what does the bible say about celebrating jesus' birth

On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it. So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. The first message is a message of the faithfulness of God. Celebrating Christmas can also take the form of pondering it, for Mary "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). He loves you so much that He gave His life for your salvation. Further light is shed upon these verses by the meaning of the words for peace in the original Greek and Latin. But then, suddenly, an angel appeared with the message: After the angel spoke a host of angels appeared, all praising God and saying. Each year when I read the Christmas story, I am impressed with the role that the angels play in it. The appearance of an unnamed angel to Joseph to explain the virgin birth and to name the Child. Instead they carry us deep into the mind and counsels of our great God. Christ was born to save! Billy Graham: Would You Have Welcomed Jesus or Rejected Him? Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Frank E. Gaebelein writes about this passage in The Practical Epistle of James, "A few years ago, former Chancellor Hutchins of the University of Chicago said war begins in the minds of men. Scripturally speaking, a Christian's celebrating a birthday is a non-issue. After all, just because we celebrate our childrens birthdays doesnt mean we forget them or ignore them the rest of the year! You can remember the moment in which they became real for you personally. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. But in changing the line, the editors of the hymnbooks have probably missed the main point of Wesley's thinking. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Of course they did! It looks at the fighting and the wars of history and of our own age and does not find the type of peace that it is seeking. And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holythe Son of God. But how? Christmas is not Christian because it is associated with many pagan birth mythsand Dec. 25 was not the date of Christ's birth. G We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band. And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. We learn of His mercy. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. In early fall. But this is all there will be - until the angels appear with their message. And David said to him, To whom do you belong? Furthermore, do not think that you need to go back to church in order to do these things, but learn rather to do them wherever God sends you in your home, school, or business. Happiness is a wonderful thing at Christmas shopping, decorating, entertaining, mailing cards but it is the world's virtue, and like all the world's virtues, it quite easily passes away. Christmas Is Rooted in Paganism In addition to Christmas having no Scriptural basis, it is important to note that the celebration of this holiday did not stem from Christian or Church-based doctrines. BGEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. If God did that, He would soon make a muddle of our Christian lives because "We do not know what we ought to pray for" (Romans 8:26), and we pray with wrong motives. We only understand the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ by revelation. The Herald Angels Sing" Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739. The Truth! Let your prayer be the cry of the publican: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" It is a time where they remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Unless our way of talking about salvation makes distinctions here, our interpretations inevitably fall short of the biblical conceptions. Think of the situation under which the Jews lived at this time. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Once more they cried out, Hallelujah! Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in his incarnation. Born the King of angels; Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? Many people believe that the celebration of Christmas is rooted in the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which honored the god Saturn. He would say that He was the way for a world that was lost. 8. OpenBible.info Hopefully Christmas this year has been more than presents and parties for you, and youve taken time to focus on Jesus. Perhaps you are one who longs for the Lord's return. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Clap your hands, all peoples! "Has God forgotten me?" Keiper, Ralph L. Peace in Storm. Then glorify and praise God for what you know. And God will grant your requests." How do you celebrate Christmas? In the New Covenant, he has given us the Lord's Supper and baptism. We cannot understand it but it is true, and we should marvel at it. Systematic Theology. Not only did these men have something to tell, as we do, they also knew of a world that needed desperately to hear their message. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? The exact date of Jesus' birth is not recorded in the Scriptures. There are four main points to this short message: Each of these points is important, of course. After this type of amazement has run its course nobody gives the cause of it a second thought. T There are five appearances of an angel, or angels, in the Christmas story, and another appearance of an angel to Joseph later to tell him to return to Israel from Egypt. But that is not what the Bible is talking about when it talks about salvation. 52 Bible Verses about Celebration Verse Concepts They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness. If you know this joy, then you can go on, as the angels did, to give glory to God; and you can possess that peace of heart and soul which transcends understanding. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? What a cause for amazement! Keiper asked, "Why do you call it a farce?" Another example of modern tendencies to reduce biblical salvation to human dimensions is the increasing emphasis upon the social aspects of the Christian gospel conceived in opposition to evangelism as traditionally understood. C Come to Him! But if the second type of peace is not something automatic that is, if you have to find it how do you find it? Well, they had been out in the fields of Bethlehem in the middle of the night, watching over their sheep as they had for many hundreds of nights previously and as their fathers undoubtedly had before them. And he called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! 7. Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born to be our Savior as the carol says: Christ was born to save! Malachi, who lived in the fifth century before Christ, was the last of the prophets. It struck me, as I began to read this story once again, that apart from the angels, no one would have understood what the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ meant not the shepherds, not Joseph, not even Mary. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. I wonder if you have experienced joy at this season. 1. "The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology" explains that the earliest Christians did not have a time when they regularly observed Christ's birth. This article may not be reproduced in any other fashion without the expressed written permission of the Alliance. The shepherds took this message, in the only form they knew, to their contemporaries. You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. L Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! This, of course, is monstrous. This is connected with amazement, but it also goes beyond amazement as an attempt to understand it or figure it out. The shepherds, wise men, and angels celebrated the birth of Jesus with gifts, songs, and prayer. Things seem to go as they have been going from the beginning, and you want something better. Have you seen that truth in the story? John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. His birthday was celebrated on December 25th. Z. Verse 17 suggests that we are to tell others what we have seen and heard; but we can hardly do that effectively until we have first been amazed at Christ's birth, pondered its meaning, and glorified and praised God for it. Salvus means "healthy" or "whole." A concordance soon gives the answer. You shall not do any ordinary work. Thus, the message to Joseph centers primarily on that great work which Jesus, the Messiah, was to do. This is what theologians call, "Hypostatic union." It explains how God, the Son of God, took human nature but He remained God at the same time. (Philadelphia: Evangelical Foundation), 1961, pages 12-13. Ponder on its meaning. One verse, which is often quoted by Christians who argue against celebrating Christmas, is Luke chapter 2, verse 34. Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 ESV / 156 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Does the Bible Condemn Using Tarot Cards? That is the Christmas story God became man! Would she have guessed what was happening because of her familiarity with the Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah's prophecy that "the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son" (Isaiah 7:14)? And there is peace with one another. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with . May God give you grace to do that. God did not forget! Reprinted by Moody Press, 1969. But there is a second way also. He would say that He was the life for a world that was dying. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. That is, men are not men of peace. Rather, He enables us to face them with a quietness, a calmness and confidence, which makes it possible to find a solution" 10 This is the peace that Edward Bickersteth wrote about in the late nineteenth century, in a verse which has since become one of our great hymns: The first way in which we find this peace, then, is by learning of Jesus. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Let the wonder of that first Christmas fill your life todayand every day. Have you recognized yourself as a sinner? Because it came from God and was centered in the birth of the Savior. In other words, the best way to celebrate Christmas is by becoming a follower of Him whose birth we commemorate. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Luke 1:35 ESV / 25 helpful votesHelpfulNot Helpful. Most people think that the day of one's birth is special. It is based upon what God has done, and it is given to the Christian by God and is sustained by God. Easter Easter is another holiday that is celebrated by Christians. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. On December 25th people the world over will celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, James is saying that war begins with men's emotions. The verse quoted was translated from Latin to English by Frederick Oakeley, 1841. What is the solution? All rights reserved. And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. Hardly! The time of fulfillment has come! James means that the lack of peace between men has its true source in men's emotions. The question is important because of the significance of the day and because so many obviously do not know how to celebrate it. Volume I, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951), page 146. God is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). Greet also the church in their house. As a sinner I need a Savior. My family likes to read these together on Christmas Eve, right before we go to bed. To understand what God has to say about peace, we need to recognize that there are different types of peace spoken about in the Bible and that of all of these, the most important is the peace we have with God as the result of justification. You can tell if you do by attempting to rehearse God's attributes. Did they have joy? And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. This is why Jesus came. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. Tillich, Paul. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Our gift to our children will be teaching them Who Jesus is and what Christmas is all about. They aren't all thinking of God or Jesus as they stand spellbound at the presents and tree on Christmas morning. The third type of peace is a peace with one another. Let's consider four reasons why Christmas doesn't meet the criteria of being "Christian.". When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found . And there, where they had first heard the angels' song, they themselves were heard to be singing God's praise. The birth of Jesus Christ is traditionally celebrated on December 25, although "around 37% of Orthodox Christians, mainly in Egypt and Russia, celebrate the Nativity of Christ on January 7th," owing to a difference in how their calendars were devised. Taken together, therefore, the Greek and Latin definitions imply, first, that peace is not primarily a state of mind or an individual virtue but rather a state existing between two or more persons. And the herald proclaimed aloud, You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Joy is of God. Ponder the great doctrines of the Christian faith doctrines of the incarnation, atonement, grace, sanctification, heaven, perseverance, and others so that you begin to grow strong in doctrine. "Peace, Perfect Peace" Words: Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr., 1875. The Practical Epistle of James. There is the peace of God, which is personal. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. I know that Christmas is a busy time. To the choirmaster. To ignore them is unimaginable. W

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