Should We Celebrate Christ’s Birth?

It is NOT specifically recorded in the Bible on WHAT date Christ WAS born. In ALL probability we might be within our right to contest the DATE on which Christians celebrate Christmas. HOWEVER, this does NOT mean that our Saviour was NOT born. On the contrary the Bible gives us CLEAR indication that He WAS born in the summer season, when the shepherds AND their flock were outside in the gracing fields at night.

Nearly 750 years BEFORE the birth of Christ, Isaiah describes the coming of the NEW TESTAMENT Messiah in Isaiah 7:14 as follows: “The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a SON, and shall call His name Immanuel, which means “God with us.” At a later stage the prophet continued his prophecy in Isaiah 53:3-5: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

ANOTHER prophet, Micah, ALSO prophesied the coming of Christ 710 years BEFORE his birth. He predicted the EXACT village where the Saviour would be born in Micah 5:2 : “You, BETHLEHEM, though you are small among the clans of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be RULER over ISRAEL; Whose existence has been of old, from EVERLASTING.”***

In fulfillment of THIS prophecy, we find a young virgin called Mary, who was born in the insignificant small cultural town of Nazareth, engaged to be married to a young man from Nazareth, called Joseph. HE was a carpenter. The Angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she would bear a child. Shocked and in disbelief she asked the angel how THIS was possible, because she has NEVER slept with a MAN before. The Angel answered: “The HOLY GHOST shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you! Therefore that holy One which shall be born of you shall be called the SON of GOD." (Luke 1:26-35). Matthew 2:1 confirms the birth of Jesus as predicted by Gabriel: "Jesus was born in BETHLEHEM of JUDEA.

The question on whether or not we should celebrate OR commemorate the birth of Christ on THIS day, OR whether or NOT it is scriptural, should rather be rephrased with: “Do WE believe it’s WRONG to celebrate Christmas on THIS specific day? “ Would it HARM the Christian church to celebrate Christmas on THIS day? Would we rather prefer NOT to celebrate His birth at ALL, BECAUSE we are UNCERTAIN of His ACTUAL date of birth OR because the day on which we celebrate His birth is associated with the day on which pagans celebrated THEIR gods in the third century?

After ALL questions have been asked and ALL have been answered, If YOUR conscious does NOT allow you to celebrate Christ’s birth on the day in question, DON’T celebrate it on this day. Choose ANOTHER day in summer to honor our Lord. On the OTHER hand, if YOU believe that Christ’s birthday should NOT be celebrated at ALL, and you are NOT judged by your conscious as a result of your decision, then DON’T celebrate it. If we act against our consciences, we are ALSO guilty of sin. The sin may not be located in what we do, but rather in the fact that we commit an act we believe to be wrong.

“Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23). For example, if a person is taught and comes to believe that celebrating Christmas is a sin and then STILL celebrates it, THAT person IS committing a sin. The sin does NOT reside in the celebration of Christmas, but in the intent to act against what one believes to be the command of God. “….WHATEVER you do, do it ALL for the GLORY of God. Do NOT cause ANYONE to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—“(1 Corinthians 10:31-32).