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"But in vain they do
worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Matthew 15:9
Once
again, 'tis the season. Centuries ago, without any mandate from the
Scriptures and consequently no example from the apostolic church, the
Roman Catholic Church instituted a "holy day" known as the Mass
of Christ. Or do you say Christmas? The advent of the day which ostensibly
celebrates the advent of Christ had everything to do with the Roman church
"Christianizing" paganism or paganizing Christianity. Whichever
way one wants to slice it, the end result is a net gain for the devil.
The high holy day called Christmas which is
celebrated throughout "Christendom" is not just pagan in its
origins but is also steeped through and through with pagan traditions
covered over with very thin Christian wrapping paper. Many Christians are
uneasy about the crass commercialism and greed associated with a day which
they hold to be holy. Unfortunately, few of them have any scruples about
designating and celebrating as biblical and holy something that is profane
in origin, substance, and practice. Tragically, most Christians are not
getting sound biblical guidance from the pastors and elders who should be
on the forefront of turning God's people away from this pagan holiday
instead of being at the front of the line at the check-out counter, laden
down with Christmas gifts.
But how should Christians deal with this
day which is so tightly woven into the fabric of their lives? The fact
that so few even see that as a question suggests a love of the world (1
John 2:15) and a lack of spiritual maturity. I believe that the Bible
gives us clear guidance with regard to the subject of this discussion, the
celebration of Christmas as a day holy unto the Lord. It is one thing for
individual families to establish traditions such as family reunions,
birthday parties, vacations, and special days of fellowship. While
Christians should seek to honor the Lord and obey him every second of
every day, the events just mentioned are things which belong to the
day-to-day warp and woof of life. They are not special days consecrated
as holy unto the Lord by His Church. It is another thing altogether for
the Church of Jesus Christ to sanctify a day as having special spiritual
significance to be religiously observed as holy unto the Lord. To exercise
such authority without biblical justification and direction is to indulge
in "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew
15:9, Mark 7:7). The Pharisees were good at doing that, as is the
Roman Catholic Church. Those two examples alone should drive home the
danger of falling into man-centered, religious traditions in the name of
promoting true religion. Certainly, both groups mentioned perfected the
finer points of annexing man-made traditions to God's Word and then
promoting those traditions as holy, necessary, and beneficial. Doubtless,
we must be ever on-guard against doing the same thing ourselves, even in
small things.
Christmas is a man-made tradition, and no
small one, which is seen as holy by most of God's people. Further,
Christmas was pagan from the start, thus Christians never should have
yoked with unbelievers to commemorate, promulgate, and promote it (2
Corinthians 6:14-18, Ephesians 5:11). It is a serious thing to designate a
specific day as holy unto the Lord. It is more serious yet to take a pagan
holiday and "Christianize" it by proclaiming it as a holy day to
be honored as such by God's people. If we are going to set aside, before
the whole world, special days as holy unto the Lord, is it not obedient,
reasonable, and right to only do so based on instruction from the Word of
God rather than to docilely adopt a holy day designated as such by that
unholy, counterfeit, Roman church? I believe that it is clear from God's
Word that Christians are to honor the Lord's Day as a holy day of rest
when His people assemble together for teaching, preaching, worship,
prayer, and fellowship. In addition, there is certainly solid scriptural
foundation and example for the observance of special days of thanksgiving
as well as days of fasting and prayer. But there is absolutely no
justification, instruction, or example in God's Word for setting up an
annual holy day as the day of Christ's birth. It is a dangerous thing for
man to unilaterally erect such a day and then declare it holy and in
effect until the return of Christ! There is no hint in the Bible that the
apostolic church did such a thing. There is no license for the present-day
church to do so.
We do not know when Christ was born, but we
certainly know why the Romanists chose December 25 as His
"birthday" given that their friends celebrate the solstice at
the same time. The Christmas season itself is birthed and steeped in pagan
history, symbols, and rituals. The name of the holiday is Roman Catholic
and honors a blasphemous Catholic ritual. Is it not possible—and I
think more than possible—that flippantly using the name of the Son of
God in such a way is a violation of the third commandment? Certainly, we
are not talking here of open cursing or blasphemy. But the command against
the "vain" use of God's name includes the light, disrespectful
use of His name. We would perhaps do well to reconsider whether it is
right to annex the name of our Lord to a word describing a pagan ritual
which blasphemes Him in the most awful way and to then use the word to
identify a day ostensibly set apart for His honor and glory! One would
think that even if true Christians felt obligated and justified to
commemorate the Son of Man's birth on a special day, they would
at least do it on a different day bearing a different name!
But again, such considerations bring into
sharp focus how tradition-bound, instead of Bible-bound, many Christians
have become. What a sad situation it is when God's people cannot find the
strength to break free from something so beneficial to the devil's cause!
