Someone asked me a very common question for December:
Should we celebrate Christmas? Since it had pagan beginnings?
Here is my answer:
Bible Does Not Prohibit Celebrating Days – Only Judging About It
Like most everything in life (minus five prohibitions Jesus listed as salvation requirements) (Mt 19:17-19), Christmas is a matter of personal choice, not of sin or of right and wrong. That something came from pagans simply does not make it sin or wrong. It’s a good thing, too, since most everything in life was devised by heathens, not by servants of God (who are in the minority always). You’d have to live in a cave and be all knowing of everything’s origin if God really expected us to concern ourselves with avoiding all pagan-influenced things. (And by the way, how would you know for sure this is God’s will, anyway, since it’s a minority fringe opinion that we must maintain such a standard of purity?)
When you investigate the Bible to find God’s will, there is nothing in the NT about believers needing to quit celebrating holidays. In Jesus’ and Paul’s day under Roman occupation, there were many such pagan festivals celebrated around them. And although they talk a lot about many actual sins going on and to be repented of, not a word is mentioned on holidays except when Paul talks about those who judge each other about such things (Rom 14:4-5; Col 2:16). Instead the focus is always on actual sins…like judging.
In other words, while Christmas-keeping is not in any way clearly defined as wrong in the Bible, judging others over keeping it is!
Objection: “Israel Was Told Not To Copy Pagan Worship – Like Christmas”
Some argue that in the OT ancient Israel was told to not worship idols or even to worship God the way other nations worshiped their gods (Dt 12:30-31). However, this was a higher standard based on revelation given only to ancient Israel on how to worship him (Dt 12:32), which was a condition for them staying in the Promised Land. When they forgot about God and sought after other idols that the heathen nations around them served continually, they were evicted from the land. Believers today are not under Moses or any other prophet telling them how to serve God. They do the best they can on their own. Therefore, keeping any holiday or even Christmas to worship Jesus is not a violation of anything believers have been told.
When the Millennium comes and Jesus and the saints rule so that the word of God covers the earth, then there will be instructions on worship and the accountability to follow them. We can see this in the clear penalties that are carried out against those who disobey (Zech 14:18).
As for today not under the government of God, there’s no prohibition about celebrating Christmas. It’s up to you and your own conscience whether you do or not.