Christmas Traditions 2 Thes.1:7-10 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

We are going to examine some Christmas traditions which are perversions of Biblical truth.  Here are some of the major Christmas traditions:

Santa coming to town – instead of waiting around for Santa to arrive (which he won’t), look for Titus 2:13, the glorious appearing of Christ.  And don’t look for him to arrive with “rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums.”  He is coming with the sound of a trumpet and in flaming fire to take vengeance [Matt 24:31; 2 Thes 1:7-10].  Santa is supposed to know who’s naughty and nice.  You’d better not wait for that, but rather prepare for the judgment seat of Christ [2 Cor 5:10].  Don’t worry about him seeing you when you’re sleeping and when you’re awake.  He can’t see anything but the Lord can [Prov 15:3].  He’s the one with whom you must concern yourself.

Santa Claus dressed in red – instead of thinking of an imaginary figure bearing gifts, think of Is 63:1-4, the color of the Lord’s garments after executing his vengeance on his enemies at his second coming [Rev 14:18-20; Rev 19:13-18].

Santa Claus with long white hair – instead of thinking of the kindly face of an old fairy tale, think of Rev 1:13-15, the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest gift giver ever known to man.  And think of him as the supreme ruler after he sets up his kingdom on earth [Dan 7:9].

Santa’s gifts to men – instead of thinking about imaginary gifts from the north pole, think about the gifts given to us by Jesus Christ in Eph 4:8-12 following his ascension.  They are the gifts by which we grow in Christ.

The Christmas tree – instead of thinking about a decorated tree with many gifts underneath it, think of 1 Cor 1:18, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ where the price of our redemption was paid for all eternity.  The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord [Rom 6:23].

Conclusion: as much fun as it is to enjoy time with family and gift exchanges and all that, don’t let the Christmas traditions overshadow the wonderful truths of the words of God.  Keep your mind and heart on the Lord and trust him as your Saviour, if you haven’t already.