I have three children. At each of their births, my wife did what mothers tend to do – she held their hands and feet and gently rubbed them. I now know what she was doing. She was counting fingers and toes. And we always thanked God that He blessed us with healthy, normal children.
A few years ago I began questioning the teaching that God gives us children after listening to a message by a gifted teacher named Dave Roberson that is part of his “Born Again Trail” series. His teaching came to mind at an event my wife and I attended where we saw people with autism, mental retardation, blindness, lack of motor skills and speech difficulties.
While we thanked God for healthy and normal children, these parents couldn’t. And I’ve heard parents who have children with disabilities say things like “God made my child this way” or “God gave me a child who needed extra love”. Is this true? Are birth defects of God?
Why is this an important question?
If we believe birth defects are God’s doing, it can cause us to question God’s goodness. I’m sure parents with a disabled child have asked “Why did God give my child ______?” Or, “Why did God choose my son or my daughter to have _____?” Fill in the blank.
It teaches us that God makes us the way we are. For example, how we look – the length of our hair, whether we’re tall or short, wide or thin, a girl or boy – God is responsible.
How many times have we heard someone say that so-and-so has “God given talent”? If this is true, then God is deciding who will be a mathematical genius or a musical prodigy. Now listen to me, if this is true, then God is deciding who will be a rapist, murderer or child molester.
It teaches us that God has His reasons for doing what He does and we may never understand them. From my reading over the years, this is the reason people choose atheism.
It also teaches us that God’s stamp of approval is upon everything that happens in life. He’s in control. No matter what we do, God has already made the decision for us.
The question also keeps the devil off of the radar screen. Have you ever heard a person say “The devil made me this way” or “The devil made my son mentally retarded”? I haven’t.
Now let’s be clear: I am not saying Satan is responsible for birth defects. I’m simply stating the obvious: we never say Satan is involved but we always say God is involved. Is this not true?
Are birth defects of God?
• If the answer is “yes” we’re saying God is responsible for human reproduction. We’re saying God determines whether or not we will have children.
• If the answer is “yes” perhaps we don’t truly understand the impact of Adam’s disobedience in Genesis 3. It changed the molecular structure of creation.
• If the answer is “yes” could it be we don’t know how God operates or understand the connection between His will and what Jesus did here on earth?
We must answer this question first: “Do children come from God?”
Let’s begin our search for the answer in Romans 5.
(12) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
(19) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Because of Adam, we were born with a sin nature. Because of Adam, we were born spiritually dead. Because of Adam, we were born the exact opposite of God.
Turn to Genesis 1. We’re answering the question “Do children come from God?”
(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
(28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, [“I’m going to help you be fruitful and multiply.” No. God tells the husband and wife to] Be fruitful, and multiply, and [“I will help you replenish the earth.” Again, no. God tells the husband and wife to] replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
If we would simply read what scripture says, if we would simply believe what we read, our lives would begin to resemble Jesus’ life more and more.
Now let’s go to verse 21.
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
What are we seeing? Reproduction only occurs when the male and female are from the same gene pool – after their kind. Cats produce cats. Dogs produce dogs. Dogs and cats don’t produce dogs that meow or cats that bark. Deer produce deer. Antelopes produce antelopes. But deer and antelopes can still play on the range. ?
(22) And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
(23) And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
(24) And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
What is God’s “kind”?
When God reproduced after His kind, what did He produce? Is God human? No. God is a spirit. God reproduced in Adam what He is – a spirit with a sinless life and nature. That’s God’s kind.
God is spirit. We are humans with a spirit. We are born with a sin nature and have nothing in common with God until Jesus becomes our Lord and Savior. The sin nature is then removed and replaced with God’s life and nature.
• Our nature is sinless just like His nature but we are human and He is spirit.
• Our spirit is sinless just like His spirit but we are human and He is spirit.
• Our life is sinless just like His life but we are human and He is spirit.
A spirit cannot join with a human to produce another human. Jesus says in John 3:6 “That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Grasping this truth shows us, for example, that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 cannot be a reference to angels having intimate relations with human women. Why? Everything reproduces after its own kind.
Let’s play this out for a moment.
• If God gives us children, how loving is God to give a child to a woman who has been raped? He’s not giving this woman a choice is He?
• If God gives us children, then He gave a child to a mother who named him Adolph Hitler He became complicit in the slaughter of six million Jews!
• If God gives us children, then the child who is born, grows up and rejects Jesus is going to hell, right? That means God sent a child He had condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire before he was born. Really? Do you honestly believe that?
• If God gives us children, then He’s responsible for those who believe they were born homosexual, transgender, bisexual or “gender fluid” or in the wrong body. Think long and hard about this one ladies and gentlemen.
• If God gives us children, then He gave LeBron James his athletic talent. He gave Albert Einstein his genius. He made Ludwig van Beethoven a musical prodigy. He gave Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin their vocal talents.
Earlier I referenced a message by Dave Roberson. In that message, he asked Gary Carpenter, another gifted teacher, to share how Holy Spirit helped him see that God does not play a role in human reproduction.
Do you remember reading the genealogies and your eyes glazing over and the next thing you knew you were in “snoozeville”? Well Holy Spirit used the genealogy in Luke 3 to help Bro. Gary see God’s role in procreation. Look at verses 23 and 38.
