Being Dogmatic - [1 Thessalonians 5:21]

Let's open in prayer our father in heaven. We thank you this morning for this beautiful Snow and sun-drenched morning that you have given us father for this opportunity. We have to meet together. For the shelter that you provide us from the elements.

Most of all for your son Jesus Christ in whom you have given us reconciliation redemption Forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternity with you and Lord would you Bless our time this morning as we turn to your word in Christ's name.

Amen. Well, I like to I Consider it kind of my job to keep everybody up to date keep their finger on the theological pulse as it were. So if there's something going on in the church, I think you should know about it.

This is straight off the internet. And if it wasn't I wouldn't read it to you. There was a dispute that arose several days ago in the Midwest when the NFL sent a letter to one church based on its website advertisement for a Super Bowl party.

That letter to Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis said the church couldn't use the word Super Bowl. It couldn't charge admission. It couldn't use its projection screen for the game and a number of other things.

Those limits coupled with the fact that no church felt willing to take on a financial behemoth like the National Football League in court sparked a series of cancellations of those parties. Tragic. That is absolutely tragic.

I don't know what they'll do on Sunday night. Maybe they'll have to preach the word. Please open your Bibles. We're gonna start we're gonna go to a number of different places, but I want to start in 2nd Timothy 4 the first couple verses are verses that we often hear and I'd finished this whole thing and I wasn't even going to say anything about 2nd Timothy.

But I got to thinking about a letter that I was an email that I was blind copied on this week. And that's the cool thing about working here is you get the inside scoop of what's going on so I read a Blind copy of an email that pastor Mike Sent to another pastor and for those of you Who don't get to hang around with Mike 40 hours a week, which is probably most of you.

One of the things you wouldn't know about him, or you might not know is he listens to an enormous number of sermons. If you go by his office on Tuesday or Wednesday, the odds are pretty good that he's gonna be listening to some sermon or another.

And not his own but he sent this. This email to this man, and he's he said I've listened to this entire sermon that you preached. Said you quoted a lot of statistics. You gave a lot of really nice examples.

You told a lot of really good stories. There was only one thing lacking the Bible and He says basically in nicer terms. What part of 2nd Timothy 4 don't you understand and then he quoted it? He said it much nicer than that and he asked the man he goes aren't you a little bit scared?

2nd Timothy 4 verse 1 I Solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ Who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom? Preach the word be ready in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort and with great patience and instruction.

And this is the part I wanted to just start out with this morning for the time will come. When they will not endure sound doctrine but wanting to have their ears tickled they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and Will turn away their ears from the truths and will turn aside to myths.

We live in those times. People don't want to be confronted by the Bible. They want to hear what they want to hear. We get calls all the time from people and some of you are here this morning. Who say listen my church does not preach the Bible and I'm looking for a Bible teaching church.

I live in fill in the blank. You know, can you help me out? And the answer is almost Always no, we can't there are a growing number of churches. You're growing, you know about one a year and it seems in Massachusetts where they're installing a Pastor who'll preach the word and that's exciting.

I'd like to get it going a little faster. Maybe four or five a year something like that. But it just occurred to me that not only do pastors have an Affirmative responsibility it is their duty. They are solemnly charged to preach the word but I thought as a Congregation and as individuals in the congregation We have a responsibility to endure sound doctrine.

To not want to have our ears tickled and to look out for those that we know who are Christians who are under teaching like that and Basically what I'm going to talk to this morning and it's funny because Sean Mullin Sean in here.

Yeah, Sean Mullin missionary from South Africa is here Visiting last night. We were talking and this word came up and I want to use it in a positive sense. So, please understand that I want us to be a little bit more dogmatic as a church and I will explain That in just a minute now, let me ask you.

What would you think? Pastor Mike's been going through this series on predestination election. What would you think if pastor Mike got up and he said? You know, there are two views in the evangelical camp on predestination.

One is God looks down the corridors of time sees those who will believe and he then chooses those. The other one is that God for his own glory Predestined some to salvation and then he said I don't really know which one's right.

I'm gonna give you the arguments for both and kind of let you make up your own mind. What do you think? You're fired. Why why why would we think boy that's kind of lame no offense pastor, but Take a position.

