Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my Sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways:
--Isaiah 45:9-13a
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
--Isaiah 55:6-9
"Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee..." Jeremiah 1:5a
Are All These Your Children?
by Gary L. Cox
My wife and I are frequently asked this question when we are out with our whole crew. My wife and I came to our convictions about family planning as young believers who earnestly desired a scriptural basis for discerning what Christ demanded of us as disciples. We felt that there must be absolutes that are clearly revealed in scripture in order for us to assess what is our domain and what is God’s for making our “family” decisions.
My wife and I did not date (spend time checking each other out to see if we might be compatible for marriage). We were married because God clearly called us together and we obeyed Him, trusting in His providence and care.
The process of finding a life partner is one in which God Himself desires to participate. We believe that God extends a blessing to all who dare to let Him determine their partner in this most intimate domain of human companionship. We believe that the unmarried can marry anyone they choose if they be in the Lord1 however, we understand that, “God gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.”
We personally have experienced this in our own courtship and marriage. We teach our children that in the Cross of Christ there are things which we desire that we deny for the sake of things which He chooses for us; thus we are His disciples. This is a joyful obedience for the disciple and it is required of every disciple without exception. Discipleship is not an option.
Whose Authority?
Some will challenge the authority for claiming that God’s domain extends so deeply into our personal affairs. However, we learn from scripture that He is the Creator and Author of marriage. He determined that marriage forms the principle unit of social order. This order is of such primary importance that, after the wedding, the couple’s father and mother are established in a secondary relationship to them.2 Scripture also teaches that this union is a covenant with a divine purpose which cannot be broken and for which its members will give an account. Marriage is a combination of two separate individuals into an inseparable union from which God has an expected end... “that He might seek a godly seed.”3
Premises for Banning Planning
We conclude, therefore, that marriage has a purpose higher than its own existence and its decisions are beyond the preferences of its human covenant members. Marriage is hallowed and couples must find in it God’s higher purposes. Every couple will give an account of their marriage before Him by whom it was ordained. It is within these premises that we welcome all the children He sends.
These premises are narrow. By what authority does a couple take upon themselves the domain of determining if, when and how many children are proper for their marriage union? Adequately addressing this question leaves little room for humanly engineered family planning of any kind. Do parents possess authority to rule in the domain of determining the life of others? The question is not, do we have the power, mankind has power to commit all kinds of rebellion against God. The question is, do we have authority? We do not.
God has reserved for Himself the sole authority for determining the existence of human life. Human government is required to hold every creature accountable who sheds man’s blood. God told us His reason: man is made in God’s own image. Man is given dominion over the lives of every other creature, but he is forbidden to enter the domain in which he would determine the life of his fellow man. The right to determine human existence is retained by God exclusively and no man has authority to invade this sacred domain.4 Man has the power to transgress but he does not have the authority. “Family planning” is the extension of human power into a domain not given to him; thus it is rebellion.
Excuses for Family Planning
When we examine the reasons most couples use to prevent children from being born, we find that human reason and perspective are relied upon as if God has no interest or authority to rule in these affairs. The person and purpose of God are given little or no part in their considerations. If someone could set forth a legitimate use of human reason to consider a particular case or condition, we would find that the divine provisions in scripture are adequate to answer every condition imaginable.
Husbands can dwell gently with their wives as the weaker vessel by seeking God for wisdom and resting upon His power.5 Obedient action can be taken without transgressing authority not given to us! For starters, fasting and praying are available to the husband and wife while they seek God humbly to resolve truly life threatening dangers that may be related to childbearing. Abstinence is a part of fasting.6
But let us not be deceived, life-honoring decisions required to protect a life truly in danger of death cannot be permitted to become a “Trojan horse” by which we let man into the domain which God has forbidden him to enter! “Family planning” cannot be construed as preserving life for it is the prevention of it! Furthermore, most situations deemed life threatening are actually only general and normal risks which no one can escape when pregnant.
Obedient Disciples Required
When the bounderies established by God over marriage issues are obeyed, the generation of human life springs forth in a natural and holy cycle created and ordained by God within the marriage union. Obedience to God’s revealed purpose is the foundation of Christian marriage, if we would be His disciples. Purely human reasons must be recognized for what they are: efforts to save this life rather than to lose it for Christ’s sake. Does one have goals or desires which could be jeopardized by his/her abandonment to God’s created purpose in marriage? Stay single! Does one’s call to Christ’s service suggest that children could interfere with such important and eternal ministry? Don’t get married!
Discipleship and the Cross of Christ are always the sweet and holy means by which we measure and conduct our affairs. We are going to give account to God for every deed done in the body. All actions of wood, hay and stubble will suffer loss as by fire.7 I am convinced that America’s abortion industry is built upon our rebellion against God’s dominion over life and death, of which birth control is the chief cornerstone.
Where are the disciples of Christ who tremble to transgress His sacred domain? Could it be that the modern decline in missions is rooted in the devaluation of human life because of birth control? If we could see the eternal worth of one human soul and its peculiar glory before the Lamb in heaven, could we measure the potential suffering or discomfort caused by his birth sufficiently to declare that such earthly hardships are not worth the glory that shall be revealed?8
The disciple’s sacrifice in Holy Matrimony is the same as in every God ordained calling: “It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant!”9 My wife and I surrendered the power to determine our family size over 20 years ago; not because we do not have common sense or a mind but because our thoughts are not God’s thoughts.10
1 - 1 Corinthians 7:39
2 - Genesis 2:18, 21-25
3 - Malachi 2:13-16
4 - Genesis 9:5-7
5 - 1 Peter 3:7
6 - 1 Corinthians 7:5
7 - 1 Corinthians 3:10-20
8 - Romans 8:18; 2Cor. 4:17-18
9 - Isaiah 49:6a
10 - Isaiah 55:8-9