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Fasting

Fasting

Reid Roberson
March 7, 2022

Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.1 Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 192.

  • Christian fasting requires Christians.

  • Christian fasting must be voluntary, not coerced. 2 Although true fasting must be voluntary, legitimate authorities do have a right to call fasts, and we ought to obey those authorities when possible.

  • Christian fasting always has a spiritual purpose.

Of course, fasting does not refer to abstinence from food necessarily. We can legitimately speak of fasting from many things (i.e., Paul speaks of fasting from sexual relations in 1 Cor. 7:5); however, when the Bible speaks of fasting it is almost always referring to food.

Categories of Fasts

Types of Fast

1.
Normal fast: abstinence from all food.
2.
Partial fast: limited diet without total abstinence.3 Daniel 1:12
3.
Absolute fast: abstinence from all food and water.4 Ezra 10:6
4.
Supernatural fast: requires God’s direct intervention.5 Deuteronomy 9:9

Scales of Fast

1.
Private fast: done by an individual.6 Matthew 6:16-18
2.
Congregational fast: done by a local/regional church body.7 Acts 13:2
3.
National fast: called by "secular" authorities.8 2 Chronicles 20:3 In the United States, we’ve had five: John Adams and James Madison each called one; Abraham Lincoln called three.

Occasions for Fasting

1.
Regular fast: occurs at predictable intervals throughout the week/month/year. By Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were fasting every Tuesday and Thursday (which is part of the reason Christians traditionally fast on Wednesday and Friday).9 Luke 18:12, Didache 8
2.
Occasional fast: called as a special time of prayer for some cause.10 Matthew 9:15

Lent

The word "Lenten" comes from the old English "lengthen" in reference to the lengthening days of Spring. In other languages, it is usually referred to by some derivative of the Latin quadrigesima ("fortieth"). Lent is a (1) partial, (2) congregational, and (3) regular fast.

The history is difficult to trace, but similar practices appear all across the world very early on. These early Lenten fasts would have been closely tied to baptisms traditionally performed on Easter. They were an act of communal piety as the congregation prepared to recieve newly baptized Christians. For example, Didache 7:4 gives this instruction:

And before the baptism let the one baptizing and the one who is to be baptized fast, as well as any other who are able. Also, you must instruct the one who is able to be baptized to fast for one or two days beforehand.

By the First Council of Nicea, Lent is firmly established as a liturgical season of fasting and normalized.

Why should we fast?

  • Jesus fasted and assumes his followers will.11 Matthew 4:2, 6:16

  • Fasting was characteristic of the apostolic church.12 Acts 13:2-3, 14:23

Fasting does not earn us any merit or points before God. Although we may associate fasting with some special prayer request, fasting does not give us leverage over God’s will.

How does fasting change me?13

1.
Fasting helps us mortify the flesh. It serves as a physical sign of our spiritual battle wherein we are called to put sin to death in us.14 Colossians 3:5-10
2.
Fasting strengthens our repentance.15 Daniel 9:1-5
3.
Fasting directs our thoughts toward God.16 Daniel 10:2-5

How do I start?

1.
Start small with partial fasts.
2.
Learn the nuts and bolts through traditional regular fasts like Advent and Lent, and use these seasons to mark your time.
3.
Fast before you come to the Lord’s Table.
4.
Participate in semi-private fasts with your spouse.

The goal is to become comfortable with fasting as a tool in your spiritual toolbelt. Just as we have to learn how to pray, read the Bible, or worship, we must learn and develop habits of fasting.

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Wednesday Night Bible Study | 02.16.2022

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Natural Motivations

  • Romans 2:12-16 tells us that the unbelieving Gentiles are “a law to themselves.” Classically, this is called natural law.
    • The law of nature proper applies to those things which obey necessarily.
    • The law of reason applies to rational agents (i.e., humans) which have freedom to voluntarily obey/disobey.
  • Unbelievers can (and often do) come to accept natural law because they are human, but natural law is ultimately a reflection of God’s eternal law.
  • Christians and pagans alike have historically held that happiness is achieved through being what you are.
    • Modern people tend to think in terms of self-definition.
    • Pre-modern people (including most Christians) believed that identity was imposed, so to be what you are is to follow God’s natural law.
  • All people can naturally see that perfect happiness comes from perfect holiness (i.e., what we were made to be).
  • Perfect holiness can be achieved through perfect obedience to the natural law, but as Paul points out later in Romans, perfect obedience is impossible.
  • Bottom-line: Happiness is a legitimate, natural motivation for holiness, but we still need something more to achieve it.

Richard Hooker, Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 80:

“Good always results when things observe the course of their nature, and evil results when they do the opposite…”

Supernatural Motivations (1 Peter 1:13-21)

  • v.16: “Be holy, for I am holy.” (quoting Lev. 11:44)
  • Holiness/sanctification/righteousness is attached to a supernatural motivation, namely, the holiness of God.

You are a child of a holy Father (vv. 14-15)

  • God has adopted you into his family (see vv. 3-4)
  • Families have characterisitics:
    • Names
    • Traditions
    • History
  • Families have expectations for behavior.
  • The defining characteristic and highest expectation for God’s family is holiness (i.e., to bear the name of Christ is to be holy).

Your Father is a righteous judge (v. 17)

  • God judges (1) impartially and (2) according to one’s deeds.
    1. An impartial judge does not give special treatment to his children.
    2. See 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
      • God judges our works.
      • Specifically, God judges our efforts in building up his Church.
      • Good works are rewarded; bad works are destroyed.
  • Bottom line: Salvation does not free you from judgment; therefore, the judgment of God ought to serve as motivation for our holiness.

You were purchased at the price of Christ’s life (vv. 18-21)

  • “Ransom” (lutroo) means, in this context, “to buy back.” This, then, is slave language. One master has purchased the servants of another.
  • Man is always bound by slavery to something. Even the most free man on earth serves someone else.
  • Consider the story of Naaman (2 Kings 5:18). Even in his pre-Christian faith, Naaman was bound to another master, but we are free from other masters.
  • We have an obligation to our kurios as douloi.
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