Origin of Christmas

 Origin of Christmas

History tells us:

Christmas originated as a Christian holiday celebrating Jesus Christ's birth, formally set on December 25th by Pope Julius I in the 4th century, replacing or incorporating existing Roman pagan winter solstice festivals like Saturnalia and the birthday of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) to blend traditions and ease conversion, adopting customs like feasting, gift-giving, and evergreen decorations from these earlier celebrations, with its traditions evolving over centuries.

Christian Roots:

Jesus' Birth: Christmas (Christ's Mass) honors the birth of Jesus, though the Bible doesn't specify the date, notes History.com.

Official Date: The Roman Church established December 25th as the date in the 4th century (around 336 CE or AD).

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Why do Christians celebrate Christmas like the pagan world with feasting, decorating and gift-giving? Is not this giving homage to false gods? Does not the Bible teach that we should have no other gods before the Lord God Almighty? 1 John 5:21 states: Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Most Christians say that they are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas but the celebrating the birth of Christ does not date back to Christ’s birth. Where in the Bible do you see family or believers celebrating Jesus’s birthday? Can you find in the Bible where they celebrated Jesus’s first, tenth, sixteen or twenty first birthday or any of His birthdays?

Shouldn’t we be living by the Word of God? When it comes to celebrating and worship we should only do what the Bible teaches and nothing added to it. In Jesus day the pagan world celebrated birthdays, not believers in the Messiah. Look at the birth of Christ mentioned in the book of Matthew in the Bible. The Heavenly Host and the Shepherds praise God.

Many people believed that the Wise men were there but they did not show up until Jesus was about one year old. The Bible does not teach us to form a tradition of celebrating Jesus’s birth every year. Read Matthew 2:11 – The Wise men came into Joseph’s house and called Jesus a Young Child. The Wise men were not in the stable when Jesus was born.

Does the Church need to repent of her many sins? The first three chapters of Revelation in the Bible states that the Church needs to turn from false teaching and traditions that are not of God. If a teaching or tradition does not go back to Christ and the Bible then it is not of God.

Has the Church been deceived by the devil? Why would the devil want Christians to celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus? The devil wants the Church to focus their attention to baby Jesus because baby Jesus could not heal the sick, proclaim the Gospel and do many miracles to save the lost. Most of all, the devil wants our attention to be drawn away from the Cross. Focusing our attention on baby Jesus draws Christians away from our Salvation provided for us by the crucifixion. The Bible teaches us to remember the death of Christ, burial and resurrection, not the birth of Christ.

The Bible teaches us that we are being saved daily (Acts 2:46-47) by the work of the Cross and that is what our focus should be! Church Revival Prayer!

Bill Naugle

Is your Church under the law?

All things come to us by the work of the Cross when Jesus Christ was crucified. First Peter 2:24 tells us that Christ was put to death on the Cross and by His stripes we are healed. The price and the benefits of God are provided by the work of the Cross and the Gospel. Eternal life, provision, healing, peace, joy and all of the other benefits have been given to us freely. Jesus healed all people and all diseases whether they were believers in Him or not. This is a work of Grace and not of works. Jesus never told anyone that they had to do some kind of work like read this and pray this and you will have my promises.

Unfortunately there are many churches and ministries today that are teaching a works oriented gospel which is legalism. They have fallen from Grace and are trying to make perfect by using their flesh just like the Galatians. Paul warned them of their error and said that they were bewitched being deceived by the devil and doing the works of the law. These ministries began in the Spirit but now they are trying to make perfect by the flesh. The whole contrast in Galatians is not about law and grace (as to salvation) but being under laws instead of being in the Spirit and living by faith. You will limit your miracle power under the law. When you operate in the flesh then you are under the law and not the spirit. The flesh operates by rules and laws which void the Spirit. Those in the spirit follow Christ when He speaks and He produces miracles thru you.

For example: Jesus never taught His disciples how to obtain the blessings of God by using a system, principle, formula or technique. The disciples learned how to heal by simply watching how Jesus healed the sick. Jesus healed by speaking or by laying on His hands. Some people were healed by using their own faith but not by doing any works to get healed.

The Bible teaches us that God desires faith and not works for any of His promises. Teaching principles of any truth is coming under the law which brings a curse upon your ministry. The Gospel of Christ is not about us doing something to receive but all about what God has already done so that we receive as a free gift. All teaching should only be about what God has done for us and what He has given us, which comes by the way of the Cross because the Gospel is the Power of God and nothing else will save.

Jesus taught us a lifestyle of having a relationship with the Godhead. We follow God by listening to what He says. Salvation is by Grace thru Faith and not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9) this salvation covers the healing of our bodies. The only real requirement to receive anything from God is Faith (Mark 5:36). Our obedience to God comes out of our faith in what He tells us because we know that God loves us very much and wants us to have a blessed life. We believe that God loves us. God freely gives to us all things (John 8:32 & 1 COR 2:12). We ask God and receive because we believe in Him.

Preachers need to minister the work of the Cross to the individual and cease from works that put people in bondage. The Bible states that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). Even if a minister of God falls into a sin or teaches something that is not scriptural accurate they will still be able to minister from their gift to others. Recommendation: Change and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage.

The Bible exhorts us to preach and teach the Word of God (2 Tim 4:2) and not our experiences because some of our experience may not reflect the truth of God’s Word. When people talk about their experience and tell their story, they may not have understanding of what it means. It will take someone who has the gift of discernment to explain the truth to the Church. Explaining what is truth and what is error. May God open our eyes to the truth!

Bill Naugle

Mansfield, Ohio

Contact: gospelofchristservant@gmail.com

Website: https://christcrosscrucified.com/