Halloween, Obedience, and Honoring Yehovah
Halloween discussions among believers often become finger-pointing contests. One side condemns everyone who participates, while the other insists it’s harmless fun. Before long, everyone is defending themselves, and very few people are actually turning to Scripture and allowing Yehovah to weigh in on it.
That’s not what I’m doing here.
I’m not going to decide who is saved, who is lost, or where anyone is going when they die. Judgment at that level belongs to Yehovah, not us. Yehovah has clear boundaries, and I’m not about to overstep my authority. Last time I checked, He wasn’t expressing a need for any assistants.
What I am going to do is dig into Scripture to examine my own choices.
And I’m inviting you to join me.
My desire—and hopefully it’s yours as well—is to honor Yehovah. This means I need to be willing to ask whether the things I participate in actually honor Him. That includes the traditions I enjoy, the traditions I grew up with, and even the traditions connected to some of my happiest memories.
I strongly encourage you to do the same.
So, assuming you’re on this mission with me, let’s get started. Philippians 4:8 gives us a good place to begin:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
—Philippians 4:8
Now let’s look honestly at Halloween. Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it of good report? Does it celebrate what is virtuous and worthy of praise?
If some of those questions are a little difficult to look at, good. That means you have a heart for Yehovah, and you want to be obedient to Him no matter what the world says you should do—or can do.
Just because you can doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Know what I mean?
And this isn’t rocket science. We don’t have to dig through ancient history books to answer those questions. Death, fear, darkness, witches, demons, ghosts, gore, and violence aren’t hidden somewhere beneath the surface. They’re right out there in the open, boldly displayed—and celebrated. They’re in the decorations, costumes, movies, advertisements, and merchandise that appear every October.
Even the candy wrappers this time of year sport some pretty dark images. “Dressed up for the holiday,” some say. But seriously? I walk the aisles of the stores and feel like I’m in some sort of big livestock chute that gets narrower and narrower, driving the animals to where the humans want them to go. All those things are put out there; no matter where you turn, they’re right in your face—whether you want them or not. It’s almost like the world is trying to force us into compliance or, at the very least, acceptance.
Repeated exposure to something makes a person almost immune to it. They don’t really see it anymore.
That’s a brainwashing technique, by the way.
We’ve all been duped by it to some degree. But some of us are waking up. Hold these things up to Scripture and see what sticks. It’ll wake you up too.
Listen, we already know those things don’t honor Yehovah. Even people who don’t live Scripture-led lives know that. It’s not some great revelation. The real question is, are you willing to let what you know affect what you do?
“Yehovah doesn’t say anything about these holidays!”
Really? Because I have a Bible that says otherwise. Of course, that means dusting it off and cracking the binding. It means searching the Scriptures as Yeshua told His disciples to do.
Here’s one for you:
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
—1 Thessalonians 5:22
Oh, look! Here’s another:
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
—Ephesians 5:11
Those verses aren’t meant to be weapons to use against our neighbors. They’re intended to guide our lives—your life, my life, how we raise our children, you know, that kind of stuff.
Before you point at what anyone else is doing, take a look at what you’re doing. Then ask yourself what you’re willing to welcome into your own home, place before your own eyes, and teach your own children to accept. If you’re maintaining a live-and-let-live mentality without being grounded in Scripture, all those worldly influences will inevitably come flooding in, infecting your home and producing a generation that’s lukewarm at best.
Yes, it can happen. I’ve seen it again and again.
Pointing your finger at the “sinners” won’t do your house any good. That’s an attitude Scripture tells us we’re not to have. It also takes your focus away from where it needs to be: your own home. Your own family. Yourself.
And if you participate, just “not with the dark stuff,” keep reading.
But What If I Change the Way I Celebrate It?
This is usually where the loopholes begin.
“I’m not dressing like a witch.”
“My child is wearing a Bible character costume.”
“We’re giving out Bible verses with the candy.”
“Our church calls it a harvest festival.”
“We’re doing it for the Lord.”
I’ve heard these arguments more times than I can count. I understand why people make them. Letting go of a tradition isn’t always easy, especially when it’s tied to childhood memories, family gatherings, or things your children enjoy. Sometimes we’re not trying to rebel against Yehovah. We’re just trying to find a way to hold on to something we love without feeling like we’re disobeying Him.
But that’s exactly when we need to be careful.