Okay, he's supposed to be the leader. There's only one truth. I mean one's right and one's not right. Dare I say one's wrong so if we're gonna if we're gonna say that the man who stands in the pulpit the man who studied the passage is supposed to come to an opinion an informed opinion a Spirit inspired opinion.

Let's say not inspired. I don't want to say, you know in the same way scripture is but if God works through him in his study in his effort in his sweat so that he comes to a conclusion on a particular passage He needs to preach it like he believes it.

So what are some comments somebody might give after hearing a sermon about? Predestination they might say something like well, that was pretty dogmatic. He's pretty opinionated, you know, he seems a little bit full of himself.

How can he be so sure? Point is if we will not take less than a Dogmatic approach from the pulpit if we don't want somebody to stand up there and give us multiple choices. These these are the possible, you know, I've studied this and there are four Possibilities and I don't really know then why would we accept that in our own lives?

Why would we settle for less dogmatism in our own thinking in our own study in our own knowledge? To put it in a simpler way, why would we be indifferent about what the Bible says? Yeah, it could go either way.

I Don't really know. If we don't know do we have a responsibility to find out? I do not subscribe to a hermeneutic of humility now who wants to explain what a hermeneutic of humility is. What's it? I?

See that hand. That's right. That's exactly right. How dare anyone say thus saith the Lord. I think that's why he gives gifts to the church and we'll talk about that in a bit, but that's exactly right.

There's this movement. Where you you don't preach you converse? Which would lead me to wonder by the way if you're in an emergent Church, why do you pay a pastor? Because if his job is to study and to shepherd and what he really does is come in and start a conversation on Sunday morning.

And just kind of say yeah, you know let's just bat it around a little bit and see where we come out. What's the point? He should be out there working, too. You know and you could all get together and have what we used to call the first Bible study I went to and if any of you are listening.

I'm deeply sorry for saying this it was a pooling of ignorance. We would all get around you know somebody would pick a verse. Maybe you know 20 minutes ahead of the study time and we go and get together and this is what this verse means to me.

Well, that's kind of the direction of the emergent Church. Hey, I'm too humble to say anything dogmatic about the text so let's just talk about it and That goes with some very clear teaching to. With regard to homosexuality and other things let's not take a position.

Let's not be too hasty. For those of you who read literature, let's not be hasty, but By the way, just a word about dogmatism and and you know some things that I'm especially thankful for. I hope you read the article that pastor Mike sent out the interview from Time magazine with Al Mohler.

I thought that was really good, and I thought boy that. That for that to appear in Time magazine was really something and if you watched John MacArthur on Nancy Grace. I'm really sorry It wasn't that it just wasn't that good.

I'm watching it. I'd never watched her before and I thought this is really tabloid journalism. And I'm sure for the minute and a half that pastor MacArthur was on TV. He he deeply regretted being there.

So it was it was pretty. Well, not that so much as she just didn't listen you know and it was just kind of that. Okay, see you later, so I thought it was kind of a waste of time. Recorded and then erased just like that Wikipedia the infallible encyclopedia online no, it's just a it's a online encyclopedia describes dogma.

This way religious dogma properly conceived. Reach back to proofs rather than or other than themselves and ultimately faith. Perhaps the pinnacle of organized exposition of theological dogma is by Thomas Aquinas who proposed this relationship between faith and objection if our opponent believes nothing of divine revelation.

There is no longer any means of proving the articles of faith by reasoning. But only of answering his objections if he has any against faith. I thought I never quote Aquinas, so I thought I'd try one out here this morning and at least part of what he says here I totally agree with if you're if the person you're talking with Person he calls your opponent.

Believes nothing of divine revelation of the Bible. Then you've got a real difficult time reasoning with them. Why? Because your opinion his opinion are all the same and you don't have any real dogma to stand on.

You don't have any principles to stand on. Dogma are core principles that must be upheld by all followers of that religion. We usually think of dogma in terms of Catholicism, but It doesn't really matter what Religion someone is they have certain core principles basics that they believe.

Dogma are essential doctrines of the faith and is not theological opinion. Regarding the minutiae of things it is clear teaching. Things that must be accepted in order to adhere to that religion. Rejection of dogma is considered heresy in certain religions and may lead to expulsion from the religious group.

