But this approach collapses on itself. That we must not say that something is true for everyone, claims itself to be true for everyone! When it comes to spiritual matters, many people believe that no religion may claim to be the only way to God, for all religions are equal. This argument also fails, for it is an absolute religious claim. Let’s face it; we all make claims for truth when we try to communicate and reason with one another. That’s the truth.

This being the case, have you considered that Christianity’s claim to be the only way to God might not be as arrogant and outlandish as so many people argue? Jesus himself made this clear, “I am the way, and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Such must be the case because of what the Bible teaches about God, us, and how we may know him. The eternal God who created all things is holy and cannot allow anything or anyone impure in his presence (Psa 24:3-4; Isa 6:1-6). But that’s just the problem. We all were born in sin (Psa 51:5) and fall short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23) with none who “is righteous” or who “does good” (Rom 3:10-11). Regardless of how hard we try, we cannot escape our sin to be accepted by God, who must hide his face from sin (Isa 59:2; Rom 3:20). Further, there remains a high price for our sin, for its “wages. . . is death” (Rom 6:23) and such will be a gateway to eternal punishment (Matt 25:46; Rev 20:14-15).

In such a horrible situation, Jesus Christ alone is our only hope as the one who lived a perfect life and paid the penalty for sin on the cross (Gal 3:10-13). Through him, our sins can be forgiven and we can be accepted as righteous before God (2 Cor 5:21; Eph 1:7, 2:8-9; Rom 3:21-22) If we simply turn from our sin to “believe on the Lord Jesus,” we “will be saved.” (Acts 16:31). So, run to Jesus and throw your spiritual arms around him in faith. Joined to him, eternal life as “the free gift of God” (Rom 6:23) will be yours. You will be set free for an abundant life of joyful worship and service unto the Lord forever and ever.
Before you say, “Whatever!” to this, won’t you please consider it as THE TRUTH for all times and all people? Your eternity depends upon it.

The text upon which we came was Luke 5:33-35 (ESV):

And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” [34] And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? [35] The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

In short, Jesus claimed that since he as the “bridegroom” came as to a wedding, picturing the relationship between Christ and the Church as his bride, it was not a time for fasting but for feasting. John’s disciples fasted, or denied themselves food and drink, in a manner that echoes the practice of Anna in the temple who fasted and prayed with hopeful expectation of the Messiah (Luke 2:37). In other words, the hunger pains they suffered reminded them of spiritual matters more important than food or drink in the kingdom. Jesus himself made this clear when he fasted in the wilderness and was there tempted by the devil: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt 4:4)

The Pharisees likewise had developed a sustained tradition of fasting twice a week (Luke 18:12), and while Jesus does not condemn the foundation of their practice, he certainly does censure their self-righteous motives for it. In this regard, see Matthew 6:16-18 and Luke 18:9-14 where Jesus points out the self-righteous and self-promoting practice of fasting in the Pharisees.

Thus, Jesus does not abrogate fasting as a religious practice but does limit the timing of it and the manner in which it is carried out. So, what did he mean when he noted that the “days will come” for fasting when he is “taken away”? We could immediately conclude two things from this statement. First, he referred at least to his death. Second, mourning for that death constituted a time for fasting not feasting. In fact, the occasions for fasting in the Scriptures prior to this indicate that a sense of loss or dissatisfaction with the present coupled with an expectation for something better sets the background out of which fasting occurred. In general, we might conclude that fasting for the Lord’s people arises out of a sort of kingdom longing for something more.

We find this in the very first Scriptural recording of a fast in Judges (see 20:26) when the Israelites are defeated by the Benjamites in battle on two occasions. Such follows the account of the violation of the Levite’s concubine and entails the Lord instructing them to go to battle with the Benjamites (after they inquired of him) only to be soundly defeated twice in a row. Mourning the death of thousands of soldiers and bemoaning the defeat they suffered, they sought the Lord in a more intense way through fasting. Prayer always accompanied fasting almost in the sense of creating a higher octane crying out to God.  Prayer, joined to fasting in this instance, resulted in victory from the Lord’s gracious hand.

Putting our general principle of kingdom longing to the test, we see that the instances of fasting manifest this general foundation. For example, fasting occurred as a means of repentance (1 Sam 7:6; Neh 1:4), of mourning (2 Sam 1:12), and of showing dependence upon and crying out for God’s mercy in different situations (2 Sam 12:16; Ezra 8:21).  In addition to fasting involving the denial of food and water, other fasting in principle might involve abstinence from sex or sleep and sacrificial giving (1 Cor 7:5; Matt 26:36-44; Isa 58:7).

