We all know that December 25th is not the day Jesus was born. In fact, it was the day of the sun god! The Universal Church incorporated pagan holidays into their worship as a means to persuade pagans to convert to the church – notice I didn’t say “to convert to Jesus as Lord!” Based on this corrupt integration of Paganism many true believers refused to celebrate Christmas, and rightly so. At that time in history anyone who participated in the holiday would have been knowingly participating in Paganism, which would be a very poor witness to those observing your way of life.
Paul warns of the destruction of religious dogma around holy days, eating foods sacrificed to idols and the insistence by some that every other believer be forced to comply to their personal conscience. Paul ate meat sacrificed to idols and it didn’t violate his conscience. Why? In his heart he was making it an act of worship. I have never met anyone in my life who was celebrating December 25th to acknowledge the sun god as the savior of the world.
Those who condemn others because of what they experience in their own hearts are legalistic controllers and Paul says their problem is they are weak in faith. Their confidence is still rooted in their performance; therefore, they need the validation that comes by group unanimity. Since their confidence is not coming from their trust in the finished work of Jesus they need something else to make them confident in their salvation. We have no right to attempt to force people to live in our personal freedom or be controlled by our limitations. As Paul’s principles would teach, if you celebrate Christmas do it in your heart unto the Lord and if you don’t celebrate Christmas do it in your heart unto the Lord; but refrain from judging others based on your own personal conviction.
CLICK HERE to join me this week and discover how to have a great Christmas and honor Jesus. Plus, you’ll learn how this principle applies to the other areas of your life as we answer the question: Is it Wrong to Celebrate Christmas?
