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A Virgin Birth? You're Not Serious!

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

Over 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah the prophet spoke these words concerning the conception and birth of the Messiah which were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ.  Believing this is paramount, to believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Why was it important that Christ’s mother was a virgin?  There are several reasons, but first the problem.  The fallen or sin nature of Adam, who rebelled against God, was also passed on from generation to generation to all of mankind to this very day.  All men have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  That means that all men have been separated from God, who is Holy, yet God loves His creation and has created a plan to redeem (restore us to Himself) all men and women who will believe in His plan.  In order to redeem the fallen human race there needed to be a genuine human being who could live a sinless life as Adam and Eve did before they fell.  No animal sacrifice could accomplish this, though perhaps millions of animals were sacrificed by the Hebrews, which was necessary at the time. No angel would qualify since angels are not created in the image of God as mankind is.  No human can do this since we are all born into the fallen nature of Adam and no one has ever, nor can ever, live a sinless life.  Therefore all humans are disqualified.  But the Redeemer (Savior) must be a genuine human, and sinless, which is a real problem because “the iniquities (sins) of the fathers are passed unto their sons”.   

Only God could solve this seemingly impossible dilemma and He did so by coming to earth Himself, by being born of a human woman.  The child conceived in Mary was not by a man. Had He been fully human, He would have had the sinful nature of his human father and failed.  But He was conceived by God’s Holy Spirit!  This made the child, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human.  Jesus Christ’s life was the fulfillment of over 300 prophecies, including Isaiah 7:14!  

Today liberal theologians and pastors will argue that Isaiah 7:14 should not be translated as “a virgin conceiving a son”, but as “a young woman conceiving and bearing a son”.  But “a young woman conceiving and bearing a son” would not be anything unusual, though it is completely unusual for a virgin to conceive. In fact it is miraculous!  

Why is it so important that we believe in the virgin birth of Christ?  Because if Jesus was just a “good” man who claimed to have died for the sins of the world, he would have died in vain because He too would have been like any other human…flawed and enslaved to sin.  The fact that He was fully God and fully man qualifies Him as a sinless offering for the sins of all mankind, since He was tempted like all men, yet resisted all temptation to sin and lived a pure, sinless life. Thus He willingly gave His life for ALL mankind and this was acceptable to God.

Jesus died and then rose from the dead for you…and me. But you have a choice in this matter - to ignore this gift or to accept. If you will willingly give your life to Jesus, He will accept you. He will begin to change you from the inside by changing you from the propensity to sin, giving you the power to overcome the sinful desires in your life!  Don’t know where to start?  Start where I once did.  Kneel down and tell Him that you are a sinner. (He knows that already.) Ask Him to forgive you and change your sinful desires.  Tell Him you forgive those who have hurt you and ask Him to forgive you for hurting others.  Tell Him that you commit your life to Him and ask Him to please fill you with His presence and His Spirit. He will do this, for He is faithful and does not lie!  Afterward, begin to read your Bible, starting in the book of John and reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and the rest of the Bible (or listen to it).  Oh yes, several last things….you need to tell someone that you gave your life to Jesus, look for a church that preaches and teaches the Bible and also be water baptized.  You will now have experienced the greatest Christmas present ever! Merry Christmas and welcome into the Family of God!

For questions email or call at church@newlifealpeana.org or 989-954-0095.

Pastor Gary A. Smith
New Life Christian Fellowship
Alpena, MI


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