Why Should Believers Celebrate or Keep the Feasts?

By:Dr. Vernon Phillips

The major reason some keep the feasts is because God never changed His mind about what He said in Exodus 12:14, Deuteronomy 16:1, 12-17and Leviticus 23:41. God declares that it should be a statue forever in your generations. The Bible says that God never changes (Malachi 3:6) and we can believe His word because God can not lie. There is no evidence in the Scriptures where God commanded His people to stop celebrating the feasts.In reading II Chronicles 8:12-13 it shows Solomon’s reverence and respect for God’s Holydays by establishing an offering unto the Lord three times in the year. The feast days are a part of the divine worship system established by God in the Old and New Testament. In searching the Scriptures, you will find the feasts celebrated by the people of God in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible declares that worshippers will go up from year to year to worship the King in Zechariah 14:16. This verse shows clearly that the feast will continue to be celebrated even in the Kingdom age.

Christians today celebrate all types of religious and secular holidays. We celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, President’s Day, etc. All of these days mentioned celebrate an individual or country, but do not celebrate the Biblical Holydays. The Holy days in the Bible should be celebrated because they are ordained by God and should be a part of our worship to Him. There is probably little or no argument regarding the celebration of the feast days in the Old Testament.Some will say that God only wanted those under the Law to keep the feast days and because we are not under the Law, but under Grace, there is no evidence to support keeping the feasts.

Let’s examine the Scriptures in the New Testament to see If God changed His mind about the feast days.

  • “… For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast ….” I Corinthians 5:7-8. Paul is saying let’s keep the feast and purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump. What feast is he encouraging the people to keep? Is it Passover?
  • “… I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem ….” Acts 18:21. This verse shows Paul’s commitment to keeping the feast. The people wanted Paul to stay longer, but he was committed to not missing the feast. (v 19-22)
  • “For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.” Acts 20:16.

We know from studying the New Testament that Jesus and His disciples kept the feasts (John 7, Mark 14:12-18) and Jesus promised that His Father would send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-4) which is a feast day and nearly thirty years after the crucifixion of Jesus, the Apostle Paul is still keeping or celebrating the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 18:21, Acts 20:16). The feast days were instituted by God for remembrance and served as a liturgical calendar. These days were special times ordained and chosen by God for his people.

There are no Scriptures in the New Testament that tells the believer to stop celebrating the feast days. Neither feast days nor tithes were nailed to the cross as some declare, but God wants you to freely give your tithes and freely attend the feast. These are things that should be done freely from the heart and not because of a law or mandate. However, two Scriptures that are used to explain why the feast should not be celebrated are found in Galatians 4:10-11 and Colossians 2:16. Let’s do an exegesis of these verses to determine what Paul was talking about.

“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.”

Paul’s comment to the Galatians is concerning them turning back to bondage, heathen practices and legality. Please remember that the Galatians are Gentiles that knew little about the Biblical feast days and probably never kept the Jewish holydays. Ask yourself this important question, how could Paul in one verse tell them not to keep the feast and he is celebrating the feast himself (Acts 18:21)? This would be a contradiction to his beliefs or the opposite of what he was doing himself. Paul was trying to keep the Galatians from paganism or going back into what he had preached them out of. They were now heirs of God because they were no longer servants, but sons.

If Galatians 4:10-11 and Colossians 2:16 means to not celebrate any days, months or years, then Christians would have to stop celebrating Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. because they are celebrated every year on a certain day.

The attitude of Christians should be to “Judge not” (Luke 6:37) when it comes to what other believers eat (Colossians 2:16, Romans 14), drink (I Corinthians 10:31), holydays to keep(Colossians 2:16, Galatians 4) and the Sabbath(Romans 14:5-6). Whether someone is righteous or not should not be judged on these things. The Bible records Jesus saying that the tree is known by the fruit it bears (Matthew 7:17-20). Let’s not judge one another’s heart, but leave that to the Lord for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7).