3-D Creation

Some years ago whilst in the USA speaking on the importance of Creation to believers, after a meeting, one earnest young man came up to talk to me, since he was concerned that by asserting a 6 literal day understanding of Genesis, other sincere believers who would regard themselves as evangelical, would be regarded as not true to Scripture. Thus, by stating that it was important to believe in the straightforward historical understanding of Genesis (a 6 24 hour day creation of the world and the Universe), I was (in his view) encouraging unnecessary division of believer against believer, particularly since well known commentators allow for differences of view. This of course is not an isolated case. Indeed it is a widespread belief in Europe and the USA, that really one can afford some difference of belief here, and that the matter of origins is a side issue to the main Gospel itself. We have to recognize that this commonly held view is from people who have a noble and sincere desire to keep true to the Gospel. Many are leaders in churches that have seen great blessing, so should we therefore make Creation such a vital issue?

 

As the conversation unfolded, I became aware that he was refusing to submit to Scripture, and that to him death, dust and days are not to be taken in a straightforward manner. Death, Dust and Days – 3-D creation…

 

Death really means death

 

Gen. 2:17 states that ‘in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die’ Death came in AFTER, not BEFORE the fall of man. Rom 6:23 “The wages of sin is death”. Death came as a result of sin. The argument which is much used in return is that this was spiritual death – separation from God - not physical death, which was already part of our experience in hominid stock beforehand. But however attractive this teaching may appear, it is not Biblically tenable for the following reasons :

 

(i) The death of Gen 2:17 is a double blow. It states literally “dying, thou shalt die”. When Adam and Eve fell in sin, there was immediate effect – separation from God, as witnessed by the hiding from God’s face, in the immediate aftermath of their taking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 900 or so years later, physical death would take Adam.

 

(ii) That physical death has to be included in the penalty of the Fall, is very clear from the teaching in 1Corinthians 15 which we considered earlier concerning Adam made from dust. This chapter is very significant when we also consider scripturally what happened at the Fall. 1Cor. 21,22 states “…For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Because the major point of 1Cor. 15 is physical resurrection, the argument is forceful that the contrast is that Adam brought physical death just as Christ brings physical life – we shall be changed just as Christ rose in a new body.

 

(iii) The teaching of death as a result of sin lies at the basis of our understanding of the Cross of Christ. Christ died both spiritually and physically. If physical death is not part of the punishment of sin, then why did Christ physically die. In Mt 27:50 it states that Christ  “yielded up the ghost”. Lk 23:46 states Christ’s final words on the Cross “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit, and having said thus he gave up the ghost”. Literally this reads “…he bowed His head and dismissed His spirit…”. He separated His spirit from His body. He died physically – all perfectly under His control. This was the final act of Christ on the Cross. Earlier He had endured spiritual death for the redeemed. For earlier in that remarkable series of seven sayings of our Saviour, He was separated spiritually from His Father, when He cried out in agony (Mt 27:46) “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Such agony is only matched by the rich man condemned in Luke 16, and the description of the lost in Rev 14:11 “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night”. So the precious truth (1 Cor. 15:3) “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” needs to be understood in the light of the teaching in that very chapter on what death really is. Physical death is separation of soul and body. Spiritual death is separation of the soul from the mercy of God. Christ died for our sins both spiritually and physically. Consequently to suggest that only spiritual death was involved in Adam’s fall (because it is suggested man came from ape like creatures already experiencing physical death) undermines the extent of the atonement. Why did Christ not get off the Cross, when He said ‘It is finished’? He stayed on the Cross because physical death was part of the penalty of sin, and meant that our right to our new bodies to come was purchased as He physically died and took the full weight of our sin.

 

Dust really means dust

 

Some have problems with Genesis 2, saying that it seems to be another version of the origin of the first pair, but in reality we have in Genesis 2 simply a more detailed account which complements the summary of Genesis 1 on the 6^th day.

 

In Genesis 1 and 2 there is no room for so-called human evolution. God did not take an ape or some such creature, and make him into a man. God took dust. There was no pre-Adamic race as some would have us believe[1]. Adam was created ‘at the beginning’ (Mt 19:4), and in that same verse, it is important to realize that Christ is teaching also the origin of sexual differences – brought about deliberately by God Himself, not by chance blundering through a maze of mistakes from pre-human brutes!. “He that made them in the beginning, made them male and female”. The words of our Lord should be enough, but Paul also builds a whole argument on not an ‘Eve out of Africa’ theory, but ADAM first before Eve, out of the dust. In 1 Tim. 2:13 Paul states that “Adam was first formed, then Eve”, and on this stands another issue so hotly contested by some in our churches – the importance of male leadership. This is nothing to do with men being better than women, or vice versa. It is simply because God has a different role for each, and we are truly fulfilled when we believe, obey and trust what He has said, in this case through the Apostle. That is the issue, believing in and submitting to God’s Word. Here Paul shows us the basis of such teaching about the sexes – that God made Adam first. If we deny this we weaken the New Testament as well as the Old. Paul appeals to Genesis, and thereby reinforces the straightforward understanding of it. If there had been some pre-Adamic hominids, then Adam would have been born in some way from a pre-existing female, and the whole argument of Matt 19:4 and 1 Tim 2:13 would be without meaning. We tamper with these scriptures at our spiritual peril. Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones said many years ago, that such thinking would lead to the undoing of many. In a lecture in 1971 on the theme ‘What is an Evangelical?’ he stated[2] :

