Can Celebrating Christmas Become a Form of Idolatry?

The following is a pre-recorded version of CORE Christianity.

We'll be back live again on Monday. Should Christians who are in debt still tithe? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us at 833-THE-CORE with your question.

That's 833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts, and you can email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Erla in St. Louis, Missouri. Erla, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hello, I was just a little bit curious about Christmas, and why do we as Christians celebrate Christmas? The nativity seemed like an idol for worship.

Yeah, great question. Why do we celebrate Christmas? Should Christians celebrate Christmas? Well, of course, in the New Testament, there's not like this Christian festival of Christmas that we're told about from the Apostle Paul, that kind of thing. I think this is a matter of Christian liberty, if you will. I don't think the churches should bind the consciences of people by saying like, you have to celebrate Christmas and observe it in this way. You buy a Christmas tree and get X amount of gifts, that kind of a thing. In fact, I think a lot of what you see in our culture today around Christmas time would probably not please God.

It's very consumeristic, it's very materialistic. But I think that if we're focusing on the incarnation of Jesus Christ, if we're celebrating that, if you will, and focusing on that, I think that that's a wonderful thing. And obviously, that's something that we should keep at the forefront of our minds throughout the year. But I think it can be helpful even for some churches to fix their attention on that at least once a year around Christmas time, because there's a lot of confusion about the identity of Jesus, what we sometimes refer to as Christology, the study of Christ, who he is, what he came to do. And a lot of that is rooted in the incarnation, the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Word, as John calls him in John chapter one, verse one, assumed humanity. That is, in the incarnation, he took humanity from the womb of the Virgin Mary. And you have one divine person with two natures, divine and human. And this is the mystery of the incarnation. And as God, he is the perfect, infinite Lord, who's able to atone for our sins, and as man, he's our perfect representative.

But you have one divine person with two natures. And the fact of the matter is, it's a great mystery, but it's at the heart of the Christian faith. And so I think it's something that is good for us to think about, to talk about. And if that's what we're doing around Christmas time, then I say, wonderful. Now, there is a lot of idolatry that takes place around Christmas time as well. And I think the heart of it really is the sort of materialism that we see all around us.

And when that's the focus, then we're really missing it. And so appreciate your question, sister. I know we still have some time before Christmas, but I personally, as a minister, it's something that we as a church do.

We take some time to focus on the incarnation of the word, the great mystery of our faith, and we give praise to God for that, because for us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. And of course, what a great time of year to evangelize, to share the hope that you have with others, right? They seem to be more open to it at Christmas time.

So practically, Bill, that's another reason why I really appreciate this. You know, there are some churches that are like, well, we're just not going to do, we're not going to do that because the Bible doesn't say we have to celebrate Christmas, that kind of thing. But I think it's a really good opportunity for evangelism because Christmas, you know, the celebration of Easter or Pascha, as it's sometimes called by some Christians, these are periods where your neighbors who don't ordinarily go to church are sometimes more willing to darken the door of a church. And so what an opportunity to just say, hey, let's invite them in and talk about the great message of our redemption, the incarnation of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, to share the gospel with the people around us. So I see it as an opportunity for churches that we should capitalize on. And if we do, then I think that's wonderful. And serve Christmas cookies and hot chocolate because I like that part too.

You know, that's sort of a peripheral issue, Bill, but the reality is who does not love Christmas cookies and all the other Christmas food. It's just like, bring it on, bring it on. All right. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Annie calling in from Kansas. Annie, what's your question? Yes. Can you hear me, please?

I can hear you, Annie. Okay. If there are two men or two women who are married in a state where it's legal, they've been married for several years, and then they move to a state or start attending a church where the word is preached that according to the word, homosexuality, in addition to marriage, is not biblical, how should the congregation react or what should the pastor preach? What would be our response to two men or women coming to our congregation? They've not been coming to church because of the reaction they've gotten from the community and from the church. So how would you address those two people?

Yeah. And you know what? I hope that that does happen in our churches. Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 seems to indicate that there are non-Christians who are coming into the church services. In that context there, he's encouraging the Corinthians to exercise decency and order in the context of the worship service so that when people come, they're not just saying, you guys are out of your minds, that kind of a thing. But he also assumes that the word is being faithfully taught and people are coming under the conviction of sin. Because it's from that place that they are able to embrace the gospel of forgiveness. So I think the church, what needs to happen is, one, we need to be a place where we're proclaiming the word, preaching the gospel in a way that's understandable so that people who are coming in from the outside, maybe they don't have a background in Christianity at all.

They don't know all of the Christianese, all of the jargon that we sometimes use. Are we preaching the word and explaining the gospel in a way that they're going to understand that's going to convict them? So I think that's one thing that we need to make sure is happening in our churches.

And that just goes no matter what. And I think as that happens, then when people are coming into your church from the outside, who ordinarily they don't go to church, maybe their ethics related to sexuality, totally different from that of the church, you're trying to help them understand what God's word says. And then besides that, I think it's really important for the people of the church not to push away these individuals by giving dirty looks and that kind of thing. No, we're called to love our neighbors, the people around us.

