Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ

The Birth of Jesus Christ

     People in the Western world, and other countries around the world, love to celebrate birthdays. They will celebrate them in a variety of ways. Children often get a birthday party, some adults get a surprise party or a quiet dinner with their spouse or girl/boyfriend, and others travel to celebrate their birth. There are numerous ways to celebrate a birthday.

    It stands to reason and it is logical then for humans to want to celebrate the birth of Christ. They want to give him the joy they receive when their birthday is remembered by friends and family. But there is more than just this reason why believers celebrate the birth of Christ. (The date selected will not be discussed here as that is another discussion for another time and it is not appropriate to discuss here). Those reasons will be discussed as follows:

i. Peace on earth- the angels sang of this when they announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds watching their flocks (Luke 2:14). The angels were bringing good news to them and to the world by announcing to all there will be peace. Of course, that announcement did not imply that there would be no more strife, crime or wars but that the minds of people can be at peace because there is a Savior who has come to earth.

ii. Good News- people celebrate Christ’s birth because of the good news they have received and acted upon. They have heard the gospel message and rejoice that their names are now written in the book of life.

iii. Eternal life- this is a big reason why many believers celebrated the birth of Christ. They have been given a great gift from God. No longer must they offer sacrifices to receive forgiveness and eternal life but now they only have to believe and live according to Jesus’ instructions. They are overwhelmed with gratefulness because they have received this gift and want to reciprocate in kind.

iv. Praise for what has been received- this reason  snot focused on what has been previous mentioned but looks at people celebrate the birth of Christ because of what Christ has done for them throughout the previous year or years. They see how God has worked in their lives and they celebrate the birth of Christ as a form of thanking God for all the good things he has done for them.

v. The Scope of what Christ’s birth means to people- Christmas, since many people use it to celebrate Christ’s birth, helps people to realize exactly what Christ did for us. For example, he was a divine being born to an earthly woman- Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel

Immanuel or God is with us, what a beautiful feeling that is. No wonder people want to celebrate Christ’s birth. Then the passage in Romans 6:23 which reminds us of what Christ did for us
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,

The seriousness of what Jesus did comes through with those words and provides ample reason why people want to celebrate Jesus’ birth. People understand that they have something special and want to celebrate that fact. What better way, in their minds, than to celebrate the birth of Christ. There are other verses which help believers see the scope of what Christ did for us. Start with John 3:16 and going on to Gal. 4:4-5, John 1:14, 1 Tim. 1: 15-17, Is. 9:6-7.

These are but a few verses that spark our souls to want to celebrate the birth of Christ. The final reason and probably one of the more important ones is that celebrating the birth of Christ we can give glory to God for what he has done for us. The Bible tells us in 1 Cor. 10:31 that we are to do all things for the glory of God. That means that our Christmas celebration of Christ’s birth should be conducted with that purpose in mind. We should use the occasion not to follow the world’s idea surrounding Christmas and the holiday season but to bring attention to God for what he has done for everyone and then give him glory for it.

     We do not need Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ or do all the above things. We can use communion to accomplish the exact same things. We do not have to wait until Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ but do it all year round. Jesus said do this in remembrance of me and his birth is part of what he did for us.




Click here to join our Global non-denominational online community and engage in bible discussions, ask questions, studies, prayer support, engage in the civil debate of Christian doctrines from the scriptures and friendly fellowship.