By Biblestudycompany.com Ric Joyner
We will state upfront that Christmas is not a biblical holiday. But it is not unbiblical to celebrate the birth of Christ. We should also not equalize Christmas with the advent of our Savior. The Old Testament prophesized over the birth of the Savior to come. The current secular traditions of Santa, with almost God-like qualities and manipulating kids to "further fantasize" a jolly old man who can give all children on earth toys and an "elf on the shelf" that watches how they behave, is unbiblical. Still, some feel it is acceptable to create a myth around Santa Claus while children are young. We disagree. It is always best to be honest with children about Santa. Giving presents at this time of the year is not wrong because the Magi gave Christ's family gifts in worship to the young boy Messiah, who helped the family with the expenses of fleeing to Egypt. Consumerism and greed are wrong and sinful, but only the Holy Spirit can lead you to that truth, and He knows your heart.
Frustration mounts as we approach this time of year in the Christmas season. Screams of "Christmas is pagan" escalate into a crescendo with arguments against Christmas on social media and by some bible teachers. Could this be a veiled attack on the Gospel in the name of "we don't want to be idolators"?
Let's take a look. Please reread these scriptures prayerfully as we begin our biblical study.
Matthew Chapters 1-2 highlights
"30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."
Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Pay attention to what the angels say a couple of times: "Good news," translated as the same word… Gospel. The birth of Christ was good news for Jews because their long-awaited Messiah was finally here, and the prophecy was fulfilled. We write this paper 2,000 years later for Gentiles, grateful that the apostles preached the Gospel to us: Good news: Christ came as a child to break the back of sin and death and allowed us Gentiles an eternal "home" and become children of God! Gentiles are not part of the nation of Israel, but we are part of God's family! (Eph Chap 1-4) We celebrate the birth of Christ because of the Gospel!
Read John 1 for a view from heaven of why Christ came.
"9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the intention of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw His glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."
If it is, then are you a pagan for celebrating the Day of Christ's birth? The historical false proof that Christmas is pagan is thrown at you with overwhelming emotional authoritarianism. Is emotionalism based on biblical truth? How about historical facts? We know the origin of Christmas (birth of Christ) is biblical. The story of our Savior starts with His birth because the prophets mentioned He was coming. We suspect the anti-Christmas vehemence is agenda-driven. We ask this question because born-again believing Christians are not worshipping pagan deities by participating in the birth of Christ called Christmas today. I spoke to a Torah-keeping brother who said, "Yes, Christmas is pagan." I asked how that could be, and he shared, "When you put a present under the tree, you are 'bowing' down to the tree." I was stunned. The logic he displayed defied logic. Yeah, no. Worshipping a pagan deity requires one to engage the diety knowingly.
In our research, there were pagan celebrations that started around the time of 274 AD, but they appear to be in response to Christians in Rome celebrating the birth of Christ! We then ask what came first, the "chicken or the egg?" "However, it has also been argued that, on the contrary, Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[76]
Is the nearness of a pagan holiday make Christmas pagan? When I sift through the concerns of 'Christmas is pagan,' people, did you know there was a pagan holiday at this time? We will deal with this later, but does that make celebrating the birth of Christ pagan today? Let's ask another question: Is Hanukkah pagan? The answer is no. Yet, Hanukkah is square in the middle of this pagan holiday called Saturnalia. The true church pushed hard against these wicked holidays, and to assume born-again believers were participating in pagan festivals doesn't make much sense since Christians had to live outside of society for several hundred years because of severe persecution.
Calling Christmas pagan because of the nearness of the same period of a pagan holiday would be the same as calling Easter (the resurrection of Christ) and Passover pagan. The proximity does not work because a pagan spring festival may happen simultaneously.
We can confidently say that born-again believers would not have observed a pagan holiday and dishonored our Lord Jesus Christ, who rescued us from sin and death. Born-again believers do not participate in pagan rituals today, and Christmas is about the birth of Christ.
Conclusion. We will focus on the birth of Christ currently and not conflate the past to today.
"Certainly today, the mix of consumerism (AKA Santa Claus) can take people's eyes off Christ, but our job is to bring them back to the salvation message of the Gospel. Will you join us?" BSC.
Note: In our extensive research, we stumbled upon a Wikipedia article. We usually would bypass Wikipedia as higher education frowns on the use of Wikipedia; however, this article has stood the test of time (2001) and is updated continually, even in 2021. Once you dive into the article, you will see the extent and expanse of the research on Christmas.
"Got you, Biblestudycompany…see, Christmas is pagan". Well, no, and not so fast. This Wikipedia article on Christmas is excellent and thorough for a balanced perspective.
Here are some highlights:
"Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass." The word was recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131.[22] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah," meaning "anointed";[23][24] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.[25]”
"December 25 was the winter solstice date in the Roman calendar.[16][53] A late fourth-century sermon by Saint Augustine explains why this was a fitting day to celebrate Christ's nativity: "Hence it is that He was born on the Day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us chose the shortest Day, yet the one whence Light begins to increase." [54]
We conclude by the historical facts that the Roman Catholic Church did not exist at the beginning of Christian recognition of the birth of Christ.
"The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the church around 313 A.D., which made this new "Christianity" the Roman Empire's official religion. The first actual Pope in Rome was probably Leo I (440-461 A.D.), although some claim that Gregory I was the first (Pope) (590-604 A.D.). This ungodly system eventually ushered in the darkest period known to man, called the "Dark Ages" (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal."
"And therefore, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ." We would say, "Tell that to the angels engaging the shepherds because heaven celebrated the birth of God's Son!" Luke 2:2-14
"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Note: the words Good News are translated from Greek
Original word: εὐαγγελίζω
Transliteration: euaggelizó
Definition (short): preach
Description (complete): to announce good news
Yep, evangelize during Christmas. There are hurting hearts at this time of the year, and many blindly celebrate a holiday not connected to Christ's birth. Let us help people relate it to Christ, our Savior.
If not Christmas, what should we celebrate instead? We should celebrate Hanukkah to return to our Jewish roots. Hanukkah was not part of the Gospel, and the birth of Christ IS part of the Gospel.
We encourage everyone everywhere to ask God whether one should participate in the celebration of the birth of Christ. We say YES! We can confidently push back on anti-Christmas and anti-birth of Christ people with correct historical and biblical facts.
During this time of the year, people are open to the Gospel for nearly one month. Do we let this opportunity slide through our fingers? In Matthew 28, our commission is to go and make disciples. To make a disciple, we must present the Gospel first. Will we waste our time arguing over the birth of Christ, whether it is pagan or not? To this, we say that people saying Christmas or the celebration of the birth of Christ is pagan are avoiding the Gospel! Why? Who in the spiritual realm attacks the Gospel and wants it destroyed? Satan. Think about this tidbit. Imagine a worldwide focus on Christmas, even in Buddhist countries. Why not present the Gospel at this time of the year? As Paul said, his focus was on getting people reconciled to God. (2Cor 5:18-21)
"15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." The Accuser is bound and determined to use people, even with good intentions, to stop the message of the Gospel of Salvation. We use the word accusation intentionally because people who celebrate traditional Christmas are called pagans. A severe charge but, fortunately, untrue.
God is a God of prophecy. He wants us to know what is coming. He answered His word and has "healing in His wings" to "reconcile us to God." There are no other holy books that contain prophetic words fulfilled!
Every Christmas season is a literal miracle that this holiday (holy Day) is focused worldwide on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even the Wikipedia article acknowledges this undeniable fact.
Therefore, let us turn aside from the poor handling of scripture and agenda-driven history "facts" and focus on the birth of Christ and sharing the Good news of His coming to rescue us from our sin, thus giving us eternal life without works and fear in the blood of Christ!
What can you and your family do to share the love of Christ with a hurting world this Christmas season? Here is one video that touches our hearts when we watch it.
Feel free to share the resources.
Melton, James. "The Plain Truth about the Roman Catholic Church." biblebelievers.com. Bible Baptist Publications, 1998. https://biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Catholic.html.
Wikipedia Contributors. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas.
———. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
William Federer: There is a Santa Claus - History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions
by Amazon.com Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0965355748/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_QVM4MJF835RK35KMWAHR
Christmas has nothing to do with paganism: Red pen logic
Was December 25 the date of Christ's birth? The Greek Orthodox church thinks so.
Mike Winger on Christmas:
1. Is Christmas PAGAN? In defense of Christmas
3. Stop Twisting Jeremiah 10 Because It's Not About Christmas Trees
4. Alisa Childers on Christmas
5. For the extensive history of Christmas with the discussion of the dates for the birth of Christ, God Became Incarnate James Quiggle by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/149918669X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AR6NEZ6XB0TPZ5N1VB90
6. The star of Bethlehem is an excellent movie on the astronomical view of the star. https://youtu.be/55VRdLnkvDw
Playlist of videos that will go step by step
Article On how to study the Bible from BSC step by step
Article by Dr. Baruch on how to study the Bible
Article on how numbers play a role in Bible Study
Blog article and podcast on how we learned to study the Bible with Dr. Baruch
See full post & commentsThis prayer is a guide and biblically based. All a person needs to do is cry out to God in their own words. If you are not sure how to pray, please use this as a guide.
To have a relationship with God versus religion, pray this prayer sincerely and in your own words.
Dear Heavenly Father, (Matt. 6:9) I want a relationship with You...not a religion. I come to You and open my heart. (John 3:16) I will be honest and sincere with You. (John 4) I am running my life and need Your help. (Matt. 6:10) I am made in Your image (Gen 1:26, 27), and I won't be happy until I am in a relationship with you. (Gen. 3) Most of my behavior does not please You. (Romans 3:23) I know I am a sinner, so please forgive my sins because of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who came to die for my sins. (John 3:16) His death on the cross is the punishment I should receive, but You were gracious to die in my place through Christ. By faith, I place all of my past, present, and future sins on Christ. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior, and salvation is a gift! I know I cannot earn my way to heaven by being good through good works. (Eph. 2:8) You did this so I can be in a relationship with You on earth and for all eternity. (Romans 10:9-13) And I will forgive those who have sinned or hurt me because you have forgiven me. Take away any bitterness or resentment I carry toward You or other people. (Matt. 6:13-14) Please show and teach me how to live a praiseworthy life on earth to You starting today. (Matt. 6:33, Acts 9 and 10) I ask you to be in my heart, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:17. I know that You love me, Father, and I want to love You and that you have a purpose and plan for my life. I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Lord, because You gave me breath in my lungs and Savior, because you paid my sin debt. Please teach me to pray. (Matt. 6:9) Thank You, Jesus, for saving me to Yourself (Ex. 19:1-8) and making me a new person! (2 Cor. 5:17) In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!
Learn to grow at www.biblestudycompany.com, Grace Bible Church, and Christ Community Church.
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00:00:00 Challenging theological questions
00:00:54 Support Loveisrael.org
00:02:14 Dr. Heiser and Divine Council: What about "Us" in Gen 1:26
00:22:30 Dr. Heiser and Psalm 82
00:27:24 Is Jesus Divine?
00:36:28 Jesus in different modes?
00:38:10 Affirming the Trinity
00:39:06 Affirming 6 literal days of creation
00:41:00 the Sinner's prayer is biblical and eternal security
00:50:10 Is there a difference between the Kingdom of God and the Church of Christ?
00:56:41 Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance Ministries
01:00:42 What is the authority of the believer in binding Satan?
01:02:15 How to pray against satan
01:03:23 How are Christians oppressed by Satan?
01:05:17 What is the best type of bible study method?
01:09:42 Spiritual warfare will start when you study the bible
Course on how to study the Bible: https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/207
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See full post & commentsI am with Dylan Browning for a series on Spiritual Warfare. Dylan also studies scripture to live a praiseworthy life to God with Biblestudycompany.com. Dylan came from a Pentecostal/charismatic background and encountered a man who believes Christians can have demons. He recently attended this man’s conference and came back with some questions on spiritual warfare. My challenge was this; let’s study what you currently know about this topic in the Bible, and then we can have a podcast. He eagerly decided on the bible study! After his research, we met several times to hone the podcast.
