December 11
Hope does not spring from a person’s mind; it is not snatched out of mid-air. Hope is grounded in God and his promises. The Christian finds hope on the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus that Christian.
The eternal Son of God became a human being (John 1:14). He is fully God and Man, a full human being. The virginal conception is necessary to obtain both a true human nature and a completely divine nature. Therefore, His death is superior and sufficient to forgive anyone who believes specifically in Christ and his death and resurrection for sin. Why? Because he died as a substitute for our sins and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Jesus was a human being. He was made like us in every way except for one: Jesus is perfectly Holy. This means he is like us in every way excerpt for sin. Hebrews 4:15 helps us understand: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 7:26-27 also clarifies: “such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”
Since the fall of man in Genesis 3, every human father produces a son or daughter with his sin nature. The Lord Jesus Christ does not have a sin nature. Because of the virginal conception, he did not inherit the curse of depravity of Adam’s race. The virginal conception is essential!
In the person of Jesus Christ, Christians have a mediator AND because Jesus is righteous and Holy, his righteousness is imputed to the believer when they believe in Jesus Christ. The simple but profound truth is that believers in Jesus have salvation: the forgiveness of sin. He is our hope!