Bulletin Insert (12/06/21): The Relevance & Importance of the Virgin Birth

 

The Virgin Birth of Christ:

A Central Doctrine to be affirmed by all Christians!

By Pastor Terry L. Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh of PA; Dec. 5, AD 2021

 

Intro: A Doctrine under assault. Over the years—particularly in Modern Times, the Virgin Conception of our Lord has come under siege from a variety of sources. These include materialist/rationalist philosophy, eastern-style mysticism, and the numerous schools of Liberal Theology—not to mention modern pragmatism & theological indifference to doctrinal matters. But God’s people cannot remain aloof to such challenges; there are few matters of greater practical relevance to the believer than the matter of the Virgin Birth!

 

I. Key issue #1: What manner of GOD do you believe in?

The Virgin Birth was the epicenter of a watershed debate in the late 19^th & early 20^th centuries between Bible-believing conservatives and liberal Modernists. Modernists promoted an imminent view of Deity (i.e., God is everywhere-in-everything) which, in its extreme form, tended towards pantheism (i.e., the idea that “god” is an impersonal force). Thus, they were pre-disposed to reject the concept of miracles, which requires a conscious and intelligent Personality to suspend or override the Laws of Nature. However, if one affirms the Biblical perspective that God is an omnipotent Person—not an “it”—who supernaturally created Heaven & Earth ex nihlo (i.e., out of nothing), then the comparably small matter of a Virgin Birth presents no grave difficulty! Is the arm of the Lord to short to do such things?

 

Luke 1:37: "For nothing will be impossible with God."

 

II. Key issue #2: What manner of BIBLE do you believe in?

The Virgin Conception of Christ is clearly and explicitly taught by a variety of writers in both Testaments (Luke 1:34-35, Matt. 1:18-25; also cf. Gen. 3:15 & Isa. 7:14). Plainly, if Jesus Christ was not Virgin-Born, then the Bible’s claim to inerrancy is false!

 

III. Key issue #3: What better EXPLANATION do we have than the Virgin Birth for various enigmas posed by the Word of God?

Through the device of the Virgin Birth, we see a variety of biblical challenges & imperatives satisfactorily resolved, including the following concerns…

 

A. The promised Messiah must be the legal heir and biological Son of David (Acts 13:23)—and yet, He cannot be a blood descendent of the accursed King Coniah (Jer. 22:30). Through the Virgin Birth, the issue is resolved: Jesus is David’s legal heir through the kingly-line traced to Joseph (Matt. 1:1-17), who was Christ’s legal—but not biological—father. Jesus is, however, a blood descendent of David through an alternate Davidic line traced through Mary (Luke 3:23-38)—thus bypassing the curse placed upon Coniah and his descendants!

 

B. Through the Virgin Birth, Messiah was able to be both David’s Son, as well as his Lord (Ps. 110:1a)—thus solving a great mystery that the Pharisees were unable to resolve (Matt. 22:41-46)!

 

C. What better explanation do we have than the Virgin Birth for the singular phenomenon of a unique, sinless man—not conceived, like the rest of us, in sin (Ps. 51:5)? (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1 Pet. 2:22, 1 John 3:5). Note the inference of Luke 1:35:

 

Luke 1:35: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

 

D. How else does one explain the entrance into this world of a single Person who is both pre-existent Deity (John 1:1, Phil. 2:6, Col. 2:9) and genuine Humanity (John 1:14, Phil. 2:7-8)? Through what other mechanism than the supernaturally-directed Virgin Birth can we explain the mystery of the Incarnation?

 

The Doctrine’s Supreme Importance: Outside of the Virgin Birth, it is most difficult to conceive of the reality of the Incarnation. If Christ is not true God and true Man, than He is not qualified to be our Savior!

 

Q: Can a man be saved and deny the Virgin Birth? Answer: NO!

Failure to unwaveringly affirm the Biblically-revealed central dogma of the Virgin Birth flatly places a man outside of the pale of any form of legitimate or recognizable Christianity, and constitutes clear evidence of the individual’s unregenerate nature (Matt. 7:15-20).

 

In the end, those who would deny the Virgin Birth today are much like His Jewish critics back in the Days of His humility, dishonoring the Person of our Lord—as well as His mother (cf. John 8:41; John 8:48-49). Ultimately, such an attack is rooted in disdain for His Deity.

 

John 8:24: “…for unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."