A friend asked for advice about how to help someone who is an unbeliever and struggling with guilt from her abortion. My biblical response would also apply when counseling a professing Christian. Here is my answer.
I would humbly & prayerfully counsel the woman directly from the Word of the Lord. (2 Tim 2:15,3:16) I would reiterate the reality of the fact that her child was designed, created & sustained by God & was a precious gift from Him to her. (Ps 127:3, Ps 139) She was supposed to love & protect her baby & keep him or her from harm. Jesus says that God requires us to have & show mercy (Matt 5:7) in order for us to obtain mercy from Him. "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." (James 2:13) I would tell the woman that guilt is also a precious gift from God. He gave us a conscience to accuse us when we are going to sin & bothers & alarm us when we do evil. It is God's way of revealing our sin & our need for a Savior. The feeling of guilt is a good sign of a healthy conscience. She FEELS GUILTY because she IS GUILTY. She knew that it was wrong when she killed her child because God's law is written on her heart. The 6th commandment is "You shall not murder". Sin is transgression of God's moral Law. (I Jo 3:4) I would explain the fall of Adam & original sin (Rom 5:12). I would tell her that Jesus says that we think & do wicked things because of our wicked heart. (Matt 15:19;Mark 7:21, Jer 17:9). The heart of her problem is a problem of her heart. I would explain that her guilt before God is not only for murdering her innocent child. Her guilt extends out all of the ways in which she has violated God's moral Law. If she is sexually immoral, I would address that sin with scripture as well. (Eph 5:5;I Cor 6:9;Heb 13:4) I would tell her that the wages of sin is death & hell. (Rom 6:23;Rev 21:8) She can never be free from the guilt, the power or the penalty/punishment of her sin ("healed") unless she does the only thing God has ordained for forgiveness of sin & cleansing of the conscience. She is, in fact, commanded to repent of her sin (confess & forsake it), & cry out to the only One who can take her guilt away & wash her white as snow. (Is 1:18) There is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. (Hebrews 9:22) I would tell her that Jesus lived the life we could not live (perfectly obeyed the Law of God) & died the death we should all die. The Cross of Christ is the place where guilty sinners like us must go to receive mercy & pardon for wicked sins, like murdering a little baby. Jesus said; "You must be born again" in order to inherit eternal life & go to heaven. I would also tell her that the Lord Jesus commands her to repent or perish & read Matt 3:2 to her: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". I would tell this woman to read God's Word & I would give her a Bible if she didn't already have one, for faith comes by hearing & hearing comes by the Word (Rom 10:17;I Peter 1:23). I would encourage her to cry out to the Savior & ask Him to give her a new heart. Beg the Lord Jesus to forgive her sins & grant her new life in Him by His Spirit. Beseech God to cause her to be born from above. There is hope for humble sinners who do not make excuses for their evil thoughts & deeds. I would pray with her & for her, that the Lord would grant her repentance unto life. Jesus is mighty to save!
I would also give her a gospel tract with a clear repentance message in it. We created a gospel brochure especially to give to abortion-bound mothers. http://seedshakers.weebly.com/abortion-prolife-gospel-tract.html
While it is written to moms who are about to kill their baby, half of the mothers we give them to are post-abortive because have already murdered at least one child.
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