What are you prepared to die for?
During the 21st Century every 11 minutes a Christian dies for their faith
“We believe in the conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and his birth by the virgin Mary”.
Does it matter?
3 things it can expose.
1) Are words being used honestly?
Using the same words with different meaning.
Eg: Divinty of Jesus
Mormons – “Latter-day Saints see all people as children of God in a full and complete sense; they consider every person divine in origin, nature, and potential. Each has an eternal core and is “a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.” Each possesses seeds of divinity and must choose whether to live in harmony or tension with that divinity”
Liberal Scholar – W Robertson Smith, “How can they accuse me of that, I have never denied the divinity of any man, let alone Jesus”
2) Can the Bible be trusted?
Isaiah 7:14, “The LORD himself will give you a sign, The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and you are to call him Immanuel.”
Matthew 1:23 – a fulfilment of the Isaiah promise.
John 8:41 “we are not illegitimate children”
Apostles creed,
Ignatius a bishop (before 117 AD)
3) That God does the miraculous
Going beyond what the bible says
1) Turning mum into Mum
“Mary the mother of God” into “Mary the Mother of God”.
‘a perpetual virgin’
‘someone who is worshipped’
‘a co redemptrix’, Acts 4:12
2) To ensure Jesus was sinless
Two really unfortunate errors
a) Original sin must be introduced through the male
b) Sex in and of itself was the cause of original sin.
3) To ensure God and man both present in Jesus.
How does God’s word impact your thinking?
1) A litmus test for yourself
2) The pressure to compromise
What areas of God’s word are you under great pressure to compromise on?
3) Understanding and praising our great God better
Firstly, redemption is 100% due to the grace of God.
Secondly, uniqueness of Jesus.
Thirdly, the complete sovereign rule of God in his world