EXCUSES FOR CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’  You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods…Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” Deuteronomy 12:29-32

The Christmas celebration as we know it today is clearly pagan in origin, it has Satan's prints all over it. When researching it anyone can see it is clearly not a Christian holiday. Many pastors and preachers know what it is and still do nothing about it. They stand in the pulpit year after year and do not tell the church, that it is one of the pagans most sacred days. Why is this? Do these pastors and preachers not know about it? The reason is the church would not accept it and would run the pastor or preacher off! They will let the church drown in sin at risk of losing their pay check and position. This is what it boils down to! It’s time for Gods people to stand up and preach the truth about Christmas.

IS A CHRISTIAN'S DECISION TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS A PART OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY? (Romans 14:1-13)

This passage is speaking of Jews who were observing the Old Testament Jewish holy days/festivals and dietary laws even though they were now believers in Christ; but they were also judging their Gentile brothers who did not observe the Jewish customs. Likewise, the Gentile Christians were judging their Jewish brothers who were seemingly caught-up in ceremonial law. Paul was saying, "To you Gentile Christians leave the Jewish Christians alone, because they are not violating any Scriptural commands by their actions (i.e., it's a "disputable" matter and not a moral issue). To you Jewish Christians, it's okay for you to observe the Jewish festivals and dietary laws because they were given by God in the Old Testament, and thereby, are considered to be previously approved worship forms, don't judge your Gentile brothers, because there is no Biblical command for either of you to continue to observe these things." Paul allowed it as an act of an immature/weaker brother. If a moral issue is involved (i.e., a practice that is covered in Scripture), then this passage and its application to Christian liberty (i.e., the freedom to engage in practices. by Scripture) would obviously not apply. The celebration of Christmas appears to be such a moral issue, because its celebration is not only, not from God, but is from ancient paganism itself!

CHRISTMAS PROVIDES A FESTIVE TIME TO SHARE THE GOSPEL

We cannot take something condemned in God's Word and use it to spread the Gospel; neither will God bless it to spread His Word. Unacceptable worship and the "mixing-in" of unholy/pagan forms is surely not the normal means through which God blesses the faithful. Satan works to blend together his system with God's system, because when unacceptable worship (paganism) is blended with true worship, true worship is destroyed. In fact, any time we mix pagan ideas and practices into the true worship of God; it is condemned in Scripture as the heinous sin of idolatry! God has always detested taking those things dedicated to idols and using them to worship Him. As a matter of fact, Christmas is probably more a hindrance to the receptiveness of the gospel message than a help. Much of the celebration observed by our contemporary society deludes people into assuming that God is pleased, when in reality, He is offended by false worship. The ecumenical spirit and a counterfeit "love" under the guise of "peace and goodwill among men," more than likely dulls one's sensitivity to his desperate need to repent of sin and be reconciled to a holy God.

CHRISTMAS IS MERELY THE HONORING OF CHRIST'S BIRTH

Some say, "I know Christmas is of pagan origin, but I still think it's not wrong for the church to have a special time for honoring Christ's birth." Since when did God give the church the right to add to the Bible? Is the church a legislative body? Are we to follow the Bible in our faith and practice, or the thinking of fallible men? If we have the right to add a special holy day, then we can add 10,000 other things. Then we will be no better than the false cults and the Roman Catholics who follow heathen traditions! Celebrating Christ's birth is a form of worship. But since Christmas is a lie, those who celebrate it are not worshiping in "spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

ALL I'M DOING IS PUTTING CHRIST BACK INTO CHRISTMAS

The modern conservative cry to put Christ back into Christmas is absurd. Jesus Christ was never in Christmas. It's a lie to say He was. He has no part in a lie. When anyone takes the truth and mixes it with a lie, they no longer have the truth. They have changed the truth into a lie. Neither is it possible to take a lie and mix it with enough truth to change the lie into the truth. You still come out with a lie. You may say, "Well, I know it's not the truth, but I'll put Christ back in Christmas and glorify God in it then." No, you won't. Christ never was in Christmas. You cannot change a lie into the truth. It should in reality be called Baal-mass, Nimrod-mass, Tammuz-mass, Mithras-mass, or Mary-mass. Christ-mass is a lie.