 

“We must believe the whole Bible. We must believe the history of the Bible as well as its didactic teaching. Failure here is always an indication of a departure from the true evangelical position. Today there are men who say, Oh yes, we believe in the Bible and its authority in all matters of religion, but of course, we don’t go to the Bible for science...They are saying there are, as it were, two great authorities and two means of revelation: one of them is Scripture and the other is nature. These they say are complementary...so you go to the Scriptures for matters concerning the soul, but you do not go to them to seek God’s other revelation of Himself in nature. For that you go to science.....

 

“We have got to contest [this] very strongly...We must assert that we believe in the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis and all other Biblical history...”

 

Some may say the word dust doesn’t mean dust as we understand it. Rather it was generally saying that we are all made from material back into which we will decay. That way then evolution could be allowed a foothold in the interpretation of Genesis, and those well respected commentators could all be kept on board and be regarded as evangelical still. But this will not work since Gen. 3:19 states ‘dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return…’  We all go to dust at death as Eccles 3:20 so poignantly describes. So ‘unto dust you shall return’ must be literal. So therefore the phrase ‘Dust thou art’ is speaking of the literal creation of Adam from dust. Note also that 1Cor 15:47 states “The first man is of the earth, earthy”. Here in this chapter on physical resurrection there can be no doubt that Paul is comparing the real first Adam made from the earth with our Lord’s glorious resurrection body. And here it states Adam is made from the earth, earthy. So dust really does mean dust in Gen. 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground”

 

Days really mean days

 

Many believers are of the view that we cannot be definite about the meaning of the word ‘day’ (Hebrew ‘yom’) in Genesis 1, which of course then opens up the possibility of long ages when supposedly evolution could take place. However a sound exegesis of this word shows that :

 

(i) The word ‘yom’ means 24 hour day, or daylight part of 24 hour day. It can be used for an indefinite period (e.g. Gen. 2:4 ‘…in the day that the Lord made the heavens and the earth’ where it means the whole week of Creation), but the context makes it plain.

 

(ii) The context of Genesis 1 involves evening and morning. In Hebrew writing this always indicates normal 24 hour day.

 

(iii) The repetition of the phrase “evening and morning”, along with the counting : 1st day....2nd day....etc. always means that the word ‘yom’ is a normal solar day.

 

(iv) Furthermore Gen. 1:3 indicates there was separation of light from darkness, and a rotating earth, implying the regular day that we all experience.

 

(v) The reference not only to day, but the repeated darkness of night again indicates the normal 24 hour day. There has to be a contorted logic to explain the regular experience in the creation week of an equal period of darkness, if one argues for a day meaning millions of years. What then is the night within such a convoluted argument?

 

(vi) Perhaps one of the clearest verses in relation to the word ‘yom’ is its use in Ex. 20:11 concerning the Sabbath : “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.....For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day...”. The sabbath command itself must be concerned with seven 24 hour days to make sense, for it clearly is about rest after 6 normal working days. Yet in the same sentence exactly the same word is used to refer back to the original Creation. To say that either God used a week to tell Moses, or to suggest that we are now in God’s Sabbath[3] is to remove the impact of Exodus 20:11 which is that God instituted personally a Day of rest and gave us His example to follow.

 

These arguments are developed thoroughly elsewhere[4], but really the main issue underneath the arguments against a 6 day creation from those professing to be believers is disbelief in Scripture. Indeed corporately as a church it has been the case that we are not prepared to take a Bible-first mentality which is crucial, if the church on both sides of the Atlantic is to recover its vision. This applies in more areas than evolution. It is the fundamental error in the professing evangelical church of our day. We prefer to take man’s wisdom as our guide, instead of staying faithful to Scripture at all costs.

 

The Lord in Heb. 3:12 warns us in no uncertain words “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God”.

 

Death .… Dust.… Days…. - three vital parts to our understanding of Creation as taught in Genesis. We should take God’s word as it is, and let the Scripture be its own interpreter.

