Is that pagan?
Christmas trees have often been used traditionally in conjunction with the celebration of the
birth of Christ.
People will often bring them into their homes, decorate them with beautiful ornaments,
surround them with lights, and even place gifts under them to be opened on Christmas
Day.
Christmas trees will often be the decorative centerpiece of the home throughout the month
of December as a reminder of the reason for the season.
This is actually a tradition that stems back all the way to the 16th century with German
Christians who would often bring fir trees into their house.
They would decorate it with gingerbread, apples, and nuts.
And of course, the tradition is still alive and well today.
But in spite of this innocent conventional practice, you still have a group of Christians
who will make the claim that Christmas trees are not only pagan in origin, but they're
actually sinful according to the Bible.
Now what they're referring to is that in times past, pagan Europeans would often
use evergreens and fir trees to decorate their homes throughout their winter festivals
for thousands of years prior to the advent of Christianity.
You would have pagan Germans who would bring fir trees into their home to celebrate
the winter solstice.
The polytheistic pagan Romans would decorate their heathenistic temples with evergreens
and fir trees and plants during their Saturnalia festivals.
And the question that they pose is, why would we as Christians bring a Christmas tree
into our home if it has pagan associations?
And the answer is because we don't worship the Christmas tree.
You see, to worship means to venerate, to bow down, to esteem as a god.
But the truth is, is that the Christmas tree has no divine value to us.
And the proof that we don't esteem it as having any divine value is the fact that
on January 1st, we throw it out.
It's trash.
We don't value it as having any divinity or deity because of the fact that it's just
a tree that we use for decoration.
Now whether people want to believe that Christmas trees are pagan in origin based
upon history, it's not really the problem.
The problem is when they try to use the Bible to make that claim.
You see, a lot of people who believe that Christmas trees are sinful will often use
Jeremiah chapter 10 as their proof text.
Let me read it to you.
It says in Jeremiah 10, verse number 3,
For the customs of the people are vain.
For one cutteth the tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen
with the axe, they deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails
and with hammers that it move not.
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not.
They must needs be borne because they cannot go.
Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
And according to their interpretation, they believe that this is literally referring
to a Christmas tree.
But to say that this is referring to a Christmas tree is just as silly to say that Zechariah
2 6 is referring to Santa Claus.
Because Zechariah 2 6 says, Ho, ho, come forth and flee from the land of the north,
saith the Lord.
No, we all know that Jeremiah chapter 10 is actually referring to just an idol.
You see, any casual study of idolatry in the Bible on those who worshiped idols will come
to the conclusion that people would often use stone and wood to carve out a literal idol.
And to suggest that Jeremiah 10 is teaching that Christmas trees are sinful, well, we
have a problem there because of the fact that the temple in the Old Testament that
was built by Solomon had doors that were made of fir trees.
That means that they went into the forest, they cut out the trees out of the forest
and brought it into the house of God.
They carved it, they fastened it with hammers and with nails.
They made a stand upright as a tree in the house of God.
No, the Bible doesn't contradict itself.
It's not sinful to bring trees into your home.
It's not simple to bring trees into the house of God.
What's sinful is that when you use those trees to carve out of it, an idol, a false
God, when you worship that false God and you esteem that idol as being some sort
of deity, that's sinful.
The truth is, is the Christmas tree actually has a lot of symbolic representation of Jesus Christ.
For example, you know, a Christmas tree is cut out of its natural habitation and
brought into our homes.
Well, Jesus Christ left the splendors of heaven to come to us.
Jesus Christ is the tree of life.
We often take the Christmas tree and surround it with lights, just as Jesus Christ is
the light of the world.
We often place a star on top of the Christmas tree, just as Jesus Christ is the morning
star that shineth in our hearts.
On Christmas Day, children go to the Christmas tree to receive their gifts, just as Jesus
Christ is the source of all gifts.
Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh from above from the Father of lights in
whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Not only that, but the Christmas tree is often the centerpiece of the home during
the month of December, just as Jesus Christ is the preeminent one.
He should be the centerpiece of our home.
And Jesus said, and I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all men unto me.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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