The last two weeks of each

year are not easy ones for many

Reformed Christians. Our
culture's Christmas observances
make us feel extremely Uncom-
fortable. We loathe the material-
ism and worldliness associated
with Christmas. Moreover, we
wonder why so many churches
feel the need to modify their
worship services and physical
appearances in order to "cel-
ebrate" the season. We are often
questioned as to why our church
doesn't hold candlelight vigils on
Christmas Eve, perform Christ-
mas cantatas one Sunday near
Christmas, or decorate a Christ-
mas tree in the narthex.
provided they are observed
according to the general guide-
lines of modesty, sobriety, and
good taste tanght in the Bible, are
legitimate for 111e Christian to
enjoy as one of God's many gifts
to his people and an expression of
the Christian liberty granted to ns
lluough Christ Jesus.
I. The Observance of Christ-
mas as a Religions Holiday
A. The regulative principle
of worship forbids our obser-
vance of extra-Lord's Day holy
days in the Church of Jesus
Christ.
The Church has one King and
Cor. 16:1,2; Rev. 1:10). The
111eological reason behind the
change of our weekly Sabbath
from Saturday to Snnday is the
significance of Christ's resurrec-
tion for world history. We now
build God's kingdom on the
foundation of his accomplished
work and in 111e grace he continu-
ally provides. Sunday is thus our
only and weekly holy day, the day
prescribed by God for her solemn
assemblies of worship. No where
in Scripture are we commanded
to worship God by setting aside a
special day to commemorate 111e
observance of Christmas, Easter,
or any other holy day except the
Lord's Day. Accordingly,
Most Christians carmot
=================::1 we must reject the obser-
imagine what couId be
wrong with these innocent
traditions. Reformed
Christians who have opted
out of Christmas obser-
vance at all levels are
viewed with intense suspicion by
family members and friends. In
addition, differences of practice
within the Reformed community
often cause us to view one
another with a censorious attitude
or hurt feelings. It has been my
observation that many Reformed
Christians experience anxiety and
nncertainty respecting 111e
Christian's proper attitude toward
Christmas. As a Reformed pastor
who has struggled with the issue,
I have a few thoughts to share
will1 you on the subject. The
majority of them are mainstream
Reformed principles respecting
the inappropriateness of observing
Christmas as a religious holiday.
It is also my conviction, however,
llmt Scripture nowhere forbids
family gall1erings, feast days,
giving of gifts, and home decora-
tion. These are matters of
preference or taste that are not
under the province of the regula-
tive principle of worship, and
Head, Jesus Christ, who rules
over her by his Word (Eph. 5:25).
In that Word, we learn in both
Testaments that God is jealous
over his worship (Ex. 20:3-5).
We may only worship God in the
marmer he has commanded (cf.
Deut. 12:32; Lev. 1O:1ff.; 1
Chron. 15:13; Mark 7:6.7; Col.
2:18-23). As our Confession
teaches, "But the acceptable way
of worshipping the true God is
instituted by himself, and so
limited by his own revealed will,
111at he may not be worshipped
according to the imaginations and
devices of men, or the sugges-
tions of Satan, under any visible
represeutation, or any other way
not prescribed in the holy Scrip-
ture" (Ch. 21, Para. 1). Under
111e new covenant, by the example
and teaching of the apostles of
Jesus Christ, the Church is to
meet for worship on the first day
of the week, Sunday, now called
the Lord's Day (cf. Acts 20:7; 1
vance of these in the
Church as inconsistent with
the will of our Head Jesus
Christ and unsanctioned by
his apostles. Despite the
prevalence of the practice in
evangelical churches all over the
world, we cannot in good con-
science participate in 111e religious
observance of Christmas. We do
not harshly censure those who
disagree with us or view them
with animosity. We humbly
affirm 111is position because we
sincerely believe it is the one that
our King and Savior dictates to us
in his inspired, all-sufficient
Word. We also mourn the doctri-
nal laxity that is directly respon-
sible for errors in worship and
practice in many evangelical and
Reformed churches.
B. The Westminster Confes-
sion of Faith and the entire
Reformed tradition do not allow
the observance of extra-Lord's
Day holy days in the Church of
Jesus Christ.
In so affirming, our denomina-
tion fully concurs with the
Westminster Divines' statement
respecting the "Days and Places
February fMarch, 1999 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 23
for Public Worship." "There is
no day commanded in scripture to
be kept holy under the gospel but
the .Lord's Day, which is the
Christian Sabbath. Festival days,
vulgarly called Holy-days, having
no warrant in the word of God,
are not to be continued." In the
same place, the Directory states:
"Nevertheless, it is lawful and
necessary, upon special emergent
occasions, to separate a day or
days fOr pub lick fasting or
thanksgiving, as the several
eminent and extraordinary dispen-
sations of God's providence shall
administer cause and opportunity
to his people." Some have seen in
this statement an opening for the
introduction of the observance of
Christmas and even the liturgical
calendar in Reformed congrega-
tions. This small passage, how-
ever, does not sanction such
observances. Only special fasting
and thanksgiving days are sanc-
tioned, being commended and
recorded in Scripture and prac-
ticed by God's people in all ages,
are allowed. These are clearly
dictated by the special needs of
God's people as they face particu-
lar, extraordinary needs. Regular
days like Christmas and Easter do
not fit into this description, and
therefore, this passage does not
support their observance. Our
Confession, Catechisms, and
Directories forbid the religious
observance of Christmas or any
other holy day because Scripture
does not enjoin them upon us. As
a group, the Reformers of the 16-
17th centuries rejected the liturgi-
cal calendar of the Roman Catho-
lic Church, with its multitude of
holy days, feasts, fasts, obser-
vances, and rituals. While they
did not dispute that that corrupted
communion practiced these for
1,000 years, they correctly denied
that the observance of holy days
other than the Lord's Day was
practiced in the apostolic church,
commanded in Scripture, or
binding upon the consciences of
Christians. Through their influ-
ence and example, the Church
returned to a much simpler
worship service, in which the
preaching of the Word was the
focus. The life of the Church
was no longer dictated by the
liturgical calendar but by the plain
teachings and example of Scrip-
ture.
