People celebrate Christmas in different ways. It is common for people to exchange gifts, spend time with family, and reflect upon the blessings that they have. Many people also attach a religious significance to the day, using it to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
How are Christians to treat this day? As a religious holy day? Just a secular holiday? Or should Christians avoid any sort of observance whatsoever? Let us notice some things that the Bible has to say.
Christmas as a secular holiday – In Romans 14, Paul discussed matters of personal opinion (Romans 14:1). He used two illustrations – the eating of meats and the observing of days. Both of these were things that could be done while attaching some sort of religious significance to them (1 Corinthians 8:7; Galatians 4:10-11), but such was not inherent to the practice. One could eat meat or observe days without applying the religious meaning that others applied and do so acceptably. Paul affirmed that observing certain days falls into the category of personal liberty (Romans 14:5-6).
Christmas as a religious holy day – Since Christmas is commonly used to commemorate the birth of Christ, many believe that Christians must observe this day religiously. However, matters of religious service differ from matters of liberty. We must have authority for all that we do in our service to God (Colossians 3:17). Where would we go for such authority in the Bible for the religious observance of Christmas? Jesus gave no instruction concerning this commemoration. The apostles gave no instructions, either. There is no example of the early church practicing it. Plus, the Bible gives no indication that Jesus was born on, or even near, December 25th.
We are not at liberty to invent our own religious practices and still please God (Matthew 7:21-23; Colossians 2:23). If we want to observe Christmas as a secular holiday, fine. But let us not go beyond the liberty that God has given us.
