Christmas Is Not In The Bible
by Douglas Hoff
Mention Christmas and people will
generally think of two things: the birth of Christ and presents. The birth of Jesus is surely an important
historical event. The angel of the Lord announced it to the shepherds who then
went with haste to behold the sight for themselves (Luke 2:8-16). Wise men came
from afar, worshiped the infant Savior and gave gifts to him (Matthew
God never asked man to observe December 25 as the day on which the Son of God was born. The scriptures do not reveal the day of his birth. Even the season is uncertain. The only clue is that shepherds were abiding in the field with their flocks. The word “abiding” used in Luke 2:8 (KJV) means to live under the open sky even at night. It is not likely that Jesus was born in December.
The idea of a holy day to celebrate
Christ’s birth did not originate with God, Jesus or the apostles. Instead it arose centuries after the
apostolic age. According to history books December 25 was first celebrated as
the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 354 by order of Bishop Liberius
of
Why did Liberius
choose December 25 for this occasion? Many
pagans converted to Christianity when it became the state religion by decree of
Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24; NKJV) An act of worship which is done according to the traditions of men lacks God’s authority (Matthew 15:9). The religious celebration of Christ’s birth is a tradition of men and foreign to God’s word.
This creates some problems since
many people have been brought up believing Christmas is a religious observance
of Christ’s birth. For them, the words
of this article will probably sound strange. However, since Christmas is not in the Bible
hopefully they will see its observance must be a matter of personal conviction.
It is not something that can be bound on
the church as a matter of faith. The
apostle Paul addressed a similar issue which existed within the church at
There is nothing wrong with
Christmas as long as the person does not think its observance is required to be
a faithful Christian. Paul lamented the
Galatians desire to “observe days and
months and seasons and years” (Galatians
Christians are not wrong in giving and receiving presents on Christmas day. December 25 can be an enjoyable family time. Just remember what it is really all about.
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