Why We Don't Celebrate Christmas (Part 2) - Christmas is Idolatry

---

 

Why We Don't Celebrate Christmas (Part 2) A. God doesn't want His people to learn the way of the heathen (Jer 10:2-4). i. What does this sound like to you? A Christmas tree?! ii. What does God say about Christmas trees? Learn not the way of the heathen! a. Green trees have been associated with pagan idolatry since ancient times. b. God hates worship done with green trees (1Ki 14:22-24; 2Ki 17:10- 12; Jer 2:20). c. Cheap artificial trees that won't rot are no better (Isa 40:19-20). d. Child sacrifice accompanied worshiping under green trees (2Ki 16:3- 4; Isa 57:5). e. Is it any wonder that abortion (child sacrifice) is rampant in a society that is enamored with Christmas and its green tree worship? iii. Israel learned the way of the heathen when Aaron made them a golden calf and then proclaimed that it would be used in a feast unto the LORD (Exo 32:5-6). iv. Paul called that practice of incorporating heathenism into God's religion idolatry and forbids Christians from doing such evil (1Co 10:7) (more on this later). B. Not learning the way of the heathen is also a NT precept. i. We are not to do as the heathen do (Mat 6:7). ii. We are not to be yoked with unbelievers, nor their idolatrous religions (2Co 6:14-18). iii. The things that the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God (1Co 10:20-21). a. The Romans who worshiped the sun during Natalis Solis Invicti were worshipping devils. b. Christians who celebrate Christmas, which is Natalis Solis Invicti renamed, are worshipping devils. c. You can't have it both ways; you're either worshipping devils or God. d. God hated sun worship so much that it was punished by death in the law of Moses (Deu 17:2-5). iv. We are to do all things whatsoever Jesus commanded us (Mat 28:20). a. If we do all things Jesus commands, we can't leave anything out. b. If we do whatsoever he commands, we can't add in anything extra. c. We are to keep the ordinances as delivered (1Co 11:2). d. Christmas was never commanded by Jesus or the apostles, and in that it's a religious observance, it ought not to be done. C. God will severely judge those who mix elements of His religion with heathen religion and sin (Dan 5:1-6 c/w Dan 5:22-31). D. Do-it-yourself religion is not pleasing to God (1Ki 12:28-33). E. God warns us against the celebration of religious holydays (holidays) (Col 2:14-17; Gal 4:8-10).  F. When you find something that the world loves, you have likely found something that God hates. i. Things which are highly esteemed among men are an abomination to God (Luk 16:15). a. Shouldn't it seem strange to Christians that atheists, agnostics, and many other unbelievers all love Christmas? b. You can bet that if the Bible commanded people to celebrate Christmas, the world would hate it. c. The fact that the world loves Christmas is good evidence that God hates it. ii. When the two witnesses in Rev 11 (possibly God's word and His church) have lost all their influence, the world starts celebrating Christmas (Rev 11:10). G. We are hypocrites if we condemn the idolatrous practices of other religions and at the same time incorporate them into our own (Rom 2:1; Rom 2:21-22). II. The celebration of Christmas is a form of idolatry which church members must abstain from. 1. As the above quotes show, Christmas is a “Christianized” version of a sun-worshiping pagan holiday. 2. Christmas is essentially Baal worship, since Baal was the sun god. A. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) says the following about Baal. i. "bā´al̀ (‫בּעל‬, ba‛al; Βάαλ, Báal, or Βαάλ, Baál): The Babylonian Belu or Bel, “Lord,” was the title of the supreme god among the Canaanites." (Baal, ISBE) ii. "The Babylonian Bel-Merodach was a Sun-god, and so too was the Can Baal whose full title was Baal-Shemaim, “lord of heaven.” The Phoenician writer Sanchuniathon (Philo Byblius, Fragmenta II) accordingly says that the children of the first generation of mankind “in time of drought stretched forth their hands to heaven toward the sun; for they regarded him as the sole Lord of heaven, and called him Beel-samēn, which means 'Lord of Heaven' in the Phoenician language and is equivalent to Zeus in Greek” Baal- Shemaim had a temple at Umm el-Awamid between Acre and Tyre, and his name is found in inscriptions from the Phoenician colonies of Sardinia and Carthage." (Baal, ISBE) iii. "As the Sun-god, Baal was worshipped under two aspects, beneficent and destructive. On the one hand he gave light and warmth to his worshippers; on the other hand the fierce heats of summer destroyed the vegetation he had himself brought into being. Hence, human victims were sacrificed to him in order to appease his anger in time of plague or other trouble, the victim being usually the first-born of the sacrificer and being burnt alive. In the Old Testament this is euphemistically termed “passing” the victim “through the fire” (2Ki 16:3; 2Ki 21:6). The forms under which Baal was worshipped were necessarily as numerous as the communities which worshipped him. Each locality had its own Baal or divine “Lord” who frequently took his  name from the city or place to which he