Yehovah delivered the Israelites from Egypt—a type and shadow of the world—but they wanted to hang on to remnants of it. That led them into sin again and again until an entire generation wasn’t allowed to enter the Promised Land. You’re not going to stay clean if you keep jumping into mud puddles.
Lot and his wife were delivered from Sodom—another type and shadow of the world—just before Yehovah destroyed it. They were told explicitly, “Do not look back,” but Lot’s wife couldn’t help herself. She turned and looked back at what she was leaving behind.
That look wasn’t just a meaningless turn of her head. It revealed what still had a hold on her heart. Remember when Yeshua said that if a man looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart? That wasn’t something new He came up with on the spot. It’s been a truth from the beginning.
He calls us out of the world, and if we love Him, we obey. We go. We don’t look back. We keep our eyes on Him and continue to seek after the things of Yehovah instead of scrambling to hang on to remnants of the world.
Changing the costume doesn’t change the root. Calling it a harvest festival doesn’t change what day it’s replacing or why the event is being held. Handing out Bible verses with the candy doesn’t give us the authority to attach Yehovah’s name to something He hasn’t approved—a day connected to many things He calls abominations.
Moving the whole thing into a church building doesn’t make it holy. And you can’t force Yehovah to sanctify something He has called profane.
A church building isn’t a spiritual washing machine. You can’t bring in a worldly tradition, run it through a Christian cycle, and expect it to come out clean.
The issue isn’t whether your costume is less frightening than your neighbor’s. It isn’t whether your decorations are tasteful or whether you replaced witches with Bible characters. The question isn’t whether you can make Halloween look Christian enough to calm your conscience.
The question isn’t, “How can I make Halloween acceptable?” Sorry, but that’s just looking for justification to feed your flesh.
The question is, “Is my participation in Halloween acceptable to Yehovah?” THAT is holiness.
There’s a significant difference between those questions. The first one begins with what we want to keep—a little piece of the world we want to hang on to—and searches for a way to justify it. The second begins with Yehovah and asks what pleases Him.
When Scripture brings a tradition into question, your first response shouldn’t be to search for the version that will allow you to keep it—or worse, cherry-pick and twist verses to justify it. Ask what Yehovah says. Search His Word. Seek His thoughts, His ways. Then be willing to obey Him.
Stop looking for the loophole that lets you keep the tradition. Start looking for the obedience that honors Yehovah.
You can read more about our tendency to search for exceptions in Stop Looking for Loopholes.
Yehovah Already Told Us How to Honor Him
This is where Deuteronomy 12 blows the loophole argument wide open.
Yehovah warned Israel that after they entered the land, they weren’t to investigate how the nations worshipped their gods and then use those same practices to worship Him.
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
—Deuteronomy 12:30
Now read Yehovah’s answer carefully:
Thou shalt not do so unto Yehovah thy God.
—Deuteronomy 12:31
That’s pretty plain.
He didn’t merely tell Israel, “Don’t worship their gods.” He told them not to learn how those nations worshipped and then use those ways to worship Him.
Now, really stop and think about this for a minute.
Yehovah wasn’t giving Israel permission to take on pagan worship practices, change the name, remove the parts they found offensive, add a few Scriptures, and offer the revised version to Him. He said, “Thou shalt not do so unto Yehovah thy God.”
So, no, it isn’t enough to say, “But I’m doing it for the Lord.” We need to know whether the Lord gave us permission to do it for Him.
Sincerity doesn’t turn disobedience into worship. Calling an event Christian doesn’t make it Christian. Adding Bible verses, worship music, or a church building doesn’t automatically make something holy.
We aren’t the ones who decide what becomes acceptable worship. Yehovah has already told us how He is—and is not—to be honored.
Deuteronomy 12 ends with another instruction:
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
—Deuteronomy 12:32
There it is again. Do what He commanded. Don’t add to it. Don’t take away from it.
We don’t improve Yehovah’s instructions by blending them with our favorite traditions. We don’t make a celebration acceptable by borrowing it from the world and covering it with Christian language, sprinkled with a few pretty verses. We don’t get to decide that our version is harmless enough, clean enough, or Christian enough.
We honor Yehovah by listening to what He said and obeying Him.
The Application of His Name Doesn’t Sanctify What He Calls Profane
Exodus 20 begins with Yehovah establishing who He is:
I am Yehovah thy God…
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
—Exodus 20:2–3
That’s important because the authority to define acceptable worship belongs to Him. Not to us. Not to our families. Not to our churches. Not to our culture.
