Can You Re-Label Pagan Rituals and Really Honor God?

And now, for our sermon, Mr. Greg Thomas.

So, over and over and over again.

We'll go to his account and see what he said about the birth of our Savior, the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ Himself. So, again, that's Matthew 1 and verse 18. It says, now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. So, through the power of the Holy Spirit, through a miracle, literally a miracle, Mary, who is a virgin, becomes impregnated with literally the Son of God.

And, Joseph is a classy man. He doesn't immediately run the Montel Williams. He doesn't air out all the dirty laundry of his dysfunctional family and how messed up his life is and everybody's life is around him. He sees a situation he doesn't understand and he just quietly wants to put her away. Now, you have to give him a lot of credit because, remember, in Hebrew culture, when you were betrothed to someone, in Hebrew culture, you were already as if you were married. So, for her to be pregnant would have been considered an act of adultery, literally, in Hebrew culture.

So, this was serious. But he doesn't want to draw attention to it. He doesn't want to shame her. He doesn't want to humiliate her and he decides that he's going to put her away secretly and that he's going to break off their betrothal. Verse 20, But while he thought about these things, the old angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you, Mary, your wife.

For that which is conceived of her is of the Holy Spirit. So, he says, this is miraculous. This is the power of God that has made this virgin girl conceived with what will be the son of God. Verse 21, And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. This prophet is Isaiah. This happens to be a quote from Isaiah the seventh chapter, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us.

So, Joseph and Mary are both God-fearing people. They're religious people. They were betrothed. They're pledged to Mary. When Joseph found out that she was pregnant, being a humble and being a kind man he didn't desire, he didn't even cross his mind to make a spectacle or a humiliator publicly.

And this event was a fulfillment of prophecy through a number of prophets, but primarily as the one quoted Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14. During this time in the world, according to Jewish belief and prophecy, they were expecting a Messiah. There was an expectation of a Messiah, and this was the literal fulfillment of it. When it says, and you shall call his name Jesus, Jesus is simply the Greek form of the name Joshua, the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning Yahweh is salvation. So they said his name will be Yahweh is salvation.

And indeed Yahweh is salvation through Jesus Christ himself. Verse 24, then Joseph being aroused from sleep, dead as the angel commanded him, and took to him his wife. And he did not know her, that's biblical speak meaning he did not have intimate miracle relationships with her. He did not know her, though she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Joshua, as he was told, meaning Yahweh is salvation.

Joseph and Mary didn't have sexual relations until after Christ was born. And we know from Scriptures that after he was born, that Joseph and Mary did have sons and daughters together that were, I guess we could say, half brothers of Jesus Christ. And we know that from a statement made in Matthew chapter 13 and verses 55 and 56. So he did have physical half brothers and half sisters, but as it says here in Scripture, he was the first born.

And there was a second born, there was third born, fourth born, and he had half brothers and sisters. Now let's take a look at Matthew chapter 2 and verse 1. 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. And this really is the end of Matthew's account because from here on he talks about events that occurred after the birth of Jesus. So this is the end of the actual birth details of Jesus Christ, according to Matthew's account.

The wise men, by the way, come to Jerusalem and they arrive many months after his birth because it took them months to travel from the time they first saw the star, which most likely was an angel.

It took them months to travel from Persia or Babylon to Jerusalem to Palestine and to meet with Herod. So that's it with Matthew's account. Not a whole lot there. Perhaps the account that's most recognized by folks is Luke's account. So let's take a look at that next. Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 1.

Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. It says, And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered. Augustus was the Roman emperor. He was the emperor over much of the then known civilized world. And he had the power and the right to want the world to be registered. He wanted to know how many people were in his kingdom worldwide. Verse 2, And the census took place while Carinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, every one to his own city. The Believer's Study Bible says this about these verses. It says, According to Luke chapters 2 verses 1 through 5, He was born about the time of a census ordered sometime between 6 and 4 BC. Preferably, the latter part of that period by Carinius, who was twice governor of Syria. And I'll continue reading here from the Believer's Study Bible. Thus Christ's birth may have occurred in the summer or early fall of 4 BC.

