I preached this sermon last Sunday to our home church. Actually, I don't preach word for word what I type out, but it is usually pretty close. Most of the time I don't even type out the sermons that God gives me, but from time to time I feel led to. I thought I would share it here, just to demonstrate some more of my convictions. They are not always popular, but I always feel strongly about them. There is much more that could be said about Halloween, but this is the direction that the Lord led me this week. Our pastor had touched on some of the evil components of Halloween the previous week, but left open the possibility that it may be OK to participate in many aspects of the "fun" part of the holiday. I have difficulty seeing anything about the celebration being appropriate "fun" for a Christian.
(I am always amazed when God allows me to put together a message and uses me to deliver it. This message was not copied from anyone else, but the Lord led me through prayer and study. What follows is a copy of my notes for the message with the actual Bible verses put in where they would have been read aloud):
INTRO:
Many pastors may touch on some of the evil components of Halloween in sermons, but most will leave open the possibility that it may be OK to participate in many aspects of the “fun” part of the holiday. Personally, I have come to the conviction that nothing about the celebration of Halloween is appropriate “fun” for a Christian. There is much more that could be said about the truly pagan origins and Satanic elements of the holiday, but this message mainly focuses on the aspects of Halloween as seen and practiced by 21st century Americans in our culture today.
WHY I DO NOT CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN
EPH. 5:8-16
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
I have been asked by many people over the years, why I do not celebrate Halloween. I was not brought up with any convictions against Halloween: I participated in trick or treat as a child; I’ve been to many Halloween parties in the past; I’ve even helped to organize a full-fledged “haunted house” at a church where Lisa and I were the youth leaders.
As I grew in Christ, and started looking around at what Halloween is really all about, God convinced me that there was nothing about Halloween that should interest me as a Christian. Today, for me as a Christian to want to celebrate Halloween would be like an Iranian citizen wanting to celebrate the 4th of July! It just doesn’t make much sense when I consider the main elements of Halloween:
1) Darkness is enhanced
2) Fear is embraced
3) Sin is expected
4) Death is exploited
5) Evil is exalted
Look at these elements in light of the scripture from Ephesians 5:8-16 as well as other scripture:
I. Darkness is enhanced v8
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the lord: walk as children of light:
Illus: Just look at the decorations surrounding Halloween, and they are everywhere. Halloween decorations are meant to celebrate evil and darkness. The Good Housekeeping Book of Entertainment: “orange, black and red, the devil’s colors, are the colors associated with Halloween, and this scheme should be carried out as far as possible! Have paper streamers and lanterns hanging from the ceiling, or you could make a giant spider web with black and orange strings, or with narrow strips of crepe paper for the four corners of the room, complete with a large spider, ‘one of the devil’s followers’.” Whatever is dark and creepy is supposed to be enhanced during the Halloween festivities.
But what is wrong with darkness?
A) Darkness hides evil
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
B) Darkness is opposite to God
“If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” 1 John 1:6
C) The light of Christ dispels the darkness
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
II. Fear is embraced v9-10
9 (For the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Illus: haunted houses, haunted trails, scary movies all have a goal contrary to goodness, righteousness and truth. Halloween says that we should embrace fear as a fun element of the holiday. So what’s wrong with fear?
Fear is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit, but you can make the case that fear may be a fruit of the spirit of Satan:
A) Fear is not from God
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim 1:7
B) The love of Christ casts out fear
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18
III. Sin is expected v11-12
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Illus: What teens do when they are too old to trick or treat: egging, corning, toilet paper, bashing mailboxes, road blocks, etc
Illus: Police verify that there are more crimes committed during the Halloween season.
We shouldn’t even have to think about what is wrong with sin. Sad to say, most Americans allow Halloween to be an excuse for some “innocent” sinful behavior. Such behavior is actually expected!
A) Sin is enticing
Proverbs 1:10-16
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
B) The Cross of Christ crucified sin
“Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
IV. Death is exploited v13-14
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Illus: Slasher movies glamorizing brutal, serial murders. Horror movies glamorizing the supernatural. Wicked movies dealing with the undead like zombies or vampires.
What’s wrong with allowing death, and the “un-dead”, to be some fun things to dwell on during Halloween?
A) Death was not from God - Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
B) Death is an enemy - 1 Cor 15:26
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.C) The victory of Christ defeated death - 1 Cor 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
- 1 Cor 15:54-57
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.V. Evil is exalted v15-16
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.Illus: World Book Encyclopedia “Halloween’s beginnings preceded Christ’s birth when the druids, a pagan group of devil-worshipers in what is now Britain and France, observed the end of summer by making human sacrifices to the gods. It was the beginning of the Celtic new year. They believed that Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like spirits themselves. The waning of the sun and the approach of dark winter made the evil spirits rejoice and play nasty tricks. Most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to the old pagan ties and superstitions.”
Illus: Today there are real Satan worshippers and witches who consider Halloween to be their “high holy day”
Should a Christian ever be exalting evil?
A) We should hate evil
“Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Rom 12:9B) We should overcome evil
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom 12:21
C) We should not look evil
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thes. 5:22
D) The devil is evil
1) Satan wants to be exalted and worshipped
Isaiah 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high.E) The manifestation of Christ destroys evil
“He that commiteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
- 1 John 3:8
Go back to some of the previous verses and notice the relationship between the common elements of Halloween and the work of our Savior Jesus Christ:
Darkness is enhanced – the light of Christ dispels darkness
Fear is embraced - the love of Christ casts out fear
Sin is expected - the Cross of Christ crucified sin
Death is exploited - the victory of Christ defeated death
Evil is exalted - manifestation of Christ destroys evil
Ephesians 5:17 is the verse immediately following our text:
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
What is the will of the Lord? For me, concerning the celebration of Halloween, there is no question.
Halloween is celebrated on 10-31 so let’s end with an appropriate 10:31 verse from the bible:
1 Corinthians 10:31
31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
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1 comment
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Penny Raine & family on November 18, 2007 at 12:13 pm
and amen and amen and AMEN!
can I use this as an article on one of my websites? giving you credit of course?
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REPLY:
Dear Penny,
Thank you for such a kind comment about the sermon! I usually wonder if anyone really reads something like that all the way through. Of course I always pray that God will direct people to read them and use the messages to accomplish His will, but I usually wonder anyway!
Most of the entries on my blog are limited to only registered users, and some are to only "friends", but the few sermons I have posted are on the web for all the world to see, in hopes that someone may stumble upon them and God will be able to speak to them.
I would be flattered if you used it in any way you can, for the glory of God! If you want to change any of it to fit your needs, that would be fine also. I am not happy with the format the way it is right now because it could be laid out a lot nicer. My computer was not allowing me to do the indentions and sizes and italics and things the way I wanted, so you would probably want to format it nicer.
What other websites do you have? Homesteadblogger is the only site of yours that I know about. Let me know where you put it, if God leads you to use it, because I think it would be awesome to see it on another site! You don't have to credit me, necessarily. My name is not important. The name of Jesus is!
Thanks again, and may God bless you!
Eric
