A Proper Fast

The discipline of fasting goes all the way back to the Old Testament. In Isaiah 58, Isaiah offers the following cautions. First,

Fasting is not about the appearance of spirituality

Religion without reality or “veneer spirituality” is a major problem. Jesus talks about it, and Isaiah talks about it. You know what veneer is, right? You have a desk or table that has an oak veneer surface. It looks fantastic, but if you scratch it 2mm deep, you discover that underneath the veneer is nothing but particle board. That’s what Isaiah is accusing the people of in chapter 58. He’s saying that they’re going through the motions of religion, but it’s all pretense. It’s all about appearances. Their so-called faith didn’t penetrate to their hearts or their actions. In Isaiah 58:2, God says,

For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

“They seem eager,” he says. He also uses the phrase "as if.” As if they were a nation that does what is right. They’re not truly eager to know God’s way. They merely appear to be eager. They’re not a nation that does what’s right, but they pretend to be.

Alan Wolfe, a secular, professor of American Politics and Public Policy at Boston College, wrote a book several years ago entitled, “The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith.” Wolfe essentially said that secular America had nothing to fear from evangelical Christians. Wolfe comforts his fellow secularists. He writes,

“I understand that you’re afraid of evangelicals because of their overt religiosity. You see them praying over their food in restaurants and carrying Bibles, and talking about voting the way Jesus instructed them to vote. But as secularists, we have nothing to fear from evangelicals. Despite all of their talk about being different and distinct, evangelical churches are shot through with American pop psychology, and Oprah-style spirituality. Yes, they’re a little annoying with all of their Jesus talk. But don’t worry, they don’t mean it!” ~ Alan Wolfe

What an indictment! Here are all these Christians who talk about their faith and how they’re citizens of heaven and how they’ve given their whole lives to Christ, but don’t worry, America, they don’t mean it! That’s what the Lord is accusing the Jews of in Isaiah 58. Yes, I know you’ve made a big show of religion and a big show of fasting, but the pagans have nothing to fear from you. Why? You don’t mean it!

Do you mean it? For all your talk about Jesus changing your life, about dedicating your life to him and following him, do you mean it? Are you considerably less anxious this year than last year because you’ve surrendered your life to Christ? Would you say you’re drawing your identity from what Christ says about you, or is your identity still wrapped in roles, titles and achievements? Would Alan Wolfe be correct about you when he says you don’t really mean it?

Fasting is wrong when it’s about the appearance of spirituality. God hates religious form without substance. Prophets regularly condemn hype, show and pretense. Jesus takes aim at pharisaical religion. He tells us he hates veneer spirituality. He says,

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full (Matthew 6:16).

What Jesus wants is authenticity. He wants our hearts and behavior to match our words. He wants us to be the real thing through and through. Here’s a second caution.

Fasting is not a way to earn God’s favor

Religion, 2700 years ago in Isaiah’s day, and today, is marked by the attitude, if I do something religious — pray, read my Bible, fast a certain amount of time — then I’ll be accepted by God. Martin Luther, the great father of the Reformation, taught that religion is the default mode of the sinful heart. Religion — our anxious attempt to earn God’s favor — is always going to produce people who’re angry, contentious and divisive. Isaiah 58:3,

“Why have we fasted,” they say, “and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?” Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Whenever you see a church that’s filled with judgment, division and contentiousness, guaranteed, you’ll find, at the foundation, a lack of grace and a great deal of religion. When you base your acceptance by God on your performance, then you’ll always look with disdain on others that aren’t performing up to your particular standards. This was Jesus’ accusation against the Pharisees in the parable of the prodigal son. The older brother in the story was anxiously serving his father, trying to gain his acceptance, rather than relying on his father’s love for him. He thought the reason he deserved favor from his father was because of his own efforts. He became judgmental and angry. That’s what happens to us when we rely on our own efforts. We become angry, judgmental and insecure. We constantly try to bolster our own sense of worthiness by putting other people down. A person who’s truly secure in God’s love will approach other people with grace and acceptance. You can tell if you’ve really received grace because you regularly show grace to others who don’t maintain as high a standard as you. Are you a gracious person, or are you always tearing others down?

Performance-orientation is what most non-Christians think they’re being invited into when someone encourages them to give their life to Christ. They think they’re being invited to get religion. Let me say a word to those of you who’re not yet Christians. Acceptance by God and the forgiveness of your sins is a gift that God freely gives without regard to how good you are or how hard you try to be good! The reason Christ suffered and died on a cross was to eliminate the debt you and I owe God. When you simply trust in the person of Jesus and his work on the cross, rather than in your own activity, God embraces you and adopts you into his family as his son or daughter. And because you’re relying on the goodness and activity of Jesus, you won’t become a self-righteous pain in the neck, like some religious people you know.

Don’t keep yourself from trusting Jesus because you’re afraid you’ll become a person you don’t like. I’m telling you, if you truly give your life to Christ, you’re going to become a person you like a lot more than the person you are right now! If you trust in Christ and learn to live in his love for you, you’ll become more loving, more gracious, more accepting and forgiving. You’ll become more honest, authentic and genuine because you don’t have to perform or appear to perform in order to feel loved. You’ll be confident that you’re loved simply because God is love.

Despite these cautions, Martin Luther taught it wasn’t Jesus’ intention to reject fasting. It was his intention to restore proper fasting. That’s why he says,

When you fast…(Matthew 6:16)

He expects his followers to fast. He’s restoring the proper use of fasting. It’s a tool, a means by which we ask God for forgiveness and invite God to intervene in our lives and circumstances. It’s a means through which we gain wisdom and direction and nurture intimacy with God.

Before I finish, I want to share a simple way that you can add this discipline to your life. It’s been incredibly helpful for me, and it’s a great way to get started. You can fast from anything, but I would encourage you to start with food because it’s such a big part of our lives. Here are my suggestions.

1. Fast one day a week or one day a month. You might want to fast on Fridays as a reminder of Jesus’ death on the cross.

2. I’d also encourage you to use the Jewish rendering of a day when you fast. This has been incredibly helpful. Start your fast at sundown on Thursday night. In the afternoon, have a light meal of fruit and vegetables, and then begin your fast. Conclude your fast the next day at sunset with another light meal. In this way, the first part of your fast, which is usually the hardest part, will be while you are sleeping.

3. If you have health problems that would be triggered by not eating, then fast television, internet, Pokemon Go or other video games, movies or take a day off of work. Remember we fast to feast on God.