The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws,
changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
—Isa. 24.5

The True Christian and Presbyterian View of "Holydays"

I. The Worship of God

Worship of God must be True & Spiritual Worship. All other worship is either not worship, or worship of a false god.

II. Spiritual Worship

That worship which is spiritual is that which standeth not in outward actions and works of the hands, but of the heart, when we, out of fear and love for our God, do with great humility and reverence address ourselves unto Him in praise, thanksgiving, and supplication, so communicating with Him and of Him, that we may partake of the grace which is therein conferred to us, and glorify Him in love and a holy zeal, with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

III. True Worship distinguished from false worship, idolatry, and superstition

True worship of God is that service rendered to Him in the willing acts of obedience to His own word as an expression of our submission unto and high esteem for His will in preference to that of ourselves. As the Word of God is fixed and unchanging, so also, there may be nothing added to nor retracted from His commandments in regards to His worship. All preferring of the judgments and feelings of men over the word of God is truly an antichristian exalting of man's authority above that of God and such service is therefore most certainly idolatrous in setting man above God, superstitious in esteeming holy what God does not, and therefore no true worship of God, but rather devils. It is God's command, His own Word, which sanctifies true worship, that we, thus resting upon His Word by faith, may truly please Him through our obedience. Thereby only may we come before him in faith, when as we confidently trust that our worship is accepted, because His word tells us that it is according to His will.

IV. The Vanity of Worship as ordained by man

Commands & Traditions of men are forbidden in worship. Further, their use tends to diminish the use of the proper and true worship of God.

V. Holy Zeal for God's worship, requires an holy zeal against all other worship

God's people are commanded to destroy all elements of, and end all uses of, false worship and idolatry.

VI. God's Hatred of False Worship and the Just punishment thereof

Worship not commanded by God, just as all other idolatry and superstition, is justly punished by death.

VII. Obedience - The only worship or honour acceptable unto God

God is pleased only with obedience to Him, not inventions and sacrifices we voluntarily offer according to our own mind's devising without or contrary to God's instruction.

VIII. Holydays, as Ordained by men

Humanly invented holydays are false worship as typified by the example of the evil King Jeroboam's appointment of a new feast which had not been commanded by God, but invented of his own heart, as well as the idolatrous feast commanded by Aaron without God's authority.

VIIII. Holydays, as Ordained by Antichrist

Humanly invented holydays are elements of the worship appointed by Antichrist: he who has thought to "change times and laws" without respect to God's Law. This is the "Pontifix Maximus" - first the Roman Emperor, then the Roman Pope, who has invented many holydays to add to God's word, as though he were God and sat in the very throne of God to command His people how they ought to worship.

X. Holydays, as Ordained by God, and Corrupted by Man

God hates even holydays which He has commanded when they have been corrupted by idolatry, covetousness (which Paul says is the same thing - Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5,) drunkenness, gluttony, unchastity, and other sins. All these things, especially covetousness, abound during our modern "holydays."

XI. Holydays ordained by God for the Jews

The holydays and feasts appointed by God in the Old Testament have all been abrogated along with the ceremonialism of the Levitical Priesthood and its symbolic sacrifices and rites in the Temple, which were only shadows of things to come in Christ Jesus. Such holydays we are now forbidden to keep "holy" because Christ, having come as the fullness of all those things shadowed forth, has made that whole system of worship "desolate."

XII. Persecution from those who practice vain religion

Christians are not to allow Pagans and Jews to judge them for not keeping Pagan and Jewish holydays.

XIII. Trees in worship

The "Green Tree" has long been a center of false worship for pagans, even from the days of Moses until today.

XIV. xMASS Trees

The Pagan practice of setting up and decorating evergreen trees within the home is condemned in the Bible and God's people are forbidden to learn such heathenish practices or anything else from the false religion of the heathen.

