The Christmas Debate

 

With covid mandates largely behind us the older in-house debates have resurfaced.  A persecuted Church doesn’t tend to have time for these lesser matters.  There is a focus about her that brings brothers and sisters together in a unity that is very precious and surely also very pleasing to God.  Peacetime affords luxuries that aren’t always good for us.  The fascination with the finer points of doctrine and the things that divide is not usually healthy or productive.   They detract from the greater things we have in common and tend to rob believers of time spent in prayer, fellowship, worship and evangelism.  Worse, they often sow seeds of dissension in the Church of Jesus Christ and rupture that which was once very good and precious in the sight of God.  

At the moment a debate is 'raging' (in some parts) over Christmas, and it is threatening to divide those who have most everything else in common.  By that I mean those who were not long ago on the frontlines together waging a common fight against a common enemy.  Ironically -  except for the divisions left in its wake - this particular disagreement will be forgotten in just a few days.

I hesitated to weigh in because it seems an unnecessary, and somewhat silly, fight.  But here goes…

As a reformed presbyterian I subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and therefore hold to the regulative principle of worship (RPW).  The RPW - a doctrine based on the second commandment - simply dictates that when it comes to the elements of worship the Church must do nothing except what God has commanded.  In other words, when it comes to the corporate worship of God we are not free to exercise our creativity.  Rather, we can only do what God has expressly commanded.  And so on this basis some who hold to the RPW would argue that Christmas should not be observed as it is not commanded.  I disagree.  

Before I explain, let me briefly clarify. 

First, I don’t believe the Church can or should mandate the observance of holy days.  God has given us one holy day and that is the Lord’s Day.  There is no other. Elders should therefore call their people to worship on the Lord’s Day, and God’s people ought to come.  The elders' role, however, is ministerial, which simply means that they have authority to teach and enforce God's law and no other. Their authority, then, is not legislative. God alone legislates, and since he has not legislated the observance of Christmas (or Easter for that matter) neither can the elders legislate their observance.  In the same way that it was wrong for men to legislate the wearing of masks, so it is wrong for men to legislate the observance of something God himself has not required. Practically speaking, elders cannot (and should not) require their people to sanctify as holy a day of their own choosing.

Second, because the Lord’s Day is the only holy day recognized under the new administration of the covenant of grace, believers ought to be very wary of treating any other day as holy.  Sundays are to be set apart for God because God himself has sanctified the day.  Under the old administration of the covenant of grace it was ordinarily called the Sabbath, while under the new it is ordinarily called the Lord’s Day.  Under the old administration it was observed on the seventh day of the week, while under the new it is observed on the first day of the week.  But God hasn’t sanctified any other day.  We don’t observe other sabbaths or feast days or new moons and neither should we observe a holy day for Christmas.  

Third, the Church has recognized that there are times when the Church ought to be called together for periods of fasting or thanksgiving.  Though the Church should not declare a particular day of the year holy, it is entirely appropriate for the elders to call their people together either for a time of fasting or a time of giving thanks.  These days - like the Lord’s Day - should be set apart for God.  It is important to bear in mind the key difference between these days and the Lord’s Day.  Because God has not sanctified a particular day for these observances (as he has with the Sabbath), it is left to the Church to decide when such times are needed.  It should be clear, that these special times will not regularly fall on the same day of the year or month.  Rather, they are to be observed as needed and at the discretion of church leadership.

So what does all this have to do with celebrating Christmas?  Here I am not making a case for or against Christmas trees and other secular traditions.  I believe, as Paul wrote, that God has given us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17); so I enjoy the lights, the Christmas trees and the exchanging of presents.  I do not concern myself with what some insist are pagan roots.  If it is ok to eat meat once used in connection with idol worship, surely there can be nothing wrong with enjoying good things whose roots - whatever they may be - have long since been forgotten.  As believers we do all to the glory of God, and so there is nothing pagan about what goes on the homes of believers who are enjoying God's good gifts to His glory.   But none of these things are relevant to this particular debate.  Instead, I want to comment on the debate that is currently raging among believers about the appropriateness of celebrating the incarnation on and around the 25th of December.

I believe it is good - and here’s why…

First, there can never be too much worship of God.  I’ve never understood the objection that it’s not the Lord’s Day therefore we shouldn’t gather for worship.  This year December 25 falls on the Lord’s Day, so there can be no (reasonable) objection to gathering to worship the Saviour on the 25th.  Actually this time around it is commanded. 

But what about Christmas Eve?  And what about those times when December 25 falls on another day?  I think the answer should be fairly obvious. 

The Church has no authority to legislate, but they certainly can invite… and what believer does not love to gather for worship?  Show me the born again believer that is not glad to go to the house of the Lord.  You won’t find him.  Show me a redeemed sinner who is not eager to seize another opportunity to worship God.  I know no such creature.     

Second, it is good to celebrate the incarnation of Christ.  Certainly, we are not under obligation to celebrate the birth of the Saviour at this time of year only, but neither is there any good reason why we shouldn’t.  And if not at Christmas time when?  As a reformed presbyterian I have seen the tendency rather to neglect the glories of the incarnation (throughout the year) than to make too much of it at Christmas.

