Child abuse is a grave sin that deeply grieves the heart of God. The Bible makes it clear that children are a precious gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5), and Jesus showed special care and concern for children, even stating that the kingdom of God belongs to them (Mark 10:13-16). However, the Bible also reveals the tragic reality of child abuse and exploitation happening in a fallen world marred by sin. Here is an overview of what the Bible says about this difficult subject:
The Old Testament Law sought to protect children and the vulnerable in society. Laws were put in place to defend orphans, widows and foreigners (Exodus 22:21-24). Severe punishments were instituted for those who practiced child sacrifice, a terrible evil that occurred in pagan cultures (Leviticus 18:21). Fathers were warned against provoking their children to anger (Ephesians 6:4), and parents were called to train and instruct their children in the Lord (Proverbs 22:6). However, regrettably child abuse still occurred, as sin tainted even God’s chosen nation of Israel. Stories emerge of horrific acts against children, such as Amnon’s rape of his half-sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1-22), and the evil king Manasseh sacrificing his own son (2 Kings 21:6). The prophets were sent to rebuke God’s people for oppression and injustice against the helpless (Isaiah 1:17; Jeremiah 22:3).
In the New Testament, Jesus shows deep care for children. He welcomes them, blesses them and says the kingdom of heaven belongs to them (Matthew 19:14). He also strongly warns against harming or leading children astray, saying it would be better to have a millstone hung around one’s neck and be drowned than to cause a child to stumble (Matthew 18:6). Jesus’ love and high view of children is in stark contrast to the Greco-Roman world at the time, where children were often viewed as property and subject to infanticide if unwanted. The early church likewise condemned practices like child abandonment and infanticide. Christians are called to nourish, nurture and protect the young (Ephesians 6:4).
Several clear principles can be drawn from Scripture about child abuse:
1. Children have inherent value and worth as human beings made in God’s image. They deserve protection and care.
2. Hurting or exploiting a child is a grave evil in God’s eyes that provokes His righteous anger. Stern warnings in Scripture make it clear that abusing or misleading children has eternal consequences (Mark 9:36-42).
3. Speaking up for children and defending the vulnerable pleases God. Christians must be a voice for the voiceless and seek justice for the oppressed (Proverbs 31:8-9).
4. Parents have a solemn duty before God to properly care for the children He has entrusted to them. Cruelty towards one’s own children goes against nature and God’s design (Romans 1:31).
5. Churches should be a sanctuary of safety and healing for children who have endured abuse. Congregations are called to surround hurting families with compassion, counseling and practical support.
6. Healing and restoration can be found in Christ, but the path is often long. Counseling, accountability, legal consequences and continuing prayer are needed in most cases of abuse. But God’s grace brings hope.
7. Awareness and prevention are key. Christians must become informed about child abuse issues, learn to spot warning signs, and make churches and institutions safe places for children.
Clearly child abuse grieves God’s heart and must be exposed and dealt with to protect the innocent (Romans 12:21). Believers must decry evil while pointing victims to Christ’s healing love. As Christians, we lament the brokenness caused by sin in this world, while looking forward to the day when Jesus returns to make all things new (Revelation 21:4-5). Until that glorious day, may the church rise up as a beacon of light, working to prevent abuse, minister to survivors, and model the tender compassion of our Savior who said, “Let the little children come to me.” (Matthew 19:14).
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Psalm 23:1-6
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 27:10
Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
Psalm 10:17-18
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.
Psalm 68:4-6
Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.
Exodus 22:21-24
“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
Deuteronomy 24:17
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.
Isaiah 1:16-17
Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Mark 9:36-37
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Matthew 18:1-6
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Mark 10:13-16
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Psalm 127:3-5
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
Matthew 18:10
See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Isaiah 65:17
See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Revelation 21:4-5
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Hebrews 13:3
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Proverbs 3:31-32
Do not envy the oppressor and choose none of his ways. For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.
1 John 3:1-3
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Luke 6:31
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Philippians 2:1-4
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Luke 17:3-4
So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sisters sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
In conclusion, child abuse is a grievous sin that violates the sanctity of human life and destroys the lives of the most vulnerable. It is an affront to God the Creator and Father. The church must decry it, while also offering hope, healing and restoration to victims in the power of Christ’s redeeming love. As Christians, we look forward to the day when God will wipe away every tear and make all things new. Until then, may we be instruments of justice, truth and compassion in a broken world. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16).