To Fast or Not to Fast, That is the Question
Pastor Jim Luthy
Suppose I were to make you some tea. I have hot water and a tea bag. To make the tea, I must dip the bag in the water, right? If I were to just plunge the bag in once or twice, it would not make for very good tea. If, instead, I continuously submerge the tea bag into the water, the flavor of the tea will grow much stronger. The longer the tea leaves are immersed into the water, the more the water gets into the tea and the more the tea is released into the water. This is the way it is with our spiritual life. The more we are dipped into the spiritual, the more the spiritual life is developed in us and the more we are released into the spiritual life. Spiritual disciplines are like the act of dipping the tea into the water. The more we practice the various disciplines, the stronger we grow spiritually. The disciplines make way for Christ to be formed in us.
When the water comes over the tea, the tea is now immersed into the life of the water and has no identity of its own. In the same way, when we are purchased by the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, our life is not our own. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his classic work The Cost of Discipleship, rightly observed, "We have to practice strictest daily discipline; only so can the flesh learn the painful lesson that it has no rights of its own."
Richard Foster, author of the modern classic, Celebration of Discipline, identifies 12 disciplines, which he calls the "door to liberation." There are four inward disciplines: meditation, prayer, fasting, and study; four outward disciplines: simplicity, solitude, submission, and service; and four corporate disciplines: confession, worship, guidance, and celebration.
For the reasons I’ve illustrated with the tea bags and water, I would like for us, when we’re finished with the series on Ephesians, to cover the spiritual disciplines. Tonight, however, since there have been questions since I called for us to do some fasting together, I would like to jump ahead a bit and talk about fasting. Next week I will talk about the corporate fast. This week I would like to explain 3 reasons not to fast and provide 6 reasons to fast.
To fast or not to fast, that is the question. Let me begin by sharing with you three reasons not to fast. Now, be careful not to conclude that I am saying fasting is not a valid practice for today. There are many who would say that is true. But I believe any unbiased look at Scripture would lead us to believe that fasting is not only a valid discipline in the age of grace, but it is a vital one. That being said, we can find reasons not to fast in the Bible.
Matt 6:16-18: "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)
Here Jesus gives us our first and most important reason not to fast: Do not fast if you are doing so to be noticed by men. Jesus said that those who look somber and try to make others feel sorry for them because they’re fasting are just hypocrites. He says they’ll get their reward. John Piper, in A Hunger for God, comments, "if the reward you aim at in fasting is the admiration of others, that is what you will get, and that will be all you get. In other words, the danger of hypocrisy is that it is so successful. It aims at the praise of men, and it succeeds. But that’s all." Our reward should be the knowledge of God, not the praise of men. If you want the praise of men, go ahead and fast and point out to everyone how hungry you are and how greatly you suffer for Jesus. But the reality is, you’re not doing it for Jesus. And Jesus knows it. And he will not honor your appearance of godliness with the knowledge of him. Men will praise you, but you won’t find the Father. Man, if I’m going to give up three squares a day, the last thing I want to do is settle for the applause of men. Give me the Father. If I can’t have him, I’m going to Baja Fresh for a Burrito Ultimo!
I think it’s important to point out, though, that Jesus did not say that your fast is invalid if others find out. He’s talking about your motive for fasting. It’s funny to me that some people have turned this teaching into some superstition on a par with making a birthday wish. You know how it goes…you make a wish, blow out the candles, and as long as you don’t tell anyone what you wished for, your wish will come true. Listen, don’t fast so that others will know. Do what you can to keep it between the two of you. But if others find out, your heart motive is not any less pure.
I was at a Mongolian grill once with three other pastors, one of whom wasn’t eating. Another of the pastors was asking him why he wasn’t eating, wondering if he didn’t have money or wasn’t feeling well. The pastor did not offer that he was fasting and I appreciate this pastor’s effort not to make a big deal out it. What do you suppose he did when I intimated that he was fasting? Did he throw his hands up in the air, say "Crap! (you know, losing his sanctification and everything) Now my fast is ruined!" and grab a plate? Of course not. People finding out that you’re fasting does not nullify the sanctity of your fast. But fasting so that others will be impressed does mean there was no sanctity in it in the first place.
By the way, the birthday wish superstition points out a second reason not to fast. You should not fast because you want your wishes to come true either.
There is plenty of teaching out there that suggests that a person can fast for a few days and get whatever they want from their deep-pocketed god. Fast a few days and ask for a boat, they say, and God will provide. Fast for a few days and you’ll receive money to cover you debts. Fast for a few days and God will give you the job you want. I don’t find this in Scripture. While fasting may make us ready to know God’s will and pray accordingly, it will never be the means to manipulating God into conforming to our will. If you fast as though you are blowing out the candles hoping your wish will come true, you will soon be disappointed in God and disillusioned with the idea of fasting.
A third reason not to fast is if you don’t understand fasting. My daughter Hannah had never fasted before and opted to start with a 40-day fast from sweets during this Lenten period between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Her motivation may have been to impress me, it may have been for better health, but I’m convinced it was also out of a desire to be a devoted follower of Christ. I don’t think, however, that it came out of an understanding of the fast. So as she was offered candy at school or tempted by snacks at home, it became a religious burden to her. My counsel was that she should end her fast, and do so without any sense of shame or condemnation. I’m confident God was pleased at her desire to please him and will teach her to fast in time.
