And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.....Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.
1 Samuel 15:26,30
"Now, I see here today more people that I am accustomed to having at the sermon.
Why is that?
It is Christmas day.
And who told you this? You poor beasts.
That is a fitting euphemism for all of you who have come here today to honor Noel.
Did you think you would be honoring God?
Consider what sort of obedience to God your coming displays.
---In your mind, you are celebrating a holiday for God, or turning today into one but so much for that.
---In truth, as you have often been admonished, it is good to set aside one day out of the year in which we are reminded of all the good that has occurred because of Christ’s birth in the world, and in which we hear the story of his birth retold, ....
---But if you think that Jesus Christ was born today, you are as crazed as wild beasts.
---For when you elevate one day alone for the purpose of worshiping God, you have just turned it into an idol.
True, you insist that you have done so for the honor of God, but it is more for the honor of the devil.
Let us consider what our Lord has to say on the matter.
*Was it not Saul’s intention to worship God when he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, along with the best spoils and cattle?
He says as much: ‘I want to worship God.’
Saul’s tongue was full of devotion and good intention. but what was the response he received? ‘You soothsayer! You heretic! You apostate! You claim to be honoring God, but God rejects you and disavows all that you have done.’
Consequently, the same is true of our actions.
It matters not whether we recall our Lord’s nativity on a Wednesday, Thursday, or some other day.
But when we insist on establishing a service of worship based on our whim, we blaspheme God, and create an idol, though we have done it all in the name of God.
John Calvin
1 Samuel 15:26,30
"Now, I see here today more people that I am accustomed to having at the sermon.
Why is that?
It is Christmas day.
And who told you this? You poor beasts.
That is a fitting euphemism for all of you who have come here today to honor Noel.
Did you think you would be honoring God?
Consider what sort of obedience to God your coming displays.
---In your mind, you are celebrating a holiday for God, or turning today into one but so much for that.
---In truth, as you have often been admonished, it is good to set aside one day out of the year in which we are reminded of all the good that has occurred because of Christ’s birth in the world, and in which we hear the story of his birth retold, ....
---But if you think that Jesus Christ was born today, you are as crazed as wild beasts.
---For when you elevate one day alone for the purpose of worshiping God, you have just turned it into an idol.
True, you insist that you have done so for the honor of God, but it is more for the honor of the devil.
Let us consider what our Lord has to say on the matter.
*Was it not Saul’s intention to worship God when he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, along with the best spoils and cattle?
He says as much: ‘I want to worship God.’
Saul’s tongue was full of devotion and good intention. but what was the response he received? ‘You soothsayer! You heretic! You apostate! You claim to be honoring God, but God rejects you and disavows all that you have done.’
Consequently, the same is true of our actions.
It matters not whether we recall our Lord’s nativity on a Wednesday, Thursday, or some other day.
But when we insist on establishing a service of worship based on our whim, we blaspheme God, and create an idol, though we have done it all in the name of God.
*And when you worship God in the idleness of a holiday spirit, that is a heavy sin to bear, and one which attracts others about it, until we reach the height of iniquity.
They came here in anticipation of celebrating a wrong intention, but will leave with it wholly unfulfilled."John Calvin
