Trick or Treat
Back in October 1988, my wife at that time and I paid a visit to Western Pa. We subsequently moved up there. But we were amazed at all the wild Halloween decorations. You have never seen such decorations as this. There were ghosts. There were goblins. There were pumpkins. There were monsters. There were coffins. I had never seen Halloween decorations so elaborately displayed. To be frank, some of them were downright frightening. No doubt about it. Halloween was a big night in that neck of the woods.
But I wonder how much you have ever thought about Halloween? Is it a time of innocent pleasure and fun for the kids? Or is there something more sinister connected with the celebration of Halloween? When I was a boy there were Halloween parties and people would wear different costumes. There wasn’t any trick or treat in those days as I can remember. But we just took it for granted.
We might want to ask the question how Halloween got started in the first place. What does it mean? Halloween goes way back, even before Christian times. It goes back to the time of the Druids in Scotland. The Druids had two festivals for their two major gods, a sun god and a god of the dead, called Samhain. The festival in honor of Samhain, the god of the dead, was held on November 1, the beginning of their new year. On October 21, the evening before the festival in honor of Samhain, the god of the dead, the Druids held a celebration featuring ghosts and fairies, in which bonfires were built and futures were foretold and witches rode through the sky.
Later on in the 9th Century this festival for the dead on November 1 was incorporated into Christian ritual and became known as All Hallows Day. Later on, it became All Saints Day, a festival in honor of the dead. Halloween means the evening before All Hallows or All Saints Day. It really means All Hallows Eve. We can easily see how that became Halloween. Halloween is the evening before All Saints Day.
But the celebration of Halloween goes back to the days of the ancient Druids with their emphasis on death. Samhain, the lord of the dead, was given special homage on that evening. This is why death symbols such as coffins, tombstones, skeletons, skulls, and crossbones, ghosts, mummies, and graveyards are common Halloween decorations.
There are two well-known legends connected with Halloween. It was believed that the dead would rise out of their graves and wander the countryside on that night trying to return to their former homes. Frightened people tried to appease these spirits by offering them gifts of fruits and nuts. The villagers feared that if the spirits were not pleased, they would kill their flocks or destroy their property. This is where the custom of trick or treat originated.
The other legend that is part of the Halloween tradition is as the daylight grew shorter and the nights lengthened, the hoards of hell would roam the earth in a wild celebration of darkness and death, all in honor of Samhain, this lord of death. People who had to travel outside on this night would masquerade and disguise themselves as one of the demonic hoards in order to blend in unnoticed among them. This is were the custom of costumes and masquerades on Halloween originated. These Halloween traditions were taken by the Scots and Irish to America. In the late 19th Century, the Irish belief that the “little people” or fairies, played pranks on Halloween, led boys and young men to carry out practical jokes on that night. In the 20th Century, the custom of “trick or treat” was revived and became popular. Children dressed in costumes would go from door to door for “trick or treats.”
Trick or treat has become the most popular part of Halloween. In the little town in Western Pa. where I used to pastor, the whole town of about 700 people was alive as children from all around the area deluged the town trick or treating. Special lights were in the street. Traffic was directed in order to protect the children trick or treating. This scene is multiplied over and over again on Halloween night all around the country.
Trick or treat? I guess we must decide whether Halloween itself is a trick or treat. Should Christians celebrate Halloween? With the proliferation of Satan and devil worship, Halloween certainly has become no treat for many people. Satanic groups gather on Halloween night to cast spells, to perform sacrilegious acts, and to offer blood sacrifices to Satan. People are warned to carefully guard their animals on Halloween night. Dogs and cats are thought to be the most often sacrificed animals on Halloween. It is not uncommon in some places for farmers to awaken to find the mutilated remains of their farm animals, cows, calves, chickens, even horses that were slaughtered in Satanic sacrifices. Even human sacrifice is not off limits in these practices. Police departments all over the country have had to reorganize to investigate evidences of gruesome satanic sacrifices.
Halloween--trick or treat? I guess we must decide for ourselves whether it is a trick or a treat. Some churches have tried to provide alternatives for Halloween celebrations.
