Drippings from the Honeycomb
More to be desired are [the rules of the Lord] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
Christmas—the real Christmas—lies buried beneath so many layers of wrapping, adornments and tradition that it is worthwhile pausing to unwrap it and find true joy.
DEFINING CHRISTMAS | NOUN [krísməs] The season/day of the year when the birth of the Christ child is celebrated; God’s anointed One, the promised deliverer. In Jesus God took on human form becoming this Christ. Christmas is two words: Christ and missa; Latin from the worship service’s closing prayer meaning “go” or “send” (i.e. mission). Having celebrated the birth of Christ the early Christians went out to proclaim the glad tidings of His coming. The first instance was in AD 336. Christmas is an ancient tradition, however it endures as it is real and relevant; God’s rescue plan that enables a relationship for all who repent and believe. IT’S REAL | MATTHEW 1–2 & LUKE 1–2 Confirmed by ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish sources and faithfully recorded in the Gospel accounts, Jesus was actually born. A first ‘Christmas’ really happened. Josephus (d. 100) said, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man.” The biblical author Luke gives more detail by saying, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus.” You can read the whole story in Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2. IT’S RELEVANT | JOHN 14:9 & ACTS 17:27 Christmas is not just a quaint old story; nor is God a far off and distant reality. We don’t have to wonder who God is or what He is like or how to come to know Him. Jesus said “whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is because Jesus is the promised Christ, the son of God. IT’S ABOUT RESCUE | MATTHEW 1:21 Jesus’ name means ‘salvation.’ This is why the angel instructed Joseph to “call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mt 1:21). While Jesus was a wise teacher, ultimately, he was born the Christ not just to teach but to rescue sinners through His life, death and resurrection. Before Christmas can be seen as good news we must first acknowledge the bad news. IT ENABLES A RELATIONSHIP | LUKE 24:46–47 As sinners, we do not know God―in fact, we are enemies of God. Yet in His grace God made a way to have a relationship with Him. The appointed means was faith—trust—in the good news of His Son: that God sent His Son, Jesus, who lived and died and rose again so that those turn and trust in Him might receive forgiveness and life eternal through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through belief in this Saviour we are reconciled with God, adopted and called to live as His children. When we unpack Christmas we find that true joy and meaning comes not in the trappings but in the offer and ultimately acceptance of Christ. As the carol says, “Let every heart prepare Him room.” May your joy be made complete this Christmas by receiving God’s grace through faith in His Son, the Christ. Christmas has always been celebrated like we presently experience it, correct? History shows a varied tradition from no celebration to celebration. APOSTLIC (AD 33–100) Matthew and Luke dedicate two chapters to the infancy stories of Jesus in their Gospels to show how Christ fulfilled OT prophecies. John stressed the significance of the Incarnation, “the Word became flesh.” However, during the first century the Church did not celebrate Christmas. Emphasis was placed on the Lord’s Day as a weekly remembrance of the Resurrection, which was commemorated annually at Passover. PATRISTIC (AD 100–500) The Apostolic trend continued. Many early Christians even opposed remembering the birthdays of martyrs or Jesus seeing their death as their birthday. The first record suggesting the date of Christ’s birth as December 25 was in AD 221 by the Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus. (Previously it had been remembered in conjunction with His baptism on Jan 6. Some eastern churches continued to observe this but eventually Dec 25 became the majority view). Several explanations have been offered:
That Christmas replaced pagan festivals is further evidenced in when the first Christmas is recorded. It was in Rome in AD 336, after Constantine had made Christianity legal and even the favoured religion of the Empire. As a result the 4th century saw a “powerful trend towards a greater use of ritual and ceremony.” (NN1.97). From Rome this new ceremony spread, attested by numerous 4th century sources. Christmas is two words: Christ and missa; Latin from the worship service’s closing prayer meaning “go” or “send” (i.e. mission). Having celebrated the birth of Christ Christians went out to proclaim the glad tidings of His coming. Still Christmas was a smaller festival compared to the Passover/Easter and the growing traditions of Holy Week and Lent until the 9th century when it attained its own liturgy. Christological debates also helped to cement the importance of Christmas (e.g. Chalcedon, 451) MEDAIEVAL (AD 500–1500) Festivals surrounding the remembrance of Christ’s birth proliferated during the Middle Ages. The basic pattern was present by AD 600: Advent (24 days before Christmas, c. 500s), Christmastide (12 days of Christmas beginning Dec 25–Jan 5), which ended with Epiphany, Jan 6 (wise men). Christmas became part of the elaborate series of festivals to saints and other holy days. The development of a Church year or calendar was ‘complete.’ Gifts were first given in the 1400s. REFORMATIONS (1500–1600) At the Reformation Lutherans and Anglicans modified and simplified the celebration of Christmas but retained it (e.g. Martin Luther wrote ‘Away in a Manger’). The Reformed, Puritans and Presbyterians did not celebrate Christmas. They saw it as a Catholic tradition with no warrant in the Bible. They followed the regulative principle. POST-REFORMATION (1600–1700) Parallel traditions, some celebrating Christmas and others not continued amongst Protestants. Puritans in England and New England banned Christmas altogether. Baptists were part of this tradition who until the late 1800s did not celebrate Christmas. Still, within the Dissenting tradition new carols were written like Isaac Watts’ ‘Joy to the World’ (Congregationalist) and ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Charles Wesley (Methodist). From hymnbooks some Dissenters sang at least some carols around Dec 25. Gift giving also increased during this period. MODERN (1800s–1900s) For many Protestants, the presence