Shepherds would not normally have been tending their fields in December due to the cold of winter. Again, that's a quote from the Believer's Study Bible, which certainly ties in well with what we have believed and taught for many years. Now Carinius was the governor of Syria twice. His first census was in 4 BC. And historically, we know that the second was as late as 7 AD. And Christ would not be born around 7 AD, because that is too late.

None of the historical markers would tie into 7 AD at all. So all the residents who were required to return to the city of their lineage to be registered for the census. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, but they traveled to Bethlehem, because that must have been the city of lineage for Joseph. Let's pick it up now here in verse 4. Joseph also went from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth and the Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was at the house of the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, she had a secondborn and thirdborn son, and she had daughters as well. And wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, and because there was no room for them at the end. So they are traveling to Bethlehem. There's a good indication, this is just an indication, that the governor may have been smart enough to know that during one of the Holy Days, that the people traveled to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. And it would be easier to have them go to their own cities during that period of time, so that people could be registered. This could very well have been around the Feast of Trumpets. And that could tell us why there was no room at the end. Just like today, there were establishments that were meant, if you were a weary traveler, to come and spend the night, and they gave you a meal, and you spent the night and you paid for it. Just like we have hotels and motels today. And apparently, there was no room at any of the inns, which indicates there were a lot of people crowding into that area in Bethlehem. So because of that, they were literally left stranded. And he was laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Again, getting back to the Believer's Study Bible, swaddling clothes were just long, narrow strips of cloth wrapped around an infant. And they would take it and they would just wrap it all the way up and all the way down the infant. And it was actually very warm. You got layers because of the way it was wrapped. It gave layered coverage to the infant, and it kept the infant quite warm. Continuing, it says that Christ was placed in a manger, led to the tradition that he was born in a stable, early tradition. Indicates that he was born in a cave, which may have been used as a stable. So there's not a whole lot of glory here. Here is the Christ child literally is born in very humble surroundings. There's no doubt about that. Verse 8. Now there was in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood up before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

So here are these shepherds, they're doing their thing, they're out in the field at night, and suddenly an angel shows up. And the air is bright. I mean, there's glory, there's light shining all around them, and they were greatly afraid, just as you and I would be if that suddenly occurred. And then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings and great joy, which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you, you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, the good will toward men.

So what we see here is the shepherds are out first, an angel shows up, gives them some very encouraging news. Remember, there was an expectation of the Messiah at this time. Many people were looking for the Messiah to come to return to Israel at this time. They tell him that there's glad tidings, that there's great joy, joy that will be to all people. A Savior who is Christ the Lord will be born, and then other heavenly hosts appear, and they are praising God. And they are saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will towards men. Actually, a better translation of verse 14 is peace towards men of good will. Now let's go to verse 15.

Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child. So they went around the countryside. Everyone who would listen, they would say, You wouldn't believe what happened to us when we were out tending sheep in the field. You just would not believe. First there's this angel that says, You're not going to believe what happened to us when we were out tending sheep in the field. You just would not believe. First there's this angel, and then there's this bright, incredible light. And this angel says this to us, and these heavenly hosts appear. But it says that they made widely known. Verse 18, and all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. So again, there was anticipation that a Messiah would appear. But I want you to notice the humility of Mary in verse 19. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. Again, I want you to notice the attitude of Mary, who knew God's promise because an angel had visited her and told her who she was giving birth to.

