Halloween

HALLOWEEN EPH. 5

By Pastor Derek Whitacre

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

I. AVOID THAT WHICH IS SINFUL, Is Halloween sinful? Some obviously yes, others obviously no, some don’t know at all.

NO VERSE SO WE USE BROAD PRINCIPLES

Pauls list of good: 1 Thes 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Follows with a list to stay away from:

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

So we are left with the question is Halloween evil? We all know what it is to abstain from something. But I don’t know that everyone understands what Evil is.

SOME SPECIFIC SINS ARE MENTIONED, STEAL, MURDER

OTHERS ARE MORE GENERAL AND JUST COMMON SENSE.

Halloween: “All Hallows eve”

EASTER AND EGGS, CHRISTMAS AND TREES, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. THURSDAY, THOR. WED. WODEN. EVEN SUNDAY GIVES HONOR RA TO THE SUN GOD

THE ROOTS OF A THING, WHERE IT STARTED ISN’T EVERYTHING. BEGGINGS AREN’T EVERYTHING. BUT THEY’RE NOT NOTHING EITHER.

HENERY THE 8TH. STARTED THE ANGLICAN CHURCH. The 1st church to separate from the Roman catholic reign. BUT ALSO EXECUTED HIS WIFE. COULD NEVER BE A CHRISTIAN.

AS FOR YOU. ARE YOU COMMUNING WITH EVIL SPIRITS? HONORING DEATH AND THE DEAD? I think we need to consult scripture on this one. Let’s see what is acceptable to the Lord.

Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

Now consider what you are doing, how you celebrate this month. Put that up against this passage and let God’s word tell you which way to go.

Consider NOT ONLY WHAT YOU’RE DOING BUT ALSO WHAT OTHERS SEE THAT YOU ARE DOING. YOUR DECORATIONS, YOUR COSTUMES, YOUR ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES.

A DEVIL COSTUME OR A PENTEGRAM OR EVEN ANYTHING GOULISH WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE.

ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT IT IS TO ASK YOURSELF “WHO IS THIS MAKING SMILE?”GOD OR SATAN

It's easy enough to say I'm not worshiping Satan or death. And it's easy enough to convince yourself that it's all in good fun and that Christians in general just need to relax. But honestly if your house is covered in skeletons and witches and spider webs who is smiling on that. When your neighbors and little kids and the world looks at the black cats and coffins and headstones and sees what the Christians are doing who is smiling?

Eph.2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Maybe for you its about proving that your not a stuck up stuffy Christian who’s holier than thou. Or maybe you don’t want to see your family miss out on the fun. I know that many Christian families struggle with what movies they will and will not watch and what video games they will and will not play and this sort of thing. And I find that a great way to make a determination is to ask yourself who's smiling. And then determine if it’s satan and his demons and not God are we going to do it anyways. I would hope not.

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

If you are saved and believe in Jesus Christ. If you are saved then you have already experienced death and have been brought to life. If you are now a Christian Then there was a time before you were a Christian that you were dead in your sins but we have been “made alive together with Christ” for by grace we have been saved.