With the onset of the Holidays ahead of us, I recently was talking with someone who was wondering about all of the feasts and days of celebration in a certain religion found in the Old Testament. God put into place many laws and regulations that are mostly found in Leviticus. Many of those days were done away with when Jesus died on the cross for us. This is found in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.
Some religions celebrate days from the Bible that were not instructed for us to celebrate today. I don’t mean to step on anyone’s toes, but I will give an example as to one of them. Some religions celebrate the Immaculate Conception every year on a certain day, I think December 8th. God did not give any instruction to keep celebrating that day every year. Nowhere in the Bible does it say to do so. We remember His story and how Jesus was conceived, but is it written that we should set aside a day of Holy Obligation to keep celebrating?
Another day that is celebrated is the day that Mary supposedly was assumed into heaven. There is no scripture in any Bible that states Mary was assumed into Heaven nor that we should celebrate that. That being said, we know that Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, not the mother of God, and that she is to be regarded as pure and special.
Many people believe in celebrating traditions and that is OK unless it goes against the principles of God’s Word. We all have traditions in our homes. Some people put their Christmas trees up on Thanksgiving while others wait until two weeks before or even a day before. Some people celebrate birthdays, special days, or other days by doing certain things like a traditional movie on that day, going out to eat, or making special foods.
Jesus says and Mark 7:1-13 that tradition is not what He seeks and to be careful. The first chapter in Galatians and the very last chapter in Revelation state that anyone, I mean anyone, who adds to or changes His Word is eternally condemned. We might have traditions that we want to follow when it come to religion, but they have to follow His Word. If these dates are added, is this in agreement with Scripture?
I mentioned the book of Hebrews earlier. That is one of my favorite books in the New Testament that explain that those Old Testament laws were only a shadow of the New Covenant that Jesus established for his loved people. The Bible says that the Old Testament was done away with because it did not work. It states that this New Covenant was put into place for us.
Before Jesus died, people lived by those Leviticus laws. Even Jesus Himself lived by those laws because He said He came to establish the New. So many from the Old Testament always had special ways they did things and Jesus wanted others to see that it was through Him that this new change was going to come about.
Hebrews says that the old laws are like a path to the new laws and when I was living in the old ways and seeking, I was brought onto that new path He was talking about. I found what I was looking for when I took time to read and hear His Word. By this, I mean we have to really read His Word front to back to understand His Love Story because that is exactly what it is – a love story!
So many take a little verses out of context and do not understand who they are referring to or the what and why’s. It is easy to get confused but when you have the correct resources, you can find the correct answers. I have found that having a Bible Concordance is a must. A Bible Dictionary is also very helpful, as well as human resources such as a preacher or Biblical expert! If you need to know history timelines, there are so many resources online to check out and research.
Before you celebrate without understanding why, it would be of your best interest to seek His truth before diving in where you might be led the wrong way. I spent many years believing I was celebrating these days righteously until I myself wanted to understand more. At first I was angry for being misled, and maybe just a bit still, but realized the meaning in Hebrews. May His light shine for you to see and get brighter as you get closer!
