The Observance of Holy Days

I. Introduction:

II. Text:

III. Old Testament holy days

A. God commanded the observance of some holy days in the Old Testament:

B. Passover – Deliverance from Egyptian bondage. Pentecost – harvest celebration Day of Atonement – Offer sacrifices to atone for the nation’s sins. Feast of Tabernacles – Remember the wilderness wandering And others: firstfruits, trumpets…

C. When God commanded the observance of feast days, He was specific about the observance:

D. Example: Passover: Leviticus 23:4-8; Exodus 12:14-28 (summarize) For all of the feast days God specified the day of the observance, what was to be offered as sacrifice, what additional practices must be observed, and what the feast represented. Israel would be punished if they did not keep the feast day.

IV. New Testament holy days

A. Under the New Testament, there are no holy days except the first day of the week.

B. On the first day of the week:

C. The Lord was raised from the dead, Luke 24:1f. The church was established, Acts 2:1. The disciples gathered to partake of the Lord’s supper, Acts 20:7. The Christians gathered the collection for the saints, 1 Cor. 16:1. It is the Lord’s day, Revelation 1:10.

D. The Christians are told:

E. When to meet (1 st day)

F. What to do and why

G. Observe the Lord’s supper to remember Jesus’ death. Collection to meet the needs of the saints. Sing praises to God to worship. Pray with one another to praise God. Study God’s word to grow.

H. The church has no other feast days.

I. Colossians 2:16-17 – Feasts of the Old Law were concluded. God commanded no other feasts in the New Testament.

V. Trend of introducing holy days into the worship.

A. Some are suggesting that the church observe holy days, especially Christmas and Easter, as part of the worship service or in special worship services.

B. If we are to observe these days in a religious service (whether personally or as a church), we must have God’s authority.

C. No New Testament authority for their observance

D. Old Testament feasts had the date, method, and reason of observance specified. The Lord’s Supper, in the New Testament, has the date, method, and reason of observance specified.

E. Christmas is not mentioned in the New Testament.

F. God did not preserve the date for Jesus’ birth (dates all over the calendar have been suggested with reasons to sustain them).God gave no date for observing Jesus’ birth. God gave no direction for how to remember Jesus’ birth.

G. Easter is not mentioned in the New Testament, except erroneously in the KJV.

H. God did not specify a day to remember Jesus’ resurrection. God did not give us direction on how to remember His resurrection. If we observe Christmas and Easter as religious holidays, we must go beyond, outside of, and without the scripture.

I. Where did Christmas and Easter originate, if not from the word of God?

J. Christmas

K. One of many references: New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge ” How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (December 25th) following the Saturnalia (December 17th-24th), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the’new sun’…cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence…The pagan festival with it’s riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival (emphasis mine-rfd).” Even the Catholics, who introduced the celebration, admit that it was not one of the early feast days: “The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038… whence comes the French Noël, from the preceeding sacred vigil…Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts.” So Christmas is a day, devised by the Catholic church, not practiced by the early Christians (or anyone claiming to be Christians for 300-400 years), and was a merger of idolatry and religion (thus polluting the true worship of God with idols).It’s origins are completely human and non-biblical.

L. Easter

M. Only the KJV has the word “Easter” (in Acts 12:4) and, as Albert Barnes says, “There was never a more absurd and unhappy translation as this. The original is simply after the Passover. He continues to note that the feast was not observed by the early church. In every other place in scripture, the original word is translated Passover. The Encyclopedia Britannica (14 th Edition) says, “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians.” (previous quotes from Ferrell Jenkins article “Should Christians Observe Easter.”) The name for “Easter” came from the pagan feast of Ostara, the goddess of the morning light (the sun’s return in spring).The feast is tied to the fertility rites celebrated by the pagans during the spring time (hence the rabbits, eggs, baby chicks, etc.) So like Christmas, Easter is a day, devised by the Catholic church, not practiced by the early Christians (or anyone claiming to be Christians for hundreds of years), and was a merger of idolatry and religion (thus polluting the true worship of God with idols).

N. If these days came from men and not God, why would we, as God’s children, dare observe them?

O. Matthew 15:9 – Worship according to men’s doctrines is vain.2 Peter 2:1-3 – The worship is grounded in idolatry which God abhors. Matthew 7:21-23 – God has never accepted unauthorized worship. If we offer worship to God, devised by men, borrowed from idolatry, without His authority, we will not be pleasing and our worship will not be accepted. We have ample precedent to establish this fact. Galatians 4:8-11a

P. Yet some churches are having special services for both Christmas and Easter!

Q. The North Atlanta Church of Christ had their annual “Christmas Musical” earlier this month. The Richland Hills Church of Christ (Texas) had a group of singers and a drama group present “The Second Shepard’s Reunion” a Christmas musical drama and sells a Christmas album. -Dave MillerA church in Lubbock, Tx is having an “O Holy Night” musical involving acting, singing, and special effects. The Golf Course Road Church of Christ in Midland, Texas had a community sunrise service with special music, communion, and a message of hope and celebration. (Miller) These churches have brought in practices totally foreign to God’s commands to worship Him. Does He accept strange fire? Lev. 10:1f

VI. What should the Christian do?

A. The Christian cannot participate in the religious observances of these holidays.

B. It cannot be just entertainment for singing God’s praises for entertainment amounts to vain worship and even self worship! If God is revered, privately or publicly, it is worship, though it may be vain, unacceptable, and displeasing to God.

C. We can participate in the cultural and non-religious parts:

D. Christmas: Even atheists exchange gifts, put up lights, etc. as part of the national observance of the secular holiday. Easter: Coloring and hiding eggs are no longer associated with the fertility rites and no one today treats it as such. It is no different from the separation of the days of the week or Halloween from their pagan origins.