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The Bible Says!
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What does the Bible really say about Christians celebrating Christmas? The short Study below will show you what the scriptures clearly and plainly say about Christians celebrating Christmas. If what you believe about this holiday isn't true would you want to know it? Have you ever really proved what you believe about celebrating the Birth of Jesus is true by looking at what the Bible really says about your beliefs? Rather than believing what men say you are encouraged to study the Bible and to see for themselves what the Bible actually says about Christians celebrating Christmas.
What does the Bible say? Is it a wrong if you say a little, culturally accepted white lie in the name of innocent fantasy? Is it really a sin to break the 9th commandment and bear false witness to children and say there is a Santa Claus? Absolutely! It is a transgression of God's commandment if we lie to our children and say Santa Claus really does exist. There is no excuse that God will accept for breaking His laws. We raise our children to tell the truth, and then get upset when the say things that are not true to us, but what kind of example do we set when WE lie to THEM about Santa Claus and Christmas? If we expect our children to be honest and always tell the truth we should set a right example ourselves.
If our children find out Santa doesn't really exist, is it possible they will logically question if Jesus is real too? Children are usually intelligent enough to make the connection. They may begin to question everything about the real God when they learn the truth about the pseudo-false god, Santa Claus, who knows everything about them, whether they have been bad or good. When our kids find out we lied to them about Santa, is it really a shock to find out they also question everything we say to them about Jesus? Some parents justify lying to their children because they view Christmas as innocent fantasy, but can a young child really tell the difference between fantasy and reality when they are taught by the most trusted people in their life? Children trust their parents yet parents don't see the harm in breaking that trust by falsely teaching their children about beings that don't exist. What they say is a lie, plain and simple! Sin is sin! There are no exceptions in the commandment for lying to children for any reason.
Have Christian parents unintentionally made Santa more important than Jesus at Christmas time? Do they talk about Jesus as much as Santa? Be honest now. Do children really get this excited about Jesus at Christmas? Parents often don't even take their children to church to worship Jesus, yet they don't think twice about taking their kids to the mall to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. Santa has taken the place of God to little children, knowing everything about them and rewarding them for being good.
Do we care what God thinks about man-made religious celebrations like Christmas that He never commanded? There is no command, example, or instruction in Scripture concerning the celebration of the birth of Jesus. In fact the Bible says God HATES our religious holiday celebrations and festivals that we use instead of the ones He ordained as His special Holy Days. What should a Christian do about putting decorated trees in our home and in our churches in light of what the Bible really says about them being a false, heathen tradition? "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of thy Lord thy God..."(Deut. 16:21) Do we think the God who never changes doesn't care if we put evergreen trees in a church near the altar? Jeremiah 10:3-4 says the custom of doing this is vain. The Bible says God really HATES our man made festivals like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter that He never commanded in the Bible. (Isaiah. 1:14)
Does the Bible say the early Christian church used pagan customs and traditions to celebrate Jesus birth or resurrection? Never! They didn't even celebrate Christmas at all. Do we know the sources of many of our holiday traditions and customs that were added centuries later? Should we really care where they came from? Their source matters to God based on what He says in the Bible He will do to ALL people, no matter how well intentioned, who follow pagan customs and traditions. Shouldn't we see our man-made holidays as God does? Shouldn't we call Christmas what it really is, a PAGAN celebration for birth of the Sun God, not the Son of God? Have you ever researched just how many of our holiday customs and traditions were really taken directly from the pagan religions? If you look you will find nearly all of them came from paganism. Do we know why the Catholic church started using all the pagan customs and traditions to celebrate the Nativity? It was an appeasement to all the pagan converts to Catholicism who still wanted to celebrate the birth of the SON OF GOD with their old customs used for celebrating the birth of the SUN GOD. Remember, these people had grown up in pagan customs, chief of which was the idolatrous festival of December 25th. It really was a festival of merrymaking, with its special spirit. They enjoyed it! They didn't want to give it up! The truth is out there for anyone willing to see it. God says He will cut off mankind from the face of the earth for following pagan customs! (Zephaniah 1:6 ESV) Do you believe God?
Many well meaning Christians say they don't do the Santa based Christmas traditions. but are celebrating the Birth of Jesus and putting Christ back into Christmas. How can we put Christ back into a secular celebration He was never really a part of in the first place? The Nativity, or birth of Jesus has NOTHING in common with Santa Claus and the modern celebration of Christmas! The early church didn't even celebrate Jesus birth. This holiday as we know it is a relatively modern observances that really has nothing to do with the Nativity. Our modern, secular, commercialized Christmas doesn't look anything at all like the birth of Jesus we see in the Bible. Have we been deceived by a non-Biblical lie? Absolutely Yes!
Is the modern Christmas spirit something Jesus would endorse with all the selfish and greedy values that are taught to our children at this time of year? It has turned kids into selfish little consumption addicts. The modern spirit of Christmas with all the parties, drinking, over-eating, selfish expectations of toys and gifts, etc. is not only not accepted by God, it is all hated by Him!