(23) And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.
Do you see the parenthesis? Everyone thought Jesus was Joseph’s son. Joseph’s father was Heli. Without Heli there is no Joseph. But without Joseph there was a Jesus!
(38) Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
Adam was the son of God. Seth was also the son of God right? No! Seth was Adam’s son. He was born after Adam sinned and lost God’s life. Seth was from a different gene pool! Only Jesus and Adam shared the same Father.
The impact of Adam’s disobedience
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake [cursed is the ground because of you]; in sorrow [toil, labor, work] shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. (Genesis 3:17)
Before Adam cursed God’s creation there was no sorrow associated with the things creation produced. But now Adam has to work to produce what creation originally produced – now get this – what creation originally produced freely.
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. (verse 23)
Thorns and thistles appear after the curse. They are examples of the changes in the molecular structure of creation. Before Adam’s sin, there were no sunamis, Katrina’s or earthquakes. Adam unleashed sin into this world and we’re seeing what sin produces.
Look in Romans 8.
(18) For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
(19) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
(20) For the creature was made subject to vanity [corruption], not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
(21) Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
If creation is in the “bondage of corruption” are we not part of that corruption? And that means there are things that can go wrong with our bodies. Do you see this?
(22) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
(23) And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
We can now answer the question “Do children come from God?” The answer is “No”.
Birth defects happen randomly.
Ladies and gentlemen, a birth defect is a random happening in our lives. And the reason it’s random is simple to explain – everyone is not born with such anomalies. Birth defects happen. They just happen. And no one is to blame when they do.
What can we expect from God when it comes to the question of birth defects?
(7) Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
(8) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
(I John 4:7, 8)
If God is love how can He be involved in anything that does not express His love? Based on what we’ve seen in scripture, are birth defects an expression of God’s love?
In First John 1:5 we read “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” So what can we expect from God? Light. And only light. No darkness.
Now look at John 14, verses nine and 10.
(9) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
(10) Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Jesus healed the blind. Birth defect. Jesus healed the lame. Birth defect. If children come from God that means God made them that way, right? And if this is true doesn’t that mean Jesus is correcting the Father’s mistake? Is that not what we’re saying? Jesus is correcting the Father’s mistakes. We know better!
Sometimes we don’t think about what we believe and teach. If God is responsible for birth defects and Jesus heals them, Jesus is going against His Father’s will. Again, we know better.
So where does this leave us?
Birth defects are not the Father’s will! And if they are not the Father’s will then the Father is not giving them to the children born in this world.
There are three records of birth defects being healed in the New Testament: (1) the man born lame in Acts 3, (2) the man who was crippled and had never walked in Acts 14, and (3) the man born blind in John 9. We’re going to look at the record in John 9.
Originally there were no chapters or verses in the Bible. There were no commas, colons or semicolons or chapter headings. These were added. The translators intentions were noble – to help us read and understand the Bible. Please keep this mind. How you punctuate something can make all the difference in the world.
Let me give you an example. Remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross and one of the malefactors said remember me when you come into your kingdom? Jesus’ response is recorded in Luke 23:43. Let’s read the verse as currently punctuated: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Based on how this verse is punctuated, Jesus tells the malefactor that he will be with him in paradise that very day. But this can’t be true. Why not Bro. Barry? Simple. Jesus spent the next three days and nights in the grave.
“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise” is a more accurate punctuation of the verse. Jesus simply tells the malefactor that because of your faith in me, you are going to be with me in paradise – when I come into my kingdom. Do you see how one misplaced comma can change the meaning of a verse?
Now to John 9. When we read this passage as punctuated, it appears God made this man blind so that Jesus could heal him.
(1) And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
(2) And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
The disciples had been taught that a person born this way must have had sin somewhere in his life. Does this sound familiar? Now let’s read the next verse as it is currently punctuated.
(3) Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
As it’s punctuated no one sinned. But, God wanted him blind because He had a work He wanted Jesus to do in the man. Is that not how this verse reads? Doesn’t it sound like God made this man blind so He could be healed? Now look at what Jesus says.
(4) I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Based on everything we’ve read in previous passages, is God responsible for the man being blind? No. When you know God doesn’t do things like this and you see a passage like this, you know something is amiss, and it is. It’s how the verse is punctuated. Now let’s go back.
“And Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.” Period. This is the correct punctuation. You’ll see why in just a moment.
Now pick up the rest of the verse. “But that the works of God should be made manifest in him (Jesus says) 4I must work the works of him that sent me.”
What is Jesus saying? “The man is blind and that means My Father’s work (sight) is not currently manifesting in him. And so that’s what I’m going to do right now. I’m going to do My Father’s work in this man. He is going to see!”
(5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
(6) When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
(7) And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
The doctrine that God caused the blindness cannot be true based on what Jesus did. Do you see this? Let’s read verses 3 and 4 again properly punctuated.
(3) Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents. But, that the works of God should be made manifest in him,
(4) I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Are birth defects of God?
Now you not only know that the answer to this question is “No” but you know why the answer is “No”. As Christians we need to know why we believe what we believe and we need to be able to take people to the Bible and show them.
This is a very important lesson. I encourage you to listen to it again and pray in the spirit as you do. Holy Spirit will show you even more.
Please stand.