 

Professor Andy McIntosh

Leeds January 2014

A version of this article appeared in Banner of Truth Magazine Oct 2002, pp. 16-21

---

[1] Hugh Ross “Creation and Time”, NavPress, Navpress, Colorado Springs, U.S.A., 1994 (the main proponent of the Progressive Creation view which tries to join evolution and Genesis. The book under the same title by Van Bebber and Taylor (1995) clearly answers this).  Also see also the writings of John Stott, e.g. “Understanding the Bible”, Scripture Union, 1984, where he argues for a for a so-called “Homo Divinus” after a long line of hominids. A similar view is held by Denis Alexander in his book “Creation of Evolution  - do we have to choose?” Monarch, 2008. This book is well answered by Nevin (ed.) “Should Christians Embrace Evolution” IVP, 2009.

[2] Lloyd-Jones, D.M., “What is an evangelical?”, Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 1992.

[3] Viktor Pearce “Evidence for Truth – Science”, Eagle, Guildford 1998, chapter 3.

[4] See  the author’s own summary of the arguments in Genesis for Today, Day One, 2^nd Edition 2001 – in particular Chapter 3 “Genesis and History”, and the extremely thorough treatment by Douglas Kelly “Creation and Change”, Christian Focus, 1997, Chapter 6.

The Lord’s day

A version of this was published by Creation Science Movement as Pamphlet 318 (1998) and it is based on chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the book “Genesis for Today” by Andy McIntosh, published by Day One Publications, Epsom, Surrey.

The change in the British law is already putting pressure on Christians to work on this day as on any other. Why is this day important? How is it connected to the creation/evolution debate?

       The body clock

In each one of us is a seven day clock which medical experts acknowledge is deeply ingrained in our make up.*[i] There are other clocks, such as the need for rest every 24 hours and other daily rhythms concerning the natural functions of the human body, but one which is just as vital is the weekly cycle. Atheistic-led societies have tried to extend the working week and failed. Notably the French Revolutionaries tried to make a ten day week. This could not work because the body just cannot cope without a rest every seven days. This is a testimony to the truth of Genesis that our human bodies, as at creation, need to have the weekly rest. This is why the Lord said “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27) not to in any way remove the Sabbath rest, but to remove ungodly additions.

       The day of rest at creation

God’s original plans for the whole of the human race are all in Genesis. Many Christians do not realise that the law concerning the Sabbath day (which simply means “cessation”) did not begin with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, but was in fact the very first command ever given to all of mankind (not just the Israelites). In Gen. 2:3 “...God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it....”. This means the day was “set apart” as a special day by God right at the beginning for all the human race. In Ex. 20 it is explained further. Ex. 20:10 states “...the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant ...” The principle of the Sabbath is laid down in the Ten Commandments. It is important to recognise that the actual day of the week is not explicitly referred to at Sinai. Rather it is simply laid down that every seventh day there is to be a day of rest. Thus the Christian Sabbath and change of day is allowed for in the fourth commandment. What is more is that the reason for the Sabbath law is that “in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day...”. This verse is rightly used in our debates with theistic evolutionists (those who believe in long ages for the six days of creation) to show that the Bible clearly teaches that the days of creation are six 24 hour days. The Sabbath command would have no sense if we were being required to keep every seventh millennium! The “day” in the fourth commandment is the word “yom” in Hebrew and clearly has to mean a 24 hour period for the Sabbath law to make sense. Since the reason given for the Sabbath in Exodus 20 is that God made the world in six days with one day of rest, there is no way round the clear implication that the six days of creation have to be six 24 hour periods for the argument to have meaning. But if it is right to use this verse to show that the creation ‘days’ were 24 hour periods, we should acknowledge the authority that the Sabbath holds over us as a creation ordinance.

       How Christians should keep the Lord’s day.

The fact that the Sabbath is a creation command has far reaching consequences. It means that we as Christians should keep a day of rest as (1) a testimony to our Creator and (2) a testimony to the Saviour. For the believer it should be :

(a)   A day of rest.

The meaning of the word “sabbath” is “ceasing”. Each week, we should stop. It is good medically for our bodies, but it is vital for our souls. Neh. 13:15-22 teaches it is not a day for buying or selling, for commerce and trading. We are legitimately to take part in such things during the week, but this day is to be set apart.

(b)   A day of holy rest.

Ex. 20:10 teaches that the one day in seven is “the Sabbath of the Lord your God”. The day is God’s day, a day to meet Him, a day to meet His people. This is a day for reading, meditating on the Saviour and all that He has done - notably the glorious salvation He purchased for us at Calvary. This is why in Dt. 5:15 in the second statement of the Ten Commandments, the Lord bids His people to remember that He brought them out of Egypt “by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm”. Thus on this day we are to remember particularly how Christ died for us and with his crucified arms and feet made Himself a once-for-all sacrifice for sin. We should use Sunday particularly to remind ourselves of this glorious truth.