The clearest Reformed state-
ment on the Christian's obser-
vance of holy days was developed
by the great American Presbyte-
rian of the last century, Dr.
Samuel Miller. In his
"Presbyterianism the truly Primi-
tive and Apostolical Constitution
of the Church of Christ," he
wrote: "We are persuaded that
there is no scriptural warrant for
such observances, either from
precept or example. There is no
hint in the New Testament that
such days were either observed or
recommended by the Apostles, or
by any of the churches in their
time ..... We believe that the
Scriptures not only do not war-
rant the observance of such days,
but they positively discountenance
it. Let anyone impartially weigh
Colossians 2: 16 and also, Gala-
tians 4:9,10,11; and then say
whether these passages do not
evidently indicate, that the in-
spired Apostle disapproved of the
observance of such days .... .It
being evident, then, that stated
fasts and festivals have no divine
warrant, and that their use under
the New Testament economy is a
mere human invention; we may
ask those who are friendly to their
observance, what limits ought to
be set to their adoption and use in
the Christian Church? If it be
lawful to introduce five such days
for stated observance, why not
ten, twenty, or five score? A
small number were, at an early
period, brought into use by
serious men, who thought they
were thereby rendering God
service, and extending the reign
of religion. But one after another
was added, as superstition in-
creased, until the calendar became
burdened with between two and
three hundred fasts and festivals,
or saint's days, in each year; thus
materially interfering with the
claims of secnlar industry, and
loading the worship of God with a
mass of superstitious obser-
vances, equally unfriendly to the
temporal and the eternal interests
of men. Let the principle once be
admitted, that stated days of
religious observance, which God
has no where commanded, may
properly be introduced into the
Christian ritual, and, by parity of
reasoning, everyone who, from
good motives, can effect the
introduction of a new religious
festival, is at liberty to do so.
Upon this principle was bnilt up
the enormous mass of superstition
which now distinguishes and
corrupts the Romish Church."
C. The Jewish argument
from the Feast of Purim does
not support the observance of
Christmas as a religious holi-
day.
Support for the Church's
observance of Christmas and
Easter in her worship and rituals
is sometimes sought from the
Jewish Feast of Purim that was
observed by the Jews from the
time of Esther to the present (cf.
Esther 9:18-32). This feast
commemorates Esther's deliver-
ance of the Jewish people from
the malicious plot of Haman.
This feast was not positively
commanded by God in Scripture,
the argument states, yet the
Jewish people felt the liberty to
institute and observe it to this
24 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - February/March, 1999
very day. Therefore, the Bible
allows the Church to institute new
observances and holy days as she
deems necessary or useful. In
response to this argument, we .
ought to observe that nations and
peoples in general are free to set
apart special days to commemo-
rate great deliverances of God in
their his tory. God has never
placed the same restrictions upon
national days of feasting and
thanksgiving that he has placed
upon his worship. In verses 29-
32 of the aforementioned passage,
Esther and Mordecai describe the
feast in terms of the established
Jewish practice of national
periods of fasting and lamenta-
tion. Even in the theocratic nation
of Israel, kings, prophets, and
priests could call for special
periods of thanksgiving for
deliverances and lamenting for
sin. These days were observed
corporately by the nation and
were frequently joined with
sacrifices. The nation, could not,
however, institute new holy days
or rituals for temple worship that
God had not commanded. By
analogy, while Christians observe
the Fourth of July and Thanksgiv-
ing as national days commemo-
rating God's many mercies to our
nation, we do not observe them as
holy days or incorporate them
into our worship. We are free to
do the former, but we lack any
positive command to do the latter.
We might also stress that simply
because an observance or practice
was part of the old economy, this
is not an argument for its obser-
. vation in the new. We may as
well assume then that animal
sacrifices, a human priesthood,
and other old covenant shadows
are relevant to the new covenant
worship of God's people. Samuel
Miller summarizes this argument
ably: "The observance of Fasts
and Festivals, by divine direction,
under the Old Testament
economy, makes notlling in favor
of such observances under the
New Testament dispensation.
That economy was no longer
binding, or even lawful, after the
New Testament Church was set
up. It were just as reasonable to
plead for the present use of the
Passover, the incense, and the
burnt offerings of the Old
economy, which were confess-
edly done away with by the
coming of Christ, as to argue in
favour of human inventions,
bearing some resemblance to
them, as binding in the Christian
Church."