I'M USING CHRISTMAS TO WITNESS FOR CHRIST, JUST LIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL DID

Some say that all they are doing is taking the "truth" from Christmas (i.e., the incarnation of Christ) and "cultivating" it as the Apostle Paul did (Acts 17), taking the opportunity of the season to witness to a lost world. This would be fine if you were actually doing only as Paul did. Paul, in addressing the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, proclaimed to them that their "unknown god" to whom they had erected an altar, was none other than "the God who made the world and all the things therein."

But do we really use the opportunity presented by the season in the same way as Paul used the opportunity of the pagan altar? Do you personally stand in front of their hometown public displays of Christmas (Nativity scenes, etc.) and preach the gospel? To paraphrase Paul, do they say: "People of this city, I see that in every way you are very religious; what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you". Do they come out of the public schools, where they have just attended their children's Christmas programs, and preach to the attendees about the true God who has been grossly misrepresented in the program they have just witnessed?

Most of those who understand the true origin of Christmas, this "unique time of year" means inviting unbelievers into their homes to gather around the Christmas tree, to enjoy the beauty of the wreaths, absorb the heat from the Yule log, etc., reasoning that they are only using the pagan forms and the pagan festival season as an opportunity to witness. If Paul meant this in Acts 17, he would have met the people in the Athenian temple or in his or their homes, gathering around their idols that he had Christianized and was now using as a part of his worship. Most of the people who decorate their homes and churches with Christmas trees, holly wreaths, Nativity scenes, etc.; all supposedly to be used as "opportunities" via Christmas plays, gift exchanges, Christmas concerts, etc., are thoroughly convinced that they're doing God a service. And since they are not involved in the inane secular "commercialization" that the world revels in, but have instead "put Christ back in Christmas" (so to speak), they reason that all is Biblical and pleasing to God.

IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME

Many Christians who routinely make a habit of picking and choosing which Biblical commands they will or will not obey, have likewise carried this practice over into a justification for celebrating Christmas. They claim, "But the Christmas tree, mistletoe, Santa Claus, etc., don't mean anything pagan to me, so I'll exercise my Christian liberty and partake in all of it." Obviously, if one were to take such a casual approach to the physical world (i.e., "I can drink rat poison because I choose not to regard it as poison"), it would likely lead to a quick physical death. Why, then, do Christians think they can avoid spiritual harm by ignoring God's spiritual warnings?

THE CONNECTION HAS BEEN BROKEN

There are those who clearly recognize the pagan nature of the various Christmas worship forms and practices. Nevertheless, many of these Christians claim that because of the long passage of time from their pagan inception to the present (6,000 years), the "connection" to paganism has been sufficiently diminished to allow the adoption of these forms and practices into our Christian worship and celebration. While it may be true that most symbols have lost their original demonic meaning and significance in a modern society, it is strangely bizarre and ironic that Christendom seeks to commemorate Christ's birth with the faded symbols of Satan. And even though some of God's people may be naive and ignorant about the source of these things, surely God is not. Can such things please Him? And think about this; if it were possible to "disconnect" current practices from their pagan/occult roots, why does Scripture not provide us any guidelines as to: how much time is necessary for the "neutralization"/disassociation process to occur; and which of the hundreds of ancient pagan rites would then be acceptable for adaptation into Christian worship, since some are obviously much more pagan than others?

THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF OTHER ITEMS OF DAILY LIFE THAT HAVE A PAGAN ORIGIN

It is said, "Such things as certain clothing customs, the modern division of time into hours and minutes, the names of the days of the week, etc., all have pagan connections in their origins, so isn't it a contradiction on your part to say that their meanings have sufficiently changed while Christmas's meanings have not?" But we are not saying that their meanings have changed. The question is one of using things of pagan origin in our worship of Christ. So we would ask the question back, "Which of these pagan items do we focus on to celebrate the birth of Christ? Or which of these is 'Christianized' and brought into our weekly worship of, or our daily devotion to Christ, as you do with the pagan forms and traditions of Christmas?" The origin and meaning of a custom, tradition, or form does not take on significance unless it is somehow specifically incorporated into our worship. These things are merely the byproducts of paganism, not paganism itself, and they have developed no religious connotations or associations of their own, as the Christmas customs and traditions have.

ABSTAIN FROM THE OBSERVANCE OF CHRISTMAS

What, then, ought to be the churches response to this and other pagan and Roman inventions? It cannot be denied that they are pagan, pure and simple, from beginning to end. God gives us specific instructions in His Holy Word: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen ... (Jer. 10:2). These words are perfectly clear. What rational options do we have as Bible believing Christians?