|
Going To
Hell In A Positive Way. By Michael Brigmond, Pastor Celebrating
Holidays is a touchy subject with some people.
I have recently been criticized, chastised, ridiculed, and slandered for not celebrating Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc. My critic feels that celebrating Christmas in a "positive way" is a good thing.All I can say to him is, "Thank you for helping me understand how compromise works. Thank you for showing me how to couple human reasoning with idolatry to create a new doctrine that is both positive and good. Thank you for explaining how we can disobey God, enjoy it and be blessed in knowing that God is pleased with our manipulation and polluting of His Word." While the Scriptures show us that God views idolatry as an abomination, by utilizing this man’s reasoning idolatry can become a positive event in our lives. How blessed we are to know that we can commit an abomination to God in a positive way and win souls through lies and false doctrine. Folks, this really opens the door to a new wave of positive compromise. I suppose we could steal from the rich and give to the poor and this would be considered a "positive theft." Wow! Just imagine the possibilities. If we can change evil to good just by shining a rose colored light on it we can do anything. The sky is the limit! If we print something about Jesus on a tee shirt and matching shorts, we can parade around town and celebrate our immodesty in a "positive way."Little white lies, because they are told to "help" someone or some situation, must be okay as well. With this brand of humanism, "positive idolatry" can take the pressure off lying. Jesus’ command to, "Go and sin no more," can be now be understood as "go and sin no more, except thou do it with good intent."The concept is that some sinners only come to church on holidays, i.e. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc. While this may be true, have you ever wondered why? Let me give you a clue: Is it not because of a deep love for God. If anything, during the "holiday season" the sinner feels more at home in church than at any other time of the year! During the holidays many churches abound with false doctrine, paganism, lies, etc. Why shouldn’t the sinner feel at home? The more compromise exists in a church, the more likely the sinners are to attend. So, as I understand this man’s reasoning, "As long as we get sinners to come to church, what can it hurt to lie to them a little?"Has this critic, and others like him, fallen so far they are really that deceived? If they have, what hope remains for them to ever see the truth? Let’s examine the Christmas situation before we jump to any conclusion. At the bottom of the holiday food chain are those who follow every aspect of Christmas. We shall refer to them as "Full Pagans," or "Consistent Pagans." Above them are those who have dispensed with various traditions and have earned the title of "Partial" or "Inconsistent Pagans." The "Full Pagan" decorates his home, both outside and inside, with pagan symbols; installs a tree, covered with lights and trinkets, and stuffs wrapped presents beneath the assembly. He then fills his home with the sounds and smells of the holiday. He spends money he may not have to buy gifts for people who don’t deserve them, or may not even want them. Sometimes I feel like old Gideon. In Judges 6:25, Gideon was instructed by the Lord to, ". . . throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:"Then in verse 26 he was told, "And build an altar unto the LORD thy God . . . and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down."Pretty clear cut instructions: (1) Throw down the altar of Baal, (2) cut down the grove (Hebrew: 'asherah), (3) then build an altar unto God. Nothing hard about that, as easy as 1-2-3. All that stood in Gideon’s way were the people who liked to worship Baal. So Gideon had to sneak in at night with 10 of his servants to accomplish what the Lord had commanded him to do. Believers today ought to be striving to throw down the altars of Baal wherever we find them. But our hindrance is the same as that faced by Gideon: People who still like to worship Baal!They scream and holler if someone starts messing with their idols. Listen, you can hear them cry, "Why if you can’t see how to worship Baal in a positive way, blah, blah, blah, . . . it gets people out to our worship services, blah, blah, blah, . . . for some of them that’s the only time they come to church, blah, blah, blah."It’s enough to make you sick! So called believers who don’t have enough understanding to recognize idolatry in their own homes! Judges 6:25 stated, ". . . throw down the altar of Baal . . . and cut down the grove that is by it:" Since so many lack understanding, please allow me to explain