Hard Questions
What About Vaccines?
by Mary E. Stephens
August 2023
Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow
after the things which make for peace,
and things wherewith one may edify another.
A tremendous amount of tension and drama has
surrounded the subject of vaccinations for years now, but recently
it has reached a fever pitch. It is a very polarizing subject, causing
splits in friendships, family relationships, Christian fellowship, and
the public arena of life. It is hard to overstate the situation.
Making decisions about this issue is very
complicated and not a matter to be taken lightly for many people. I’ve
read, heard, and seen enough to know that there are points of legitimate
contention on both sides. Yes, I did just take a moderate position.
Sadly, there are people who won’t have the mental fortitude to continue
reading because they are so polarized on this issue that they can’t even
tolerate hearing a slightly different point of view than their own. Yes,
I did just call you a wimp if you get all mad and leave without
finishing reading this, but I mean it in the nicest possible sense. <
Frankly, I’m more than a little tired and put
out with the controversy that some Christians feel is appropriate on
this issue - controversy and sinful anger in defiance of God’s word and
Christian charity. And, I’m saying that to both sides, so please don’t
assume I mean one or the other. I’ve seen the people who support
informed choice on this issue get mostly ignored because they were
moderate instead of supporting one extreme position or the other.
I've also seen people who believed in informed choice take
extreme positions on the "right" to choose, to the point of ignoring
what the Bible actually teaches. I know that there are people on all
sides of this issue who will automatically be disgusted with me before
they even hear me out just because I am not “smart enough” to take their
own position. This doesn’t remind me much of 1 Corinthians 13.
As Christians, what should our position be? This
is a tough question and one to which many people think they have an
absolute answer. Most of them, however, are basing that answer on what
they believe are “the facts” surrounding the issue of
vaccinations rather than Biblical principles. Some also believe they are
following biblical principles but they are only taking into account what
supports their own presuppositions.
Let’s consider a couple questions relating to the issue, questions that might not be exactly the ones generally asked.
How will your position on vaccines affect your Christian testimony?
It is easy to say you're in the right and that
because of this or that you are “doing the right thing.” Should the
government make laws about vaccinations? The answer will differ
depending on your position. Those who are frightened of vaccinations
will say no, and those who are frightened of potential epidemics will
say yes. In the big picture of living as Christians in a fallen world,
it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. True, the consequences
can be terrible depending on who is “right” in this case, but in our
day-to-day dealing with life, we have to realize that our choices will
affect our ability to interact with the world and hence to be a
testimony to others.
Various people who are adamantly against all vaccines will try to diverge into the problem of what is in them. This may vary from place to place and time to time. If it is an ethical situation - for example, actual cells from aborted babies - then it is necessary to refuse in order to provide for honest things and to be seasoned with salt in this present evil world. But, we need to remember the graceful speech that is to be always part of our testimony.
Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
In some places children are not allowed to attend school without vaccinations. In some places children are not allowed to play in public areas without vaccinations. If your children are not vaccinated, how will this affect your testimony in your local community? Is it a hindrance to you even preaching the gospel by cutting you completely off from society?
In some places and for some jobs vaccines may be required in order to work. How are you going to study to be quiet and work with your own hands to provide your needs honestly before the unsaved if you refuse to be vaccinated?
Are your reasons good enough to justify rebelling against the powers that are ordained of God? Do your reasons biblically justify refusing to work; and if you believe so, how can that be reconciled with the command to work with your own hands for your needs? How can it be reconciled with the command to go into all the world and preach the gospel? (Mark 16:15) It better be something that is a direct command from God's word if you are going to disobey the powers that are ordained by Him.
Acts 5:28-29 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name [Jesus]? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Yes, I know. There is a huge debate over whether or not the government has the "right" to mandate vaccinations in certain or all situations. The point is not your "rights" as a citizen of the country you live in. The point is, are you disobeying the word of God in order to demand your "basic human rights" and autonomy?
Did you know that the New Testament addresses servants who were slaves and commands them to obey their masters according to the flesh?
Ephesians 6:5-8 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Yes, that says bond - as in slaves. They did not have control over their own bodies in some of the most basic ways. They did not have "basic human rights" and yet the Holy Spirit commanded them through Paul to obey their masters! And they didn't get to choose only to obey the good masters. 1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. [Froward - difficult to deal with, contrary.]
Ah, but we are "free," aren't we? Are we? 1 Corinthians 7:21-23 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
Actually, we are the servants of Christ.
American Christian, do you know where your freedom comes from? [Hint: It
isn't the American soldier or the Constitution.] It comes from Jesus
Christ and Him only.
John 8:36 If the Son
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. The laws
and rights granted to you by man are secondary and sometimes not even
biblical. Many places gives all kinds of rights these days to be and do
things that are direct disobedience to the commands of Almighty God. You
don't have a right to do those things just because humans say you do.