Remember, we are all included in Christ by faith, not by our works. We are called to believe, not to impress upon others the depth of our belief. We don’t compete with one another and we don’t compare ourselves to one another. At least we’re not supposed to. There are several disciplines that allow us to enter into the inner chamber with God. Fasting is one of those opportunities that I believe God wants us to employ. But the worse thing you can do is try to practice it out of some sense of obligation to the church without really understanding what it means. You may only need a little understanding to enter in and once you do it will become more clear, but do it based on the understanding you have, not reluctantly or under compulsion. I want to make it perfectly clear that nobody should feel obligated to fast, even if we are calling for a corporate fast, and especially if fasting is new to you and you don’t understand it.
Having covered the reasons not to fast, let me give you 6 reasons why you should fast.
Fasting is feasting on God
Jesus said if you fast without the motive to impress others, your fasting in secret will be rewarded in secret by the Father. In the secret place, God is there. Your Father in heaven is your reward. This is the great overarching purpose in all our fasting—it is a means through which we draw near to God and he rewards us with the knowledge of his presence.
Dallas Willard and Richard Foster agree that fasting is feasting. It is not suffering for sufferings sake, it’s passing up the appetizers and salads for the main course. It is always an opportunity to know God and know his will. In that sense, it is far more satisfying than anything you’ve given up for the sake of knowing him. Only those who fast, though, really know that to be true. So many of us just keep on eating the appetizers and salads and say they’re good enough, without even realizing there is a main course that is far greater and far more satisfying.
It is common for those who haven’t fasted to look at it and say, "It’s too high a price." "I can’t go without food." "I’ve got to have my breakfast in the morning, at least a little Starbucks coffee!" We spend a lot of time fasting from God and feasting on food and life’s other pleasures. Fasting is an intentional way of saying "You mean more to me Father, than any of these things, even the good things like the food you give us." Fasting is feasting, and if you fast for no other reason or any of these 5 remaining reasons, you’ll find that to be true.
You are giving yourself to prayer over an urgent matter
Most of the examples of fasting in the Bible occur in the face of great danger. When the armies of Moab and Ammon were bearing down on Judah, King Jehoshaphat "resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah." When Queen Esther was made aware of Haman’s plot to kill all of the Jews, she instructed Mordecai, "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do."
There are times when we realize the only hope we have is the Lord’s favor. In those times, when you and I need to inquire of the Lord, fasting is one way to tune our attention to God, expressing our desperation for him above all other things and making us still to hear his reply and see his swift, sure hand.
Your food is to do the will of the Father
Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." A period of fasting can be a time of expressing to the Father that you are joined with Christ in completing his mission.
One of the questions asked of me in my pastor’s growth network, which is sort of a cell group of pastors I meet with regularly, was, "What percentage of your congregation takes personal responsibility for the battle cry of the gospel?" I couldn’t honestly answer that question, and the reason why were those statements, "personal responsibility" and "the battle cry of the gospel." If they asked me what percentage of the congregation believed that the gospel is the power of God for salvation, I could answer quite high. But my experience has been that most people are quick to declare the gospel good but slow to take personal responsibility for it. People have seemed to be much more ready to claim personal responsibility for the style of music the church has or making sure the money is spent wisely. I’ve seen people go to battle over those things. But there are fewer people who consider the urgency of the gospel a battle cry. Our god is far too often our stomachs. And the filling of our appetites is far too high of a priority much of the time. Fasting is a means to declare that the thing that sustains us most is doing the will of the Father and joining with him to give hope to a decaying world.
You want to express sorrow for your sins
When Jonah finally got around to preaching in Nineveh, the Ninevites believed God. "They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." Sackcloth was a rough, coarse cloth or baglike garment that was worn as a symbol of repentance. When Nineveh heard the message of coming judgment, they did a quick moral inventory and realized they were about to get what they had coming. They began to mourn over their sin and cover themselves in hope of finding mercy. Listen to the decree of the king from Jonah 3:7-10:
"Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Fasting can be for us a means for wearing the sackcloth. It is a way to enter into mourning over the sins that separate us from God and required the Father to send the Son to the cross on our behalf. When you are fasting, you will be amazed at how aware of your sinfulness you become. The fast then provides a great opportunity for repentance, putting off the old self and putting on the new. A view of God’s mercy calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
You want to express a desire to share in Christ’s sufferings for men
Jesus said a strange thing recorded in John 6:51. "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Eating the bread that is the flesh of Jesus sounds quite cannibalistic. But Jesus is not speaking literally but figuritively. He is, in the flesh, the bread that nourishes. If he had not come in the flesh, we would not have life. But he gave that flesh for the world. When we fast, instead of eating physical food we are choosing to eat the bread of Jesus’ flesh, which is to unite ourselves with his suffering for the world. It is our way of saying with Paul, "I want to know Christ…and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings." We share in the ministry of Christ’s sufferings when we suffer with him to heighten our awareness of world hunger and other world concerns that flow out of man’s fallen condition.
You want to express a desire for Christ to come back
The passage of Scripture most commonly used to teach that fasting is not proper for today is Matthew 9:14-15: Then John’s disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time wil come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast."
Many argue that since Jesus raised from the dead and has sent his Spirit to man, we no longer need to fast. But Jesus also said he was going away to prepare a place for us and would send the Spirit to be our counselor and guide to the truth. He also told parables about being ready for the return of the bridegroom. We are in an age where we are the bride of Christ expectantly awaiting the return of the bridegroom. Fasting is one way to keep oil in our lamps watching for his return.
My challenge to you is to go from here prepared to be made new in the attitude of your mind. If you ever thought fasting was too high a price, consider it again. What may be opened to you is an entire new arena through which your life may be immersed in Christ. Do you want to feast on the Father? You must gain control of your other appetites to really know him.
To fast or not to fast, that is the question. What will your answer be?
