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Born of a virgin: Hal Lindsey explains why the details of Jesus' birth are important
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Friday, December 27, 2002 | Hal Lindsey

Posted on 12/26/2002 11:19:46 PM PST by JohnHuang2

A survey conducted by the London Daily Telegraph last week found that more than a quarter of Church of England clergy do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ. Not only does that make you wonder where they studied, it makes you wonder why they bothered. Why is the virgin birth of Christ so important?

Since the sin of the human race is passed down through the father, Jesus had to be born without a human father. Otherwise He would have been born with the same curse of sin upon him as the rest of mankind. Thus He would not have qualified to bear the penalty of sin for us.

He had to have a human mother to have a true human nature, but as the Scripture clearly states, God Himself was the father of His human nature.

As it is written in the account of Mary's conception, "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.'" (Luke 1:35 NASB)

Once again, in sublime simplicity, profound truth is stated. God Himself is declared to be the one who impregnated Mary with the child Jesus. It is for this one reason He is called, "The Son of God."

He is the Son of God because God is the Father of His human nature.

Mary is not the mother of God – she is the mother of Jesus' human nature, which was sired by God.

If Jesus were born of a human father, then He could not have atoned for the sin of man. Nor could Jesus have qualified to pay for our sins if He were only a man.

He had to be both truly God and truly man united in one wonderful person. It was only in this way that He could be equal with both parties in the mediation and successfully purchase a pardon for sin.

This is why the report in the London Times is so terribly serious, "Of 500 clerics polled, 27 percent privately reject the traditional story of the birth of Jesus. The typical claim is there was nothing special about his birth; it was his adult life that was extraordinary. Many of the skeptics contend that the virgin birth story is the product of poor biblical translation of a Hebrew prophecy that first appeared in Isaiah and literary tradition rather than Divine intervention."

The Bible predicted that there would be apostate ministers teaching doctrines of demons in the days just before Christ returns. And here they are – they are proof of what time it is on God's prophetic clock.

Why did God become a man?

This is the heart of the mystery of all mysteries. When the Second Person of the Godhead stepped out of eternity into time to be joined to the human child Jesus, He made a marvelous declaration to God the Father. It is recorded in the Epistle to the Hebrews:

"But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, But a body Thou hast prepared for Me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast taken no pleasure.' Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book [Old Testament] it is written of Me) To do Thy will, O God.'" (Hebrews 10:3-7, NASB)

The writer points to the inadequacy of the Old Testament animal sacrifices for sin. They could not take sin away permanently. They could only temporarily cover sin until God's ultimate, predicted sacrifice came to permanently remove sin as a barrier between man and God.

So the Second Person of the Godhead speaks to the Father "when He comes into the world."

He then clearly tells us His mission: "Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me ?"

Jesus was born to bear our sins in His own body on the cross. He is the one sacrifice that could remove sin as a barrier to those who believe in Him and receive the pardon He purchased for us. He is our sacrifice.

He came to do God's will and, "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)

My Christmas wish

I pray that this will be the most important Christmas of your life. If you have never confessed to God that you are a sinner and received the gift of pardon purchased for you by the Son of God, then do so right now. You will change your eternal destiny in that moment.

God will begin to make changes in your life – He only wants you to be willing for Him to do it. But He does this for you as His child. He promises that He will never disown you.

For all of you who are already believers, I pray that you will marvel in the wonder of God's love and determine to love Him back.

Merry Christmas!


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To: 2sheep

Luke 1:76-79
    76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; 
       for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 
    77to give his people the knowledge of salvation 
       through the forgiveness of their sins, 
    78because of the tender mercy of our God, 
       by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 
    79to shine on those living in darkness 
       and in the shadow of death, 
   to guide our feet into the path of peace." 

The image of the Son of God as our bright and shining sun is lovely- and it is solidly Biblical. It has nothing to do with pagan imagery or sun worship and everything to do with His Being- as purest Light, as a purest sun, giving light of salvation.

21 posted on 12/28/2002 7:36:47 PM PST by Cleburne
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To: P-Marlowe
"Was not Jesus "God" before His birth (John 1)? Was she (Mary) not a "chosen vessel" to bring forth the human manifestation of an eternal (2nd) Person of the Trinity? How could Mary be the mother of God when God had no beginning?"

"Doesn't that make Mary even Greater than Jesus? Does that mean that Mary has existed from all eternity to all eternity and that indeed she existed before God?"


1. Yes, Jesus was God before his birth. Jesus was also God at his birth. Mothers give birth. Mary gave birth to Jesus. Jesus is God. Mary is the mother of God.
2. Yes, Mary was a "chosen vessel" to give birth to Jesus. Jesus, again, was God when he was born. He was not merely human when he was born and became God later. Jesus was not merely a human manifestation, he was fully God and fully man.
3. The fact that a woman gives birth to someone doesn't indicate they are greater. Neither does a a person have to exist from all eternity to give birth to one who did. This is a straw man argument that sets up a claim that is not made.
22 posted on 12/29/2002 9:09:29 AM PST by fidelis
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To: Simcha7; Codie; Prodigal Daughter; Thinkin' Gal; DBtoo; babylonian; Crazymonarch
Click here for this important link which explains the Babylonian roots of the "Mother of God" false doctrine.  It is important read.  This is also Diana of the Ephesians referenced in Acts 19:23-41.  Excerpt here:
"...like Rhea, Cybele, Diana, and the pagan goddesses who were counterparts of Semiramis. She stands as a universal symbol of "liberty," apart from the laws and commandments of God. She represents the "emancipation" of mankind, and "immigration" and "unity" and the coming together of many races to become one universal mankind, all peoples coming together to one land, uniting the nations as "one," with one language.