D. The observances of
present day American Chris-
tianity are not a binding model
for our worship, doctrine, or
practice.
But hasn't American Christian-
ity always observed Christmas
and Easter as holy days of wor-
ship and ritnal for the Church and
God's people? No. Samuel
Miller's position was characteris-
tic of American Christianity from
the landing of the Puritans and the
establishment of the Presbyterian
Church here in 1729 until the
mid- to late 19th century. Only
then did such observances creep
into the Reformation churches.
These were strenuously resisted
by godly pastors and Christians.
Moral and doctrinal laxity, theo-
logical liberalism, and the social
gospel are responsible for the
introduction, of these into the
worship of God. Despite the
regularity with which Christmas
and Easter are observed in Ameri-
can churches today, we must ask
ourselves, "Is the practice of
God's people and acceptable
worship to be derived from the
traditions of men or from the
principles of God's Word?"
Jesus' words in Mark 7 speak
clearly to the issue at hand: "This /
people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
And in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the com-
mandments of men. For laying
aside the commandment of God,
you hold the tradition of men."
Undoubtedly these convictions are
far from mains tream at the
present. Adherence to tllem will
gain little respect in today's liberal
ecclesiastical environment but
rather the charge of fanaticism,
coldness, and narrowness. This
is an unfortunate and difficult
cross to bear. However, faithful-
ness to our God and love for his
Word demand that we reject
innovations in his worship, the
observance of extra-Lord's Day
holy days in his Church, and
other rituals that are not com-
manded in Scripture or clearly
given as models for our new
covenant practice.
E. Christmas is a good
season for the Church to
present the whole counsel of
God pertaining to the person
and work of Christ.
Christmas is undoubtedly the
highlight of the year for many
millions of people, young and old,
in our culture. Christian and non-
Christian alike participate in it.
While the Reformed Churches
should not observe it as a reli-
gious holiday, and should not
make additions in their worship
services not commanded in
Scripture, we cannot be silent on
the issue. This is because a
fundamental plank of the Christian
worldview is openly debated,
discussed, and celebrated during
the month of December the
Virgin Birth of Christ, the Son of
God. The sitnation is the same at
Easter - practically everyone in
our culture except the most
ardent unbeliever attends some
February /March, 1999 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 25
sort of religious services on this
day a,nd pays some lipservice to
the resurrection of Christ from
the dead (however understood).
The Reformed churches cannot
keep silence when these two
events are openly discussed. We
must preach passionately on these
subjects as time and circum"
stances allow. What right have
we to complain that the culture is
learning about these only in
soundbites from broadly evangeli-
cal churches, unless we are
zealously inviting our friends and
neighbors to learn the whole
counsel of God concerning the
significance of the birth and
resurrection of our Lord. We
tilke the same view of elections,
national disasters, and other
issues that touch directly or
indirectly on some point of
doctrine of Scripture. We want
the citizens of the United States of
America to turn to the Reformed
churches to learn the biblical
principles related to all these
areas. We greatly desire for men
and women to be confronted with
the claims of the powerful Word
of God, repent of their sins, and
submit to our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Accordingly, this
past Spring I preached a series of
sermons on the Resurrection
around the Easter season. I did
not adopt this precedent in an
effort to move toward gaudy
Easter services or introduce
novelties into the worship of God.
1 did so because if we do not
preach, teach, and speak to the
important issues and controver-
sies at hand, as long as the
Scriptures have a direct bearing
on them, we are not being rel-
evant, practical, and useful
servants of Jesus Christ. We are
not being a light set on a hill,
pointing the world and many
churches away from the darkness
of will worship, mysticism, and
autonomy, to the glorious liberty
of the perfect law of God re-
vealed in the Scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments.
I. Tbe Dangers of Observing
Christmas as a Religious
Holiday
A. It lessens tbe glory,
and centrality of
the Christian Lord;s Day.
The most dangerous aspect of
the observance of Christmas and
Easter as religious holy days is its
inevitable tendency to undermine
the centrality of the Lord's Day in
the Christian's life. This is the
day ordained by Christ and
observed by his apostles for rest,
worship, and works of mercy.
By divine appointment, this day is
to be the' highlight of the
Christian's week. This is the day
we celebrate the glories of
Christ's birth, life, death, and
resurrection. By faith, when we
observe this day unto the Lord,
we enter into Christ's rest, his
finished work, and receive
strength to live for him through-
out the proceeding week. By
eJevating the Christmas or Easter
seasons as "special or holy days," .
we undermine the uniqueness and
all-sufficiency of the Lord's Day.
It alone is our special or holy day
of the year. I am convillced that
those who enter fully into the
privileges and duties of this day
will find other "special" seasons
wholly unnecessaty (cf. Isa.
58:13,14). Likewise, it is our
neglect and misuse of the Lord's
Day that has led the evangelical
Church to look to other special
times to fill the void of missing
joy, spirituality, and peace. For
the excitement, satisfaction, and
purpose that many find in the
Christmas or Easter season is
enjoyed by faithful Christians
throughout the year, as they
reneW each week the gldries of
Christ's glorious person and
saving work. Do we need practi-
cal proof of this dangerous
tendency? The same Christians
who view it as a sacrilege to
shop, work, or garden on Christ-
mas Day do not hesitate to engage
in these and similar activities on
the weekly Lord's Day. Every-
thing is closed on Christmas and
Easter, while commercial interests
continue unabated even in the
Christ jan community fifty-two
Sundays each year. Most children
who grow up in churches that
celebrate Christmas fmd much
more emotional and spiritual
excitement on the Sunday near
Christmas than that during the
God-ordained Lord's Day each
week of the year. We do well to
heed Dr. Miller's wisdom on this
point: "The observance of
uncommanded holy-days is ever
found to interfere with the due
sanctification of the Lord's day.
