FAITH VERSUS CHRISTMAS, OTHER HOLIDAYS AND TITHES

INTRODUCTION 

Many Christians are confused on whether or not to celebrate Christmas around the world. 

A few years ago the Lord Jesus taught me about the principle of the weight of faith. 

In the bible there are lighter and weightier laws, greater and lesser lights, or bigger and smaller truths. 

In the beginning God created the sun as the greater light, and the moon as the lesser light.

Gen 1:16 says, “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” 

Psa 136:7-9 says, “To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth forever: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth forever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth forever.”

These two lights are symbols of the Truth – Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world.

Joh 1:6-9 (ISV) says, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. This was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.”

Joh 8:12 (ISV) says, “Later on Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

The lesser light ruled during the night of the Old Testament before Christ came, and the greater light started to rule in the day of the New Testament with the coming of Christ. 

Lesser truths submit to the greater truths, and greater truths are not ruled or affected by lesser truths. 

Heb 7:7 says, “And without all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.”

The moon depends on the sun to shine at night, and the sun is not affected by the moon in any way during the day. 

Another thing is that all of the light of the moon is in the sun since it comes from the sun, but not all of sunlight is in the moonlight. 

Even in biblical prophecy, moonlight can never catch up with sunlight.

Isa 30:26 says, “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days...”

This means that of the truth in a lighter law is included in the weightier law, but not all of the truth in a weightier law is included in a lesser law. 

FAITH VERSUS OTHER LAWS 

The Lord Jesus described faith as a weightier matter of the law alongside the laws of justice and mercy; and tithe as the lighter matters of the law.

Mat 23:23 (ESV) says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”

This means that the human race is justified or given righteousness by grace or mercy through the law of faith, in the new birth experience.

Eph 2:8 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

A person gets born again and is declared righteous by the law of faith, not tithes or some other lighter laws. 

Rom 10:6-10 (ESV) says, “But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

The law of faith works by the law of love, and love is the greatest law. 

Mat 22:35-40 says, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

1Co 13:13 (BBE) says, “But now we still have faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

Gal 5:6 says, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

The laws of holidays submit to the law of faith. 

Salvation which is established by the law of faith, cannot be reversed or undone by lesser laws. 

FAITH VERSUS CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY 

A holiday from Old English ‘holy day,’ is a sacred day, spiritual anniversary such as the sabbath. 

The law of the sabbath and other holidays in the bible is a shadow of the finished works of Christ in the cross which save the believer by faith. 

In other words the sabbath and any other holiday in the bible were the moonlight while faith in Jesus is the sunlight.

Col 2:16-17 says, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Remember that the moon has no light of its own, but reflects the light of the sun. 

Likewise the holidays and Sabbath in the bible had no truth or value of their own, since they reflected the truth and value of Jesus Christ. 

The Meaning of Christmas

The word "Christmas" is derived from the Old English phrase "Cristes maesse," which means "Christ's Mass." 

It refers to the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who is central to the Christian faith. 

The term "Mass" has its roots in the Latin word "missa," which means "dismissal" or "sending forth." 

It also signifies the celebration of the Holy Communion, the ordinance of the body and blood of Christ. 

So, the word Christmas actually means a spiritual service dedicated to honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. 

In the Bible, there are no scriptures that directly support or oppose the celebration of Christmas as it is observed today. 

The birth of Jesus is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but no specific date or instructions for an annual celebration are provided. 

The Bible encourages believers to honor and remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, rather than focusing on specific observances or traditions. 

It is neither holy nor evil to celebrate Christmas. 

Each individual may approach the celebration of Christmas differently based on their own understanding of scripture and their conscience.

What about the fact that Christmas on 25 December is not the correct date of the birth of Jesus Christ?

Have you heard this controversial story about the Christmas holiday? Here it is…

In order to speak about Christmas, we must go back to the time of Noah, after the flood, when Ham, one of his sons, saw him sleeping drunk and naked. 

He laughed at his father and ran to tell his other two brothers, Shem and Japheth. 

Instead of laughing, they walked backwards towards their father and covered his naked body. 

