Celebrate the Good News!

I know I haven’t written much about Christmas this year; other things have been on my mind, but today I am going to encourage you: Celebrate Christmas! There has been a war on it for a decade or so (probably since the beginning, but the war is ramping up FROM people in the Church), and we need to get our facts straight:

-Christmas Trees are not Pagan

-Santa Claus is based on a few men, the least of which is not a Heretic-Punching, gift-giving Bishop from Myrna

-Sol Invictus began AFTER Christians started celebrating Christ’s birth

-CHRISTMAS TREES ARE NOT PAGAN

-There’s no way to tell if December 25^th is Jesus’ actual Birthday or not, but it was taken from the tradition that when a prophet was murdered, it was usually on the day he was conceived, so you take Passover, add 6 months, it’s roughly around that time.

I could go on with these, and I suggest you do some research beyond “I saw a video on Tik-Tok, Youtube, or Facebook.” Many of these claims that the anti-Christmas crowd use are unscholarly, not Biblical, and usually hyper-legalistic.  So Celebrate Christmas! Decorate your house (yes, I know times are tough, but when it’s darkest, shouldn’t we shine our lights brighter?), give gifts, drink cocoa, and celebrate! And Why? As Children anticipate Christmas morning, believers in Christ anticipate eternity with Christ, either in His return, or in us being called to His side when our bodies wear out. Loved ones, we have a reason to celebrate! Jesus came, according to the Scriptures. He died on the cross for our sins, according to the Scriptures. He was buried and rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He’s seated in power, the Son of Man at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, worshipped by the nations, according to the Scriptures. And (you guessed it), according to the Scriptures, He’s coming back again! Shouldn’t we celebrate that good news?

Galatians 3

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—  so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.