Light In The Darkness: A Call To Holiness

OPENING ILLUSTRATION: Play the video “Ghouls, Grace and the Gospel.”

INTRODUCTION: A PAGAN LEGACY

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as the people of God chosen to walk in His marvelous light, we are called to live separated from the unholy ways of the world. Today, as we reflect on the culture around us, we must pause and confront one particular tradition that threatens to pull us away from the purity of our calling. That tradition is the celebration of Halloween—a day that glorifies darkness, death, fear, and demonic practices.

For centuries, Halloween has been rooted in ancient pagan rituals such as Samhain, a celebration where people communicated with the dead, revered spirits, and sought to ward off evil entities. It was a time when people believed the veil between the living and the dead was thin, inviting communication with spirits and fostering fear of the unknown. From its inception, Halloween has been mired in occult practices—divination, necromancy, and sorcery—all of which are utterly condemned by Scripture.

God speaks plainly on our relationship with such things in Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Leviticus 19:31:

When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, "or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. How, then, can we who are called to be holy partake in a celebration rooted in sorcery, witchcraft, and death?

Church, we are living in a time when the lines between light and darkness are blurred, when the world celebrates what it calls “harmless fun” while dressing up the grotesque, the ghoulish, and the godless. But I came to tell you today: God is not mocked! What fellowship does light have with darkness? What communion does Christ have with Belial?

WHAT ARE CHRISTIANS CALLED TO?

1. TO BE SET APART (2 Corinthians 6:17; 1 Peter 2:9)

The Bible calls us to live lives that are set apart, marked by light, and free from the corruption of the world. 1 Peter 2:9 reminds us of our identity in Christ: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

If Christ has called us out of darkness, why would we return to it, even for a single night? Halloween is not an innocent cultural tradition—it is a celebration that mocks the holiness of God by exalting evil.

Our participation in Halloween sends a message, whether intentional or not. Will our neighbors see us as ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom, or as those who have one foot in the world and another in faith? Matthew 5:16 exhorts us: "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." To honor God, we must forsake all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22) and stand firm as witnesses of His truth.

You are not ordinary. You are not common. You are not of this world. You are a royal priesthood, set apart to declare the praises of the One who shattered the chains of death and brought you into marvelous light!

• So, this season, don’t dim your flame—fan it into fire.

• Don’t entertain evil—evict it from your heart.

• Don’t follow the crowd—follow the cross.

• Let your home be a sanctuary, not a haunted house.

• Let your words be Scripture, not spells.

• Let your joy be rooted in Christ, not candy.

• This is your moment to stand. To shine. To speak.

• To say with boldness: “I will not bow to the culture—I will burn for the King of all kings!”

2. TO CONSECRATION (1 Peter 1:16)

God is calling His people to be set apart. Not weird. Not judgmental. But holy!

When the world celebrates darkness, we must shine brighter. When culture bows to fear, we must stand in faith. When others decorate their homes with skeletons, we must decorate our hearts with Scripture!

Church, we are not called to blend in—we are called to stand out. We are not called to compromise—we are called to consecrate. And in this season, when the world celebrates shadows, we must shine with the fire of holiness!

Halloween may parade as innocent fun, but beneath the masks lies a celebration of fear, death, and deception. The enemy doesn’t need your worship—he just needs your participation. He wraps rebellion in costumes and calls it culture. But God says, “Come out from among them and be separate!”