A) BIRTH CONTROL.

B) IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS.

C) FROM MY FAVORITE BIBLE COMMENTATOR.

D) FINALLY.

 

 

A) BIRTH CONTROL

 

 

Modern birth control methods were unknown in Bible times, and the Bible is, therefore, silent on the matter.  The Bible does have quite a lot to say about children, however.  The Bible presents children as a gift from God (Gen. 4:1; 33:5) and a heritage from the Lord (Psa. 127:3-5) and a blessing from God (Luke 1:42) and a crown to the aged (Pro. 17:6).  God even sometimes blesses barren women with children (Gen. 21:1-3; Gen. 25:21-22; 30:1-2; 1Sa. 1:6-8; Psa. 113:9; Luke 1:7, 24-25).  God forms children in the womb (Psa. 139:13) and God knows children before their birth (Jer. 1:5; Gal 1:15).

The closest that Scripture comes to condemning birth control is Genesis, Chapter 38, the account of Judah’s sons Er and Onan.  Er married a woman named Tamar, but he was wicked and the Lord put him to death, leaving Tamar with no husband or children.  Tamar was given in marriage to Er’s brother, Onan, in accordance with the Law of Levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5.  Onan did not want to split his inheritance with any child that he might produce on his brother’s behalf, so he practiced the oldest form of birth control, withdrawal.

 

Genesis 38:10 states that what he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so God put him to death.  Onan’s motivation was selfish; he used Tamar for his own pleasure, but refused to perform his legal duty of creating an heir for his deceased brother.  This passage is often used as evidence that God does not approve of birth control.  However, it was not the act of contraception that caused the Lord to put Onan to death; it was Onan’s selfish motives behind the action (not wanting to share his inheritance with his deceased brother).  Therefore, we can find no Biblical admonition against the use of birth control in and of itself using this Biblical example.

Contraception, by definition, is merely the opposite of conception.  It is not the use of contraception that is wrong or right.  As we learned from Onan, it is the motivation behind the contraception that determines if it is right or wrong.  Married couples use contraception for a variety of reasons.  Some feel called to put off childbearing until they are in a better position to care for children.  Some, such as missionary couples, may feel their service to God overrides the desire for children at a particular point in time.  Some may be convinced that God has a different plan for them.  Ultimately, a couple’s motives for delaying childbearing, using contraception, or even having numerous children, are between them and God. 

The inability to have children when they are desired is always presented in Scripture as a bad thing, especially considering the cultural stigma attached to childlessness at that time.  In fact, Moses even numbers the fertility of having children among women as a blessing in Exodus 23:26:  “There will not be a barren woman among you.”

 

There is no one in the Bible who expressed a desire not to have any children.  At the same time, it cannot be argued from the Bible that it is wrong to use birth control for a limited time, or even permanently, for that matter.  All married couples should seek the Lord’s will in regards to when they should try to have children and how many children they should seek to have.
 

 

B) IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS

 

No one has the right to determine whether someone else should or should not use birth control, or how many children is the right number for them, or whether they should have children at all.  As in all things, we are not to judge others or cause brothers and sisters in Christ to stumble, spiritually speaking.  Although this is tough advice when brethren are very poor.  Especially if they will not take advice.

 

 

C) FROM MY FAVORITE BIBLE COMMENTATOR

 

 

Here is some real help from AH:162-164:

 

“[162] A Grievous Wrong to Mothers, Children, and Society. -- There are parents who, without consideration as to whether or not they can do justice to a large family, fill their houses with these helpless little beings, who are wholly dependent upon their parents for care and instruction. . . This is a grievous wrong, not only to the mother, but to her children and to society. . .

 

“Parents should always bear in mind the future good of their children.  They should not be compelled to devote every hour to taxing labor in order to provide the necessaries of life.

 

“Before increasing their family, they should take into consideration whether God would be glorified or dishonored by their bringing children into the world.  They should seek to glorify God by their union from the first, and during every year of their married life.

 

“The Mother’s Health Is Important. -- In view of the responsibility that devolves upon parents, it should be carefully considered whether it is best to bring children into the family.  Has the mother sufficient strength to care for her children?  And can the father give such advantages as will rightly mold and educate the child?  How little is the destiny of the child considered! The gratification of passion is the only thought, and burdens are brought upon the wife and mother which undermine her vitality and paralyze her spiritual power.  In broken health and with discouraged spirits she finds herself surrounded by a little flock whom she cannot care for as she should.  Lacking the instruction they should have, they [163] grow up to dishonor God and to communicate to others the evil of their own natures, and thus an army is raised up whom Satan manages as he pleases.

