By Pastor Tony Evans
Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas, Texas
Christians everywhere ought to humbly celebrate [the] decision to overturn the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade. This decision removes the federal constitutional right to an abortion and returns abortion laws to the states, some of which plan to restrict or ban abortion altogether.
In addition to the saving of countless lives of our collective humanity, this decision also positions us more fully to intercede for God’s mercy on our nation in order to reverse the crime epidemic.
This is so because Scripture states when innocent blood is shed, we can expect more innocent blood in the society to be shed through violence and oppression (Ps. 106:36–42; Joel 3:19). Thus, a decrease in the number of abortions can lead to a decrease in violent crime.
All life created in His image
At the heart of the abortion debate stands the Imago Dei. Attacking the unborn is tantamount to attacking God since all life is created in His image (Gen. 1:26–28), including the life developing in the womb (Ps. 139:13–16).
While celebrating and giving God praise for His movement … we must also not lose sight of the fact that the Imago Dei equally applies to protecting the dignity of people once they are born (James 3:9; Ps. 8:4–5). Therefore, anything that demeans the value of people’s lives must be addressed with the same fervor and passion that has been given to preserving the life of the unborn.
All forms of the denial of justice and human dignity, whether racism, classism or degradation of any kind, must be viewed and addressed in terms of, and with respect to, the image of God.
