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Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Swim against the flow...is this really what Christians are thinking and practicing?


Christians pride themselves as being different from the world. They see themselves as swimming against the world's selfish ways but is this really what is happening, especially when it comes to Christmas?

I have seen that this is an egregious illogical fallacy in that their claim does not actually line up with their actions. 

They claim to have a Biblical worldview but instead their worldview is humanistic in nature. They see that their happiness is the end of all being and not actually the Lord's good pleasure, which is the actual worldview that the Bible teaches. 

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Case in point...Christmas. If one chooses to go against the masses and not celebrate this day due to lack of Biblical guidance to do so and due to the materialistic and selfish nature of the day they are attacked and ridiculed by self-professing Christians for doing so. Essentially they are attacked and ridiculed for going against the flow. See the irony and hypocrisy here? 

People defend Christmas as a means to their happiness more so than they do for God's glory. They say it is for His glory and that they are defending it as a means to recognize the birth of Christ yet they cling to the many traditions within this celebration that have nothing to with His birth. 

People insist that God wants us to remember His Son's birth. The scriptures tell us otherwise. 

While the Bible gives a historical recording of Jesus' birthday we are not told, at any level, to make this a ritualistic and selfish day. We are not told to give His birth more recognition than His death. 

But one will argue that they do give attention to recognizing His death in their celebration of Easter. That day is also riddled with many pagan compromises that Christians have adopted into their celebration of it, much like what they do with Christmas. One thing is for sure, Easter, or as some will call it resurrection day, gets nowhere the attention and obsession that Christmas does.  

The Bible does in fact give us very clear and specific instructions to remember the death of Jesus until He comes again. Not his birth or resurrection but His death. This is for a very specific and important reason. 

This is because it is His death, not His birth, that brings us the required forgiveness of sins. The sin that has separated us from God was nailed to that cross and He carried them to His death so that we may live. He bore the price of our sins so that we may live forever with the Father as was originally intended at the beginning of all things.

Instead of having a selfish defense of His birth we ought to give a more consistent cadence of practice to the remembering of His death because that was the day which the LORD hath made; we should rejoice and be glad in it.

The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes...→  
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This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:14-24

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:26

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Mark 14:22-24

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. Luke 22:17-20

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:20-22

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26




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