So I would say investing in them, getting to know them, inviting them over for dinner, that kind of a thing, building a relationship, that's different from saying, I agree with your decision and I think that this is okay. We can disagree with one another while still loving each other. And Jesus calls you to love your neighbors, your gay neighbors included. And so with all of that, though, I think the church also has to, as I mentioned before, remain faithful to the word. And it could be that and it could be that a couple, this couple goes to the church for some time and they feel like, well, these people aren't just going to accept our decision and what we've done.

And so maybe they leave or maybe by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they do have a sense of, wow, the spirit of God is here in this place. We're convicted by our sin. We don't know how it's going to work out, but we know that God doesn't call us to be together. He calls us to follow Jesus. And that creates all sorts of questions, but you enter into this process of saying, well, what does it look like for us then to follow Jesus faithfully?

And I think in a situation like that, obviously it would mean you're no longer in that relationship, in that romantic relationship, but we have to be a place where people, sinners of all different kinds are willing to come, are welcomed. And yet at the same time, we're not compromising the word of God. We're staying faithful to God's word and being honest about what is sin and what isn't sin and bringing people along, discipling people in that. And so, Annie, that takes a lot of care and it takes a lot of prayer as well. And so I would just encourage you to pray. If this is a situation in your church, I would say pray for this couple.

And I would say get to know them and build a relationship with them and continue to encourage them to go to church and to hear the voice of Jesus speaking in the scriptures. Annie, thanks so much for your question and for being a regular listener to CORE Christianity. We really do appreciate you. By the way, we have a group of people who listen to this program on a regular basis and really believe in what we do. And if you're one of those, we'd like to invite you to join what we call our inner CORE.

Yes, I'm so grateful for the inner CORE, Bill. It's a group of supporters who have basically partnered with us, partnered with this broadcast. We want to continue to get the word out to encourage people in the Christian faith to help ground you in the CORE doctrines, the CORE beliefs that we know are going to have a huge a huge impact in your life. And if you've been blessed by this broadcast, would you consider joining the inner CORE? Our inner CORE members get all sorts of exclusive materials that we produce. We do monthly devotional. I do monthly devotional for the inner CORE members. And there's a bunch of other goodies that we send out. And it's a monthly donation of $25 or more.

It's a recurring donation. It's really not that much, but it really blesses us a ton. And so if you've been blessed by us, would you consider joining the inner CORE? It's a huge help to us because we don't receive money from a particular denomination or any government funds we are self-supporting here at CORE Christianity. So we'd ask you to prayerfully consider joining what we call the inner CORE. You can find out more by going to corechristianity.com forward slash inner CORE, or you can call us and we'll tell you more about that at 833-THE-CORE. Well, here's a voicemail we received from one of our listeners.

His name is Keith and he's in North Carolina. Hey guys, I just want to say I love the show and appreciate all you guys do. Is it biblical or is it right as a Christian to continue to tithe and give to the poor and the needy if you're in debt? Or should as Christians we work towards paying off our debt first and then start to give cheerfully and joyfully and give to the church?

Just wanted to know your thoughts and appreciate how you guys do. Keith, thank you for that encouragement, brother. I would say begin cultivating a heart of charity now. Don't wait until some future point. Now that maybe that means you can't give as much as you would like, but I think even now it's important that you partner with the church you're a part of, that you give to those who are in need. I recognize that that could be difficult, but I would say do not wait until you finish paying off your house or your car or your student loans, that kind of thing. Now, of course, I don't know your financial situation entirely, but I think I can say to you that Christ calls each and every one of us to have generous hearts to cultivate that charity in and amongst ourselves for all of our lives.

We don't want to say, I don't think I can do this now because I just bought a house or I still owe money on my car. Listen to what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8 about how the Christians were giving at that time. He says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. They weren't giving at a point where they were just overwhelmed with resources like, oh, man, God has really blessed us with so much. Those churches in Macedonia, the golden buildings and all that stuff, they just got so much money and that's why they're willing to give. Paul says, actually, they were in a state of extreme poverty and yet there was so much love in their hearts that they were willing to overflow in a wealth of generosity. For they gave according to their means, Paul says in verse 3, as I can testify and beyond their means of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. Boy, Lord, help us to have hearts like that to give even when it hurts a little, to be able to say, Lord, I know that this means maybe I'm not going to get the Starbucks that I want to get or the level of vacation that I want to have or whatever it is, but I'm begging you to give me an opportunity to meet the needs of the people, the Christians who are around me.

That's how the churches of Macedonia were. I think even when we're in a difficult situation, extreme poverty, as Paul mentions there in 2 Corinthians 8, we can still of our own accord choose to give. That's not something that the New Testament views as foolish. You think of the parable of the poor widow who gave her last might. Is she condemned by Jesus?

No, she's commended. We want to cultivate in our own hearts that kind of generosity. I'm not saying to be foolish. I am saying to cultivate that heart of generosity, whether you still have debts or not. The Lord loves a cheerful giver and God provides for us so that we might have sufficiently.