And it should you know I don't know if the Binnies are here yet this morning, but Bruce emailed a Religious station that plays music, and he said hey by the way you guys play songs by this group, and they're anti-trinitarian.

The radio station wrote back, and I said well we hadn't heard that before and we found this on the website. Seems like they're trying to say that they are trinitarian. A couple days later the radio station wrote back, and I said you're right.

They're not this group is not Trinitarian and so we will no longer play their music and I thought. Good good job. Good job. So why is it important to be dogmatic? Well if we're not dogmatic about something what does that suggest if we don't hold tightly to certain core principles.

What does that suggest about? What we say we believe. Anybody why would we not have a certain list of beliefs that are not? For up for negotiation or debates. Peggy okay, and and like a soldier if you don't if you don't understand what your instructions are what are the basic orders of a soldier.

You know I will defend. Yeah. But I will defend everything within my post the best of my ability and all that so you know we'll leave only around when relieved and all that kind of stuff you have to know what the What you believe in order to engage in the struggle.

Daniel, and and I am definitely going to get there. Excellent. Excellent. If you don't have core principles. Then you're pushed by every wind of doctrine as it says in Ephesians 4 and I'm just about to get there.

But it suggests about us if we don't have a List of things in our mind don't have to be written down and carried in our pocket. But we if we don't have a list of things In mind then it suggests several possibilities.

One is it's really not important to have some non negotiables. Secondly it could be that we don't know we don't know what our non negotiables are that would be bad and. Thirdly I think the other possibility that I came up with is that You know something else when it's suggested to us seems reasonable because we're not that firm in our convictions in the first place.

Now are there dangers to being dogmatic? Lewis yeah, because dogma is really an Interpretation of Scripture, and it can be wrong. I mean for example creeds the Confessions of faith those are wonderful documents as long as they agree with what the Bible says.

When they don't agree with what the Bible says and then they need to be rejected. You know then there's the the quote. One of my professors used to always say you can be sincere you can be dogmatic about something, but be sincerely wrong.

Let's turn to Ephesians 4 and we're going to read verses 7 through 15. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says when he ascended on high he led captive a host of captives.

And he gave gifts to men. Now this expression he ascended. What does it mean except that he also had descended to the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so the so that he might fill all things and he gave some as apostles and Some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers.

For the equipping of the Saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man. To the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and Carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men by craftiness and deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head even Christ Jesus gave the church Spiritual gifts in the form of men.

To equip the Saints for the work of service to build up the body of Christ, and what was the ultimate purpose? What was the ultimate end. The unity of the faith the unity of the faith MacArthur says? Faith here refers to the body of revealed truth that constitutes Christian teaching particularly featuring the complete content of the gospel.

Oneness and harmony among believers is possible only When it is built on the foundation of sound doctrine. We can only have unity when we have what? Sound doctrine when we have certain non-negotiables from which we will not deviate certain dogma certain fundamentals.

Now if that is the reason that Christ gave and gives men to the church then shouldn't oneness and harmony Be built or built on the foundation of sound doctrine be our goal. Isn't that what we should? Strive for and if so Don't we have a responsibility not to be children tossed here and there by waves etc. Etc. Etc.

Isn't it important that we are engaged in? Thinking that we Make up lists for ourselves that we decide. What is not negotiable and what is negotiable? Now which is a which is more difficult to do sit on the fence and not make a decision about certain issues or Study what the Bible says about them until we figure them out.

Duh, I mean that's pretty easy right, but what do we do? Our tendency is to say, you know, that's above me. I can't get it. I can't understand it we Frequently I think we practice the hermeneutic of humility.

I can't possibly understand that. Therefore I'll just let the smarter guys figure it out. We can learn one of the things one of the very core doctrines that the emergent church denies is that The scripture is clear This the scripture is understandable.

That the scripture is persp Yeah perspicuity of Scripture is Perspicacious I think is or something like that. Don't quote me. It's clear. You can understand it that much I can say but our pastor has been teaching a Series about predestination election and there may be some even some here this morning who can't wait till it's over.

