Emphasizing Religious Holidays
Two weeks ago today Barb and I visited a congregation which shall remain nameless, for the time being. The Bible class was very well taught, and we truly enjoyed being present. The people were friendly, and the congregation had an attractive display featuring the missionaries they supported. They made good use of PowerPoint both for announcements and the songs.
We were quite impressed—until the preacher began his sermon. He began by saying that this date was a very important historical date. April 9th—hmm. Doesn’t ring a bell. What historical date could it possibly be? The date turned out to be Palm Sunday. First of all, April 9th, then, is not an important historical date because the date for Palm Sunday changes every year. But more importantly, Palm Sunday is not a significant date, period, because God did not tell us to observe this time as a religious holy day, which He could have done had He so chosen.
God told Israel, for example, to observe the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, the Feast of the Harvest, and the Feast of the Ingathering (Ex. 23:14-19). He told the people when to observe these special days and how to observe them. So, He knows how to communicate special days that He wants observed. What days did He command Christians remember Him by? One may read the entire New Testament and not find a command to consider any day special except that of the first day of the week, which is the day the church is to meet together to worship God (Acts 20:7).
Was there a day when people spread palm branches before Jesus as He entered into Jerusalem? Yes! Is what happened that day important? Yes! It was a recognition of just exactly Who Jesus was. But God did not say to put this date on the calendar and honor it every year. The word Easter was an unfortunate rendering (in the King James) of the word they translated everywhere else as “Passover” (Acts 12:4). But even so, it is not in connection with a command to celebrate it as the day of Christ’s resurrection. In vain one will search for any such communication from God to honor the Lord’s coming forth from the grave by an annual observance.
The same comments can be made about Christmas, another word not found in the Holy Scriptures. Also missing is a single verse that commands us to celebrate the birth of Jesus annually. Was Jesus’ birth significant? Are you kidding? It was also foretold in Isaiah 7:14 and as far back as Genesis 3:15. Jesus was not only born of a virgin (which cannot be stated of any other individual who ever lived), He is also the seed of woman who would bruise the head of Satan. No one’s birth was ever more anticipated since the world began, and yet, despite these facts, God did not say to honor the day of Jesus’ birth. Had He desired us to do so, He could have plainly stated it.
The Lord’s Day
There is one—and only one—day that God wants us to remember—but it does not involve an annual celebration. He designed the church to meet every first day of the week to offer up worship. Jesus’ sacrifice must be observed at that time. Why? That day’s significance includes the fact that Jesus came forth from the tomb on the same day the church was preached and established (on the Day of Pentecost).
But God did not give us a date, such as April 16th, nor did He offer a description, such as the sixteenth day of the fourth month. The reason that the date for “Easter” always changes is that men decided it should be the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. So, it may be as early as March 22nd or as late as April 25th. However, this date was not given by Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John; neither is it found in Paul, Peter, James, or Jude. It was determined by uninspired men acting on their own authority—not God’s.
It is on this first day of the week that Christians meet in an assembly to honor God and edify each other. We sing our hymns to praise God; we call upon Him in prayer; we bring to Him an offering; we teach and preach the gospel, and we remember the Lord’s death for our sins. This is the day that God wants us to observe. How ironic that men desire to exchange the 52-Sundays-a-year plan for two or three, such as Christmas, Easter, and (maybe) Palm Sunday. Coming to worship a few Sundays a year requires much less commitment. No wonder the world is enamored with this trade; it’s a bargain for them. It just doesn’t happen to be New Testament teaching.
The Sermon
The man delivering the message under discussion continued to stress the importance of the day; a few minutes into the presentation he seemed to make clear what he was saying. “Palm Sunday is a significant day!” No, he was not talking about a significant day in the life of Jesus, which it was; he was saying it should be important to Christians. Some of us present had never heard such a comment made in the Lord’s church—especially one with so little foundation. I determined to find out more when worship concluded.
He presently climbed down off that horse and went on to make some good points about Christians experiencing pain and God comforting us, the value of depending on His strength, the value of the resurrection, the value of Christians, and what good leaders need to have. But then, at the close of his lesson, he reverted to the theme of Palm Sunday, mentioning it twice more. No one could miss his calling attention to the day he was emphasizing.
