Don’t let the sparkling trappings and joyful atmosphere of Christmas deceive you. Rather, let the Bible show you how to truly worship the Living God and His Son, Jesus Christ!
People who personally know about my Christian faith is
almost always shocked when they learn I don’t celebrate Christmas. I mean, it
is supposed to be the birth of our Redeemer and Master, Jesus Christ (Yahshua
the Messiah). Surely, if there are people who will celebrate Christmas, that
should be Christians and that includes me.
But do you know there are Christians who don’t celebrate
Christmas, not because they don’t believe in Christ, but they decided to
worship the Eternal God and Jesus according to what the Bible says?
While there are different reasons I don’t celebrate
Christmas, I just want to share ten of them here.
1. Jesus wasn’t born on December 25
Bible scholars and experts would readily admit that December
25 isn’t the birthdate of Christ. As a matter of fact, Jesus isn’t born
anywhere near this date!
We all know that shepherds are out on the field when Christ
was born. If Jesus was born in the dead of winter, the shepherds would surely
put their livestock in danger, exposing their herd of sheep in extreme cold.
Not only that, but we read that Joseph and Mary went
to Bethlehem because of a Roman census. The Roman government would have known
better than ordering a census during bad weather and road condition is
self-defeating.
2. Christmas celebrates the birth of the sun god
Do you know that Christmas has always been celebrated for
more than 3,000 years before the human birth of Christ? Shocking but
it’s true. The earliest roots of Christmas can be traced as far as 200 B.C.
The pagan history of Christmas started with the Greeks
celebrating a festival in honor of Bacchus. After that, the Romans also have
their own festival held in honor of Saturnalia. Both festivals are known for
their revelry, nocturnal orgies, chaos, riot, and even death.
Centuries later, the Roman emperor Aurelian inaugurated a
festival in honor of the sun god on December 25. It was known as the Dies
Natalis Solis Invicti, which means “the birthday of the Unconquered
Sun”.
3. Christmas is offensive to Jesus Christ
Imagine, every year, you give a gift to your husband or
wife. Only it wasn’t his/her birthday but the birthday of your ex-lover. What’s
worse, the gift you gave is the same thing that your ex-lover gave in the past.
Surely, it would be natural for your spouse to doubt the genuineness of
your love.
Now, think about what Jesus Christ would feel when you
celebrate His birthday on the same day that the pagans celebrate the birth of
their gods? What’s worse, you celebrate Christ’s birth by using the same pagan
traditions you use to celebrate the birth of the pagan gods!
Let’s be honest here for a second. Christmas is something
that’s highly insulting to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ.
4. Jesus won’t celebrate Christmas
Nowhere in the Bible do we see Jesus commanding His
disciples and followers to celebrate His birth. We don’t even read evidence
that the early New Testament Church do so. In fact, we see clear indications
that Jesus, the Disciples, and the true Church observed God-ordained Holy Days
found in Leviticus 23.
Now, if you are really a follower of Christ, wouldn’t you
also celebrate what God commanded us to observe? If we are to celebrate a
festival, wouldn’t it be logical to follow what we read in the Bible and not
borrow a paganistic way of worship?
5. God seeks the true form of worship
I understand that some people are sincere in keeping
Christmas. They solemnly believe in their heart of hearts that they are
actually worshiping God.
I don’t condemn nor blame them. In a world ruled and
deceived by Satan, it is just not their time yet to know the truth.
However, when you finally come to the truth and discovered
what the Bible truly says, you come to realize that worshiping God is not a matter
of our will, but God’s will.
We need to ask God how He wants us to worship Him. Is
He happy when we recycle pagan practices and traditions and sanitize them with
Christian trappings?
Is God pleased when we say we believe in Him and yet, turn a
blind eye when He decisively commands us to avoid pagan worship? Are we really
honoring God when we worship Him according to what seems right to our own eyes?
John 4:23-24 clearly defines what true worship is:
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and TRUTH; for the
Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those
who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Are we
truly worshiping God in SPIRIT when we are so focused on the material things we
receive? Are we truly worshiping God in truth when we know that Christmas isn’t
really the birth of Christ and that Jesus did not command us to worship Him by
keeping a pagan holiday?
These are hard questions we need to answer with all honesty.