This is exactly what ancient Nimrod and Semiramis tried to do at the original "Tower of Babel," but God Almighty defeated their attempt by scattering the nations and confounding their languages (Gen.11:1-9).


23 posted on 12/29/2002 2:46:29 PM PST by 2sheep
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To: 2sheep; Thinkin' Gal; Codie; P-Marlowe; SMEDLEYBUTLER; babylonian
Shalom!

2Sheep, and also Thinkin'Gal, Codie, P-Marlowe, SMEDLEYBUTLER & ALL:

I read your posts concerning the: "Queen of Heaven" with great interest.

Thought that you would like to know that your post does have Scriptural support.

Please Read: Jeremiah 44:1-30.

In this passage Jeremiah is very vocal concerning Idolatry. Verses 2 through 5 record El Shaddai's anger against Judah for their blatant Idolatry.

The "Queen of Heaven" comments begin with verse 17.

Ruach HaKodesh - The Holy Spirit is speaking to Jeremiah and also to ALL of us throughout every generation; Warning that Judah was Sinning against El Shaddai by worshipping, bowing down and sacrificing to Idols and False "gods" in particular: "Ishtar - The Queen of Heaven" an Ancient Babylonian fertility goddess".

Almost all of the "vows" that were made and the ensuing "worship" was being done by married Hebrew women and also Foreign/Pagan women who were married to Hebrew men.

Verses 29 and 30 tells of El Shaddai's coming Judgment and Severe punishment of ALL those who have fallen into the SIN of Idolatry.

***Please Note...before reading this next comment: I IN NO WAY INTEND TO HURT NOR INSULT My Catholic Brothers and Sisters IN CHRIST, however***...

The "Roman Catholic Church" was and is until this very day, ripe and rotting away in Ancient Babylonian Idolatry.

Hence the "worship and veneration" of their version of "Mary" is certainly NO Surprise!

What concerns me is the very rapidly growing movement of: "Maryology" and "Mary Worship" within the RC Church.

"Mary" is being "worshipped" not only as: "The Queen Of Heaven" but also as a "Co-Redemptrix"!

That's Correct...!

The RC Church has had this on it's drawing boards for Years and Years.

However, with the current sitting pope being so very ill, their plans are being put into motion to: Elevate "Mary" to have "Divine" Status, thereby changing The Holy Trinity: God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Spirit…into a HERETICAL: "HOLY QUAD", that will include their version of "Mary - The Queen Of Heaven" because she Was and Continues to be a Co-Redemptrix in Suffering with her Son - Jesus Christ the Agonies of The Cross.

This is a total Abomination, Cruel Deception and Seduction from the pit of HELL in the eyes of Our Holy and Righteous God, Savior and King - The Holy One Of Israel.

However, this is exactly what is going on behind the Closed Iron Curtain of the "Vatican". This sitting pope is Pushing for this Heretical agenda with All of his "papal authority".

All of the players will fall into place according to The Almighty's perfect Plan and Will.

The Holy One Of Israel Is In Control, HE sits on HIS Throne and Shall NEVER BE MOVED!

Remember...Even the Scorpion needs HIS permission to Sting.

24 posted on 12/29/2002 9:27:24 PM PST by Simcha7
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To: Simcha7
"Mary" is being "worshipped" not only as: "The Queen Of Heaven" but also as a "Co-Redemptrix"!

The Blessed Virgin Mary is not being worshipped. To claim that she is proves your ignorance. Scripture instructs us all to refer to her as Blessed so stop engaging in your smorgasbord citations attempting to prove something which it doesn't. Co-redemptrix is Latin meaning along with the Redeemer not equal to the Redeemer. The prefix co is derived from the Latin cum and the term refers to the unique participation of the Mother of Jesus with and under her divine son in the work of human redemption. There is an infinite difference between the divine person of Jesus Christ and the human person, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Stating otherwise, while fitting nicely into your ignorant, bigoted crusade, is a lie.

The "Roman Catholic Church" was and is until this very day, ripe and rotting away in Ancient Babylonian Idolatry.

Please note that you are an idiot and that is indeed intended as an accurate description.

25 posted on 12/30/2002 8:02:41 AM PST by SMEDLEYBUTLER
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To: SMEDLEYBUTLER
"And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Luke 1:43 .

Of course, Mary was the mother of our Lord, since Jesus' Lordship includes His humanity. He is the son of David as well as the Son of God and His Lordship aspect includes both when fully realized at His return. This Lordship idea was already spoken of a few verses earlier, Luke 1: 32, 33.

That doesn't change the fact that God the Son existed before the birth of Jesus. If He already existed as God before His incarnation, how could Mary be the mother of God, implying that He became God at His birth?

His "Godness" preceded His "humanness" did it not?




26 posted on 12/30/2002 11:22:31 AM PST by covenantguy
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To: Simcha7
With all due respect , your anti-Catholic bigotry is only surpassed by your ignorance of Catholic teaching and Church history. These types of ignorant attacks have been answered in this forum and elsewhere so often and well there is no need to dignify your post with a direct response. If you want to know the sordid origins of your type of misguided rhetoric, read Karl Keating's "Catholicism and Fundamentalism" or visit the Catholic Answers website at www.catholic.com. May God heal you of your blindness abd hatred and lead you into his one true Church, the Catholic Church.
27 posted on 12/30/2002 4:23:45 PM PST by fidelis
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To: covenantguy
Please see post 22.
28 posted on 12/30/2002 4:28:28 PM PST by fidelis
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