isaac, Abraham and Sarah’s miracle child of promise, knew where babies came from.
 
 

Leah may have been the ugly older sister, but God favored her with many sons.  Leah had four sons in rapid succession, and then there came a time when she stopped bearing. 
 
 

And so began the "Baby Derby" in Jacob’s household.  Leah stopped bearing but asked the Lord to fix that problem for her.
 
 

Leah understood that it was the Lord that had blessed her and opened her womb. Rachel, on the other hand - prevented from conceiving - looked to her husband to remedy her barrenness.  Rachel said to her husband, “give me children or I die”.  But Jacob knew what Leah knew – it was God that opened or closed the womb.
 
 

Rachel finally got the point – and the baby. 
 
 

Hannah, one of two wives of Elkanah, suffered torment at the hands of her rival.  Hannah knew that it was the Lord who would open her womb. She asked God for the child and struck a bargain to return the child to the Lord.
 
 

After she fulfilled her part of the bargain, God blessed her multiple times. 
 
 

A final pronouncement on the value of children is made in the Book of Psalms. It begins:
 
 

The question of the legitimacy of refusing children from the Lord through birth control may well be answered in this one verse.  We are quick to forget that it is the Lord that builds our households. Our frantic attempt to build it ourselves on material prosperity and social acceptability is futile, and may be the root cause of why so many of our households have crumbling foundations. 
 
 

What we know so far:

1- God has commanded us to be fruitful and multiply;
2- It is God that opens a womb and allows conception, and closes a womb and prevents it;
3- Children are to be considered a blessing and a gift from the Lord.
 

ARE THERE ANY SCRIPTURAL WAYS TO PREVENT CONCEPTION?

Separate for a time of prayer and fasting.
 
 

When Paul wrote the above, his statement of equality between a husband and a wife was considered revolutionary.  He stated that each partner in the marriage owed a duty to the other, but there was a time when they could abstain from sexual contact by mutual agreement for a time of prayer and fasting.   This appears to be the only scripture on the topic of abstinence for a married couple.  This quote is even a “stretch” in applying it to the purpose of preventing conception and I am not really confident that this is a correct application of this scripture.  The purpose of prayer and fasting is quite different than removing oneself from the possibility of conception.
 
 

                                                         TAKING THE CONTROL AWAY FROM THE LORD

So far we have been discussing the concept of childlessness or the birth of children in an agrarian society where many sons meant much prosperity.  Although some agree that being without children all together is a grievous thing, they also cite the cost and responsibility of children in modern times as a reason for taking steps to limit conceptions. The problem for Christians arises when we seek to take the control of conception away from the Lord.

The natural order of things dictates that when a marriage occurs, children will usually be produced. Medical discoveries of the last century now allow individuals to circumvent the blessings of family and substitute our own logic for God’s best.  We can prevent conception to a reasonable degree of certainty, and even cause a conception to happen outside of the natural human environment.   No matter what reasons we give, when we take matters into our own hands, we are still acting in rebellion to God’s command to be fruitful and multiply and usurping His sovereignty over the child bearing process.
 
 

Since the Bible records many who petitioned the Lord in order to conceive a child, and we are always to be honest before the Lord, why not ask the Lord to prevent conception?  This still puts the couple in the position of submitting to the greater will of God.

I have been asked if I am against all types of birth control or just permanent methods like vasectomy and tubal ligation.  If the Bible says children are to be considered a blessing and a gift from the Lord; and the Bible is wholly true all of the time; then deliberate means of preventing conception is “leaning on our own understanding instead of leaning on the Word of God”. 
 
 

If God has commanded us to be fruitful and multiply, and it is He that opens a womb and allows conception, and closes a womb and prevents it, then whatever method we used to thwart that plan is rebellion against Him.  We are choosing where and under which circumstances we will not acknowledge His Lordship. 

NO WIGGLE ROOM

When a scripture doesn’t say what we want it to say, the inclination of our flesh is to look for “Wiggle Room”.  Wiggle room is a circumstance under which the scripture doesn’t mean what it appears to be saying, and of course, those circumstances match our situation exactly.  The problem is the overwhelming evidence is against wiggle room on the issue of preventing conception.  God’s Word is true all the time.

 I think that the most difficult thing for a Christian is saying and meaning, “Nevertheless not my will but Thy will be done” especially when there are life long consequences. However, when we allow God to make the decision, we are assured that:
 
 

If you are considering a tubal ligation or a vasectomy, please don’t step off the cliff into this area of deception.  If you have already had one, seek the Lord and ask Him what He would have you do.  Some of these procedures can be reversed.
 

                                            GOD’S CHOICE GUARATEES GOD’S BEST!

 
 

 To view helpless babies murdered by BABYKILLING ABORTIONISTS click here.

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Genesis 9:6
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed:
for in the image of God made he man.

Numbers 35:33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are:
for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the
blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
 

E-mail: Glory2Jesus@ArmyofGod.com
or telephone 1-757-204-4454
Please write to:  Rev. Donald Spitz
                           Pro-LifeVirginia
                           P.O. Box 2876
                           Chesapeake VA 23327