The Importance of the Virgin Birth

The Patriarch Moses - “The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14,15)

The Prophet Isaiah - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

The Historian Luke 1:26-31 - “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed1 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!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:26-31)

The Apostle’s Creed - I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried…

The Westminster Shorter Catechism 1:22 - Question - How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Answer - Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.

B.B. Warfield - “I can only say that I have myself no doubt whatever of the fact of the supernatural birth of Jesus, as that fact is recorded in the opening chapters of the gospels of Matthew and Luke.” (Biblical and Theological Studies, The Supernatural Birth of Jesus, p. 157)

J. Gresham Machen - “In the first place, it may be held that the Church came to believe in the virgin birth for the simple reason that the virgin birth was a fact; the reason why the creed came to say that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary is that He was actually so conceived and so born.” (The Virgin Birth of Christ, p. 1)

James Montgomery Boice - “The doctrine of the virgin birth is not neglected today because it has been disproved. Quite the opposite is the case. It is disregarded out of simple unbelief.” (The Christ of Christmas, p. 28)


This time of year reminders of the supernatural are all around us. With angelic visitations, men who go mute, and old women and virgins who conceive, the Christmas story is full of the miraculous. Christianity is supernatural religion and there are no two ways around it. Throughout redemptive history God has intervened in the course of history in supernatural ways. When the Children of Israel were released from the bondage of Egypt there was an intensification of the miraculous, because deliverance had come. And surrounding the birth of Jesus there was an intensification of the miraculous, because the Deliverer has come.

Believing in the supernatural, miraculous virgin birth is not popular these days. Hyper-rationalism, anti-supernaturalism, and anti-Christian philosophies carry the day. In this age of enlightenment the doctrine of the virgin birth is relegated to archaic ignorance and superstition. Unless we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it, it cannot possibly be true. For the Christian, to believe in Jesus is to gladly acknowledge and embrace the virgin birth. The Christian faith is not the Christian faith without it. In theoffspring of the virgin’s womb God did the impossible. In the virgin birth God and man intersected. In a supreme act of divine condescension God humbled Himself to take on human flesh in the womb of a virgin and in the form of a helpless baby. The virgin birth was as necessary to secure our salvation as the crucifixion and resurrection, because in the virgin birth there is a ‘…uniting of full deity and full humanity.’ (Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 530) The Christian rejoices with the angels in the virgin birth because this is good news of great joy (Luke 2:10). In the sweeping magnificence of God’s redemptive work in Christ the offspring of the virgin’s womb will save to the uttermost all those who trust in Him. Rejoice, hope has come!

Rejoicing with you in the virgin birth,

Dan

The Market Day of the Soul

“Hail, thou that art highly favored of God, thou map of heaven, thou golden spot of the week, thou market day of souls, thou daybreak of eternal brightness, thou queen of days, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among days. All the graces triumph in thee, all the ordinances conspire to enrich thee; the Father ruleth thee, the Son rose upon thee, the Spirit hath overshadowed thee. On thee light was created, the Holy Ghost descended, life hath been restored, Satan subdued, sin mortified, souls sanctified, the grave, death and hell conquered! Oh, how do men and women flutter up and down on the weekdays, as the dove on the waters, and can find no rest for their souls till they come to see their ark, till thou put forth thy hand and take them in. Oh, how they sit under thy shadows with great delight, and find thy fruits sweet to their taste! Oh, the mountings of the mind, the ravishing of the heart, the solace of the soul which on thee enjoy in the blessed Savior.”

- George Swinnock (1675), quoted in The Market Day of the Soul, by James T. Dennison, p. 3

"If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

- Isaiah 58:13-14

“For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

- Matthew 12:8


A recent visitor to COR sent me an email and mentioned Swinnock’s quote (see above) calling Sundays, “the market day of the soul”. That got me thinking. I was reminded of how often I skate into our Lord’s Day meetings and often the last things on my mind are calling this day a delight, and considering Jesus Christ as the Lord of the Sabbath. It seems to be easy to get caught up in the pronounced busyness of Sunday mornings and neglect the real reason for our Sunday gatherings. After all there is set-up and take-down, a resource table to put up, announcements to make, regulars to greet, visitors to greet, a sermon to consider, music, and all sorts of things to do. It seems like I can be so busy. But this day ought to truly be the market day of the soul. Because of the gospel labors of our Savior we have ceased from our labors and now enjoy true Sabbath rest.

On this day in particular, we have the body of believers gathered, songs are sung to God through the Risen Savior, the word is preached, offerings are given, the sacraments are administered, prayers are prayed, prophetic gifting is practiced, and a host of other things are engaged in that we don’t do at other times during the week. To love the Savior is to love Sundays as we gather with God’s people. These two things are inseparable, because this one day is the day that most resembles heaven. This one day ought to be the day most anticipated. This one day, of all days, ought to be our delight.

As I’ve thought about this I’ve been convicted to be more intentional about making the Lord’s Day a delight and to be more intentionally joyful on this day of days. Will you help me to remember? If you see me running around in a lather, because I’ve got so many things going on, please remind me to remember the Lord of the Sabbath and help me to make Sundays a delight.

Grateful for rest in the Savior,

Dan

What's the Big Deal with Christmas?

Dear Christ Our Redeemer Friends,

I lieu of my typical weekly email I’m sending you the message below. I was recently invited to speak at Firm Foundation Christian School in Battleground, WA. The body of the email was given as a message to the 6th through 10th grade classes at an assembly earlier today (12/5/07).


What’s the big deal with Christmas?

What’s the big deal with Christmas? I mean, you all probably know that Jesus was likely not born on December 25th, right? We don’t really know for sure when He was born. It’s likely close to that date, but no one knows for sure. But what about all of the other stuff going on? There are Christmas specials on TV. There are people in town with Christmas lights up. And there are decorations on display at the local stores. But what’s the big deal? Why is there something instead of nothing? Why don’t we celebrate “Merry Snow Day”? Or “Happy Leaves Falling Off the Trees Season”? Why Christmas, and what’s the big deal?

My suspicion is that if you asked most people on the street what Christmas is all about, they would respond with “family time” or “presents”, or “days off of school.” What is the big deal with Christmas? What about your own answer? If I were to ask you about Christmas, what could you tell me about it? Some might say, “It’s when we celebrate Jesus’ birth”, and that would be true. But is there more than that to it?

What’s the big deal with a baby being born? Babies are born all the time aren’t they? What was different about this baby? What was so special about him? Do you have any idea? What about being born of a virgin? That would be a big deal, but that isn’t it. He was born in a manger, and wasn’t that significant? He was born where all the cows and sheep slept. He was born in a barn. Is that the big deal? Okay, what about the shepherds that saw a number of angels, and then the angels told them certain things about the baby. That’s a pretty big deal right? It’s not everyday your minding your own business as a shepherd and a bunch of angels appear and tell you about a special baby being born. But, is that it? Could it be that Christmas is a big deal because of the Magi? Those were the guys that were the wise men. They were the ones that brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn baby. That’s a big deal, right? He must have been a pretty special baby for men of learning and wisdom to bring him gifts. Is that it?

I’m going to give you a big word to confound your friends and amaze your parents. When they ask you what you learned in school today, you can tell them this new word. Here’s how it’s spelled, i-n-c-a-r-n-a-t-i-o-n. Christmas is a big deal because of The Incarnation. Do you know what it means? Incarnation means the "act of being made flesh" or “enfleshment”. Hold your left hand up and shake it. Now pinch it. Did it hurt? It hurt because you are made out of flesh. You aren’t a ghost or a disembodied spirit. You are made out of flesh and blood and bones. But you’ve always been made out of flesh and blood and bones. You were never a disembodied spirit. Christmas is a big deal because a long time ago in a faraway place God took on flesh and blood and bones. God became a man. Christmas is a big deal because it’s about the Incarnation. God, who had never known what it was like to actually be made of flesh and blood and bones, became like us in Jesus Christ. He could have shaken his hand and pinched it and it would have hurt him. He became like you and me. Christmas is a big deal because God came in the flesh as a helpless child. In the mystery of the Trinity the eternal Son took on flesh and became a tiny infant.

Now, if you are smart kids, and I am assuming you are, you should be asking yourselves, why? Not, why you are smart kids, but why the Incarnation? Why did Jesus have a body like ours and what difference would it make? Some religions say that Jesus was just a spirit. They say he was just a spirit and not a body, because it would be bad if God had a body. But that isn’t what the Bible says. The Bible says in John 1:14, “...the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” In Jesus Christ God lived here on earth in a real body made of flesh and blood and bones and nerves and emotions. You could touch him, he could speak to you in an audible voice, and he slept and ate and did everything like you and me. But why? Why did he do this? Why did he become a man?

In Jesus Christ God became a man, but there’s something he did not do. He did not sin. The fact of the matter is that all of us have a terrible problem. It’s not just me, it’s all of us. We do the one thing that Jesus did not do. We sin. In fact we sin every day, and not just once a day, but a number of times in a day. We think bad thoughts, we say bad things, we do bad things every day, and day after day. Christmas is a big deal because of the Incarnation. God became a man and not just any man; he became a man without sin. He never had a bad thought, he never said a bad thing, and he never did anything bad. He was always doing everything at all times in perfection to his Father’s will. Have you ever watched the movie Narnia or read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? Do you remember the part where Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus and Mr. Tumnus is plotting how to kidnap Lucy? He finally comes to his senses and begins to confess the plot to Lucy and he begins to tell her about the White Witch that has cast a spell on Narnia. Mr. Tumnus says of the White Witch,

“Why, it is she that has got all of Narnia under her thumb. It’s she that makes it always winter. Always winter, and never Christmas; think of that!” [1]

Without the Incarnation, without God coming in the flesh, it would always be winter and never be Christmas. Something had to be done with our sin. A price had to be paid to satisfy the wrath of God for our sin. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah told about the coming of Jesus. In Isaiah 7:14-15 he said,

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (And)… he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.”

The name Immanuel means “God with us”. And then before Jesus’ birth an angel appeared to Joseph and told him not to be afraid. And then the angel then began telling him what would happen to Mary and said,

“ “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:21-23)

What’s the big deal with Christmas? The big deal with Christmas is that God became a man in the Incarnation, and he lived a perfect life of obedience, and died on a Cross to satisfy the Father’s wrath for our sins, and then he rose again from the dead. The big deal about Christmas is the Incarnation, and the big deal about the Incarnation is the Cross and the Resurrection. You see, without Christmas there is no Easter, and without Easter there is no hope for sinners. It’s all part of the same story, the story of redemption, where God saves sinners like you and me. What’s the big deal with Christmas? The big deal is that hope for us has come in the Incarnate Son of God. As Christians we ought to celebrate the Incarnation like nobody else. Let the celebration begin….


Forever grateful for the Incarnation, Dan