Here are some of our topics:
Can believers who are born again have a demon? What happens when the Holy Spirit comes into us? Are there generational curses, and what about “soul ties”? What is our role in spiritual warfare? Is spiritual warfare offensive (we go on the attack) or defensive in nature? Are humans three parts: body, soul, spirit, or two parts? When Christians pray about binding, is this biblical? How and what do we pray for people when we encounter demons? Does repentance play a role in deliverance?
Join us for the podcast and these questions and lively discussion!
To join Biblestudycompany.com, here is a link: https://biblestudycompany.com/auth/registration-start
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#spiritual #spiritualwarfare #canachristianbepossesed #demon #demonpossession #jesus #jesuschrist #bible #charismatic #pentecostal
Spiritual warfare Part 1 Can a Christian have a demon?
I am with Dylan Browning for a two-part series on Spiritual Warfare. Dylan also studies scripture to live a praiseworthy life to God with Biblestudycompany.com. Dylan came from a Pentecostal/charismatic background and encountered a man who believes Christians can have demons. He recently attended this man’s conference and came back with some questions on spiritual warfare. My challenge was this; let’s study what you currently know about this topic in the Bible, and then we can have a podcast. He eagerly decided on the bible study! After his research, we met several times to hone the podcast.
Here are some of our topics:
Can believers who are born again have a demon? What happens when the Holy Spirit comes into us? Are there generational curses, and what about “soul ties”? What is our role in spiritual warfare? Is spiritual warfare offensive (we go on the attack) or defensive in nature? Are humans three parts: body, soul, spirit, or two parts? When Christians pray about binding Satan, is this biblical? How and what do we pray for people when we encounter demons? Does repentance play a role in deliverance?
Join us for the podcast and these questions and lively discussion!
To join Biblestudycompany.com, here is a link: https://biblestudycompany.com/auth/registration-start
To support Biblestudycompany.com, here is a link: https://biblestudycompany.com/auth/registration-start#
@loveisrael.org
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#Jesus #jesuschrist #bible #bibleverse #bibliophile #calvaryuni
Folks,
Some of you may know or not that I am going to seminary for my Masters's in Biblical Theology at Calvary University (calvary.edu) with Mary's blessing. I think I am 3/4 of the way through. It is hard work. That is why Bible Study Company posts and podcasts are lower. "Why, Ric, are you going to seminary?". "And shouldn't we just study the Bible any way we want?" Calvary University asked me to do a YouTube interview about why I am going to Calvary. It was an honor, and I hope you enjoyed the video. This video should answer, Who, What, When, How? Let me know your thoughts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_qJpgLQYxA
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#JW #jehovah'switness
Dr. Daniel Goepfrich of Calvary University and Greek scholar shows us in class how the Jehovah's Witnesses add an article (a) to the phrase in John 1.
If you have gotten a call from JWs or if they stopped at the door, this is a significant weapon against Christians is the JW bible. It goes like this: "Did you know that all the English translations are wrong and paganize Jesus into a god?" The stunned Christian will ask them to show what they mean, and they go to their bible, which was altered to read to their theology to push Christ to only a man, but the son of God, thus denying that Christ was God. Without the belief that Christ is the son of God, there is no salvation.
Our following line to them should be: "So, without Jesus Christ being fully God and fully man, how are your sins forgiven? They will default to works and being a good person. "Well, if that is what you believe, that means you are not saved, and your sins are not forgiven. Because when Adam sinned, his DNA was passed to mankind, and we all became sinful. (Rom 3:23) Adam was sinless but chose to sin, thus bringing sin to humanity. Someone had to come to fix Adam's sin and our sin, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ because He is God and only God is sinless. Christ makes many comments about being God in the Gospels through the "I AM" comments.
By placing our sin by faith on Christ, as He died in our place for our sin, we can have the assurance of our salvation because Christ rose from the dead. 1 Cor 15:1-4 is the explicit gospel. This video will show you many other places they add words to the text to diminish the Lord Jesus Christ, primarily in Colossians.
