Do You Believe in the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus? by Jon W. Quinn

(Reprinted from the March, 2000 online edition of The Expository Files, http://www.geocities.com/~expository/)

Well, I suppose I do believe in the "virgin birth" of Christ, but it has been brought to my attention recently that the term is somewhat of a misnomer. While events leading to the birth of Jesus were miraculous, the fact is that as far as I can tell His birth was purely natural. It was His conception nine months before that was supernatural. Jesus had no human biological father, but the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and an egg cell became an embryo by miracle. An infant developed naturally within Mary's womb for about nine months and then when the due date came Jesus was born in the natural way. For a more complete study of this and other circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus, see The Gospel of Matthew by Kenneth L. Chumbley; pages 24-35.

Of course, the significance of this is that Jesus is God's Son, the promised one. The angel later appears to Joseph to assure him of Mary's chastity and explains how in her the ancient prophecy given through Isaiah was to be fulfilled: "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name 'Immanuel,' which translated means, 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:20-23).

The evidence that Jesus is who He claimed to be is overwhelming. His miraculous conception is merely one of a very great many others. His coming was anticipated by the Old Testament Scriptures written down centuries before. The birth on that long ago night in the little village of Bethlehem (also prophesied centuries before) to a young woman who was a descendant of David (also prophesied centuries before) and of the tribe of Judah (also prophesied centuries before) whose baby would shortly be hunted by a murderous king willing to kill other infants in the attempt to kill Jesus (also prophesied centuries before) was all written in the prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, documents that predate Jesus' birth by over one hundred years, we find that these prophecies do indeed predate Jesus and had not been later altered to make them fit the events.

I hope the significance of all this is not lost on anyone. The identity of Jesus as God in the flesh is most certainly assured, as the angel said, Jesus' birth means "God with us." It is best that we recognize the fact and treat Him accordingly.

Why Did God Write the Bible? by Ross Saunders

(Reprinted from the March, 2000 on-line edition of Truth Factor Web-zine, http://www.TruthFactor.com/)

Someone once said, "God just wrote the Bible to make people miserable." Obviously, that person had never read the Bible, for this writer has found no book as comforting, enlightening and promising as the Bible. God gives us his reason for writing the Bible. Get your Bible and study with me.

The Bible, as a book, is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written with the "finger of God" (Exodus 31:18), and given to Moses (2 Chronicles 34:14) to be taught (Exodus 24:12), to be obeyed (Joshua 1:18) and for success. God wrote the Old Testament because of man's sins. The Old Testament contains the knowledge of sin (Romans 7:7). It is filled with examples of people's sins, and God's punitive response that was often complete destruction (Genesis 19:24-28). The sacrifices provided for under this law could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). We learn in Galatians 3:19, why God gave that law. "It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come." Verse 16 identifies the "seed" as Christ. God did not intend for the Law of Moses to extend beyond the death of Christ (Colossians 2:14-16; 2 Corinthians 3), which brings us to the reason God gave the New Testament.

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1: 1,7). "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; bear ye him" (Matthew IT 5) Today, God does not speak to us by Moses, but by His Son (Hebrews 1: 1-2). The New Testament contains "grace and truth," which are inseparable. "Grace" teaches and "truth" defines what is taught (Titus 2:11-12). Instead of defining sin, God wrote the New Testament as a message of redemption from sin, through the one sacrifice that could take away sin (I John 3:5), even Jesus Christ. This part of the Bible must be believed (John 20:30-31), and obeyed (Hebrews 5:8-9).

The Old Testament is not in force today. It was "glorious" (2 Corinthians 3) for its time and purpose, but the "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). God now brings "life and immortality to light through the Gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). We are to believe in the Old Testament as a tool of learning (Romans 15:4), but its observances were not commanded of us but for the Jews until Christ came (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Now He speaks to both Jew and Gentile by His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, sent by God's grace to reveal His terms of salvation from sin. Such should only make us rejoice, not miserable!

 Copyright 2000, Ross Saunders, Truth Factor. This article may be redistributed in whole by non-profit publications. All editorial rights belong to the author and Truth Factor Web-zine.

ONE OF LIFE'S SIMPLE TRUTHS

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace."