i12go4God

On this beautiful Christmas morning, I wish to address the issue of holidays. There are some who feel that we are not authorized to have holidays, and by this I mean days that are holy in a religious sense. Therefore, they reason that Christians are actually sinning, or at least in error, if the celebrate such with religious meaning attached.

What we need to do, as in most cases, is to define our terms. By “holy” we mean that something or someone is “set apart for service to God”. So by naming something as a holiday, we are setting that day apart for reflection, remembrance and celebration. So what do the Scriptures say about setting days apart for religious observance? Glad you asked, because the Apostle Paul gives us a very direct answer in Romans chapter 14. I have included six verse for the sake of context.

“Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. One person believes in eating everything, but the weak person eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has accepted him. Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day holier than other days, and another regards them all alike. Each must be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day does it for the Lord. The one who eats, eats for the Lord because he gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains from eating abstains for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.” (Romans 14:1-6 NET)

Of particular note are verses 5 and 6 regarding holy days. According to Paul, while under divine inspiration, there is nothing wrong at all with setting aside a day as holy. Neither is there anything wrong or sinful about NOT setting a day or days aside. Let each be convinced in his or her own mind about it.

But I do have a question for consideration by those who would still say we should not have any holy days in spite of Romans 14:5-6. Many of them celebrate other days like Independence Day and Memorial Day, etc. What does it say to those who may be observing your conduct when you are willing to set aside days to celebrate national secular events, but are not willing to do the same for events in the life of our Lord? Do you celebrate your birthday and those of your family members? I realize we do not have the exact date for the birth of Christ, but do we celebrate everyone’s birthday and not the birth of our Savior? Just so ring to think about.

Again, let each be convinced in his own mind and not judge the conclusions of a brother as inferior to our own. We live unto The Lord and answer to Him for only ourselves. I, for one, will celebrate the Incarnation and the day “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. If I can celebrate American independence on the 4th of July, I can definitely celebrate the coming of the One who sets us free eternally. Let us begin the Incarnation Celebration!