What the Bible Says About the Beginning of Life

The Bible is far from silent on the topic of the sanctity of human life, especially in the womb. This resource provides just a few of the Scripture verses that speak to the value of preborn life created in God’s image from the moment of fertilization.
Why should we value life?
“Know that the lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” —Psalm 100:3, NASB
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone.’” —Isaiah 44:24, NASB
“But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.” —Isaiah 64:8, NASB
Who is the creator of the preborn child?
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” —Psalm 139:13-16, NKJV
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:5, NIV
Is God concerned with the preborn child?
“But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him.” —Galatians 1:15, NLV
“Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven! Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with him and to be his holy and innocent and loving people.” —Ephesians 1:3-4, CEV
Are preborn children human beings?
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit . . . [saying] ‘As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’” —Luke 1:41,44, NIV
The Lord Jesus Christ began his incarnation as an embryo—growing into a fetus, infant, child, teenager and adult. “While they were there, the time came for the baby to born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.” —Luke 2:6-7, NIV
Who is responsible for life and death?
“Then God spoke all these words, saying, ‘You shall not murder.’” —Exodus 20:1,13, NASB
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” —Deuteronomy 30:19, NASB
Are humans permitted to take life before birth?
“If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”—Exodus 21:22-25, NIV
Should a child conceived as a result of rape or incest be aborted?
“Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.” —Deuteronomy 24:16, NASB
Should a child who might be born deformed or disabled be aborted?
“The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?’” —Exodus 4:11, NIV
“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making’? Does your work say, ‘He has no hands?’ Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?”—Isaiah 45:9-11, NIV
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” —1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV
How should a woman view her body and the preborn child growing in her womb?
“Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.” —Psalm 127:3, NASB
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” —1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NASB
Does God forgive those who have had abortions?
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” —Ephesians 1:7, NIV
by Carrie Earll – Citizens Link