In the end, physical self-denial is meant to foster spiritual vitality raising one to a higher platform in his or her petitions to the Lord. Fasting acts as a kind of spiritual catalyst to our prayers as they are more powerfully propelled to the throne of God. My wife and I have often bemoaned that we feel our prayers at times don’t make it beyond the ceiling.   The hunger pains of fasting then can intensify the fervency and urgency of prayer to help blow a hole through not just the ceiling but also the roof,  for when “I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10)

Coming back to Jesus’ statement about fasting occurring when he was “taken away,” we might look to his triumphant resurrection and ascension as the mark that, once again, it is a time for feasting. After all, believers have won the “victory” over death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Death has lost its “sting” and has been “swallowed up” in such victory. “[T]hanks be to God” for a reason to feast and celebrate! (1 Cor 15:54, 55, 57) Indeed, those born of God, have in victory “overcome the world” In part, we perform this type of celebratory feasting in the Lord’s Supper. As we remember the victory that we have through the death and resurrection, the bread and cup involve fellowship with Christ and his church as we enjoy an anticipatory foretaste of the feast to come at his return. That’s why we gather around the table “until he comes.” (Matt 26:29; 1 Cor 11:26; Rev 19:9)

We would expect, then, that the practice of fasting came to an end in the New Testament with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.   This does not follow through, as we find indications of newly planted churches fasting  church over the ordination of Paul and Baranabas before their first missionary journey and elders in Lystra ( Acts 13:2,3; 14:23).  In the list of Paul’s sufferings for the gospel fasting  may possibly be meant (2 Cor 11:27), but “without food” could simply indicate not having anything to eat.   So, limiting the clear references to two in Acts, they hardly indicate a strong New Testament emphasis.  We cannot ascertain the prevalence of the practice from the these two recorded instances, yet we can be certain of its existence. Clearly, after not only the death but also the resurrection and ascension of Christ, it was a time for fasting.

The instances of fasting also fit our theme of kingdom longing mentioned earlier.  In a context where Paul and the others were not only looking in expectation for the extension of the kingdom in the church of Jesus Christ but also fully aware of the dangers in this work (Acts 9:16), especially at the hands of persecuting Jews like he, prayer and fasting intensely sought the Spirit’s anointing of their ministry.

From here, we rightly conclude that that it remains a time for fasting, for the church today finds itself  in a similar post-Ascension pre-Parousia context. The bridegroom has been taken away and we await his return to claim his bride. We must not conclude that because the fasting observed in the New Testament church was always connected to the laying on of hands of church officers, that it did not and could occur for other reasons. Rather, seeing that the employment of  New Testament fasting fits within the general theme noted earlier, we can rightly apply it to other areas as well.

In the end, with the triumphant death and resurrection of Christ granting to us salvific victory that we experience now yet do not fully possess until he returns, it is both a time for feasting and fasting.  This is the conclusion that we can draw from the present victory Paul celebrates in the resurrection of Christ to the future triumph he anticipates in the glorification  and resurrection of believers (1 Cor 15:55-57; Rom 7:24-25).   Christ already gives us the victory that we do not yet enjoy in full (1 Cor 15:54, 57).  Even as we gather around the table in the Supper, we not only celebrate what we have we anticipate what is yet to come with the return of Jesus Christ.

Given the ongoing warrant for the practice and the effect that it has, why do not we not see fasting emphasized or practiced on a regular basis at least in the Western church? Our minds might immediately be drawn to the self-indulgent flowery-bed-of-ease approach that plagues the church. At its foundation, I believe, lies a people who understand very little of what it means to be disciples as those who deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus Christ.  Coupled with this, we may sing and recite “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” but what we really pursue is “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,  . . . but first let me attend to my own interests.”

What would would the church look like if on a wide-scale we harnessed fasting (not the mechanical self-righteous Pharisaical kind!) to prayer as we repent of our sin, seek God’s blessing upon his preachers, cast ourselves upon him in humble dependence, plead for conquest in the ongoing spiritual warfare with our three great enemies, and in general pursue the interests of the kingdom?  Does it sound far-fetched to imagine that the church might have a greater transforming effect on this country through the preaching of the gospel?   These questions I leave with as a challenge to consider this neglected yet important matter. I might as well leave you with one final question, Is it not a time for fasting?

It is our hope that here we will not only inform others of our church but also point them to Christ as their only hope whether as believers or unbelievers.

It is fitting, then, to begin with a story I shared this past Lord’s Day as I preached on Luke 5:1-11. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I was on a fishing trip with my stepdad, mom, and older brother. While my brother and dad went out to fish in a row boat, I was left to fish on the shore with my mom close by my side. With my starter Zebco rod and reel, I flung my rod back eager to cast out as far as I could. I suddenly heard a scream, “Bobby!!!” As I started to cast out I had caught her neck with the hook. In a panic, I yanked as hard as I could. You guessed it. I drove that hook deep into my mother’s neck and then my not-too-pleased (to say the least) dad drove her to the emergency room where they had to push the hook through so they could cut off the barb to remove the hook.  In my zeal to catch a fish, I had caught my mother!  This was definitely not a good thing.

However, Jesus came along with skill as a carpenter (not as a fisherman!) to show us, through an astounding catch of fish, that catching men was good. We can be certain that he did not have in mind my catch above. Yet, this display in the end was not about the fish but the fishermen and what they were now being called to do in following him.

When Peter fell down in the smelly slimy catch of the century at the knees of Jesus with awareness of sin and the power and grace of Christ little did he realize that he truly was part of the catch. Caught alive, he would now leave all to follow Jesus and “catch men.” Keep in mind that he and the others with him left both the amazing catch of fish and the fishing behind to follow Jesus and spread the good news. We are called to do the same. This does not mean leaving all behind to become penniless, shave our heads and join a commune. Yet, it does mean that the pursuit of Jesus is what is most important above all else in this world.

I improperly hooked my mother. Friend, have you on the other hand been rightly hooked by Jesus? Does he have you? Are you aware, like Peter, of your sin to the point that you fall down amazed at his grace and power? If so, you will leave all in the dust to follow him, even your greatest worldly “catch” and delight. Having been caught may he use you to catch others.