Is it sin to use birth control? Is it right or is it wrong to limit the number of children
born in one's family? Now an average number of children in the 84 million families living in the
United States is little more than three children per family. And we see in the world we have 7.9
billion people living on the planet right now. Probably by next year 2023, we're going to have
8 billion people. In the United States we have about 332 million people with an increase of 0.2%
over one year. We have a huge problems in the world today: drought, famine, climate issues,
pandemic and 33 ongoing wars at this present moment, border conflicts and so much.
Should we just limit the amount of children that we have and what does the Bible say about that?
Now, before we answer that we must start with the basics. The Bible speaks very positively
concerning having children. In fact the Bible says children are a gift from God. Genesis 4:1, Genesis
33:5, and they are a heritage from the Lord. Psalm 127:3-5. They are a blessing from God. Luke 1:42.
Children are the crown to the age. Proverbs 17:6. God sometimes blesses barren women with children
and there's so many scriptural references to that. God forms children in the womb and God knows
children before their birth. In the Old Testament, culturally speaking, to be a woman that doesn't
have children was considered shame and a curse. Woman would fail in her mission to bring forth
children if she would not have them. And God would bless women with children and that would
be considered a great blessing. There's only one time that I could think of, where infertility was
seen in the positive light and that is in Matthew 24:15-21. When Jesus describes the hardships that
the pregnant and nursing women would have endured during the destruction of Jerusalem. And He would
say that it's better not to have children at that time, but overall in the Scripture, the Scripture
is in positive light concerning children. Now while were saying that the parenthood,
being parents is not God's absolute standard for all couples. The same way that marriage is not
God's absolute standard for all individuals. Jesus is an example of what Christians should aim for
and He wasn't married and He didn't have children. And if you read the New Testament teachings,
you actually will see a little different view than the Old Testament teaching. Sometimes
reading Apostle Paul's writings, it would seem like Paul is against marriage. But he wasn't
against marriage, he was also presenting the reality of the purpose that every Christian has.
And because a lot of people were being persecuted that Paul was saying, "Hey focus on the eternal,
focus on the spiritual instead of the material and the physical." Now with that said,
children are blessing from God. God wants to give us children. God wants us to have children. He
wants us to populate heaven and He wants us to produce Him offspring because these children,
they become His citizens and His children. When it comes to birth control, for the last 2 000 years
Christian churches have been opposed to artificial birth control. In fact in the first centuries
in Christianity, contraception was regarded as sinful because it was associated with paganism
and with heretics. Catholic Church until this day holds a very strong view against birth control.
In its doctrine it teaches birth control is contrary to the natural law of procreation.
The Catholic Church teaches that if you believe in birth control, that
it gives humans power to decide whether or not to have a new life
and that power belongs to God, that it could lead to widespread immorality,
that it damages the institution and the purpose of marriage, that it reduces males respect for women
and it gives human beings the idea that they can have complete power over their body. And so and
the Catholic Church is not very far from what the Bible teaches actually, because the idea in
the Bible we see in Genesis 1:22, that God tells the first couple to be fruitful and increase in
number. But we also have to keep in mind, Adam and Eve were the only human beings on the earth
and there was not eight billion people on the planet. There was just two. So God wanted them
to populate the earth. And it also this natural family planning idea that Catholics uphold,
kind of flows together with the verses in the Bible where it says that God closes the womb and
God opens the womb. Not us, not pills but God. Meaning God is Sovereign and God is in control.
So that is one view that a lot of people hold. Where my family came from I know like my grandma
and God bless her heart, she has 16 children, okay and so she grew up in that kind of a
perspective and more of a traditional pentecostal church. Where you know, you should have as many
children as you can and you should not use family planning or you should not use any birth control.
Or you should not choose to have as many children as you want to, you should let God decide that.
And you know God bless her heart, 16 children are healthy, praise God. But there's a second view
that quite a few Christians uphold as well, is that contraceptives or birth controls can be used.
And they believe that we can decide how many children we have to be born in the family, as long
as the method is not abortion. This view holds that sex in marriage is not only for procreation
but it's also for pleasure, for companionship, for intimacy and deliberate prevention of having
a certain amount of children is acceptable. This view holds to the standard that the Bible is not
as focused on having as many children as you possibly can but the Scripture also teaches
us in 1 Timothy 5:8 that we actually have to take care of our household.