(c)   A day for the Lord.

Is. 58:13 speaks of calling the Sabbath a delight, honouring Him, not finding our own pleasure and not speaking our own words. This may seem an onerous task to some, but in fact the opposite is true in the experience of the author. In my work, I quite often have to travel to other countries and as a general rule I avoid travelling on the Sunday, for the very positive reason that there is immense strength obtained by meeting with His people and worshipping the Lord, particularly when away from home. Recently I visited Indonesia and benefited enormously from the fellowship with the believers in Jakarta before venturing into the business of the week. Indirectly you also pass on a great blessing to others as you testify to them of God’s grace in your soul.

It is notable that the recently published book by Weir*[ii] on Christian sportsmen and sportswomen, which seeks to justify sport on Sunday, makes no reference to this verse in Isaiah. They argued that the stand of Liddell and others not to dishonour the Lord’s Day was outdated. We would do well, however to recognise that a principle is at stake, and a principle which directly affects the growth of our spiritual lives.

(d)   A day with consequences.

Is. 58:14 goes on to tell of the glorious effect to a believer who honours God’s day. (i) By keeping God’s day and calling that day a delight (verse 13), He enables you to delight in Him. It is all of grace, we cannot do it ourselves. Do you have problems drawing close to the Lord? Is it because you need to repent of misuse of His day? Maybe you are attending only one meeting of worship and are using the rest of the day for sport? This surely will bring spiritual poverty. (ii) He causes us to ride upon the high places of the earth. This is a wonderful promise. God will feeds with the heritage of Jacob, Jacob, the man who was far from perfect! A twister who by God’s grace came the hard way to trust alone in God. This speaks of us. Conscious of our much sin, we feel we have no right to God’s blessing. But God says, repent, keep my day and you will know great inner resources. You will have strength for all the week, of which the world will be envious. If we humble ourselves bachelor under God’s mighty hand in this matter (1 Pet. 5:6-10), He will settle and establish us in our family life, our work life and our church life.

---

[i] Wright, V., “The Lord’s Day - A medical point of view”, LDOS, U.K.

[ii] Weir, S., “More than champions” - sportstars’ secrets of success. Marshall Pickering, 1993.

Applications on Fasting

 

I have posted a few articles on the subject of prayer and fasting in the last few months. We need to learn that the need for communion with God is way greater than we can imagine. Let us learn to commune with God by communicating with him and seeking to honour the Lord in all that we do and say. Our thoughts must conform to the likeness of the Lord. We thank God that His ears are open to our prayers.

1)    Will you confess and repent of any fear of fasting?

There’s something about saying, “I’m not going to eat today,” that causes anxiety in many Christians. It seems that most believers would rather give an offering of money than give up food for a day. Do you have a mild case of fasting-phobia? It’s silly when you put it in perspective and admit it, isn’t it? We think about missing a meal or two for the sake of becoming more like Jesus and we get anxious. And yet we willingly miss meals sometimes while shopping, working, recreating, or otherwise occupied. Whenever we believe that another activity is at that moment more important, we will go without food fearlessly and without complaint. We need to learn that there are times when it can be not only more important, but much more rewarding to feast on God than food (Matthew 4:4). We should not fear the blessings of fasting.

2)    Will you fast as the Holy Spirit directs?

Are you willing to obey God when He prompts you to fast? Because Jesus expected that His followers would fast, I believe that from time to time His Spirit will direct you to fast. Will you determine in advance that you will be obedient to His voice? One of the ways the Holy Spirit prompts us to fast is through a need in our lives in our churches. If you need stronger prayer about a matter, that’s an invitation from the Lord to fast. If you need God’s guidance in an issue in your life, that’s an  encouragement to fast. If you need deliverance or protection, that’s a time to fast. Will you do it? Or will you miss the unique opportunities for grace that He would extend to you through fasting?

3)    Practical wisdom is needed in fasting due to various reasons.

We must be wise when fasting. If you’re planning an extended fast, a medical counsel is advisable before beginning. It is not advisable to fast when you are expecting, because you are effectively forcing someone else (who is not even a believer) to fast! This is also true if you are nursing or lactating. Those who have severe medical conditions that depends on regular diet like diabetes, (or any other physical condition) should talk to their doctors before starting their fast.

4)    What if I have never fasted before?

If you’ve never fasted before, start with a one or two or at most three-meals fast. But start somewhere. Don’t look for loopholes to avoid it. Look for ways to experience God’s grace through fasting. Remember that God thought it was good enough to command every Israelite to fast for one whole day each year on the Day of Atonement, and that would have included people in all conditions and circumstances.