Note: In your conversation, if you continue to ask them questions about Christ, they will eventually say that Christ is Michael the Archangel, which is not in scripture! Be kind and ask them to open their hearts. Thank them for stopping by because they witness more than many in the church; however, this is part of their working their way to salvation.
Encourage JWs to get saved as you can confidently tell them they are not.
#Romans #biblestudy #bible #Cancer #Cancersucks
Erv and I are doing bible study together on Romans. Here are some of the things you will learn.
1. The real reason Christ saves us
2. What is an apostle?
3. The giant change of mind in Paul's life about the Lord Jesus Christ
4 Being a bondservant of our Creator
5. Hope for gentiles
6. What is grace, and why do we need it?
Sad news: Erv's cancer has spread. The pancreatic cancer is in remission but has moved to the liver and limp glands. He has just started a long series of chemotherapy, but Erv is in good spirits and hopeful. The chemo helped with his pancreatic cancer, and the Docs say this will help too. But you can help. First, with prayer for help and healing. Second, he has to pay $300 per treatment for 26 treatments, and his insurance will not cover it, and he is on a limited income. Can you go to the gofundme and donate? Will you share this post and recommend people donate and pray? https://gofund.me/b5f6f9ab
Erv came to Christ over a year ago, and this is his testimony. https://youtu.be/LkqL4FZLP8E
#kingdavid #kingofthejews #God #Jesus #cangodusemylife #god use me as a vessel
As we contemplate the new year have you wondered, "Can God use my life? I am just a nobody in my job and family and doing nothing important". Every person was made by God to serve Him. Our focus is to minister to Him. He wants us to be somebody to Him.
Let's take the time to read Psalm 139 for worship.
Next:
We will examine the story of David becoming king from God's perspective in 1 Samuel 16 whole chapter.
What does "David was a man after God's own heart" actually mean. And how did David become king? Why did God make David king while Saul was still king?
How can we be people after God's own heart?
What steps did David take for God to pick him as king? Can you take the same steps.
Do you study the bible from a youframe perspective or Godframe approach to live pleasing to God?
#Jesus #Yeshua #JesusChrist #bible #biblestudy #Sundayschool
We are looking at what is a disciple. We are having a discussion in our Sunday School class at Christ Community Church of Ocala FL.
For details and handouts go here:
Go to biblestudycompay.com and sign up and join the group.
The video starts at 3:13 thus you will want to rewind it to 0
#Jesus #JesusChrist #GoDislove #Yeshua #whatissuccess #biblicalsuccess
Episode Summary
We all have a frame we look at life through. Even our Christian walk may be affected. Sometimes we have a frame that we are at the center. Let's call this the YouFRAME. This means we fit God into our will. Our wants, needs, and service are around the YouFRAME. But is this the Frame that God approves?
Episode Notes
But is this the Frame that God approves? Adam and Eve had one law or rule which God gave them that was a negative rule. Although God created them to do His will on earth, they chose to sin. What is sin? Choosing our will over God's will. We think we know best. We believe we are a "good person." And the list goes on. Choosing our "frame" over His frame?
Is there a Godly Frame? Or rather a biblical framework to see life through? Yes.
Hint. We are not in the frame! God and His word sit firmly in the BiblicalFRAME.
Our list starts here. Theme-based study.
1. Creator. His world, His rules Gen Chapt 1-3
2. "Minister to Me..." Exodus 28:1
3. Judah/Jews "One who praises God." Gen 29:35
4. "Serve Me." The highest purpose of man Exodus 4:22-24
5. Walk in a manner worthy of the calling Eph 4:1
6. Our purpose 2Cor 5:1-11
7. "Take up your cross daily..." Matthew 16:24-26
8. So we are not deceived, God gave us the Bible and the HS. 1john2:26
When we decided to set our lives and hearts at His feet as a servant then we will take His Word to us and get serious that we are not the center of our lives but the Lord Jesus Christ is the center and we serve Him.
Taking up our cross is placing our will on the cross and going after Him. How can we do that? By submitting to the Holy Spirit as He teaches us away from ungodliness. How do we know what is ungodly? Through His word.
Join us for this special thanksgiving Podcast. We are grateful to you all. Please share, subscribe and comment. It helps us grow.