While I know that many people come to a saving knowledge of Christ without a full understanding of the virgin birth, this doctrine is nonetheless at the core of the Christian faith. It strikes at the very root of the personhood of Jesus—the One new believers trust as their savior.
Through the years I, as well, have heard many people ask this question in various ways. Some have put it this way: “Why can’t I just believe that Jesus was born of Joseph and Mary? I find it hard to believe He was born of a virgin. Anyway, isn’t His life and death what is really important?”
This line of reasoning, however, shows a misunderstanding of a very important Biblical basic. Belief in the virgin birth is fundamental to the essentials of the faith I enumerated last week in this column. It is especially critical to the first three: a Trinitarian belief in God, the deity and resurrection of Christ, and the substitutionary and atoning death of Christ.
A belief differing from the virgin birth makes Jesus the offspring of persons other than Mary, who was a virgin, and the Holy Spirit, who is God. Yet to qualify as a substitutionary sacrifice (taking our place on the Cross), Jesus had to be a man. And to qualify morally to die for our sins—that is, to be sinless—He had to be God. If He had been simply God (and not man), He would not have been an appropriate substitute for mankind on the Cross. If He had simply been a man (that is, the offspring of Joseph and Mary), He would have been just another sinner, for He would have inherited Adam’s sin nature. Thus it was essential Jesus be God and man.
A belief in Jesus that denies the virgin birth, places faith in a different Jesus and a different Gospel than the one of Scripture. Paul put it this way: “I am astonished that you are so quickly…turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are…trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal. 1:6-8). Also, in 2 Cor. 11:3 (NAS) Paul says, “I am afraid…your minds should be led astray.” In verse four he states his concern is someone preaching “another Jesus whom we have not preached.”
It all boils down to believing God’s Word: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14, NAS).