That - as far as I am concerned - is the case for Christmas.  It's not a complex argument but neither does it need to be.  But what about the objections?   There are two I would like to answer.

A. First, it is said that we should reject Christmas because of its Catholic roots.  After all, the word “Christmas” comes from “Christ mass,” and since the celebration of mass is an abomination we should have nothing to do with it.  I understand the objection and sympathize with those who wish to distance themselves from anything Roman Catholic, particularly the mass.  Still, I am a bit baffled by the reasoning.  There may have been a time when celebrating Christmas and mass went hand in hand.  Indeed, there may have been a time when the celebration was a purely Roman Catholic one.  Christmas at one time was treated by many as a holy day.   That time has long since passed.  The connection to the mass is now foreign to most believers and the traditions of the Roman Catholic past have absolutely nothing to do with their own celebration.  When some now insist that Christmas is Catholic they are really speaking to another generation.  What believers do as they celebrate Christmas today has nothing of the Roman Catholic trappings of the past.  Ultimately, Christ is honoured in the preaching and the worship. 

B. Second, as per the RPW, God has not commanded it therefore we are told we ought not to do it.  By this no one means that we cannot adjust the lighting or seating or other circumstances of worship.  What is meant, rather, is that the elements must be observed strictly according to God’s command. 

I hold to the RPW, but I do not see its application to the celebration of the incarnation.  No one has ever used the RPW to suggest that there are specific times when certain texts of Scripture may or not be preached or when certain psalms, hymns and spiritual songs may not be sung.   Such things are left to the liberty of the pastor and elders.  So where is that same liberty when it comes to the celebration of Christ’s birth?  Keep in mind we are not dealing with the legislation of such things.  It has already been established that the elders have no authority to legislate.  God alone legislates.  Our authority is ministerial rather than legislative.  We do not make the rules, which simply means that men cannot be required to celebrate the birth of Christ at this particular time of year (as opposed to another) anymore than they can be required to celebrate the birth of Christ at another particular time of year. And neither should they be forbidden.  The decision to take this time of year to rejoice and give thanks for the birth of Christ is not merely convenient or edifying, it is honoring to God.  When done for Him, as it is in churches across the nation, it is surely pleasing to the Master.

My reason for writing isn't merely to show that reasonable men may differ over the application of the regulative principle of worship, but to plead both for caution and a return to the main things that we have in common.

I ask for caution because I see the Church's obsession with fine points something like the endless genealogies and foolish questions Paul warned about. These debates often consume precious time that ought to be redeemed for Christ. Worse than that, disagreements of this kind often bring division and discord among believers who were once agreed...

• on the glory of Christ,
• on missions and evangelism,
• on the doctrines of grace,
• on the authority of Jesus Christ over the Church,
• but now at odds because of a petty difference over the particulars of worship and the celebration of Jesus' birth.

I ask for a return to the main things because I remember the happy union that many of us had during the covid lockdowns when we were persecuted for righteousness, and we came together because we had something so much greater in common. When police officers sat outside our churches, these lesser debates did not seem nearly so important. When prison time was a real possibility for some of us our priorities were elsewhere - and with good reason. We were jealously contending for the rights and glory and honour of our Redeemer.

Some have wondered why I - a Presbyterian - am worshipping at a Baptist church. I do not attend Trinity Bible Chapel (TBC) because they dot every 'i' that I do. I attend TBC for the following reasons:

• first, because they know no King but Christ;
• second, because I have found life there;
• third, because the preaching is in demonstration of spirit and of power;
• and fourth, because we are agreed on the main things of the gospel and the kingdom.

I have seen what happens when men look for churches that dot every 'i' and cross every 't' they do. Often they never find that church, and so they are endlessly hopping from church to church sowing dissension everywhere they go. Sometimes they do find that church and they settle in for a season, only to be offended by something else that then drives them away. More often than not such men up shrivel and die spiritually. They become hard and proud. They cease to be tenderhearted and kind. They sometimes do find the orthodoxy they are looking for, but its a dead orthodoxy marked by a pharisaical legalism that has nothing of the savour of Christ. It was from such things that the apostle Paul urged us to run.

Do love the Scriptures. Love the truth; but love also the unity of the brethren.

Of course, it is good to contend for the faith. We don't want that peace that is found among the dead. Neither is it good to compromise the glory and honour of our King for a so-called unity that honours man rather than God. Many of us fought hard for the crown rights of King Jesus during the covid lockdowns. There is a time for contending and dividing.

But learn to give your mind and your heart to the main things. Before our own Master we will all stand or fall. Please be careful of condemning one or judging another over matters of application. If you cannot "observe a Christmas" in faith don't. But then don't let this become the occasion for dissension and discord. Quietly serve your Master, and then, thank God for the unity you have with those who not so long ago were fighting alongside you in the trenches for the glory and honour of the King we all dearly love.