Quick Explanation of the Necessity of the Virgin Birth

The virgin birth is something that is mocked and ridiculed by our world today but it is something fundamental to our Christian faith.

Bible Not True

For one…without the virgin birth, the Bible is not true!

The Bible repeatedly says that Jesus was born of a virgin.

And if that’s not true how can we trust the Bible.

How could we really know that He died on the cross for our sins or that He rose again.

Without the virgin birth Scripture is not inerrant or infallible…its not the Word of God and the foundation of our faith comes crumbling down.

The Gospel

And also, if we lose the virgin birth we lose the very gospel itself.

For Jesus to save us from our sins he had to be a Suitable Substitute who could actually pay for our sins.

It was man that sinned against God.

That’s why the blood of bulls and goats can do nothing to pay for our sins (Hebrews 10:4).

The wages of sin is death and man is the one that owes that debt (Romans 6:23).

But here’s the problem. No man can pay that debt for themselves let alone anyone else.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

And so not only did we need a Suitable Substitute, we needed a Pure Substitute, one who didn’t have any sin or guilt of His own and one who didn’t inherit the sin or guilt of Adam.

What theologians call original sin.

And its not that Mary didn’t have any sin of her own like the Catholics believe, or that men are the only ones who have anything to do with passing on Adam’s sin.

Its none of that.

Its that we inherit the guilt of Adam’s sin through Adam as our Federal Head.

Adam is our Father and we inherit Adam’s guilt covenantally…In the Garden he stood as our Federal Head and representative representing us before God, and so when Adam sinned we all sinned.

We all fell in Him.

But through the virgin birth Christ descended from Adam without being in Adam.

Christ had no earthly father.

Like the first Adam, Christ’s Father was God making Him and new Adam…a new Federal Head and representative for all who believe in Him.

So just as we inherited Adam’s guilt covenantally, in the New Covenant through faith in Christ we are transferred from Adam to Christ and we inherit Christ’s righteousness as our own.

That’s what we call justification.

We are declared righteous in Him.

As Paul says For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor 15:22).

And Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Through the virgin birth, Christ was born in the likeness of sinful flesh, that Romans 8:3, and yet He was without sin, that Hebrews 4:15.

And in doing so, He was both a Suitable Substitute and a Pure Substitute...

A Suitable Sacrifice who as a man had the legal authority to for our sins…

And a Pure Sacrifice who had no sin of His own and who could actually pay for our sins with His perfect and sinless life and purchase our forgiveness with God.

So you see, the virgin birth is actually core to our faith.

Without it we have nothing.