[Rick Shabi] God hates Christmas.
No, He is not. In fact, God says He hates this type of holiday.
You heard that right. If you think you are honoring Jesus Christ or God the Father by keeping Christmas, you are absolutely wrong.
If you’ve been around a while, you’ve no doubt heard how Christmas is based on pagan traditions, and it is nowhere to be found in the Bible. It’s common knowledge—you can find that anywhere on the Internet or in encyclopedias. Even Bible scholars will tell you there is no basis for a Christmas celebration in the Bible. [play clip of Pat Robertson?]
But many, when faced with these facts say, well, it doesn’t matter. As long as we are honoring Jesus, He’s okay with that. In my years as a minister, I’ve had people tell me that, and they tell me that their minister says it’s okay.
That’s a problem with so many of the religions that call themselves Christian. They do not do what Christ said. They just do what they want even though the Bible says otherwise. They reject God’s teaching just like Adam and Eve did and deceive themselves into thinking it’s okay.
No wonder Christ asks this question of those who say they worship Him:
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46)
A pretty sorry refrain to say you worship God, but then don’t do what He says.
So, what does the Bible say about Christmas and holidays like it?
He warns His people in Deuteronomy 12 not to mix His truth with pagan traditions. He says He hates that practice.
Reading from Deuteronomy 12:30-32
“. . . be careful you aren’t tempted to follow their [that’s pagan] customs. Don’t even ask about their gods and say, ‘How did these people worship their gods? We want to do what they did.’ 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!”
Verse 32 “Be sure to do everything I command you. Never add anything to it or take anything away from it” (GW).
Did you see that? God is very clear about what He thinks about holidays that are called Christian, but which mix some truth from the Bible with the error of pagan tradition.
You don’t have to guess what God wants. He tells us exactly how to worship Him. Just do what He says and observe the days He says to observe. Don’t create holidays and call them Christian. He hates that practice and you are not honoring Him when you keep those—you are actually rejecting Him.
So, looking at God’s command to His people, do you know where Christmas came from? The church that created Christmas literally did the exact opposite of what God said in that scripture we just read.
They mixed the pagan celebration of Saturnalia with the biblical account of Christ’s birth. That church, and any church which teaches Christmas celebration, is doing exactly the opposite of what God says in the Bible.
Mixing truth with error is not truth. It is false and against God. When you do this and celebrate this, you are not honoring Him.
And He says He hates it!
Speaking of Christmas, did you know that God also plainly talks in the Bible about the pagan custom of decorating trees and honoring their gods in that way?
Look at these verses in Jeremiah 10:2-5,
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not learn the ways of the nations . . . for the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak’” (NIV)
Worthless and futile. The practice and custom of idolaters, which practice God hates.
And yet, millions of Christians around the world celebrate Christmas—which only began to be celebrated by the Catholic Church when they were trying to bring pagans to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But they erred against God’s word by adopting pagan tradition and calling it Christian, rather than teaching them the truth of the Bible.
Any church that teaches that Christmas is holy time is not following the Bible or Christ and is leading you astray. It is a false religion. That’s just a plain fact.
You need to know what the Bible says and prove it to yourself, then live what you prove to be true.
One more thing I want you to think about and prove for yourself. Search the New Testament from beginning to end, in fact search the Bible from beginning to end, and let me know if you find anywhere in the scriptures where God commands His people to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
You won’t find it. Instead, you will find that the death of Jesus Christ—His supreme sacrifice for us is what is to be observed by true Christians every year, and which is observed by His true Church.
It wasn’t by His birth that salvation came, but by His death. Yet, the so-called Christian world doesn’t observe His death. Isn’t that curious? Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things I say?
Well, I could go on and on, but you need to prove this for yourself and ask yourself some questions.
If you really intend to follow Jesus Christ and say you believe in God and His word, can you really go on and observe a holiday knowing God hates it?
Can you go on and participate in these practices that you know come from paganism and then think that God is okay with that?
Leaving pagan practices behind and customs and traditions behind is tough. But to follow Christ does require sacrifice—leaving the errors of your way behind and beginning to live the way God says.
Christ says as much in Luke 14:26. In His own words, he says:
“If people come to me and are not ready to abandon their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as their own lives, they cannot be my disciples” (GW).
Leaving wrong ways behind is tough, but Christ says you can do it.
If you follow Him, He provides strength. (Insert verse on screen – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me) When you follow Him and give up your ways and follow His ways—all of them, you will find peace, joy and a meaning and purpose to life that you can’t even imagine.
His Bible is truth. It is the way to life, and living it more abundantly, just as Christ said.
The plain truth, my friends, is that the only way to honor Jesus Christ is to do His will and follow His way.
Christmas observance does not honor Christ. If you truly want to honor Him, leave it behind and embrace the way of the Bible.
Think about it and prove it to yourself.
Go to your Bible, not a minister who teaches you Christmas is right. Challenge us and go to ucg.org/Christmas and review the other resources we have available for you to review. And contact us with any questions or comments you want to leave.
You owe it to yourself to find the truth. Don’t just believe what we say. Look it up in the Bible, then when you prove the truth, do it. Honor God that way. By doing exactly what He says.
