I saw this over at Tim Challies’ blog and was greatly moved by the images from this video clip. Those who know me well, know that I believe strongly in contextual interpretation of Scripture and that Word of God if not interpreted in its context is not interpreted rightly. Therefore, I do not think that the process of making a…
Category: <span>Life</span>
Everyone knows that spoken language and to a lesser degree written language is fraught with difficulties. Communication is probably the most important and necessary facets in building relationships, yet it can be one of the most destructive forces in failing relationships. To the Christian, who is by regeneration engaged in a supernatural relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the art…
I was contemplating the succinct nature of the Lord’s pattern prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and how Christ could have said so much when saying “After this manner therefore pray…” but instead chose only a few words. Some of this prayer is obvious as a pattern. It makes perfect sense that Jesus would start the prayer and indicate we ought to pray…
Does anyone really enjoy traveling? I mean, I love seeing new places, but how much fun can it be sitting in cars, trains, or planes for hours without end. I don’t like traveling, but I love going to interesting destinations. In a completely non-spiritually minded post today, I want to highlight the top ten places I would like to visit…
There is probably no heart attitude that destroys one’s soul and robs a Christian of joy and delight more than bitterness. God commands the Christian to let all bitterness be put away since it is a work of the old depravity and not a part of the new creation we are in Christ Jesus. In Hebrews, the Bible teaches us…
For every Timothy who is ready to stand with you even at the expense of his own physical and mental well-being (I Timothy4:12-14, 5:20-23) there is a Demas who will forsake you because his present circumstances trumps faithful loyalty (2 Timothy 4:10). For every Epaphroditus who will fight with you as a fellow soldier who will minister to your needs…
There are times in life, when the Scripture seems to jump from the white pages with such lucidity that we wonder how it could be we read that a hundred times before and never noticed those words. That is how I felt this past Monday reading Psalm 35. A simple title, “A Psalm of David” whereas the previous Psalm 34…
As I was looking back through some of my sermons throughout 2010, I came across a short challenge (not an expositional sermon) I shared with our church family around the beginning of 2010. I titled it “My Passion For Our Church in 2010” (Yah, I know real original). But as I was looking through it, I was convicted and encouraged…
This is the final installment of the series of articles regarding the Christian and the celebration of Halloween.
With a proper understanding of the history of the modern Halloween celebration and a reminder to search the Scripture for Biblical principles regarding all types of practices allowing the Word to dictate what we do or don’t do, I want to conclude this series by examining Biblical principles and applying them to the celebration of Halloween. Obviously some of my applications may not resonate with everyone. Take what is Biblical and consider the rest.
The first question to ask is this, “Do passages of Scripture exist that reference the celebration of holidays in general?” Yes, Romans 14:5-6 probably immediately comes to mind. This text is, of course, within the greater context of Paul’s discussion of how brothers are to relate to one another when they disagree over questionable practices. Many call these questionable practices issues of Christian liberty. They are practices that are not commanded nor forbad in the Scripture but practices that Christians might come to various conclusions on. However, when something is a matter of liberty, it requires a new set of questions be asked concerning the practice. Just because something is a matter of Christian liberty doesn’t mean that it is inconsequential, rather it means that we need to closely examine Scripture so that we can honestly be “fully persuaded in our own minds.” That is what I hope we do regarding the matter of celebrating Halloween. I must add a caveat. I know that Christians who celebrate various aspects of Halloween are not devil worshipers. I also am not talking about those who use the holiday as a means of evangelization. Rather I am speaking of the Christian’s participation of the obvious cultural and questionable elements of modern Halloween.
The principle that guides other principles in relation to the celebration of Halloween, feast days, or any other liberty issue is found in Romans 14:5-6. Paul writes that whether one celebrates (observes) a special day (probably a feast day in context) or not he is doing so “unto the Lord.” This means that he is celebrating that day with his mindset, his practices, his choices as that which exalts the Lord and brings God ultimate glory. This is the biggest difficulty I have with Halloween. I find little redeemable value in the modern celebration of Halloween that could be done unto the Lord.
Both the pagan aspects of Halloween (celebration of the dead and the superstitions that accompany that) and the religious aspects (souling and praying to supposed saints) are void of glory to God. Most of our other holidays that we celebrate have pagan and religious aspects to them (Christmas, Easter, etc.) But in those holidays, one can find redeemable features that can and often do bring glory to God. One would have to completely reinvent Halloween to find ways to observe the holiday (in the true sense of observe) in order to find God-honoring practices. At least with Christmas, with all its superstitions and materialism, we can direct our focus onto the incarnation of our Savior. At least with Easter, we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we can ignore the over sized bunny that hides eggs. With Thanksgiving, prone to gluttony and worship of football, we can take time to thank God for his blessings. With Independence Day we can patriotically praise God who blessed us with this free country, in spite of the rampant partying and drunkenness. With New Years, we can remember the goodness of God, the trials of life and look forward to the coming of Christ and the growth we can expect in the New Year he gives us. But with Halloween, it is a struggle to find redeemable values that would draw our attention to Jesus Christ and the glory of God. Let us just examine the typical practice of a Halloween celebration.