Position Paper on the Sanctity of Life
October 2024
The purpose of this paper is to give biblical reasoning for and an explanation of Trinity Church’s position on the sanctity of human life.
Our goal, as a church, is to be led by God’s Word and God’s Spirit, so we want others to know how He has led us to this view for the church.
Why we believe in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death
1. God is the Creator and giver of life.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:26-28
From the beginning, God created humanity in His image, with a mind to reason, a will to choose and a spirit to relate to Him. He also created humanity to rule over His creation and to steward His creation, which naturally includes the protection of life. God creates all human life and gives purpose to every human being.
God has also given humanity the mandate to “be fruitful and increase in number.” This tells us that procreation is blessed by God and is a natural and expected part of being human.
2. Human life begins at the moment of conception.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16
David’s description, inspired by God, informs us that the body and soul of each baby is formed miraculously by God in the womb of the mother. God intimately knows every individual from that first moment of formation (also Isaiah 44:2, 24; 49:5; Jeremiah 1:5). God is sovereign over the life of each person even before birth (also Ephesians 1:4, 11; II Timothy 1:9). God considers each “unformed body” (embryo) a life (the Hebrew word “golem” in Psalm 139:16 literally means embryo).
The incarnation of Christ also provides a powerful proof for life at the moment of conception. The angelic announcements to both Mary (Luke 1:35) and Joseph (Matthew 1:20) indicate that the Holy Spirit would cause the conception of the Christ Child and from that very moment, the baby in Mary’s womb would be the living Son of God in human form (see also Luke 1:41-44). The earthly life of Jesus started at conception, not at six weeks or six months or at birth.
3. God’s commandments in His Word protect human life.
In God’s covenant with Noah, even in humanity’s fallen state, He proclaimed the value of life and based it on humanity’s creation in God’s image. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind” (Genesis 9:6).
The sixth commandment explicitly declares God’s view on the sanctity of life when He says, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
The only situations where God permits the taking of human life is for sanctioned war (Deuteronomy 20:16-18), in the case of capital punishment for murder (Leviticus 24:17), and in the case of self-defense (Nehemiah 4:11-14). God has established civil government to be His agent for dispensing justice and punishing wrongdoing (Romans 13:1-4), not for taking innocent life.
4. God’s Word calls us to protect the weak and vulnerable.
God calls on His people to defend the rights of the weak and vulnerable. Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4). In our society, the weakest and most vulnerable are the unborn, since they have no power or voice to defend themselves. As Jesus affirms in Matthew 25:40, whatever we do for the least, we do for Him.
Conclusion
As believers, we hold to the sanctity of human life because every human being is made in the image of God. This means we value life and protect life at every stage of life.
As a church, we teach the sanctity of human life and we take a united stand to protect the lives of the unborn. We oppose the deliberate and willful ending of a pregnancy by any means. Attempting to terminate a life inside the womb after conception is sin, unless it is medically necessary to protect the life of the mother. We support the work of faith-based crisis pregnancy centers and oppose the right to abortion on demand.
Trinity desires to be a church that offers hope and healing to anyone whose life has been impacted by abortion. We teach that Jesus extends grace to all who come to Him for forgiveness.
