Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
Well, today we're considering another miracle. an essential truth of the Christian faith, and that is The truth that a virgin conceives. Uh to the unbeliever that sounds ludicrous. that Jesus is born of a human mother without the agency. of a human father.
Our subject is a profound one, a virgin. conceives. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. In our new Christmas study in the book of Luke, we began looking at the virgin birth and why it's so central to Christianity. Today, John shows us how this miracle reveals God's wisdom in planning our salvation and what Mary's beautiful response teaches us about trust and obedience.
Now, continuing in Luke chapter 1, here's Pastor John Monroe with his message: A virgin conceives. We're continuing today in Luke 1. where the angel Gabriel announces to a virgin named Mary that she will conceive And bear a son. You will be called Jesus. The virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ explains how the eternal infinite God.
enters our world in such a way that we can understand him and relate to him. This is an essential truth of the Christian faith. in this unique way. Our God enters into time and space. Surely we bow in worship.
As we consider God's grace in action. Yes, there is mystery that we'll never fully understand. But let's continue to look at this wonderful passage. As we think of a virgin conceiving. Let's read, as it's recorded, this wonderful passage in Luke chapter one.
And I'm going to read from verse 26. Through thirty-eight. In the six months, the angel Gabriel was sent from God. to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.
of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one. The Lord is with you. And she was greatly troubled at the saying, and try to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. For you have found favour with God. And behold. you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great. and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom. There will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be since I'm a virgin?
And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you. and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born shall be called holy. the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son.
And this is the six months with her. who was called Baron. for nothing. will be impossible. with God.
And Mary said Behold. I'm the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according. to your word. And the angel departed.
from her. Isn't that a brilliant, brilliant passage of scripture? The grace of God in action. Jesus is conceived of a virgin. Elizabeth It's going to give birth.
To John. A young woman and an old woman. And here the angel Gabriel announces to Mary, That although she is a virgin, engaged to a man called Joseph, verse 31, you're going to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Joseph. Jesus. From eternity, Jesus is the Son of God.
Now at his birth, he becomes additionally the son of Mary. That is Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly man and truly. God. And this virgin conception clearly is miraculous. Mary herself asked the question: How will this be?
It's not a question of unbelief like Zacharias. It's rather, well, how is this going to be done? You're telling me that I'm a virgin and I'm going to. Uh have a son. How is it going to be?
And our Lord Jesus, think of this. enters our world. The eternal God coming into time. The God who is so large that He is immeasurable, He is omnipresent. He comes into time and Space.
And he enters our world in a seemingly Impossible way. Think of the wisdom of God in planning the way of salvation. Nothing will be impossible with God. Because the miracle Of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and the virgin birth reminds us, surely it reminds us, that we need help from outside ourselves. Human solutions.
Human creativity. Human technology. Human therapy cannot solve the basic problems of sin. It's impossible for any one of us to save ourselves. We cannot redeem ourselves.
However well intentioned, However, many good things we do, however kind we are, however rich we are, however smart we are, we cannot redeem ourselves. We can't get rid of this terrible dilemma that all of us have that we are broken people because of sin. What's the answer? I can't save you. I'm in the same position as you are.
You can't save me, you're just like me. No, we need someone. who is like us but also different from us. And that is found In our Lord Jesus Christ, truly man and truly God. Jesus does not share our guilt As sinners.
He's sendless. But he bears our guilt. As a saviour Mary is told he will be called. Holy. Perfect holy.
Here is another uniqueness of our Saviour. That of all of the people who ever walked on this earth, Of all the people who were ever born, including ourselves, he is the only one. Who never sinned. Perfect. Never sinned in thought, never sinned in deed, never had to apologize, never had to ask his father for forgiveness.
From first to last, he is the Holy One of God, coming from the very presence of God into a very dark, sinful world. Like us. with this glorious exception. without sin. Therefore, He and He alone is the only qualified one who can redeem us, who can deliver us.
Yes, He's like us. He's a human being, but he's different from us. Because he's spotless. Lamb. Yeah.
He connects directly with the human race. Truly man. But he does not share. in the sin. of the human race.
How is that? He's conceived In the Virgin, by the Holy Spirit. You see how important the virgin birth is? This is not just some theological dogma to confuse people. This is essential to the message of the gospel, the sinlessness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we can understand this young woman, godly although she was, knowing the scriptures as she did, asking, how could this be? A miracle. The Holy Spirit is going to come upon you. The child to be born. is going to be called Holy.
