Lesson 5
Unaware of its origins, many Christians bemoan how the birth of Jesus is being lost in the world’s carnal celebration of Christmas. They urge people to get back to the basics of Christmas, not realizing the world is drifting back to the historic, pre Christian origins. Being culturally aware is important when searching for the best way to teach new people about Jesus. God inspired Paul to use a pagan statue, dedicated to a god the Athiniens did not know, to call some of them to Himself. Paul used their own beliefs to proclaim the good news about Jesus, repentance and resurrection. Wanting to stay far away from worshiping Satan, or giving offense to those who are weak in their faith, many Christians will refuse to have anything to do with popular Halloween traditions. They see them as pure paganism rather than a tool to reach those who don’t know about Jesus, salvation or the resurrection of the dead. Most Halloween traditions are about death and the dead coming back to life. Those themes play right into the Bible’s good news about resurrection and God’s coming Kingdom. What better worldly celebration is there to illustrate how God will resurrect humans back to life? Knowing the gods of this world are nothing, Christians are free to proclaim Jesus and the God of the Bible from any starting point they find relevant. How do the origins of Christmas differ from Halloween’s? Can you find where the Bible describes the dead forming into physical bodies and receiving the breath of life? Will that event be scary? What fun treats might we freely share with others to celebrate this coming event? How would you disperse those treats and joyfully party with your neighbors? If Christians attached Biblical teaching to Halloween customs, could they be used to proclaim Jesus?
Deuteronomy 32:39 King James Version
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
Psalm 96:4-5 The Voice
4 For the Eternal is great indeed and praiseworthy; feared and reverenced above all gods, the True God shall be. 5 For all human-made, lifeless gods are worthless idols, but the Eternal plotted the vast heavens, shaped every last detail.
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 Amplified Bible
4 In this matter, then, of eating food offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world [it has no real existence], and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, who is the source of all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things [that have been created], and we [believers exist and have life and have been redeemed] through Him.