Why
Christ Is Being Shut Out of Christmas
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 12/25/05
Some people are curious about what I believe
about celebrating Christmas. Turn with me to
Romans 14:5-6 "One man esteemeth one day above another:
another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully
persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day,
regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the
day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth,
eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth
not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks."
The key phrase that I want to draw your attention
to is found in verse 6 – "He that
regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord;" If you
are going to celebrate Christmas, then "regard it unto the Lord." I
hope you understand that by and large, the things that make up
modern day Christmas are pagan or fantasy in origin, including the
date, the drinking, mistletoe, Christmas trees, yule logs, and even
the star of the secular show, Santa Claus. For more information,
read my articles at --
logosresourcepages.org/Holidays/c-tract.htm ü
logosresourcepages.org/Holidays/santaclause.htm
logosresourcepages.org/Holidays/christmas_.htm
As Christians, we should celebrate Christmas in a
Christ focused, Christ honoring way, if we are going to celebrate
it.
So, those of us who choose to celebrate Christmas should follow
Romans 12:21 "Be not overcome of evil,
but overcome evil with good." Having said that, I want to move on
out my Christmas message which poses the question, Why is Christ
being shut out of Christmas?
When I was a kid, my mom made it clear that the
Brown children were not to use any bad words. No cursing, no
swearing, no barnyard talk. Per chance one of would disobey in this
area, depending upon the word or words, the punishment was well
known. We would get our mouths washed out with the soap of moms
choice, be it Ivory, Life boy, Zest or even liquid dish soap, and
perhaps a spanking for good measure. I remember my brother reeling
off a string of foul language and he had to swish around a mouthful
of liquid dish soap. He literally foamed at the mouth for the rest
of the afternoon.
Now, perhaps you are wondering why am starting
out my Christmas message with this story. It is because, many
business & people now classify Christmas as a dirty word!
Political correctness has gone mad. It seems like nearly everybody
from the President on down the line to people on the street have
become like old Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol…No
Merry Christmas! In fact the world has become so inflexible, hard
and calloused that, in the name of tolerance they will not tolerate
Jesus Christ on the day we celebrate His Birthday. While they cry
for open-mindedness, they cry "Bah, humbug to the Son of God. They
are determined to have an Xmas, a Christless
holiday. Oh yes, I feel compelled to reveal a little known fact. The
word holiday was coined from two words – holy day.
When that becomes known what is the politically correct crowd going
to do? "Happy Holidays" will have to go and they will be compelled
to say "Season’s Greetings," I suppose.
Lest you think I am exaggerating when I say that Christ is being
shut out of Christmas, here are some facts.
- Verification That Christ Is Being Shut Out of Christmas
While I do not particularly care for Bill
O’Reilly of Fox News, he has done a yeoman’s job of exposing
companies that suffer from politically correct paranoia. He reported
the following facts…
Sears, Kmart and Kohl’s will not use the term
"Merry Christmas" in their advertising.
Wal-Mart is not using "Merry Christmas" in
its marketing. The chain says "Happy Holidays" is sufficient.
The same with Target.
Costco will not use "Merry Christmas" but
prefers "Happy Holidays."
92% of Americans in every poll said they like
the words "Merry Christmas." 50% of people from Jewish heritage
participate in a Christmas activity. O’Reilly quips, "So, whose
left? The atheists and the agnostics?"
Here are some other things I want to bring to
your attention…
Ridgeway Elementary School in Dodgeville
Wisconsin has classrooms decorated with Santa Claus, Kwanza,
Menorahs and La Befana (a witch) for their "winter program." They
dumped Silent Night from their program and made it a secular song
called "Cold In The Night" sung to the tune of Silent Night. After
two letters from Liberty Counsel they claim they will sing the real
Silent Night.
The Supreme Court once noted: "Music without
sacred music, architecture minus the Cathedral, or painting without
the Scriptural themes would be eccentric and incomplete, even from a
secular view."
