This episode of LifeChat is part two of a four-part series covering the four arguments of pro-choice Christians. Roland Warren, Care Net’s President and CEO, and Vincent DiCaro, Care Net’s Chief Outreach Officer, sat down to address some of the concerns that Christians who profess to be pro-choice have around the life issue.

In this special episode, Roland and Vince discuss another major question related to the four arguments of pro-choice Christians. If you're a Christian who professes to be pro-choice, you might say, "Sure, I understand that I'm supposed to have compassion for the baby in the womb. But what if I don't believe it's a baby? What if I don't believe it's a person yet?" As believers, we must address this question of when does personhood, or when does a baby become a baby in the womb? Ultimately, we need to ask ourselves, when was Jesus actually born? Let’s watch as Roland and Vince address this second question, when did Jesus's human life begin?

When Did Jesus’s Human Life Begin?

As Christians, we must be diligent to search Scripture and be willing to explore what it says about Jesus Himself and His experience of being like us, His experience of being in the womb just like we were. Scripture has some fascinating things to say about the life issue. It's a central question to a pro-choice, pro-life perspective, when did Jesus's human life begin?

When did his humanity begin? When was Jesus actually born? Why does answering this question matter? Consider this: if Jesus is the substitution for us on the cross, it means that He took all of our sins on the cross. It means He's fully God and fully human, which also means that Jesus's humanity has to match our humanity—or else He's not a perfect substitution.

Roland points out in this LifeChat, we basically have to decide that whenever Jesus's life begin—has to be when our life begins. There are a couple of Scripture passages in particular that guide us. First Peter 2:24 says, "He himself," that's Jesus, "Bore our sins in his body on the tree." He bore our sins in his body on the tree.

He had to be exactly like us in order to be that perfect substitute. And Colossians 2:9 says, "For in him, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. And you have been filled in him who's ahead of all rule and authority."

So, as believers who are trying to diligently search Scripture, we have faith that Jesus was fully man and fully God—bodily form and all. That's who He is. So, then the question naturally becomes, "when did that happen? When was Jesus actually born?"

Now, we have the story of the birth of Christ, where the angel comes to Mary. In Isaiah we read, "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." So there was a conception—and birth. Now, this gets interesting quickly because, as Roland points out,

"Even though the mechanics of Jesus' conception was different, the reality of His conception was the same as ours....if Jesus' life began at conception, then that means our life has to begin at conception. Because otherwise, He can't be the perfect substitute for us and for our sin." 

As always, we encourage you, if you are a pro-choice Christian, to wrestle with questions like this. Ask questions, keep digging in. Keep searching. Decide what you believe and why or how you believe it—always placing your opinions against the plum line of Scripture. As Roland explains in this video,

"If you really believe in Him to be your savior, then you better hope that His life began when yours did, or otherwise He is not the perfect substitute or propitiation for us as Scripture says. And then all of your faith is undermined by the fact that you're not acknowledging the truth in Scripture that Jesus' life began at the same time that your life began, and therefore He can't be the substitute for us, and we are lost."

Vince and Roland address this and more in the newest LifeChat.

Watch: When Did Jesus’s Human Life Begin? (Video)

Want to hear this as a podcast instead? Click here to access the CareCast podcast episode.

Additional Resources

• LifeChat: What do the Great Commandment and the Great Commission Have to Say about the Life Issue? (Video)

• Care Net Free Resources: we have a variety of free resources for you and your family. Each resource is expertly crafted to equip you to be an effective advocate for the unborn. 

• LifeChat: 5 Common Questions about the Pro Abundant Life Movement (Video)

• Blog Post: Why the Pro-Life Movement Must be Pro Abundant Life

• Blog Post: Is the Bible Against Abortion? MSNBC Hosts Says "No"