SHOULD CHRISTIANS OBSERVE RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS ?

By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi

Galatians 4:9-10 AMP "Now, however, that you have come to be acquainted with and understand and know [the true] God, or rather to be understood and known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly and worthless elementary things [of all religions before Christ came], whose slaves you once more want to become? You observe [particular] days and months and seasons and years!"
       The debates on whether Christians should celebrate religious holidays, birthdays is quite a sentimental issue .In analyzing it we shall approach  it from both scriptural and logical perspectives in other to give a balanced understanding of the subject matter.
           Firstly,  our salvation is all encompassing with nothing missing and nothing broken, the scriptures say in Hebrews 7:25 AMP "Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them."  our salvation is perfect,complete, final,and has an eternal validity period ;it cannot be altered by an event  .
       Secondly, the modern calendar is of pagan origin , and going by the scriptural concept of salvation by grace ,human traditions  should not override biblical doctrines especially when they contravene the principles of salvation . It is against this backdrop that emphasis should rather be on the meaning of an event and not the date.
        If date where to be considered then the timing of the event would become an issue,  for example if Jesus was born by 18:00 GMT  in Bethlehem on friday  ,going by the international date line principle the same period will be Saturday somewhere in the far east. A crisis of meanings is often created whenever issues on the observations of religious days arises,same with the directions to which one must face while praying.They are subjective by nature and cannot be truth. Therefore, the meaning from a scriptural perspective is to be followed that's why as Christians we can convert a voodoo shrine or a night club into a worship center : same property but different name and meaning.
         Matthew 28:18-20 says all authority has been given to Christ and Luke 10:19 declares this authority has been given to His Church and our dominion transcends dates and cultures , and we have a mandate to establish God’s kingdom in every facet of life. We are to place the seal of Jesus' lordship upon the culture and creatures of the earth. The scriptures declares in( 1cor 3:21-23) that all things are ours and  the world can't dictate to us on how to use what God has entrusted to our care .The world is yours in Christ.Therefore,  it is what you
declare a day to be that counts be it Easter or Christmas day: the scriptures says in 1cor.3:21-23 "So let no one exult proudly concerning men [boasting of having this or that man as a leader], for all things are yours, Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter), or the universe or life or death, or the immediate and threatening present or the [subsequent and uncertain] future—all are yours, And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
      Psalm 24 says the earth and it's traditions and cultures belongs to God and John 1. 12 says God's license of ownership has been given to anyone who receives Jesus as lord. Jesus made all things  including the dates and material from where idols or gods are made. The will of God is that the birth,death and resurrection of Jesus Christ be celebrated everyday however on the 25th of December we mark the incarnation of Christ more elaborately in unity with other believers. It is a global evangelical initiative and could very well be any other day.
      The law of liberty in Christ states "All things are legitimate [permissible—and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life]." 1 Corinthians 10.23 "Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath. Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ. Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit, "And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. Colossians 2. 16-18 under the law of grace nobody has the authority to judge your decision to  celebrate Christmas, Easter .. Let everything be done to the glory of God. May you never lack joy as you celebrate Christ.
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