My Response to the Session’s “Letter to the Congregation” Concerning the Celebration of Christmas
[To the Elders of Carlisle Reformed Presbyterian Church; Carlisle, PA]
By Buz Taylor
Dear Pastor and Session of Elders,
The Late D. James Kennedy once said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but nobody is entitled to the wrong facts.” If we are to make informed decisions concerning Biblical ethics, we must have the right facts. In the letter to the congregation dated December 2, 2018, I believe we were given some wrong facts concerning the celebration of Christmas.
If you were to go back a decade or so, I would have agreed with you. I was led to believe that the celebration of Christmas was in violation of the Regulative Principle of Worship, and was therefore forbidden for the Church. After all, we were told, if God did not institute it, He does not allow it. Anything not commanded by Scripture is forbidden.
I was militantly opposed to Christmas. I compiled a “Christmas Packet” for handout purposes which contained various booklets and articles against Christmas. But I learned something since then: I was given the wrong facts.
Proverbs18:17 says, The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him. I want to respond to your portions of your letter point by point. Some of your original letter appears in smaller font with indented paragraphs. The larger un-indented paragraphs are my comments.
The letter starts,
December 2, 2018
*The purpose of this letter is to supplement the announcement that was made before our morning service today, on the topic of Advent.
I was not present to hear the announcement made before the congregation so I cannot comment on it.
Dear congregation,
I mentioned in my announcements that this letter would provide more detail on the subject of Advent, and why the Session has chosen to conduct our worship services in a particular way during this season. Before I do that, however, let me say again that we recognize how strange and difficult and confusing all of this may be for you, as it was for many of us elders initially. That is okay, and that is completely understandable! We just want to encourage you to take the time to think it through, and try to be open to considering these things in light of Scripture. And again, please come to us if you have any questions.
Yes, this view does come across as being very “strange and difficult and confusing.” For that reason, I wonder just how necessary it is. Added to that understatement, we could say it is also very divisive.
Let me be clear on this. If it were a matter of Biblical mandate, I would be at the front of the firing line. But, as I already mentioned, if it is based on wrong information, it is being needlessly divisive. I believe since I was once of the same opinion, I have certainly given this matter much thought. I thought these things through many years ago. I do not come to my beliefs very easily; I am overcautious. I was slow to condemn Christmas, and I was slow to change my views to accepting Christmas. I want to know the truth above all.
That is why I am concerned about this new direction for our church. I am opposed to the anti-Christmas subculture that exists in Reformed circles, and I believe they are, whether intended or not, very misleading. I was once misled, and I don’t take that lightly. I hope you are also willing to take the time to think through these things.
In order to supplement what I said in the announcement, let me ask and answer some key questions regarding this issue. I recognize this may not answer all the questions you may have, but I pray that you will find it helpful.
“Why aren’t we celebrating Advent?”
God has not commanded us in His Word to observe a season of Advent, and we are not at liberty to go beyond what He has commanded (Deuteronomy 12:32; Matthew 15:1-9; Leviticus 10:1-2; Colossians 2:23; see also Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6; 21.1).
Your first Scripture reference is Deuteronomy 12:32 – Whatever I command you, you are to be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it. This is the birthplace of the so-called Regulative Principle of Worship. Look at the context of this verse. Does it have anything to do with Christmas? Well, of course not. But what is the context? It is in the middle of many of the case laws that do not even refer to worship. We are not to add anything to nor take away anything from all of God’s Law. As a Theonomist, I say a hearty “Amen!” to that verse. But again, the subject is not worship!
Furthermore, if this applies to the observance of Advent, then why would it not include the use of church bulletins, taking offerings in services, use of church buildings, ordering services around certain books of the Bible, having Sunday School, or evening services, or ANYTHING that we do as traditions. I am not against any of these things, and many more things. I’m simply pointing out that we CANNOT be consistent with what is called the Regulative Principle of Worship and still function. God never commanded a call to worship or a benediction in church services. God seems to give a lot more liberty to the Church than some in the Reformed camp allow. I believe it is erroneous to say we are “not at liberty to go beyond what He has commanded”. Almost everything we do is going beyond.
Your next reference is Matthew 15:1-9. Jesus was chiding the elders of Israel for nullifying the Law of God for the sake of their traditions. They conveniently exempted themselves from God’s Law by making up one of their own. He was chiding a people who gave lip service to God, but their hearts were far away. They added to the Law of God their ceremonial washings. They took away from the Law about honoring their father and mother. Again I have to ask, what does this have to do with Christmas?
When people celebrate Christmas today, is this an indication that their hearts are far away from God? Maybe for some and in the world, but for all? What Laws of God are being nullified for their traditions? The Regulative Principle—which was not about worship in the first place? Most Christians I know today are very concerned with the commercialization and secularization of Christmas. This does not sound like rebels whose hearts are far from God. And just so it doesn’t go without saying, Matthew 15:1-9 has nothing to do with worship either. It is about ethical behavior—obedience to all of God’s Law.
Next you cite Leviticus 10:1-2 – Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered up strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
To apply this text to the ban of celebrating Christmas, it must be assumed that the Regulative Principle of Worship is what is being violated here. But as I already pointed out, the Deuteronomy text has nothing to do with worship. So what is in violation here concerning Nadab and Abihu? This was indeed a very special aspect of worship—the Ceremonial Law. Since the Old Testament sacrificial laws were a picture of the realities that were to be fulfilled by the Christ when He came, God was very exacting about how it was to be conducted. He went into great detail about the tabernacle, its furnishings, and the whole process of offering sacrifices because they were a picture of Christ! So God told Moses to see to it that everything was done to specs, as we are told in Hebrews 8:5 – See, He says, that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.
