Is IVF an Option for Christians Struggling with Infertility?

Can in vitro fertilization be an option for Christians who are struggling with infertility? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

We would love to hear from you. You can call us in the next 25 minutes and talk live to Pastor Adriel. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, and you can always email us your question at questions at corechristianity.com. Well, today is a very special day here at CORE Christianity. It's Pastor Adriel's birthday, and you know, I have to tell you, Adriel is blessed with a very youthful appearance.

If you check out our website and look at his photo, he looks like he's about 15 years old, but actually he is 75 years old today. That's right. Yeah, I know. It's pretty amazing.

I've got the elixir of life. Bill, thanks for bringing that up. You know, I'm wearing my colorful birthday shirt today. You look great, by the way.

Thanks. And it's your daughter's birthday this week, too, right? She has her birthday party on Saturday.

It was, so honestly. Her birthday is on the 23rd, and so basically, you know, I don't even have birthdays anymore. It's all her this week, so yeah, we've been celebrating her. She turned seven, so we're really blessed.

That's great. Well, let's get to our first call of the day. Darla is on the line from Columbia, Missouri. Darla, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi. Thank you for taking my call.

Love your show. Listen every day. My question is about marriage. I recently ended a 10-year marriage, and during that time in our marriage, we didn't have God in our lives at that time, but we had separated after some, you know, you keep trying and you keep trying. It just doesn't seem like it's going to work, and so we separated, and then in that year afterwards, we had kind of came back together, and you know, he had gotten saved at one point and invited me to church, and then I had went to church, and it kind of just, the pieces seemed to kind of all gather. We bonded. It's been great, and we both love Jesus, and it's wonderful, but since we've been trying to move farther forward, parenting, co-parenting is an issue, and I just feel like sometimes I don't know if we're trying to, you know, force something that isn't in God's plan, or do we keep trying, because we went through the divorce proceedings. Everything's final, but yet we're still trying to like, well, should we move back in together? You know, let's, you know, make steps more permanent. Let's, you know, for sure.

Yeah. Well, Darla, let me just say it sounds like the Lord has done a real work in your lives, and that's something to be grateful for. I mean, really grateful for. I'm just so stoked to hear about the two of you going to church and really experiencing a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and that really does transform the way we think about marriage, because according to the Bible, you know, marriage is supposed to be a picture of the gospel. It's a picture of the relationship that Jesus Christ himself has with the church, the love that Jesus has for his bride, and the way in which we, the church, the bride responds to Jesus, and so I think that, you know, that's foundational for marriage, and for healthy marriages, and now having experienced the grace of God, I think that there is, I mean, it really sounds like a wonderful opportunity.

It's so amazing, Darla, so often in our lives how the Lord takes those sort of broken parts, those difficult parts, and he begins to piece them back together, and it could very well be that that's what the Lord is doing here. I think about, you know, Paul's exhortation in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, where he said in verse 10, to the married, I give this charge not I but the Lord. The wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. So you have right there the call for reconciliation, and I think in terms of moving forward, you still want to be wise. I think, you know, if you're both in a church together, maybe, you know, starting from scratch in terms of doing things like premarital counseling and working through the sort of past history with a pastor or a counselor, I think that can be really helpful as you move forward, really now wanting to make Jesus the center of your marriage and your relationship with God as a family, the center of your family.

And so I would say, you know, this really is, it seems like a really wonderful thing, and you don't have to rush. I would say you still want to exercise wisdom and be committed to the local church, be worshiping there together side by side, and maybe get your pastor involved so that he can help walk with you through this time and potentially do something like a premarital counseling and really wanting to build a strong foundation for moving forward. I don't know if you mentioned it, but are the two of you going to the same church right now together? Yeah, yeah, it's where he started going and now I'm going there too, yes.

