Closed for Christmas?

 

 Introduction

The 25^th of December falls on Sunday this year (2022) as it also did in 2011 and 2016. And, with that, thousands of churches will be closed this Sunday! Some might ask why is that a concern? “After all, they are plenty of services the day before, on Christmas Eve.” But is it really that important? Let’s see what the bible has to say.

 

The Birth of Christ

Although the birth of our Lord and Savior is an important event to talk about; one that’s even prophesized about (Isa. 9:6; Micah 5:2), the scriptures do not give us a specific date as to when He was born. We should conclude then that His birth is not that significant to celebrate in a yearly fashion.

Most of us have a birth certificate, hospital record, and/or relatives that can tell us exactly when we were born; even right down to the time of the delivery. With this in mind, we are able to celebrate our birth every year that that day rolls around.

For Jesus, however, no mention of a date is given. As God states, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). This simply means that if God wanted us to know, then He would have told us. Since He didn’t, then it’s not important for our salvation.

For most, though, this is not enough. They want to celebrate the day anyway because it is their tradition to do so. We looked at that discussion in a previous article.

 

On the First Day…

We do know, from scriptures, that the day of worship is on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). How often does the first day of the week come around? That’s right, weekly! This is how often we are to worship God. That is, the minimum amount. The additional would include gospel meetings which are nightly through Fridays.

With this in mind, why close your doors just because Christmas Day falls on Sunday? People will respond by saying, “We went last night, we want to spend time with the family.” One can easily spend time with the family in the assembly on Sunday. It is written, And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Since the church belongs to God and not man, it should be His decision when people assemble and worship Him. After all, Jesus died on the cross for the church (Acts 20:28), He should have the right to make that decision. When another person dies for their church, then they can decide.

 

God’s Day off

Since most people will be taking this Sunday off from worship, suppose God decided to take a day off, in the future, as well? On that day, no prayers will be answered, no healings will be seen too, no comfort will be given, and certainly no admission into Paradise (Lk. 23:43) if one were to die.

People might think twice about this, but I highly doubt it. They’ll draw the conclusion that God would never do this. They don’t think of long-term consequences come judgment day (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10).

 

Conclusion

Scripture does not encourage us to celebrate the birth of Christ. It does, however, tell us to assemble every first day of the week. Find a congregation that will assemble every first day of the week, regardless of the date on the calendar. If you need help with this, please comment below and I’ll try and help you.