This is the time of year that many Reformed people on the internet like to let everyone know of their disdain for Christmas. They are a rare breed, but vocal. They point out that the Bible doesn't tell us exactly when Christ was born (we can be pretty sure it wasn't December, at any rate), nor does it command us to celebrate it with a festival. They are absolutely correct on both counts. Furthermore, they allege, celebration of man-made holidays like Easter and Christmas distracts from the observance of the weekly Sabbath (Sunday). Some of these folks are vocal and condescending in their proclamation of their superiority. Many of them are not.
I was raised in a home that generally followed this line of thought. We celebrated Christmas, but never as a "Church" holiday. We had a sibling gift exchange and we went had family get-togethers, but my father, who pastored the church I attended growing up, never preached a Christmas sermon (never on Christmas anyway). In fact, he made it a point not to do so. He made it a point to take a stand, along with traditional Presbyterianism, against the man-made holidays created by the Catholic Church. I give this background simply to let you know the perspective from which I come. Many of the men I respect don't celebrate Christmas and do hold to the Sabbath. It is not my wish to offend any of them, but to offer an insight I have recently gained as I observe the arrogance displayed on the internet by some of the less mature proponents of this viewpoint (I'm not nearly as concerned about offending those people). I do not wish to discuss the Sabbath issue in whole. Instead, I want to discuss the Sabbath specifically as it deals with Christmas and how we treat those who disagree with us.
The line of reasoning for the Christian Sabbath is pretty simply, really. The Sabbath is a Creation Ordinance, they say, and, therefore, cannot be abrogated (Creation Ordinances are a discussion for another time). In the Old Testament the Sabbath was on the seventh day because it commemorated God's Creation of the world, but when Christ came and recreated the world, the significance and rules of the Sabbath were transferred to the first day to commemorate His Resurrection. There is, of course, many more details and passages to be discussed, but that's the gist of it. That's pretty logical. It makes decent sense. The question the Christian must answer, however, is not, "Is my view logical?" but "Is my view Biblical?" Perhaps a better way of expressing it is, "Does my logic follow Biblical patterns of logic?" Do we find this logical deduction regarding the Sabbath in the Bible? My belief is that we do not. Now, if the Bible were silent on the issue, that would be one thing, but the Bible seems to tells us that holy days are not a part of the Christian era at all.
Now, what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, the other day I was struck by the irony of Christian Sabbatarians disliking man-made holidays, their holiday (holy day) being just such a day. Now, they'll point to references in the New Testament that speak about meeting on the first day, but that only proves that the first day held significance, not that God made it sacred, nor that it took on the meaning of the Sabbath. The Lord's Day and the Sabbath were distinct for New Testament Christians, as evidenced by the fact that many of the early Jewish Christians celebrated both. The truth is that the early Church was not unanimous on the issue. One could pull quotes from any number of Patristic writers and find support for their view. Some viewed the Lord's Day as the new Sabbath, while others viewed the Sabbath as being done away with. The bottom line is this: the idea of the Christian Sabbath is, so far as I can tell, a man-made invention.
Now, Sabbatarians (some, at least) will admit that the Bible does not set forth their precise doctrine of the Sabbath explicitly. They will say, with the Westminster Confession of Faith, that some things must be gleaned by "good and necessary consequence." In other words, the Bible doesn't spell out every detail about every doctrine, but we have to use our brains and logic to deduce some things. That is true, but here's the problem. One man's good and necessary consequence is another man's logical fallacy. Truth and revelation are not relative, but our understanding of them often is. Millions of sincere Christians have disagreed over many subjects, the Sabbath being one of them. Who are you to proclaim that your logic is the standard for all? How about this logic? Christ came and changed the world by His birth. The Bible tells us to praise God and to remember what He has done for us. Therefore, we should celebrate the birth of Christ. That's pretty logical, too, right? In fact, the logic of celebrating Christ's birth, passion, and resurrection go back to the earliest discernible days of Christianity. Who are you to say that that logic is less valid than your logic for the observance of the Christian Sabbath?
Once again, Scripture must be our guide. Does our logic follow the Bible's logic or does it contradict Biblical commands? Does the New Testament even imply anything that would reinforce the logic for celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday? Or does it tell us that holy days are no longer binding and that every day is alike? What is the Scriptural logic on the issue? I have seen nothing to indicate that Scripture or Scriptural patterns of logic command the observance of the Sabbath day on the first day of the week in the New Covenant.
So, when Presbyterians get upset about their fellow Christians celebrating man-made holidays, they're actually committing the same exact error of which they accuse others. Sometimes they do so in a nice way, but they often do so in a very judgmental way. I respect the former. They sincerely believe God has commanded them to keep the Sabbath. It would be wrong of them not to follow their conscience on the issue, but there is a difference between following your conscience and imposing it on other people. When dealing with secondary (non-salvation) issues, we must be gracious with each other. In fact, that's exactly what Paul says about celebrating holy days. In Romans 14:4 Paul asks, "Who are you to judge the servant of another?" before proceeding to discuss the observance of holy days and other Old Testament rituals, concluding with the recommendation that each man follow his own conscience on the issue. How do we miss this clear command from Paul? You can try and say that Paul was putting the Sabbath in a different category, but there simply isn't Biblical or historical grounds to do so. He specifically tells them not to judge their weaker brethren when it comes to observing holy days (notice that the weaker brother is the one who feels compelled to observe them, and not the other way around). When we condemn our brethren for not following our logical deductions, we violate Paul's command here in Romans 14.