Once he learned about what had happened, Noah cursed Ham’s son Cush, so that he and his descendants would serve the children of his two brothers. 

And every generation after him was cursed (Genesis 9:20-27). 

According to ancient records, Cush married Semiramis and they had a son, Nimrod. 

Nimrod killed his father Cush and married his mother. He was the founder of Babylon, Nineveh and other pagan cities (Genesis 10). 

He tried to build the tower of Babel, and God stopped him. His great uncle Shem killed him for he was opposing God too much. 

Semiramis, his wife and mother, spread a lie and said that he had not died, but had in fact gone to heaven, since he called himself the sun-god. 

Semiramis became pregnant and claimed it to be a gift from the gods, the re-embodiment of Nimrod, when, in fact, it was the result of a betrayal, since her husband and son was already dead. 

Tammuz was born on December 25, the sun-god of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, and today, of the secret societies. 

He died during a hunting trip, probably by a wild animal, and his body was found slumped over a rotten tree trunk. 

His mother said that a pine tree sprout from the rotten trunk and every year, on the 25th of December, it was common for people to take a pine tree home and decorate it with gold and silver, as a symbol of the rebirth of Tammuz. 

This is where the Christmas tree came from. 

The priestesses fasted and wept for 40 days and 40 nights over the death of Tammuz at the foot of the pine tree, and once finished, they thanked each other by exchanging gifts, which were placed at the foot of the pine tree. 

Every year, on the 25th of December, Christmas was celebrated (the birth of Tammuz). 

When the Persians dominated this region, they took all of their idols back to Persia, including the gods Tammuz, Nimrod and Semiramis, and simply changed their names. 

The religion of the Persians was Zoroastrianism, and it later had the cults of Mithra, the sun god, and Anita, the goddess of fertility - similar to Nimrod/Tammuz and Semiramis. 

The Greeks soon gained power and they did the same thing, by changing their names. 

They became Zeus, Aphrodite/Diana and Eros/Dionysus. 

Then the Egyptians gained power and changed their names to Osiris, Isis and Horus. 

During the times of Jesus Christ, Rome was in power and they also changed their names to Jupiter, Venus and Cupid. 

Semiramis has also been worshiped under the names Ishtar, Astarte, Rhea, Madonna and Isis, while Nimrod has also been worshiped under the names Ninus and Baal. 

Tammuz has also been known as Adonis. All three have had many more names accredited to them. 

During the fourth century after Christ, to please the Christians, who were in large numbers in Rome, Emperor Constantine decided to honor Christianity by making it the official religion of Rome. 

To please them even more, he took the strongest names within Christianity and gave these three idols Christian names and they are now worshipped by the Roman Catholic Church in the form of the father, the son and Mary the mother. 

As a result, Christmas is still being celebrated as the birth of baby Jesus, who actually was Tammuz, a pagan god.

So then, what are we saying about Christmas? Is it a sin to celebrate Christ on 25 December every year then? 

Certainly NOT! But you also don’t need to feel pressured to celebrate Christmas as if it is the official birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

On the contrary, it is the celebration of ‘another Jesus’ who is the antichrist! We have already seen that a person’s salvation or Christianity cannot be measured and judged by lighter laws like celebrating or not celebrating non biblical holidays like Christmas. 

There is no judgement of a person who believes in the true Christ Jesus of Nazareth, whether or not you celebrate His birth at Christmas holiday.

Rom 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Christmas is neither holy nor evil. Nothing is evil in itself, but it is evil for anyone who thinks it unclean. 

Your conscience is what determines whether celebrating Christmas is good or not for you. 

It is good if your conscience is clean while celebrating Christmas, and bad if you are defiled by it.

Rom 14:2 says, “For indeed one believes to eat all things; but being weak, another eats vegetables.”

Rom 14:14 (ESV) says, “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.”

The moment you start exalting Christmas or any other holiday above faith in Christ, you show that you don’t understand the gospel and have created an idol out it. 

Celebrating Christmas as a spiritual duty of devotion to 25 December or another ‘correct date’ in October is wasted effort, for all days are the same.

Gal 4:10-11 (NIV) says, “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.”