But she didn't openly proclaim her son to be the Savior or the Messiah of Israel. She said, I will let God make this known. In contrast to so many who live in our world today, who are the first ones to raise a hand. Well, I'm a witness. I'm that prophet. I'm this. And I'm that. And if you feel the need to tell somebody how important you are, you're not very important. Let God tell people how important you are. You don't need to tell them. That's the approach that Mary took. So what do these events tell us? Well, they tell us that in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, that an infant was born to a virgin, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. That infant was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was born to become our Savior. He was born to be God among men who would live perfectly and die willingly so that He could save us, He could save you and I from our sins. His birth was miraculous. And heavenly angels attested to the fact that Jesus was born that very night. When you read these scriptures, and we do believe in the Word of God, they're beautiful. These scriptures are inspiring, they're encouraging, as most scriptures are. And my question is, how do we get from the Biblical history of the birth of Christ to where the Western world is today in the modern observance of Christmas? I'm not going to make this a history sermon today, because what happened reads like a mystery novel. But it isn't my intention today to provide a lot of history, because you can find that in literature. It's absolutely outlined in our literature. You can find it in encyclopedias. You can even find it in television shows. Annually, the History Channel plays a one-hour episode called Christmas Unwrapped. And they are extremely candid to show the pagan origins of Christmas celebration and how the Catholic Church merged it. It merged pagan celebrations in order to convert the masses. And then they just do an outstanding job. And then the latter part of the show just basically shows how secularized for commercial reasons, so you'll buy stuff that Christmas became in the United States. It's an outstanding program. It is very factual, very candid. If you get a chance to see it, I encourage you to do so again. It's called Christmas Unwrapped. So I'm not going to go into a lot of historical detail today of what happened. I'll just make a few comments. Here are some things that are clearly proven by history and that are even acknowledged by a single dominant church, the only church that existed in a dominant way in the early centuries, one through the first 400 years after the death of Christ. The pagan Romans celebrated a religious festival, and it was called Saturnalia. And it was originally observed, even before the Romans observed it, it was observed by the Greeks as coronia, or the festival of Cronus. Saturnalia was the feast in which the Romans commemorated the dedication of a temple to the gods Saturn.

And they did that in late December. But as that feast was ending, the climax of the celebrations in ancient Rome occurred on December 25th. This is long before the birth of Jesus Christ. And that festival was called Sol Invictus, or more fully, Dewus Sol Invictus, which means the undefeated sun god, that's sun S-U-N. So they celebrated a festival on December 25th to the undefeated god of the sun, of that bright ball that glows in the sky, and they worshipped it. Now, the Catholic Church found it convenient to simply convert the pagan celebrations of these Roman festivals into a time when the birth of Christ would be celebrated. And they found quasi-religious reasons to do that. But even they are very candid about what they did to convert the masses, because people don't like to give up celebrations. You know, they've become part of your family tradition, part of your culture, part of your history. People don't like to give those kinds of things up. So the Catholic Church found a way to accommodate the previous pagan beliefs and to merge them into the doctrines of the Catholic Church. The Church continued this attitude of accommodation as it moved in other areas of Europe. For example, when it went to Germany, it was the Germans who were very strong on Christmas trees, and the Catholic Church found a way to accommodate that. The Celts had their own December 25th festivals, including mistletoe and other parasites that they celebrated with in their cultures and customs. And the Church just was flexed. The Church just flexed and adopted those things as part of Christmas celebrations. So throughout the centuries, many of these pre-Christian customs, like Christmas trees and yule logs and mistletoe, became blended into the celebration of Christmas. Well, then the Protestant Reformation occurred. And most new Protestant groups accepted the Christmas celebration from the Mother Church. They liked it themselves. It was part of their culture or part of their family. Only a few groups, like the Puritans, those who eventually would come to the United States, rejected it because of its pagan origin and customs. As a matter of fact, if you would have been in Puritan America, when the Puritans first established their colonies in New England, December 25th was a workday. You were punished if you did not work on December 25th because they didn't want anyone taking time off for a Christmas celebration. So that occurred until we find ourselves today in a Western culture that is totally immersed in the tradition of Christmas as we know it.

So what's wrong with taking pagan religious celebrations and converting them into a Christian celebration? Isn't God simply delighted when we worship Him? These are questions I've heard. Don't we honor God when we celebrate His majesty in any way? Well, let's take a candid look at some of these questions today. First of all, let's define what a pagan is. A pagan, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, a pagan is one who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, or heathen. So it's someone usually who believes a pagan in multiple gods, who does not have a monotheistic faith, and does not have a faith that adheres to the principles of Christianity. One type of reasoning used to celebrate the holidays, the Christmas holidays that I've heard has been presented to me, goes something like this. Well, God couldn't have a problem with paganism because most everything originated in paganism. That's the reasoning. For these folks, there's no attempt to deny that modern religious customs like Christmas and Easter and the adoration of the cross all began as pagan worship activities. They acknowledge that. They say, well, I understand it. I know that. They say there's just not a problem with it. And they'll point out, well, look at our cultural heritage. Many things in our culture are of pagan origins, including the wedding ring and Thanksgiving Day, and our modern governments originated in Greece. Our architecture in much of the world, including the Western world, is from ancient Greek or Roman, is pagan origin. Many of our games, chess, is of pagan origin. Playing cards. I knew someone in the church years ago who would not play with playing cards because, quote, they were pagan.