6. Santa has become the face of Christmas
If you think of Christmas, most people would probably think
of Santa more than Jesus Christ. It is not difficult to see why because Santa
has been the face of Christmas commercialism.
Most business people would rather promote Santa, a
man who encourages buying, so they could earn more sales.
However, do you know the real identity of Santa Claus? Do
you know the being behind his jolly, bearded smile?
7. Christmas is driven by commercialism
It is no secret for many of us that business establishments
get the most out of their sales during the Christmas season. Thus, it is not
difficult to see why Christmas’ popularity is driven by commercialism.
The problem with commercialism is it encourages the
way of getting rather than the way of giving.
Yes, a lot of people give gifts during this holiday season
but more people get this feeling of entitlement. They feel that since it’s
Christmas, they should receive gifts. Not only that, but a lot of people give
something expecting that they would also get something in return!
Thus, we have “exchanging gifts” during Christmas. The thing
is it is not even your birthday!
8. A lot of lies are propagated during Christmas
Christmas tells us that Christ was born in the dead of
winter. Now, that’s a huge lie!
Here are other Christmas lies you should know about:
- Three
kings – the bible didn’t specify how many kings there were. They aren’t
even kings but wise men from the east.
- Nativity
scene – the nativity scene shows a baby Jesus in the manger with the
animals. Actually, the animals are out in the field. When the wise men
arrived, Jesus is already in a house not in a manger. Plus, Jesus is no
longer a baby, but rather a young child.
- Bring
Christ back to Christmas – you can’t bring Christ into something that He
wasn’t part of in the first place. Christmas is a pagan custom recycled as
a Christian holiday.
- You
worship God when you observe Christmas – actually not. If you want to
worship God, you need to do it according to His will and purpose. We can’t
believe in God and do other things contrary to His commands.
Now, these are just some of the many lies and errors
propagated during Christmas. Not to mention the many pagan symbolism and
trappings used in this holiday season.
9. Christmas hides the true Festivals of God
While it is true that Christmas is something that could give
you that warm feeling, make families gather together, and even make you feel
closer to God, it is not the best way for you to achieve this.
After all, it is not about what you feel, but
what God feels.
The truth of the matter is that Christmas is a pagan custom
used by Satan to obscure God’s true Festivals of God. Most Christians today are
oblivious to these God-commanded Feasts found in Leviticus 23.
Jesus didn’t celebrate Christmas but rather God’s Festivals.
The Apostles celebrated God’s Festivals as well as the first-century
Christians.
Because people are trapped in the illusion that Christmas is
the best way for them to worship God, they are blinded by the truth that there
are way, way better to be close to God. If you only celebrate God’s Festivals,
you will discover why is it better than Christmas and how it can unlock your
understanding of God’s great plan of salvation.
10. I would rather follow God’s commands rather than
human traditions
It is okay to keep human traditions, but if it goes against
God’s commands, then they should be forsaken. Christmas is a human tradition
that promotes lies and sadly, obscures God’s truth.
When it comes to choosing between God’s will and human
tradition, the answer should be obvious. We must do what God wants us to do
rather than what other people want.
Christ, Himself, condemned the Jews of His day when they
hold on to their traditions and break God’s command:
“He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah
prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the
tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8).
When we keep Christmas, a pagan holiday that was clearly
called an abomination by God, we are breaking the law of our Heavenly Father in
the process.
So, between God’s law and human tradition, which would you
choose? The popular choice is keeping human tradition, but as for me, I’d
rather keep God’s law. Even though it is unpopular and people might ridicule
me, I’ll still follow what God says instead of living a comfortable life by
going with the flow of mainstream Christianity.
Final Thoughts
As this world celebrates Christmas, remember, what the Bible
truly teaches about this worldly holiday. It is the right time that we learn
the truth and let the truth transform our lives.
God is not impressed by how many gifts you gave or received
during Christmas. He isn’t impressed with how pompous your Christmas
decorations are. He isn’t after what feels good for us, but He wants to see
whether we will follow His commandments or not.
So, will you still keep Christmas? Some will and some won’t. Some will ignore the truth, while others will act on it. I hope you and I belong to the group of people who will follow God no matter what the consequences may be.