Over time people change and so do what they believe. Throughout history there have been mighty men of faith and belief that have spurred the church to greatness and many who have destroyed its credibility for a time. There have been times where it was fashionable to be a Christian and many times where it was not. There have been times where the church has stood strong and times where the church or portions of the church was weak. Should you believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ or should you consider it an old wives tale to be laughed at and then tossed in the garbage? Back in the time of terrible decay of theology in the Southern Baptist Seminaries there was a man by the name of Clark Pinnock. He was a young man and full of great potential, so much so that he was picked by the board of trustees and encouraged by many others to accept a teaching position at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The hope was that by having him in the seminary he could be an influence to turn the seminary back to conservative teaching. What happened was that no one stood with him, and he began to be discouraged and battered by the attacks of those who did not agree with his doctrinal positions. He eventually slipped into heresy. I do not know the full timeline of events but now Clark Pinnock is a proponent of the doctrine known as Open Theism or God does not know the future he is jus a good guesser. Where is the hope in a god who just happens to guess correctly? Where is the hope in a god who just happened to guess correctly that his son would be rejected and crucified in order to pay for our sins? Yet the Old Testament is full of prophecies of the coming Messiah we now proclaim as Christ. In Hebrews 13 we see three encouragements to continue to believe in doctrines such as the Virgin Birth.
First we see in verse 7 that there is a heritage of faith. The Hebrews are encouraged to remember those who led you. Remember those teachers who have come before me. I would say to you, remember not only what I bring to you on Sunday mornings but what pastor Howard has brought to you, and your pastor before that and so on and so on. The Lord speaks through all sorts of people. Remember what they bring to you as the Word of God. Then verse 7 says who spoke the word of God to you. Don’t remember their stories or what was their favorite team or the fact that I like soccer or the times that I mess up in a sermon but remember what the Lord says through me that glorifies him and points to his Word. Then the author says consider their conduct and imitate their faith. Now this is not saying any pastor you have imitate their faith. Some pastors have not an ounce of faith in them. Some pastors live like a heathen Monday through Saturday clean up on Sunday morning and then profess to be completely clean and faithful. Listen to their teaching. If their teaching matches the Scripture imitate their faith. If they are who they profess to be, follow them to the glory of God. Remember those who went before you.
How many of you know why Baptists observe the Lord’s Supper once a quarter? It began before there were Baptists, with a man by the name of Ulrich Zwingli. In protest of the misuse of communion in the corrupt Catholic church of his day he led his followers in observing it once a quarter. Baptists came into existence and took up the tradition. Throughout the history of the church there are many great pastors and theologians we should remember who have defended the faith and specifically the Virgin Birth. Men like Augustine, Chrysostom, Athanansius, Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Edwards, Whitefield, Wesley, Moody, MacArthur, Patterson, and the list could literally go on and on.
We do not come to today holding to the Virgin Birth because we have been brainwashed or are weakminded but because throughout the centuries the doctrine has been defended and supported with clear logic, reasoning and faith. What kind of a Savior would we have if he was born of a father and a mother? We would have a man born into a sin nature like you and me. But because his father is God he is perfect and complete. Because his mother was a real woman, he is human like you and me. Without the Virgin Birth there would be no salvation.
The second encouragement we see is that God does not change. You say what a minute the verse says that Jesus does not change? Let me rephrase and clarify, Jesus is the Unchanging God. Yes Jesus is not only God he is the GOD. No questions, no hesitation. There is no other. Verse 8 says that he is the same yesterday and today and forever. Who he was yesterday is the same as who he is today. There is not one single change. Who he was yesterday is the full and required and complete God and Lord and Savior that we needed. Who he is today is the full and required and complete God and Lord and Savior that we need. Who is from today to the end of time is the full and required and complete God and Lord and Savior that we will need. The God that we serve today is the God that King David served. The God that we serve today is the God that Adam and Eve sinned against in the Garden of Eden. The God that we serve today is the God that will one day bring all things into perfection and peace.
Have you ever had a boss where you could never figure out what they wanted? One day you come in and you do your work and you receive praise for your work. The next day you come in and do the same thing and nothing is right for your boss. So you come in the next day and try something different and nothing is right. So the next day you come in and do the same thing and you receive nothing but praise for your work. Well, with God everyday it is the same thing required, perfection. He requires perfect holiness and unfortunately without Christ we will never achieve that required perfection. Everyday he is perfection and everyday of your salvation through faith in Christ alone, Christ is your perfection. He is standing on your behalf before God the Father and claims you as his own.
John 14:6 will always be true. He will always be the only way to the Father. He will always be the only way to salvation.
In verse 9 we see our third encouragement and that is to stand on a heritage of teaching based in God’s grace. The verse says do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings. Teachings of a wide and diverse sort. Think through even the past fifty years or so and consider the diverse and numerous cults that have risen and gone. Each cult had a different take on certain passages or a new teaching that the leader had received directly from God or Jesus. The Branch Davidians of Waco TX believed Koresh was Christ come again and he was interpreting the seven scrolls and their destiny was to die in a battle with the law enforcement. So those who survived missed their “eternity.” The group heaven’s gate was attempting to reconnect to their higher being by allowing their souls to be freed and catch a UFO flying in the tail of the Hale Bop comet that was passing at the time. Teachings wide and varied compared to the teachings of Scripture. We could go on and on, but notice that the Word of God does not change. These groups for the most part come and go, but the church still stands on the same teachings from the beginning. The core doctrines of the church have never changed. The deity of Christ was asserted and accepted from the beginning. If you read the Gospel of John, Christ is God. The early church worshipped Christ as God. Throughout history the church has worshipped Christ as God. The heritage of teaching through history points to Christ as God. The heritage of teaching is that Christ was born of a virgin. When we look at this doctrine, it is required in order for God’s grace to be realized in our world. The Virgin Birth is required for Christ to be God’s Son. We celebrate Christmas as when God came in the flesh. Without the Virgin Birth then we have a very good man adopted by God as his son. With the Virgin Birth we have God in the flesh who is the Son of God. Without the grace of God in teaching from the Word of God then we have nothing.
Imagine hearing a sermon preached on Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now imagine that throughout the sermon they continually talk about our sin nature and how we are imperfect in our natures, but they never once point us back to God’s grace. You are a sinner and there is no hope for salvation because we are imperfect and unrighteous. Have a great day. Reminds me of a church sign I once saw. On one side it said, All sinners will burn in hell. The other side said, Have a nice day. Well, it is true that sinners will burn in hell, but there is this thing called grace. There is this thing called truth and do not compromise the truth but part of that truth is grace.
Matthew 1:21- You shall call his name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. Born of a virgin that he might be a perfect sacrifice for our sins. God gave of himself in order that we would have the opportunity to receive his grace. God gave himself in order that his grace would be received and have a righteous people to call his. Is his grace yours? Have you received and accepted his grace made available through his son on the cross? Without the death of Christ there would be no salvation. Without God’s grace there is no salvation.
1. Measure all teaching according to the Word of God.
2. Seek to proclaim Christ alone.
3. Worship Christ as God.
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