When Christ came into the world, the world did not love him. Jesus was mocked by family members, beaten and abused by the religious leaders of his day, and crucified by a government given the charge to, “punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”-I Peter 2:14. Jesus certainly was, “persecuted for righteousness sake.”-Matthew 5:10. In fact our Lord pulls no punches in describing the treatment his disciples should anticipate, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”-John 15:18-19.
There can be times when it seems the religious world and the secular one, are dead set against biblical truth and those who teach and practice it. There is just nothing like turning into a living, breathing “Debbie Downer.” Yet, every spring and winter, gospel preachers are forced to clear their throats and remind everyone they are celebrating religious holidays that are unknown to inspired Scripture and without the authority of God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.
This is no small thing in the eyes of God. When king David announced he would build an elaborate house in which God could dwell among the people of Israel, his personal prophet approved. But God stepped in to spoil everybody’s fun. The Lord reminded Nathan and David, he was perfectly capable of expressing what he wanted done in worship and did not need them establishing their own traditions (Mark 7:9), thank you very much; “did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”-II Samuel 7:7.
So, here we are pouring vinegar into everyone’s punch bowl, during what newscasters and men with their collars on backwards breathlessly call one of the two, “holiest nights of the year.”
- No, there is no such thing as a Christmas or Easter celebration in the Bible.
- No, we do not know the date on which the Savior was born.
- No, we can’t be sure how many wise men from the east visited Jesus.
- No, those nativity scenes aren’t right. Jesus was, in a house not a manger, by the time the wise men visited.
- No, we should not add a “Christian holiday” to Christ’s church (Deuteronomy 4:2).
There is at least one, “Yes!”
- Yes, Easter and Christmas started out at pagan festivals celebrating spring fertility rites and the winter solstice, respectively.
It gives New Testament Christians no joy to ruin everybody’s fun during Christmas and Easter. In fact, it would be easier to just, “Go along to get along.” Schedule the passion play! Let the casting begin for our special celebration of, “The Very First Christmas!” But truth matters! And I don’t just mean the truth about the worship of the church. What if, during their entire lives, I were to lie to my kids about Abraham, David, and the apostle Peter? What if I told them the Bible contained true stories about their faith, prowess with a sling, and boldness on Pentecost; then at age 15-to-25, they found out those things were not so? What would that do to their faith? How could I expect to convert my worldly neighbor to a God that cannot lie, when he knows my religious celebrations are based on falsehood and superstition?
Christians should be known as truth tellers, lie haters, and Jesus imitators. I hate to tell you this, but that rules out Easter and Christmas as religious holidays.
Brothers and sister, let us worship our God in spirit and truth. Is it true that Jesus was born of a virgin and lived as, “God with us”-Matthew 1:23? Yes! Is it true God raised Jesus from the dead on an early Sunday morning? Yes! Do those things deserve our attention, study, and praise to God? Yes! This holiday season, instead of spending all your money on presents, Buy the truth and sell it not.”-Proverbs 23:23 (KJV).
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