But Halloween--trick or treat? Halloween---harmless fun or gruesome reality? Halloween---innocent pastime or sinister experiences? Halloween--clean entertainment or dirty implications? Given its questionable origins, we must decide whether Halloween is all it is cracked up to be. Trick or treat? Should Christians who worship the Lord of Life, even Jesus Christ, be connected with something that originated in honor of the Lord of Death? Halloween--trick or treat? You have to decide for yourself whether Halloween is a trick or treat. And if you do decide it is a trick, how do you deal with all the pressure to celebrate it as a treat?
But now I want to turn our attention to the treats. When the children and young children knock on your door Halloween night they will say, “Trick or treat.” And you will give them a treat of some candy, nuts, or something good. But all of us have the privilege of knocking on the divine door of heaven and waiting for God to answer the knock and tell us, “I’ve got a treat for you.”
You may give out some treats on Halloween night. But God is the master giver of treats. God is the eternal giver of treats. God has a treat for you. God has a treat for you, not only on Halloween, but throughout all the days of eternity.
We have all seen the picture of Christ knocking on the door and waiting for us to open the door, receiving him as Lord and Savior. Rev 3:20 depicts God knocking on the doors of our hearts, waiting to come in and grant us his eternal life. But we as Christians have the privilege of knocking on the doors of heaven to receive the treats God wants to give us. What are the treats that God has in store for us?
First of all, God has the treat of LOVE for us. John 3:16 says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him might not perish but have everlasting life. If you ever are looking for a definition of God, the best one I know is love. God is love. God needed somebody to love. That’s why he made you and me. God could not express his love fully to the trees, and the flowers, and the birds and the beast of the fields.
A tree could fold its leafy arms in prayer, but a tree could not love. A flower could unfold itself in adoration, but a flower could not love. A bird could sing praises to its Creator, but a bird could not love. The beasts of the field could roar in appreciation, but the beasts of the field could not love. God needed somebody, somebody like you and me, upon whom he could lavish his love and receive love in return. God love us before we loved him.
But the thing I like about it is that God did not just say he loved us. God demonstrated his love. At the cross, God gave an object lesson of his love. At the cross, God illustrated his love. At the cross, God proved his love. The Bible says God showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Some people can trick you into believing that they love you. But love is a verb. You have to show your love. You have to do something to show your love. You have to put love into action. You can get tricked into believing somebody loves you. But God’s love is no trick. God’s love is the real thing. “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.” It’s no trick. God’s love goes “beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. It’s no trick. God’s love, “how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.” It’s no trick. God’s love shall forever more endure, “the saints’ and angels’ song.” It’s no trick.
It’s no trick. It’s a love that will not let us go. It’s no trick. That love made Jesus shed his blood on Calvary. It’s no trick. That love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all. It’s no trick. God has treated us with his love. And that’s no trick. All the treats of God are based on his love.
Because of his love, God has treated us with his forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says that he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins through Jesus Christ. Forgiveness may not seem like a big deal to us because the awfulness of sin has been overlooked today. Sin is no big deal today. Someone wrote a book once called, “Whatever Happened to Sin?”
Sin has almost been eliminated from our vocabulary. Nothing is sin nowadays. Alcoholism is a disease. Drug addition is a weakness. Homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle. Adultery is doing what comes naturally. Criminals are victims of circumstances. Gamblers are exercising their options. Immorality is a psychological phenomena. Nobody sins anymore.
But God still calls sin, sin. Sin separates us from God. Sin causes spiritual death. Sin alienates us from each other. Sin cripples our development. Sin hinders our maturity. Sin thwarts our good intentions. Sin stifles our growth. Sin debilitates us. Sin weakens us. Sin corrupts us. Sin deludes us. Sin deprives us. Sin depletes us. Sin is a terrible thing.
We dare not overlook sin.. We dare not underestimate sin. We know that all of us are guilty of sin. We know that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Think back on all the sins you have committed in your life. They would cover a couple volumes of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Think about the sins of commission. Think about the sins of omission. Think about the lies you have told. Think about all the unclean thoughts that have entered your mind. Think of all the jealousy, envy, and hatred your have harbored. Think of all the pride and arrogance you have exhibited. Think of all the selfishness, lust, and greed you have shown.
Think of all the ways you have hurt people with your tongue and by your actions. Think of all the times you have forgotten about God and chased him out of your thoughts. Think of all the times you have put so many other things before God and have not loved him with all your heart, mind, and strength. Those are the sins you know about. Then think of all those sins you do not know about. Think of all those sins you have committed unawares. God has forgiven all of your sins. God has pardoned all your iniquities. God has blotted out your transgressions. God has separated your sins from you as far as the east is from the west. God has forgiven the sins we have confessed to him. God has forgiven the secret sins we do not see.
