Christmas - Part II

I Corinthians 10:14, "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry"


Idolatry: The worship of a physical object as a god: immoderate (exceeding just, usual, or suitable bounds) attachment or devotion to something. - Merriam Webster

Idolatry: The worship of idols; extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone:

Origin - Middle English: from Old French idolatrie, based on Greek eidōlolatreia, from eidōlon (see idol) + -latreia 'worship' – Oxford Dictionary

Eidōlolatria - 1) the worship of false gods, idolatry

a) of the formal sacrificial feats held in honour of false gods

b) of avarice, as a worship of Mammon

2) in the plural, the vices springing from idolatry and peculiar to it

Strong’s G1495

Eidōlolatria or ( -eia)(corresponds with Strong’s G1495). Whence Eng., “idolatry” (from eidolon, and Latreia, “service”), is found in I Cor 10:14; Gal 5:20, Col 3:5; and in the plural, in I Peter 4:3. Heathen sacrifices were sacrificed to demons, I Cor 10:19; there was a dire reality in the cup and table of demons and in the involved communion with demons. In Rom 1”22-25, “idolatry” the sin of the mind against God (Eph 2:3) and immorality, sins of the flesh, are associate, and are traced to lack of the acknowledgement of God and of gratitude to Him. An “idolater” is a slave to the depraved ideas his idols represent, Gal 4:8-9; and thereby, to divers lusts, Titus 3:3. – Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vine, Unger, White).

Why all this? I want to point out a few things. Idolatry is not just simply worshipping someone or something other than God, i.e., avarice (greed, materialism, etc.) is considered idolatry (can’t have two masters…). Now, I’m going to take you back to pagan “holy days”, and since Christmas is just around the corner, readdress this “holy day”; yet this would also apply to Easter and Halloween (All Saint’s Day) just as well.

What is interesting is we find that idolatry isn’t, again, just worship, it’s also “the vices springing from idolatry and peculiar to it,” and “An idolater is a slave to the depraved ideas his idol represents.” What does this mean? Christmas, when you celebrate it, is doing that exact thing, you are using pagan “holy days”, pagan ritualistic items, vices that spring from the idolatrous “holy days” and are peculiar to those “holy days”. People have become “salves” to these “holy days” and the icons which represent them. The Christmas tree – pagan, Holly – pagan, Yule – pagan, Mistletoe – pagan, all pagan in origin, not one iota of Christmas has anything to do with Jesus, EXCEPT, the RCC brought in this pagan “holy day”, called it a “mass” (Christ’s Mass, which is actually the celebration of death, not life) and now we see what it has become. The running theme with Christians who celebrate Christmas (or Halloween and Easter) is, “we don’t worship those things which the pagans do, we make it what we want it to be.” Sorry folks, it is what it is. I’m revisiting this because I am now seeing Apostolics posting about the “holidays” and using pictures of Santa or some other pagan item as their profile picture.

Tell me you don’t worship the tree, Santa Clause, you don’t use mistletoe, Yule or holly as the pagans did, yet does it matter? No, because you are using the items which the pagans used in their idolatrous “holy days”, things peculiar to paganism, and not of God. Is this pleasing to God? There is more than enough Scripture to show we should not indulge in these pagan “holy days”; these are traditions of men and not of God (Colossians 2:8). We are not to be judged by our celebrations of “holy days”, meaning we do not observe them and it doesn’t matter what men say (Colossians 2:16). We are not to be idolatrous in any way (I Cor 10:14, Gal 5:20).

I pray this again helps people realize why Christians have no place celebrating pagan “holy days” made “Christian” by the RCC and now snaked its way into the church. This is not pleasing to God. Don’t believe me, look up the origins of Christmas, Easter, Halloween.  Read you bible.

All we do we are to do in the name of Jesus. Jesus, the apostles, the church did not celebrate these holidays. The only holiday we find mention of and Paul does tell us to keep is the Passover, and not the Passover of Judaism, the Passover which Jesus and the apostles celebrated (the last supper and the washing of feet), Messianic Judaism! Biblically you cannot find any Christian celebrating these holidays. Historically these are pagan holy days and idolatrous.

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Be encouraged,
Minister of the New Covenant