XV. Worshipping Images of the Mother & Son

Worship of the Babylonian infant sun god Tammuz, whose birthday the Babylonians established on December 25th, is mentioned and abominated in the Bible, as is the worship of the "Queen of Heaven" who is the mother of Tammuz. The practice of making graven images of a Mother and Son ("Mary" and "Jesus") to sit under a tree or on the front lawn for the world's adoration is identical to the pagan practice of worshiping the images of the Mother and Son (Queen of Heaven and Tammuz) honoured by pagans during the Winter Solstice. ("Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image....)

XVI. The Pagan Mythology of xMASS

The Myth of Santa Clause is just as Pagan as lying is un-Christian. Santa Clause is a devil worshipped by the devil worship of families and churches throughout the world who falsely claim the name Christian while teaching their children that this god can see all things, knows all things which we do, and rewards all the world with gifts according to his loving-kindness. He is the god which the world would believe in: one who is far away, gluttonous, and never punishes anyone. He shows up once a year while everyone else is sleeping and doesn't disturb anyone. This is not the God of the Bible. This is the god of this world.

XVII. The one day Holy to God & His people

God commands His people to keep the Sabbath Day, the Lord's Day, holy, as a remembrance of the great work of salvation that God has wrought for His people in Jesus Christ, and as a day of rest wherein His people may cease from their labours and all cares of the world, so that they may diligently devote themselves to the true worship and service of the LORD.

Jeremy T. Kerr 19971225
Revised 19981202

There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.
From the Appendix to the Directory for the Public Worship of God adopted in 1645 by the Churches of Scotland, England, and Ireland as part of their Covenanted Uniformity
All festivals should be abolished, and Sunday alone retained.... Here is the reason: since the feast days are abused by drinking, gambling, loafing, and all manner of sin, we anger God more on holy days than we do on other days. Things are so topsy-turvy that holy days are not holy, but working days are. Nor is any service rendered to God and his saints by so many saints days.
From Martin Luther's Treatise to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, 1520
The idolatry and superstition of the Church of Rome in the worship of God, is their idolatrous kneeling at the sacrament, asserting that the bread is turned into the real body of Christ; their idolatrous worshipping of Christ by the crucifix; their idolatrous pictures and images of God, which they bow before; and their idolatrous bowing at the altars and towards the east; their idolatrous praying to angels and saints, especially to the Virgin Mary; their offering up the unbloody sacrifice of the host; their superstitious fastings and abstaining from flesh in Lent; their superstitious holidays; their superstitious priests' surplice; their adding cream, oil, and spittle to the wafer, and signing with the cross in baptism; their baptizing of bells; their praying upon beads; and many more superstitious customs, for which there is not the least command in the Scripture.
From Thomas Vincent's Explanation of the Shorter Catechism, Puritan 1674
... Contrary [to scriptural] doctrine, we understand whatsoever men, by laws, councils, or constitutions have imposed upon the consciences of men, without the expressed commandment of God's word: such as be vows of chastity, forswearing of marriage, binding of men and women to several and disguised apparels, to the superstitious observation of fasting days, difference of meat for conscience sake, prayer for the dead; and keeping of holy days of certain saints commanded by man, such as be all those that the Papists have invented, as the feasts (as they term them) of apostles, martyrs, virgins, of Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Purification, and other fond feasts of our lady. Which things, because in God's scriptures they neither have commandment nor assurance, we judge them utterly to be abolished from this realm; affirming further, that the obstinate maintainers and teachers of such abominations ought not to escape the punishment of the civil magistrate.
From the First Book of Discipline of the Church of Scotland, 1560
Observing festivals of human institution, under pretence of piety, is strong delusion: it is not acceptable to God [Mat.15.9.]: it diminishes respect for the Lord’s day [Mark 7.9.]: it has an immoral tendency [Ezek.43.8.]: it reflects upon the wisdom of God [Col.2.23.]: it is a direct violation of the moral law [Exod.20.9.]; and is one of the principal branches of antichristian superstition [Dan.7.25.]: the knowledge and experience of true religion disappear from any church, in proportion as zeal for the observation of festivals manifests itself.
From The Ecclesiastical Catechism, Alexander McLeod, Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation in the City of New-York, 1806.

Other references available on the internet include:

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