The sun. Isn't that God's grace in action? What human mind could ever devise the plan of salvation? Paul is going to say to the Corinthians, who thought themselves very wise in their philosophy and their rhetoric, he's going to say, No, it's in the gospel. That we see not only the power of God, but the wisdom of God, a unique entrance into our world, and reminds us.
wonderfully, as we think of this grace of God in action. that our salvation Can I say your salvation? is to be received. As a gift. not achieved by what we do.
The new birth Our personal salvation also has to be God's grace in action. You can't pick yourself up. You can't cure yourself. What do we need? We need something miraculous.
We need the very life of God in our souls. That's why we sometimes call salvation as the new birth. New life from God.
something miraculous in our souls and in our hearts. that our Lord Jesus Christ comes into this world. to save us and to change us To wash away our sins. And how does this take place? Regeneration.
That's the theological word, regeneration, which means a new life. Being born again. All of God's grace. This is miraculous. It's not that we go through some spiritual ritual.
or go off to some monastery for 10 years and reiterate prayers and try to clean up our lives? No. We come. to Christ as we are. With her sin.
But turning from our sin and looking to Christ, looking to this perfect one. who has come into our world Not to condemn us, but to save us. The grace of God in action. Saving Lives Yes, but also changing lives. How can you receive the love of God and not be changed?
Think of the wonder of it. The Holy Spirit comes upon this woman. Yes, in that unique way, but before. We can ever be freed from our sins. You hear the little boys talking about freedom.
How does that freedom come? Quoting from John 8, you'll know the truth, and the truth will make you free. That is miraculous. The Holy Spirit. Showing Uh our sinful hearts.
The Holy Spirit shining the light. on our beautiful Lord Jesus Christ and saying, look to him. He's the Saviour of the world. You see him? Believe in him.
Trust in him. This is the work of the Holy Spirit as we come. And every single sin of us is washed away. As the psalmist says in Psalm 103, he separates our sins from the east. to the West.
All of our transgressions gone. And this is why our Lord Jesus, in speaking to a man who knew the Old Testament scriptures, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, says to Nicodemus, Yes, you know your Bible, but you've missed this. You must. Be born. Again.
And Nicodemus asked the question. How can a man be born when he's old? Does he got to go a second time into his mother's womb? And Jesus says, absolutely not. You're missing the point.
The Holy Spirit. It's gonna come. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. You need a new birth.
You need God's life. To dispel your darkness, dispel your sin. To open your eyes from your blindness so that you'll come into the light of God and follow Jesus who is the light. of the world. And the initiative And the power are all of God.
You must. Be born again. What did you experience? this miracle in your life. The miracle of conversion?
There are other miracles, I understand that, but here's one I face you with. Have you had And then culture. With God? to understand that your salvation is miraculous. Why would God reach down and save you?
Why would God reach down and save me? There's nothing special about me. How is this possible? Grace in Action.
Now there's grace of God. demands a response, doesn't it? Think of the beautiful response of Mary. We'll think a little more of it.
next week as we think of her song, the Magnificat we call it. Here She responds with humble worship. And a beautiful Surrender. Gabriel's come, announced the birth of John. Gabriel has come to Mary and announced the birth of Jesus.
Gabriel comes to Zacharias when he's in the temple. Gabriel comes to Mary when she's in the little obscure town of Nazareth. Ah, but what a difference. Zachariah, priest although he is. His knowledge of this scripture, I'm sure, was more than Mary's, as this young girl.
Um but Zachariah is characterized by Unbelief. Because you did not believe, Gabriel says to him in verse 20, you're going to be unable to speak. until the baby John is born. But what's the response of Mary? Perse thirty eight.
And Mary said Don't you love this response? Here she is in Nazareth. Never known anything like this.
Somebody an angel appeared to her before. What's her response? Unbelief? No. Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.
Let it be to me according Do your word. You can't improve on that response, can you? She's sovereignly chosen. To be the mother of the Messiah. Why, Mary?
She's not chosen because of her family. She's not chosen because of her education. She's not chosen because somehow she's greatly gifted. No, this is grace. God's grace and actions being poured out on a young woman Willing to serve God, whatever the task, whatever the cost.
You like that? Am I like that? Yes, she's a favored woman. She's not the mother of God, incidentally. The eternal God has no mother.
John describes Mary in relationship. To her son in John 2, verse 1, that she is the mother of Jesus. She's not the mother of the eternal God. But here she is. What did she do?
See, here's Gabriel. How can that be? I'm a virgin. Gabriel tells her, This is going to be miraculous. The Holy Spirit's going to come upon you.
Nothing will be impossible with God. Behold. I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according. to your word.
Don't you love that? Shobay is God. She trusts God for the future. A beautiful example, isn't it? of quiet Surrender.
This young woman is thoughtful, she's courageous, she's trusting God. She's humble. She's obedient. I'm going to do whatever you tell me to do. I am your...
