It is often expected that any religious group which recognizes Jesus as the Son of God will have special services during the Christmas season to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
Yet, Scripture does not tell us what day of the year Jesus was born on. Moreover, God never commands us to celebrate Jesus’ birth in this way man has chosen to.
Scripture tells of God the Son coming to this earth (Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-20), but there is no mention of Christmas, nor is there a command for churches to pick a day of the year to remember Jesus’ birth above all other days.
Jesus did establish a special memorial for the church to observe in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). This is not Christmas (or Easter), but what the Holy Spirit calls the “Lord’s supper” (1 Cor. 11:20). The Lord’s supper was observed in the New Testament on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). It is interesting how many neglect following this observance established by Jesus Himself, yet eagerly practice a celebration of Jesus established by men.
This does not demean the importance of God the Son coming to earth (Phil. 2:5-7). Nor does it imply that there is anything wrong with individuals celebrating Christmas in a non-religious way.
These points do, though, remind us of the difference between commands of God and manmade traditions promoted as though they are from God (Mark 7:7).
Christ’s Word specifies the worship He desires of the local church. May we simply submit to His pattern, instead of going beyond what He authorizes. As 2 John 9 says, “Whoever transgresses and doesn’t remain in the teaching of Christ, doesn’t have God. He who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
– Michael Hickox