Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF CHRIST”
Let me go a little deep on this day before Christmas 2023. My purpose is to situate you both theologically and historically for Christmas.
For many years I identified as a fundamental Baptist. I no longer self-identify, for reasons I am about to explain. Let me begin in the mid-1970s, when I came to Christ and identified as a fundamental Baptist.
If you are old enough, you will recall that both the broadcast and print media of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s so colored the word fundamentalist and caricatured fundamentalism that it seemed to many people like a strange thing to be. But I was a fundamentalist, nevertheless.
Pick up a newspaper on an average day, or turn on a major network news broadcast and, likely as not, you might hear some reference to a fundamentalist Mormon, or an Islamic fundamentalist, or a fundamentalist Pentecostal snake handler in the Appalachian Mountains. But it was not always so.
In the first decades of the 20th century, it was understood that the terms fundamentalist and evangelical were virtually synonyms and entirely interchangeable terms. However, the Baltimore Sun columnist, H. L. Mencken, a virulent racist, and an unflinching atheist, was so successful in tarring Bible-believing Christians as buffoons and hicks during the Scopes’ Monkey Trial of 1925 that virtually all readers of newspapers were influenced by his vitriol. Even Protestant Church-going people, who readily identified as evangelicals, became more and more unwilling to identify as fundamentalists because they were horrified at the idea of being thought of as uncouth, uninformed, or country bumpkins.
Increasingly, the media used the word fundamentalist with such powerful negative connotations that those identified as fundamentalists were discredited, whether they were fundamentalists or not in the original sense of the word. What is a fundamentalist? Initially, the term was applied only to Protestants and never originally to Baptists. To this day, those few Southern Baptists with strong convictions about the Bible do not identify as fundamentalists because their view was from the beginning that fundamentalism was a distinctly Protestant phenomenon. More on this in a moment. A fundamentalist is someone who places great stock, puts premium value, and seeks to return to the fundamentals. Have you ever heard of an athlete criticized for being fundamentally sound, for rigidly adhering to the fundamental principles of excellence in his sport? Of course not.
Setting aside the notion of fundamentalist Mormons, fundamentalist Muslims, and fundamentalist Pentecostals, let’s address this issue of fundamentalist Christians. A Christian, who is a fundamentalist, was originally an early 20th-century Protestant who placed great value on the fundamental truths of the Christian faith. At the beginning of the 20th century, a battle was raging in the mainline Protestant denominations. The issue was the faith delivered to the saints. Here in Los Angeles a group of men gathered at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church to write many articles and to take a public stand on the fundamental issues of the faith by publishing a multi-volume work known as The Fundamentals. An impressive work, they identified several Bible doctrines as critical to a proper understanding of Christianity and absolute minimums for anyone to believe and be rightly considered a Christian in the New Testament.
What are some of these essential doctrines? First, the inspiration of the Scripture. If you don’t believe that we have a Bible that has come from God, you are not saved. Second, the Tri-unity of God. You are not saved if you don’t believe that God has revealed Himself to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Third, Heaven and Hell. When someone dies, he goes either to heaven for eternity or to Hell for eternity. If you don’t believe that you are not saved. Fourth, salvation by grace. If you think you have to do something to be saved, or if you do not believe that salvation is the gift of God given to undeserving sinners through faith in Jesus Christ, you are not saved. Fifth, you must believe that Jesus Christ is very God. If you deny the deity of Jesus Christ, you are not saved. And finally, for this morning, there is the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.
Understand this very well: You can hold to these fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith and still be lost. You can believe everything the Bible teaches and still go to Hell. How can this be so? Because you can appreciate the information and agree entirely with the facts and still not be a person who has come to know, personally, the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
You can believe these fundamental truths and still not be saved. However, you cannot be saved without believing these fundamental truths. What I mean by that is this: While believing the fundamentals does not necessarily mean that you are saved, not believing the fundamentals indicate that you are not. Thus, the fundamentals are necessary but not sufficient to be a Christian.
On this last Sunday morning before Christmas 2023, I want to speak to you about the Virgin Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to deal with this issue because a great deal of confusion exists in so-called Christendom surrounding the coming into this world of the Savior, the Messiah of Israel.
