The Virgin Birth of Christ in Matthew 1

The first chapter of Matthew is designed to tell us the origin of the person whom we call Savior and Lord. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth. Note carefully the wording of verse 16. It relates that “Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus.” Prior to this…

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The Humanity of Christ

The doctrine of the virgin conception of Jesus played a significant role in the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy because a virgin conception is clearly a supernatural occurrence. But the virgin conception also points to another important theological truth: Jesus is fully human. Why does Christ need to be fully man? Scripture teaches that Christ needed to be…

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The Necessity of the Virgin Birth

Don Johnson The doctrine of the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is one of those battleground points of theology over which many heated words have been exchanged. In this paper, I want to outline briefly reasons why belief in the virgin birth is necessary based on evidence and theology.

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Do Remarks on the Virgin Birth give “Street Cred" for Andy Stanley?

Matthew Recker Andy Stanley is the pastor of North Point Ministries, a church attended by about 30,000 people each week. On December 3, he preached a sermon called “Who Needs Christmas” in which he made outlandish, even shocking comments about the virgin birth and other cardinal doctrines. In this message, Stanley attacks Biblical inspiration, declares…

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Isaiah 7—The Historical Setting of a Christmas Passage

Layton Talbert Most Christians are familiar with the virgin birth prophecy contained in Isaiah 7. Wander out of 7:14 into the surrounding territory, however, and the textual terrain bristles with peculiar terminology and thorny questions. For instance, what is 7:16 talking about? In the length of time it would take the child to cultivate a…

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Why Is the Virgin Birth So Important?

Joel Arnold Few people know that Ben Franklin, the consummate writer, inventor, and politician, descended from Puritans— his grandfather was a Baptist missionary to the Indians and his father was a dissenter. Franklin himself financially supported a Presbyterian minister and attended a few services. But what ultimately turned him away was his mistaken feeling that…

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November / December 2014 FrontLine

Our apologies for a late announcement of this issue. A new issue for 2015 will be available soon, but we wanted to alert  you to the topic for our last issue of 2014 and urge you to subscribe. At FrontLine,  you will receive excellent Christian reading that you just won’t find anywhere else. The contents…

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Joseph: A Man of Faith

Bud Talbert Joseph, descendant of Abraham and David, was “the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Matt. 1:16). This is how the earthly father of our Lord is introduced in the New Testament. Notice how careful and specific the wording is? Jesus was indeed born “of Mary” but not…

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