Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Should Christians celebrate Christmas?






As I was checking FB the other day, I received a question by a friend from India.  Apparently, a friend of his was wondering about the validity of Christians celebrating Christmas, and he was wondering why we celebrated this holiday, and was it biblical?   And as is usually the case with questions such as this, there is no short answer, but I will do my best.

Scripture doesn't specifically command believers to celebrate Christmas; there are no prescribed "Holy Days" the church must observe.  At the same time, there doesn’t seem to be a command not to celebrate this holiday either.  In fact, Christmas was not observed as a holiday until well after the biblical era. In researching this topic, it appears that Christmas wasn’t officially celebrated for at least the first 300 years of church history.  And it wasn’t until the 13th century when Christmas carols were sung.    Apparently the Germans started this whole Christmas tree thing.  An 8th century English missionary to Germany, St. Boniface, is supposed to have held up the evergreen tree as a symbol of the everlasting Christ.  By the end of the sixteenth century, Christmas trees were common in Germany.

So I guess the big question is, whether it is right or wrong to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Isn’t that what this is all about?  I’m sure we all agree that Jesus was born to be the Savior to the world, but should we celebrate His arrival?  At this point I would like to direct your attention to Romans 14:5-6 which says, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.”

I believe these verses provides us with the liberty to decide whether or not we are allowed to observe special days.  According to these verses, a Christian can rightfully set aside any day—including Christmas—as a day for the Lord.  And I believe Christmas affords believers with a great opportunity to exalt Jesus Christ.

Why?  Because the Christmas season reminds us of the great truths of the Incarnation.  Remembering important truths about Christ and the gospel is an established New Testament theme (1 Corinthians 11:25, 2 Peter 1:12-15, 2 Thessalonians 2:5).  Truth needs repetition because we so easily forget it.  So we should celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Christ and to marvel over the mystery of the Incarnation. (When Jesus assumed human form)

Christmas can also be a time for reverent worship.  The shepherds glorified and praised God for the birth of Jesus the Messiah.  They rejoiced when the angels proclaimed that in Bethlehem was born a Savior, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).  The baby laid in the manger that day is our Savior, the "Lord of lords and King of kings" (1 Timothy 6:15, Matthew 1:21, Revelation 17:14).

Finally, people tend to be more open to the gospel during the Christmas holidays.  We should take advantage of that openness to witness to them of the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ. Christmas is chiefly about the promised Messiah who came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).  The holiday provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share this truth.

Although our society has muddied the message of Christmas through consumerism, myths and empty traditions, we should not let these distract us from appreciating the real meaning of Christmas.  Let us take advantage of this opportunity to Remember Him, Worship Him and faithfully Witness of Him.




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