Why Christians Should Believe in the Virgin Birth

It is not surprising that the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ is one of the most common points of attack against the Christian faith from skeptics. What is surprising is that so many people in Christian churches—especially though not exclusively many in the mainline Protestant denominations—also question or deny the Virgin Birth. In this short outline study, I offer six reasons why Christians should believe that Jesus was conceived and born of the virgin Mary.

A.The Virgin Birth is presented as fact in two of the Gospels. 

1. The foundational reason to accept the Virgin Birth is that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke give independent accounts of Mary conceiving Jesus while she was still a virgin (Matt. 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38).
2. In particular, Luke’s account follows closely after his preface stating that his purpose was to inform his reader of what actually happened (Luke 1:1-4). 

B.The Virgin Birth has always been part of the church’s faith. 

1. The Virgin Birth is affirmed in the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. These creeds are still recognized by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and most Protestant denominations.
2. The Virgin Birth is affirmed in official confessions of faith of every major branch of Protestantism – Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal.
3. The Virgin Birth was taught by all Christian theologians until the rise of modern antisupernaturalism. All of the great Christian thinkers, such as Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and many others have affirmed it.
4. Christians should be very hesitant to reject or to minimize the importance of believing something that has been part of the official beliefs of virtually all Christian bodies throughout church history. 

C.The Virgin Birth is the sign of the Incarnation. 

1. There is some debate among Christian thinkers as to whether the Virgin Birth was absolutely necessary in order for Jesus to be God incarnate. Whether or not it was necessary, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us this is how it happened.
2. Gabriel specifically told Mary that Jesus would be called the Son of God because his life was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).
3. The angel of the Lord told Joseph that Jesus would be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us,” in connection with his Virgin Birth (Matt. 1:20–23).
4. Thus, the Virgin Birth was the way that God actually chose to incarnate himself, and it is a fitting sign of the Incarnation. That is sufficient reason to insist that Christians should gladly affirm it. 

D.The Virgin Birth is fitting in light of the resurrection of Jesus. 

1. Jesus left this world through the Resurrection – the recreation of human life where life had ended. Jesus came into this world through the Virgin Birth – the creation of human life where life had not yet begun.
2. It is difficult to understand why someone would believe in the Resurrection but not in the Virgin Birth. If God can do the one, he can surely do the other.
3. However, some people in the church today don’t really believe in the Resurrection, either. They sometimes believe in the survival of Jesus’ spirit in heaven but don’t believe that his dead body was raised. But the Resurrection is the restoration of life to the body, and it is one of the non-negotiable essentials of the Christian faith (1 Cor. 15). 

E.The Virgin Birth is a sign of God’s grace in salvation. 

1. In the Virgin Birth, God by his Holy Spirit sent Christ to dwell in Mary’s womb. This is a sign of the saving work of the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. In the Virgin Birth, God initiated the beginning of new life. This is grace: not our producing the life God asks of us, but God producing that life for and in us.
3. In the Virgin Birth, Mary’s response was one of trust and acceptance of God’s word (Luke 1:38). This is a sign of faith.
4. The fact that the Virgin Birth functions in these ways as a sign of grace and faith does not mean it can be treated as a mere symbol, as a pious myth symbolizing a spiritual truth. To draw that conclusion would be to say in effect that the reality could not symbolize the spiritual truth that the myth pictures. That is, if the Virgin Birth is a myth, then the truth would be that Jesus was conceived by a natural, human-initiated act, not by the Spirit and not through faith, but by the flesh, not by grace but by human will. If this were the truth, then the Virgin Birth story would really be a lie. 

F.Denial of the Virgin Birth is a symptom of a bigger problem. 

1. It is not surprising that non-Christians don’t believe in the Virgin Birth. It is surprising, however, that many people in the church today don’t believe it.
2. It may be possible to believe in Christ without believing in his virgin birth. However, it is not normal for a Christian to believe that Jesus was not born of a virgin. Disbelief in the Virgin Birth, given its truth and its importance, is a symptom of a bigger problem.
3. Disbelief in the Virgin Birth is symptomatic of a low view of Scripture. Those who regard the Bible as completely inspired generally do not even question it.
4. Disbelief in the Virgin Birth is often symptomatic of a lack of knowledge. Some Christians are not aware of the substantial evidence for the Virgin Birth as fact, or have been led to believe that the Virgin Birth is scientifically impossible.
5. Disbelief in the Virgin Birth may be symptomatic of a lack of faith in God. Belief in it requires faith that nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37).