Sermon by Pastor Samaroo Sookraj.
I must say that most of what I have written here are my original thouhts but I have researched the subject on the internet and have used portions of what others have written, and for that I am grateful to the writers.
SUB: TO CELEBRATE OR NOT TO CELEBRATE?
TEXT: This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me (Matt. 15:8).
". . . Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
"Little children. keep yourselves from idols" (I John 5:21).
Intro: 1) From these words of the Spirit, we should have no trouble understanding that whatever is very popular in the world is not of God. Christians are to measure all things by the rule of scripture. Where do we find this “holy day” in the Bible? What are our instructions with regard to this festival? Where can we look for the authority for our involvement in the traditions intimate with it? Are there commands of our Lord and the apostles concerning it, as there are with the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper?
2) Here we find a lesson as positive as it is inexcusable, that the saints of Christ are often, even if unwittingly, led through man's traditions into idolatry, which thing God hates. Many say that while the Bible does not say to celebrate it, the Bible does not forbid it… Deut 12 says….
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place (vs. 3)
Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes (vs. 8).
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it (vs. 32).
3) “Christmas is the day when the driving power of this festival love reaches its zenith. No other day can equal it for fleshly revelry, and debauchery combined with a heathen misrepresentation of Christ which, as a fanatical religious orgy from every quarter swirls to a literal vortex of confusion and jamboree on December 25th”. RF Becker
4) No--Christmas is NOT of God. It is abomination to Him. It is NOT honoring to Jesus Christ. It only calls forth from multitudes of unthinking people a natural sentimentality and a false worship of Him. The observances of Christmas are in no way inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Christmas spirit is only terrible mockery to Him.
5) Those that know and love the Truth are counted to be narrow minded and sacrilegious if a protest is raised. "A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" (Jer. 5:30, 31).
1. Christmas is not a Bible doctrine.
A. Christ never told anyone to celebrate His birthday. His death…yes!
B. Only two birthday celebrations recorded in the Bible; and each of them is connected with murder.
i) Gen 40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Gen 40:21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:
Gen 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
ii) Mat 14:6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
Mat 14:7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
Mat 14:8 And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
Mat 14:9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
Mat 14:10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
11 When was Jesus born? Luk 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
A. The "course of Abia" (Abijah in Hebrew) we learn from 1 Chronicles 24:7-10, was the 8th of 24 courses during a 12 month year. 1Ch 24:7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
1Ch 24:8 The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
1Ch 24:9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
1Ch 24:10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
Each group of priests (all except the most senior who were on duty more often) officiated in the Temple for two weeks every year. Zacharias' turn of duty came when the 8th group (Abijah's) attended; which was during weeks 15 and 16 after the start of the year.
A year in the sacred calendar begins with the new moon nearest the spring equinox. Consequently the New Year starts in March or very early April. For the purpose of this study we will work with the equinox date of 20th March. Fifteen weeks (105 days) after the 20th March bring us to early July. In other words, in early July the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his aged wife Elisabeth would conceive and bear a son, whose name was to be John. Six months into Elisabeth's pregnancy, that is in early January, Gabriel informed the virgin Mary that she also was to conceive and bring forth a son, the Son of the Highest - the Messiah! When Mary said that this was not possible as she had never had sexual intercourse with a man, Gabriel told her that the aged Elisabeth, who had been barren for many, many years, was already six months pregnant.
•Elisabeth conceived in early July.
Elisabeth conceived in early July. •Mary conceived some 6 months after Elisabeth, in early January.
Mary conceived some 6 months after Elisabeth, in early January. •Therefore Jesus was born about 9 months later; which brings us to an autumn date in late September/early October.
Therefore Jesus was born about 9 months later; which brings us to an autumn date in late September/early October.The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia says that in order for the shepherds to have been out that night with their flocks it would have been necessary for His birth to have occurred sometime between March and September
111. The Origin of Christmas. God said in the Decalogue… Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Today it’s resurrection day. There never was a Christmas before the middle of the fourth century. In Jerusalem, it was first observed in the fifth century, and then we are told it caused rioting in the streets.
