Article of Faith: Do not celebrate the arrival of the new year, by Femi Aribisala

The people of the world always celebrate the wrong things.

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how will it be seasoned? It therefore serves no other purpose than to be thrown and trampled underfoot by men. (Matthew 5:13).

How does a believer lose his flavor? When it behaves like the world. It becomes worthless as far as the kingdom of God is concerned.

Therefore, Paul advises: "Conform not to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your spirit, that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. " (Romans 12:2).

The antidote to the corruption of the world is the cross of Jesus Christ: "by whom the world was crucified for (us) and (us) for the world". (Galatians 6:14).

New Year Celebrations

So the world celebrates the start of the new year. Don't join them. The peoples of the world always celebrate the wrong things. Please do not join them. The New Year is not one of God's holy days. Neither does Christmas.

Those who believe in Jesus are in the world but not of the world. Unlike the people of the world, our joy is not based on times and seasons. The joy of the Lord is fulfilled in us. (John 17:13). This joy does not depend on situations and circumstances. It is a joy that, according to Jesus, no one can take away from us. (John 16:22).

By being the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus "carried our sorrows and bore our sorrows". (Isaiah 53:4). He gave us: "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that (we ) let us be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.(Isaiah 61:3).

For this reason, we no longer have cause for grief. Nor do we rejoice in the vanities and vanities of this world. Jesus says we should only rejoice: "let (our) names be written in heaven." (Luke 10:20).

Therefore, it makes no difference whether we are alive to see a new year. The person who sees the new year is no better off than the person who died before the new year. Believers who have passed away have gone to join the Lord. Those of us who stay here are with the Lord:

“For if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For it is for this purpose that Christ died, rose again, and lived again, that he might be Lord of the living and the dead. (Romans 14:8-9).

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