Christmas is one of the greatest things which ever happened to the Roman
Church. It is the pope's time to shine in his usurped office as supreme
head of the universal "Christian" church. Christmas is a
propaganda bonanza for the ecumenical movement, to say the least.
Christian churches openly celebrating it unwittingly play the part of the
Vatican II separated brethren and testify to the world that the Roman
Catholic Church is the true Christian church. Just think for one moment
what a testimony it would be, what a distinction it would draw, what a
contrast it would provide if Christ's true Church refused to celebrate
the Roman whore's holiday with her.
But I hear shrill protests that Christmas
is a great time to share the gospel with unbelievers. Dear brothers and
sisters, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Every day
is the day to share the gospel with the world, and it is never the right
day to trust in craftiness rather than the Holy Ghost to save souls.
Christmas is rather the most heart-hardening time of the year when
multitudes of pagans become "Christians" for a day, and most go
home feeling justified that they have honored their Creator by sitting in
church for a brief time or suffering a Christian relative to say grace
before the Christmas feast.
Let us remember, Christmas is not the
Fourth of July or Veterans Day. Christians hold Christmas to be a day set
apart and holy unto the Lord—which brings me to another point. I have
spoken very briefly on the reality that there is no biblical foundation
for a holy day called Christmas and that its foundation—root and branch—is
pagan. I have touched on the benefit which Christmas provides for the
devil's false church and the dangerous presuppositions which Christians
celebrating it plant in the minds of unbelievers. Now, for just a moment,
I want to address Christian parents. You may have taken a
"stand" on Christmas in your home. Santa has been exposed, the
mistletoe is gone, and perhaps even the Christmas tree which would have
graced your home has been pardoned. You have given a lofty speech to your
children about how Christmas is the day Jesus was born; and as for you and
your house, you will glorify and honor the Savior because that is
what Christmas is really all about. Naturally, unless your pastor preaches
otherwise, children will buy the story that pagans have paganized a
Christian holiday even though the reality is the reverse. Indeed, if
neither pastor nor parents will tell children the truth about Christmas,
the little ones who are to be brought up "in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4) will be more than happy to
believe that it is imperative that Christians keep Christ in Christ-mass
and that pagans are trying to steal our high holy day which we reverently
observe as befits a holy people on such a holy day.
So as the big day approaches, your whole
family really zeros in on the birth of Jesus and its significance—that
is, when they are not thinking about frantic Christmas preparations,
shopping, and what gifts they are going to receive. But of course, the
gift giving and receiving is a way to show our love for Christ, as if that
makes any sense! Surely it has nothing to do with personal gratification
or pagan tradition, and surely it does nothing to take the children's
minds and hearts off of Jesus on the high holy day which celebrates His
"birthday."
In reality, Christmas creates little
hypocrites who are taught hollow, superficial, man-centered religion. They
are trained to use holy things to achieve selfish ends. The children are
taught that it is permissible, even desirable to pretend Christmas is an
annual holy day, one of two holiest days of the year, to worship, praise,
and focus on the Lord. They are told that it is a day set aside to
reverently celebrate the birth of the Messiah. They are verbally
instructed to dwell on this blessed, holy event. But practically speaking,
children are taught to eagerly, greedily look forward to gifts being
showered on them that holy day. They are discipled in a shallow,
man-centered, syncretistic Christianity by grownups who boldly claim to
set aside a holy day—yea, even a season—to honor the Lord Jesus
Christ but, when all is said and done, spend the vast majority of that
special time pleasuring themselves. Children are taught that it is right
and good to join the world in setting aside a day as special and holy when
the Bible does neither. They are taught to compartmentalize their faith
and are discipled in the fine art of spiritual paper hanging. A
structurally unsound house on a foundation of sand cannot be made sound by
covering its walls with pretty wallpaper. An unbiblical, artificial holy
day instituted by pagans steeped in pagan traditions cannot be made holy
by singing some hymns and reciting some prayers amidst an orgy of
feasting; fussing; dreaming; shopping; gift giving; socializing; and in
all too many cases, football games. In reality, such worship of God
interjected into the worldly, pagan holiday known as Christmas is akin to
putting a golden calf alongside the altar of God. It is like dressing up a
hog's snout with a gold ring. The nature of the beast remains the same,
even if one focuses on the beauty of the ring.
It is dangerous to train children to
indulge in the sort of spiritual sophistry in which Christian adults
engage to justify Christmas. It is wrong to teach them to strike pious
poses for a designated time on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and pretend
that they are focusing on Jesus when all the while their minds are given
to thoughts of presents and partying. In addition to the harm this
does to children, it cannot help but offend the Lord. "I am the LORD:
that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my
praise to graven images" (Isaiah 42:8). The Scriptures teach us that
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Celebrating Christmas is hardly the
way to teach children to worship God in spirit and in truth. It certainly
is a good way to teach them to put man-made traditions and emotionally
driven desires ahead of the Word of God.
Christmas is a holiday for popes and
pagans. Why do Christian churches treat that day as holy unto the Lord?