They were of pagan origin. So the reasoning is, since most everything originated in paganism, God is actually pleased when we take something of pagan origin and we convert it somehow into Christian, into Christianity. This is how many sincere people justify why they observe Christmas, even when they know of its pre-Christian origins.

Well, at first, this may sound like sound reasoning. It may sound valid. But the problem with this philosophy is that it's based on human reasoning. It's not based on the Word of God. And before we have any conclusion, before we know what truth is or the conclusion of a matter, you have to go to the Word of God and see what God says, not what the creative, fertile human mind can invent to justify the things that we do. So the place to find out about what God thinks about taking pagan religious practices and putting lipstick on them and putting them in new clothing and calling them Christian, the place to find out about that is the Word of God. And we're going to do that today. We're going to begin in the book of Deuteronomy. And this is very important, what we're going to read in Deuteronomy 12, because the people of Israel, let's take a look at the context, had been immersed in the culture of Egypt, where there were many false gods. They had just left that. And these gods were worshipped in various attractive ways. One of their gods was a calf god.

And a lot of religious practices are very attractive. There's a lot of glitter, there's a lot of glamour. People see those practices and they say, boy, I like that, or that has meaning to me, or that's beautiful, or I get a free meal. Or there are reasons that people are attracted to certain religious practices. Well, God also knew at this period of time that Israel was eventually going to go to a new land, where many of the inhabitants of the new land, the Promised Land, many of the inhabitants that were already there, had interesting and even sometimes attractive religious worship practices for their own local gods. The Canaanites were known for that. So knowing this, where they had come from, where they were eventually going to go, God had a warning and an important message for the people of Israel. Here it is, Deuteronomy 12, and we'll pick it up in verse 28. Chapter 12 and verse 28.

God says, Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you in your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Now, the fact that he says something is good and right also means that there must be a way you can do something that is bad and wrong. Right? That's the context of what he's about to say. He's about to explain what's good and right, and if you don't do this, then the context is what you're doing is bad and wrong.

So when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God, when the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, verse 30, take heed to yourself. In other words, be careful. Stop yourself. Control yourself. Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you and do not inquire after their God, saying, How did these nations serve their gods?

Don't say to yourself, Boy, that's an attractive way. That's really a significant way that you worship this God. I wonder if we just kind of change the names a little bit and maybe put it in a temple and did this. That would be pretty cool. God says, You don't do that. You don't ask, How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise. God said, I don't want you to be a copycat. I don't want you to look at the way other people worship their gods and put new clothing on it and say, All right, I'll just worship the true God this way.

verse 31, You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way for every abomination to the Lord which he hates. They have done to their gods, for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire of their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. So God says, the way that I tell you to worship me, don't add anything to it.

Don't borrow anything from over here and make it part of your worship practices. Don't add anything to it and also don't detract or don't take any way from it. So God warns his people not to worship him, the true God which they acknowledged with borrowed pagan rituals or standards.

Now, do people listen? Well, let's take a look here. First, before we take a look at Exodus, let me read verses 29 and 31 through the translation God's word for today. Follow with me if you will. The Lord your God will destroy the nations where you're going and force them out of your way. You will take possession of their land and live there after they've been destroyed.

Be careful. You are tempted to follow their customs. Don't even ask about their gods and say, how did these people worship their gods? We want to do what they did. Continuing verse 31, never worship the Lord your God in the way they worship their gods because everything they do for their gods is disgusting to the Lord. He hates it. Continuing, they even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.