Like all the spiritual disciplines, fasting hoists the sails of the soul in hopes of experiencing the gracious wind of God’s Spirit. But fasting also adds a unique dimension to your spiritual life and helps you grow in Christlikeness in ways that are unavailable through any other means. If this were not so, there would have been no need for Jesus to model and teach fasting.

5)     Will you plan a fast of dedication now as an expression of your willingness to fast from now on?

Before you go any further, why not set a time of fasting soon that will symbolize your dedication to the Lord and your willingness to discipline yourself to fast in the future?

Conclusion

The Lord who instructed us to fast can give both the grace and the conviction of a desire to fast. In as much as I may encourage you, I have to patiently wait for the Lord to enable you to feel the burden of fasting. There are many problems around us that are desperately inviting us to fast:

·      You have had these besetting sins for too long. You know that you need to put to death all the passions of the flesh but you have been wallowing in sin. You have confessed and repented over and over again. The Lord did say that there some demons (and perhaps trials) that will not go except by prayer and fasting. Please fast and may the Lord give you victory.

·      Our church is in need of more pastors, shall we not fast?

·      Our parents, spouses, children, siblings etc. are either wallowing in sin and sinking in its misery. And while we should do everything in our power to bring the gospel to them for the salvation of their souls, yet we should occasionally and perhaps even regularly fast that the Life-giving Spirit of God may regenerate them. We should pray that they should come under the conviction of their sins and be convinced of the preciousness of Christ as the sole-Saviour of sinners.

·      The need for more biblical churches in the country is a matter of prayer and fasting. The examples of occasions for fasting are so numerous that counting them is impossible. Please, I pray, by the grace of God fast!

·      Some of you need godly spouses. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord. (Prov 18:22). Seek the favour of the Lord today by requesting for it. An excellent wife who can find? (Prov 31:10) Find her from the Lord.

·      Others need a godly offspring. Children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward (Psalm 127:3). Seek the Lord to give you His heritage and reward.

“And when you fast…”

Question,

When will you fast? Plan to fast this month before the year ends. And from there plan a few more days of fasting next year. And keep this discipline in your life vibrant.

CAUTION ON FASTING

 

Always remember that your fasting is a privilege, not an obligation. It is the acceptance of a divine invitation to experience His grace in a special way. If you can’t fast with the faith that you will find more satisfaction and joy at that time than in delaying a meal, then freely eat in faith first (Romans 14:22-23). But may we yearn for days when God will cause us to crave the spiritual banquet of worship more than any banquet or feast.

Fasting must always have a spiritual purpose—a God-centred purpose, not a self-centred one—for the Lord to bless our fast. Thoughts of food must prompt thoughts for God. They must not distract us, but instead remind us of our purpose. Rather than focusing the mind on food, we should use the desire to eat as a reminder to pray and to reconsider our purpose of bringing glory to God whether we eat or drink or what we do.

There is no doubt that God has often crowned fasting with extraordinary blessings. Biblical, historical, and contemporary testimonies bear witness to God’s delight in providing unusual blessings to those who fast. But we should be careful not to have what Martyn Lloyd- Jones called a mechanical view of fasting. We cannot manipulate God to do our bidding by fasting any more than we can by any other means.

As with prayer, we fast in hope that by His grace God will bless us as we desire. When our fast is rightly motivated, we can be sure that God will bless us, but perhaps not in the way we wanted.

Again David Smith has captured it rightly when he says;

"Any blessing which is bestowed by the Father upon His undeserving children must be considered to be an act of grace. We fail to appreciate the mercy of the Lord if we think that by our doing something we have forced (or even coerced) God to grant that blessing which we have asked for. . . . 

All of our fasting, therefore, must be on this basis; we should use it as a scriptural means whereby we are melted into a more complete realization of the purposes of the Lord in our life, church, community, and nation."

Fasting should always have a purpose, and we must learn to elevate His purposes over ours. God-centered fasting is taught in Zechariah 7:5. A delegation was sent from Bethel to Jerusalem to inquire of the Lord. At issue was the continuance of two fasts the Jews had held to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. For seventy years they had kept these fasts in the fifth and seventh months, but now they wondered if God wanted them to continue the fasts since they had been restored to their land and were building a new temple. The Lord’s response to them was,

“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?’”

In reality, these fasts had become empty rituals, not God-centred experiences. Matthew Henry’s comments on this passage are useful for our own fasting.