Adding to the appointments of
God is superstition. And supersti-
tion has ever been found un-
friendly to genuine obedience. Its
votaries,.like the Jews of old,
have ever been found more
tenacious of their. own inventions,
of traditionary dreams, than' of
God's revealed code of duty.
Accordingly, there is, perhaps, no
fact more universal and unques-
tionable, than that the zealous
observers of stated fasts and
festivals are characteristically lax
in the observance of that one day
which God has eminently set
apart for himself, and on the
sanctification of which all the
vital interests of practical interests
are suspended." I hold it to' be an
unassailable point of practical
piety that if pastOrs, parents, and
employers encouraged the proper
observance of the Lord' s Day
with all its significance and joys,
our congregations, children, and
laborers will not need or desire
26 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - February/March, 1999
extra "boly" times of the year that sincere love for God and a desire against our Head ostensibly to win
are not commanded for us to to bring our worship into confor- people to him. This is inconsis-
observe anywhere in tIie Scrip- mity to his revealed will. We tent. It is, however, far worse
lures of the Old and New Testa- cannot forget Jesus' words in than inconsistency. It is a blatant
ment. Mark 7 - our worship is vain, denial of a fuodamental tenet of
B. It compromises the
i.e., useless, worthless, conceited, the Christian world view that true
purity of our worship.
when we worship God according salvation entails submission to
to human traditions rather than his Jesus Christ as Lord in every area
Worsbip is the highlight of the
Scriptures. of life (Rom. 10:9). In observing
Christian's life. Above all he is
C. It jeopardizes the
Chris tmas and Bas ter as religious
glad when it is time to enter the
Church's moral leadership in
holy days we are compromising
house of the Lord and offer his
society.
the truth. We thereby set an
sacrifices of praise (cf. Ps. 122:1;
example of insubordination. We
Heb. 13:15). He is also con- The Church is to be a city set
lose our moral high ground when
cerned that the worship he brings on a hill (Matt. 5:14). Although
we so act. How can we call the
is consistent with the Lord's her salvation is not yet consum-
world to repent of rebellion
revealed will. He knows that only mated, she is already beautiful
against the will of God when our
God can inform us of the manner through Christ's righteousness,
own worship practices demon-
and means by which he is accept- filled with his Spirit, and endowed
strate the same sort of autonomy?
ably worshipped. This commit- with every gift and grace neces-
The world will look at us and say
ment is overturned when we sary to accomplish Christ's
that we are denying our own
introduce Christmas and Easter command to disciple the nations
principles. "You tell me that I
observances into the Church. For (cf.l Cor. 1:30; 12:13; Eph. 4:8-
must submit to Christ, yet you
God has no where commanded us 16). In standing for the interests
adopt principles of worship and
to observe them. In Pauline of Christ in this world, it is
religious observances that he has
words, it is "will worship," i.e., necessary for her stand for him in
not commanded." The Church is
worship that originates in the a way that shows submission to
called upon to leaven society, not
mind of man rather than the will his Lordship. We are to set apart
by living as closely as possible to
of God (cf. Col. 2:18-23). Tragi- Christ as Lord of our own think-
its principles, but in pointing the
cally, many Christians equate ing and living as we defend his
way to escape from them through
emotional satisfaction with truth in the world (cf. 1 Pet.
submission to Jesus and his
acceptable worship. We must 3:15). Only then can we antici-
Word. When the Church displays
insist, however, that "sincerity is pate God's blessing upon our
the same sort of materialism,
not the test of acceptability with discipleship efforts. How does
gaudiness, and giddiness as
God." Simply because it makes this principle apply to Christmas
encouraged by the merchants and
us feel good, or we believe that observance as a religious holiday?
entertainers of our society, we are
God would be pleased with it in Simply stated, it is wrong to
not pointing the way to righteous-
his worship, does not entitle us to adopt evangelistic means that
ness, but walking with the unbe-
introduce it. Even supposedly deny the very truth we are
liever in the path of darkness and
"worthy" causes such as the birth seeking to defend. Christmas and
unbelief.
or resurrection of Jesus Christ do Easter observance by the Church
I. The Compromising Ten-
not permit us to usurp God's is often viewed as one way we
dencies of Current Christian
authority over his worship by can "reach" out to the world with
Christmas Observance
creating special remembrances, the truth of the gospel. Are we
A. It presents only one side
rituals, and holy days in his allowed by Scripture, however, to
Church. Therefore, all who are adopt worship observances and
of the gospel story.
