“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
The celebration of Christmas is one that actually has no Biblical warrant. There is no command in the Bible that tells us we ought to set aside one day a year to commemorate the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, nor is there any example of the early church doing so. In fact there is no historical record of Christ’s birth being celebrated until almost 350 A.D. One thing we can be reasonably certain of is that the birth of Jesus Christ did not take place on December 25th!
That does not mean that such a joyous and monumental occasion as the coming of our Lord should not be remembered at all; but it does mean that our remembrance of it should be done so in accordance with other truths and teachings of the Bible. As C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) once said, “We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Saviour was born, it is the 25th of December. Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give thanks to God for the gift of His dear Son.”
So, why celebrate the birth of Christ? Why take time to remember the coming of the Christ-child over 2,000 years ago? The only biblical answer to that is found in His name; that name the angelic messenger instructed Joseph to give to the virgin Mary’s firstborn Son, “Thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus Christ came to this earth, leaving the eternal glories of heaven behind, to be born in poverty, live a pure sinless life of perfect obedience to the law of God, and then offer Himself thirty-three years later as a sacrifice on behalf of sinners who had rebelled against God by breaking His laws and thus coming under His condemnation.
There is no greater news to proclaim than the truth stated by the apostle Paul that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). However, only those who have received the gift of God’s salvation have a reason to celebrate the incarnation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. To celebrate His birth for any other reason than out of sheer gratitude for the Saviour coming to this world to save you from your sins is to miss the whole purpose of His birth, His life and His death. Praise God, Jesus came into this world to save sinners, like you and like me. Now that is something to celebrate!
~ J.E.T.