The Foundation of Christianity begins with the Virgin Birth!

12.15.2024

Luke 1:26-35

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, (27) to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (28) And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (29) But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. (30) Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (31) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. (32) He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (33) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (34) Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (35) And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, 8 He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

The very foundation of Christianity begins with the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.

There can be no faith for salvation without belief in the Virgin Birth.

In a large way, America has moved away from its Christian roots. Jesus Christ has lost His place in speaking to the morals of our generation.

In a moment I want to read you a quote from over 80 years that I believe was intentionally prophetic.

If people don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, if people have no consciousness of sin, and if people don’t believe in punishment for sin after death in hell and then in the lake of fire, then that group of people will see little need for a Savior who died for us.

Let’s look at that statement a little closer:

If people don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired, Word of God,

That belief has been minimized today with the Bible being taken out of the classroom in our schools.

That doesn’t mean that the Bible is any less inspired than it ever was, it just means that it’s influence has been diminished.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV)

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is God speaking to us.

It is inspired writing. It is from the Holy Spirit.

We need the attitude that Mary had when the angel Gabriel appeared to her!

Luke 1:38 (NKJV)

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

We need to say that about ourselves – be it u to me according to your word!

The Bible provides a moral compass for sinful, wicked people.

Psalms 119:105 (NKJV)

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

If people don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God,

…if people have no consciousness of sin,

The word “sin” is not commonly used outside of church life.

The belief today is that we are all good.

There is an emphasis on self in public learning. Let a child be what it wants to be, and don’t correct.

That comes from a belief that we are intrinsically good within and that we are not sinful.

If you believe that, then there is no need for a savior.

Psalms 51:5 (NKJV)

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

Psalms 51:5 (NLT)

For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

Our condition is summarized by Paul in Romans 3:

Romans 3:10-18 (TPT)

10 And the Scriptures agree, for it is written:

There is no one who always does what is right,

no, not even one!

11 There is no one with true spiritual insight,

and there is no one who seeks after God alone.

12 All have deliberately wandered from God’s ways.

All have become depraved and unfit.

Kindness has disappeared from them all,

not even one is good.

13 Their words release a stench,

like the smell of death—foul and filthy!

Deceitful lies roll off their tongues.

The venom of a viper drips from their lips.

14 Bitter profanity flows from their mouths,

only meant to cut and harm.

15 They are infatuated with violence and murder.

16 They release ruin and misery wherever they go.

17 They never experience the path of peace.

18 They shut their eyes to the awe-inspiring God!

(Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible Notes)

Romans 3:9:

All the world is under sin, and yet sin is considered an archaic topic in our secular society. It is not hard to guess why. Vice is something done against oneself; crime is something done against society or an individual; but sin is against God. Since modern culture is essentially atheistic, “sin” has become a meaningless term.

Romans 3:23 (NLT)

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

Matthew 15:19 (NLT)

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,

and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

If people don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God,

…if people have no consciousness of sin,

…and if people don’t believe in punishment for sin after death in hell, and then in the lake of fire,

Matthew 5:29-30 (NLT)

So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

Revelation 21:8 (NLT)

But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 20:15 (NLT)

And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

If people don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God,

…if people have no consciousness of sin,

…and if people don’t believe in punishment for sin after death in hell, and then in the lake of fire,

…then they see little need for a Savior who died for us.

Then John 3:16 means nothing:

John 3:16 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

If people don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, if people have no consciousness of sin, and if people don’t believe in punishment for sin after death in hell and then in the lake of fire, then that group of people will see little need for a Savior who died for us.

Sadly, that is where America is right now!

Belief in the Bible makes people in sin uncomfortable. And our culture is all about doing what we want to do, period.

John 3:19-20 (NLT)

And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

Also, political correctness, and the mass immigration from other countries of people from faiths other than Christianity has created a melting pot of beliefs.

Multiculturalism is urging us to mute our voices, and not be bold about our beliefs.

Persecution and vilification of Christians is here.

For these reasons, we need to know what we believe and why, and be able to kindly and lovingly share our faith.

It is time to wake up and be lovingly bold with what you believe!

Listen to this quote from the early part of the last century. Today it stands as a prophetic warning to America.

Quote From The Name of Jesus by E. W. Kenyon

Taken from The Wonderful Name of Jesus by E. W. Kenyon (Lynnwood, Washington: Kenyon’s Gospel Publishing Society, 1964), pages 13-14.

The deity of the Man of Galilee is the crux [the most important part] of Christianity. If this can be successfully challenged, then Christianity has lost its heart and it will cease to function; it will become a dead religion.

There is no denial that the challenge of His Deity has already had it reactionary effect upon society.

If Jesus is not Deity, He is not Lord. If He is not Lord, then He cannot interfere with our moral activities. If He is not Lord, then the laws that have been founded upon His teaching have lost their force. The morals that surround marriage with its lofty ideals have no basis of fact. If Jesus of Nazareth is not a revelation from God with Divine authority, then He is but a man. If He is but a man, all we have built around Him must be destroyed, and we have built around this Man our modern civilization.

He has been the inspiration of young men: they have kept themselves clean and pure as they have looked upon His wonderful life and sought to win His smile. Young women in the secret of their chamber have looked upon the face of the Man of Galilee and have pledged to preserve the purity of their womanhood that they might be found worthy of the love and confidence of the Man Who died two thousand years ago for humanity.

Children have been incited to obedience and purity by the example and teachings of this man. Business men have been deterred from crooked dealings by the consciousness that one day they would meet that Man and give account of the deeds done in their office.

Men of all walks of life have felt a strange kinship with this man Who walked the shores of Galilee, solitary among a multitude. To say He was but a good man is an insult. To say that He was the highest expression of Deity in humanity is to throw the lie into His face. Jesus is or He is not what He said He was. We have no record of His sayings nor of His doings outside the four gospels, and if we repudiate them, then we have but a mythical picture of the Man. If we challenge one of them, we have a right to challenge all of them: either He stands or falls on these four biographical sketches. If He is not the Son of God, who is He?

I want to believe that He is an incarnation. I want to believe that He dealt with the sin problem. I want to believe that He died for my sins and that He rose again for my justification. I want to believe that He is seated at God’s right hand today as the Intercessor and Mediator of the human race. I want to believe that what He said about heaven is true: In My Father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself.

Skepticism holds no guarantee for my future. Civilization has not only been builded around this man, but He has been builded into civilization. If you destroy His character, His standing, His place, then civilization must disintegrate. The wave of crime and lawlessness that is sweeping over the land is but a byproduct of the modernists’ challenge of His integrity.

Our issues as a nation are because of sin. Our issues as individuals are because of personal sin.

The answer to sin is Jesus Christ.

He forgives sin.

He provides a way for the nature of sin to be removed. It is called the New Birth.

Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NKJV)

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Action Points:

1. Do you believe that Jesus’ mother was a virgin?

2. Does your belief in Jesus’ Virgin Birth change how you live your life?

3. What changes do you need to make in your life that would be a witness to those around you who do not believe in the Virgin Birth?