A few verses later, Yehovah says:
Thou shalt not take the name of Yehovah thy God in vain; for Yehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
—Exodus 20:7
Most people have been taught that this commandment only means we shouldn’t speak Yehovah’s name carelessly. That’s certainly part of honoring His name, but let’s look deeper.
What happens when you take something profane, attach Yehovah’s name to it, and announce that you’re doing it for Him? What happens when you use His holy name to legitimize something He never asked for?
You’re treating His name as though it’s yours to use however you please.
You’re acting like you have His authority to sanctify those things He has called profane.
You’re stepping into a role that places you above Yehovah so that you are your own god.
If that convicts you and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, good. I’d be more concerned if it didn’t.
You can’t place Yehovah’s name over a tradition and expect His name to make the tradition holy. No one can. His name isn’t a label you can slap onto whatever you want to keep. And before you say something is “for the Lord,” you need to ask whether He said He wanted it.
Yehovah decides how He’s worshipped. Your role and mine aren’t to Christianize whatever the world hands us. You obey Him, and so do I.
Can You Truly Do It Unto the Lord?
Colossians provides another way to examine choices believers make:
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
—Colossians 3:17
And a few verses later:
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
—Colossians 3:23
We quote these verses about our jobs, our ministries, and the way we serve other people. But “whatsoever ye do” reaches into every part of our lives—including our celebrations.
So now I’m going to ask the uncomfortable questions.
Can Halloween honestly be observed in Yeshua’s name? Can its roots, symbols, and themes be placed before Yehovah as an act of obedience? Can you thank Him for it and say with a clear conscience, “I’m doing this unto You”? Can you thank Him for giving it to you?
If you can’t answer yes to all of these, then why in the world are you doing it?
And before you answer, remember that saying you’re doing something for the Lord isn’t the same as receiving His approval.
The Israelites worshipped the golden calf and said they were doing it “unto the Lord,” and it almost got them all killed because of Yehovah’s wrath against them.
Look at all the things Paul did “unto the Lord” before his conversion.
Cain made an offering “unto the Lord.” He may even have been sincere about it. But Cain didn’t get to decide whether that offering was acceptable. Yehovah did not receive it.
So, what makes you think you can toss up a holiday full of things Yehovah calls profane and expect Him to accept it? To sanctify it? To receive it?
Scripture tells us He won’t. The accounts in Scripture of these very things show us He won’t. Neither should believers expect Him to.
Turn to Scripture and Let Yehovah Answer
Many of us participated in Halloween before we ever stopped to examine it through Scripture. We were following family traditions, making memories with our children, attending church events, or simply doing what everyone around us did. Many of us grew up in that culture.
That doesn’t make it right.
I’m not going to pretend I’ve never followed a tradition without examining it. I’m also not going to condemn people who haven’t examined this one yet. You don’t know what you don’t know.
But once Yehovah shows you something, you’re responsible for what you do with it.
This isn’t an invitation to point fingers. It’s an invitation to pause, turn to Scripture, and ask Yehovah whether your traditions honor Him. Then, when He shows you the answer, obey.
That may mean letting go of something you’ve enjoyed. It may mean changing family plans, disappointing someone you love, or explaining a new conviction before you feel confident enough to find the right words. It may mean your children won’t understand right away. It may even create some tension in your home.
I’m not going to tell you that obedience is always convenient. It isn’t. But honoring Yehovah is worth more than preserving a tradition.
A heart that truly loves Him will be willing to examine anything. Not because another believer frightened or shamed you into compliance, but because you want your life to please Yehovah. You want your home to honor Him, right? I know I want mine to honor Him. You want your children to know the difference between what the world celebrates and what Yehovah calls holy.
Philippians 4:8 gives you a test. Deuteronomy 12 tells you that you can’t borrow the world’s ways and offer them to Yehovah. Exodus 20 reminds you that His name is holy. Colossians 3 asks whether your choices can genuinely be made in Yeshua’s name and unto the Lord.
I promise you, if you hold your practices, behaviors, habits, and attitudes against these verses, it will open so much for you and deepen your walk with Yehovah.
But you don’t have to take my word for any of this.
It’s all right there in your Bible. Read these Scriptures in context. Pray. Ask Yehovah to show you whether your participation honors Him, and ask Him to make you sensitive to His Spirit. Then be willing to obey when He answers.
And, of course, praying Psalm 139:23–24 is always a wise and holy move.
Then, after all that, return to the question and answer it honestly:
Does Halloween honor Yehovah—and is my participation acceptable to Him?
