Are we allowed to partake in Christmas?

J

Jan001 said:

Deceptions do indeed come from false teachers.

2 Thessalonians 2:15
So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. rsv
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Jesus Christ's Church is commanded by Jesus to teach us the law of Jesus Christ under His New Covenant. Matthew 28:18-20 We are not supposed to make our own interpretations of these Church leaders' New Testament Scriptures. Because people refuse to listen to His Church's leaders, there are now thousands of churches. People who interpret the Bible for themselves cannot agree what the Scriptures mean. They cannot agree on doctrine.

2 Peter 3:16
(Paul) speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. rsv
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The early Church leaders wrote the NT Bible. It is up to them to interpret their own Scriptures. Their teachings about the Scriptures have been handed down by faithful men (bishops) for 2000 years.

2 Timothy 2:2
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. nkjv
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The Bereans searched the Old Testament to see if what Paul was preaching about the Messiah was true.

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Jesus is supposed to be our teacher and His words are the Bible. The Bible is His Word, Jesus is the Word and the Word is TRUTH. So much devision has occurred because of these docrines created by false teachers, yes I agree we listen to the apostles, the ones in the Bible. I see you are Catholic, is it your belief that the Pope is the one we gleen our truth from instead of the Bible? Do you believe we follow the pope instead of the Bible? I am not trying to be insulting I just want to know if this is what you believe.

1John2:4 said:

Jesus is supposed to be our teacher and His words are the Bible. The Bible is His Word, Jesus is the Word and the Word is TRUTH. So much devision has occurred because of these docrines created by false teachers, yes I agree we listen to the apostles, the ones in the Bible. I see you are Catholic, is it your belief that the Pope is the one we gleen our truth from instead of the Bible? Do you believe we follow the pope instead of the Bible? I am not trying to be insulting I just want to know if this is what you believe.

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Jesus' Church has authority from God to explain to us what its own Scriptures mean. The current pope is the successor of the apostle Peter and so he is the ultimate head of Jesus' Church on earth. The other bishops who are in union with the pope are called the magisterium of Jesus' Church. Jesus puts the people in authority who He wants to lead His Church.

There is no command in the NT Scriptures for people who are not bishops to self-determine what Jesus' Church's teachings mean. There is no such thing as "Scripture Alone" in Jesus' Church. The Church was created first. The leaders of Jesus' Church wrote letters, histories, etc. to help to teach the faith of Jesus Christ. Their letters were never meant to replace their oral teachings. Their letters, histories, etc. are supplements to the faith they teach; they are not a replacement for their oral teachings.

Trust in Jesus. Jesus tells me that my Bible is the true Word of God.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

My family has been christian for many years and in the past have celebrated Christmas, but this year we will not because you are right, it is a pagan holiday.
What fellowship does the light have with darkness? We are not of this world and the world does not know us because it did not know the Father.

Best advice. Do what the Book says.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Trust and enjoy Jesus Christ. He is better than all the holidays combined.

^amen Aaron, trust jesus is the answer. I will no longer celebrate it either for the first time in my life. It is so about insane amounts of gifts and glorify s glitter, gold and materialistic things, all not of our Jesus.

However, there is joy in giving, so in the season of giving, why not give gifts to charities and hospitals?

Also, last year I was cold and a christian sister came over and found use for her former mothers old blanket that she no longer wanted.

When I cuddle up with that blanket, I feel her love (my christian sisters) and it feels like a hug.

It just happened to be around Christmas that this happened.

No reason to not give to food panties or soup kitchens, homeless shelters or animal shelters as well.

llopez88 said:

Hello, this is my first December season after having read the Bible and I am unsure about celebrating Christmas. Isn't it a pagan tradition? I remember reading Jeremiah 10:3-4 and thinking about this issue.

Personally at this moment, I feel christmas has nothing to do with Jesus and according to Jer 10, a christmas tree is a pagan practice that gentiles practice.

What are your thoughts on Christians celebrating this day?

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You're right that it is a pagan holiday. Some people like to debate this by trying to trace the source of Christmas through different cultures - German, English, American, Egyptian, Babylonian, etc. What these cultures all have in common is that they are all pagan nations. Also, if God didn't tell us to keep Christmas (which He didn't), then where did Christmas come from? If it's not from God, then it has to have come from the pagan nations.

God tells us not to learn the ways of the pagans/nations and not to worship Him with those ways (Deuteronomy 12:29-32 and Deuteronomy 12:1-4) and He has not changed His mind on that (Numbers 23:19).

God told us to keep His appointed times, feast days, and Sabbaths (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, Tabernacles, and the weekly Sabbath) instead. And they are often described as for all generations (ex: Exodus 12:17) and we'll be keeping them in the future Temple (Ezekiel 45:21).

I'm glad your eyes are being opened to the truth about Christmas!

christopheralan88 said:

You're right that it is a pagan holiday.

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Folks keep on saying this, but they're only getting hung up on some folk trappings (Christmas trees, etc.) that originated among devout *Lutherans* in the 1600-1700s, and fake parallels with Roman holidays that had already been dead for 1000 years.

The Feast of the Nativity (i.e. Christmas) has always been a Christian observance.