Awesome, awesome. Well yeah, and let me just encourage you, maybe what I'd like to do is pray for the two of you just for wisdom and for the Lord's continued healing in your lives and also in your marriage, but I would say, you know, that church and in particular the pastors there are going to be the most well-suited to help you through this time and really to sort of navigate, you know, okay, how do we move forward from the situation that we were in now to something more healthy? And so let me pray for you, sister. Father, thank you, God, that often the things that we think can never be healed, you are able to heal, but I do pray for wisdom. For Darla, for her family, would you please guide them in this time? Would you please bring great healing, great restoration, great reconciliation in a way that honors you, is healthy, has Jesus at the center? Father, we just ask for your wisdom, for your guidance, for your blessing, and we thank you also, Lord, for your salvation, for the forgiveness of our sins, for bringing Darla and her husband into the church and into fellowship with you and with your son, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen. Amen. Some great counsel, Adriel, and I do agree with you. Boy, getting some good counseling, premarital counseling, since they're heading back into, hopefully, this reconciliation would be a real key for Darla and her husband. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Let's go to Reva from Independence, Missouri. Reva, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, Pastor. This is on Psalms 122, 6, and 7. It says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. And I believe this command should be obeyed, and prosperity is promised to all of us, and peace and prosperity go hand in hand. And I stand with Israel. I believe we should help and support them, and I give when I can, not only to them, but to my other neighbors halfway around the world and close to home, that I hear so many on TV and in different churches in the Bible ministry. It almost sounds like they've turned it into a borderline prosperity and salvation gospel, and I'd like to hear your comments, and I'd appreciate some clarification on it, and thank you for taking my call. Hey, thank you so much for calling us, and yeah, how do we as believers under the new covenant with faith in Jesus Christ pray Psalm 122? What does it mean for us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem?

Well, first, let me just say, you're absolutely right. People can take this verse out of context. Those in the prosperity gospel, not just this verse, but so many passages in the scriptures will say, if you do this, you're going to be blessed.

And in particular, when they say blessed, they're talking about health and wealth and those kinds of things. Really, this sort of old covenant mentality, you do good, you're going to be blessed. If you don't keep the covenant, you're going to be cast out of the land, that kind of a thing. Well, Reva, we are not under the old covenant, and so we have to be really careful how we understand those promises and how they apply to the church today.

And so you're right, and you're wise to be discerning when you hear some of these things on television. Frankly, I don't know that that's the best place to get Bible teaching anymore these days with all of the prosperity gospel preachers out there, but let me say this, when we think about Jerusalem, you had the city there in the ancient world, you had the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD that Jesus himself prophesied, but you also have this promise that ultimately the Jerusalem that we're looking to is not this sort of physical place in the middle of Israel, that's where we're all flocking to, that kind of a thing. Ultimately, Jerusalem, the city, the temple, was a picture of a far greater reality. And, Reva, there's a wonderful passage in scripture that highlights this. In the book of Hebrews 11, I want you to listen to what the author to the Hebrews said. Hebrews 11, beginning in verse nine, by faith he, the author here is talking about Abraham, the patriarch, he went to live in a land of promise. As in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob airs with him of the same promise, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God.

By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking of the land that they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country that is, Reva, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city, a heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem. And in fact, it's that city that the author of the Hebrews is going to talk about in the very next chapter, in chapter 12. He says in verse 22, But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and two innumerable angels in festal gathering.

That's what's happening, Reva, when we gather together for worship. So what I'm saying is, ultimately, in the new creation, right, there is going to be that physical Jerusalem that we're all flocking to and worshiping around the throne of God with all the saints and the angels and the Lord Himself. Right now, we're looking to the heavenly Jerusalem. We're setting our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And if you're a member of the church, the body of Christ through faith in Jesus, you're a part of that city, the heavenly Jerusalem. That's the city that we pray to have peace, the peace of God. And it really is this wonderful, beautiful promise, but we need to understand it in the light of all of scripture. And in particular, I think what we're seeing in these chapters and in Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 and elsewhere as well.

And so when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, certainly we pray for world peace, but we ultimately we're praying for the peace of God's church, of God's people here on earth now, all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ by faith. Reva, may the Lord bless you and thank you so much for your question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Easter is fast approaching and we have a wonderful devotional that we would like to offer you.

