Is birth control Biblical? - Tim Conway

Ok, No. 4, Allen

"Is birth control Biblical?

I mean, if we should
trust God in all things,

isn't it kind of wrong to say,

'Hey, God, I don't want you to bless us

with a kid, so we're
going to use birth control.'

I'm very confused about
which way to go with this.

My wife and I."

You guys want my take on it?

Here it is.

This is an important
hermeneutical principal.

If you're not familiar
with what hermeneutics is,

basically it's the study
of Biblical interpretation.

You want to know about proper

Biblical interpretation?

And this is my take.

Especially as a pastor at the church.

When the Bible is dogmatic

about something and gives clear examples

and clear commandments

and clear principles,

I am going to be clear;

as clear as I can be,

as clear as God
gives me grace to be.

And when it's dogmatic,
I'm going to be dogmatic.

When things seem to be obscure,

when things are not so clearly dealt with,

then I am not going to be as dogmatic.

I am going to back away.

I may give some opinions;

I will point out some principles

to be considered

where God's Word gives plain commandments,

I am going to insist upon it.

But where it is vague,

I am not going to be overly dogmatic.

And so, folks,

is there a Bible verse in all the Bible

that speaks clearly about birth control.

There is not.

Now, some people will
argue and say there is.

Let me tell you the verse that
they typically argue from.

"Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn,

and her name was Tamar.

But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked

in the sight of the Lord,

and the Lord put Him to death.

Then Judah said to Onan,

(Onan was Er's brother)

Go into your brother's wife

and perform the duty
of a brother-in-law to her

and raise up offspring for your brother.

But Onan knew that the offspring

would not be his,

so whenever he went
in to his brother's wife,

he would waste the semen on the ground,

so as not to give
offspring to his brother.

And what he did was
wicked in the sight of the Lord

and the Lord put him to death."

So people look at that and they say,

See?

That's a form of birth control

and God put him to death.

But look,

God doesn't say that the
sin of Onan was birth control.

There was a law in Israel.

Listen to what the law said:

Deuteronomy 25:5

"If brothers dwell together

and one of them dies

and has no son,

the wife of the dead man

shall not be married outside the family

to a stranger.

Her husband's brother shall go in to her

and take her as his wife

and perform the duty
of a husband's brother

to her, and the first son whom she bears

will succeed to the
name of his dead brother

that his name may
not be blotted out of Israel."

Folks, as far as birth
control is concerned,

the Bible nowhere seems to forbid it,

neither does it endorse it, by the way.

But that text right there is not saying

that Onan committed birth control

and God killed him.

The problem was that Onan knew

that the firstborn child
would not be his own.

It would be his brothers.

That's why he didn't want to do it.

God killed him because he wickedly refused

to do what was a law in Israel to be done.

What a brother should
have done to another brother.

But here, I want to tell you
what the Bible does say.

The Bible says that you
are not to commit murder.

Listen to me.

If any member of our church

uses a form of birth control

that is abortive in nature

and I were to find that out,

and they were not to
repent of that immediately,

they would be disciplined
out of the church promptly.

If you are using any
sort of birth control,

whether it's the pill or anything else,

and I suggest you do the research.

If you're going to use birth control,

you have the obligation
to live righteously

before the Lord.

And if you're using any type that possibly

is abortive in nature,

and what I mean is,

there's a fertilized egg
that is being put to death,

you are committing murder.

And be certain of it.

That is forbidden.

And I can be dogmatic about that.

You are not to use abortive techniques

in birth control.

That is totally ruled out of Scripture.

What else can I tell you dogmatically?

I can tell you this.

Children are a heritage from the Lord.

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man who
fills his quiver with them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with
his enemies in the gate.

I'll tell you this,

having lots of children is a blessing.

And I can tell you that dogmatically.

You know what else I can tell you?

God opens the womb and closes the womb.

And the Bible tells us that.

And you that think,

you're just going to control this thing,

and you're going to go on birth control

at this time,

and then you're going
to get off of it,

and then you're going
to have your family.

Let me tell you.

God opens the womb.

And just because you're
trying to structure that,

don't think that it lies in
your power to make that happen.

There's no guarantees
you're going to have a baby

when you want to have a baby.

And, by the way,

there's no guarantee
that the birth control

that you use may not be the reason

you don't have children.

Because birth control can mess ladies up.

But that's something that you guys

would want to research as well.

Some other things I can
tell you dogmatically.

God says, Be fruitful and multiply

and fill the waters in the seas,

and let the birds multiply on the earth.

Be fruitful and multiply.

Is that a forbidding of birth control?

Not necessarily.

No more than it's a
forbidding of singleness.

Right?

Be fruitful and multiply...

you might look at it and say,

well then, we should be married,

because you can't
be fruitful and multiply,

at least not in God's appointed means

unless I'm married.

And yet, we know singleness is

advocated in Scripture.

So that isn't necessary a
dogmatic command either.

But here's a text to
consider on the other side.

1 Timothy 5:8

"If anyone does not
provide for his relatives,

especially for the
members of his household,

he has denied the faith

and is worse than an unbeliever."

Is there wisdom in
dictating and determining

and planning how many
kids you're going to have?

And trying to do it in a way that

you can support your family?

Obviously.

Supporting the family is
a very important thing.

And so, that is another consideration.

Bottom line,

and this is how I'm going to end this one,

Romans 14:23

"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

Let me tell you this.

Every one of you has a responsibility

to walk before God in faith.

And that means that you are living a life

the way you believe God
would have you to do it.

Not the way your friend
thinks you ought to do it.

Not the way your wife's girlfriend
thinks you ought to do it.

Not the way mom and dad
think you need to do it.

Bottom line is,

you all have a responsibility
to walk before God in faith.

And that means believing
that the path you're taking

is the one that is most pleasing to Him.

And if you are not convinced

that any form of birth control

is something that would please God,

then you're in sin if
you're walking that path,

when you don't think you ought to be.

Folks, you need to have a clear conscience

before the Lord

in anything you allow.