You certainly do not need to spend money buying Christmas trees and acting Santa Claus – the unbiblical ‘Father Christmas,’ though there is nothing wrong with buying each other gifts and celebrating the love of Christ on the day. 

Tammuz, Nimrod, Semiramis, Santa Claus and the Christmas trees are idols, and idols have no real existence – so a Christian with knowledge should not be bothered by them. 

But believers with an occult background who know what these idols represent in the dark world, will be offended by them. 

If you know that your freedom in Christ to celebrate Christmas will affect brethren, you would rather not celebrate it than to cause them an to stumble in their spiritual walk.

1Co 8:4-13 (ESV) says, “Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

Whether or not you observe a day or holiday as special, what matters is whether or not you do it by faith in Christ Jesus. 

Whatever is not done by faith is sin, whether it is celebrating or not celebrating Christ at Christmas. 

Whatever you do or do not do if you are born again, you are justified by the weightier law of faith in your decision! 

Everyone has the liberty to do what their mind feels in the right way to honour God without needing to condemn those believers who think differently on the same matter. 

God accepts everyone who believes in Him whether or not they celebrate Christmas.

Rom 14:3-6 says, “Do not let him who eats despise him who does not eat; and do not let him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. Who are you that judges another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. But he will stand, for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He who regards the day regards it to the Lord; and he not regarding the day, does not regard it to the Lord. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and gives God thanks.”

Rom 14:22-23 says, “The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

We are on different levels of faith, and those who are strong in faith should not use the occasion of their faith to destroy those who are of weak faith.

Rom 14:15 says, “But if your brother is grieved with your food, you no longer walk according to love. Do not with your food destroy him for whom Christ died.”

Rom 14:20-22 says, “Do not undo the work of God for food. Truly, all things indeed are clean, but it is bad to the man eating because of a stumbling-block. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Blessed is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”

Both of the two preachers who say that you will lose your salvation and miss heaven by celebrating Christmas, and the one who says you will lose your salvation and miss heaven if you do not celebrate it are dead wrong! 

What matters is the new birth which is by faith, not days on a calendar! 

This is what the apostle Paul labored to explain to the Jewish believers who exalted the lighter law of circumcision above the weightier law of faith. 

Paul said being circumcised or uncircumcised did not matter to salvation, for God only seeks the new creation who has been reborn through faith.

CONCLUSION 

Our confidence and boasting should never be in the lighter matters of the law like celebrating or ignoring Christmas and other holidays. 

Our confidence and boasting should always be in the weightier law of faith.

Rom 3:27-28 (ESV) says, “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

Fighting with brethren and division (denominationalism) over the issues of holidays is much ado about nothing, and a sign of immaturity in the church, which is based on ignorance. 

God is for all believers. Those who celebrate Christmas and other holidays have the same God with those who do not keep them. 

We are all justified before God by faith apart from these lighter matters of the law.

Rom 3:29-30 (ESV) says, “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one-who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

We do not go looking for moonlight during the day after sunrise if we are of a sound mind, do we? 

Neither do we light a candle after electricity has returned. 

It is just as foolish now for us to start looking for righteousness by celebrating or ignoring Christmas and other holidays. 

The light of the sun carries the light of the moon and much more! 

Also the electrical bulb carries the light of the candle and much more!  

Likewise faith in Christ Jesus carries all the truths in the law and much more! 

So we are not fighting the truths in the law by the weightier law of faith, but we are actually establishing them.

Rom 3:31 (ESV) says, “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

The lesser light is made unnecessary by the dawn of the greater light, and so the law is made unnecessary by the dawn of the revelation of the New Testament Day and the Light of Christ (the day/morning Star) in your heart through faith.

2Pe 1:19 (GNB) says, “So we are even more confident of the message proclaimed by the prophets. You will do well to pay attention to it, because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts.”

So the most important thing for you today is not to celebrate or not to celebrate Christmas, or to know whether or Christ was born on 25 December or some other day in October, but to believe in the finished works of Christ and receive Him in your heart and be born again. 

Joh 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

2Co 5:16-17 (EMTV) says, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Gal 6:15-16 says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision has any strength, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God.”

Days mean nothing to God, but a new creation. Shalom.