Certainly in many cases, it is because the celebrants have not been taught
well on the issue. But in the case of the fully informed, is it not
possible that, when push comes to shove, Christians do not want to give up
something which so pleasured their flesh as children and continues to do
so now that they are adults? Never mind that we can give each other
presents other times without the hollow, hypocritical pretense of doing so
to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. Forget about the reality that we can plan
warm family gatherings and special church events for other times for other
reasons which do honor God and bless His people. Most Christians, even
after hearing the truth about Christmas, refuse to let go of that day.
Most cannot even conceive of making such a "sacrifice."
The issue seems to boil down to this: most
Christians love Christ-mass. They just cannot loose their grip on a
tradition which they acquired as children and have nurtured as adults. I
am talking about those Christians who have been told the truth but have
turned away from it and back to the Christmas tradition handed down to
them from their parents. I do not deny that this Christmas issue is not an
easy one in every sense; and it has its nuances, no doubt. I do not
question the sincerity in the hearts of all Christians who celebrate
Christmas. This is not a question of sincerity but of seeking to honor the
Lord in all things and live by every word which proceeds from Him (Matthew
4:4). I do not expect our elderly parents in their last days to
necessarily see the light on this issue; and I, for one, am not going to
make it my goal to pound on them until they do! But I do believe that it
is incumbent upon us, the next two generations of adults, to turn this
situation around, for the glory of God and the good of His people. To know
the good we ought to do in this situation and not do it is simply sin
(James 4:17).
So what is a Christian to do about
"Christmas"? Surely Christ's churches should—and easily could—stop observing Christmas as a body. I believe that most important step
should not be difficult and should be immediate. Certainly those Christian
families who are convicted that Christmas does not honor Christ or advance
His cause should cease to celebrate that day in their own homes. Those two
steps are relatively easy and painless; but of course, there are difficult
family situations which exist outside the home during the Christmas
season. The aged parents of whom I previously spoke is one example. I am
not saying that we should abandon them, crush their spirits, confuse their
minds, or break their hearts at this time of year. Depending on the nature
of the gathering and what takes place, I personally would not speak
against grown children for going to see their parents on
"Christmas" when invited. Likewise, I would not counsel any
Christian who has had a change of mind concerning that day to suddenly turn
his back on an elderly parent, leaving him or her bewildered and
alone on a day which had always been such a special family time.
I also do not believe this question of
Christmas is one which should provoke bitterness and division among God's
people any more than it should stir up contempt or pride. We surely should
not use it as the measure of a brother's righteousness or commitment to
Christ. The celebration of Christmas by a Christian is not equivalent to
attending a Catholic mass or committing those sins that the law of God
written on the heart condemns and the Word of God specifically prohibits.
A sincere Christian striving to honor Christ on Christmas, not
understanding the things previously written of here, is not a criminal to
be shunned but rather a brother to be gently, patiently enlightened. The
Christmas season should not be seen as a time to mock those sincere
Christians who are clinging to that holiday anymore than it is the time to
try to convince unbelievers regarding matters not yet seen by many
believers.
But brethren, is it not time to break from
the pagan tradition of Christmas handed down from our ancestors, even
though it is a pleasant tradition? Is it not time that a generation be
raised up unpolluted by that tradition and more than "content to let
the world go by" in that regard? If Christian parents will do what is
right now, even those difficult family situations which I mentioned
earlier will someday be a thing of the past with the passing of that
oldest of the generations among us. Quite frankly, I believe that it
is important for parents to deal with this issue now because, for all the
reasons I previously listed, the greatest spiritual damage done
to individuals by Christmas is done to children.
I would encourage those brothers
and sisters who are still clinging to Christmas to consider
what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "Furthermore then we beseech
you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received
of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and
more" (1 Thessalonians 4:1). Please reconsider this important issue
of Christmas. Then ask yourself, Does it please the Lord that His Church
joins with the world and the false church in celebrating "the
mass of Christ" as holy unto Him?
"I hold it to be one of the greatest
absurdities under heaven to think that there is any religion in keeping
Christmas day . . . the observance of it is purely of Popish origin."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
"The celebration of Christmas has
sometimes been opposed as pagan by religious leaders. New England Puritans
considered Christmas 'popish' idolatry, and the Massachusetts General
Court in 1659 passed an act against its celebration, though the law was
repealed in 1681." "Christmas," Dictionary of
Christianity in America, 1990
". . . The suppression of the Mass
during the Reformation led to a sharp change in the observance of
Christmas in some countries. In England, the Puritans condemned the
celebration and, from 1642 to 1652, issued a series of ordinances
forbidding all church services and festivities. This feeling was carried
over to America by the Pilgrims and it was not until the
nineteenth-century wave of Irish and German immigration that enthusiasm
for the feast began to spread throughout the country." "Christmas,"
Collier's Encyclopedia, Vol. 6, 1992
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