,'.
interested in promoting purity of practices that are not commanded One extremely dangerous
worship among God's people will in order to win the lost? No. aspect of Christmas and Easter
resist the introduction of holy Does the end justify the means? observanc,es in the Church is the
days, liturgical calendars, or other No. Does winning the lost mean tendency of many preachers and
interesting rituals into his wor- we compromise the regulative churches to present the Christian
ship. We do so not out of nar- principle of worship? No. In so message in "soundbites" that are
rowness or meanness but out of doing, we are living in rebellion palatable to unbelievers or infre-
February jMarch; 1999 - THE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon - 27
,quent attendants of divine wor-
ship. Some Christians undoubt-
edly feel that one advantage of
Christmas worship services is the
likelihood that unbelievers will .
frequent services on that day and
"get saved." Then, all sorts of
efforts are made to accommodate
their tastes and expectations. The
message is generally one of "good
will" toward all men. Now it is
true that the gospel message, or
for the sake of presentation, the
"Christmas" story, does reveal
God's goodwill. We must never
lose our wonderment at the
angelic announcement of the birth
of the Son of God and Savior of
the world. However, a careful
study of the angelic announce-
ment in Luke 2 reveals that God's
good will is toward those upon
whom his favor rests, i.e., his
elect. The birth of Christ does
not hold good tidings for every-'
one. Mary, Zecharias, and John
the Baptist, the original
proclaimers of the "Christmas"
story, understood that the gospel
message holds a message of
judgment for those who remain in
unbelief (cf. Luke 1:50-55,71,72;
3: 15-17). Many modern presenta-
tions of the Christmas story are
thus exposed as Arminian in their
tendencies. They do not empha-
size the particularity of the gospel
- that Christ came to save his
people. While the offer of the
gospel is universal, the intent of
Christ's saving work is very
specific - to save his people
from their sins (cf. Matt. 1 :21;
John 10:11,15,25-28). Accord-
ingly, "Christmas" messages that
stress the universality of God's
love often miss the mark. They
interpret the birth of Christ as
indicating that God loves every-
one the same, and that God has a
wonderful plan for every person.
This is wrong. It is a denial of
God's judgment against the
reprobate and of the particularity
of his redemptive love for his
elect, those whom he chose in
Christ before the foundation of
the world (cf. Eph, 1:3-11). I am
not surprised by this turn of
events. While bad doctrine leads
to faulty worship, it is equally
true that adoption of unbiblical
worship will adversely impact the
proclamation of sOllnd doctrine.
In the final analysis, our efforts to
gain the lost through Christmas
and Easter services in the Church
are often accompanied by a
truncated gospel thans confus-
ing, one-sided, and impotent to do
the Sinner any saving gobd.
B. It misrepresents the
person and work of Jesus
Christ.
Contemplation of the Son of
God being born in a stable is
indeed a reason for the Christian
to stand in awe and rejoice in the
faithfulness of God. I do not
object to the Christmas tradition
reminding us of this great reality
that continues to shape the course
of human history. Howeyer, I am
afraid that very often the Church
gives a very imbalanced View of
the Christ-child during the Christ-
mas season. The Bible does
emphasize that Jesus had a human
lineage; he was a son of Abrahani..
It presents him at the same time
as the Son of God. Some Christ-
mas presentations exaggerate
either his manhood or his deity.
We must have both in order to be
saved. It is not uncommon to
hear that we should allow the love
and mystery of the birth of Christ
to characterize our thinking and
living all the year. This is
imbalanced and dangerous. The
Christ-child had a mission to
fulfill that was not all love,
sweetness, and celebration. He
had a cross to bear. We must not
forget that Jesus grew up. When
he did, he drove the
moneychangers from the temple,
ridiculed the Pharisees for their
wicked perversions of God's law.
and spoke of the need for faith
and repentance. Those early
believers saw past the baby to the
reality behilld the baby - that
God had become incarnate
through the Virgin in order to save
his people from their sms and
judge all enemies of his kingdom.
C. It tends toward mysti-
cism.
The New Shorter O;iford
English Dictionary dermes
mysticism as "belief characterized
by self-delusion or dreamy
confusion of thought." It is just
this sort of thinking that is
encouraged through the obser-
vance of Christmas or Easter as
religious holy days. These are ,the
times of year when 'We encour-
aged to "capture the magic of the
season," have the wonder of a
child, and expect miraculous
transformations of our lives. One
often hears the dangerous teach-
ing that you must find Christmas .
in your own heart and other such
emotionalistic, mystical drivel.
Popular Christian musicians are
notoriously guilty of this sort of
mysticism, While neither the
Bible nor the Reformed.faith are
against emotions, excitement, or
wonder at the saving love of God
in Jesus Christ, they deny that the
way to emotional fulfillment is to '
walk around in.a "Christmas
haze" that causes one to lose
focus on the fundamental duties
of the Christian life and become
absorbed in the "spirit of the
season." This breeds dissatisfac-
tion with our normal lives and
callings as God's people. It tends
toward unrealistic expectations,
depression, and frustiition; This
is the dreamy confusion of
thought that leads many churches
28 - THE . COUNSEL of Chalcedon - February/March, 1999
to mix pagan traditions and
Christian teaching in their services
and abandon the passionate
proclamation of the whole counsel
of God in favor of musical
productions and stage plays. One
overall tendency of Christroas
observance as a religious holy day
is the impression it leaves that the
normal privileges God grants to
us and the ongoing Lord's Day
worship are insufficient to meet
our emotional needs. The Christ-
mas season, however, will not
change you or make you a happier
person. Only the grace of God
working through the ordinary
means he has provided in the
Word, sacraments, and prayer can
make you happy, balanced, and
fulfilled.