Nor do you have a right to disobey the commands of the government just
because some human said you do or you think you do. If we disobey the
laws, mandates or directives of those ordained powers of government, it
had better be for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. And,
sadly, I must add, the clear teaching of the word of God, because there
are those who wrest the scriptures and make it say what they want it to
say to justify their actions even when they are wrong.
Revelation 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Our persecuted brethren of the past (and
sometimes in the present) were forced into hiding and sometimes lived
running from place to place, meeting in secret, and risking their lives
to give the gospel. You will find the true believers doing this for
these reasons - the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. There are those who
have chosen to suffer for some lesser cause such as patriotism or civil
rights, but there is no reason to assume that they will receive a reward
from God for that if it is not clear New Testament teaching.
Now, I know that some folks will say that it is
their responsibility to suffer for the sake of their children. I
understand the motivation behind that. However, if you’re going to
choose to become an outlaw in refusing to be vaccinated, you better do
so for something that is clearly provable in scripture.
Some people believe that doing everything they can to preserve their health is a Christian duty because of the verses about keeping the temple of the Holy Ghost and so forth. Sometimes this may be interpreted as accepting a vaccine that is ethically wrong - such as those with actual cells in them from other humans who did not die willingly. I think the issues with that are rather self-evident. Other times people will reject vaccines entirely as a health risk they need to protect themselves and their children from. In some situations where chronic health conditions or genetic disorders are concerned, this might be necessary. But, in plenty of cases is simply isn't.
Here's a question to help clarify that outside the "I've got my freedoms" box. What if God wants you or your child to be a missionary in a foreign country where it is required to have vaccinations in order to even go there? Can you trust Him to protect you or them in that situation? That seems like a silly question, and yet some people would struggle to answer it.
My grandparents were missionaries in East
Africa. They had no choice about vaccinations for themselves and their
children if they wanted to serve the Lord there. My parents and my
brother and I had to be vaccinated as well when my parents went as
missionaries to Ethiopia. Had any of them refused vaccines, they would
not have been able to work in those countries, period, full stop.
If vaccinations are “wicked” and irresponsible
in every situation, then there are places where missionaries simply
wouldn’t be allowed to go. That can’t be right when we are commanded to
go into all the world and preach the gospel. So,
obviously there are times to put your faith in the Lord and accept the
vaccinations in order that you might do His will and obey His command.
As I said before, there
Which
How does your position affect your Christian fellowship and ability
to minister to others?
Galatians 5:13-15 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
There are people who will actually cut off
fellowship over the vaccination issue. This is a problem. I don’t know
if there is a clear-cut answer to it. However, I do know that we are
commanded to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. There are Christians who will do this over the issue of vaccinations.
Serving one another by love is not a one-sided thing. It
is a two-way street.
Is the question of vaccinations a big enough issue to break
fellowship? In most situations, I’d say no. There may be some that would
qualify - for example, if there is presently a known epidemic there may be
just cause for concern. I say this having grown up hearing and reading
stories about cholera and small pox and measles (which left thousand of
children dead or blind in East Africa in the past). I know the claims
that these things “were already on the decline” before vaccinations ever
came about. Stories on the ground from missionaries and native
Christians leave me unconvinced
on that point. Also, the ignorance of the history of when immunizations
actually started leaves me doubtful that these people know what they are
talking about. Furthermore, the fact that most of the statistics are collected
by white people in recent times who have little reason to be concerned about Africa
doesn’t help with credibility, in my opinion.
In
————
Final Thoughts
John 12:24-26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Matthew 10:37-39 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Did I say it was easy to make these choices? No.
It isn’t. It never has been. That is why Jesus Himself told us that if
we love our life or the lives of those nearest and dearest to us more than
we love Him we are not worthy of the Kingdom of heaven!
One problem is that many of us have lost sight of what
real sacrifice means. People see someone giving up the American dream to
go do mission work in some other place, they see someone giving up the
comforts of industrialized countries and think they are making a great
sacrifice. While I admit there is some sacrifice in these things, it is
nothing compared to the things people suffered in the past, and what
some few suffer today. The cost is usually not nearly as high now as it has
been at other times.
Some parents may be angry that anyone would even
suggest that they risk their child’s health for the sake of preaching
the gospel or Christian fellowship and ministry. Yet, people did this in
the past, knowing full well the risks they were taking. If we were
exused from obeying the command to take the gospel into
all the world if our children’s lives were imperiled by it, don’t you
think God would have said so? But, that doesn’t even make sense when you
stop and think about it. Furthermore, a whole lot of people would not be
Christians today if those in the past had lived in this kind of
selfishness. Yes, selfishness. Because putting the safety of yourself or
your children above obedience to the word of God is ultimately selfish.
In some cases it smacks more of idolatry than anything else - the
idolatry that says that “me and my spouse and children are the most
important things on earth and anything I do that puts any of us in danger is
unacceptable, even if it’s clearly commanded in scripture.”
If, when you have a baby in your arms, you look
back and say, “God, the price to obey You is too high. I cannot pay it,”
you are not worthy of the kingdom of heaven, you are not worthy of the
name of Jesus Christ.
