One very common question that Christians typically ask is should I celebrate Halloween? And there's a good reason for that. Because for the whole month of October, there are decorations everywhere that promote the idea of death and fear.
But rather than tell you whether it's a sin to celebrate Halloween, I'd like to offer some advice on how to approach the holiday. Because regardless of what we do, Halloween happens every year. So it's not a question of if you should celebrate, but how you should participate while still honoring God.
One thought that I want you to think about is that Christians throughout centuries have had to live in very sinful cities that had horrible practices. And those believers all had to think about the right approach to the evil that they encountered. So understand that finding the best way to approach evil is something that every Christian should think about.
So regarding how strict you should be when it comes to Halloween, we'll leave that up to you. I'd say that developing your own convictions is a personal journey. And my hope for this video is to help you reflect on how you should approach Halloween so that you can come to your own conclusion.
So if you're considering if or how you should celebrate this holiday, here are five points that I want you to think about. Point number one. Approach Halloween as a holiday that you could participate in.
First Corinthians chapter ten, verses 25 to 29. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner, and you are disposed to go eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, this has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience I do not mean your conscience, but his. In this passage, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, and he's talking about the issue of eating food offered to idols, which is condemned in the Old Testament.
And he tells them that if an unbeliever invites them over to dinner and offers them food, then they should eat whatever is given to them. But if their unbelieving host mentions that it is offered to idols, only then should they not eat it. And he says this not because of their own conscience or conviction, but because of their hosts conscience.
And if you continue to read, Paul instructs the Corinthians that whatever action they do, whether they eat or drink, they should do it for the glory of God. And he does this so that many can be saved. So note here that these Christians did, in fact have the freedom to eat food that was dedicated to false gods.
You see, the Corinthians were around idolatry all the time, and they had to figure out how to be involved with their community without participating in sin. So I want you to notice the theme that Paul is trying to convey here. And the theme is that Christians should act toward unbelievers in a way that won't prevent the gospel from being shared.
And while he says to be sensitive and try not to offend people, he also says to make a stand against sin. You know, when I go to Japan, they have regular Shinto festivals, and some of these festivals are for ancestors, some for children, some for good spirits, and some to drive away evil ones. These festivals involve food, games, prizes, music and Shinto rituals.
And as a missionary in Japan, I am in complete disagreement with the purpose of the festival and the meaning behind them. However, I still attend them and when I'm there, I notice that the people of the community open up, and I'm finding that these events and celebrations are not only fun, but they're great ways to get to know the people that I'm trying to reach and show them love. So I play the games, eat the food, but I also make it a point not to do anything related to the rituals or prayers.
So when I was given the opportunity to write my prayers on a piece of wood, I refused. And there was this one time when I was encouraged to pray to their gods, and they encouraged me to hold their beads. I said, I'm sorry, but no, I only pray to Jesus.
He alone is God. And sadly, I was asked to leave their building when they saw that I would not pray to their gods. So for you, as you consider Halloween, I do think a lot of those parties are harmless and people are eating, talking, playing games, and having a fun time in their costumes.
However, if at some point in this party they turn on a demonic movie or bring out a Ouija board to try to talk to evil spirits or bring out tarot cards or read palms, then this party has now crossed over into practicing occult activity. And when people do this, they may want you to participate. And I would say that this would be the time to engage with the culture and take a stand against sin and call it out for what it is.
I have to admit, I did feel bad when I rejected the bids offered to me by a Buddhist, and the reason why was because I felt that she was just trying to help me, and I smiled and I told her gently, I'm here because I want to learn about your religion, but I will not pray to your gods, because I will only pray to Jesus because he alone is God. So with that said, you may need to take a similar stand, but do you understand? I did participate in festivals and other religious traditions because I felt I had the freedom too.
And one of the reasons why I did is because we as Christians need to associate with unsaved people. And holidays like Halloween are one of the ways that we can engage with our culture. At the same time, though, we must be prepared to make a stand against sin if the situation calls for it.
So if something goes too far, stop participating and choose to be a light in the darkness. Point number two. Approach Halloween as a day to identify convictions and honor God.
Romans chapter 14, verses 5 to 6. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The one who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord. Since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
In this passage, Paul is writing to the Romans about not judging one another. And he points out that people will have different convictions about how to observe certain days. And then he says that believers should be convinced in their own mind and that they should honor the Lord no matter the conviction.
