The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is a common emphasis during the Christmas season, but is it important?
Why was it crucial that Mary be a virgin when Jesus was
conceived and born?
Why is it vital that Jesus did not have a biological father?
Could Jesus have been God incarnate without the intervention
of the Holy Spirit?
One reason for Jesus' virgin birth is that it identified Him
as the Messiah.
Isaiah 7:14 prophesied that a virgin would be with
child. Ever since that prophecy, the Jews had looked for that particular sign.
God uses miracles to validate His messengers. A virgin birth
is a powerful validation.
Another reason for the virgin birth is that having a
biological father would have annulled Jesus' deity. He could not have been the
son of Joseph and the Son of God at the same time.
Every person born of man has inherited Adam's sin nature (Romans
5:12, 17, 19).
It was only as God that Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice
for sin, so it was the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus (Luke 1:35).
.
The virgin birth is also a picture of our role in salvation: acceptance.
.
The virgin birth is also a picture of our role in salvation: acceptance.
Joseph had no part whatsoever in the conception of Jesus.
Mary's role was passive; she merely accepted God's gift.
As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, the work of salvation is
done by God alone. Neither holiness nor salvation can be brought about by the
effort of man.
There are some who do not believe in the virgin birth.
Arianism teaches that the "virgin" of Isaiah
7:14 should read "young woman," and that at some point, God
created Jesus.
The Ebionites, an early Jewish Christian sect that closely
followed Jewish law, taught that Jesus was Joseph's biological son and, because
of Jesus' righteousness, God chose Him to be a prophet and anointed Him with
the Holy Spirit.
The Gnostics, who believed the physical and the divine could
not co-exist, claimed that God could not inhabit a material body; therefore,
Jesus only appeared to be human.
Those who reject the virgin birth also reject the deity of
Jesus, the sin nature of man, and the inspiration of the Word of God.
Therefore, a denial of the virgin birth is antithetical to
the Christian faith.
God is all-powerful.
Jesus is God.
The Bible is God's Word.
These are key points in the Christian faith, and they make a
virgin birth a very simple matter.
The
Father chose to send Jesus to the cross to show His love and the seriousness of
our sin.
Jesus
chose to take our punishment, to save all who would believe.
Why not accept God's gift of salvation and become His child?
Open your heart and say this prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am
a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from
my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help
me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your son,
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and
hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the
Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You
that according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please send your Holy Spirit
to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to
study Your Word - the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray.
Amen.”
You might also like:
How can I please God?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The Power in the Blood of
Jesus Christ.
.
.
.
.
.
Do you know Jesus or you know about Jesus — would this
matter in eternity?
p-chron p-files
No comments:
Post a Comment