What does the Bible really say about celebrating Christmas? Does Gods Word teach observing man-made holidays like Christmas, or does it teach the truth about worship that God won't accept? Will we stand with the truth of God, or will we continue to follow pagan inspired traditions that have no Biblical foundation? Would we be surprised to know what this well respected, great Christian minister preached?
What about the 3 wise men who brought Jesus gifts for His birthday? First of all nowhere does the Bible say there were 3 of them. It only mentions 3 types of gifts given to Jesus, but for what reason? For His birthday? No. Jesus was a KING! They recognized that He was a king and did what was the custom at that time of bringing specific expensive gifts when visiting a king. There were not there giving Him birthday presents, but gifts of honor for a king! They really did not come to celebrate Jesus birth but to worship Him as a KING!
Matthew 2:2; Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east,and are come to worship him."
How do we know it was not for His birthday? Because according to what the Bible really says the wise men didn't even visit Jesus in the manger at the time of His birth. When they actually arrived after their very long journey, (some Biblical scholars estimate perhaps as long as 2 years), they came to a visit a young child" in His "house", not a babe in a manger. They worshipped Him and then presented their royal gifts of "gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." to the King they came to honor!
Matt 2:11; And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Did the wise men exchange gifts with one another? No. They gave them to Jesus! "They presented unto him gifts". So why do we give gifts to each other at Christmas instead of Jesus? Where did this selfish custom come from? If you are REALLY putting Christ back into Christmas you would be giving JESUS gifts instead of your family, friends and neighbors! People don't do that because Christmas is NOT about Jesus to them. It's really about all the enjoyable customs and joyful traditions related to family, not Jesus!
What about the shepherds in the field that visited Jesus in the manger? Were they not celebrating His birth? What does the Bible say about this?
Luke 2:8-9; "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid."
Luke 2:10-11; "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:12; "And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2;15-16; "And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."
Luke 2:17; "And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Were they really there celebrating Jesus birth? No! There was no celebration, no party, no tree decked with silver and gold, no gift exchange, no decking the halls, no feasting and drinking around the manger. They were frightened as they were put on a mission from God, specially called and given a "sign" by Him as WITNESSES to the arrival of the "Savior", "to all people", to make "known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child".
God saw these shepherds as a group of honest humble people who would faithfully convey His message. In their time shepherds were seen as honest and straight forward people whose words did not carry authority, but meant truth. The special witness borne by these shepherds was to tell family, friends, neighbors, literally everyone about the arrival of their Savior! Luke tells us that after the shepherds had seen the “babe lying in a manger, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. Such was the declaration of the angel who stood before them that holy night, that these good tidings of great joy should be to all people. The shepherds were not at the manger to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but as WITNESSES to the arrival of the Savior, so they could go forth and tell "ALL PEOPLE" that their Savior had arrived. It was a one time in history event, never repeated again. They were witnesses to the arrival of our King in whom we find salvation, in effect they really were the first evangelists!
Aside from the angels briefly praising God in Heaven at the time of Jesus birth (Luke 2:14), we see no indication in scripture that God wants us to, or expects us to, celebrate Jesus birthday every year. Did Jesus and His disciples celebrate His birth? No. Did the Apostles celebrate His birth after His resurrection? No. Did the early church celebrate the birthday of Jesus? No. During the first two centuries of Christianity there was strong opposition to celebrating, or even recognizing birthdays of anyone. Numerous church leaders at that time offered sarcastic comments about the pagan custom of celebrating birthdays when, in fact, they believed saints and martyrs (including Jesus) should be honored on the days of their martyrdom, not their birthday. The church in Rome really didn't even begin celebrating Christmas on December 25 until in the 4th century during the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor who did it for the pagan converts who refused to give up their festive December 25th celebration of the birth of their Sun god on that day.
If celebrating the birth of Jesus was really important, don't you think God would have told us to do it in the Bible? Don't you think He would have at least told us the date, WHEN to celebrate Jesus birth? Wouldn't the Apostles and early church have done it? Nowhere in the Bible does God command or instruct us in any way to celebrate the arrival of our Savior 2,000 years ago in any manner! Jesus specifically told us to observe His death, by the partaking of bread representing His body, on Passover, (Luke 22:19), which most Christian don't even do, BUT He never told us to observe His birth in any way! Isn'&' that odd? Did He forget, or is it something He really DOESN'T want us to do? All of the customs and traditions of Christmas come from the pagans, so as Christians who love God, we simply should not follow them and partake in the festivities of Christmas in any way!
The Bible says to "Prove All Things". Have you proved this Christmas from the Bible or do you just assume it's OK to celebrate it because you heard a preacher at church say it? Do you just celebrate Christmas because you like it and have done so all your life? What if you are wrong? Will you believe what fallible men say, or what the Bible says? Is it possible Jesus really hates this holidays no matter how well intended, and you are in opposition to GOD'S WILL? Your eternal life depends on you knowing the truth!
Now you DO know the truth plainly from the Bible about not celebrating Christmas. What you do with this knowledge is between you and God! You can ignore it and continue believing and doing what God does not want by celebrating this pagan holiday, OR you can repent and change and do what God says and walk away from ALL Christmas celebrations and observances. The choice is yours for all eternity! What do you say? Will you believe what the Bible says about celebrating this holiday or not?