The purpose of this message is to convince you, or reinforce, if you are already convinced, that the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ is a fundamental truth of the Christian faith, without which Christianity would not be Christianity as it is revealed in God’s Word.
As we proceed, recognize that some difficulty in understanding may occur as we seek to deal with things that are so profound. But also understand that, in the final analysis, ours is not so much to understand what God’s Word says to be true, but to believe that what God’s Word declares is true.
There are three considerations to focus our attention on:
First, THERE IS A CONSIDERATION OF THE ETERNITY OF THE SON OF GOD
Immediately, the right thinking person begins to see how the different fundamentals of the faith are interrelated, and how they either stand or fall together, as we look for our facts to the inspired Word of God to tell us some things about our divine Savior, related to His virgin birth. So you see, the virgin birth of Christ is related to both the inspiration of Scripture as well as the deity of Christ.
First, let’s search the Bible to see what the Lord Jesus was.
John 1.1-14:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
It is quite easy to see, from verse 14, that the Evangelist was referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, identifying Him as the Word Who was made flesh. But if you backtrack to verses 1-3, you will see that John begins this passage and begins his Gospel account by asserting that Jesus Christ was co-eternal with and was the co-Creator with, and was, God. What does the prophet Isaiah say about this Messiah, Who was rejected when He came to His Own people the nation of Israel? Isaiah 9.6:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah prophetically identifies Him as the Son Who was to be given. But notice the other titles this great prophet gave to Christ:
“The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Take with this what we see in Hebrews 1.8, and what do you have?
“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
We have the Lord Jesus Christ referred to in the Bible as being eternal, as being equal with God, as being Creator, as being very God, and as being the Son of God even before He was born! Thus, what the Lord Jesus Christ was has been established. He was the eternal Son of God and eternal God, the Son.
That is fine and good. But what did the Son of God become? It is quite obvious that when Jesus Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary, something real did occur. And from all appearances, what occurred was quite significant. What did the eternal Son of God become that He was not before? Let us gather our facts and see what we have. From various places in the Gospel accounts, we can ascertain that the Lord Jesus Christ was born, that the Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised on the eighth day, and that He was nursed by His mother Mary. Thus, He was physical.
We know from First John chapter 1 that He was visible and touchable. He thirsted and hungered, ate and drank. He wept and slept and became angry. We also know that when He was flogged and pierced, He bled. What would you call someone who was born like a man, who grew up like a man, who had a mother like a man, who ate and drank like a man, who rested and slept like a man, and whose body bled like a man when wounded? What would you call someone who called Himself the Son of Man? I would call Him a man. Wouldn’t you? Not a man exactly like me. You see, I am a sinful man. He, on the other hand, was a Man without sin. Pure. Sinless. Undefiled. Holy. But a man, just the same. The Lord Jesus Christ and this is something simply astonishing beyond belief to Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses, is God Who became a man.
So, if that is true, what is the Lord Jesus Christ now? He is what He has always been, the Son of God and God, the Son. But understand, when Jesus was born a man, He became something He had not always been, but would always from that moment on always be. Not God only. And not man only. But the God-Man. And how ideally suited He, and only He, is to reconcile offended God and offending man, holy God, and sinful man. Possessing the nature of God and man, Jesus Christ our Lord can do what no other could ever hope to do, reconcile man to God.
Second, THERE IS A CONSIDERATION OF THE ENGAGEMENT OF JOSEPH AND MARY
What conclusions can be drawn from the limited information about these two people? Three safe conclusions can be drawn.
First, we can conclude their occupations. There can be no doubt about Joseph’s occupation. When the Lord Jesus Christ returned to Nazareth for the first time following His baptism by His cousin John the Baptist, and after 40 days in the wilderness where Satan tempted him, and after working miracles elsewhere, the reaction of the townsfolk is recorded in Matthew 13.54-55:
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Then, Joseph was a carpenter. But what is a carpenter? Certainly not what a carpenter is today. In this day of specialization, we sometimes forget that a carpenter in Joseph’s day was often responsible for every step of the work, from the tree falling to the actual completion of hand-crafted furniture or farm implements. More like a logger who was also good at wood carving. And what about Mary? Besides being repeatedly referred to as a virgin in the narrative (Mary stated the same by saying, “I know not a man”), it is interesting to note that Mary referred to herself several times as “the hand maid of the Lord” or as “His handmaiden,” referring to the Lord. So, from all appearances, they were simple people, country people, rural village people. Not sophisticated and not wealthy. Just hardworking blue-collar type folks.
Second, we can reasonably conclude their expectation. Based upon what we shall learn about Joseph and Mary in just a moment, it is safe to conclude that they were normal people. They had the same hopes and aspirations that others of their day had in the land where Jesus was born. They were devout people. They wanted to do those things that were pleasing in the sight of God. And they wanted to get married and be normal. They wanted to settle down and raise a family. And how do I know this to be true? Because in the Jewish society of Jesus’ day, there simply were no options for getting married, settling down, and raising a family. There were no nightspots for singles or childless couples. And the work required to simply survive necessitated children to offset the workload as you grew older. Children provided the only social security anyone had. So, sure, we can be reasonably sure that neither Joseph nor Mary had set their sights on making it big. He had no aspirations to franchise his carpentry business and go right to the top of the corporate world. He and she were simple people who had simple hopes, simple desires, and straightforward expectations.
Finally, we can know their realizations. Especially since they were Jewish, we can be sure that their realizations tempered Joseph and Mary’s expectations. They knew that humanity’s lot in life was not peaches and cream. They knew by practical experience and pointed revelation from God’s Word the harsh realities of life that were caused by sin. Having the Hebrew Scriptures and believing it, both Joseph and Mary recognized that God had made man in His Own image and after His likeness. As such, man was created pure and clean in the sight of God, and fit God’s description at that time of being “very good.” But man didn’t stay that way for very long. Sometime after their creation, mankind was plunged into the dark pit of sin and utterly hopeless depravity. So great was the spiritual gulf between God and the man He had created that expulsion from the presence of God was the only alternative that God had to immediately cast the man into the lake of fire that had originally been created for the devil and his angels. Joseph and Mary recognized the consequences of that terrible legacy. They each acknowledged their sinfulness in the sight of God. They knew they were not good in any absolute sense. They knew they were unrighteous. We don’t have much on Joseph, but we have three clues related to Mary’s sinfulness in the sight of God that show her to be a sinner, just like you are a sinner, and just like I am a sinner.
Matthew 1.18-19:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
Please note that Joseph had decided to put his espoused wife Mary away, thinking her guilty of sinful conduct. Would he do this if he thought she was without sin? Would he do this if he thought her to be innocent? No. Joseph’s decision (the decision of a just man it is stated), was predicated on the fact that knowing people to be sinful by nature, Joseph thought Mary was guilty. So, her husband-to-be thought she was a sinner.
Luke 1.47:
“And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
Here we read the words of Mary, herself. Notice that she calls God her Savior. But, let me ask you, what kind of person needs a Savior? Do sinless people need a Savior? No. Only sinners need a Savior. Mary, also, knew that she was a sinner.
Luke 2.22-24:
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Here we have Mary responding to a command issued in the Law of Moses, requiring a sacrifice to atone for sin after the birth of a child. Question. Since a sacrifice for atonement must either have been for Mary or her child, who did she recognize as a sinner in need of an atoning sacrifice, herself or her child?
It is pretty obvious for anyone who has eyes to see, and Leviticus chapter 9 conclusively shows, that the sinner in question was not the sinless Son of God, but His mother, Mary. So, we see both Joseph and Mary, at the time of Christ’s birth, as an engaged couple. Betrothed, to use the precise term. Not exactly like present-day engagements. But ordinary people. Sinful people. And people who recognized, as we can clearly see, their own sinfulness.
WE NOW COME TO OUR FINAL CONSIDERATION. THE EXPLANATION OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH
First, there is the angel Gabriel’s explanation to Mary, Luke 1.26-38:
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
The sixth month referred to in verse 26 is the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. Remember, Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin. Please note that Mary was informed by the angel Gabriel that she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God. She was not asked. Neither was her permission sought. This young woman was informed that God was about to do this stupendous thing and that she would be an integral part of what God would do. In response to her question of how she will conceive and bear a child, being a virgin, Gabriel told her that it would be the result of a miraculous overshadowing of her by the Holy Spirit of God. Verse 38 shows that she acquiesced to God’s plan for her life.
Next, there is the explanation to Joseph, Matthew 1.18-21:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Though we are not told, presumably, it is this same angel Gabriel who informed Joseph that, much to his relief, the obviously pregnant Mary was not a fornicator, not an adulteress. She was, in fact, carrying a child conceived in her by the Holy Ghost. But notice, again, that Joseph, like Mary, was not told precisely why Jesus had to be virgin born ... only that Jesus would save His people from their sins.
Third, there is Matthew’s explanation to his readers. Matthew’s comments to his readers are found in Matthew 1.22-23:
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Notice, again, we are told what, but not specifically why, Jesus must needs be virgin-born.
Which, in conclusion, brings us to the explanation that is attested to throughout the Scriptures for why the Son of God must needs be born of a Virgin. Were we to have the same kind of working knowledge of the Old Testament that the first Christians had, being Jewish believers, we would implicitly understand why the Savior had to be virgin born.
First, because He is identified as the “Son of the Highest” and also as the “Son of God.” How could He be the Son of God if He had a human father? For the eternal Son of God to be clothed in human flesh and be the Son of God born of woman, He could not have a human father. God the Father is His father and had to be the father of His flesh. So, Jesus had to be virgin born. If He is not virgin born, God is not His Father and He is not the Son of God.
But, secondly, recognizing that Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, it must be realized that His primary mission in coming to this earth and being born of woman was to die as a sacrifice for sins. What does the Law of Moses tell us about the Lamb which is a sacrifice for sins? It must be without spot or blemish. So, only by being born of a virgin, not inheriting the sinful nature of a human father, but having the holy and sinless nature of His heavenly Father, could Jesus be a fit sacrifice for our sins, acceptable in the sight of God.
Christmas Day is tomorrow! We find ourselves on the verge of the conclusion of the Christmas season, in which the birth of our Savior is supposed to be celebrated.
At this time, may I remind you that the importance of the virginity of Mary at the time of her conception and at the time of Christ’s birth must never be underestimated? This is one of the cardinal doctrines of our Christian faith. Take away the virgin birth of Christ and you no longer have a Gospel which saves sinner’s souls.
Only with a virgin birth could Jesus have truly had God as His Father. Only by the miracle of the virgin birth could God actually become a man. And only by the miracle of the virgin birth could Jesus be the sinless sacrifice so necessary for the remission of our sins.
We do, therefore, believe that Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly man; something which could not have come to pass but by the virgin birth.
Do you believe what I have preached to you today? Good. It doesn’t mean you are saved, but it’s good. Believing this, you must still repent of your sins and trust Christ as your personal Savior in order to be saved. Won’t you consider the claims of Christ as the only remedy provided by God for your sinful soul’s salvation?
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. How could anyone claim to be a Christian and not believe that the Savior is virgin born? And how could a person claim to be a Christian and not embrace fundamental truths, not cling to the fundamentals of the faith?
Now, as to why I no longer identify as a fundamentalist. First, fundamentalists were originally Protestant members of mainline denominations fight against liberalism in their denominations, and were not in the beginning members of Baptist Churches, for the most part. Sadly, this is something most fundamental Baptists are unaware of. Second, after reading a great deal of Baptist history, I opted about ten years ago to begin self-identifying as a Classical Baptist and have led this congregation to be a Classical Baptist Church, a term I coined.[1] We are not Protestant enough to be a fundamental Baptist congregation. Rather, we identify with the mainstream of historic Baptist orthodoxy reaching back centuries before the 20th century.
The virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ has historically been embraced by Baptists as a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith.
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[1] https://calvaryroadbaptist.church/documents/what-is-a-classical-baptist-church.php
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