Moreover, Sabbatarianism can be just as damaging as celebrating Christmas and Easter. You see, Sabbatarians say that this whole Christmas/Easter thing discourages people from going to church every Sunday. While that may be an unfortunate side-effect of having Christian holidays, it is hardly a necessary one and can hardly be used as a valid argument against it. But get this--going to church every Sunday can just as easily discourage Christians from living for Christ every day as going to church on Christmas and Easter can discourage them from going to church every week. The early church was a community--not a weekly gathering. They viewed every day as sanctified by our calling to live for Christ and to rest in Him. How many people do you know who go to church faithfully every single Sunday, and yet live like the devil the rest of the week? The truth of the matter is that you're always going to have nominal Christians who do the bare minimum to make themselves feel secure about their eternal future. Tell these people that they only have to go to church twice a year and that's exactly what they'll do. Tell them they have to go every Sunday and, yep, that's what they'll do. The frequency with which we attend church, however, is not an absolutely reliable indicator of our spiritual state. Many heathens have filled a pew Sunday after Sunday without ever truly worshiping or resting in Christ.
The holy days of the Old Testament were designed to point to Jesus Christ and the rest that we have in Him. Holy days, therefore, have faded with the coming of their antitype. The New Testament tells us that we are free to celebrate days, if we so choose. Since early times the Church has chosen to observe certain days in commemoration of specific events, such as Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. The first day of the week, the day Christ rose, has been viewed since Apostolic times as a day on which to meet and worship. In keeping with the Apostolic teachings of the Church, I follow this pattern and I think all Christians should. This is the very least that we should do, as the early Church met much more often, as they were far more communal than the modern church. In truth, we are called to live every day in the realization of Christ's Resurrection. The observance of any special day should reinforce and not distract from this.
So, what I'm really trying to say is this. If you want to celebrate the Lord's Day or the Sabbath on Sunday, go ahead. If you want to celebrate Christmas and Easter, by all means, feel free. Heck, if you want to celebrate the Passover or The Day of Atonement, be my guest! Celebrate any day you please, but make sure that you do so in a way that acknowledges and glorifies Jesus Christ for who He is and what He has accomplished.
And quit judging your brother for not celebrating the same day in the same way as you.
I was raised in a home that generally followed this line of thought. We celebrated Christmas, but never as a "Church" holiday. We had a sibling gift exchange and we went had family get-togethers, but my father, who pastored the church I attended growing up, never preached a Christmas sermon (never on Christmas anyway). In fact, he made it a point not to do so. He made it a point to take a stand, along with traditional Presbyterianism, against the man-made holidays created by the Catholic Church. I give this background simply to let you know the perspective from which I come. Many of the men I respect don't celebrate Christmas and do hold to the Sabbath. It is not my wish to offend any of them, but to offer an insight I have recently gained as I observe the arrogance displayed on the internet by some of the less mature proponents of this viewpoint (I'm not nearly as concerned about offending those people). I do not wish to discuss the Sabbath issue in whole. Instead, I want to discuss the Sabbath specifically as it deals with Christmas and how we treat those who disagree with us.
The line of reasoning for the Christian Sabbath is pretty simply, really. The Sabbath is a Creation Ordinance, they say, and, therefore, cannot be abrogated (Creation Ordinances are a discussion for another time). In the Old Testament the Sabbath was on the seventh day because it commemorated God's Creation of the world, but when Christ came and recreated the world, the significance and rules of the Sabbath were transferred to the first day to commemorate His Resurrection. There is, of course, many more details and passages to be discussed, but that's the gist of it. That's pretty logical. It makes decent sense. The question the Christian must answer, however, is not, "Is my view logical?" but "Is my view Biblical?" Perhaps a better way of expressing it is, "Does my logic follow Biblical patterns of logic?" Do we find this logical deduction regarding the Sabbath in the Bible? My belief is that we do not. Now, if the Bible were silent on the issue, that would be one thing, but the Bible seems to tells us that holy days are not a part of the Christian era at all.
Now, what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, the other day I was struck by the irony of Christian Sabbatarians disliking man-made holidays, their holiday (holy day) being just such a day. Now, they'll point to references in the New Testament that speak about meeting on the first day, but that only proves that the first day held significance, not that God made it sacred, nor that it took on the meaning of the Sabbath. The Lord's Day and the Sabbath were distinct for New Testament Christians, as evidenced by the fact that many of the early Jewish Christians celebrated both. The truth is that the early Church was not unanimous on the issue. One could pull quotes from any number of Patristic writers and find support for their view. Some viewed the Lord's Day as the new Sabbath, while others viewed the Sabbath as being done away with. The bottom line is this: the idea of the Christian Sabbath is, so far as I can tell, a man-made invention.
