Does it make any difference if true Christians observe St. Patrick's Day? Does God's living word - the Holy Bible - establish whether we, as Christians, are to keep certain God-ordained holy days? Were these holy days ONLY given to the Jews!? Does Leviticus 23:1 say, "'The feasts of the children of Israel'"!? Hence, the feasts of the Jews!? Are these God-ordained holy days binding TODAY on true Christians? WHICH DAYS SHOULD TRUE CHRISTIANS KEEP!?
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WELL, HERE we are again, approaching March 17th, which is observed by a large majority of this world as St. Patrick's Day! But why!? Do you know just why you celebrate this day - if indeed you do!? And, should true Christians celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
Every year multiple millions of our people observe St. Patrick's Day, yet, those of us of the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries and our affiliated churches DO NOT!
Why!?
Well, truly because of where it came from, what it truly is, as well as what it is supposed to represent.
If you've never researched this subject before, let's delve into some research - such as The Catholic Encyclopedia - in which we will certainly find some interesting, as well as disturbing claims involving St. Patrick's Day:
"Saint, Apostle of Ireland, b. at Kil- Patrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; d. at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. ... Pope St. Celestine I (q. v.), who rendered immortal service to able wreath of honour decreed to the Blessed Virgin in the General Council of Ephesus, crowned his pontificate by an act of the most far-reaching consequences for the spread of Christianity and civilization, when he entrusted St. Patrick with the mission of gathering the Irish race into the one fold of Christ.... The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text : —... I bind to myself to-dayThe strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trin- ity: I believe the Trinity in the Unity ...St. Patrick proceeded through Gowran into Ossory ; here he erected a church under the invocation of St. Martin, near the present city of Kilkenny, and enriched it with many of the precious relics which he had brought from Rome. ...Many times in the day he armed himself with the sign of the Cross. ...Far more ample, however, were the aspirations of the saint, and he resolved to persevere in fasting and prayer until the fullest measure of his petition was granted. Again and again the angel came to comfort him, announcing new concessions; but all these would not suffice. He would not relinquish his post on the mountain, or relax his penance, until all were granted. At length the message came that his prayers were heard: (1) many souls would be freed from the pains of purgatory through his intercession; (2) whoever in a spirit of penance would recite his hymn before death would attain the heavenly reward; (.3) barbarian hordes would never obtain sway in his Church; (4) seven years before the Judgment Day, the sea would spread over Ireland to save its people from the temptations and terrors of Antichrist; and (5) greatest blessing of all, Patrick himself would be deputed to judge the whole Irish race on the last day. Such were the extraordinary favours which St. Patrick, with his unremitting penitential deeds, obtained for the people whem he evangelized."(Original-Catholic-Encyclopedia-Volume-11 online. Retrieved 14 March 2022).
Now, we in the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries, and our affiliated churches DO NOT consider that Patrick was a saint or an apostle. We also DO NOT believe that people should wear crosses. And, we DO NOT consider that he was chosen to judge the Irish people on Judgement Day!
We also understand that the very concept of purgatory was not adopted until the Roman Catholic Church rejected the teachings on apokatastasis - which is God's biblical teaching that in the age to come all who did not have a real opportunity for eternal salvation will be given an opportunity then.
So, one of the main reasons why NOT to celebrate "St. Patrick's Day" is that it promotes non-biblical teachings and obscures the TRUTH OF GOD!
Wikipedia writes:
"Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ... lit. 'the Day of the Festival of Patrick' is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. 385- c. 461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. ... Saint Patrick's feast day was finally placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the Catholic Church due to the influence of Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding. ...Saint Patrick is said to have used a shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity ... In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the Irish had many triple deities, ...Saint Patrick's Day, while not a legal holiday in the United States, ... has been celebrated in what is now the U.S. since 1601."(Wikipedia, St. Patrick's Day; the latest accepted version was reviewed 14 March 2022).
Certainly, the above should give every true Christian pause in celebrating this pagan holiday!
Not only do we NOT celebrate what this world's "Mother Church" observes, but we also DO NOT accept that God is a Trinity as defined by the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381! Here in the United States of America, what they call a shamrock, we call a three-leafed clover. Our Lord and Savior's Church NEVER considered such nonsense as a Trinity. So, the observation of a holiday intended to celebrate a man who used a green clover to mislead others concerning the true nature of God would not be appropriate. (Two sermons of related interest may be "God's Master Plan - From the Beginning," along with "The Truth Concerning the Trinity Explained").
