Should Protestants Celebrate Lent? (A Response to SWBTS and Dr Thomas White)

I am protestant and I celebrate Lent. There I said it, the cat is out of the bag. Whew! I say this tongue in cheek because many protestants, including apparently SWBTS and Dr Thomas White seem to be under the false assumption it is wrong to observe Lent. Dr White wrote an article in support of his viewpoint here. I find his arguments very shortsighted and disturbing for a number of reasons and hope to use his article to contrast such a view with my own. I discovered Lent almost 20 years ago and it has been greatly used of God in my life. Lent can be a wonderful positive in our life (even as protestants) if we redeem it as such. After all, did we not coop the celebration of the Winter Solstice in order to place a date on Christmas? Could we not coop a traditional celebration of much less ignoble birth in order to prepare our hearts for revival and the majesty of Easter?

Lent has been around a very long time, at least since the 4th century. The purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer in Christ for Easter. Traditionally such preparation is made through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial. As Baptists, we do not practice penance because we believe Jesus completely paid for our sins on the Cross negating the need for such. We do believe in prayer, repentance, giving and fasting so the rest of what constitutes a traditional observance of Lent is well within the theological fellowship in which we Baptists do life together. 

Dr White states in his article he does not celebrate Lent because he is not Catholic. However, many protestant denominations celebrate Lent and have done so since the Reformation. Dr White's mention of Martin Luther's 95 Theses as support for his own choice to forgo Lent is weak and without scholarly merit. Luther actually said, "Lent, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week shall be retained, not to force anyone to fast, but to preserve the Passion history and the Gospels appointed for that season" (LW 53:90). I sincerely mean no animus toward Dr Thomas but his argument is porous and misleading. Protestants, even Luther, have celebrated Lent since the time of the reformation itself.

Dr White says Lent is a "man-made" religious exercise and he has freedom in Christ from such "bondage." So does this mean we are to consider Rick Warren's "40 Days of Purpose" a man-made legalistic exercise without any merit for those living under grace? This is a straw man argument at best. Just because a practice is old doesn't mean it was created by "Judaizers." Lent is no more legalistic than any special emphasis a church might undertake as a part of its spiritual life.

Dr White concludes his argument against Lent with the statement he "doesn't need to tell anyone when he is fasting." I agree personal times of fasting and prayer should be done in a humble state which often requires one to keep the practice to him or herself. However, Scripture is full of public, called fasts. This point of argument against Lent is without any Scriptural merit.

I am not picking on Dr White this morning but I do think his article is a great tool for discussion. Many folks fear Lent simply because of its ancient origins and association with the Catholic church. There is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater! We split from Catholics over a myriad of theological issues which have Scriptural merit but Lent is not one of them. We need not lose something so wonderful as Advent, Lent or even the celebration of Pentecost. Luther himself championed the inclusion of such observances in the faith and practice of the Body of Christ. Lent is a time for spiritual inventory, confession and renewal. Lent is a time for spiritual renewal and revival as we look forward to Easter and the celebration of all Jesus did to make opportunity for us to be right with Him. Don't miss out on Lent and the blessing such an observance can bring to your life!

James

Saturday Night Live Djesus and The Coming Persecution of the American Church

Sometimes surfing the net can be a real downer. This morning I watched a blasphemous video Saturday Night Live recently broadcast and MSNBC mock and malign Christians. Of course I am regularly bombarded by politicians (who in many cases claim to be followers of Christ) who do their very best to secularize the culture and marginalize the Christian faith. While all of this goes on the church yawns (when it is awake at all) and ignores the persecution awaiting believers just over the horizon.

I have often heard prayers lifted in worship services which thank God for a free country in which to worship Him. I wonder if those lifting such prayers know or even remotely appreciate the words they pray. Freedom, and more specifically the freedom to worship, is a very fragile thing. Most of the earth live under governments which seek to control religion and expressions of faith within their borders. In the United States we say we believe such a freedom to be our birthright. I wonder if we have forgotten the sacrifices which won the realization of such a right. God gave Americans the freedom to worship Him through the blood, sweat, tears and travail of many, many people who have gone before us.

Religious persecution is coming to the United States unless there is a revival of faith in our country. The current slide from a culture which revered Christianity to one which reviles it is only picking up speed. The media, government and popular culture are doing all they can to intensify the prejudice against Biblical Christianity. The recent Saturday Night Live skit is just a drop in the barrel of what is going on all around us everyday. Our own president disallowed a pastor from giving the invocation at his inauguration because he actually believed certain passages in the Bible were true.

