Merry Christmas - a familiar greeting heard ringing in the cities during the month of December. A festive attitude is in the air and you feel good about yourself, suddenly the world does not seem so bad. You feel like giving something to somebody, buying something, or just doing a kind deed. If you are a Christian, then this is about worshiping Christ. If you are not, then this is about family - they say.
It seems so spiritual. Christmas must be a good way to celebrate Christ’s birth, a good way to worship Him. However, like everything Disciples of Christ do, many are double-checking to see if their conduct during December is pleasing to God.
Some have asked, “Is celebration what God wants from me?” The answer is “yes.” Yes, God wants you to worship him. Yes, he wants gifts given and yes, he wants you to have a festive time while worshiping Him. The real question should be “How does God want me to worship Him?” Through His Word he has given guidelines for everyone to follow. Is the way you are worshiping Him during December the way He wants you to worship Him?
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Is it Wrong to Observe Traditional Holy Days
Does this mean it is wrong to observe traditional holy days, like the Passover? The gospel of Mark addresses this issue:
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well yereject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. (Mark 7:5-9)
In Colossians 2:16, it says “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days.” Does this mean I can celebrate holidays and be free from judgment? No. The term holy day is referring to the days under the traditional Jewish fasts and sacrifices. When Paul wrote this epistle, he was talking about holy days already in existence. The writer was including neither America’s Christmas nor any other future foreign traditions. In contrast, the term holiday, according to Princeton University, means “leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure.” A holiday can celebrate anything for any reason. This scripture means someone should not pronounce a sentence on you because you have broken the traditional laws concerning meat and festivals.
Christ's death was the fulfilling of the law and it released everyone from needing to keep thetraditional days of the Jewish customs. Although many Christians today are not literal Jews, each Christian is a spiritual Jew - one who worships King Jesus in the New Jerusalem.
One may ask about Romans 14:5-6, where it says:
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.
Again, Paul is speaking of the Passover, the feast of tabernacles, and the other special festivals and fasts of the Jews. After Jesus came, these customs became needless to keep, being symbols of what the Messiah had just fulfilled.
For the first time, Gentiles (those not raised as Jews) could worship the God of Israel. The Gentiles often had no knowledge of Jewish tradition, neither was there a need to educate them to such. Paul is exhorting that whether the Jews retained their traditions of the holy days or the Gentiles failed to do so, there was no reason to place a judgment against either of them because both were worshiping in reverence to God. Whether you esteem every day the same for God or set aside a specific day to Him, either way the day is the Lords. Having said this, Paul cautions them to be convinced in their own mind: because anything a person does without faith to them, it becomes sin. Again, one can see that this scripture is referring to the Jewish holy days and not to foreign holidays.
In the scriptures, one learns that instead of keeping the traditions of a Pagan celebration, they should worship God by living free from sin and telling others of His goodness. In the Bible, Christ’s power over death is emphasized and not His birth.
The spirit of God's son has existed since the beginning of time. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. The Oxford Companion to the Bible explains thisWord was “a self-communicating divine presence that existed with God and was uniquely manifested in Jesus Christ.” The Word John is speaking about is “God's creative presence through which the world came into being” and later seen in Jesus as the redemptive or savior presence, necessary because people had rejected God the creator.
Overcoming sin is what is important to Christians. John 1:14 says “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” This Word was born of Mary and called Jesus. Upon His birth, He took on the human form so people could enter into the kingdom of God through righteousness and purity. He first dwelt in spirit with God, then He dwelt among men and now He reigns in heaven, sitting on the right hand of God, the father. Is there a particular day that is better for worshipping Christ than another? Everyday should be a birthday celebration - a celebration of sinners coming to repentance and being born into the kingdom: the kingdom that Jesus made available by His sinless death and resurrection.
The tradition of Christmas keeps Jesus as a harmless baby and Easter seems to keep him helpless on a tree. Christ’s resurrection to heaven from the grave and then into your life is the real reason for celebration. Being born-again and having received forgiveness of one’s sins is what individuals should be remembering each year.
Would you like to celebrate and rejoice over the same things as God? In the scriptures, Jesus said, “that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.” You should rejoice as heaven does, when one soul comes to repentance. God’s word tells you to rejoice in persecution, to rejoice because He wrote your name in heaven, and to rejoice because God has avenged you of spiritual Babylon. By the way, the spirits born from spiritual Babylon are the same spirits that are behind Christmas.
Tradition brings bondage, albeit, through Christ you are made free. Christ wants you to celebrate Him being king in your life. You do this by living free from sin and proclaiming the great things He has done.
This Modern-Day Holiday Called Christmas
The first Christians did not worship the holiday called Christmas. They were opposed to many of its customs and they knew it came about by combining Judaism with Paganism. In particular, Christmas combines the worship of the god, Sol with the story of Jesus' birth.
Prior to AD 33, Heathens often celebrated the sun god Mithra, following the customs of Baal worship in Babylon. This was on December 25. After Rome asserted control over Greece, people renamed the sun godSol.
After AD 33, many people wanted to claim Christianity but still observe their Heathen ways. Some call these past customs Pagan but Jesus calls them Heathen. The term Heathen means foreign. The Bible teaches to abstain or stay away from foreign customs. It goes so far as to tell people not to even inquire into their customs. Throughout the Old Testament, God became angry over His people committing fornication and learning the foreigner’s ways. God said not to learn the Heathen’s traditions but to reprove and drive away their works.
To join the Israelites, a person had to denounce their past belief and take the vow of circumcision according to the Jewish law. Philippians 3:3 says, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Paul said if you walk in the spirit, you would not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Instead of joining the celebrations of the Heathen, you should seek to have the world join you in your worship of Christ. Why should a commercialized holiday dictate how Christians worship God? Christians should be teaching the world how to worship God, in truth and in spirit.
How does one teach the world to worship in spirit? First, the sinner must allow God to rebuke satan from their lives. Jesus said, “it is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” His spirit makes you alive, His words are spirit and they are life. God recorded His promises and commandments in the Bible so people would have access to them. He also reveals divine truth to His people, for the help of everyone.
Next, they must receive Jesus as their savior and become filled with the Holy Spirit, ask forgiveness of sins and repent of their old ways. They must receive the spirit because the spirit is what gives life. “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” .........