So God knows the human mind. He knows our basic nature. He knows that people will be attracted with pagan customs. And he knows that people will want to adopt them and say, well, I'm worshiping God. I'm worshiping Yahweh. I'm just, for accommodation's sake, I'm just taking some of these things and rebranding them, relabeling them. But I'm worshiping the true God. I'm just doing it in a different way or an alternative way than maybe you are.

But it says that God calls. When we do that, it says God calls this disgusting. What God detests is the usage of borrowed religious customs from pagan observances and relabeling them in an attempt to worship Him. Let's see exactly how Israel did that in Exodus chapter 32, beginning in verse 1. Exodus chapter 32 and verse 1.

This is a classic example of this occurring. Exodus chapter 32, beginning in verse 1. It says, now, when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron and said to him, Come, make us gods. Now, the Hebrew word there is Elohim. You know, the same word used in Genesis 1.1 in the beginning, Elohim made the heavens and the earth.

So they're basically saying, make us Elohim, the great God that brought us out of Egypt. Make us gods that shall go before us. For this Moses, the man who brought up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Break off the gold earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your son, and your daughters, and bring them to me, so the people broke off their golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

And he received the gold from their hand and he fashioned it with an engraving tool and he made a molded calf. Wow! Something that was worshipped in Egypt. What a shock! The reason that one of the plagues were against cattle in Egypt, because all the plagues were against one of the Egyptian gods. And the Egyptians held special preeminence for cattle. And so he makes a molten calf. Then they said, This is your God. Again, the word is, This is Elohim. This is the one who brought us out of Egypt.

Oh, Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation. And here's what he says. Does he say, Tomorrow is a feast to the calf god?

Tomorrow is a feast to the Egyptian calf? No. He says, Tomorrow is a feast to Yahweh. And we're just going to worship Yahweh through this calf. But it's the same God that brought us out of Egypt. It's the same God that performed all of those miracles and got us to where we are now. We're just representing who the true God is by this calf.

Then the people rose up early in the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. And the phrase, Wrote up to play, it's not talking about parcheesi. They were doing despicable acts that I can't mention today in the sermon. Verse 7, And the Lord said to Moses, Go get down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, corrupted themselves, they have turned aside out of the way which I commanded them, they have made themselves a molded calf, and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, This is your God, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.

So they took pagan religious practice, they re-labeled it, rebranded it, and said, Oh, it's okay, because this is how we worship the true God, Yahweh, Elohim. Verse 9, And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people, Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them, that I may consume them, and I will make of you a great nation.

I want you to notice how clever Aaron is in his reasoning. A lot like the reasoning I hear from many people today. He was willing to make them a single God, just one calf, to represent Yahweh, Jehovah, the true God that brought them out of the land of Egypt.

The people said, Your God that brought you out of Egypt. And Aaron made an image to worship the true God. However, we see the results here, the blending of this pagan religious practice to honor and worship the true God was detestable to the very creator himself. It almost caused the death of an entire nation. Here's what the Believer's Study Bible says regarding these verses. Quote, A sacred bowl or a calf was common, the pagan fertility religion.

In disobedience of Jehovah's command in chapter 20 verses 4 through 6, the people seem to have equated him with this calf. Verse 5, quote, Aaron makes the whole sacrilege worse still through his refusal to accept responsibility. He says the people are at fault according to Aaron, and the calf apparently formed itself. Verse 24, which we won't read today. So we see here an example of a naive, and maybe very sincere, sincerely wrong, detestable, but maybe a sincere attempt for people to say, well, we...

God is a pretty big concept. It would just really be nice if there's something we could look at. And say, yeah, that's Yahweh, that's Elohim, that's the God that brought us out of Egypt. And that's what they did. And God said it was detestable. He almost wiped out the entire nation for this sin. Let's now go to Jeremiah chapter 10 verses 1 through 6. Jeremiah chapter 10 verses 1 through 6. Now this is not literally speaking of a Christmas tree, but it has a principle that's very clear. The Christmas tree wasn't around.

The Christmas tree is of Germanic origin and wouldn't be around for a while after this Scripture. It says, Jeremiah chapter 10 beginning in verse 1, Here is the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, do not learn the way of the Gentiles. So don't look at Gentiles and say, they have something to give me. They have a religious tradition or heritage that I can learn from, that can enrich my religious experience with God. He says, don't learn the way of the Gentiles. Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven.

