Sermon Series: “The Tenets of the Faith”
Sermon #2: “Statement 3”
Sermon Text: Isaiah 7:14
INTRODUCTION: Last week I asked if you had ever heard the phrase: “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything?”
This sermon series is based on the “statement of faith” in our new constitution – something I hope we will all see is a statement we can stand on.
STATEMENT 1:
We believe the Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, that it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and that it is authoritative in all matters of faith.
STATEMENT 2:
There is one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus the Christ is God the Son and is both God and man
These first two statements can be summed up in one short phrase:
“We believe in the God of the Bible and in His Word”
Today we are going to go into the third statement listed in our “Statement of Faith”
STATEMENT #3
Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He led a sinless life, took on Himself all our sins, died on the cross, and rose again, and is seated at the right hand of the Father as our Mediator and Advocate.
In our first two statements we affirmed (1) the authority of the Scriptures and (2) the nature of God including the Divinity of Christ. In this third statement we are affirming our understanding of Christ and His works.
There was never a more misunderstood event in history than the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Varying views about Jesus throughout the ages have caused some of the most dangerous “isms” and “false teaching” in history.
We chose this statement because, while it is not exhaustive, it does give a clear view about our stand concerning “Christology” (the study of Jesus Christ)
I. We affirm Christ’s miraculous conception and virgin birth
a. Question: What does the Bible say concerning Jesus’ conception and birth?
i. Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”
ii. Mary was a virgin before Jesus was born – she and her fiancé Joseph had never laid together as husband and wife
iii. She was visited by an Angel who told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would have a child
iv. Jesus literally came into the world by way of a divine miracle
b. It really surprises me when I find out how many people deny the virgin birth of Christ
i. Even some “ministers” have denied this miracle
ii. They go to great lengths to prove it is a myth
iii. Many using creative Bible interpretations to make their point
c. But the Bible emphatically teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin when she conceived
i. The OT prophecy we read for our opening text predicted the virgin birth
ii. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
1. NOTE: Some argue over the use of this passage because they cite Isaiah as not using the typical Hebrew word of Virgin, but a word that literally translates to “women of marriage age”
2. But the New Testament gives us the translation of this Scripture when Matthew quotes the Hebrew OT and he uses the Greek word for “virgin”
3. Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us””
iii. QUOTE: “There is no way to affirm the Bible is infallible truth while also denying the virgin birth of Christ”
d. On the opposite side of those who deny the miracle of the virgin birth is another group that is equally as unbiblical called “Marians”
i. These are people who ascribe Deity to Mary, the mother of Jesus
ii. She receives from this group varying titles such as “Mother of God” and “Queen of Heaven”
iii. Many teach that she lead a sinless life
iv. Some have even gone as far as to say that she belongs as part of the Godhead – that God is not a “Trinity” (God in Three Persons) but a “Quadrate” (God in Four Persons) with Mary being the forth person of the Trinity.
v. Others also maintain that she remained a perpetual virgin, even though the Bible teaches that Jesus had other brothers (Matt 12:46)
vi. The truth is…Mary, though important, was not sinless or divine (as the Bible teaches that ‘all have sinned’) she was a sinner who needed a Savior and her Son was her Savior
e. Sadly all of these attacks and additions to the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Christ are attempts to steer us away from the real miracle worker: God
i. Remember: God is not bound by the laws of science (he created the laws of science) and by Him the worlds came into existence…and if He could do that by a simple decree of His mouth, could He not also bring forth a child by the overshadowing of His Holy Spirit?
ii. QUOTE: To believe in the virgin birth is to believe in what the Bible says – to deny it is to deny an essential doctrine of the faith
I. We affirm Christ’s miraculous conception and virgin birth
II. We affirm Christ’s sinless life
a. Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
b. The teaching of Christ’s perfect and sinless life has come under much attack in the past few years
i. Illustration: “The Da Vinci Code” A few years ago a fictional book entitled “The Da Vinci Code” was published which portrays Jesus as having married Mary Magdelene, avoided the cross and created a sect of religious zealots to protect His children, who are His royal line. All of this kept secret, of course, to maintain the deception that He was actually Deity.
ii. Its popularity is such that it inspired a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks which is scheduled for release very soon.
iii. This book, though fiction, gives powerful insight into how much of the world views Jesus Christ.