And I want you to notice that whatever for the conviction, the individual should honor God. So yes, even Halloween can be a day to honor God, and it should be a day to identify your own personal convictions regarding the holiday. So that said, I would caution believers to be aware of causing division due to the fact that some people may not have the same convictions as them.
So in the same way that some believers felt that they could eat meat offered to idols. Christians may also feel like they can participate in Halloween to a certain extent. And going back to that passage, you would see that honoring God is repeated three times.
And Paul says, if you observe a particular day, honor God, and if you choose to eat something or not, honor God. And if you choose to abstain from something, honor God. So whatever you decide to do with Halloween, honor God.
So once you find your personal conviction, I would encourage you to honor God during Halloween. So one thing you could do is to pray seriously at some point of the day on Halloween. And during that time, you can pray for Christians everywhere to be good witnesses.
You can also pray for those that are weak so that they can be strong against temptation. And you can pray for open doors for people to know Jesus. Another thing you can do to honor God is to sing praise to him throughout the day, or listen to worship songs you see on this particular night.
We can't prevent all the attention that the devil and his demons will get. But one thing that we can do is give God more of ours. So I'd encourage you to fill your head, your heart, and possibly the room with the worship song.
In addition to that, be open to the Holy Spirit on Halloween. He may give you a verse, a song, or a person to concentrate on. In my experience, Halloween is an amazing time to show love to those who are afraid.
And I'd also say that our loving actions toward others are one of our best weapons against the enemy. Point number three. Approach Halloween with wisdom.
Matthew chapter ten, verse 16. Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
In this passage, Jesus is warning the disciples about persecution that's coming as they share the gospel. And he gives them the image of a sheep in the midst of wolves, meaning that evil people will hate them and possibly kill them. Then Jesus uses the image of being wise like a serpent and innocent like a dove.
And here Jesus is illustrating that when there's danger, Christians not only have to be wise, but also innocent of any wrongdoing. You see, wisdom is mentioned here because it's essential when approaching evil. So looking at Halloween, it can look harmless.
But we as believers need to be wise and innocent of any wrongdoing. Next, look at Philippians chapter one, verses 9 to 10. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent.
And so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. In this passage, Paul is telling the Philippian church that he's praying for them, and he prays that they would increase in knowledge and discernment so that they can be pure and blameless. So from these two passages, I want you to see two things that Christians should exercise wisdom and discernment.
And I would say that Halloween is the time when we really should use both. So on Halloween, I want you to consider and pray about how you should participate. For example, if you are not going to trick or treat, don't hide in your house and turn the porch light off.
Instead, maybe go for a walk around the block and try to engage with people or go for a prayer walk. And if you don't have a strong conviction about trick or treating, don't just turn your mind off. Think about what you're doing and why you're doing it.
Or in other words, make sure to be wise and observant. Personally, I think trick or treating is actually a great way to get to know your neighbors. So if you do go, make it a point to connect with others and keep your eyes open to see if anything is wrong.
And the reason why I say that is because there is a lot of evil that occurs on this day. And it would be good for Christians to identify and distinguish things that are demonic and things that are harmless. So to wrap this point up, use Halloween to learn how to have wisdom and discernment.
And one action step that I'd recommend for you is to spend some time with God before Halloween, and to write a few things down on your phone that you want to remember to keep your awareness up throughout the day. And I'd also encourage you to pray before you go to a Halloween event so that you'll learn to be more mindful. Point number four.
Approach Halloween as a spiritual battle. Second Kings, chapter six, verse 17. Then Elisha prayed and said, oh Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.
So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. In this passage the king of Syria was at war with Israel, and Elisha, a prophet for Israel, was messing up serious plans of attacks.
So the king of Syria, being frustrated, sends his army to attack them. And in the morning Elisha, servant goes outside and sees the Syrian army full of horses and chariots all around the city, ready to attack. And as the servant was freaking out, Elisha prayed that the eyes of the young man would be opened.
And then God open to the servant's eyes. And he saw that the mountains were full of chariots of fire all around them. And as the Syrians came to attack, Elisha prayed for them to be struck with blindness.
And what I want you to notice in this passage is that the physical attack was not the whole picture. So even though they were outnumbered by the enemy, the spiritual reality was that they had chariots of fire all around them protecting them. So despite the fact that Elisha servant felt like they were in danger, the reality was that the Syrian army were actually the ones that were in danger because they were the ones that were severely out powered.
A few years ago, my friend was mentoring a young man who would always see demons. It was something that happened most of his life and it troubled him a lot. So one day when my friend and that man were talking.
My friend asked him, can you tell me what these demons are doing right now? He replied, yes. I see one hiding over there behind that building, one up hiding in that tree and one over by those people hiding behind the bench.
And then my friend asked him, have you ever thought of what they're hiding from? I mean, you're the only one who can see them right now. So maybe you're focused maybe too much on the enemy.
And what you're not seeing is the other side of this battle. Because I think that demons are hiding because of an angelic presence. And hearing this completely relieved him.
And then my friend read him this passage in Second Kings, and after he read it to him, he prayed that his eyes would be opened. So you see, we don't need to be afraid of demons because God is with us. And God commands his angels to help us in our battles.
And what I want you to notice is that in both of these stories, the enemy was out powered. So just like how it was with Elisha, God fights our battles. And that's Christians right now.
God's Holy Spirit lives within us. So for you recognize that Halloween is a spiritual battle, and we need to pray for our eyes to be opened so that we can see what's actually taking place. So don't be spiritually lazy, and don't be passive and fearful, but rather be active and ready to fight.
So honestly, get your mind right and read and pray seriously. And then remember that at the end of the day, God wins. And point number five.
Approach Halloween as an open door for good or evil. Ephesians chapter five, verses eight through 11. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light. For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. In this passage, the Ephesian Christians are being commanded not to take part in the evil acts of the city, but to instead walk in light. And part of that looks like discerning what's right and wrong.
And the other part is to stay away from evil acts and then expose them. So when it comes to Halloween, no one understands that it is an open door for evil and death. And our job is to expose that darkness by walking in the light.
So also know that while Halloween can be a time of lust, fear, and evil, it can also be an open door for light, evangelism and love. One time on a Halloween night, my friend gathered some people together to go to a late Halloween event in his city to pray and walk around, and the event they went to had demonic mazes that you walk through filled with all kinds of occult images. So after they prayed, they went around the event and talked to people about evil spirits and God, and they ask them questions about what they thought, and they tried to see if they actually believed in evil spirits and demons.
And that night, there were many people that opened up, and my friend's group asked them if they wanted prayer. And surprisingly, people responded and wanted prayer against the evil that they were experiencing. And this is one of my friend's favorite times, evangelizing with his friends, because that night they were able to share the truth of Jesus with a lot of people, and they made real connections about deep topics because of Halloween.
You know, I think Halloween is usually seen as a night that belongs to Satan. But the truth is, light shines brighter than any darkness. And after this event took place, my friend decided to take time every Halloween after 10 p.
m. or so to go on a prayer walk with other Christians just to see what God might do. So for you, make Halloween a day that you approach with intention and purpose.
So if you go to a party, don't just go to the party passively. Think about how you can use it as an opportunity to bring light to a potentially dark place. I think there's quite a few Christians who choose to stay in their homes and turn off their lights during Halloween, so people stay away.
However, I think it's a great opportunity to connect with people and be a light in our community. So if you're thinking of some ways for you to do this, here are some options. You could possibly hold a barbecue and give away free hot dogs and drinks, and then offer to pray for people as you hand them out, or hand out gospel tracts for you musically savvy people.
You could play worship on your street and have candy to give people as you do, or when people are trick or treating, you can find something unique to give people and look for ways to use it as a conversation starter to share the gospel. The idea is to look at Halloween as an opportunity to share God's light. And I would argue that sometimes we should create the opportunity ourselves.
However, I can't emphasize this enough. Pray. So if you don't get anything else out of this entire video, I hope that all Christians take the time to pray more on Halloween night.
And as you do, be open to what the Holy Spirit may be leading you to do. Okay, so if you're wondering if you should celebrate Halloween, let me remind you of five things to think about as you approach it. Approach Halloween as a holiday that you could participate in.
Approach Halloween as a day to identify convictions and honor God. Approach Halloween with wisdom and discernment. Approach Halloween as a spiritual battle and approach Halloween as an open door for good or evil.
Close. When it comes to Halloween, I think we as Christians should really use it as an opportunity to reach people. So instead of thinking if we can celebrate Halloween, we really should be asking how we ought to participate so that we can potentially lead people to know more about God.
And one thing that I'm finding to be true is that people are incredibly curious about the spirit world. And the Bible does have answers to these questions. And if we play cards right, I think we can help a lot of people know and understand the truth about the devil, demons, and God.
So don't hide on Halloween, but be a light and point people back to God. And as you do this, always remember Jesus loves you. Thanks so much for watching.
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