We simply are not given this kind of detail concerning New Testament worship. As a result, we must do a great deal of innovation. What Nadab and Abihu did was tantamount to throwing darts at the picture of God. God said that for those who draw close to Him, He was to be regarded as holy. I just cannot see what this has to do with limiting our celebration of the nativity of our Lord Jesus.
Next is Colossians 2:23 – These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. We have to ask, “What matters have the appearance of wisdom, etc.?” Considering the fact that the words “Chapter 3” were not originally in the Bible, I must look at the broad context of this verse.
The immediate context starts at verse 16. He is clearly referring to weird stuff of human origin raised up to bind men’s consciences. He even seems to be including Old Testament Ceremonial Law—festivals, Sabbaths, etc., of which the substance belongs to Christ. These things do nothing for helping us to live godly lives and refraining from fleshly indulgences. Then Chapter 3 continues (no break in context) by telling us instead to set our minds on things above. This is all to the result of verse 5 and following–ethics. It has to do with how we live, not
whether we celebrate Christmas of not. Once again, this doesn’t directly relate to either worship or the nullification of God’s Law concerning the practice of Christmas. I am deliberately being brief, but I’m sure you are more than able to fill in the gaps.
Lastly, you refer to the Westminster Confession of Faith, starting with 1.6:
“VI. The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory,
man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”
This seems to be saying the opposite of what is taught as the Regulative Principle of Worship. As I mentioned, we have no definitive pattern of worship for the New Testament Church. We see some elements scattered here and there, but nothing definitive. We see statements and responses (liturgy), as in Revelation 4&5. We see the ministry of the Church in places like Acts 2:42. But nothing tells us how to conduct our church services. We MUST innovate to function in “human actions and societies.” That’s why we use Robert’s Rules of
Order in meetings—not commanded by God, but necessary for order. That’s not hard to figure out. It seems that the Westminster Divines (a man-made term) were aware of this. We are free to invent, so long as we do not violate the Word. There is simply no way for the narrow Reformed camp that demands the Regulative Principle to be consistent.
Then you cited 21:1:
“I. The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and doeth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.”
Is this a contradiction to what they wrote earlier? I doubt it. So what did they mean here? Understanding the historical context of the Confession, I would first assume that they are referring to Roman Catholic practices such as the worship of Mary, Transubstantiation, etc. Remember, the English version of the Confession stated that the Pope was the anti-Christ—a serious historical and theological blunder. To make the argument that they had Christmas in mind would be to assume that they considered Christmas to be Roman Catholic. To be sure, many Reformed Christians do hold such a view, but they are ignorant of the historical facts concerning that. They make a false connection. I do not believe the Divines made that same mistake. Keep in mind, the anti-Christmas position does not and never did reflect the majority Reformed position.
“But shouldn’t we be celebrating the birth of Christ this time of year?”
The cycle of worship God has given to us in order to celebrate the birth of Christ
(and all the other truths of Scripture) is not the once a year cycle of Advent but the once a week cycle of the Lord’s Day (Genesis 2:2&3; Exodus 20:8-11; John 20:1-88; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10; see also Westminster Confession of Faith 21:7).
Advent is a man-made tradition, and our worship should be governed by the Word alone and not by the traditions of men (Matthew 15:1-9).
The biggest mistake I find here is the word “the.” The once a week cycle is not the only cycle seen in Scripture. For the sake of brevity, I refer you to an article that I know you received by Jeff Meyers on Christmas. He goes into great detail about the seasons and the ordering of time. See especially Parts 13 & 14.
I do not deny the weekly cycle, but neither do I hold to its exclusivity, especially by mandate. None of the Scriptures you cited COMMAND a weekly cycle exclusively. Neither do they DEMAND a switch from Saturday to Sunday. But even this is a man-made tradition that was never commanded by Scripture. It is never a question of whether we follow man-made traditions, but of which man-made traditions you allow and which ones you consider a violation of Scripture. Many denominations have birthed many different places to draw the lines. I simply do not believe that the Puritans were the ONE group that got it right. Even the PCA is not opposed to the celebration of the Nativity.
You then admit the emotional element involved. Because emotions do run so deep, it is good to ask, “Is this really what’s best for our church at this time?” As I’ve already said, I believe this is unnecessarily divisive. And I do not believe that we are gaining “greater conformity to God’s Word”.
As for treating Christmas as a national holiday, there is a major difference. National holidays are not sacred. What I mean is that Christmas commemorates actual events in Scripture. Though we are commanded to give thanks in everything, Thanksgiving is about no Scripture passages that I am aware of. It never made it into the church calendar. The event it commemorates is a secular event of sorts—a national blessing and our nation’s thankfulness for
abundant harvest, etc. We are also thankful for the incarnation, Jesus’ sinless life, His crucifixion, His ascension, and all He has done on our behalf. What is the problem if we choose to do so in certain seasons?
I could add numerous other articles to your arsenal against Christmas; I’ve read them. They all pretty much say the same things. Jeff Meyer’s blog showed me what the others left out, which is why I changed my views. I believe in all fairness, to force our church in this direction should be done so with a complete understanding of the subject, not the narrow view of a minority.
Do I think the celebration of Christmas should be without restraint? Absolutely not! As a former pastor and as a musician who plays in numerous churches every Christmas season, I had to set some guidelines for myself. I do not believe that Jesus was born on December 25th, so I do not regard it as His birthday. It is simply the season in which we commemorate His birth, with good reason. I will never venerate Christmas, Advent Season or Christmas Eve as being somehow more holy than any other day. I do not participate in all the secularization of
Christmas. I don’t participate in the exchange of gifts. I will never play the secular songs in a worship service. I find it pathetic how the world tries to find meaning to the so-called “spirit of Christmas” while they have no clue. I won’t say anything about Christmas that is not true to the Scriptures.
Otherwise, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” Let’s party!