God Still Values life and so should we!

God proclaims His value on human life through His Creation mandate to be fruitful (Gen 9:1, 7)

Explanation: The background for this account is the beginning of life after the global flood. God has just wiped all out all of life on the planet with the exception of the 8 souls who were on the Ark. God is giving marching orders to Noah and his family, and His words are very instructive to us as it concerns the value that God places on all of life.

God begins by telling them to have children who will then have children of their own. Through the process of child-bearing the earth will be replenished with human life. God repeats His mandate twice in this short passage for emphasis. (verse 1 and verse 7). This mandate is a re-establishing of the original creation mandate that God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen 1:28). This mandate has never been rescinded - it is still valid and operational.

Argument: Al Mohler speaks of the Unity of the Goods in relating child-bearing to marriage. Every Christian couple who is in the reproductive age range should be open to the gift of children. (The Briefing podcast, Jan 26, 2024). Some couples will be unable to have children, but those who can are definitely under the mandate to replenish the world

Application: The believer is to live in faith, not fear. We can trust that God knows more than we do. Yes, the cost of having children is higher, and yes, the world system is getting more scary and darker. A very good reason for believers to have children and to raise those children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!

God determines the value of human life by the distinction He Himself made between humans and the animals (Genesis 9:2-4)

Explanation: God makes another very important decision in this passage when He emphasizes the difference between humans and animals. This is a category difference (like apples and oranges). Humans are categorically different from animals. Humans are not simply the highest form of animal. Humans are unique when contrasted with the animals because God created mankind differently than He created all of the other animals.

Genesis 1:27 KJV 1900

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

Argument: Only humans bear the imago dei - only humans can relate to the Creator God in a personal way. Jesus did not come to die for dolphins or chimpanzees or even Rover; He certainly didn’t come to die for cats!

God did indeed create the animals, but He gave dominion to mankind. After the Fall, God allowed for mankind to use animals for food. God repeats this provision to Noah and his family upon their leave-taking of the Ark. By doing so, God maintains the category division between man and the animals.

This distinction is important because we live in a day and age where this distinction is being turned upside down. There are some groups like PETA who place more value on the life of an animal than the value they place on a human life.

Application: The dominion mandate does not give license to the cruelty toward animals. But make no mistake, God DID give mankind the right to eat of the animals (Gen 9:3).

God sets the value of human life by instituting the death penalty for those who take life (Gen 9:5-6)

Explanation: God sums up His valuation of human life by declaring that those who deliberately end the life of another human forfeit the right to keep on living. God establishes the death penalty for murder. He clearly states that those who murder are to be put to death. He gives the reason in v. 6 - humans are created in His image and to deliberately end the life of an image - bearer is serious business.

Argument: There are those who try to confuse Christians and other conservatives who are pro-life and pro-death penalty. They claim we are being hypocritical and inconsistent. They argue that if a person is for protecting life in the womb, then that person also has to stand against the death penalty.

This is a category distinction and a misunderstanding of the penalty for the deliberate taking of human life. When one image bearer deliberately takes the life of another image bearer, he or she is guilty and is facing the consequences of his or her action.

L. PROVIDENCE TWP., Pa. - A man who was convicted in a crash that left a woman and her unborn baby dead has been sentenced.

Everett Clayton will serve 25 to 50 years in prison, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

Clayton was found guilty last year of two counts of third-degree murder in the death of Kellie Adams and her unborn baby Emersyn Grace, according to the Montgomery County Coroner's Office.

What about the mother who deliberately chooses to have her unborn child murdered? Impossible to classify mothers who are having gender selective abortions as “victims.” Why are there no consequences for this?

Proverbs 20:10 KJV 1900

Divers weights, and divers measures, Both of them are alike abomination to the Lord.

Application: This aspect of abortion is seldom mentioned, but as Christians we are called to be consistent when applying biblical truth. It will not be popular, but we are called to faithful obedience in God’s revealed truth.

Conclusion: Human life is Sacred to God and it should be sacred to us. We are called to bring life into this world and protect that life at all stages. We are called to faithful obedience and, by God’s grace we can make a difference by continuing to bear children and to raise them in a way that honors the Creator.