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Friday, December
26, 2008
Keep Christ Out Of Christmas
Galatians 4:8-11 Howbeit then, when ye
knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (9) But
now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye
again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in
bondage? (10) Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. (11) I am
afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. (KJV)
While walking about town here I notice
every year billboards and signs that encourage people to keep Christ in
Christmas. But the question that He would ask His people today is, ‘when
and where did I ever enter or encourage anyone else to engage in this
worldly celebration in the first place?’ In other words, how can you ask to
keep someone involved in something they never had anything to do with in
the first place, nor does His Word encourage anyone to get involved with
these things? When I see the term ‘weak and beggarly’ I think of someone
who is looking for a handout, willing to take whatever is given their way,
most of which is second hand things that are not of much quality. Those
that partake of these weak and cheap imitations of what the Lord truly has
and desires for His people end up weak themselves, because they base their
beliefs on lies and not the truth. It’s kind of like trying to put the
title of Christian on a prostitute, once they have sold out and have turned
from the truth the Lord and His blessings will no longer be abiding in their
lives.
1 John 2:20-21 But ye have an unction
from the Holy One, and ye know all things. (21) I have not written unto you
because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is
of the truth. (KJV)
The Lord does not associate Himself with a lie,
because He is the light of the world, and in Christ there is no darkness or
shadow of turning. When one truly takes the time to hear the Lord’s take
and not man’s versions of these so called holy days, they see clearly the
lie that promotes these days and why there is such a frenzy involved to
keep them popular.
I mean really, you are going to tell me that this
day, December 25th, actually involves more spirituality than
carnality? “Oh but it is the day Jesus
was born on” really, because that is not based on truth either.
First, we know that shepherds were in the fields
watching their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7-8). Shepherds
were not in the fields during December. According to Luke's account
"suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since
December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have
sought shelter for their flocks at night". Second, Jesus' parents came
to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke 2:1-4). Such censuses were
not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and
roads were in poor condition. Taking a census under such conditions would
have been self-defeating.
Does this sound petty, or easily something that could
be overlooked? Well I know for myself even after being born again I wasn’t
aware of these facts, and as far as I was concerned the lie was fact, like
a lot of other things from my past life. So again, if this date (December
25th) is based on a deception and not on truth, how could our
Lord have ever ordained this holiday, let alone that a Christian would
think that He would actually be a part of it?
1 John 1:5-6 This then is the message which we have
heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all. (6) If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk
in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (KJV)
Given the difficulties and the desire to bring pagans
into Christianity, "The important fact then which I have asked you to
get clearly into your head is that the fixing of the date as December 25th
was a compromise with paganism".
So called church leaders who rather than hold fast
their profession of faith decided to compromise with the pagans, who
originated the time of December 25th as a holiday, celebrating
the winter solstice; it was also the beginning of the worship of their sun
gods because it was the shortest day of the year, meaning that their sun
god was about to rise and shine. Those that are truly in Christ will not
abide in darkness or anything that would have a hint or an inkling of a
lie; and from what I am seeing and hearing folks, I see big gaping holes in
these doctrines of man, especially involving the so called Christian’s
involvement with these practices. Here is a thought, what if the Christian
was the one who was not willing to compromise, instead of the pagans?
Historians tell us the Christmas celebration came
from questionable origins. “We
remember that the Christmas festival is a gradual evolution from times that
long antedated the Christian period. It was overlaid upon heathen
festivals, and many of its observances are only adaptations of pagan to
Christian ceremonial.”
Quite frankly not much has changed over the years, a
bunch of half baked Christians caving into peer pressure rather than they
being the ones to take a stand. As I look around today at all those that
claim to be of God but give credence to this nonsense, I see there truly is
nothing new under the sun.
Romans 8:5-8 For they that are after the flesh do
mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things
of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace. (7) Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be. (8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (KJV)
In conclusion, with any situation you encounter you
need to take the time to hear the Lord’s take on the matter and not what
man has added to the equation. When looking at this so called holiday it is
quite apparent which realm it is associated with, because whatsoever is not
of faith is sin. To sum things up, you can’t take something carnal and try
to make it work in the realm of the Spirit; it doesn’t work, because it was
never intended to. God is a spirit, so if you truly desire to worship Him
then it has to be on His turf, which is Spirit, based on truth. I could
spend a week alone writing on the origins of Christmas and how it evolved
from a pagan belief and not one the Lord ordained. In fact, again, you have
to ask yourself, what chapter and verse do we really have to back up this
holiday or any others? There is big difference between, what is soul and
what is Spirit; what is of the flesh and what is of God; and it is up to
you to rightly divide the Word of truth. So please, for God’s sake, let’s
keep Christ out of Christmas, especially when it is something He never got
into Himself, let alone asked His people to get involved with either.
Oh and P.S, that stuff that happens in April, you
know that so called Easter celebration, that is not any better either and
is another lame excuse for Christianity. The origins of that one are also
rooted in paganism; just another lame excuse by a bunch of milk Christians
who rather than take a stand, cave in and compromise, thinking they could
adopt something carnal into the realm of the Spiritual.
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