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Such decisions should be rare exceptions, not undertaken lightly or for reasons of self-indulgence. They should say No to God's blessing of children only for the sake of greater good or need.

But they do not usurp God's providence or sovereignty. If God can use even evil to accomplish good (Gen. 45:5-8), surely he can use human actions that seek to serve God with the freedom he has given us. God's sovereignty works in and through human actions, and, if necessary, in spite of them.

To suggest that birth control is evil or perverse because it undermines God's sovereignty is to underestimate God's sovereignty and reject our responsibility to serve him wisely. Of course human choices ought to be made in the realm of freedom set within the limits of God's law. But where there is no law, our choices are free (Gal. 5)—provided they are wise and serve God.

To be sure, God then holds us responsible for our freedom. Within the limits of marriage, sex is one of the good gifts of God's creation, to be used for love and glory, whether or not it seeks in every instance to be fruitful in a procreative sense. Within the boundaries God has set for sex, there is much room for responsible Christian freedom, for what God has made is very good indeed.

Raymond C. Van Leeuwen is professor of biblical studies at Eastern College in St. Davids, Pennsylvania.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also appearing on our site today, Sam and Bethany Torode argue that it is time for Christians to embrace childbearing as a joy and a gift.

In an October 1999 article, World magazine editor Joel Belz argued that God controls world population numbers while noting that the morality of contraception is not seriously debated among evangelical Christians.

Raymond C. Van Leeuwen recently wrote "We Really Do Need Another Bible Translation" for Christianity Today.

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November 12 2001, Vol. 45, No. 14