And it's something that we want you to get this week because it actually kicks off. You can start using this next Monday as we approach Easter. It will really help you get into the practically appropriate frame of mind, spiritual frame of mind to celebrate both Good Friday and Easter next week. You know, it's interesting historically in the ancient church, as many believers prepared for Easter, they would have a time of prayer and even a time of fasting leading up to the Easter celebration. I'm not saying that you have to do that, but it is good for us to prepare our hearts for worship really every Sunday.

I mean, it's something that we ought to do. But especially as we think about Easter coming up here in a couple of Sundays, we want to get this devotional in your hands. As Bill was saying, it's a week-long devotional called Sang's from the Cross. And it really is just the perfect way for you to prepare your heart for Easter and to worship the Lord. And so get a hold of this free Easter devotional. This resource truly gets at the heartbeat of what we do here at Core Christianity. It's absolutely free, and you can get it by going to corechristianity.com forward slash Easter. That's corechristianity.com forward slash Easter. You can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Amy calling in from Union, Missouri. Amy, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Is it still possible today to blasting the Holy Spirit or blasting God?

Hey, Amy, thank you so much for that question. We get that question about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit fairly frequently on this broadcast. And I think, and I don't know if this is you, but I think for many believers, it's their greatest fear. God, did I do something that's going to cause you to forever cast me aside?

And I get it. I've mentioned this before. There was a time in my life where this was one of my fears as well as a newer believer. Goodness, did I do something that caused the Lord to leave me?

I don't really feel his presence like I did maybe at another time in my life. And so a really important question, what I'll just say is ultimately the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, I think is the outright rejection of Jesus Christ. Not even just rejection, but in the context in the gospels, when the religious leaders were committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Amy, they were attributing the works of Jesus to Satan. They were basically identifying Jesus with the devil. They didn't have faith. They didn't want faith. They didn't want the gospel. They didn't want forgiveness. They hated Jesus. And if a person dies hating Jesus, rejecting the gospel, not believing, then they're lost.

There's no hope for them. Now we, even as Christians, Amy, can and still do sin. And even in grievous ways, I think about Peter.

Peter himself denied the Lord Jesus while Jesus was on the cross, and yet Jesus restored him. You know, the people of God, Amy, do sin and even blaspheme in terrible ways, but the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. And let me just say to you, Amy, if you turn to him, no matter what you've been through, no matter what you've done, if you turn to him and say, Lord, I want your grace. I need your grace.

I don't want to turn away from you. He's merciful to you. He loves you. He forgives you. And that's a promise that we have in John, in the book of 1 John. You know, we're told if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. And so the hope that we have is not that we're sinless, it's that we serve a savior who is so forgiving, so merciful, that when we turn to him, he lavishes us with his grace and his mercy. Are there some people who turn away from the Lord, who are faithless, who quote-unquote, blaspheme the Holy Spirit, their hearts are so hardened that they're just forever lost? You know, I think Paul talks about that kind of a thing in the book of Romans chapter 1.

You know, people sort of beyond the pale, if you will. But the reality is if you're struggling with this, as you listen right now, if you're struggling with that question, God, I'm afraid that I'm lost. I'm afraid that you're through with me. Let me just say to you, if that was you, you wouldn't have that concern.

You wouldn't be worried about that. And when you turn to the Lord, he's merciful to you. May the Lord bless you, Amy. We do get so many questions about that, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And a lot of people, I think, need to know the context of what Jesus was saying to the Pharisees. And we've talked about that several times on this broadcast. And so important, I think, for all of us, especially because so many believers get tripped up by that.

Yeah, absolutely. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Rick in Castaic, California. Rick, welcome to the program.

Yes, thank you, gentlemen, for taking my call. Quickly, my question comes from the story of the raising of Lazarus. And when Jesus and Martha had a conversation before he raised him, you know, Martha said that he knows or she knows that her brother will rise again on the last day and during the resurrection.