So if you see an eclipse of the sun or something weird happens in the heavens, or you see a UFO, don't flip out. Don't be dismayed over it. He says, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them, meaning heavenly signs. For the customs of the people are futile. And here it explains something, an idol that's made, that has a lot of glitter, a lot of glamour. It is very attractive looking. For one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen with the axe.

In other words, it's intricate. It's really good. The likeness is really good. They decorate it with silver and gold. They fasten it with nails and hammers so it will not topple. They are upright like a palm tree and they cannot speak.

They must be carried because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil. Neither can they do any good inasmuch as there is none like you. Oh, Lord, you were great and your name is great in might. As I mentioned, this isn't literally speaking of a Christmas tree, but the principle is very clear.

It is futile. It is worthless in the eyes of God to observe religious practices of other people. No matter how much glitter and glamour and sparkle and skilled craftsmanship those traditions may have, no matter how pretty the firm trees look with lights hanging on them, no matter how beautiful a Christmas tree looks with the little ornaments, and I won't even tell you what those little balls symbolize hanging on the Christmas tree since it's a family congregation. But even though there's glitter and glamour and skilled craftsmanship that makes that practice attractive, God says we should not copy. We should not learn those practices.

Well, if that's true about religious observances, let me just step aside for a minute. If that's true about religious services, and we've seen a couple of scriptures from the Old Testament, and we'll soon see one in the New Testament regarding the same theme, what about other cultural practices that originated in paganism? What about things like the wedding ring? Thanksgiving Day, our modern governments, which democracy again originally came a concept of Greeks. What about our architecture? What about many of the games, the traditional games that we play that originated in paganism? What about the languages that we speak? Many in the Church of God have always confused and blurred these two distinctions. You see, the truth is that God condemns the relabeling of pagan religious practices in an attempt to worship Him. He condemns that. He says you cannot take a pagan religious practice, dress it up, put lipstick on it, and say, this is how I worship the true God. But we have to understand this, that God does not condemn other customs that originate in paganism. If they're non-religious, if they weren't used in a religious context, and they aren't borrowed to worship the true God, He does not condemn just, quote, anything that originated in paganism as long as they don't violate His moral law. And that's where the balance is. We didn't always have balance in the past. And we sometimes went beyond even what God detests. But we can't throw out the baby with the bathwater, and that's the difference between an observance that originates in paganism that we borrow to worship the true God and just something else that we inherit from a pagan culture, of which we Americans sadly have inherited many.

Let's go to John 4, verse 19. John 4, verse 19. Why doesn't God Almighty want to be worshipped like other gods? Well, God Almighty is the awesome creator of the universe, and He gives instruction regarding the practices that honor and glorify Him. When one attempts to honor God by borrowing a pagan religious practice, it doesn't honor God. It actually dishonors Him. It lowers God's status and His awesome greatness to the same level as a man-made God when we borrow a practice and try to worship God through that practice. If we want to worship God and please Him, we have to do it in a way that He says pleases Him. Doesn't that make sense? He's God. He gets to make the rules.

And we are just mere people. If we want to honor God, doesn't it only make sense that we say, God, how do you choose to be honored? What do you say is good and honorable and worships you? And doesn't it make sense that those are the ways that we would attempt to honor God rather than just borrowing something? Let's take a look here now in John 4, verse 19. John 4, verse 19. Jesus has a discussion on the same kind of theme that we've been discussing here. He's talking to a Samaritan woman. And it says, the woman said to Him, and breaking into the middle of this conversation, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. She says this after he told her how many times she was married. Verse 20, Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. Again, she's a Samaritan. And you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. Jesus is saying, you might go through motions. You might have the greatest intent. You say you're worshiping the one true God, but you worship what you don't know. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. Verse 23.

But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Not in a relabeled package, not in a borrowed custom from a pagan God, but they will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit.

