Adrian Rogers Defends Virgin Birth of Jesus

by Norman Miller                                                                                                                                         Vol. VII, No. 8, October 1994

The virgin birth is crucial to the existence of Christianity as a religion, said former SBC President Adrian Rogers as he addressed the 1994 Southern Baptist Pastors Conference in Orlando, Fla., June 12. Preaching on the holiness of Jesus Christ and the unity found among the disciples of Jesus Christ, Rogers, pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in suburban Memphis, Tenn., addressed comments about the virgin birth of Christ made recently by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leader Cecil Sherman and comments in some Baptist state papers that conservatives in the SBC are fractured.

Rogers said, "I may get in trouble for what I am about to say, but friend, Jesus is a holy child." Without naming Sherman, but referring to him as "one of the leaders in the moderate faction," Rogers cited Sherman as saying, "The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is not an important doctrine; it's an incidental doctrine. It's only mentioned in two of the Gospels."

“I reject that with all of the emphasis, unction and function of my soul," said Rogers as the crowd erupted in applause. "Jesus is the holy child. That's not ‘incidental' – it is fundamental. Without the virgin birth there's no incarnation, no Christianity. It falls apart like a house of cards."

In a recent Baptist Press story, Sherman said he personally believed in the virgin birth but said he might not fire a seminary professor solely on the basis of the professor's disbelief in the virgin birth.

Rogers said those who do not believe in the virgin birth "have difficulty with the character of the Word of God because the Word of God teaches it. If you don't believe in the virgin birth, you have difficulty with the character of Jesus; because if Jesus is not the Son of God he is the son of Adam, and in Adam all die. If you don't believe in the virgin birth, you have difficulty with the character of Mary, because if Mary had a child under those circumstances, then she was not a virgin but a harlot. ... If you don't believe in the virgin birth, you have difficulty with your own character."

Outlining the pivotal nature of the virgin birth, Rogers said, "If Jesus is not born of a virgin, he is not sinless. If he is not sinless, he is not worthy of the sinless sacrifice. If there's no sacrifice, there's no atonement. If there's no atonement, there's no new birth. Jesus was born of a virgin so that we might be born again."

Some of the SBC state papers are saying, Rogers said, "Some people are just salivating, hoping that we'll disintegrate and fracture. ... Some of the state papers have been saying, ‘Hey, the conservatives are about to split up.' Don't you believe it for one skinny minute."

Rogers interrupted the crowd's applause and said, "Brother, I want to tell you, when you get people who believe the holy Word of God and love the holy child of God and are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, there is unity. And it goes beyond who is elected president of any convention." [BP]