So, this St. Patrick's Day, essentially, is a worldly holiday promoting the wrong understanding of the Godhead.
The very "fruits" of this holiday are not good, and is dangerous!
Again, Wikipedia -
"Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have been criticized, particularly for their association with pubic drunkenness and disorderly conduct."
The very type of revelry and drunkenness that DOES occur in its celebration is condemned by Almighty God through the apostle Peter -
"Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2) that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3) For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles - when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4) In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you" - 1 Peter 4:1-4.
As well as the apostle Paul -
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS will not inherit the kingdom of God" - Galatians 5:19-21.
Now, it should also be noted that Patrick had concluded within his own self that God will use him on Judgment Day to judge all the Irish people! Apparently, Patrick was told by an angel named Victor. Yet, God's own very living words say, "There is only ONE Lawgiver [Judge], who is able to save and to destroy. ..." - James 4:12. And His name is NOT Patrick!
The large majority of myths, stories, legends, and outright fabrications concerning this St. Patrick truly lead to grave misunderstandings of what true Christianity is and the very nature of the Godhead. It truly is a deception by our mortal and spiritual enemy, Satan the Devil, for our peoples all around the world, as well as our brethren from the tribe of Dan. Recall, "Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel." This indicates that the Irish people would gain self-government in the following manner - "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward." And, indeed, Ireland's Irish Republican Army (IRA) along with the earlier Irish Citizen Army (ICA) did just that to the United Kingdom.
We, as other brethren, try to "'not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God'" - Matthew 4:4. We instead keep the feasts of the LORD, ordained by God that were kept by our Lord Jesus Christ, the original apostles, and the other early followers of Christ Jesus!
Shouldn't you!?
Turn with me, if you will, to Leviticus chapter 23 - for the LORD our God (the very One we now know of as Jesus Christ) has, under Moses and under the inspiration of God's Spirit, listed His feasts -
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2) 'Speak to the children of Israel [or also the New Covenant Church of God], and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, THESE ARE MY FEASTS.'" - Leviticus 23:1-2.
Friends, St. Patrick's Day - or the Feast of St. Patrick - IS NOT LISTED! It is not a commanded feast of the LORD - it is a tradition of paganized man. And there is no hint whatsoever of it in the Bible.
GOD WARNS:
"Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16) lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, 17) the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18) the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. 19) And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven [outer space], and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. 20) But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day. ... 23) Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image IN THE FORM OF ANYTHING which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24) For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" - Deuteronomy 4:15-24.
We must not, friends, worship Almighty God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ the way the pagans did - Leviticus 18:3; Deuteronomy 12:31; Jeremiah 10:2-3.
Now, a great many might argue - 'we're not worshiping God with the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, we're celebrating the death of a saint!'
To this I say - God's living eternal Word is crystal clear that we are to WORSHIP GOD ALONE! All true Christians refuse any worship or veneration by others. The apostle Peter as well as all the other apostles absolutely refused to be worshiped or venerated - cf. Acts 10:25-26; 14:13-14. God's holy and righteous angels refuse to be worshiped - cf. Revelation 19:10; 22:9. And our response should be the same as our Lord Jesus Christ as well as His holy angels - "'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve'" - Matthew 4:10.
Sadly, Roman Catholics, as well as a great number of Protestants, bypass God's clear instruction by claiming that they do not "worship" Mary or their "saints," but rather they only venerate Mary and their saints. Well, placing a hat on a pig doesn't magically turn it into a horse! The definition of "venerate" in the Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - the 1996 10th Edition - is "to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference. To honor (as an icon or a relic) with a ritual act of devotion." NOWHERE in God's living word are we told to revere ANYONE but Almighty God alone! Now, there is nothing wrong with respecting those faithful true Christians who have died before us (cf. Hebrews chapter 11). We are to follow their example as they followed our Lord Jesus Christ's - yes, but worship or revere, or venerate, NO!
Also, as noted earlier: God's living WORD repeatedly warns against the practices of drunkenness, debauchery, revelries, and the like! □
Be sure to watch Minister Michael C. Garrett's enlightening sermon - In Hope of Eternal Life (What Is A Saint?)
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