I've only VERY recently accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And, to be honest, I really don't want to celebrate these holidays, but I don't actually even know if I have to or not
I kinda just want to follow the same standards that any Christian would. Does being born Jewish mean that I have to obey a different set of rules? Because I really, really don't want to observe these holidays.
Hi there Parogar! This is fabulous news to hear (I have known of you on this website for many years).
What I might suggest, is that you should examine every idea you get, so that you will not allow guilt by man-made rules, to interfere with the new relationship with God that you have.
In Romans 3:19-27, St. Paul describes how observance of law and grace are at odds in salvation. I have paraphrased that passage to make it fit into a pocket-size gospel tract booklet that I am constructing:
The law is to silence every mouth and make the
world accountable to God for punishment.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous
before God by works of law, for by law comes
awareness of sin. God Himself gives
righteousness to those who live by faith, who
always put their trust in Jesus Christ.
There is no sense of achievement for the
righteousness we receive, as every one has
sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It
is God's gift through the redemption in Christ
Jesus, so we may boast only of His goodness,
not our own.
- St. Paul, Romans 3:19-27
Hebrews 10:38-39 states:
“My righteous one shall live by faith, and if
he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in
him”. We are not of those who shrink back to
destruction, but of faith to the preservation
of the soul.
Between these two verses, we see that God does have expectations of us, in order for us to remain in salvation, but that this is not according to a prescribed checklist sort of law.
What this means in practical terms, is that you are free from condemnation according to your conscience.
Compare Salvation By Grace to man-made religious constructs (which Christianity has become too, to a great number of people). The man-made construct sets before us a list of rules of conduct, that we must adhere to, whereas Salvation By Grace states that God is pleased with us on the moment we first repent. As we go day-by-day, we have a relationship with Him and He teaches us more of His expectations of us, so that we may develop more into the character of Christ.
If ever we disappoint Him in this sense, it grieves His spirit, and we too experience that grief, often also some loss of the confidence of salvation. At that point, there is two different responses we can choose: either we will notice that we have sinned, admit to Him that we are convicted of the error, and because we choose to repent, He will forgive us and help us to grow stronger (1 John 1:9). On the other hand, some people are not able to repent of their error when this happens, and they begin walking in the darkness (1 John 1:6). Their salvation is then in a very dangerous situation - they are outright living contrary to what God expects of them, and refusing to accept that He requires their repentance. Instead they choose to deceive themselves, in order to believe they are saved even while they are opposing Him! (Matthew 6:22-23).
I expect that when you came to accept Jesus as your Lord and saviour, you will have known of some change to your lifestyle that was required, and you chose to do that (otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted).
My advice to you, is be confident and assured of your salvation on the basis of that degree of repentance. Going forward, maintain a close relationship with God, and pay attention to the state of your spiritual health. My personal experience is, that when I act in a way contrary to His expectation of me, then I am convicted by my guilt. Then when I confess to Him that indeed I was wrong, I beg His forgiveness, choosing to implement repentance (and recompense if necessary), according to His personal instruction, then He gives me relief of the guilt.
So, I recommend for you to pray about it and ask God whether He expects you to observe these celebrations or not. If you are not getting a clear indication for or against, then just relax and be yourself!
If God wants you to change, you should have no doubt that He will let you know, and if He doesn't let you know, then you should feel comfortable in the knowledge that He loves you and accepts you as you are
- But certainly, do stand firm in your confidence of salvation despite anyone that will accuse you of not matching their standards. Your assurance of salvation can only come from God. Salvation can never be issued by our fellow man's judgment, because it is not his to give! (Hebrews 7:23-25).