Humble servant. I'm a servant. of the Lord. Whatever you tell me to do, I'm going to do it.
So he's not saying, well, what are the neighbours going to think? How am I going to explain this to Yeah. What's life going to be in store for me? That I'm going to be the mother of the Messiah? People shouldn't seem worried by such questions.
Here's the response. That God wants from each one of us, doesn't it? A humble Surrender. to the word and the will of God. Behold, I am the servant.
of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. That's what Zachariah should say. He knows better, he's older, he's an old man, he's a priest, he's in the temple, he knows the Old Testament. Who are you more like?
Second I'm not sure. Or Mary. We'd all like to think we're like Mary, but I'm not so sure are we? After the message last week, someone tried to say to me, you know. That Zechariah, I mean, how could you believe it?
The angel came to him, he was answering his prayers. How could he respond like that?
Well, look into your own heart. Do we always have a A spirit like Like Mary? Gabriel sent from God. With this announcement, what an example. of trusting God based on His promises.
God Is pouring his grace on the humble. This is God's grace in action. Have you experienced God's grace in your life? You know the promises of God. You know the word of God.
Do you accept them? You say, well, I've still got some questions. Yes, I do want to follow the Lord. I want to be his servant. I want to be characterized by humility, but.
I I'd like to know how the Lord is going to work this out. Mary's not like that. You're spoken? I obey. And as we'll read next week.
She gets buying. and goes to see her relative. Elizabeth. The king has come. Our Lord Jesus Christ.
And he will reign in his kingdom, as Mary is told. A kingdom which has no end. And Jesus is going to teach that The kingdom of God exists, we don't make the kingdom. The kingdom of God is here. The king has arrived in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The fullness of his kingdom is yet future. But now He calls on us to be like Mary and to be humble. And says, if you're like a child, you will enter the kingdom of God. And unless you're born again, you will not see, you will not enter the kingdom of God. And the only way to enter this kingdom, this everlasting kingdom, is by humility and is by the new birth as we turn from our sins and embrace our Savior.
You say, well, I've done that, John. I'm a follower of Christ. Are you obedient to his rule? We love the fact of Jesus as our Saviour, don't we? He's washed away all my sins.
But he's more than a saviour. He's also Lord, he's also king, and we are to vow to his kingship, and we're to vow to his lordship. Yes, when it's difficult, yes, when we don't know things will turn out, yes, when the day seems very, very dark. And the night seems very, very long. We are to trust God and claim His promises.
This. is the grace of God. in action. It's gonna be wonderful. We could pray like Mary.
Behold. I'm the servant of the Lord. Be it to me according to your words. Will you bring That thing you're fretting about, that worry, that anxiety. Will you lay it at the feet?
of this one who is great. Our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ, and say, I am your servant, Lord. Be it to me according. to your word. And some of you have never yet come to the Saviour and bowed before him and received him.
As your Savior and as your Lord, will you do that? Acknowledging that you're a sinner and you cannot save yourself. Right. To have talked about our Savior, you believe he is the sinless Son of God. And that he died on the cross, not for his own sins, because he was.
Thin less. But he died for our sins according to the scriptures. And say in your heart, I pray it will be, I trust you. No. as my Saviour and Lord.
This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, and the final part of a message on the virgin birth of Christ. Today's lesson, along with all of these daily messages, can be found and shared anytime by going online to theverdict.org.
Now John has more to share in just a moment, so keep listening. But first, do you ever struggle with doubts about your salvation? or wonder if it's possible to lose what God has given you in Christ. John has written a booklet that tackles these questions directly. It's called Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World.
Drawing from Scripture and his own testimony, John provides clarity on this important topic and offers genuine Biblical encouragement for those wrestling with assurance. We'd love to send you this booklet completely free of charge. just go to theverdict.org and request your copy of Eternal Security. And if these lessons and resources have helped you, Would you consider helping other listeners by supporting the verdict's gospel outreach with a donation of any amount? Through your giving, you'll be playing an important part in sharing the gospel with new listeners and communities across the globe.
You can give your tax-deductible gift today by going online to theverdict.org. And don't forget to subscribe to the Verdict podcast. In addition to these programs, John presents a weekly podcast called Avizandam, where he shares his personal thoughts on relevant topics like church and politics, the power of hope, and how to engage the culture for Christ. You can hear it all by subscribing to the Verdict Podcast.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in that which is mysterious? Do you believe that nothing is impossible with God? Rejoice in the wonderful grace of God.
who comes to us in this unique and miraculous way. the perfect Son of God, Born of a virgin. coming to be our Savior and reconcile us with God. Do you know him? Have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ?
This grace of God demands a personal response from each one of us. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