We were sinners. We had sinned in word, thought, and deed. We stood before the bar of God’s justice, guilty of sin, transgressions, and iniquities. But God dropped all the charges against us. It’s just as if we hadn’t sinned. God has buried our sins in the seas of his forgetfulness. God cannot remember our sins. God has a bad case of amnesia when it come to our sins. As far as God is concerned, those who are in Christ Jesus are perfect. No one can accuse us of any sin. We stand acquitted before God. God has forgiven us through Jesus Christ and that’s no trick. God has treated us with forgiveness.
Then another treat of God’s love is salvation. Ephesians says “by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” But God has saved us by his grace. Saved us from what? God has saved us from sin, that we might live for him. What has God saved us from? God has saved us from death and the grave. Death and the grave no longer have dominion over us. We don’t have to be afraid of Samhain, the Lord of the dead. We have been saved by Jesus Christ, the Lord and giver of life.
God has saved us from death and the grave. Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory? God has decimated the fangs of death. God has broken the shackles of the grave. God has cancelled the sting of death. What has God saved us from?
God has saved us from the bondage of the law. The law told us what was wrong with us, but the law couldn’t help us make it right. The law told us what to do, but it couldn’t tell us how to do it. The law told us how bad we were, but it had no power to make us good. The law showed us what we look like, but it could not change the way we looked. The law condemned us, but it couldn’t liberate us. The law bound us, but it couldn’t free us. God has treated us to salvation. That’s no trick. We are saved. We are saved by his power divine. That’s no trick. We are saved to new life sublime. That’s no trick. Life now is sweet and our joy is complete. For we’re saved, saved, saved. And that’s no trick. God has treated us to his salvation.
But finally, by his love he has treated us to eternal life. There are those who would tell us that God has played a trick on us. There are those who would tell us that there is no life beyond the grave. They would say that God has tricked us with a cruel hoax. They would say that Christianity with its hope of eternal life is a myth, a hoax, and a trick. They would say that death is a terrible thing and completely ends the sentence of life.
We say that God has treated us to eternal life. We say that this mortal must put on immortality. That’s no trick. We say that this corruptible must put on incorruption. That’s no trick. We say that this perishable must put on the imperishable. That’s no trick. We have a picture of a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, every tribe, every people, and from every tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb of God, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. And that’s no trick.
But somebody said, “who are these clothed in white robes, and where have they come from.?” And one of the elders in glory said, “these are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” These are they who now from their labors rest. These are they who before the world confessed the name of Jesus. These are they who have fought the good fight. These are they who have kept the faith. These are they who have finished the race. These are they who have put on the crown of righteousness. These are they who have come from earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast. These are they who have come through gates of pearl, sing to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, “Alleluia, Alleluia. Singing Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom, and thanksgiving and honor and power and might he to our God forever and ever.” That’s no trick.
Some day on that great getting up morning we shall rise. That’s no trick. Someday the trumpet shall sound. That’s no trick. Someday the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. That’s no trick. Someday the dead in Christ shall rise. That’s no trick. Someday we shall behold his face. That’s no trick. Someday we shall see him face to face. That’s no trick. Someday we shall be with him in those mansions above. That’s no trick.
God has a treat for us. God has the treat of love for us. And with that treat he gives us forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.
The children that come to your house on Halloween night must accept your treats in order to have them. When they receive the candy or whatever you have for them, they go away munching on your treats. Is there anybody here who is munching on the treats of God? Is there anybody here who is feasting on his treat of love? Is there anybody here who is tasting his treat of forgiveness? Anybody here who is chewing on his treat of salvation? Anybody here who is dining on his treat of eternal life?
Do you have God’s treats in your life? If not, you need to go trick or treating and knock on God’s door to receive the treats of his love, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. You need God’s treats in your life. Without God’s treats, you are living a trick.
Do you have the treat of God’s love? If not your life is a trick. Do you have the treat of God’s forgiveness? If not your life is a trick. Do you have the treat of God’s salvation? If not, your life is a trick. Do you have the treat of God’s eternal life? If not, your life is a trick.
Which shall it be? Trick or Treat?