I intend to write more on this topic during the week. For the time being I hope you will begin to pray for a genuine revival of Biblical Christianity in our country. Apart from a real, genuine move of God's Holy Spirit the church will soon find itself under persecution never before seen in our country.

James

Suggestions for Lent 2013

Lent is here! What are you doing to observe this 40 day opportunity for spiritual "reset?" Our church family is fasting and praying together on Wednesdays. We also are worshipping together on Sunday evenings; not a usual occurrence during the year. Personally I am seeking to be more diligent to seek God through prayer and meditation on the Bible. Through all of this both I and my church family are seeking a renewed relationship with Christ and subsequently a renewed relationship with others.

Jesus told us we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. He also said we are to love our neighbor as ourself. If we do the former we will necessarily do the latter; to love God is to love those whom God loves. As much as we want to love both God and others, it is very easy to allow our love to grow cold over the course of our hectic lives. If this is where you find yourself I encourage you to observe Lent this year and seek a "reset" with regard to your walk with God. One of the wonderful things about the church calendar is the opportunity it affords change to be an intentional part of our life. Don't miss out on this important season in the life of both you and the church!

Suggestions for Lent:

1. Wake up 30 minutes early for a time of prayer

2. Start a new Bible reading plan (Youversion on the iPhone is a great place to find one!)

3. Attend special worship and prayer services at your church

4. Fast and pray one day a week 

5. Begin an intentional plan to share your faith with at least one person everyday

James

What is Lent???

Ash Wednesday and Lent are here! I can hardly believe it is time to type those words as it seems Advent happened only moments ago. The clock keeps ticking and thankfully we are here to hear it! So what is Lent? How can we celebrate it? And why should we celebrate it? I am going to give you the condensed and some might argue protestant version; I believe the following may help the Lenten season become a significant part of your spiritual life.

Lent is the 40 days preceding Easter Sunday. For those of you numbering the days, we do not count Sundays when tallying the length of Lent. These are days in which to examine one's conscience and ask God to reveal any and all unconfessed, un-repented of sin in our life so we might repent. It is a time for reflection and spiritual "housecleaning." To put it in old school terms, Lent is a time for revival and renewal. Lent is a time to get right with God and consider the price Christ paid to make a way possible for us to do so.

Often people will give up or take on something as a part of their Lenten devotions. Such a practice is great if it is something which will help point us to God. Anything we can give up or add which helps us better prioritize and enjoy our relationship with God is a good thing regardless of the time of year. Scripture admonishes us to fast and we should do so often!

Tonight is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season for 2013. This particular day is a time to reflect upon our mortality and subsequent hopelessness if not for the death and resurrection of Christ.

I hope you will find a church to worship with and celebrate the gift of Jesus this Lenten season!

James

Love Love Love!

Thought this was a great follow up to yesterday's post. Is just under two minutes long and has a great message to consider as you start your day today.

James

Radical Love Isn't So Radical It's Just Biblical

Most of the time what we call "Radical Love" is really just good old "Biblical Love." We refer to it as radical because it is much more than anything commonly experienced or given. Biblical love is complete abandonment of self for another. Jesus demonstrated this kind of love for us when He went to the Cross for our sins. How could He be any more "selfless" than to offer His life in our place? He suffered the curse, wrath and death due us for what WE had done in rebellion against God! 

Often, we consider the love of Jesus and give ourselves a pass from the responsibility to love likewise. Yet nowhere in Scripture do we find a permissive statement which allows anything less than complete love of God and the resultant love for others. Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." In each command, the Greek word translated into English as "love" is "Agape." This type of love is both defined and illustrated best when we look to the Cross of Jesus. "Agape" is the complete giving of oneself. God desires, even expects, each of us to completely give ourself to Him and in turn love others with the same kind of love He demonstrated when He went on the Cross. The ability to love others this way happens when we first love God in the way He desires from us. 

Will you choose Biblical love today?

James 

Super Bowl and "Old Man's Disease"

The Super Bowl is behind us and with it another year of football. I am a big fan of the game although not as much as in years past. Some of my excitement for the game has faded in the face of millionaires who often seem far more in love with themselves than the game they play. "Team" is a loose moniker now days, applying only to names on the collective payroll of a billionaire owner. I long for the days when football possessed a bit more purity and passion. