Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together.

It's reasoned relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio. And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. In Luke chapter 1, we read about the coming of Christ and the birth of Jesus foretold. And we're going to read a few verses from Luke chapter 1, and we're going to talk about the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

Welcome to the program, Alex McFarland here with Truth for a New Generation Radio. And as you are hearing this broadcast, I'm sure that most everybody is getting ready for a very special time with family, hopefully with not only your family and friends, your church family as well. As we commemorate the most significant birth in all of history, I would say really the most significant day in history, the coming of Christ. If we could name the four most significant, most important days in history, that would be the day of creation, the day of Christ's birth, the day of Christ's resurrection, and the day of Christ's return. To that, I would add a fifth most significant day, the day that you open your heart and receive Christ and are born again.

And I hope you have done that. And that truly is the meaning of Christmas, to have Christ in your heart and life. And you know, at this time when we talk so much about gift-giving, I hope that you have received His gift of eternal life, because that is such an important thing.

In fact, it's the whole meaning of life. And I want to talk about today the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, some important facts about this very, very important doctrine. The virgin birth we sing in silent night, round, yon virgin, mother and child, and infant holy, infant lowly.

What is so significant about this? Well, the Bible promised, I believe in Genesis and Isaiah, in the Old Testament, the Bible predicted that this coming Messiah would be born of a virgin. The virgin birth is implied in Genesis 3.15, where it says that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. The seed of the woman, not the seed of the man, because Jesus did not have a biological, physical human father.

Isaiah 7.14 says, quote, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel, which means God with us. So Jesus would have no sin nature. And it would be what scholars call His impeccability, His sinlessness, that would make Him qualified to die on the cross and be our Savior. Matthew 1.23 says, quote, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.

Praise the Lord for that, that we have a sinless Savior. In Luke 1.26, it says that in the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, to a town called Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. Notice the historical accuracy in all of this. You know, Sir William Ramsay was an archaeologist and historian. And he became a believer and he said, quote, Luke is an historian of the first rank, because of his accuracy with the most minute of details.

He should be placed along the greatest of historians. So the angel appears to Mary and says, Greetings, you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. Verse 29 of Luke chapter one, Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

I mean, think about it. An angel appears to you, and you're thinking, what in the world is going on? Verse 30, but the angel said to Mary, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid, Mary.

You have found favor with God. You will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

His kingdom will never end. Now there's a lot there in verses 31 through 33, but think about these prophecies about the coming of Jesus. I mean, already prophecy is being given. Prophecy will be fulfilled.

A baby will be born. His name will be Jesus. He will be the Son of God. He will have the throne of his predecessor David, King David, the greatest king of Israel. And then Jesus, who would be the one to sit on the throne of David forever. He will reign over the house of Jacob. Israelites will one day occupy their land in a state of belief, and Jesus will rule and reign from Jerusalem one day.

Now it's not all come to pass yet, but it will. As we often say, God has a really good track record of keeping his promises. And his kingdom will never end. Praise God. Verse 34 of Luke chapter 1, Mary says, How can this be, since I am a virgin? Some translations say, Seeing I know not a man. She had never been with a man, and her fiancé Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus.

The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age.

And she, Elizabeth, who was said to be barren, is now in her sixth month. Praise God for verse 37 of Luke chapter 1, For with God nothing is impossible. Verse 38, I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said, and the angel left her. You know, that should be all of our heart. Behold the servant of the Lord. And whether God gives you an assignment to repent of some sin, or to witness to a neighbor, or to take up a prayer life that you've neglected, and to really become strong in intercession, or to commit to read the Bible through in the next twelve months from cover to cover. As a follower of God, the Most High, our mindset should be like that of Mary.

Behold, Lord, I am your servant. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. Now when we come back, we're going to continue talking about the virgin birth of Christ, the theological and historical and personal significance. Stay tuned.

We'll be back right after this. From I Am a Watchman Ministries, here's today's I Am a Watchman Minute. Philippians 4-8 notes we are to focus on what is true and honorable, what is right and pure, and on what is lovely and of good repute. We read, Whatever is excellent and worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Now focusing on good things sounds like good advice. It makes sense that the more good and godly things that fill our minds, the happier we will be.

But many find it much easier to say, be positive, than to actually stay positive. The Iamawatchman.com website hosts an abundance of free resources designed to inspire, equip, and encourage the body of Christ. And today, we invite you to request a free digital copy of the Watchman's Devotional Journal. Our desire is to be a blessing to you. Be bold, be faithful, be a Watchman.

Iamawatchman.com. You know, Alex has been writing for many years and one of his classic books is still great today as a basic introduction to the Christian faith. It's called Stand, Core Truths You Must Know for an Unshakeable Faith. This book will help you help your teens get off the rollercoaster of doubt and onto solid ground. You'll read about the six pillars of biblical Christianity.

They are, one, inspiration of the Bible, two, the virgin birth, three, the deity of Christ, four, atonement, five, Christ's resurrection, and six, Christ's return. Alex mixes it up with humor and stories he gleaned from decades of working with youth and encourages teens to build a foundation of faith that will stabilize their lives and help them take a stand for Christ. Simple and straightforward, Stand, Core Truths You Must Know for an Unshakeable Faith, available wherever Christian books are sold. When we're told to do something, we like to ask why.

We don't follow traditions merely for the sake of tradition. We seek a biblical worldview and search for reasons behind answers. For the Christian who wants to dig deeper, there's engagemagazine.net, packed with relevant articles from movie reviews and life tips to culture and the believer's spiritual life. Share truth, apply scripture, engagemagazine.net. At Liberty University, you'll earn more than a degree. You'll earn the satisfaction of seeing what you can accomplish and what God can accomplish through you. Choose from more than 600 degree options from an associate to a PhD and study 100% online more affordably than you think. Discover God's truth through every degree at Liberty University, where we train champions for Christ. Go to liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more.

That's liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here and let me say on behalf of myself and Angie and all of the staff and the board and the volunteers of Truth for a New Generation, we wish you a very, very Merry Christmas, a blessed, joyful and Jesus-filled Christmas. I do want to say a big thanks to all that have prayed for us throughout the year. As I've traveled the country speaking and as we've done events in major cities, thank you. Thank you for your support.

Let me let you know about a couple of exciting things that are happening. In the summer, we've got our annual apologetics camp for youth. We have a camp every summer and we have kids come from all over the country to learn how to defend their faith and to learn how to stand strong in their faith.

We really are fighting for the soul of this country and for the future of so many young people. If you would like the teens, middle school through high school, even some college students, those in your life to know what they believe and to know why they believe it. Some need to come to the Lord and others need to come back to the Lord. But what we do at the camp, we do the fun camp stuff, zip lines and all that, and we have a great time, but we drill down deeply and we talk about how to defend the faith. How do we know God exists? What about creation versus evolution?

What about America? Was America founded on Christian principles or were we just some socialist economic experiment? We talk to young people about a fully-orbed Christian life of knowing Christ and living for Christ and the joy and the thrill of being a person who lives biblically. And so the apologetics camp is coming. Then also, I'll be at the Cove at the end of the summer in late, late July teaching through Daniel and Revelation, how God writes history in advance. And that's open to all and you can learn about the camp at my website, alexmcfarland.com. You can learn about the Billy Graham Training Center and my time at the Cove at the cove.org. And many other things, my travel schedule and lots that's going on to evangelize the lost and equip the saved.

And we encourage you to look at our website and look forward to seeing you out there serving Christ and impacting our nation with the gospel in the new year. Let me read a quote here. G. K. Chesterton said this, and we're talking about the virgin birth of Christ and why it is so significant. This past event 2,000 years ago when God came onto the stage of human history, why is it so important?

Chesterton said, the disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they're living. If you've ever been up on a mountain, let's say you're in a town and you're down there at street level and your vision is obscured by buildings and trees. But if you go up on a hillside, you can look down on the town and see it all so clearly.

I know when I lived in Colorado, I would be in El Paso County, and Colorado Springs is a very populous area. But you drive up the Ute Pass Highway 24 through Manitou, up to Woodland Park, and you begin to get up on that mountain and you can look back and look down, and it looks like a small little town, and you can see. And you know, history, like Chesterton says, is a high vantage point where you can see the big picture. It's like the Christian worldview as well, to understand that God created this world, and God has a redemptive plan for history. And to stand on the high mountain peak of scripture and to see life through a biblical lens, it gives you the big picture.

And you know, we become very petty, and here's a good word, picayune. We focus on the tiny little details of life, and sometimes the desires or the stresses, and the things that get on our nerves. And it's very often healthy to step back and look at life from a biblical perspective.

And life is about knowing the giver of life, God, and Jesus Christ the Savior. And it's amazing how the mundane things that stress us so sort of vanish away when we look at life through a biblical perspective. And it's like the old song, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

So we're looking back at this incredible event, the virgin birth of Christ. And you know, there's an old Russian proverb that says, you know, dwell on the past and you will lose an eye. In other words, the eye that should be looking toward the present and future as well. Dwell on the past and you will lose an eye, said the Russians.

Forget the past and you will lose both eyes. Because there are things that need to be held at bay that can grow, like things like socialism. I fear for our nation right now because we're forgetting the dear, dear price that was paid for freedom. And those that really have never seen America cast in a good light. And those that have only known K-12 public school and America bashing. And people think that health care and health insurance is a guaranteed human right.

It is not. Free Wi-Fi, a human right. No, those things are not human rights.

If you want insurance and health care or Wi-Fi, those are things to work and spend your money on, that you earn by the way. But we are forgetting so many things. And even within the Church of Jesus Christ, forgetting the doctrinal significance and the reality of the gospel. So much of church in America is not about winning the lost, fighting the darkness, standing for righteousness, calling out sin. So much of the church is social activity and even welfare.

And it's good to help and feed the poor and it's good to do those things. But let us never forget that the calling of the church is to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of every nation. And part of doing that necessitates us talking about who Jesus is. Well, some common objections raised to the identity of Christ and raised in opposition to the virgin birth. There are objections I think about the objection to the virgin birth based on the fact that it's a biological impossibility. Well yeah, that's why it's a miracle.

That's why as 714 says that it would be a sign to the whole house of Israel. Now we're going to come back, we've got a brief break and we're going to talk a little bit more about the virgin birth. This wonderful blessed reality of God coming into the world, being divine deity, no sin nature, fully God, fully man, but not fallen man.

And for this reason He was qualified, willing and able to die on the cross, rise again and be our Savior. Stay tuned, TNG radio is back after this. Alex has written many books to help you defend your faith. One of them answers questions from skeptics.

It's cleverly titled, Ten Answers for Skeptics. Today's skeptics are looking for authenticity, integrity and straightforward truth. And in the book, Alex McFarland identifies the ten most common types of skepticism that plague doubters minds and offers believers proven strategies for connecting intellectually and spiritually with those who are skeptical about the claims of Christianity. Learn how to answer intimidating questions, identify the root issue behind those questions and dismantle the spiritual bombshells dropped by atheists.

Plus find encouragement to face hostility by persevering in love. The ultimate apologetic Christians can offer as a witness to our loving God. Check out Ten Answers for Skeptics when you visit AlexMcFarland.com. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide and video series. You'll have a great day. Welcome back to the program.

Alex McFarland here. And again, let me say a very heartfelt Merry Christmas to you and your family. May God bless you. And we just thank you for listening to the broadcast throughout the year. And as I meet so many of you on the road traveling all over America, it really, really is an honor to serve the Lord at this time, to know and to interact with so many of you. And we just want to say that we love you. We thank God for you.

And we wish you a very wonderful Christmas. We're talking about the virgin birth and the historical and theological significance of this, Isaiah 7-14, that it was promised a virgin would carry a child, Immanuel, God with us, and it would be a sign to the whole house of Israel. And you know, when we talk about the birth of Jesus, I mean, it's just amazing, amazing what God would do, the great lengths to which God would go to save the world, to offer us forgiveness. And, you know, one scholar said, quote, if we believe in the deity of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead, what is gained by discrediting the virgin birth? Jesus's supernatural exit from the world presupposes a supernatural entrance into the world. Now, Dr. H. H. Haley, if you've ever seen Haley's Bible Handbook, it's a classic.

I would urge you to own that book. H. H. Haley said to call Jesus an illegitimate child is nothing less than blasphemy. So think about it, folks. The biblical account of Christ's virgin birth really doesn't pose a logical or biological problem. I mean, if God exists, he can do miracles.

He can act in the world. And you know, a lot of people out of hand just assume the virgin birth didn't really happen. But of course, if God can create the universe, if God can create the human race, if God is almighty, of course, he can cause a virgin to carry a child. And we believe unapologetically, it's logical, it's certainly biblical, and it's of theological necessity that Mary was a virgin. And miraculously, the baby Jesus grew in her body, and she delivered the child, one in all of history, that was qualified in every way to go to the cross to pay for our sins.

And so let me read a little history here. It's interesting, in 313, Constantine made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. And as Christianity grew, different councils were convened to help codify and explain Christianity, not to invent Christianity. I want to say this, at the Council of Nicaea in 325, and then there was another council in Constantinople in 381, Christianity was not invented. I mean, the Christian message, if you read in Acts chapter 2, where Peter preached, you know, �Repent, believe in Jesus who died on the cross rose from the dead.� If you read the statement in 1 Corinthians 15, 3 through 5, how Christ died, was buried according to the Scriptures, rose from the dead.

The gospel formulas found in Philippians 2, 1 Corinthians 15, Acts 2, death, deity, resurrection. Even critical scholars will agree that these understandings of the nature and work of Christ go back to within weeks after Calvary. So it's amazing how the church early on, led by the Holy Spirit, understood the nature of who Christ was and what he did. But there were these milestone moments for the church where councils came to talk and try to better understand what Christianity was all about.

Now, in 325, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea that was really, in many ways, the first major ecumenical council, and there was a man there named St. Nicholas. Now this is just brilliant, because 300 bishops came from all around the world, and they were talking about, among other things, the Trinity. And there was a debate that arose, just like there are debates nowadays, about the nature of Jesus. Now there was a man from Egypt named Arius. Arius was a heretic, and Arius basically said that the Son was a created being lower than the Father.

And Arianism denied not only the deity of Christ, the full divinity of Jesus, but really the Trinity. And Arius spoke at Nicaea and argued rather vehemently for his position. And the bishops there were listening. Now it's very interesting that while Arius was arguing this heretical position that denied the deity of Christ, one of the people there that was listening was St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, which was in northern Turkey. And St. Nicholas at Nicaea got up, crossed the room and slapped Arius in the face, history tells us. The bishops were amazed, and St. Nicholas began to argue for the deity of Jesus Christ. Well, history tells us that Nicholas was thrown in jail overnight, and they were also at the council going to have to make a decision about what to do with them. But he prayed. Constantine demanded that St. Nicholas be freed, and he was fully reinstated to his role and remained as the Bishop of Myra. But the Council of Nicaea agreed and stood with the views of St. Nicholas. And whenever we recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed, we're echoing these biblical truths.

They phrased it this way. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only begotten, that is the essence of the Father, God of God, light of light, God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made in heaven and in earth, who for us and for all men, for our salvation came down and was incarnate and was made man. Now Jesus wasn't man-made, but he was made man. God took on a human body and became the babe born of the virgin's womb, laid in a manger, and went to the cross to die and pay for our sins. And so thank God for Christ. Thank God for Christmas. Thank God for the reality of the virgin birth. And we can quote Isaiah from 750 years before the birth of Jesus. Isaiah 9 verse 6 said, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And my prayer for you as you have Christmas and spend time with those you love, but most of all, the one that I hope you know and love and spend intimate time with every day is the Lord Jesus Christ because he is what Christmas is all about. Thank you. God bless you.