Because they still don't know what to think about the matter. And my question would be why not if pastor Mike has been teaching the word Why wouldn't we have an opinion and if we've been sitting here and we think We're not really sure if he's right or not.

Then what's our responsibility as people in the congregation? It's a study. It's a study. Let's look for a moment at John 10 24 to 27. Yes. Okay, good. Amen. Go ahead Guido. Here's what I would say. I said, I would say he had a wrong.

I'm not saying let me just clarify this. I'm not saying that a right view of predestination is a non-negotiable. I would say that a High view of God a low view or right view of man. I have a list of the things that I think are non-negotiable and we'll get to that and I'll ask you guys to kind of give me some more thoughts about that, but I would say Wesley preached the gospel.

I would not say that I agreed with him in every part of his teaching in other words. Did he preach the word? Yes. Did he always understand the word rightly? I don't think so so. Well, okay. Let me let me back up here because a woman called this week and she said we live in Foxboro.

And we want to go to a church close to us the church we we've been going to just wreck their. They took out their pastor's offices and so the pastors really don't need to study I guess and they replaced them with a latte bar and she goes that was pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back and.

So I'm talking to her and she says. She says well, she says we're looking at going to this Calvary Chapel in Boston. And I said, okay, do you have the website and I went to and I looked at it and I said well I said I know several things about Calvary Chapel.

I said, I know they tend to be charismatic and they they tend to be Arminian. And she's like well, hi, you know, I understand Calvinism. What's Arminianism? And so we talked about it a little bit and I said, here's the good news.

I said the good news is I know that they're going to teach the gospel. And I know that they insist pretty much that you bring your Bible. I said would we agree with everything? No, but if that's where you want to go.

You know go right ahead it would not be a church. I didn't say this. It's not a church that I would recommend we wouldn't post it on our but you know. Do I think they probably teach the Bible even though I've never been there?

I've been to some Calvary chapels and I believe that they teach the Bible. So but that's that's far different than saying this is a like-minded church. This is a church with which we agree on almost everything and we would love for you to go to that church.

That's where I'm kind of drawing the distinction so in that case I think there are very few churches that we we would say I can just recommend this church with no reservation whatsoever. So that's why I was getting that good question.

I Don't want to be too dogmatic about that. That's right. That is absolutely right. Every single one of us has that responsibility. Again, it doesn't just fall. We don't live. In fact, I'm going to quote JC Ryle later on we do not live under a Catholic system.

We're only the the priests and the Cardinals and whomever, you know studied the Bible and they Brush the crumbs off the table of their study and that's what we get. We have access to the Word of God and we are responsible.

I mean more so in this country I think than just about anywhere in the world where we have so many tools so many gifts that we are able to get freely. Why would we not study these things and grasp them and own them for ourselves.

It ought to be that every single man here where he just parachuted into another country ought to quickly be able to be the pastor of a church there because you're gonna know more than the other the other guys there because You have everything you need right now more than what you need.

I mean, it's embarrassing to me if I if I had a laptop, which I don't but if I had a laptop and I got dropped into a Country, I have more on my computer in terms of I'm not talking about the Internet.

But just in terms of resources sitting on my computer than probably most people even at this church have sitting on their shelves in their studies. It's just amazing what technology can do for us and the freedoms that we still enjoy In this country with regard to religious stuff, but yes, every single person has a responsibility to study these things out for themselves and that Essentially that's what I'm saying out of Ephesians 4 if God if Jesus Christ has gifted the church with men to teach and We listen to them.

Don't we have a responsibility to grow to be these? Christians who are not children tossed around by every wind of doctrine. We have our own list of things that we know and we're constantly adding to those lists and deciding.

You know what? I can be gracious on this matter, but I absolutely Cannot equivocate on this. I cannot negotiate on this. I cannot give up anything any part of this truth. It is essential. That's right.

That's right. And you and you basically saying, you know, you guys you guys should be eating Feasting on steak and I'm still having to give you you know, baby food. That just needs to stop. John 10 24 to 27 the Jews then gathered around him Jesus.

And we're saying to him. How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly Jesus answered them and said or Jesus answered them. I told you and you do not believe the works that I do in my father's name these testify of me.