Did you know that Christmas, yes Christmas
is a State and Federal Holiday? I wrote the mayor and three alderman
letters pointing out that it OK and even legal to use the term
Christmas. Our mayor had been struggling with what to say (Happy
Holidays or Merry Christmas) and called to thank me for sending him
material that clearly proved that the Constitution does NOT
require government officials, teachers, etc. to eliminate all public
Christian expression from Christmas.
But, the battle continues. In Winter Park
Florida, Senior Citizens living in government-subsidized housing
were told that they may not sing Christmas carols. They were also
told that they may not have outside religious groups or churches
sing Christmas carols in the facilities.
Bethany Towers provides housing to low-income
seniors and persons with disabilities. It is in Mechanicsburg PA.
They were told they may not have religious decorations in the main
lobby or in the day rooms on each floor. Further, they may not have
Christmas Decorations on their doors.
It’s a fact, Christ IS being expelled from
Christmas. This year I have heard by far more
"Happy Holidays" than "Merry Christmas." Outside of or church, the
"Merry Christmasses" are few and far between. But why?
Things are going back to like they were in Bible
times. Isaiah the prophet saw how the lost would respond to Christ.
Turn in you Bibles to Isaiah 53:3 "He
is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not."
The Hebrew word translated despised means to hold
in contempt. Noah Webster defines contempt this way –
"The act of viewing or considering and treating as mean, vile and
worthless. This word is one of the strongest expressions of a mean
opinion which the language affords." Our Savior was the object of
contempt and scorn alike by the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the
Romans. In his life on earth it was so; in his death it was still
so; and since then, His name and person have been extensively the
object of contempt. Since our nation is losing its Biblical
moorings, God and His Christ are increasingly being held in
contempt! That’s why Christ is being left out of Christmas.
There is another reason that Christ is being left
out of Christmas. Turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter
2:7-8 "Unto you therefore which believe he is
precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8
And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them
which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also
they were appointed."
To believers, Jesus Christ is precious. We esteem
Him above all others. But, to the unsaved crowd, who are disobedient
to His Word, Jesus is "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence.
Remember, Jesus is the light of the world and sinners love darkness
rather than light because their deeds are evil. Sinners don’t want
to be reminded of their sins. That’s why they would rather focus on
ANYTHING but Christ…Santa, the Grinch, the reindeer, pagan customs,
anything but Christ. Using the name of Christ makes the feel guilty.
Christ explains this quite clearly in John
15:18-25 "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me
before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the
world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not
greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also
persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours
also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my
name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin:
but now they have no cloak for their sin. 23 He that
hateth me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done
among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin:
but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be
fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a
cause." (Psalm 35:19). That’s why they want Christ out of Christmas.
They hate Christ and they hate God for exposing their sins, yet
Christ has paid for their sins and wants them to be saved.
The most important thing about Christmas are the
first six letters – Christ. I will close by reading you The
Incomparable Christ written by an unknown author.
More than nineteen hundred years ago, there was a
man who lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He possessed
neither wealth nor influence. In infancy He startled a king; in
childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of
nature, walked upon the waves as if they were pavements, and hushed
the sea to sleep. He used no medicines and yet he healed multitudes.
He never wrote a book, and yet all the libraries of the country
could not hold the books that have been written about Him. He never
wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than
all the songwriters combined. He never marshaled an army, or drafted
a soldier, nor fired a gun; yet no leader ever had more volunteers
who have, under his orders, persuaded more rebels to stack arms and
surrender without a shot fired. Every Sunday the wheels of commerce
cease their turning, and multitudes wind their way to worshipping
assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him. The names of the past
scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone; but
the Name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread
more than nineteen hundred years between the people of this
generation and the scene of His Crucifixion, He still lives. Herod
could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him. He stands
forth upon the highest pinnacle of glory, proclaimed of God,
acknowledged by the angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils,
as the living Personal Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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