Now, Sabbatarians (some, at least) will admit that the Bible does not set forth their precise doctrine of the Sabbath explicitly. They will say, with the Westminster Confession of Faith, that some things must be gleaned by "good and necessary consequence." In other words, the Bible doesn't spell out every detail about every doctrine, but we have to use our brains and logic to deduce some things. That is true, but here's the problem. One man's good and necessary consequence is another man's logical fallacy. Truth and revelation are not relative, but our understanding of them often is. Millions of sincere Christians have disagreed over many subjects, the Sabbath being one of them. Who are you to proclaim that your logic is the standard for all? How about this logic? Christ came and changed the world by His birth. The Bible tells us to praise God and to remember what He has done for us. Therefore, we should celebrate the birth of Christ. That's pretty logical, too, right? In fact, the logic of celebrating Christ's birth, passion, and resurrection go back to the earliest discernible days of Christianity. Who are you to say that that logic is less valid than your logic for the observance of the Christian Sabbath?
Once again, Scripture must be our guide. Does our logic follow the Bible's logic or does it contradict Biblical commands? Does the New Testament even imply anything that would reinforce the logic for celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday? Or does it tell us that holy days are no longer binding and that every day is alike? What is the Scriptural logic on the issue? I have seen nothing to indicate that Scripture or Scriptural patterns of logic command the observance of the Sabbath day on the first day of the week in the New Covenant.
So, when Presbyterians get upset about their fellow Christians celebrating man-made holidays, they're actually committing the same exact error of which they accuse others. Sometimes they do so in a nice way, but they often do so in a very judgmental way. I respect the former. They sincerely believe God has commanded them to keep the Sabbath. It would be wrong of them not to follow their conscience on the issue, but there is a difference between following your conscience and imposing it on other people. When dealing with secondary (non-salvation) issues, we must be gracious with each other. In fact, that's exactly what Paul says about celebrating holy days. In Romans 14:4 Paul asks, "Who are you to judge the servant of another?" before proceeding to discuss the observance of holy days and other Old Testament rituals, concluding with the recommendation that each man follow his own conscience on the issue. How do we miss this clear command from Paul? You can try and say that Paul was putting the Sabbath in a different category, but there simply isn't Biblical or historical grounds to do so. He specifically tells them not to judge their weaker brethren when it comes to observing holy days (notice that the weaker brother is the one who feels compelled to observe them, and not the other way around). When we condemn our brethren for not following our logical deductions, we violate Paul's command here in Romans 14.
Moreover, Sabbatarianism can be just as damaging as celebrating Christmas and Easter. You see, Sabbatarians say that this whole Christmas/Easter thing discourages people from going to church every Sunday. While that may be an unfortunate side-effect of having Christian holidays, it is hardly a necessary one and can hardly be used as a valid argument against it. But get this--going to church every Sunday can just as easily discourage Christians from living for Christ every day as going to church on Christmas and Easter can discourage them from going to church every week. The early church was a community--not a weekly gathering. They viewed every day as sanctified by our calling to live for Christ and to rest in Him. How many people do you know who go to church faithfully every single Sunday, and yet live like the devil the rest of the week? The truth of the matter is that you're always going to have nominal Christians who do the bare minimum to make themselves feel secure about their eternal future. Tell these people that they only have to go to church twice a year and that's exactly what they'll do. Tell them they have to go every Sunday and, yep, that's what they'll do. The frequency with which we attend church, however, is not an absolutely reliable indicator of our spiritual state. Many heathens have filled a pew Sunday after Sunday without ever truly worshiping or resting in Christ.
The holy days of the Old Testament were designed to point to Jesus Christ and the rest that we have in Him. Holy days, therefore, have faded with the coming of their antitype. The New Testament tells us that we are free to celebrate days, if we so choose. Since early times the Church has chosen to observe certain days in commemoration of specific events, such as Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. The first day of the week, the day Christ rose, has been viewed since Apostolic times as a day on which to meet and worship. In keeping with the Apostolic teachings of the Church, I follow this pattern and I think all Christians should. This is the very least that we should do, as the early Church met much more often, as they were far more communal than the modern church. In truth, we are called to live every day in the realization of Christ's Resurrection. The observance of any special day should reinforce and not distract from this.
So, what I'm really trying to say is this. If you want to celebrate the Lord's Day or the Sabbath on Sunday, go ahead. If you want to celebrate Christmas and Easter, by all means, feel free. Heck, if you want to celebrate the Passover or The Day of Atonement, be my guest! Celebrate any day you please, but make sure that you do so in a way that acknowledges and glorifies Jesus Christ for who He is and what He has accomplished.
And quit judging your brother for not celebrating the same day in the same way as you.
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