Sunday, March 17, 2019

Does the Date Matter?

Regardless of what you choose to believe about the timing of the birth and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, it is a tertiary issue and has no bearing whatsoever upon your salvation. What does have a bearing on whether you are saved or not is whether you believe them to be true; that you believe that Jesus is eternal God, the only begotten Son of the Father, the second Person in the Trinity, the Word of God made flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a holy life without sin, was crucified, entombed, resurrected on the third day, and ascended into Heaven, from where He first came.

It really does not matter whether Jesus was born in 2 B.C., 3 B.C., 4 B.C., 5 B.C., 6 B.C., or 7 B.C. It really does not matter whether Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday or a Friday, or whether He resurrected on a Saturday or a Sunday, or what year it happened. None of these dates affects whether you are a born again believer or not. We do not worship the dates. If we did, then we would be guilty of either Saturn worship or Sun worship. Scripture says that Jesus was resurrected on the third day. That is what you need to believe. The day of the week does not amount to a hill of beans. The exact dates of these events would do nothing for you one way or the other anyway

Romans 14:5-6a says, "One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord..." Colossians 2:16-17 says, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." If you want to worship Jesus on a Saturday, then go ahead and do so. If you want to worship Jesus on a Sunday, then go ahead and do so. If you want to worship Jesus on a Wednesday, then go ahead and do so. If you want to worship Jesus on every day of the week, then go ahead and do so. The most important thing is that we celebrate His birth and His rising from the dead—not the day on which He did it.