Christmas is a date surrounded by myths, legends and falsehoods. Worst of all, it’s a date into which the birth of Christ was inserted out of sequence. It’s certain that Jesus was not born during this time of year. Yet ironically, the fact of His birth is what is most true, out of all the things that people think about during Christmas. The myths could be easily resolved with a light reading of the New Testament, actually, of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which contain the story of Jesus on earth. What is most worrisome is what the yuletide myths say about religion. Faith in Man The faith of many today is nothing more than a human production. Their beliefs do not have their origin, as they should, in Holy Scripture, but people get their religious data for their faith from others. A secondhand faith. A faith that depends upon a priest, pope, pastor, preacher, religious Authority with a capital A for its content and exercise. However, the warning is ancient: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord’” (Jeremiah 17.5 NLT). Whenever one deposits in man one’s dependence of faith, that confidence will be betrayed. Good, But Short Sentiments Christmas is a moment for the expression of positive sentiments, endearing terms, family gatherings and fraternal greetings. Any occasion that cultivates the finer attitudes of

One bad apple spoils the others. That is why we soon separate it from the others to avoid more spoilage. The same principle applies in the church. “After a first and second warning, have nothing more to do with a person who causes conflict, because you know that someone like this is twisted and sinful — so they condemn themselves” (Titus 3:10-11). Some like to discuss the nature of division, if a person is factious or not, if his attitudes cause division.  Paul knew that it is not hard to identify division or a factious person. One does not have to be a genius to know. Our tendency is to want to give the person more chances, to be patient, to work more with the person, to give him time to mature, but Scripture is clear: After a couple of warnings, he’s out. The divisive person should be treated as someone who does not belong to the body of Christ. The character (“twisted”) and the conduct (“sinful”) of such a person demonstrates the need to take measures that at first glance appear to be severe, but become obligatory because of the dangers that his actions in the church present. This is because division in the church is one of the most serious transgressions in the eyes of God (Proverbs 6:16-19).