of high-church traditions coupled with Romanticism (feeling and expression), biblical liberalism and the softening of denominational traditions due to deconfessionalism all contributed to a rise of the celebration of Christmas in traditions which hadn’t previous placed great or any emphasis upon them. The Victorian age was one of expression. Carols proliferated. Cards were given (first commercial, 1843). Industrialization made affordable gifts available, beginning the commercialization of Christmas. The Christmas tree, which had been a German tradition dating to the 1500s, was brought into England from the Germany by the Prince Consort (1848) and made popular by Queen Victoria. Given Germany was one of the later European nations to be evangelized there is an evident link to medieval paganism, and even tree worship in ancient paganism. Slowly trees made there way into church sanctuaries. Perhaps the largest change to Christmas during this time relates to the mythical figure of Santa Claus. Rooted in Saint Nicolas with pagan embellishments, through commercialization, the man in the big red suit co-existed beside Christ, often even in Christian circles. Many of these trends continued into the 1900s; culture and Christianity co-existing and often being tightly interwoven, Christmas culminating on the 25 rather than the 6th of January. POST-MODERN (late 1900s–2000s) By the late 1900s it became clear Christ had been forced out of Christmas. Some advanced ‘political correctness’ such as “happy holidays.” Christmas was now about Santa and gifts and family. ‘Keep Christ in Christmas,’ was the slogan of conservative advocates. REFLECTION Christmas is not inherent to Christianity but was developed, along with associated symbolism, over 1700 years. One of the blessings of the Post-Christian scene is that it is ripe for reflecting upon Christian beliefs and practices (ecclesia semper reformanda est, the Church is always to be reforming):
Bibliography Oxford Dictionary of Christian History Encyclopaedia Britannica Nick Needham, 2000 Years of Christ’s Power True saving, or justifying, faith is the main grounds of Christianity.
Galatians 2:16 says that “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ.” It is through faith that we are saved from damnation. It is by faith that we are declared just or right before God. It is in faith that all the blessings of Christ are given to the unworthy. Yet what is this faith? There are 4+1 necessary elements of saving faith: hear, agree, turn and trust.
3. TURN: The Gospel calls us to respond. This response involves turning (repenting) from our sin, changing our mind, changing direction. We turn from sin and toward Christ. (poenitentiam- to show penance, or sorrow; to change direction; to change one’s mind. From the Greek μετάνοια). a. “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1:15)
All of this can of course appear as if it happens in a moment. For example someone could hear the Gospel, assent to it, recognize without convincing their life is on the wrong path turn and trust in an instant. Or one could hear the Gospel many times, wrestle with believing it to be true, wrestle with their sin and finally come to a place where they actually trust in Jesus. Conversion is like an accordion, either all bunched up or discernible over time. Regardless these are the steps the Bible lays out for us to discern saving faith. So we must hear, agree, turn and trust in order to be saved and we know someone is saved because they persevere in trusting Christ’s promises and commands. See Paul and James.
This is the test of faith we ought to look for in ourselves and in those who profess to be Christians. In our national statement of faith we affirm that “salvation is by the sovereign, electing grace of God.”[1] What is this?
It has a linguistic, biblical, theological and historical meaning. Firstly, when handling the doctrine of election it must be remembered that it, like the Trinity and Creation, election is a “high mystery” of the Faith to be handled with “special prudence and care” (1689. 3.7). Linguistic Sovereign: Sovereign means to have complete claim and control (e.g. arctic sovereignty). The Lord is sovereign. He is a King who reigns. His sovereignty extends even to salvation. “Salvation belongs to the Lord.” Electing: To elect means to choose (e.g. electing a new government). To sovereignly elect/choose in salvation means that salvation is rooted in God’s choice. Grace: Is God’s unmerited favour toward sinners. Since we are totally depraved, dead (Eph 2) and not seekers of God (Ro 3), we could only be saved if God chose to sovereignly save us in accordance with His grace. Biblical Students of the Bible should be familiar with these words and concepts. Without accepting this doctrine there will be many things in the Bible that will remain closed and confusing to us. Election is a plain and unmistakable teaching of the Bible. There are numerous passages that speak of God’s free choice in salvation.
Theological In theological terms, what does this mean? How might we summarize what the Bible teaches about election? Election means that God chose to save some, not based upon a foreknowledge of faith or merit, but sovereignly, freely and in accordance with His own good pleasure to the praise of His glorious grace; whereas He passes over others to the praise of His justice (1689.3.1). Historical The meaning of election must also be understood historically. Christians from Paul, Augustine and reformers like Luther and Calvin, and later Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Anglicans and Baptists all understood election in this biblical-theological way. In fact, if it wasn’t in the Bible it is such a doctrine that no one would believe it. Our 1953 Fellowship statements flows on from our spiritual heritage in the Convention of Ontario and Quebec which stated in 1925 their belief in, “The election and effectual calling of all God’s people.” Just as the words “man” and “woman” have a meaning, we cannot reinvent the meaning of the phrase “sovereign, electing grace.” It’s meaning is rooted in its linguistic, biblical, theological and historical contexts. FAQs Election, while biblical, may be more easily accepted when some FAQs are addressed.
[1] “Salvation,” in Affirmation of Faith. <https://www.fellowship.ca/WhatWeBelieve> (2023). [2] G. Redford, and J.A. James, eds., The Autobiography of William Jay. (London: 1854; reprint, Edinburgh, 1974), 272. |
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