c. QUOTE: “The reason for the popularity of books like ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and movies like ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ and musicals such as ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (which all give unbiblical portrayals of Jesus) is because it is much easier for the people of the world to accept Jesus if He were just a sinner like us”
i. Because the Scripture clearly teaches Jesus was sinless, people must construct extra-biblical fictional accounts of Christ’s life to appease their conscience
ii. And this “false truth” seeps into the church and Christian people begin saying things like, “Maybe Christ wasn’t truly sinless”
iii. And Satan gets a foothold in that Church
d. QUOTE: To believe in the sinless life of Christ is to believe what the Bible says– to deny it is to deny another essential doctrine of the faith
I. We affirm Christ’s miraculous conception and virgin birth
II. We affirm Christ’s sinless life
III. We affirm Christ’s substitutionary atonement
a. Definition: Substitutionary Atonement: Doctrine that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for the death of sinners, so that those who believe in him may have eternal life…Christ’s death, bearing God’s wrath in judgment, took the punishment due sinners. (Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary)
b. Romans 5:8, 9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
c. When Christ was on the cross receiving that torture and agony, He did so in our place
i. The sin of the world was poured out on Him and He bore the punishment for it
ii. No better place is this illustrated that in Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus
d. READ: Isaiah 53: 1-12
i. These verses are filled with the language of substitution, most notably the phrases “wounded for our transgressions … bruised for our iniquities…by His stripes we are healed”
ii. The Servant suffered not for His own sin, since He was sinless, but as the substitute for sinners.
iii. The emphasis here is on Christ being the substitute recipient of God’s wrath on sinners
iv. He suffered the chastisement of God in order to procure our peace with God
e. Illustration: “Older brother took the punishment” In a tribe in Africa a frail young boy was caught stealing from his neighbor’s food supply. The punishment for stealing was public caning (hitting on the back with a rod). As the judgment was about to be carried out on the young boy, a much larger boy stepped out of the crowd and went to the judge. After a few minutes the frail young man was released and the larger, healthier boy took his place. The judgment was then carried out on the innocent boy. Why? He was the smaller boy’s brother. Out of love for him, the larger brother took his punishment.
i. God’s punishment for sin is death
ii. QUOTE: Christ, on the cross, took our punishment for us so that we may have eternal life. At death the believer does not experience the sting of loss, but the joy of gain because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
I. We affirm Christ’s miraculous conception and virgin birth
II. We affirm Christ’s sinless life
III. We affirm Christ’s Substitutionary Atonement
IV. We affirm Christ’s death and resurrection
a. I Corinthians 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures”
b. As I have said throughout this sermon, the character and work of Christ is attacked by much of the world…this includes His resurrection as well
i. So many theories have been produced to discredit the resurrection
ii. (1) The “Swoon Theory” is that Christ did not die on the cross, He only fainted. He looked dead, so He was taken off the cross and placed in a tomb, where the dampness and cool temperature revived Him.
1. This theory leaves out many important elements however including:
2. The experienced Roman executioners – trained in torture and killing – all agreed Christ was dead, even going as far as not feeling the need to break his legs, as they did the other two men.
3. If Christ had revived, how would he (having been beaten so severely) be able to remove the stone, fend off the guards, and appear before the apostles and convince any of them He had “beaten death”?
iii. (2) The “Stolen body theory” is that the apostles stole Jesus’ body and then made up the story of the resurrection.
1. Again this story lacks credibility
2. These men wouldn’t stand up for Christ while alive, but would now risk their necks to steal a corpse?
c. QUOTE: Anyone who does not want to believe the Gospel will believe any number of outrageous claims against it. But we affirm, in this church, that we believe in the literal, bodily, resurrection of Jesus Christ.
d. A seminary professor was asked to sum up the Gospel in one sentence. He answered simply, “That’s easy, it is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ”.
e. QUOTE: “The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth.”—Henry Morris
I. We affirm Christ’s miraculous conception and virgin birth
II. We affirm Christ’s sinless life
III. We affirm Christ’s substitutionary atonement
IV. We affirm Christ’s death and resurrection
V. We affirm Christ’s role as our Mediator and Advocate
a. We use two Scriptures in our constitution concerning this truth:
b. Hebrews 9:15 “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
i. In the Old Testament it was required by God’s law that men have a mediator to go to God for them
ii. This was because of man’s sinful nature
iii. A priest would go through a cleansing ritual, offering sacrifices for himself first, and then go to God on behalf of the people
iv. Christ, by dying on the cross as a substitution for our sins, has become our mediator
1. I Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus”
2. Christ is called our “High Priest” in the book of Hebrews because He is our ‘go-between’ with God
3. This is why we end our prayers “in Jesus name”
c. 1 John 2:1 “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
i. Christ not only opens the door for us to go to God, but He also is our advocate continually reconciling us to God
ii. The Bible says that Satan accuses us before God day and night
iii. Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
iv. Satan is like a prosecuting attorney, pointing out our faults before almighty God (like he tried to do with Job in the OT)
v. But Jesus is our advocate, our defense attorney, who stands before almighty God and says “They are mine, they trust in me, and in me they are innocent”
vi. And in Christ God declares us “Not Guilty”
CONCLUSION: Each of these points could have been a whole sermon series, as the vastness of Christ’s life and work is an infinite study.
“Most men are notable for one conspicuous virtue or grace. Moses for meekness, Job for patience. John for love. But in Jesus you find everything.”—J. Oswald Sanders
Attributed to Phillips Brooks (A.D. 1835–1893), American Episcopal minister “He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He never went to college. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as has that One Solitary Life.”
QUOTE: “This portion of our constitution is very important because it affirms that we believe not only in the God of the Bible and His Word, but also in Jesus and what the Bible says about His life and work”
