Dan Eakin/Contributing writer
Do we actually believe in a God who can create a baby in a virgin’s womb, or who can, three days after a man has died, raise him from the tomb?
Do we believe in a God of miracles, who can make things happen which cannot be scientifically explained?
Is it necessary to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin in order to be saved or to be a real Christian?
Is it necessary to believe that Jesus literally, bodily and physically arose from the dead in order to be saved or to be a real Christian?
My answer to both of these questions is yes.
Let me answer the second one first, straight from the Bible.
Romans 10:9; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
To not have a risen Savior is to have no Savior at all. We must believe the Bible. We must believe that the story in Matthew 28 and in the other gospels about the resurrection are true. To not believe is to deny the very Word of God.
Now let’s get back to the first question.
If Jesus was not born of a virgin, then he would have been an illegitimate son. What an insult! What a bold denial of who Jesus was and is! If he was the son of Joseph, or the son of a Roman soldier as some unbelievers have dared to claim, that would mean he was not the son of God.
Do you believe in a God of miracles? Do you believe in a God who is so omnipotent that he can speak things into existence? “And God said, let there be light, and there was light.:” Genesis 1:3
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3
God, who created nature, is a supernatural God who can do supernatural things.
An old song says:
“My father is omnipotent, and that you can’t deny, a God of might and miracles, tis written in the sky; It took a miracle to hang the stars in space, It took a miracle to put the world in place, but when he saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole, it took a miracle of love and grace.”
Yes, and this same God can cause his Spirit to come upon Mary and allow her to have a baby without ever having been with a man.
And as to the resurrection, though science cannot explain it, the Bible tells us that it happened. It also says the resurrected Christ was seen of “above 500 persons” at one time. I Corinthians 15:6. That’s a lot of witnesses. Matthew 28 tells the wonderful story of the angel appearing to the women at the empty tomb and announcing, “He is not here, he is risen, as he said.”
As to the virgin birth, it was a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son..” Then, the wonderful literal appearance, not a dream, by an angel to Mary, in Luke 1:26-35:
- 26 And in the sixth month (of Elizabeth’s pregnancy) the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth
- 27 to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
- 28 And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.
- 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
- 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou has found favor with God,
- 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son and shalt call his name JESUS
- 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David.
- 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
- 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
- 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Yes, it is important that we believe it all. “He left the spender of heaven, knowing his destiny was the lonely hill of Golgotha, there to lay down his life for me..” And because we believe, we can rejoice and lift up our hearts and sing to a Savior who died for us, paid the price for our sins with his own blood, who rose again, ascended to the Father and will one day, and we hope soon, come again in power and great glory!