12/22/2023 – Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
”Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:10-14 NKJV
Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? I hear the question from many today, even in the church.
Even though the Bible does not explicitly command us to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the redeemed do not need a specific command to celebrate every attribute and every work of our savior. We need not celebrate the date, but we should celebrate Jesus regardless of the specific date of His birth. The incarnation of our Lord is the manifestation of God in human form. It is one of the most amazing miracles in history. It merits praise and celebration.
A multitude of the heavenly hosts certainly celebrated immediately and proclaimed majestically the birth of Jesus! Those who received this awesome revelation celebrated with the angels, and went to the manger where Mary and Joseph were surely filled with the joy of the Spirit in the presence of God incarnate. Even wise men came later from far away bearing gifts to adore and celebrate before the Son of Man.
Idols are nothing, and pagan traditions must not keep us from enjoying Christ. We are free from traditions and from the letter of the law. We are free to use every opportunity, including Christmas time, to show the world how Jesus is to be praised and proclaimed. We are free to preach the gospel about the birth of Christ as the angels did: I have news of great joy! A savior has been born to you!
Getting together with family and friends is a wonderful opportunity to do that. Sharing gifts and rejoicing together are not the practices we should be denouncing as children of God in a world filled with sin and turmoil. Critics do not seem to have a problem participating in commercialization every day of the year. Our Lord taught us to use worldly gains wisely for the kingdom of heaven (Luke 16:9) and He used every opportunity to dine with sinners, for which He was criticized.
The children of God should demonstrate true joy to the world. We should not follow the example of the Pharisees who attempted to kill the joy for the followers of Christ and everyone else.
Rejoice in the Lord this Christmas and always!
”Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!“
Philippians 4:4 NKJV
Pastor Eddy and Cindy De La Hoz