The Question
After the final prayer, as we were leaving, I paused to speak to him. It did not seem possible that I had been mistaken, but so as not to jump to any conclusions, the point needed to be nailed down: “Are you saying that Christians should observe Palm Sunday and Easter?” In light of all that he had stated, it was both a succinct and fair question.
But he answered in a rambling and indirect manner. He emphasized the importance of the resurrection and made some statements that no one could disagree with. When he concluded, I asked: “Is that a yes or a no (referring to the original question I asked)?” “Then, yes,” he said. That was all that I needed to hear. I said, “Okay,” and Barb and I left (she heard his reply, also). In talking to someone, it was mentioned that the man had also had a special affinity for Christmas as well.
The Symptom
Oftentimes, brethren have asked the question, “How is it that so many congregations of the Lord’s church fall into apostasy?” What has just been described above is precisely the way it occurs. A preacher is hired, and often times a church does not even ask him where he stands on any particular issue. (South Seminole has a questionnaire that deals with several subjects so that we know where a person stands, but too many elders and preachers have never been asked questions that would have saved a congregation many heartaches.)
So a man arrives to work with a church; people like him and, when he begins to introduce things like this, they don’t say anything—for the sake of unity and harmony. Only that is not where it ends! He has some other beliefs that are going to be different, also They will show themselves later on. This first foray into unauthorized teaching will result in others—and probably in a short time. It is precisely at this point that the elders should take the man aside and question him a little more fully. They should make it clear that this kind of teaching will not be tolerated.
Unfortunately, when elders remain silent, they eventually come to a point where the man is so popular that they cannot now fire him because it will cause a split. If they still take no action, the false teacher owns the congregation. God gave elders a work to do that includes their ability to hold “fast the faithful word as he has been taught. That he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). The mouths of men like these must be stopped (Titus 1:11-12). Elders must evaluate what is being taught in the church, and when they find error, they must deal with it; it is part of their work. Someone might say, “This is not that big a deal.” No, it is not as bad as advocating instrumental music or preaching “faith only.” But this man’s lesson gave the wrong impression to both Christian and non-Christian alike.
Where Does It Go?
What might be next on the list of changes for a person like this? We cannot know, but if what he taught is a symptom, then what is it a symptom of? A few years ago (about 30), I read a book by a “brother” in Christ and was perplexed that he talked about celebrating Christmas but made no objections to it as a religious holiday. No qualifiers were to be found anywhere. That person’s name was Max Lucado, and he soon found ways to fellowship various denominations—contrary to the teachings of the New Testament.
Yes, other “Christians” observed these days; so why not us? And other “believers” were just as sincere as we were, so why didn’t we regard them as children of God, also? After all, we are all on board the same “fellow”-ship. We are all trying to reach heaven. So what if we have a few differences of doctrine? That shouldn’t matter. We need to build bridges to others—not walls between us.
What is stated above is hypothetical; it is not a prediction because we have no way of knowing whether conditions in that congregation will proceed along those lines or not. We are only stating that it could happen. If fellowship with various other religious groups is not in view, then what is the reason to encourage the remembrances of these days?
Does the preacher in question believe that the church of Christ is distinctive and different than manmade denominations? Does he believe that baptism is part of God’s plan for saving man or that people can be saved in other ways? Does he believe that instrumental music should be used in accompaniment of our voices—or are they sufficient? Does he believe that God created the world in six days, or is he a theistic evolutionist? Does he believe that the Holy Spirit directly influences the Christian today? Does he believe in the authority principle as enumerated in Colossians 3:17?
Some may think, “Oh, these are so far afield from Palm Sunday that they are like Chicken Little affirming that the sky is falling.” Perhaps. But all of these relate to the authority of the Scriptures. One would not necessarily be off on all of these points, but he could be. If he does not respect the Word of God on matters like unauthorized “Christians holidays,” then where else might that attitude express itself?
The point is that a preacher of the gospel should not be awry on even one of these issues. Perhaps a young person surrounded by inappropriate influences might be mistaken (briefly) on some of these matters—but not a well-seasoned preacher. Not only should the elders check on this person’s core beliefs, but the members should likewise be alarmed. If the leadership is not taking its responsibility seriously, then the members are all that stand in the way of digression. Paul did not provide the warning to the elders of Ephesus for no reason (Acts 20:28-32). These things have and do occur. May all members of the body of Christ be watchful!