Statement 3 Series

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