What does the Bible teach about contraception?

Scripture: Matthew 24:19
What does the Bible teach about contraception? I think a man should be responsible and be able to support them. I am firmly opposed to abortion as a form of birth control. But I am open to birth control that prevents conception. Love and intimacy is not just to reproduce.
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Caller:  I’m a family man.  I have a wife and two children, but I wanted to know how does the Bible view the use of artificial birth control in family planning?

Pastor Doug:  All right – well that’s a good question and it is a little sensitive, but a lot of people wonder about this because some religions teach that any form of birth control is un-Biblical.

Generally speaking, God told Adam and Eve to go forth, be fruitful, to multiply, but He didn’t say indefinitely.  He said, ‘and fill the earth.’  Well the earth is getting pretty full.

And the other point is that a man should be responsible.  Jesus said any man who builds a tower, let him count the cost first or else others will mock if he cannot finish.  In other words, if you have children, you better be able to support them.

Now I am firmly opposed to abortion because abortion is human life.  The kind of birth prevention that I would think that the Bible would endorse – and if a person disagrees with me, we’re still friends – is where you prevent conception.  And uh, you know I don’t need to go into detail.  A lot of doctors can explain what those methods are.

But birth control that prevents conception – and some people will say the only purpose for sexual intimacy is to reproduce.  That’s un-Biblical.  That’s not true.  You need to read the Song of Solomon.  Love and intimacy was not just to reproduce.

Caller:  Ok.

Pastor Doug:  So I think people need to be intelligent about that and, I hope that’s of some help.

Caller:  So um, I wanted to clarify one thing.

Pastor Doug:  Ok.

Caller:  So it could be artificial, but yet still Biblically accepted, based on your view?

Pastor Doug:  Well based on my view, yeah.  You want to make sure you’re not doing anything that’s going to injure your health.

Caller:  Ok I understand.

Pastor Doug:  They’ve got some really strange things that are out there these days but, you know, people need to be planning their families – especially in the days in which we’re living.

You know the Bible tells us Christ made those prophecies, saying in Matthew 24, speaking of the end of the world, “Woe unto them that are with child and to those that are nursing in those days.”  I wonder why He said that, unless He wanted us to think we better plan very carefully our families as we near the threshold of eternity, because there’s going to be a great time of trouble.

Caller:  I see.  Well I thank you very much for your answer.

Pastor Doug:  Ok.  Good question.  God bless.

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