Question 1

Why is euthanasia wrong?

Accepted Answer

Job 38:1-2, 4; 40:2, 8Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? . . . Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. . . . Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers? . . . Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right?”Psalm 119:73You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.God created each person as a unique individual. God breathed life into us, and he alone has the right to decide when our lives should end. Taking someone’s life, even for the sake of compassion, assumes that we know best when that person’s life should end. Taking away God’s gift of life from someone implies that we no longer respect his ability to be involved in that person’s life.Genesis 9:5-6“I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.”Exodus 20:13“You must not murder.”Proverbs 24:11-12Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.1 Corinthians 3:16-17Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.To justify almost any action, right or wrong, is not difficult. For example, we may argue that a penniless father stealing food is better than letting his child die of starvation. How we justify our actions, or someone else’s actions, depends upon what we value most. If we most value mercy for the great pain near the end of life, then we can justify someone choosing a lethal intervention. But if we value God’s sovereignty, we believe he has a purpose for everyone’s life; thus, until he decides to end it, it still has value.

Question 2

Shouldn’t I have the final say over what happens to my body?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 3:16-17Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.1 Corinthians 6:12-13You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.Our lives were given to us for the purpose of glorifying God. The Holy Spirit lives in us. When anyone acts in ways that are not good for his or her body or even destroy it, that person is breaking down the temple where God dwells. Satan delights in this. Just as Satan tempts us and twists our judgment in other matters, he may try to convince us to give up on life.

Question 3

Does God really have a plan for my life?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 139:13-14You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.Ephesians 2:10We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.God created us intentionally and has a place for us in his plan for saving the world, which he determined before we were even born. We must not play God by prematurely ending our own lives or another’s life. When we take away a life, we shortchange Gods perfect plan for that life, because his work in or through that person isn’t yet finished.

Euthanasia