Few subjects are as sensitive as abortion. Many people carry stories they have never told: a decision they made, a decision someone made for them, or a season of pressure and fear. Any honest conversation about abortion has to hold two things together: clarity about what God says, and real care for the people involved.
Clear is kind. So here is where Citylight Church stands: we are pro-life, and we are anti-abortion. And here is why we care about it: not to win an argument, but because we are for people, born and unborn.
The Church’s Position
Citylight Church holds the position of the Assemblies of God: “Every human life, from conception through death, is to be valued, respected, nurtured, and protected. God is both giver and sustainer of life; He alone has the power to determine its beginning and ending.” Scripture regularly treats the unborn child as a person under the care of God, not as a mere appendage of the mother’s body. There is no biblical basis for ending the life of an unborn child.
That is the church’s general stance, and the word general matters. Real lives are full of nuance, and many people find that their positions are firm right up until they are the ones walking through it. A church that is clear about truth must also meet people where they are. The goal is not posturing. It is pastoring.
What the Bible Says About the Unborn
The clearest place to start is Psalm 139:
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
David goes on: “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16).
People sometimes describe an unborn child as a fetus, an embryo or “a clump of cells.” But God’s eyes see that unformed substance, and He has already written its days. A baby is a baby, whether running around the house or still in the womb.
Ecclesiastes adds that conception is more than biology: “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). The creation of a child is the work of God.
Scripture even shows purpose on a life before birth. Before Jacob and Esau were born, the Lord told their mother, “the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Hosea remembers that “in the womb he took his brother by the heel” (Hosea 12:3). There was intention and destiny on Jacob’s life before he ever drew a breath.
When Does Life Begin?
Citylight Church’s position is that life begins at conception. And based on Psalm 139, a case can be made that it begins even earlier, in the mind of God. God was involved with every person long before they were born, and He wants to be involved with every family now.
What About the Hard Cases?
Rape, incest and threats to a mother’s life are real, and they are devastating. Anyone with a heart feels the weight of them. But those cases make up only a small share of the reasons women give for having an abortion. Most reasons center on timing, finances and relationships. Abortion is a morally unacceptable alternative to birth control.
For anyone facing an unwanted pregnancy under the most painful circumstances, there is hope: God can do a great work in your pain. Genesis 38 tells a grotesque story of prostitution and incest between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. Yet from the line of her son Perez came King David, and Jesus Christ. Never underestimate what God can do in your situation.
What About Contraception and Fertility Treatment?
Christians disagree about contraception. Citylight Church holds that contraception is a matter of conscience, while not supporting the termination of a pregnancy. A simple rule for conscience: if you are preventing pregnancy and you think or know you are pregnant, shift gears, take a test, see a doctor, and have the baby.
For couples who need help having a baby, the church’s answer is clear: we support you. Pray, seek the Lord, be led by the Spirit, and if He leads you to fertility treatment, go get help having a baby.
Why Politics Will Not End Abortion
When Roe v. Wade was overturned, many celebrated it as a great victory. But the goal was never for a court case to be overturned. The goal is for abortions to stop. If laws change and abortions go up, that is not a win; women simply travel to other states. Overturning Roe v. Wade while abortions increase is, by every measure that matters, a loss.
God warned Israel about trusting in political power: “Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation” (Isaiah 30:3). Christians should be grateful for good laws, but our help does not come from the hills of political power. “My help comes from the LORD” (Psalm 121:2).
Why Truth and Science Alone Will Not End It
Many people say the answer is simply to stand for truth. Truth matters. But truth alone often changes nothing. Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and He stood before Pilate and spoke the truth, and Pilate answered, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).
The truth is that life begins at conception. Biologists overwhelmingly agree that life begins at fertilization. Yet most Americans still do not believe it. Legislation is not getting it done. Truth is not getting it done. Science is not getting it done.
Why Only the Gospel Will
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Support, resources and adoption are all good, and churches should be involved in them. But only the gospel changes a heart.
For a woman who has had an abortion, the gospel offers a lifeline of redemption. Jesus can lift the weight of guilt and shame, quiet the haunting thoughts, and restore her to the purposes God has for her life. No one is beyond His grace.
For a woman considering an abortion, the gospel gives power to overcome. Whatever the pressure, whether money, a relationship, family or fear, the power of God can give her strength to face what looks impossible.
This Is About People
It is easy to think of abortion as a distant political issue. It is not. It touches families in every community, including conservative and church-going ones. Many women in our own neighborhoods have faced this decision, and many more will.
The only way to protect the unborn is to reach the women who will make that decision, with the gospel, before the decision is made. That is why churches cannot afford to slow down. People need a church where they can experience the life-changing power of the cross, and a church God can trust with people.
When Hagar ran away pregnant and afraid, the angel of the Lord met her in the wilderness, and she called the Lord who spoke to her “a God of seeing” (Genesis 16:13). If that is where you are today, God sees you. And there is a place for you at Citylight.