The Christmas season is here again, and a joyous mood is in the air. Everywhere you go, decorations are set up, lights are twinkling, and Christmas music is playing on the radio. Store owners are celebrating because, during this time, they receive a "gift" from customers spending money on all sorts of material things for their loved ones. In the workplace, there are gift exchanges, parties, and dinners. At night, you find people going to clubs, getting drunk, and acting recklessly—all while supposedly celebrating the birthday of Christ the Savior.
Christmas seems to be the one celebration involving "Christ" that both the secular world and churchgoers enjoy. On Christmas Day, the world and the church gather together. Christians and worldly people alike dress up and share pictures on social media. In Christmas, we find a union between pagans and Christians—a mixture of truth and error, light and darkness. But God asks in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "What fellowship does light have with darkness?"
The truth is that Jesus did come into the world, born of a woman, to bring salvation to the human race. The error is the date and the customs. Jesus was not born on December 25th; He was most likely born during the fall when the shepherds were still in the fields. Biblical evidence suggests a birth between September and October.
History shows that someone else was celebrated on December 25th: the pagan god Tammuz. By its very nature, December 25th was a pagan festival characterized by gift exchanges and drunkenness. The medieval Roman Catholic Church adopted many of these pagan festivities and gave them Christian names. The birth of Tammuz became the birthday of Christ, just as the pagan day of sun worship—Sunday—came to replace God’s holy seventh-day Sabbath.
Paganism and Christianity formed a union in falsehood, and many have been deceived into accepting the errors of the institutional church. Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, and the way it is celebrated clearly reveals its pagan roots. The world consistently neglects what God commanded while promoting what He did not.
So, should Christians celebrate Christmas? Should we have fellowship with darkness? The answer is no. Christmas is a pagan celebration masquerading as a Christian festival. God is calling His children out of darkness and into His glorious light. As children of God, we must put away the "unfruitful works of darkness" and stand for the truth.
Walking in the Light
While we can use this time of year to promote the Gospel, we should take no part in godless festivities. In the workplace, consider abstaining from the decorations, the social media spectacles, and the parties filled with alcohol.
Friends, let us as Christians read the Word of God and walk in the light of truth. The world hates Jesus and will never truly celebrate Him. We truly celebrate Jesus by turning away from sin and the love of worldly things. Let us ask God daily to separate us from the world and to stand boldly for His truth, no matter where we are. Celebrate Jesus by letting Him sanctify you with truth, for His Word is truth.
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