I. A Reformed Perspective
on the Family Observance of
Christmas
A. Christians must distin-
guish stated worship that is
regulated by the positive
commandments of Scriptnre
and daily Christian living in
which liberty of conscience is
given by Jesus Christ.
If we are to gain clarity of
thinking and peace of conscience
in the area of Christmas obser-
vance, we must make a careful
distinction between the religious
observance of Christmas as a holy
day and the observance of Christ-
mas in our families and homes.
Many Reformed Christians
erroneously believe that if some-
tIling is not commanded as a part
of our religious worship, it is
likewise forbidden in our daily
lives. This is not an accurate
application of the regulative
principle of worship. The theo"
logical mooring of the RPW is
that religious worship is a special
activity in which we engage as
Christians that is specifically
regulated by Scripture. If we
cannot find support for a given
practice in the Bible, it is off-
limits to us. Daily living is not
bound by the same type of
command. In Christ Jesus we are
free to do whatever we desire
provided our desires are not
forbidden by Scripture, either
expressly or by necessary conse-
quence. We do not need positive
commandment to eat biscuits, go
to the zoo, or read a novel before
it is permissible for us. This is
the classic Reformed view on the
Regulative Principle of Worship.
In worship, we can ouly do what
God commands. In every other
area, we may not do what Scrip-
ture forbids, but are free within
the bounds of Christian charity,
the general framework of Scrip-
ture, and common sense to enjoy
life as God's redeemed creatures.
As families and nations, for
example, we may celebrate
Iudependence Day, but it would
be sinful to turn our July 4th
Lord's Day worship into a patri-
otic service. Iu our homes, we
may enjoy "acting Qut" some of
the more notable events in holy
Scripture, but religious drama has
nowhere been commanded by
God for us to observe in Lord's
Day worship. Accordingly,
within certain limits, while we
must resist observing "Christroas"
as a religious holy day, it is a
matter of Christian liberty for
each family to determine how it
will or will not observe Christroas
within tIle home.
Paul's teaching to the Romans
clearly supports this distinction
between religious worship and
daily living, and establishes tIle
principle of Christian liberty in
tIlings not forbidden by Scripture.
In Romans 14 he notes the
division that then existed in the
churches between those who
followed the Jewish calendar and
dietary laws and those who did
not. Paul's response to the
dispute is clear - in non-worship
areas not forbidden by God as
sinful, men are free to eat or not
eat, observe or not observe
according to their own convic-
tions and preferences. The
Jewish ceremonies were no
longer a positive commandment
of God in the same way as they
Were in the old covenant, and
accordingly, Christians were free
to observe or not observe tIlem,
in whole or part, according to
tIleir own preferences and com-
mon sense. They are not to be
viewed, however, as necessary
unto personal salvation or sancti-
fied living. Paul forbade the
Roman Christians to judge one
another for personal choices in
these areas. Each man will giVe a
justification before God for his
decisions. Who are we to COIl-
demn a brother for whom Christ
died who is living in the enjoy-
ment of his liberty before God
with a good conscience? At tlle
same time, we are to live in love
with one anotller and avoid
placing a stumbling block in our
brother's path. While Christ
alone is Lord of the conscience
and has left it free from tlle
traditions of men, the strong in
the church, tllose whose con-
sciences allow tIlem to eat and
drink all things with joy before tIle
Lord, must not encourage the
weak to sin against their con-
sciences. By analogy, tlle obser-
vance of Christmas in the home
as a day of feasting, gift-giving,
and home decoration is an area of
liberty in which Christians are
free to or not to engage in ac-
cording to their own taste and
convictions. None of these
practices have been forbidden by
God in Scripture, either specifi-
cally or by application. Since our
daily lives are not bound by the
regUlative principle of worship,
February /March, 1999 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 29
we are free to enjoy God's bounty
and the traditions of our culture
without sinning against God.
But what about the pagan
origins of Christmas observance
or the sinfulness that so often
accompanies it in our culture?
Consider Paul's teaching in 1
Corinthians 10:23-33. The issue
in Corinth was whether or not
Christians could eat meat that had
been dedicated to an idoLin a
pagan worship service. Such
meat was usually sold in the meat
markets the next day for a dis-
counted price that made it attrac-
tive to the average consumer.
Paul affirms that Christians may
legitimately purchase and eat this
meat. This was undoubtedly an
astounding revelation to these
early Christians. Paul's reasoning
is clear and cogent. Everything
belongs to God. He quotes Psalm
24:1 twice in this passage.
Therefore the Christian may
legitimately enjoy all of God's
good gifts. It is true that unbe-
lievers put God's good gifts to
sinful uses. However, since an
i ~ l is nothing, Christians may
even eat meat dedicated to idols,
provided their consciences do not
condemn them. Consider what
this means for us. First, simply
because a certain event or object
is put to an evil use does not
make it off-limits for the Christian
(naturalistic fallacy). Unbelievers
tend to pervert every one of
God's gifts, and we cannot allow
their abuses keep us from enjoy-
ing what God has provided for
our enjoyment and refreshment.