And then Jesus replied to her as I am the resurrection and the life. So my question starts at, we know there is going to be a time and a place for the resurrection. But can we say maybe more specifically, that the resurrection is in a person, or it's a person, that person is Jesus Christ. And then us as believers, can we say that we already have possession of that resurrection, based on, say, John 5, where he says that those who believe in him have passed from death to life?

Yeah. I think in Romans 6, it says we have been brought from death to life. And in Colossians, talking about that we have been buried with him in baptism in which we were also raised with him.

Rick, thank you for the really a two-part question there. Yes, I think in terms of talking about the resurrection, talking about Jesus I mean, what Jesus said to the sisters there, verse 25 of John chapter 11, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And that sort of is echoing what he had said earlier in chapter five. And so I think the reason that Jesus can speak in this way is because there's such a close relationship between his resurrection, his rising from the dead and our resurrection as his people, that it's almost as if they're one and the same. And the apostle Paul highlights this in particular in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He calls Jesus's resurrection the first fruits of the resurrection. That is, it's sort of one resurrection harvest that we're all a part of. And Jesus's resurrection was the first fruits of that. It was the sign of what's to come for all of the people of God. And so in Christ, we have the resurrection.

Now we have to be careful that we don't say we have it all now in the sense that it's already happened. That is, the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, that that's already happened. That was actually a concern that the apostle Paul had to deal with, both in 1 Corinthians and also when he was writing to the Thessalonians, because there were some people that were saying the resurrection has already happened. The rising from the dead, it's already taken place.

It was just a sort of spiritual reality. Well, no, Paul corrects this in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, yeah, we are raised in one sense right now, seated at the right hand of the father by the grace of, with Jesus, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. But we're looking forward to the fulfillment, the final resurrection, if you will, the resurrection of the body. And so I think that the best way to look at it is now, united to Jesus by the Holy Spirit, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we have that resurrection life in us. We're born again. We've come to life, if you will, but we're looking forward to that greater reality that's put out there for us in the gospels and in the epistles, that our bodies are also going to be raised. And so that is a future reality that we're looking forward to. But we have the assurance of that reality right now, and so far as the Holy Spirit lives in us, and we already have that quote unquote resurrection life by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us by the Spirit through Jesus. And so Rick, thank you for that question, and really such a beautiful picture that in Jesus we have life and the hope of the resurrection of the body. Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to a voicemail that we received here from yesterday.

Hello, thank you for the great show. I have a question about in vitro fertilization for Christian women who has a problem with fertility in pregnancy. Is it okay to use in vitro fertilization?

Thank you. Thank you so much for that question, sister, and I know that this is something that many people, fertility is something that many people, many believers struggle with. Let me just say, yes, I do believe that IVF and in vitro fertilization is an option for Christians, but that you have to exercise wisdom.

Obviously I know it's an invasive process, it's a very expensive process, and so I think that those are things to consider. We also know that in scripture children are a blessing, something that we can and ought to pursue as Christians, and so I think that this is a legitimate option. I think in terms of the wisdom, you know, the process of in vitro fertilization is sort of complex.

There are, you know, you're taking essentially the egg and the sperm and fertilizing them, making an embryo outside of the womb and then implanting it, and so one of the big just sort of wisdom questions I think that we need to ask is are we going to, you know, how many embryos are we going to create and are we intending to implant all of them? We as believers have a high value of life and the protection of life, the sanctity of life, the pursuing of life, and so I would say if you're going through this process, I think it's important that, you know, you fertilize only the amount of embryos that you intend to use, but I do think that this is a legitimate option for Christians, and I also know that this is just a really difficult thing for a lot of families, and I just want to pray for you and for the many people who, many believers who are struggling with infertility. Father, would you please give wisdom? Would you guide, Lord, for this woman, for her family?

Would you lead her? And God, would you, we ask, grant children? We do pray for that, Lord, and we thank you for your goodness to us. Give us wisdom and be with this sister, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. May the Lord bless you. Thanks for listening to The Core. Be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.