Editorial: Is the doctrine of "T h e V irgin B irth " essential? (cont.) known any day since. He is not known now. No man can put his finger upon his identity, and name, and say, "This is the man who betrayed Joseph and begot Mary's illegitimate son. " There can be no question about it. He was and is unknown. It follows therefore if Jesus had an earthly father, and that father was not known, we have to say that Jesus was the son of an unknown father. And what is the name in all lan guages you give to the son of an unknown father? There is but one name and title. And that is "a bastard." It is an ugly name. It looks ugly. It sounds ugly. Would you know what God thinks of a bastard? Hear what He says: "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord: even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congrega tion of the Lord" (Deut. 23:2). A bastard could not enter into the c o n g r e g a t i o n of the Lord. The posterity of a bastard could not enter into or partake of the privileges of the congregation of the Lord for ten generations, that is, for three hundred years. This tells you what God thinks of an unmarried woman who gives birth to a child. This tells you what God thinks of a married woman who gives birth to a child by another than her own husband. This tells you what God thinks of the bastard himself. Bastardy is a shame to the mother. It is a double shame to the son. He must carry his mother's shame and advertise it wherever he goes, and he must bear his own shame, shamed of God. Illegitimacy and bastardy are two millstones heavy enough to hang about the neck of any son. What think you is the weight of these millstones about the neck of Him whom we seek to call the Son of God? Consider, 3. The effect the denial of the Virgin Birth must have upon the essential being of Jesus Himself. If He were not Virgin Born, then of course He had a human father. If He had a human father, He inherited the nature of that father. As that father had a nature of sin, He inher ited his nature of sin. If He had a nature of sin, He would be under the penalty of all who are born in sin. He would be under the penalty of death. When therefore He claimed that no one could take His life from Him, that He had power over His own life, He did not tell the truth. Being born in sin (if He had a human fa ther) , He was, as all others, doomed to die. He was therefore a lost sinner. As a lost sinner, He needed a Saviour. He needed a Saviour to save Him from death. According to His own legislation, He needed to be born again; He needed a new nature. It is terrific — but it is inexorable logic. If Jesus Christ were not Virgin Born ;if He had a sinful human father, He was as much in need of regeneration and sacrificial re demption as any other begotten of a human father. Deny the Virgin Birth and you paralyze the whole scheme of redemption by Jesus Christ. What claim or right of claim has any man to be the Redeemer and Saviour of men who Himself is born in sin, under the doom and penalty of sin, needing regeneration? But that is not the only consequence of hav ing a human father. Mark it well. If He had a human father, and as that father had a finite personality, then He inher ited a finite personality. If He had a finite personality, of course we are bound to say He did not have an infinite personality. He was not an infinite Person. If He were
th ere ’s L IFE in the A IR . . .
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