We Are Not the Authors

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 2:6, “The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.”

Hannah praises God for something that is a great debate today. Sadly, I see far too many Christians standing on the wrong side of this debate. I will say right up front, that man does not have the authority, unless given to us by God, to take a life. That being said, all of us who support those who are advocates of taking the life of an unborn child, or agree with those who believe in mercy killings, will stand before God and give account. Both the Apostle Paul, when he was Saul, and King David, were murderers, even though they did not physically partake in taking the life of Stephen and Uriah (Acts 7; 2 Samuel 11-12). In the Old Testament, God gave Israel to the command to wipe out nations. There are many today who would disagree with that, but who are we to question God? King Saul was disobedient and God rejected him as king because he refused to wipe out the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). In Romans 13, God gives the authority to those who work in government, who police the people, to kill those who are evil-doers, if necessary. Romans 13:4 specifically says, “For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” In the Old Testament, when God said, “an eye for an eye”, He was not referring to us taking, or giving us permission to take, someone’s life of our own accord. This was meant to be applied by those who were responsible to carry out the laws of the land, as given by God Himself (Exodus 21:24). In Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus gives His dissertation relative to loving your enemy, and rather than resorting to “an eye for an eye”, Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, love and pray for our enemies. I want to take us back to Exodus 21 for a moment, because it directly relates to this whole wickedness today where society says it is okay to abort an unborn child. Exodus 21:22-25 clearly says, “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Isaiah 44:24 tells us that it is the Lord who forms us in the womb. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” The Apostle Paul wrote this in Galatians 1:15, “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace”. How then can we question whether or not it is a human life that is in the womb of a pregnant woman? If God is the Author of life and is the “Lord who kills and makes alive”, who are we to decide that such wickedness is acceptable, and support those who commit such atrocities? In Acts 3:14-15, the Apostle Peter said, when he was preaching, “But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The word he uses, “Prince”, means “Author”. The same word is used in Hebrews 12:2 where Jesus is called the “Author and Finisher of our faith”. Jesus, God Himself, is the Author of life, therefore, only He has the authority to decide who lives and who does not. This also brings me to a point that all of us who know Jesus Christ as Savior need to praise God about and celebrate. The Author of Life, our God, is the One who will also raise us up from the grave to be with Him for all eternity. 2 Corinthians 4:13-14 says, “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.” Finally, 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 promises, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” We must not be like the world that gives absolutely no value to, and has no respect for, life. Our opinions in comparison to His truth are worthless. We, as God’s children, should value life, as God values life, and remember that He, being the Author of Life, is the only One who should decide who lives and who dies, in accordance to His Word and His commands.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).