Let them all take notice that, whereas they thought they had made God very much their Debtor by these fasts, they were much mistaken, for they were not acceptable to Him, unless they had been observed in a better manner, and to better purpose. . . . They were not chargeable with omission or neglect of the duty, . . . but they had not managed [it] aright. . . . They had not an eye to God in their fasting. . . . When this was wanting, every fast was but a jest. To fast, and not to fast to God, was to mock Him and provoke Him, and could not be pleasing to Him. . . . If the solemnities of our fasting, though frequent, long, and severe, do not serve to put an edge upon devout affections, to quicken prayer, to increase Godly sorrow, and to alter the temper of our minds, and the course of our lives, for the better, they do not at all answer the intention, and God will not accept them as performed to Him.15

Before we fast we must have a purpose, a God-centered purpose. But even at our best we do not deserve what we desire, nor can we force God’s hand. Having said that, however, let’s balance that truth with the incontestable promise of Jesus in Matthew 6:17-18,

“But when you fast, … and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

God will bless a biblical fast by any of His children. And whether or not you receive the blessing you hope for, one thing is sure: If you knew what God knew, you would give yourself the identical blessing that He does. And none of His rewards is worthless. Christians should always remember that God is ‘him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.’ (Eph 3:20).

What is our understanding of prayer? What is prayer? John Bunyan provides a very clear answer,

Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to His Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God.

The power of prayer is highlighted in the Scriptures throughout. It is a great shame that we do not pray as we ought. James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16). Do we doubt the power of prayer? Is this why we do not pray? James encourages us to consider the example of the prophet Elijah and his prayer. First of all, James emphasis that Elijah was like us in every way – he was a man with nature like ours! There was nothing extraordinary about Elijah except His God, and He is our God and Father too.

Elijah prayed fervently, that it might not rain and there was no rain for three and half years. Then Elijah prayed again, and there was rain enough to make crops produce sufficient crop. The key thing is that Elijah prayed and again! Are we praying?

And James’s point is as plain as noonday. Whatever life brings our way – whether suffering or joy, ours is to pray and praise. And even when we are too weak to pray, we should invite others (and especially our pastors) to come and pray with us. Whether we are sick or sinful, the solution is in confidently approaching the throne of grace. After all, by the efficacy of the work of Christ, we are assured of mercy and grace in times of need (Heb 4:16). Therefore, let’s make sure we do not forget to pray. And let’s make sure that our praying is not merely mouthing words, saying prayers, but a fervently seeking after the heart of God, sometimes with fasting. Only then do we truly pray, and only then do we experience our own great things.

Our prayer life may be greatly limited or even hindered by the finite answers we seek and desire. Our God is able to do more than what we desire and ask. Our faith should always rest on Him to do His will. His will for us is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom 12:2). Let us go the way our Master went – “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And this is what He taught us – “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:10)

The Purpose of Fasting

 

There’s more to a biblical fast than abstaining from food. Without a spiritual purpose for your fast it’s just a weight-loss or hunger-strike kind of fasting!

To Strengthen Prayer

“Whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer.” John Calvin.

There’s something about fasting that sharpens the edge of our intercessions and gives passion to our supplications. So it has frequently been used by the people of God when there is a special urgency about the concerns they lift before the Father.

When Ezra was about to lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem, he proclaimed a fast in order for the people to seek the Lord earnestly for safe passage. They were to face many dangers without military protection during their nine-hundred-mile journey. This was no ordinary matter to be brought to God in prayer. “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this,” says Ezra 8:23, “and he answered our prayer.”

To Seek God’s Guidance

In Judges 20 the other eleven tribes of Israel prepared for war against the tribe of Benjamin. The soldiers gathered at Gibeah because of a shocking sin committed by the men of that Benjaminite city. They sought the Lord before going into battle, and even though they outnumbered the Benjamites by fifteen to one, they lost the battle and twenty-two thousand men. The next day they sought the Lord with prayer and tears, but again they lost the battle and with thousands of casualties.

Confused, the third time, they not only sought guidance from the Lord in prayer and with tears, but they also “fasted that day until evening” (verse 26). “Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?” they asked. Then the Lord made His will plain: “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands” (verse 28). Only after they sought Him with fasting did the Lord give Israel the victory. This is not to say that they arm-twisted God by their fasting but that their sincerity and commitment to depend on the Lord was amplified.

According to Acts 13:2,3 and 14:23, before Paul and Barnabas and the churches in Antioch and in every church would appoint elders in the churches they founded, they first prayed with fasting to receive God’s guidance.

David Brainerd prayed with fasting for the Lord’s leadership regarding his entry into ministry. On Monday, April 19, 1742, he recorded in  his journal:

“I set apart this day for fasting and prayer to God for His grace; especially to prepare me for the work of the ministry, to give me divine aid and direction in my preparations for that great work, and in His own time to send me into His harvest.”

Fasting does not ensure the certainty of receiving clear guidance from God. Rightly practiced, however, it does make us more receptive to the One who loves to guide us.