A. The celebration of Christmas is a mixture of pagan Babylon's "mystery" idolatry in its purest form, imported through Pergamos.
i) When Belshazzar was slain (Daniel 5:30) and the Chaldeans defeated by Darius, the Mede, it seems the capital of the pagan religious world was moved from Babylon to Pergamos. Later, at the death of Attalus III, Phrygia was given to the Roman Empire in 133 B.C. The Babylonian pagan worship was then removed to Rome where Semeramis and Tammuz became Fortuna and Jupiter. This queen of heaven and her son became the very heart of pagan, or idol worship throughout the world.
They were called by different names in different countries. In Egypt they were Isis and Osiris, in India they were Isi and Iswara, in other parts of Asia they were Cybele and Plutus, but they were all the same queen of heaven and her son. All of these were dumped into Christmas under the new name of Mary and Jesus. Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and into Rome, and there incorporated into her pagan religious ritual, and from thence introduced into the world by the Roman Catholic Church as a commemoration of Christ’s birth. A wealth of proof can easily be produced today to put this fact beyond question.
B. It is freely admitted by all learned and honest writers of old, that the date of Christ's birth cannot be known. How then did it come to pass that the Roman Catholic Church fixed December 25th as the day He was born? On Dec 25th a heathen celebration was instituted to honor of the birth of Tammuz or Bel or Bacchus who was the son of Semeramis, or Cybele or Rhea, the Chaldeans queen of heaven.
C. From wikipedia.org… The Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, each year beginning on December 17 in a festival called the Saturnalia. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which at that time fell on December 25 (today, following calendar reform, it falls on December 21). During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. With the lengthening of daylight, these and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year.
By the 4th century another factor was also at work. Many Romans also celebrated the solstice on December 25 with festivities in honor of the rebirth of Sol Invictus, the "Invincible Sun God", or with rituals to glorify Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light .
D. From Encarta… Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Before the introduction of Christmas, each year beginning on December 17 Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, in a festival called Saturnalia. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around December 25 on the ancient Julian calendar. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Many Romans also celebrated the lengthening of daylight following the winter solstice by participating in rituals to glorify Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light (see Mithraism). These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year.
Although the Gospels describe Jesus’ birth in detail, they never mention the date, so historians do not know on what date he was born. The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. For example, the Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of Mithra, the god of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their revelry while simultaneously honoring the birthday of Jesus.
The Catholic church has succeeded overwhelmingly because pagans and Christians are very much involved in the celebrations to Saturn, Mithra and other pagan deities under the misnomer of “Christ Mass”.
1V. TO THE PROPONENTS OF CHRISTMAS. Generally, on every controversial matter, there will be proponents of it and those against it.
A. Since there is absolutely no scriptural support for this pagan celebration, the proponent relies only upon human reasoning. E.g.
(i) It’s a traditional happening.
Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
(ii) Its a special time of the year.
What makes it special… feelings? Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Eph 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
(iii) It’s a worldwide happening.
". . . Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
(iv) It’s a special commemoration of the birth of Christ.
There is absolutely no scriptural basis for this. Will you celebrate my birthday on Dec 25th.
(v) Since it is a specially given holiday then why not use it for the purpose for which it was given?
So is Eid ul Ada (In Trinidad) the Islamic celebration that commemorates the sacrifice of Abraham. Should we have special services on that day?
CONC:
1) Christmas is a fable. It is pagan and extra-biblical. One involved with it is busying himself about past traditions. It does not represent factual truth. It is deceptive, pretending to be something it is not.
Don't learn the way of the heathen for their customs are vain Jer 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jer 10:3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
Jer 10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
Jer 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Matt Henry: Consider what the idol is that is worshipped. It was a tree cut out of the forest originally. It was fitted up by the hands of the workman, squared, and sawed, and worked into shape.
2) Be aware of “Spiritism clothed in spiritualism” Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
3) Do worship God in truth Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
.
4) Glory only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
I call upon Christians to reject Christmas as well as other extra-biblical traditions and pagan holidays like Easter etc. Do not contend for this paganistic celebration, but "… earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).