If something is off-limits to us
because the wicked are doing it or
initiated it, then we should imme-
diately boycott birthday celebra-
tions, calling the days of the week
by the names of ancient gods,
watching the evening weather
forecast, and many other such
practices that had questionable if
not wicked origins but are really
indifferent in themselves. The
Christian path in a given situation
is not determined by choosing the
opposite of what the wicked are
doing. We live by Scripture. We
may eat the same meat that the
wicked dedicate to idols. We,
however, dedicate it to its rightful
Lord, the living God of heaven
and earth. I believe Christmas
with its attendant gift giving,
feasting, and fun times is a similar
issue. As noted above, there is
nothing intrinsically wrong with
gift giving. If so, why do Chris-
tians give gifts at birthdays,
weddings, and graduations?
There is nothing sinful about
feasting. Jesus himself came
eating and drinking. It is not
sinful to decorate your home with
trees and lights. It really doesn't
matter, Paul teaches, why the
wicked are engaging in such
things. We are not liable for the
evil choices and motives of the
unbeliever, nor are we called upon
to God to cease from a given
practice or observance Simply
because unbelievers observe it as
well. The Christian has much
higher motives and concerns - the
glory of God and the thankful
enjoyment of God's good gifts.
B. Christians can legiti-
mately observe "Christmas" by
a family time of sharing,
feasting, and home decoration.
Accordingly, because not
forbidden by God in Scripture and
consistent with the general
principles of Scripture, I believe it
is permissible and even enjoyable
for the Christian to observe
Christmas as a family time of
sharing, feasting, home decora-
tion, and any other legitimate way
you can make the time enjoyable
for your family. We feast at
graduations, birthdays, weddings,
and funerals. There is certaiuly
nothing wrong with an end of the
year celebration of God's bounty
toward us. One does not have to
bring in Santa Claus or the baby
Jesus. It is foolish, however, to
keep silent about either one of
them. Many in our culture do
attribute divine like status to Santa
Claus. To the Christian, he is part
of Western folklore, much like
future generations will view
Superman, Bugs Bunny, and
Mickey Mouse. He is notreal.
He's like the idol in the Corinthian
passage. He is a fictitious figure.
The fact that others have a
mistaken or exaggeqted view of
him or even worship him is really
of no consequence to us, except
that it oughNO make us vocifer-
ous in calling our deluded culture
to the true giver of every good
and perfect gift, Ahnighty God.
Likewise,it would be extremely
separatist not to teach your
children that Christmas is the time
of the yeat in which the Church
has historically celebrated the
birth of Christ since around the
fifth or sixth century. You can
then stress that neither the
apostles nor the early church had
any such practice, did not know
or record for us the exact time of
Christ's birth, and that since no
such practice is commanded to us
in Scripture, we do not religiously
celebrate the event on a special
day of the year. They will see
nativity scenes and questionable
public figures mentioning the
"sweet baby Jesus," so you had
better explain the situation to them
in a way they can understand and
appreciate. Remind them that we
thank God for the birth of his Son
every day, and that we have been
given a wonderful day each week
in which to celebrate his person
and work through divine worship,
feasting, and holy rest. If enjoyed
modestly, knowingly, and thank-
fully, the last two weeks of the
30 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - February jMarch, 1999
year can be a profitable time for
your family to rejoice in God's
goodness, provision, and
watch care over the previous year,
and anticipation of his faithfulness
in the new.
C. Christians mnst not
judge the practices of others in
areas not forbidden by Scrip-
ture.
Differences in conviction and
practice concerning Christmas is
a good opportunity to remind
ourselves that Christ through his
apostles forbids us to judge our
brothers in matters of Christian
liberty. This has always been a
great threat to the unity of the
Body. Paul addressed the subject
repeatedly in his epistles, in issues
of drinking, observing the Jewish
calendar, and eating meat sacri-
ficed to idols. There is always
the tendency to make our personal
convictions in these areas norma-
tive for everyone else. This is a .
tendency tI,at we must avoid. It
is tme that tI,ese differences are
undesirable and illIproperly
handled weaken the brotherhood
of the visible Church. Until all of
us reach greater maturity in our
Christian walks and understanding
of the Christian faith, however,
they will exist, and we had better
become accustomed to it. How
then do we exist in the Body?
Maybe we should follow the
evangelical model and start a new
congregation for every new
occasion of disagreement that
arises? This is not tile solntion.
Rather, we should accept the
reality that the Church will always
have strong and weak Christians.
The strong are the ones in Paul's
epistles who ignored the Jewisl1
ceremonies, ate meat sacrificed to
idols, and drank wine. They
perceived the great liberty that we
have in Christ to enjoy God's
good gifts without a twinge of
guilt or uncertainty. Christ has
redeemed us both from the
ceremonies of the old covenant
and the tyranny of men. Others
in the body, however, due perhaps
to background, education, or
personal conviction, cannot
engage in these without a pang of
conscience. They should not so
act, then, Paul teaches, because
whatever is not of faith is sin.
Between these two groups in the
Church, love must reign supreme.
The strong must not flaunt their
liberty in front of the weak. The
verses in Corinthians do not mean
that the strong cannot practice
their liberty, lest the weak find out
about it and become offended by
them. It means that the strong
must not exercise their liberty in a
manner that encourages the weak
to sin against their conscience.