And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming who is called Christ. When He comes, He will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am He. So Jesus tells this woman what He feels. That's Jesus Christ about proper and acceptable worship. People simply can't worship the God the way they want to. We have to worship God the way He wants to be. Worship the way He believes is honor. The way He believes is worship. It's so very important. The scriptures we have read can be paraphrased. The ones we read so far can be paraphrased this way. God says, I am the true God. I am not honored by ways mere men decide to worship Me. My awesome greatness cannot be polluted by religious practices that are borrowed from things that, frankly, I despise. I'd like to give you an analogy to help you understand how God would feel regarding a religious practice that's borrowed to honor Him. I want you to imagine that you're married to someone who had a previous relationship with another person, and that person's name was Pat. So you're married to someone who's a widow.

And their previous spouse's name was Pat. And a person that you're married comes to you and says, I love you more than anyone else. I honor you. I adore you. The person says, I have a birthday gift for you. You stop and you say to yourself, but it's not my birthday. You think? You say, you know what, though? Today was Pat's birthday. Hmm. The person says to you, I have a card for you because I love you and I adore you. I have a card for you. And you pick up the card, and it says on the card, it says, Dear Pat, with all my love, and Pat is crossed out and your name is written in. And you're given a gift. Your spouse says, oh, I have a special gift for you because, oh, I love you and I adore you. And you pick up the gift, and the gift isn't your size. But you know what? It just happens to be the size that Pat wore. And you look at it, and the color is hideous. It's not even a color that you like. But then you remember, you know, it was Pat's favorite color.

And on that shirt, on that gift, it's imprinted. It says, To Pat, with all my love, I adore you. And the word Pat is just crossed out. And your name has been imprinted over where it said Pat. Now, if you received a gift like this, would you feel honored? Would you be made to feel like you have a precious, personal relationship with your spouse? Would you feel special? Neither does God. And that's why we don't take pagan practices and rebrand them and relabel them, and say, God, this is my gift to you. Let's go to Exodus 34, verse 12. Exodus 34, verse 12.

God said through Moses, He said, Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you will destroy its altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images. In other words, God says, I want you to eradicate every remnant of their religious practices. Everything, every shred of it, I want you to eliminate. Verse 14.

You see, He says, I want you all to myself. I don't want to share you with Pat's memory. I don't want to share you with another God. I don't want to share you with a pagan practice that you relabeled and said, Oh, this is my gift to you, dear God. You see, brethren, the decision is clear. We can either worship God in spirit or in truth. We can worship God in the way that He desires, the ways He taught, and the ways that were lived by His Son, Jesus Christ. Or we can worship God in the way that we want to, in order to fit in with our culture and feel acceptance by others. The choice is pretty clear. The decision is ours. May God grant us the wisdom and the courage to worship Him, indeed, in spirit and in truth. So what should our attitude be towards those who observe Christmas? And it's all around us, our coworkers, some of our family members, our neighbors. What should our attitude and approach be towards those who observe Christmas? Let's go to Romans 11, our final scripture today, Romans 11. And we'll ponder this question for a few minutes, beginning in verse 5. Romans 11 and verse 5. Paul writing here to the church.

He says, even so then, at this present time, there is a remnant, according to the election of grace. So he says there is a remnant of people, a remnant of believers whom God is called by the election of grace. By nothing they've earned or worked for or deserved. They've been given forgiveness. They've been given God's favor. They've been given eternity as a gift. Verse 6.