The good news is that
1 John 1:9-10 give you a
way to be worthy again. Through confession and forgiveness, you can
start over with this issue. But, you will need to be willing to do God’s
will in this matter. If you don’t believe you can be willing, are you
willing to be made willing? My grandfather used to ask this sometimes,
and it has stuck with me over the years. Sometimes we realize that
something is right, but we’re not willing to do it. But, if we’re
willing to let God make us willing, He will do so. It might not be
pleasant and it might be hard, but if we truly desire to obey His will,
even in the face of our own unwillingness, He can make that happen for us.
We live in a day and age preoccupied with
“rights.” Too many Christians, especially in America, confuse their
civil rights with their Christian rights or even duties. If we will
truly follow the steps of Jesus Christ, we must give up our
rights in order to do the will of the Father. This is what our Savior
did for us. It will probably make some people angry that I would even
suggest putting themselves and their family “at risk" - that it is
something they should even consider. And yet, many of our fellow
believers over the past centuries have done so over and over again in
order to obey the word of God. Why do we think we are not called to
these choices and necessities in our present day? Mostly, I’m afraid,
because Christianity in the larger sense has become very self-focused
and selfish for the individual.
Moses' parents chose to disobey the king’s
command because their son would have been killed if they had obeyed -
not might have been -
would have been.
There is a time to disobey governments when they give a command that is
in direct contradiction with the word of God. Then we ought to obey God
rather than man [Acts 5:29].
But, when these things are only possibilities, higher risks of unknown consequences, and things like that, we can’t presume to know the outcome and make decisions on the “what ifs.” We must come to a point where we determine to trust God, and trust Him fully, with ourselves and with the lives of those we love. No one ever said it was going to be easy or that it would always work out well by our estimation in the end.
Long ago, one man took his wife and five
children to Africa to be missionaries. They had been there awhile and
made little to no progress in the area where they were working when the
wife died from one of the tropical diseases common to those parts. By
the measure that many people use to judge the issue of vaccinations (on
both sides), this man would have been counted a failure and wrong for
risking his wife’s life like this. But, it was the will of God for both
her and them. How can I say that? Because of the fruit. The Africans
were watching them and when they saw this man lose his wife, they knew
the struggle and pain that he was dealing with. They understood because
it was a common problem for them as well. In this they realized that
this man was willing to suffer with them in order to bring them the
message that he had and this moved them to not only help him in his
trouble, but also to listen to what he had to say. There are people in
heaven today because one man loved his Lord more than his wife and
children, more than he loved himself; and because one woman was willing to risk her very life to obey
the Lord’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Even
more, at least one of her children went on to serve the Lord for many
years in a very difficult and dark country in South America, risking her
own life and those of her children as well, to preach the gospel and
minister to the saints.
That one lady’s life - her “corn of wheat” -
fell into the earth and died, but it brought forth much fruit, and
continues to do so to this day.
And you, sitting there in your comparatively
sanitary life - you’re not willing to risk whooping cough or chicken pox
to witness to your neighbor or edify the saints? You’re not willing to
take the risk of having even the more important vaccinations in order to
preach the gospel or help Christ build His church? Why should we be
appalled at the behavior of the world when even those who claim Christ
are not willing to “die to dear desire, self-will resign”?
So send I you to leave your life’s ambition,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labor long, and love where men revile you -
So send I you to lose your life in Mine.
So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, tho’ it be blood, to spend and spare not
-
So send I you to taste of Calvary.
- Margret Clarkson, excerpt from "So Send I You".
Are these hard choices? Absolutely. But, in the
face of eternity, in the face of God's clear commands, in the face of the
souls of both the children and the others who will be affected, you have
to make them. May God grant that you do so with both understanding and
with obedience to Him, and if you are not willing, may you choose to be
made willing.
The Shadow of the Cross
O Christ! who once has seen Thy visioned beauty -
He counts all gain but loss,
And other things are naught if he may win Thee
And share with Thee Thy
Cross
And
he on whom its shadow once has fallen,
Walks quietly and apart;
He holds
the master-key of joy and sorrow
That opens every heart.
The
burdened souls that pass him on the highway
Turn back to take his hand,
And
murmur low, with tear-wet eyes of anguish,
"You know - you understand."
And yet no other can his heart interpret,
His life is hidden, lone;
A holy seal is set upon his forehead,
And he is
not his own.
O Cross of Christ! on me thy shade is
resting,
Thy sacred marks I bear;
Earth holds for me no more of grief
or gladness,
No anxious thought nor care;
Only henceforth, the bliss and pain
commingled
Of sharing woes divine,
Of knowing I am called to eat His
portion,
To drink His bitter wine.
Keep me forever, Lord, beneath that shadow,
Lest, haply, I should lose
My life for something less then Thy sweet
service,
Or one dear pang refuse.
by Annie Johnson Flint
background and graphics by Mary Stephens
vintage graphic: unknown source