To Express Grief

Three of the first four references in the Bible to fasting connect it with an expression of grief. As mentioned in Judges 20:26, one of the reasons the Israelites wept and fasted before the Lord was—not only to seek His guidance—but to express their grief for the forty thousand brothers they had lost in battle. When King Saul was killed by the Philistines, the men of Jabesh Gilead walked all night to recover the bodies of the king and his sons. After the burial, 1 Samuel 31:13 says they mourned when they “fasted seven days.”

The next chapter gives the response of David and his men when they heard the news: “Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword” (2 Samuel 1:11-12).

Grief caused by events other than a death also can be expressed through fasting. Christians have fasted because of grief for their sins, since the wages of sin is death.

To Seek Deliverance or Protection

One of the most common fasts in biblical times was a fast to seek salvation from enemies or circumstances.  For example,

After being notified that a vast army was coming against him, King Jehoshaphat was afraid and “resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4).

The best known cooperative fast in Scripture is likely the one in Esther 4:16. It was called by Queen Esther as a part of her appeal to God for protection from the king’s wrath. She planned to enter the court of King Xerxes uninvited in order to appeal to him for the protection of the Jews from mass extermination. She said to her uncle 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. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

To Express Repentance and the Return to God

Fasting for this purpose is similar to fasting for the purpose of expressing grief for sin. But as repentance is a change of mind resulting in a change of action, fasting can represent more than just grief over sin. It also can signal a commitment to obedience and a new direction. The Israelites expressed repentance through fasting in 1 Samuel 7:6 when “they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’”

In Joel 2:12, the Lord specifically commanded His people to signify their repentance and their return to Him by fasting: “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’”

Surely the most thorough fast ever recorded is the one in Jonah 3:5-8, and it is a fast to express repentance.

To Humble Oneself before God

Fasting, when practiced with the right motives, is a physical expression of humility before God, just as kneeling or prostrating yourself in prayer can reflect humility before Him. And as there are times when you feel the need to express humility by praying on your knees or on your face down before the Lord, so there are times when you may want to express a sense of humility before the Lord in every activity throughout the day by fasting.

Many who are accustomed to expressing humility in prayer by kneeling might ask why we would want to express humility all day by fasting. Conversely, John Calvin asked a better question: Why not?

“For since this [fasting] is a holy exercise both for the humbling of men and for their confession of humility, why should we use it less than the ancients did in similar need? . . . What reason is there why we should not do the same?”

One of the most wicked men in Jewish history, King Ahab, eventually humbled himself before God and demonstrated it by fasting: Read 1 Kings 21:27-29.

On the other hand, one of Israel’s godliest men humbled himself before the Lord in exactly the same way. King David wrote, “I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting” (Psalm 35:13). 

Remember that fasting itself is not humility before God, but should be an expression of humility. There was no humility in the Pharisee of Luke 18:12, who bragged to God in prayer that he fasted twice a week.

To Express Concern for the Work of God

Just as a parent might fast and pray out of concern for the work of God in the life of a child, so Christians may fast and pray because they feel a burden for the work of God in a broader scope. A Christian might feel compelled to fast and pray for the work of God in a place that has experienced tragedy, disappointment, or apparent defeat. This was the purpose for Nehemiah’s fast when he heard that despite the return of many Jewish exiles to Jerusalem, the city still had no wall to defend it. See Nehemiah 1:3-4. After his fast, Nehemiah then went to work in order to do something tangible and public to strengthen this work of God.

When we see some of the missional needs that stare at us, we should be drawn to pray and to fast. For example, Kenya is so plagued by the error of the so called prosperity gospel and the Word of Faith preachers and churches are at every corner. They have dominated the country’s wavelengths both in the radios and TVs. It seems as the true gospel has been obliterated. You meet with Christians who are tired of buying anointing oil and brooms (to sweep away curses and to usher in new destiny of blessings). Brothers what are we doing about this? If we can’t do anything, (even if we can) should we not proclaim a fast to call upon the Lord to smile upon the Biblical work in this country? Should we not put on humble ourselves in sack clothes and ashes as well as in prayer and fasting?

Daniel was so burdened for the return of the Jews from exile and the restoration of Jerusalem and he, too, expressed this by fasting: “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3).

A devoted believer in this Discipline, David Brainerd’s concerns for the work of God frequently found expression in fasting and prayer. In his journal entry for June 14, 1742, he demonstrated his concern for the work he believed God had called him to do.

I set apart this day for secret fasting and prayer, to entreat God to direct and bless me with regard to the great work I have in view, of preaching the gospel. . . . God enabled me to wrestle ardently in intercession for absent friends. . . . The Lord visited me marvelously in prayer; I think my soul never was in such an agony before. I felt no restraint, for the treasures of divine grace were opened to me. I wrestled for absent friends, for the ingathering of souls, for multitudes of poor souls, and for many that I thought were the children of God, personally, in many distant places.

