November 29, 2017 - - Jeremiah 10:1-4 No Christmas Tree

Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

Thus says the Lord:

“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;

Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,

For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

For the customs of the peoples are futile;

For one cuts a tree from the forest,

The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

They decorate it with silver and gold;

They fasten it with nails and hammers

So that it will not topple.

Jeremiah 10:1-3 NKJV

This is the very reason I don't want a Christmas tree in my house. Don't get me wrong, I love the true celebration of Christmas! In obedience to and love for the Father, Jesus voluntarily humbled HImself and took on flesh. True God and true man, Jesus born of the Virgin, grew and lived perfect in every part of His life. He was without sin, the perfect sacrifice Who stood in our place and at the cross bore God's just punishment against our sin. He died and rose, the victor over sin and death and He is our Savior, the One Who rescues us from this evil age. All who believe in Jesus are justified in Christ and by the Spirit are being made holy.

The Christmas tree has no part of this story. It is a futile custom that is rooted in ancient paganism, the very paganism that the LORD our God detests. The very fact that I write against Christmas trees means some Christians will be angry. Some will point to traditions and the fact this has been done for a long time so what harm can there be?

Presbyterian and Reformed Christians (my wife and I are members of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church) conduct our worship under the regulative principle. We worship as families in our home, knowing worship is not just for church and Sundays, then my question is this: where is the scriptural warrant for a Christmas tree?

I wonder how many Christian friends will read this passage and prayerfully consider it? How many of my brothers and sisters in Christ then will see their tree, in the heart of their home, adorned with silver and gold, as a monument to this generation's consumerism and a gateway to joining with the idolatry of this age?

Fill Thou, my life, O LORD my God, in every part with praise.

Let my whole being, all I do and what I choose to leave undone,

Be in conformity to Your Word and Your will.

Forgive the accommodations I have made for worldliness,

Whatever these may be.

Spirit of God, work in me

To bring every part of my life into joyful submission to Christ,

My Lord and my King. Amen.