We may not have everything that we wanted, but God is for us and will take care of us. God bless you. Thank you for that question. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

One of the ways you can ask your question is to email us. Our email address is questions at corechristianity.com. Sometimes we get some really difficult questions about things going on in the life of the church and Samantha asked us this. She says, the pastor at my church has been caught committing adultery with one of our members who's not his wife. When confronted, he brought up 1 Corinthians 736 and used this verse to justify his sexual immorality.

He also said the Greek word for fornicating is porneia, which only means sex with prostitutes. This is outrageous and I need guidance on what to do here. Samantha, I'm so sorry. This kind of stuff, I mean, breaks my heart. It also makes me angry because you have someone, a pastor so-called, who is taking advantage of the church and of the sheep. First and foremost, it's very clear on the basis of the adulterous affair that this individual is no longer qualified to be a pastor.

That should be simple enough. He should step down of his own accord, but the reality is it's the church's job also to say, you're no longer qualified, you're no longer the pastor. He should be fired from his position. It also sounds like he's trying to justify his behavior. This is often what takes place when an individual is caught in sin, even when we are confronted by our own sins. I think that the tendency that we frequently have is to minimize our sins, to say, oh, it's not that bad, it's not as bad as you think, or to blame shift, to say, well, the reason I had to do this was because of what someone else did or somebody else drove me to this. We're always looking for ways of not having to own up to the severity of what we've done, and that's not real repentance. That is not real repentance. People who say, okay, I've been caught, but it's not that bad.

The Greek word porneia doesn't mean what I've done. That's false. It sounds like this person isn't qualified, not just on moral grounds, but on the basis of the fact that they don't really even understand the scriptures. They're unable to rightly divide the word of truth. They're not competent or able to teach. I would say that this individual is disqualified for more than one reason, on moral grounds and then also on the grounds of incompetency. The obvious answer is this guy should not be a pastor. Now, if for some, I think, crazy reason the church says, hey, he's still qualified, then there are deeper issues there. I would encourage you to find a church where abusers, frankly, where wolves aren't permitted to get behind the pulpit.

So, sister, I'm so sorry about this situation. May Jesus fix your eyes and the eyes of those in the church on him, the chief shepherd, and give the church courage and wisdom in this very difficult time. God bless you.

Really tough one. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. You can always leave us a voicemail with your question 24 hours a day. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. By the way, some of the stations that air our program actually air it on a tape delayed basis. So if you want to call into the studio and talk to Pastor Adriel live, you want to do it at 1130 a.m. Pacific, 1230 Mountain, 130 Central, and 230 Eastern.

Get my time zones right. Every day for that half hour period, you can call into the studio and talk to us live. If not, just leave us a voicemail.

Here's a voicemail we received from one of our listeners named, this is, I guess, an anonymous voicemail we received from someone in Pennsylvania. I have a question about Romans 833. It's, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies who is he that condemns. Praise Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God, and is also interceding for us. When it says, who is he that condemns, and then it says, Christ Jesus, I just wondered about that, because clearly in Romans 8.1, it says, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Thank you.

Hey, thank you for that call. Sometimes the word of God is sometimes the word order can be a little bit confusing to us in text like this, but it's not saying that Jesus is the one who is now there to condemn us. In fact, on the contrary, what's being focused on is the fact that there is nothing or no one that can condemn us.

Why? Because Christ Jesus is the one who died. He was the one who was condemned, and more than that, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, and is not condemning us, interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

None of those things can. What is Jesus doing at the right hand of the Father? He's not condemning us. He is our advocate. This is what John says in the book of 1 John. Jesus Christ the righteous is our advocate before the Father, and He is interceding for us. Now friends, isn't that an amazing truth?

I mean, you can't even wrap your mind around it fully. Don't you love it when someone says, I'm praying for you? And especially when you know that someone is really going to pray for you, when you know there's someone who has a really close walk with the Lord, who loves Jesus, who's one of those prayer warriors.

Well, let me tell you something. If you are in Christ, if you belong to Him, if you're one of His sheep, you've embraced Him, you've received the forgiveness of your sins, you have the great high priest, Jesus Christ the righteous, at the right hand of God, interceding for you, praying for you. And that's why Paul can go on to say in verse 37 of Romans chapter 8, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who condemned us?

No, through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor anything present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. For those of you who struggle with that sense of condemnation, with feeling like God just doesn't like me, He hates me, my sins are overwhelming to me, my circumstances, I'm struggling with tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, I don't have what I want, maybe God doesn't love me, Paul says no no no no no.

God demonstrated His love for you, not by giving you everything that you want, the easy life, the comfortable life, God demonstrated His love for you by giving you what you needed more than anything, that is His very Son to make atonement for your sins so that you might have communion with Him. And if that's the case, if that's the reality, who on earth could condemn us? It was Jesus who died, who was condemned in our place so that we might have eternal life.

And that's, brothers and sisters, the good news. And not only did He die for us as our great high priest, we're talking here about maybe that's the priestly ministry work of Jesus, but again, He's praying for you right now. He's in heaven at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you. And because Jesus is interceding for you, man, you can have a lot of hope. You can be excited about the future because you know that you have a great high priest in heaven.

And this is something we need to rest in and encourage one another with. Praise the Lord. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.