What About Easter? by Travis L Quertermous From The Reminder, April 8, 2012 Today is the day “Christendom” calls Easter Sunday. Easter, over the years, like many holidays, has become a mixture of the religious and the secular. On the one hand, most denominational churches observe Easter as an annual holy day in honor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In addition, in some denominations, it is the culmination of a religious season called Lent that also includes such “holy days” as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday among others. On the other hand, for others, Easter is a secular holiday for kids that includes Easter baskets full of candy, dyeing Easter Eggs, and hunting such eggs left by the Easter Bunny. So what is the truth about Easter? Is it a holy day, a holiday, or heresy? In churches of Christ, we have generally rejected all “holy days” of human origin like Easter and Christmas. That is why there are no passion plays or sunrise Easter services here at the Dexter Church of Christ. Why take such a view? The simple reason is because there is no New Testament authority for such religious holidays. (Note that “Easter” in Acts 12:4 in the KJV is a mistranslation and should be rendered “Passover.”) Hence, the apostles and the Churches of Christ in the New Testament era did not observe Easter. History tells us the practice began about the end of the second century A.D. Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday came along later as other traditions of men. Jesus warned the religious leaders of his day, “‘And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matt. 15:9). Likewise, the apostle Paul warned against “will worship” according to the doctrines of men (Col. 2:21-23, ASV). Easter and other such man-made holy days, despite the best of intentions, fall into this category, and so, we reject them as vain worship. However, in rejecting Easter, that does not mean we reject the resurrection of Christ! In fact, every Sunday is a celebration of the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection through partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Here is another example where the traditions of men make the word of God void, by substituting an annual celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the weekly communion service taught in Scripture (Acts 20:6-7). Many people even think Easter and Christmas are the only two times they have to go to church! But let us not throw out the baby with the bathwater. While it is unscriptural to observe Easter as a holy day, it is not wrong to celebrate it as a national holiday. Paul allows us to observe non-religious days (Rom. 14:5-6). Easter egg hunts are not unscriptural in and of themselves. So let us observe Easter as a national holiday, but not as a holy day.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 09:13:17 +0000
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