But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And it's not much of a an extrapolation or a stretch in verse 27 to say that if we are the sheep of Christ.

When we hear the word taught I mean wait, yeah, there's a I mentioned this the other day, you know, there's a country and Western song. I Stumble sometimes and listen to that. Because it's the only place where you can really hear them, you know, they talk about Jesus and it's not a bad thing.

There's one where this guy says That he's basically been studying the Bible and he's finding more and more truth in the letters written in red. And I'm just going what about the rest of them? You know, is there any difference in the The level of inspiration between the red letters and the black letters.

Is there any difference in the if I say the words of Christ? Well, I could just as easily be talking about 2nd Timothy or Zechariah or Matthew. They're all inspired equally. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me as his sheep.

We hear the Word of God and what do we do? We follow it. We hear it. We obey it we go. Why not because it fits? Necessarily our opinions or our lifestyles, but because we are his followers. We are his disciples.

We are his sheep. He leads we follow first 1st Corinthians 2 14 and the first part of 15 Says but a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised but listen this part we hear the 14 a lot, but he who is spiritual appraises all things and Natural man an unsaved man does not accept the Word of God.

It's foolishness. But how can a Christian not believe the Bible or how can a Christian hear the Bible and then not act on it? It's okay not to agree with me. It's okay not to agree with Mike. It's really okay not to agree with no.

It's not really okay. However, the key here is don't act like an unbeliever if you hear the truth. You can't reject it. Why because you hear God's voice you hear the words of Christ and you follow. Now that word there appraise.

In verse 15 means it means to conduct a judicial hearing to hear a case or a question. So We hear these things taught and we are to evaluate them we are to judge them. We are to not based on our own opinion.

But based on whether it's the Word of God or not. Listen to what is said listen to what is taught and say that's true. That's right. I believe that and I will act on it to dismiss election or any other doctrine without a biblical reason without a verse from the Bible is to act like a natural man.

You are acting as an unbeliever. Why would you want to do that? Now is election a dogma? Isn't an essential part of Christianity, I think you can be a Christian not believe in election. In the sense that in the same sense that our pastors been teaching it.

However, you have to have a view on election. Why because the Bible talks about it if? What God has revealed in the Bible is his revelation to us about himself and about how he works. Why would we want not want to know that?

Why would we not want to put our arms around it? Why would we not embrace it fully? So is a is election a dogma? No. But you have to have a view on it. And may I also suggest that if you have a view you ought to be able to defend that view.

Biblically you ought to be able to say well, this is what I believe and why I believe it and have some verses. Ready to go was interesting. Watching the debate between John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus seminar and James White because John Dominic Crossan very likable man for Someone who says the the Bible is not true.

Very likable man, but it was interesting because he would turn a lot of different things in the Bible. He would just say well, that's a parable. I don't believe that actually happened. That's a parable.

Jesus appears before Pilate. That's a parable. Where do you get that? You know, he just everything he didn't like was a parable it teaches a truth, but it didn't actually happen and It was just interesting because I thought listen we have the Bible we're responsible to learn it we are his sheep we need to listen to it and This man who spent his entire life studying it still doesn't get it.

Why. Because he's not Saved he's not a Christian. He calls himself a Christian, but by any standard. As we'll discuss I I don't think you can call him on first. Thessalonians 5 20 through 22 Says Do not despise prophetic utterances teaching.

But examine everything carefully hold fast to that which is good abstain from every form of evil again. We are to examine all things. MacArthur says this call for careful examination and discernment is in response to the command of verse 20.

One is never to downgrade the proclamation of God's Word, but to examine the preached word carefully. What is found to be good is to be wholeheartedly embraced. What is evil or unbiblical is to be shunned.

This is dogmatic thinking. This is black and white thinking. Teaching is either true or false. Teachers are either right or they're wrong. And if you haven't decided yet whether they're right or wrong, you could say they're interesting.

But eventually the burden is on you to decide whether interesting. Meant they were wrong or right. This is an example. Well, let me ask you this. What is the result of biblically informed dogmatic black-and-white thinking.

What happens if you come up with a list of non-negotiables and you continue to push yourself to learn and to grow and Your list expands and you just come to think of things as biblical. Not biblical.

