WAS CHRIST Conceived OUT OF WEDLOCK?

One question rarely entertained by Christians is whether or not Jesus could have been conceived out of wedlock. According to John 8:41, the Pharisees appeared to think so. This is what it says. "'All of you do the deeds of your father.' Then said they to him, 'We be not conceived of fornication; we have one Father, even God.'" But can we consider Christ to have been conceived out of wedlock? After all, Mary's husband, Joseph, wasn't yet married to her.

According to Hank Hanegraaff of The Bible Answer Man, the Son of God wasn't conceived out of wedlock. The Holy Spirit came over Mary and created what would become Jesus' body. Therefore it was a supernatural act and had no taint of sin.

I also believe that since God gave humanity the restrictions against sex outside of marriage to protect us, what the third member of the Trinity caused was outside those parameters.

Perhaps the lack of discussion on this point is due to  the topic of children conceived outside of marriage. It has been taboo for many centuries. The poor children were blamed for their "unfortunate" births as well as their mothers for becoming pregnant. Fortunately for us all, people are changing their attitude toward these victims of rape or their parent's sin.

My half-sister, Jentien, is a good example. She was the product of a rape and since my mom wasn't married at the time, she gave up her daughter for adoption. Through the providence of God, she was adopted by a minister and raised with his family as one of them. Even so, society frowned upon people such as her until recently.

However, a few people still consider these children to be wicked. Such critical people should remember the birth of Christ and the ugly rumors which circulated about it.

From my reading of the Bible, I believe that no child is illegitimate. Every human is a body-soul unity. God allows some to be conceived out of wedlock but he still loves them. In fact, he uses situations in their lives to call them to repentance. Jesus died on the cross for all who would surrender to him. He didn't qualify it by excluding any group of people.

The trouble with legalism is that it appeals to our fleshly nature. I was a victim of it and I also participated in this sin in the past. I wrote about how a toxic church misled me and how the Lord straightened me out in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers distribute this wonderful testimony of the Lord's marvelous leading.