Tomorrow is… Christmas Eve. The day after is the Lord’s Day. Presbyterians are divided on the observance of Christmas. Some (compromised and unorthodox) Presbyterians like Christmas <gasp, hiss>. They have been known to preach advent sermons—can you imagine the Apostle Paul ever doing such a thing?—and to have church on Christmas Eve when it does not fall on a Sunday (perish the thought). Other Presbyterians understand that Christmas is a pagan holiday, full of human traditions, papist superstitions, and food designed to keep cardiologists and endocrinologists in business the rest of the year. These brethren know that Christmas is merely a secular holiday, a paid day off from labors in the common kingdom, a time for eating, drinking, and sharing gifts, in other words the kind of celebration that ought to have nothing to do with faith in God or the Lordship of Christ. If the Church was supposed to celebrate Jesus’ birth, the Lord would have told us so. Such celebration is clearly unbiblical. The angels who sang with joy outside of Bethlehem obviously did not understand the Regulative Principle of Worship.
I jest, obviously, but it is no secret I spent the first 30 years of my life in the second camp. I preached a sermon every year on why we should not celebrate Christmas for around a decade. I was 31 the first time I had a Christmas tree in my house. That purchase confirmed in the minds of some that my slide into apostasy was well underway, a conclusion that was further justified when I became… presbyterian. I have written before about why I changed my mind regarding Christmas. I understand the arguments against celebrating it, and refusing to do so is certainly the believer’s right (Rom. 14:5-8), but such a refusal is based on a misunderstanding of the Regulative Principle and is often (not always) accompanied by legalistic, human traditions, ironically justified by the very principle upheld by Reformed theologians to guard against the binding of consciences by the doctrines of men.
No one is obligated to attend or participate in the Christmas Eve service at ROPC. We won’t drive by your house to see if you are skipping church or phone you to ask if you hate the Lord Jesus Christ. We won’t think you are unspiritual or that you are the weaker brother or sister. Christmas Eve is not the Lord’s Day. It is an opportunity to join the saints in fellowship as we sing and pray and give thanks for the coming of the Son of God who has delivered us from guilt, misery, and divine wrath.
It is interesting that we have Presbyterians who refuse to participate in a Saturday evening service of Scripture reading, prayer, and songs of praise and thanksgiving for the birth of Christ at the same time that many evangelical churches are canceling worship services on the Lord’s Day because it falls on… Christmas. The two positions have more in common than you might realize. Both reject the value and importance of the Church’s historic calendar and patterns of worship. Canceling worship on Christmas Sunday says a lot about what the average church in America thinks regarding the priority of corporate worship. We should not expect much improvement in America’s morality and culture until there is significant reformation and revival in her churches… and no, that reformation does not begin by canceling the Christmas Eve service.
When we look at the state of the visible Church, we might be tempted to despair of cultural renewal. Indeed, many Christians do not expect it and insist that the evil world will remain just as evil as it now is until the Lord’s return. But Christ shall have dominion, and whatever you think that means for the rest of the world, you certainly should believe that the work of regeneration and sanctification begun in the heart of every believer will have a good influence and bear much fruit in the life and ministry of the global Church. God is not saving sinners in order to leave them as they are. He is saving us and changing us, and as each one of us is changed, so too will be the Church, and so too the world.
Whether you are preparing your heart for Christmas Eve and the Lord’s Day or only for the latter, it is good and right for us to meditate upon the Savior who is Christ our Lord. Once a babe laid in a manger, he is now the crucified and risen King of all kings and Lord of all lords, Serpent-crusher, Dragon-slayer, the Warrior on a White Horse, the Bridegroom, Redeemer of the Church, and Savior of the world. He is worthy of our worship. Indeed, his glory demands it, duty requires it, and gratitude prompts it. Whether we agree that the Church should acknowledge his birth on December 25th or not, we all should agree that it is good to sing and pray and give thanks that Christ was born. His Incarnation in the womb of the virgin Mary, his birth in Bethlehem, his deliverance from Herod, his flight to Egypt and exodus, his righteous life of faithfulness from infancy even unto his death on the cross is the foundation of our hope and the reason for our joy and peace. So let us prepare our hearts to assemble, some on Saturday night, but all of us on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Let us come with joy into the house of the Lord knowing that we are able to do so because Christ our Lord came to the house of bondage in order to rescue us when we were held there. Let us sing and give thanks from the heart for his mercy and great goodness. Let us humbly hear his Word and receive the instruction that is good for our souls. Let us greet one another with joy knowing that we are the Body, united to Christ and destined for glory. Let us rejoice in hope knowing that although in this world we will have tribulation, Christ has overcome the world. O come, let us adore him! --JME