What what happens in your life. Sanctification. What's that? You find yourself swimming against the current all the time. Now, is that a bad thing? I mean if you are to be Salt-and-light if you are to make a difference in the world if people are to look at you and say, you know.

There's something different about that guy because we were having a conversation about X. And he kept trying to turn it around to Y or he wasn't laughing at our jokes or this that or the other thing. These are the the very things that we can use to preach the gospel.

Listen. The other thing that will happen is you will become more decisive as you hear things and you'll just right away think well. That is not right. Decisiveness is a good quality not divisiveness decisiveness.

When I study and I know that God will send the unrepentant to hell. What happens if I really understand that. What happens if I believe in hell, I am motivated to Evangelize. I don't want to see anybody go to hell when I understand how terrible it is.

I don't just sit there and think you know. Boy I hope that guy is okay. Sounds like he's all messed up, but I hope he's okay. I think that guy needs help and God put me here. I need to help. How wicked would it be?

To not share the gospel because I don't want to offend someone because I don't want to seem Out of step with the way they're thinking. When I understand dogma core principles of Christianity that must be upheld by all followers of Christ.

I am moved to action on behalf of those who don't believe those core principles. It's interesting again that debate between white and crossing. Crossing or a white during his rebuttal time when he he got to respond at length to John Dominic crossing, you know what he did.

He preached the gospel. He preached the gospel and I thought at first I'm going. What is he doing and then I thought he's got an unsaved man here, and he's preaching the gospel to him. He didn't say he didn't turn to him and say you know what you're not even a Christian did it.

Uh, what he did was he said you know I find John Dominic crossings arguments interesting did it and then he just kind of went he said. But I believe in a literal hell, and he just started giving the gospel, and I'm going that's good.

I mean we don't know. You know that that mr. Crossin might repent and that's what we should want. White was not to Win the debate on style points, and you know go into his corner and lift up the championship belt.

He wants to see that guy get saved. So what are the non-negotiables the essentials the fundamentals the dogma one must be built was one must believe to be saved. What do you have to believe to be a Christian.

Well let's put it this way if you don't believe some things. Can you still be a Christian for example if you believe the Bible is? Full of errors. Can you be a Christian? Yeah, I don't think that's a negotiable.

You might be ignorant to that when you first get saved and not have an opinion. But I think once you start learning. I think you you have no choice, but to bow the knee to the the the Bible. I had a friend Who who went from being a nominal Christian to becoming a Mormon.

And then by the grace of God becoming a born-again Christian again again well for the first time and when he was when he was in his Mormon phase of course he knew that I was the Former Mormon, and I remember being out in the gym with him one day and him saying Steve Isn't it great that we have a prophet in Salt Lake City?

Who's able to commune with God and tell us what God's thinking? You know just like Moses and just like all the prophets of old and I looked at him. And I said no. I said I think what's great is that we have a God who's revealed himself in the pages of scripture and is able to keep that Bible free of error even today.

We have a God who's so powerful. He says listen. This is who I am and then he doesn't allow men to corrupt it. That's what I think is great. We Must believe in God as he is presented in the Bible. Man as he is presented in the Bible.

Woman as she is presented in the Bible. Why why are those non-negotiables? Charlie yeah, if you don't know that you're in need of a Savior. You'll never come to one and if you don't understand how holy if you don't understand the attributes of God.

And you don't understand the sinfulness of man. You'll never come to that Conclusion you must believe the Bible is inerrant and infallible. What is inerrancy means means doesn't have any mistakes infallible means.

It's not wrong. It can't make a mistake. What do you have to believe about Jesus. Louis. Absolutely, you have to believe that I was just. When you start reading you know the more famous Christian ministries when you start reading about them and getting behind the scenes and reading what they actually believe it's pretty interesting.

Some don't believe in a substitutionary atonement. There are all kinds of different views out there. Do you have to believe in the virgin birth? Why why do you have to believe in the virgin birth? Okay, because Christ is not Deity he's not God.

Why else would that matter? Sin would have been passed down to Jesus absolutely, but you know I think the number one reason for me anyway, the number one reason why that matters is because the Bible says it and so if he wasn't born of a virgin and the Bible says he was.