Obviously we can’t fast continually, but may the Lord at least occasionally give us a concern for His work so great that our normal concern for food will seem secondary in comparison.

To Minister to the Needs of Others

Those who think the Spiritual Disciplines foster tendencies of introspection or independence should consider Isaiah 58:6-7. In the most extensive passage in Scripture dealing exclusively with fasting, God emphasizes fasting for the purpose of meeting the needs of others. The people originally addressed in this section had complained to the Lord that they had fasted and humbled themselves before Him, but He had not answered them. But the reason why He had not heard them was their disobedience. Their lives were in hypocritical contrast to their fasting and praying. “Yet on the day of your fasting,” says the Lord in verses 3-4, “you do as you please …” Fasting cannot be compartmentalized from the rest of our lives. The Spiritual Disciplines do not stand alone. God will not bless the practice of any Discipline, including fasting, when we reject His Word regarding relationships with others.

There are other ways of fasting to meet the needs of others. Many fast so that they can give to the poor or to some ministry whatever money they would have spent on food during that period.

How could you minister to the needs of others with the extra time or money fasting could provide?

To Overcome Temptation & Dedicate Yourself to God

Ask Christians to name a fast by a biblical character and most will probably think first of the supernatural fast of Jesus prior to His temptation in Matthew 4:1-11. Verse two of that familiar passage tells us that Jesus fasted “forty days and forty nights.” In the spiritual strength of that prolonged fast He was prepared to overcome a direct onslaught of temptation from Satan himself, the strongest He would face until Gethsemane.

It was also during that fast that He privately dedicated Himself to the Father for the public ministry He would begin soon thereafter. Nowhere in Scripture are we asked to fast for forty days, or for any specific length of time. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing from Jesus’ unique experience for us to apply to ourselves. One principle we learn from Jesus’ example is this: Fasting is a way of overcoming temptations and of freshly dedicating ourselves to the Father.

There are times we struggle with temptation, or we anticipate grappling with it, when we need extra spiritual strength to overcome it. Perhaps we are traveling (or our spouse is traveling) and temptations for mental and sensual unfaithfulness abound. At the start of school or a new job or ministry there may be new temptations, or it may seem appropriate to dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord.

Often we face decisions that place unusual temptations before us. Do we take a new job that will mean much more money but much less time with the family? Do we accept the promotion that includes a transfer that would end a significant ministry in our local church or it means going where our family’s spiritual growth may suffer? In times of exceptional temptation, exceptional measures are required. Fasting for the purpose of overcoming these temptations and of renewing our dedication to God is a Christ-like response. But how many times have you taken up new roles or accepted to take some positions that will bring you into a greater temptations and you do not consider calling upon the Lord to help you? We need to be very wary of depending on the arm of flesh. I do not mean that it is always arm of flesh when we do not fast, but all I am saying is the possibility. We should not be those who walk by sight – we should walk by faith. Surely fasting and prayer cannot be walking by sight – or can they be?

To Express Love and Worship to God

By now you may have associated fasting only with dire circumstances and great troubles. But the Bible also says that fasting may be an act of sheer devotion to God.

In Luke 2 there is an unforgettable woman whose entire eighty four years are flashed before us in just three quick verses. Her name is Anna. The summary of her life is found in Luke 2:37: “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” Although Anna’s story has its primary significance in the context of Mary and Joseph presenting the newborn Jesus at the Temple, how she lived from day to day is what concerns us here. Anna was married for only seven years before being widowed. Assuming she married as a young lady, this Godly woman devoted at least half a century, night and day, to a worship of God characterized by “fasting and praying.” It is this kind of a widow who the Bible describes as ‘She who is truly a widow … has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.’ (1 Tim 5:5)  A church that has such women is greatly blessed by this kind of prayer ministry.

Fasting can be an expression of finding your greatest pleasure and enjoyment in life from God. That’s the case when disciplining yourself to fast means that you love God more than food. Fasting tangibly shows that seeking God is more important to you than eating (at least occasionally). This honours God and is a means of worshiping Him as God. It means that your stomach isn’t your god as it is with some (see Philippians 3:19). Instead it is God’s servant, and fasting proves it because you’re willing to sublimate its desires to those of the Spirit.

Christians throughout history have fasted for this purpose in preparation for the Lord’s Supper. In addition to the elements of repentance and humility before God in this kind of fast, it is also intended to help the person focus on adoring the One who is represented in the Supper.

Another way of fasting to express love and worship to God is to spend your mealtime in praise and adoration of God. A variation is to delay eating a particular meal until you have had your daily time of Bible intake and prayer. Some of you complain that they did not have enough time to have their devotion/quiet time during the day and yet they had time to eat and drink throughout the day! This is lame duck excuse.

Appreciation and credit to Don Whitney's book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by NAVPRESS.