Christians should measure all their religious activity by the Bible. If our religious activity lines up with the Bible, it pleases God. If not, it doesn’t.
Even popular Christian practices like holidays need to be checked by the Bible. Popularity doesn’t justify religion (neither do warm fuzzy feelings), truth does. Christians throughout history have been sincere in their religious activity, but many of them have been sincerely wrong.
To determine whether our Christianity pleases God or not, we need to get back to what the Bible says.
The New Testament Never Tells us to Celebrate Holidays.
The New Testament never tells us to celebrate holidays. Neither Jesus nor his apostles told us to celebrate holidays.
In fact, the New Testament specifically warns us not to celebrate holidays.
Galatians 4:9-11 “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”
Paul was writing to the Galatians. He had spent much time ministering to the Galatians, and he expected them to be growing in their faith. But instead of growing onto maturity, they were going backwards.
One of the major signs that the Galatians were going backwards spiritually was that they were starting to celebrate holidays. Paul said that by observing holidays they were going into “bondage.” He even said his work among them might be “in vain.”
What’s so bad about holidays?
Old Testament Holidays Are Not For Christians
In the Old Testament God gave his people holidays like Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. The children of God had to celebrate these holidays, and if they didn’t, they were disobeying God.
The arrival of Jesus changed things. The religious rituals of the Law gave way to the fullness of Jesus Christ. Now Christians are not under the Law, and we don’t need to obey its religious rituals.
Hebrews 10:1a “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things…”
The religious rituals of the Law are shadows of the fullness of Christ. All Old Testament holidays are shadows that were fulfilled by Christ. This is why Christians should no longer celebrate Old Testament holidays.
Colossians 2:16-17 “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
Old Testament holidays are valuable for us today not because we need to follow them literally, but because they reveal the fullness of Christ to us. Each detail of the Old Testament holidays represents the work of Christ.
For example, during Passover, the Israelites ate a lamb, put blood on their houses, and remembered how God kept them safe from judgment and delivered them from slavery in Egypt. These things are symbols. The Passover lamb represents Jesus, the blood of the lamb symbolizes his blood, and by trusting in Christ we are set free from slavery to sin and shielded from God’s wrath.
The Sabbath day is also a symbol for us today. The Sabbath represents the spiritual rest that we enter through faith in Christ (Heb. 4:11). We are called to rest in God all the time, every moment of every day. We rest by doing God’s will, not our will; and by trusting in Christ, not in ourselves. When we rest in Christ, we spiritually keep the Sabbath day. This means Christians don’t need to observe the Sabbath day literally for religious purposes.
Jesus abolished the religious rituals of the Law.
Eph. 2:15a “having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances”
There are many commands in the Law we don’t need to keep today – regarding sacrifices, food, incense, candles, and dress. Today, we derive benefit from these Old Testament rituals not by observing them literally, but by gleaning spiritual truth from their symbolism.
This is why Paul rebuked the Galatians for turning back to Old Testament holidays.
Christians should not observe Old Testament holidays. If we do, we turn from the fullness of Christ and get mired in empty religious rituals. We miss the point of the Old Testament and end up in bondage.
“Christian” Holidays Are Not Found in the Bible
What about “Christian” holidays like Christmas and Easter?
These holidays are not found in the Bible. Neither Jesus nor his apostles told us to celebrate them. The early church did not celebrate them.
Where did Christmas and Easter come from? Who created them?
Around 325 AD the Roman Emperor Constantine united the “church” with the Roman Empire. An apostate church abandoned God’s word and adopted many religious practices that were not found in the Bible. They began praying to saints, worshiping images, offering incense, and teaching salvation by works. They also created holidays like Christmas and Easter, along with holidays to celebrate Mary, Peter, Paul, and John.
Many of these “Christian” holidays incorporated pagan rituals into their celebrations. The name “Easter” comes from the word “Eostre” – who is a pagan goddess of the dawn. Bunnies and eggs are traditional fertility symbols. They were used in pagan rituals during spring festivals centuries before Christ came. They are not based on the Bible.