And if by faith it is no longer of works, otherwise faith is no longer faith. But if it is of works, it's no longer of grace. So there's nothing that you can do that saves you. There's nothing you can do that earns God's grace. It is an absolute gift. Continuing otherwise, work is no longer work. Verse 7. He says, what then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks, but the elect have obtained it. You and I have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written, God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear to this very day. What Paul is saying is that God has opened the minds of some to understand the kind of truths that we've been talking about today. For the rest of the people, it just goes right over their heads. They don't get it. They wouldn't understand it. It wouldn't have any meaning to them. There will come a day in God's plan when the blinders will be removed for people. But for right now, it's not their time, and they simply can't see. They can't comprehend spiritual things like what we have discussed today. Now, we have to understand that the truth that most people see in Christmas isn't even religious today. They're simply blind into the truth that we have discussed. People don't wake up on Christmas morning and say, now I'm going to worship Baal through a Christmas tree. They don't wake up in the morning and say, I'm going to honor the way that the heathen Germanic tribes did. No, to most people, Christmas is about loving their family. It's about giving gifts. It's about sharing traditions. So, brethren, it doesn't do us any good to get in someone's face or to ridicule their beliefs or to challenge their observance of Christmas because they are spiritually blinded. They don't know what God really wants in worship, what God desires to honor Him. Their minds haven't been opened, and it does us no good to get defensive, angry, to get in their face, to tell them they're wrong, to ridicule their heritage. It does no good purpose at all to do that. I'd like to give you an analogy. My late father-in-law, he was physically blind. And sometimes he would stumble when he was walking because he was physically blind since he was about 16. And particularly in my house, we have these big-foot hammocks. And I remember one time he was crossing the room because he did a pretty good job in memorizing rooms, but he stumbled over one of the hammocks that were left out in the middle of the room because he was physically blind. It would have been rude. It would have been insensitive to correct or ridicule a blind man for walking into something he was not capable of seeing. And this is a good lesson for us in how we deal with coworkers and friends and family who observe Christmas. Don't ridicule people who are blinded and are not capable of seeing spiritual things because it doesn't do any good. Certainly be willing and be prepared to discuss your beliefs with anyone who sincerely asks you in the office, I notice that you don't have a wreath on your desk or I've noticed that you don't participate in the other activities around the office or the neighborhood or whatever. Certainly be prepared to say in a very kind and tactful way that yes, I don't observe Christmas because of its pre-Christian origins. I do not believe that it honors God or the Son of God. Be prepared to have a discussion. That's great. That's wonderful. But we have to be very careful in understanding that they are spiritually blind.

Then it does no good for us to ridicule or openly challenge them or question them on their own beliefs. We're coming to a time of year when people sincerely attempt to honor Christ by celebrating His birth. One of the things I find rather interesting is that most evangelicals today like to use a phrase they say fulfilled in Christ. Something is fulfilled. What they mean by that is when an evangelical uses that phrase something is fulfilled in Christ to describe events or acts of worship that are no longer commanded or important. They usually mean it referring to their attitude about the biblical Holy Days, by the way. But I want to just take a look at Christmas for one minute and this phrase fulfilled in Christ. There's no record that Jesus Christ or His disciples later or ever celebrated His birth. The birth of Christ is only, again, mentioned in the New Testament in Revelation 12 is a prophecy regarding the protection of the woman, the end-time church. A biblical scholar candidly admits that the birth of Christ was not celebrated for centuries after His death and today is immersed in pagan celebrations and myth. So, brethren, what I'm here to say is that if any event in the Bible was fulfilled in Christ, it was the event of His birth. Jesus was only born once, and all of the prophecies that spoke to His birth were fulfilled on that day. So, if anything was fulfilled in Christ, it was the day of His birth. On the other hand, God's Holy Days all point to the future. The Passover points to a time when all people who have ever lived will understand that they need the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, to forgive them of their sins. That has not happened for most people who have ever lived. That's something yet to occur. The days of Unleavened Bread remind us of a time when all people, from every language and race and everywhere around the world, will desire to obey God and will reject sin as a way of life and say, I need to clean up my life and I need to conform to the ways of God. Pentecost reminds us as we look forward to a time when God's Spirit will be offered to all peoples and nations. Trumpets looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ to save the world from complete self-destruction. Atonement, we look forward to a time when the author of original sin, the author of the original cause of human sin, Satan, will be banished. And of course, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day look forward to a time when the Kingdom of God will be established on the earth, followed by the resurrection of billions. So here's the paradox. Millions of people today blindly reject the Holy Days as fulfilled in Christ while embracing Christmas Day to honor, supposedly honor, the Son of God. Indeed, what a confused world we live in. So we only have a couple of weeks left. Pretty soon, in a couple weeks, the Bing Crosby album will be turned off. And we can look forward to a time when the King of Kings returns to earth, and all peoples and all nations will be taught how to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Have a wonderful Sabbath day.