Fast Christians

When you read the title of this article, you probably thought it was going to be about Christians who are quick at something. If you were thinking more deeply, you might have thought of the Scriptures that encourage Christians to hold fast to their faith. That comes closer to what I am about to say, although that’s not quite it. The word “fast” as in hold fast is related to the word “fasten.” The biblical admonition is to fasten our lives to the truth of God’s Word. That’s closer to where I am going, but still not there.

The verb “to fast” and the related noun come from a different language chain (etymology) than our adjective “fast.” I know your eyes are glazing over and you are wishing the English teacher in me would get to the point. Almost there. We know that a fast is abstinence from a physical substance or activity. We know that in earlier times, religious fasting was a more common practice than it is now. I am going to suggest that we “fast” in a somewhat different way than usual. That makes my title an imperative sentence – a command: Fast, Christians. (What a difference a comma makes.)

If my pedantic English lesson hasn’t made you click off the page, you will be rewarded with the reason for my explanation of usage. Today I read Isaiah 56:6: “Isn’t this the fast I choose…” When I considered the fast God wanted the Israelites to practice, I was struck by the similarity of that fast to the marching orders given to Christians. In fact, Jesus initiated His ministry with a quotation from this section of Isaiah just a few verses later. Since we are commanded to follow in Jesus’ steps if we are followers, it makes sense that His actions should be our actions.

What I am trying to say is that the fast God desires of Christ followers is not necessarily what we normally think of as a fast – it’s not abstaining from one physical pleasure, although in truth, an old fashioned fast does have some value for today’s Christians. The fast God requires is one that “fasts” the material world altogether. Shocking, what?

Here’s what I mean. If we are following Jesus, we are supposed to be in the world but not of the world. God could have arranged things so that as soon as we accept His offer of salvation in Christ, He would beam us up to Heaven. He didn’t. He left us here so that we could do kingdom work. (See Bringing the Kingdom.) Jesus described that kind of work when He gave His first synagogue lesson in Nazareth from Isaiah sixty-one. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Ironically, the people in His hometown realized Jesus the carpenter was claiming to be the promised Messiah, and they rejected the idea completely. Too bad for them. I want to point out what the Messiah announced as His ministry because it is our ministry too. There are five aspects to the work Jesus set out to do, the work we are called to do if we would be His followers.

The first is easy to understand but not always easy to do. Proclaiming good news to the poor is not something most Christians find easy. Whether through embarrassment or fear of rejection, we often hide our light under a basket rather than letting it shine. If we are truly “fasting” the world’s opinion and seeking first the kingdom, we will be pointing out how poor and needy our neighbors really are and telling them the good news. (I gave some suggestions for engaging our neighbors in my book, Lead a Horse to Water.)

The second aspect of Christian ministry, releasing the captives, might begin with proving to people that they really are in captivity. Paul’s treatise on Christian doctrine, the book of Romans, explains that everyone is held captive by sin until they come to Jesus for deliverance. My wife and I have spent some time working with convicted felons and drug addicts. They know firsthand what it means to be in captivity. The truth is there are many people who have never been behind bars or drowning in a bottle who are just as much captives. We shy away from using the word sin with people because it sounds judgmental; it is. You can’t sell the idea of freedom to people who don’t know they are in bondage.

I am going to skip ahead to number four because it ties in with the idea of bondage. Offering freedom to those who are oppressed might be taken literally. The enemy of our souls oppresses people today in many different ways. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, and others are obvious oppressors. Not so obvious, but just as oppressive are work (when it overwhelms), hobbies (when they dominate), family (when it pushes God out), even “religious” activities (when they become drudgery.) Even Christians can lose their joy when oppression clouds their perception. By His grace, Jesus frees people from their oppression.

Number three, recovery of sight to the blind, does not require an eye surgeon. Back to Romans again where Paul explains that people everywhere are blind to the existence of God, even though His witness in creation is unmistakable. The Apostle also told the Ephesians that people were blind because they are, “darkened in understanding… because of the ignorance that is in them.” This kind of blindness requires teaching either by word or demonstration. Living the life of Christian love in front of people will often remove the scales from their eyes better than a religious talk or tract.

The final aspect Jesus announced as His ministry is to, “proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” A quick lesson from the Old Testament will explain what this means. Every fifty years the Jews were supposed to celebrate a Jubilee Year in which (here we are again) all slaves were to be released from their servitude. You should be seeing a theme here. Paul said we were all slaves to sin at one time. He also said it was for freedom that Christ set us free.

Those five things constitute Christian ministry. The world is in bondage; we have the keys to their prison. It is our responsibility to make that key available to as many as we can. Maybe it would be a good idea to undertake a literal fast and ask God to prick your heart with a dose of His love for the lost. Then get out and be a true Jesus follower. And be quick about it.

Related posts: Why Witness; God’s Choice or Mans; Many Called – Few Chosen