The Importance of the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth
While heretics like Andy Stanley dismiss the virgin birth as irrelevant, Christians must recognize that this doctrine is not merely a decorative ornament in the theology of Christmas—it is foundational to the entire Christian faith.
Stanley once claimed in a 2016 Christmas sermon that “Christianity doesn’t hinge on the truth or even the stories around the birth of Jesus...It really hinges on the resurrection of Jesus.” As if the resurrection itself could stand untethered from the reality of who Jesus is and how He came into this world.
But here’s the truth, without the virgin birth, the resurrection loses its power, and Christianity crumbles like a house built on sand.
The virgin birth is not an optional belief or a quaint holiday tale—it’s one of the foundational biblical truths of who Jesus is. This miraculous event demonstrates that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man, a truth that is indispensable to the gospel. Why? Because every human being, from Adam onward, is born with a sin nature—a corrupt inheritance passed down through natural conception.
That inherited sin disqualifies every one of us from standing before a holy God, making redemption impossible without God’s intervention. Enter Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and untouched by the stain of Adam’s sin.
This wasn’t just a miraculous birth for the sake of spectacle. The virgin birth is what makes possible the hypostatic union—Christ being fully human and fully divine. If Jesus had been conceived in the natural way, He would have inherited the same sinful nature that condemns the rest of humanity. But because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He was born without sin, making Him uniquely qualified to live a perfect life and die as the spotless Lamb of God. Without the virgin birth, Jesus would be just another fallen man, incapable of offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin.
Matthew’s gospel leaves no room for ambiguity on this point. It says, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).