So if you financially cannot provide or you cannot provide raising, you know 16 children, that it's
not God's blessing or it's not God's will for you to have as many kids as you possibly can but you
cannot feed them and you cannot provide for them. Because the Bible says he who he doesn't provide
for his household is worse than an unbeliever and he who denied his faith. And so it's a matter of
not how many kids we can birth but how many kids we can successfully raise. So that is the two main
views. Now the Scripture that is used sometimes to condemn birth control is the one where Onan,
he had a relationship, sexual intercourse with Tamar and he was practicing the oldest
form of birth control which was withdrawal and he didn't have children and it's recorded in Book of
Genesis 38:10. It says, "And this thing that he did displease the Lord; therefore He killed
him also." So sometimes people will read this verse and they say, "Look, you know God this is
displeased with birth control because we are not you know spreading His kingdom and populating this
earth and God killed Onan and He can kill anybody who practices any form of birth control." But you
have to understand is that the story of Tamar was this, is Tamar was married to a guy named Er
and he was wicked. God killed him. He didn't have any kids. After that Tamar was given to this guy's
brother whose name was Onan and in the accordance with the law that the childless widow would marry
her husband's brother to continue the family lineage. You know Onan who already was married
and had children, he didn't want to split his inheritance of any of his children
with other kids that he would produce on his brother's behalf. And so he practiced the oldest
form of birth control which was withdrawal and so Onan's motive was selfish. He used tamar for his
own pleasure but he refused to perform his legal duty of creating an heir for his deceased brother.
This passage is often used as an evidence that God doesn't approve of birth control.
But however, it's not an act of preventing contraception that the Lord has put Onana to
death. It was his self-centered motive to prevent pregnancy in the first place. So I don't believe
that this verse can be used to say that every form of birth control is evil and displeasing to God
and God will kill you for it. Because the motive and the context in this guy's story was completely
different. If you're one of those people who are considering you know, planning family or
having children but you're not sure if you want to have as many children as you can possibly can
and you're wondering about this topic, I would ask you two questions. The means and the motive. The
means is, will you use a birth control that will terminate life after it's been already conceived?
Because see there is birth control pills that prevent the release of an egg from ovaries.
And then there are pills that thicken the cervical mucus to prevent a sperm from entering the womb to
fertilize the egg. But then there is this morning pill or abortive birth control pill that prevents
already conceived baby from being implanted in the wall of the uterus, where he would be able
to receive the necessary nutrients to continue developing and that is wrong. And so this type,
this means of birth control ends a human life already and that one is wrong. Now the second
question you have to ask yourself, first one is the means, the second one is the motive.
Why do I want to have a birth control? Is it to protect me from the consequences of sinful sexual
activity? Like for example some single people use birth control so that they could be protected from
the consequences of committing sex outside of marriage which is wrong, which is sinful.
Is it because I am selfish and I don't want to be bothered with having children to raise?
Or is it because I want to limit the number of children that I can provide for and raise
in the ways of the Lord? And I think that each couple can answer that question with prayerful
consideration and that is a decision that each couple can make. It's not something that a church
should come and impose on every person and say, "You should have this many children or you should
not have children." I think each one of us we need to examine our motives, we need to examine
our means by which we're going to restrain from having x amount of children and after we have
peace about that, than to make those decisions. I do believe the birth control is always wrong
as a protection for sex outside of marriage. It's been calculated that 85% of abortions in
the United States are performed on unmarried women and so when people use birth control
to try to prevent a pregnancy that potentially can happen because of our sexual immorality, it's
always wrong. We conclude that it's acceptable for married couples to limit the number of children
they may conceive as long as it doesn't kill a living embryo or a fetus, but at the end of the
day it is up to you and your conscience. It's one of those gray areas that a couple needs to examine
their situation, the Scriptures and prayerfully consider that decision. God bless you.
Thank you for watching this video. Let me know in the comments below what is your view. Do you hold
on to that more of traditional view that you can only have as many children as God allows you or
you're allowed to plan for how many children you want to have? Let me know that in the
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