Birthday

WHY WE DO NOT CELEBRATE BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY

The Scripture speaks specifically only have two birthdays, both were from royal family and pagan family. The first was pharaoh, who declared an amnesty on his birthday [Genesis 40:20]. The second was Herod ANTIPAS, in whose birthday revelry, John the Baptist was beheaded as a gift for HERODIAS [Lady Herod].

The celebration of the anniversary of one’s birth is universal practice, originating from early Egyptian era, passed to Church Age believers.

Under the Mosaic Laws, age was the chief qualification for authority and office. This implies that the Jews of the Old Testament and New Testament times kept record of theirs birth [John 9:21 Luke 2:42].

The Jews had recorded theirs date of birth as time reference and as per requirement of the Roman Laws that requires counting of birthdays, but not for the purpose of celebrating it.

However, there is no recorded birth -day celebration of any kind among the Old Testament believers.

There is no recorded birthday or anniversary celebration of any kind among the New Testament saints.

THE CELEBRATION OF BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY ORIGINATED FROM PAGAN RELIGIONS NOT FROM SCRIPTURE OR BELIEVERS.

SOME PRINCIPLES:

Birthday or anniversary celebration is a big financial burden for most believers.

Church anniversary celebration is not only a financial burden for church members but entirely not Scriptural.

Giving a lavish birthday celebration promotes the uplifts the arrogance and ego of many.

Lavish birthday celebration is only waste of money, time, effort and energy – after all you cannot please everyone.

The believer does not live for this world or for the things of this world but for God. We are here to please God and not men [Colossians 3:2-3]. The world is not our home, but we are the citizens of heaven. We are to set in our souls the heavenly things as our top priority in life. [Philippians 3:20, Colossians 3:2].

The believers are the stewards of God’s logistical blessing. Therefore we must properly dispose our own resources for eternal and profitable things – things that are eternal in values.

OBSERVING DAYS, months, days or season is a direct disobedience to God and His Word [Galatians 4:9-10].

The believers are no longer slaves of the cosmic systems. We are no longer the blind followers of satanic traditions, trends, religious rituals, trends and practices.

The issue here is not financial but spiritual. WE DO NOT CELEBRATE BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY BECAUSE IT IS NOT BIBLICAL. It is not spiritual to celebrate.

There is nothing spiritual about church anniversary celebration. It is not biblical.

^{J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries}

12/27/06