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
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 19th & early 20th
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, then 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."