something here. The word "grove" is translated from the Hebrew word, asherah. Asherah, also known as Astarte, was worshipped as a Phoenician goddess. The word "Asherah" is sometimes used when speaking of an image of that same goddess. Often the word "Asherah" is translated as "grove," especially in the King James Bible.According to Holman’s Bible Dictionary, Asherah was, "a fertility goddess, the mother of Baal, whose worship was concentrated in Syria and Canaan and the wooden object that represented her. The King James Version translated Asherah as "grove," or as the proper noun "Ashtaroth." The association of the word (asherah) with pagan worship is unquestioned by scholars. Most modern translators of the Bible have treated "Asherah" as a proper noun. Some of the more common illustrations of Asherah are shown as "carved poles, staffs, a cross, a double axe, or a tree." A "tree," hence the King James translation as "Grove." It really hits home when we understand the cross on which Jesus was crucified was a common symbol of Asherah (a cross, a grove, or a tree). The pastor with understanding does not display a cross in the church, or even outside for that matter, knowing it is a pagan symbol, in this case, an instrument of death. Yet many today place an Asherah (tree) in their homes, churches, or places of business, decorate it, place their offerings under it and then bow down before it to retrieve the gifts to give to others. Celebrating Christmas is to celebrate paganism and idolatry in a "positive, compromising, backsliden way." Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us: His body shall not remain all night upon
the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; Baal was known both as the sun-god and storm-god. The Northern Kingdom of Israel, under the leadership of Ahab, was led to worship Baal as the official god (1 Kings 16:31). The prophets Elijah and Elisha delivered the condemnation of God concerning Baal worship and tried to rid the land of the idolatry (1 Kings 18:17-40; 2 Kings 1:9-16). After Hezekiah worked so hard to reform the Southern Kingdom of Judah and eliminate the worship of Baal, Judah soon fell back into idolatry with Manasseh. When Manasseh became king, he reverted back to the old pagan ways and reinstated Baal worship, along with worship of Assyrian gods and other gods (2 Kings 21:2-16). Asherah was the mother of Baal. By worshiping the grove (tree) one is following the Catholic tradition of the worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus, above Jesus Himself. The celebration of Christmas, by falsely claiming it to be the birthday of Jesus, allows for the continued worship of Asherah, the tree. We are all familiar with a woman in the Bible named Jezebel. Her name is believed to mean, "Where is the prince?" or, from the Phoenician name meaning, "Baal is the prince." Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab of Israel (874-853 B.C.), who brought the worship of Baal from Sidon, where her father Ethbaal was king (1 Kings 16:31). Jezebel tried to destroy all God's prophets in Israel (1 Kings 18:4), while installing 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah (grove) (1 Kings 18:19) as part of the royal household. Elijah proved these prophets to be false on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Today, many of God’s prophets are destroyed by the same method: the worship of Baal and Asherah in a "positive way." I cringe every time I see or hear that "positive way." Elisha anointed Jehu to replace Joram. Jehu assassinated Joram and then went to Jezreel after Jezebel. She adorned herself and tried to entice him, but her servants obeyed Jehu's call to throw her from the window to the street, where Jehu’s horse trampled her into the ground (2 Kings 9:30-37). I would to God that more people would take Jezebel and her ornaments out of their homes and trample them underfoot, in a very positive way!I know that Christmas is more than just a tree. Many do not set up a tree at all, but still participate with some of the other elements of the holiday, i.e. singing carols, exchanging gifts, etc. Remember that God is a Jealous God. We are commanded to love the Lord with ALL of our heart, soul, mind and strength. For some people giving up Christmas is like breaking a habit. They start out with a full HABIT and slowly taper off, little by little, with the intent of someday being completely free of it. Sort of like this: H A B I T
Next you get yourself out of the way and remove the "i"
We preach Repentance like the Apostles. We Baptize in the name of Jesus Christ, like the Apostles. We anoint with oil and pray for the sick, like the Apostles. Why don’t we celebrate Christmas like the Apostles? They didn’t celebrate any of it, and neither should we!
|