order to understand the Christian Greek Scriptures. Many details would be meaningless without the background that the Hebrew Scriptures provide. Jesus and the early Christians, as well as the Jews that they spoke to, were thoroughly familiar with them. Why not take the time to make yourself equally familiar with them? Thus you will take the fullest advantage of “all Scripture,” which is “inspired of God and beneficial for teaching.”​—2 Timothy 3:16.

Questions From Readers

◼ In view of reports that doctors may be able to reverse a voluntary sterilization, might not some Christians choose it as a form of birth control?

The Bible shows that God has high regard for reproductive powers. He purposed that humans fill the earth by reproducing their kind. (Genesis 1:28; 9:6, 7) Later, Israelites regarded large families as a blessing from Jehovah, and tampering with reproductive powers brought divine disfavor. (Psalm 127:3-5; Deuteronomy 1:11; 23:1; 25:11, 12) Such points in the Hebrew Scriptures have influenced the thinking of many of God’s servants with regard to the practice of voluntary sterilization.a

What, though, do we find in the Christian Greek Scriptures bearing on the matter? For one thing, we learn that Christians are not under the Mosaic Law. (Galatians 3:24, 25) Further, Jesus urged the expansion of Christianity by preaching the good news, not by procreation. Since a great harvest of disciples would result, Jesus advised disciples who could make room for it to become eunuchs in a spiritual sense, expressing self-control as single persons. Of similar import, the apostle Paul encouraged Christians not to marry and thus to have greater freedom to preach and teach. That way they would gather in spiritual children. Even married couples were to remember that “the time left is reduced”; their goal should be ‘freedom from the anxieties’ of family life.​—1 Corinthians 7:29-32, 35; Matthew 9:37, 38; 19:12.

When we last discussed voluntary sterilization in this column* most physicians considered the procedure irreversible and thus permanent. However, medical developments in the last decade have changed the situation somewhat. For example, Population Reports (November-December 1983, Johns Hopkins University) says about vasectomies: “In recent reports reversals have restored patency​—that is, sperm have been found in the ejaculate—​in 67 to 100 percent of men. Functional success​—that is, pregnancies among the wives of men who have had reversals—​has ranged from 16 to 85 percent.” New surgical procedures and methods of implanting temporary blocks are also pointed to as indicating that reversal success will yet increase.

Since the Christian Greek Scriptures give no direct guidance on such matters, Christians must make personal decisions about limiting the size of their family and about birth control. As to sterilization, they should bear in mind that even though a reversal is theoretically more possible now than it was a decade ago, physicians cannot guarantee that reproductive ability can be restored.

Above all, a couple should keep a clear conscience before Jehovah and toward their fellow Christians. If a couple is thinking of sterilization as a form of birth control, they still should consider any effect their actions may have on others. Though married couples do not usually publicize their decision about birth control, if it became widely known that a couple had resorted to voluntary sterilization, would the congregation be greatly upset and lose respect for them? (1 Timothy 3:2, 12, 13) These are factors to consider very seriously, even in this private and personal matter. In the final analysis, Paul’s statement is appropriate: “To his own master [Jehovah] he stands or falls.”​—Romans 14:4, 10-12.