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NASB | Deuteronomy 32:39 'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Deuteronomy 32:39 'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and I who give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from [the power of] My hand. |
Bible Question: How does the Bible guide us in differtiating the sinfulness of physician-assisted suicide and the nobility of doctors that cure fatal disease? How are these efforts different in the eyes of God's soverienty over life, death, and suffering? |
Bible Answer: First, The Bible teaches that we are made in the image of God and therefore, every human life is sacred (Genesis 1:26). In Psalm 139:13-16 we learn that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made. God himself has knit us together in our mother's womb. We must be very important to Him if He has taken such care to bring us into existence. Second, the Bible is very clear that God is sovereign over life, death and judgment. In Deuteronomy 32:39 The Lord says, "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me, I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand." Psalm 139:16 says that it is God who has ordained all of our days before there is even one of them. Paul says essentially the same thing in Ephesians 1:11. Third, to assist someone in committing suicide is to commit murder and this breaks God's unequivocal commandment in Exodus 20:13. Fourth, God's purposes are beyond our understanding. We often appeal to God as to why some tragedy has happened to us or someone we know. Yet listen to Job's reply to the Lord in Job 42:1-3: I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] 'Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. We forget that our minds are finite and His is infinite. We cannot always expect to understand all of what God is about. To think that we can step in and declare that someone's life is no longer worth living is simply not our decision to make. Only God knows when it is time. In Isaiah 55:8-9 the Lord declares, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Fifth, our bodies belong to God anyway. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:15,19 that we are members of Christ's body and that we have been bought with a price. Therefore we should glorify God with our bodies. The only one to receive glory when someone requests doctor-assisted suicide is not God, not the doctor, not even the family but the patient for being willing to "nobly" face the realities of life and "unselfishly" end everyone else's misery. There is no glory for God in this decision. Lastly, suffering draws us closer to God. In light of the euthanasia controversy, listen to Paul's words from 2 Corinthians 1:8: We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. Not only does He raise the dead but there is nothing that can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38). -- Dr. Raymond G. Bohlin Dr. Thomas Beam, chairman of the Medical Ethics Commission of the Christian Medical and Dental Society points out, "While the act of physician-assisted suicide seems compassionate on the surface, it is often the abandonment of the patient in their most needy time. Instead of support, the patient may only find confirmation of the hopelessness of their condition and physician-assisted suicide is legitimized as the only 'way.'"(1) It is not terribly difficult to see how this circumstance would undermine the delicate relationship between a doctor and his patient. The following site has a very informative position paper concerning assisted suicide: http://www.bfl.org/assisted_suicide.htm Physicians are nowhere in Scripture given authority by God to take someone’s life. Apart from the government in the case of capital punishment, all other human beings are given the commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” Exodus 20:13 and “Thou shalt do no murder,” Matthew 19:18. -- Pastor Art Kohl Often those in favor of euthanasia use the words “mercy” and “compassion” as their argument. The Scriptures authorize man to treat the pain but do not authorize taking the life of the dying. Proverbs 31:6, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.” Today we have many drugs and painkillers that help relieve some pain as strong drink did in Solomon’s day. -- Pastor Art Kohl Excerpt from Hippocratic Oath: “I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. The above are only a few items to keep in mind when discussing assisted suicide. For whatever reason God has decided to equip man with the knowledge of medicine, it should in all cases be used for His glory. In the end it is not the physicians that heal, it is God. Physicians are simply instruments. Instruments that God will use for whatever He purposes in accordance with His sovereignty. My opinion. WOS |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Deut 32:39 | Author | ||
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cyfyguy | ||
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Wild Olive Shoot | ||
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DocTrinsograce | ||
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Wild Olive Shoot |