Giving a Piece of Mind on the Great Christmas Divide
Christmas is no doubt around the corner. The next Sunday services will be held on December 24, 2017 or Christmas Eve. I don't deny that I myself have a tendency to hate Christmas not because of its earlier origins to Saturnalia but also because of how people's behavior and materialistic attitude tend to worsen during Christmas.
There's no doubt that there's always a battle between Christians in celebrating Christmas. The great Charles H. Spurgeon once celebrated Christmas but later renounced it. Christmas is still considered a pagan holiday. I remembered reading through Alexander Hislop's rather faulty "Two Babylons" and that in some cultures - December 25 of the Gregorian calendar (or for some December 25 of the lunar or lunisolar calendar) is the birthday of any pagan savior or god. There was also connections to the Saturnalia celebration of Rome which was linked to orgies.
Here's an excerpt of what Arthur W. Pink wrote about Christmas:
Christmas is coming! Quite so: but what is "Christmas?" Does not the very term itself denote it's source - "Christ-mass." Thus it is of Roman origin, brought over from paganism. But, says someone, Christmas is the time when we commemorate the Savior's birth. It is? And WHO authorized such commemoration? Certainly God did not. The Redeemer bade His disciples "remember" Him in His death, but there is not a word in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, which tells us to celebrate His birth. Moreover, who knows when, in what month, He was born? The Bible is silent thereon. It is without reason that the only "birthday" commemorations mentioned in God's Word are Pharaoh's (Gen. 40:20) and Herod's (Matt. 14:6)? Is this recorded "for our learning?" If so, have we prayerfully taken it to heart?
And WHO is it that celebrates "Christmas?" The whole "civilized world." Millions who make no profession of faith in the blood of the Lamb, who "despise and reject Him," and millions more who while claiming to be His followers yet in works deny Him, join in merrymaking under the pretense of honoring the birth of the Lord Jesus. Putting it on it's lowest ground, we would ask, is it fitting that His friends should unite with His enemies in a worldly round of fleshly gratification? Does any true born again soul really think that He whom the world cast out is either pleased or glorified by such participation in the world's joys? Verily, the customs of the people are VAIN; and it is written, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Ex. 23:2).
Some will argue for the "keeping of Christmas" on the ground of "giving the kiddies a good time." But why do this under the cloak of honoring the Savior's birth? Why is it necessary to drag in His holy name in connection with what takes place at that season of carnal jollification? Is this taking the little one with you OUT of Egypt (Ex. 10:9-10) a type of the world, or is it not plainly a mingling with the present day Egyptians in their "pleasures of sin for a season?" (Heb. 11:25) Scripture says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6). Scripture does command God's people to bring up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4), but where does it stipulate that it is our duty to give the little one a "good time?" Do we ever give the children "a good time" when we engage in anything upon which we cannot fittingly ask THE LORD'S blessing?
There are those who DO abstain from some of the grosser carnalities of the "festive season," yet are they nevertheless in cruel bondage to the prevailing custom of "Christmas" namely that of exchanging "gifts." We say "exchanging" for that is what it really amounts to in many cases. A list is kept, either on paper or in memory, of those from whom gifts were received last year, and that for the purpose of returning the compliment this year. Nor is this all: great care has been taken that the "gift" made to the friend is worth as much in dollars and cents as the one they expect to receive from him or her. Thus, with many who can ill afford it, a considerable sum has to be set aside each year with which to purchase things simply to send them out in RETURN for others which are likely to be received. Thus a burden has been bound on them which not a few find hard to bear.
But what are we to do? If we fail to send out "gifts" our friends will think hard of us, probably deem us stingy and miserly. The honest course is to go to the trouble of notifying them - by letter if at a distance - that from now on you do not propose to send out any more "Christmas gifts" as such. Give your reasons. State plainly that you have been brought to see that "Christmas merrymaking" is entirely a thing OF THE WORLD, devoid of any Scriptural warrant; that it is a Romish institution, and now that you see this, you dare no longer have any fellowship with it (Eph. 5:11); that you are the Lord's "free man" (1 Cor. 7:22), and therefore you refuse to be in bondage to a costly custom imposed by the world.
What about sending out "Christmas cards" with a text of Scripture on them? That also is an abomination in the sight of God. Why? Because His Word expressly forbids all unholy mixtures; Deut. 22:10-11 typified this. What do we mean by an "unholy mixture?" This: the linking together of the pure Word of God with the Romish "Christ-MASS." By all means send cards (preferably at some other time of the year) to your ungodly friends, and Christians too, with a verse of Scripture, but NOT with "Christmas" on it. What would you think of a printed program of a vaudeville having Isa. 53:5 at the foot of it? Why, that it was altogether OUT OF PLACE, highly incongruous. But in the sight of God the circus and the theater are far less obnoxious than the "Christmas celebration" of Romish and Protestant "churches." Why? Because the latter are done under the cover of the holy name of Christ; the former are not.
It's no surprise that even the soundest of preachers can be guilty of heresies. Did you know the great preacher Charles H. Spurgeon condemned the pipe organ in the worship service? Did you know John Calvin actually condemned the use of musical instruments saying that they only belonged to the Old Covenant? Now, we've got the Christmas divide as the Reformed can end up battling over it on whether or not we should celebrate Christmas.
As far as concerned, Christians who are for celebrating Christmas and against celebrating Christmas both have a lot of things in common. They believe in the doctrine of the Triune God that there's one God in Three Persons. They believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the flesh and co-eternal with the Father and Spirit. They believe in the virgin birth as an important doctrine. They agree on everything Scriptural even while they argue about Christmas.
Some Christians have today tend to appeal too much to the writing of a man of God over the Bible to defend their stand. You can see how some Christians choose to quote from the writings of the Puritans about Christmas rather than to appeal to Scripture. They're no better than the Papists or Roman Catholics who quote more from their greatest scholars whom Rome has declared as blessed or saint instead of the Bible. One can quote Jeremiah 10:3-5 to discourage Christmas yet the whole chapter is on graven images and not Christmas trees.
Later Reformed Theology preachers like John F. MacArthur, the late Robert C. Sproul Sr. and Paul Washer actually think that it's okay to celebrate Christmas by divorcing the paganism of Saturnalia. MacArthur celebrates Christmas by focusing on the incarnation of Christ. Ligonier Ministries talks a lot about the incarnation during the Christmas season. I don't see anything wrong with celebrating Christmas myself even if I personally don't like celebrating it these days. The reason is because it's really the time of the year when Satan loves it so much because he can bring his other party tricks such as Santa Claus and a Jesus that never grows up.
I still see nothing really wrong with either celebrating or not celebrating Christmas. What's wrong with Christians who celebrate Christmas, give a bonus to one's employees and get everyone to have some fun free of the carnality of the Saturnalia? This means that a Christian who chooses not to celebrate Christmas has no right to condemn Christians who celebrate it without the paganism involved. For one, I still think I really hate the Christmas season because it's an open invitation to carnality and stupidity. Yet, shouldn't Christians take the opportunity to double their efforts in evangelizing others during Christmas?
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