Let's Take Christ Out Of Christmas
The hue and cry can be heard about this time every year: "Christmas has become too commercial. Let's put Christ back in Christmas. "But I say, "Let's take Christ out of Christmas altogether!"
Shocked? Think I'm anti-Christ? Actually it is my desire to please God and his Son that caused me to make such a statement. Strange? Think about it. Is Christ pleased when we celebrate his birth? This question should be our prime consideration and its answer should determine our course of action.
Who put Christ in Christmas in the first place? God didn't. One cannot learn about Christmas from the Bible. Sure, you can read about the birth of Christ there, but not Christmas. It is significant that God chose not to record the time of year. Neither is there any indication that the early church celebrated his birth. Contrast the silence of God on this subject with his discourse on the subject of Christ's death. We are commanded to remember his death (1 Cor. 11:23-29) and we have a record of the early Christians doing this each Lord's day (Acts 20:7). In addition to the lack of divine authorization for celebrating Christ's birthday, we have divine condemnation of "special days" (Gal. 4:8-11).
Christmas, originally "Cristes masse," (the mass of Christ) was a "mass" of the Roman Catholic Church for the commemoration of the birth of Christ. The observance of December 25 only dates from the fourth century and is due to assimilation with the Saturnalia of the Romans, the winter festival of the heathen Britons, and the festival of the birthday of the Romans' sun-god, Mithras.
Naturally, many Christmas customs are rooted in paganism. Local customs and traditions from various lands were borrowed, given a religious flavor, and passed off as part of the celebration of the birth of Christ.
The fact that certain customs originated in paganism does not necessarily make the proper use of them wrong. For instance, we have the principle involved here in the apostle Paul's discussion of eating meats offered to idols (1 Cor. 8). As a religious act, eating the meat was wrong. Otherwise, eating was right provided it did not encourage a weak brother to eat doubtfully. So, with some exceptions (dancing, excessive eating, etc.) there is no harm in the old social customs such as the English favored. However, the Christian should make effort not to mix a season of giving and hospitality with any type of celebration of the birth of Christ.
Man's religious activity must be guided by divine authority. "All scripture is given by the inspiration of God... that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16,17). God gave us complete instructions, yet failed to tell us to "remember Christ's birth," or even when his birth was. Those who engage in the religious observance of the birth of Christ act without divine authority and fall under the condemnation of Galatians 4:9-11 and 2 John 9.
Instead of putting Christ in Christmas, let's put ourselves into Christ by obedience to the gospel (1 Cor. 12:13) and then as members of his body subject ourselves to his will. If we love him, we will keep his commandments (John 14:15).
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