belonged. Hence, there was a Baal- Zur, “Baal of Tyre”; Baal-hermon, “Baal of Hermon” (Jdg 3:3); Baal- Lebanon, “Baal of Lebanon”; Baal-Tarz, “Baal of Tarsus.” At other times the title was attached to the name of an individual god; Thus we have Bel- Merodach, “the Lord Merodach” (or “Bel is Merodach”) at Babylon, Baal- Melkarth at Tyre, Baal-gad (Jos 11:17) in the north of Palestine. Occasionally the second element was noun as in Baal-Shemaim, “lord of heaven,” Baalzebub (2Ki 1:2), “Lord of flies,” Baal-Hammān, usually interpreted “Lord of heat,” but more probably “Lord of the sunpillar,” the tutelary deity of Carthage. All these various forms of the Sun-god were collectively known as the Baalim or “Baals” who took their place by the side of the female Ashtaroth and Ashtrim. At Carthage the female consort of Baal was termed Penē-Baal, “the face” or “reflection of Baal.”" (Baal, ISBE) 3. The church must separate from idolators (1Co 5:11). A. Idolator n. – 1. A worshipper of idols or images; one who pays divine honours to an image or representation of a god, or to any natural object as a deity. B. An idol can be something that represents God and is used to worship God, such as was the golden calf that Aaron made and then proclaimed that "to morrow is a feast to the LORD" (Exo 32:5-6 c/w 1Co 10:7). C. Incorporating paganism into God's religion is therefore idolatry. D. One can (but should not) serve the LORD and at the same time serve false gods like Baal. i. In Samuel’s day, Israel had been worshipping Baal and Ashtoreth AND the LORD (1Sa 7:3-4). ii. In other words, Israel had been incorporating pagan sun with the worship of the true God. iii. This is precisely what celebrating Christmas is: incorporating pagan sun worship with the worship of the true God. iv. If Israel were to be saved from their enemies, it would only be by forsaking their pagan worship and worshipping God only. v. If churches are to be spared judgment, it will be by forsaking pagan worship and worshiping God in Spirit and in truth. vi. Judgment must begin in the house of God (1Pe 4:17). E. Additionally, covetousness―which is idolatry (Col 3:5; Eph 5:5)―is a driving force behind the celebration of Christmas. F. Those who are commonly known to practice idolatry by incorporating paganism into God's religion, such as celebrating Christmas (pagan sun worship), will be put out of the church (Gal 5:19-21). III. What constitutes celebrating Christmas? 1. Doing the following things would definitely be considered celebrating Christmas. A. Having a Christmas tree in your home B. Decorating your house for Christmas C. Taking kids to see Santa Claus  D. Giving or receiving gifts on or close to Christmas day that are obviously intended to be Christmas gifts E. Christmas caroling F. Going to Christmas parties of companies or organizations i. If it’s called a Christmas party or is decorated with Christmas things, don’t go. ii. If it’s an end of the year party and it is not Christmas themed, it may be okay to go. G. Having Christmas dinner with family if they are getting together for the celebration of Christmas H. Participating in civic Christmas celebrations 2. What about going home for Christmas or getting together with family at that time of year? A. Many people have time off of work at Christmas time, and some would like to travel to see family at that time. B. Church members sometimes ask if doing this is permissible. C. The answer is: it depends. i. If your family is getting together on December 25 th for the purpose of celebrating Christmas, you should not attend that gathering. a. If you attend such a gathering, you will be giving the impression to your family or other observers that you approve of celebrating Christmas. b. A family member who might have a secret conscience issue with celebrating Christmas could be led to violate his conscience and continue to celebrate Christmas because he sees you doing it. c. This is similar to being invited to a feast at an idol’s temple. (i) Even though we know that an idol is nothing (1Co 8:4), some people without that knowledge might eat the food as it were offered to an idol and defile their conscience (1Co 8:7-12). (ii) Therefore, we should abstain from eating meat sacrificed to idols or eating meat in an idol’s temple because of the construction others might put on it (1Co 8:13; 1Co 10:28- 33). d. The same reasoning applies to going to a Christmas dinner with one’s family. e. We should abstain from doing so because it might give them the impression that it’s okay to celebrate Christmas. ii. If your family is getting together on December 25th simply because they all have the day off of work, and they are not doing so to celebrate Christmas, then it would be fine to go. iii. If you want to travel to see family at Christmas time during your vacation time, plan your trip so that you are not there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when they are exchanging gifts and celebrating in the holiday. iv. If for some reason you must be at a family member’s house during a Christmas celebration, make it clear to everyone that you do not celebrate Christmas and go to another room of the house while they partake of their pagan festivities.