On the other side, the weak must
not judge the strong. They mnst
recognize and respect the opin-
ions of these brothers, strive to
understand their position, and
bring fueir own position more in
line with Scripture. It is neces-
sary to note that Paul sides with
the strong in the area of Christian
liberty. He observed or refnsed to
observe the Jewish ceremonies as
the situation dictated. He ate and
drank whatever was offered to
him. Even if we cannot come to
unity of belief and practice in
issues like Christmas observance,
let us endeavor to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace,
think charitably of one another,
and endeavor as a congregation to
reform our practices continually
in the light of the Bible.
D. Christians must avoid
the materialistic and debt-
driven practices of our culture.
One common reservation
expressed about family Christmas
observance is its tendency to
promote worldliness or material-
ism in adults and children alike.
This is certainly a legitimate
concern. The mamler in which a
large percentage in our culture
spend beyond their means and
lavish their family members with
frivolous gifts or unnecessary
luxuries will certainly promote a
selfishness, materialism, and
greed that are contrary to the
explicit teachings of Scripture.
The Christian family should have
nothing to do with this. For a
man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions
(Luke 12:15), and because riches
make tllemselves wings and fly
away (Prov. 23 :5), we should not
set our affections upon them
(Matt. 6:19). Scripture, more-
over, regularly forbids a covetous,
greedy, and discontented spirit
(prov. 1 :19; Jer. 6:13; 1 Cor.
5:10,11; 6:10; Eph. 5:5). At tile
satue tillIe, God is fue source of
all legitimately derived prosperity.
He promised to bless his people in
the Old and New Testaments for
faithfulness to his covenant
(Deut. 28; Matt. 6:33; Mark
10:30). In the final analysis,
moderation is to be observed in all
things (1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:5).
We should also remember that it
is not our prosperity that makes
us covetous. It is tile heart of
man from which proceeds greed,
covetousness, and all other sins
(Mark 7:21-23). We are not
enviromnentalists. Man is re-
sponsible to respond to his
circumstances, good or ill, wifu a
right attitude tI,at leads him to
honor God in them all. Accord-
ingly, provided we make a moder-
ate use of gift giving, give all
praise to God for prospering us,
and teach our children by precept
and example to give thanks to the
Lord for his goodness, we can
enjoy a period of gift giving
witllOut the attached sins that are
so prevalent in our culture.
February /March, 1999 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 31
Again, I would remind you that if
it tends toward greed and covet-
ousness to give gifts during
Christmas, we ought to avoid all
occasions for gift giving through-
out the year. As amatter of
principle, I believe that Christmas
time gift giving can be an ex-
tremely profitable teaching
opportunity for ourselves and our
children. Our children should be
vividly reminded that every good
gift comes from Our heaveuly
Father. We deserve none of his
bounty. Every gift received, be it
a new bicycle or a new sweater,
should be one more incentive to
love and adore Our Lord and
Savior who demonstrates such a
tangible kindness towards 11S.
Properly observed with modera-
tion, seasons of gift giving in the
home can foster a sharing spirit,
direct the heart in humble thank-
fulness, and provide those things
that are necessary for the body
and home so that we can serve
God more readily and ably.
E. Ebenezer Scrooge is not
the Christian's role model
during the last two weeks of
the year.
There is undoubtedly a little of
01' Ebenezer in all of us as we
contemplate the ridiculous con-
sumerism, wistful emotionalism,
and frivolity of the Christmas
observances of Our culture. The
Spirit convicts us that such
attitudes and practices are alien to
the biblical worIdview and under-
mine true piety before God. Be
that as it may, it is equally sinful
to act as if the troly Christian
response to Christmas is to walk
around with a scowl on our faces.
Calvin once wrote that Christians
ought to embrace the world with
a feeling of universallove. When
we see the pathetic tendencies of
men apart from Christ, what
response do we make? Do we
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harbor ill will toward those who
walk in darkness? Do we turn a
deaf ear and blind eye to their
desperate search for meaning and
fulfillment? These are hateful,
separatist attitudes that are
contrary to the good will of the
gospel of Jesus Christ and the
frce offer of that gospel to all
men. Without condoning sin, we
ought to point the way to troe joy
and fulfillment not in a season,
but in a person - Jesus of
Nazareth, the ascended Lord of
glory. I'm afraid, however, that
in attempting to destroy Christ-
mas, we may be trying to beat
something with nothing. For if
our lives do not display the
charity, happiness, and winsome-
ness that befits those professing
faith in Jesus Christ and filled
with his Spirit, we can rant and
rave against commercialism and
greed all we want. Our cries,
however, will fallon ,deaf ears.
We will win our culi:iire not by
lynching Santa Claus, but through
a year long, loving, and persever-
ing presentation of the wonderful
good news of Jesus Christ to a
lost and dying world. This, by
the way, is the only way to defeat
the sinful tendencies so often
associated with the family obser-
vance of Christmas and the
idolatry attached to the Church's
observance. We must point men
to life, light, and salvation through
submission to Messiah the Prince.
Only then will they give up
materialism, unnecessary debt,
and will-worship. May God fill
our congregation with the love,
grace, and peace of the triune
God today and throughout the
year, thaI all men will know that
we are Christ's disciples by the '
love we have toward one another
and the joy that we continually
experience in hearing, believing,
and living the good news of Jesus
Christ.
32 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - February jMarch, 1999