 

“Other Factors to Be Considered. -- God would have parents act as rational beings and live in such a manner that each child may be properly educated, that the mother may have strength and time to employ her mental powers in disciplining her little ones for the society of the angels.  She should have courage to act nobly her part and to do her work in the fear and love of God, that her children may prove a blessing to the family and to society.

 

“The husband and father should consider all these things lest the wife and mother of his children be overtaxed and thus overwhelmed with despondency.  He should see to it that the mother of his children is not placed in a position where she cannot possibly do justice to her numerous little ones, so that they have to come up without proper training.

 

“Parents should not increase their families any faster than they know that their children can be well cared for and educated.  A child in the mother’s arms from year to year is great injustice to her.  It lessens, and often destroys, social enjoyment and increases domestic wretchedness.  It robs their children of that care, education, and happiness which parents should feel it their duty to bestow upon them.

 

“Counsel to Parents of a Large Family. -- The question to be settled by you is, ‘Am I raising a family of children to strengthen the influence and swell the ranks of the powers of darkness, or am I bringing up children for Christ?’ “ [164].

 

“If you do not govern your children and mold their characters to meet the requirements of God, then the fewer children there are to suffer from your defective training the better it will be for you, their parents, and the better it will be for society.  Unless children can be trained and disciplined from their babyhood by a wise and judicious mother who is conscientious and intelligent, and who rules her household in the fear of the Lord, molding and shaping their characters to meet the standard of righteousness, it is a sin to increase your family.  God has given you reason, and He requires you to use it.”

 

And From RH, June 24, 1890:

 

“There are parents who, without consideration as to whether or not they can do justice to a large family, fill their houses with these helpless little beings, who are wholly dependent upon their parents for care and instruction.  If unable to have hired help, the mother must do the work of the household, and her strength is taxed every day almost beyond endurance.  Although she may have good ability and could do good service to her children, she is unable to do so, because she is broken down and enfeebled by care and taxation.  She loves her children, for they are a part of herself; but she cannot do justice to them.  She loves God, but she is in continual doubt of her acceptance; for she is aware that she is often fretful and impatient, has no spirit of prayer, and can bear no cheering testimony in the social meeting.  She becomes discouraged, and lets things drift, feeling that she cannot row against the current of circumstances.  She is overwhelmed by her surroundings.

 

“This is a grievous wrong, not only to the mother, but to her children and to society.  God would have parents act as rational beings, and live in such a manner that each child may be properly educated, that the mother may have strength and time to employ her mental powers in disciplining her little ones for the society of the angels.  She should have courage to act nobly her part and to do her work in the fear and love of God, that her children may prove a blessing to the family and to society.

 

“The husband and father should consider all these things lest the wife and mother of his children be overtaxed and thus overwhelmed with despondency.  He should see to it that the mother of his children is not placed in a position where she cannot possibly do justice to her numerous little ones, so that they have to come up without proper training.  The wife should not be made little more than a slave in his family; for she thus loses her dignity, her self-esteem, and drops lower and lower in the scale of womanhood, as she endeavors to do what she is wholly unable to do.  The children of such parents are robbed of the education and training which they require to make them strong physically, mentally, and morally.  When the mother is overburdened and overworked, it is not possible for her to give her children the mold of character they should have.  She cannot teach them how to meet and withstand temptation in the strength of Christ, how to be strong and brave for the right, how to despise a wrong action.  Parents should always bear in mind the future good of their children.  They should not be compelled to devote every hour to taxing labor in order to provide the necessaries of life.  They should not have more children than they can clothe and feed and educate as God would have them.”

 

Lastly, from 2SM:425:

 

“Parents should not increase their families any faster than they know that their children can be well cared for, and educated.  A child in the mother’s arms from year to year is great injustice to her.  It lessens, and often destroys, social enjoyment, and increases domestic wretchedness.  It robs their children of that care, education, and happiness, which parents should feel it their duty to bestow upon them.

 

“The husband violates the marriage vow, and the duties enjoined upon him in the Word of God, when he disregards the health and happiness of the wife, by increasing her burdens and cares by numerous offspring.”

 

 

D) FINALLY

 

 

Finally, if all three of these quotes above are considered to be excellent counsel, and I believe they are, then they all insinuate some sort of birth control.