December 25 was the time of the winter solstice – traditionally a time of pagan celebrations that used evergreen trees, mistletoe, and holly in order to worship demons. It was a popular holiday centuries before Jesus came. When the apostate church wanted to get along with the world, they suddenly said that Jesus was born on December 25 – even though the Bible nowhere says this. The demonic rituals with evergreen trees and lights were incorporated into the church.
Christian holidays did not originate in the Bible. They are man-made. We have no authority to make up our own holidays.
Whenever Christians make up their own ways to worship God that are not found in the Bible, they engage in vain worship like the Pharisees.
Mark 7:6-8a “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men.”
Vain worship is pointless. It doesn’t honor God.
John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
There is only one way to worship God – in Spirit and in truth. Truth is the word of God. The Holy Spirit will lead us into the word of God. If we deviate from the word of God, we go into man-made worship, and this will end in deception.
What About Romans 14
Romans 14:1-7 “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”
Romans 14:1-7 does not prove it’s okay for Christians to celebrate holidays. Actually, this passage shows that we must move beyond celebrating holidays in order to mature in our faith.
Paul contrasts those who are weak in faith with those who are strong in faith. He uses the examples of eating meat and celebrating holidays to differentiate who is weak and who is strong.
In those days, a weak believer would only eat vegetables. He wouldn’t eat meat. This was because most meat came from animals that had been sacrificed to idols, and he thought that such meat would spiritually defile him. A strong believer on the other hand would eat meat, even if that meat had been offered to idols. He would know that God was stronger than both the idol and the meat, and that God said he could eat it (1 Corinthians 10:25-26).
In addition to not eating meat, weak believers would celebrate holidays. They believed that some days were holier and worthy of more esteem than others. The holidays they celebrated weren’t pagan holidays (for the early Christians didn’t worship pagan gods), nor were they “Christian” holidays (for such holidays hadn’t yet been created). These weak believers were celebrating Jewish holidays.
Strong believers, on the other hand, would not celebrate holidays (Gal. 4:9-11; Col. 2:16-17). They would value every day equally. They would know that Christ has set us free from celebrating Old Testament holidays, and that we must not return to the shadows of the Law. Furthermore, they would know that we do not have a right to make up our own Christian holidays, and that to do so would be vain worship – creating traditions of men rather than following the commands of God.
The point of Romans 14 is not to justify Christian weakness or prove that it’s ok to celebrate holidays. God wants Christians to mature. He doesn’t want them to be weak. Instead, Romans 14 teaches that it’s not helpful for those who are stronger in the faith to argue with weak believers about holidays or other similar issues. Instead of arguing about things like holidays, we should be patient with weak believers and encourage them to grow spiritually. As they grow into spiritual maturity, they will leave holidays behind.
Question: Why did Paul seem to tell the Romans it’s ok to celebrate holidays, but he told the Galatians not celebrate holidays? Similarly, why did Paul permit the Romans to not eat meat, but he told the Corinthians to eat meat?
Answer: Paul expected more maturity from the Corinthians and Galatians than he did from the Romans. Paul had ministered to the Corinthians and Galatians for years. He had a personal relationship with them. He had already spoken with them about issues like meat and holidays, and he expected them to be mature in these areas.
On the other hand, Paul did not expect the same level of maturity at that time from the Romans. He had never been to Rome. He had never met many of the brethren there. In his letter to the Romans he didn’t feel the need to address their weakness regarding meat-eating and holidays. Instead he wanted to prioritize their unity and encourage their faith in the fundamentals of Christianity.
As Paul developed a relationship with the Roman Christians and helped them grow into maturity, he would expect them to leave holidays behind, just as he expected from the Corinthians and the Galatians.
If we are to grow onto maturity in our faith, God expects us to leave holidays behind too.
Secular Holidays
Some holidays have no religious significance, like July 4. This holiday is not intended to celebrate God, but is to celebrate the birth of the USA. Such secular holidays that have no religious significance are acceptable for Christians to observe, for they are not vain worship.
Halloween is a holiday that is full of demonic elements, and should not be observed by Christians.
When it comes to holidays or any other religious observance, it must be tested by the Bible. If it’s a religious practice that doesn’t originate in the word of God, then Christians must leave it behind.
Bethel Cornerstone 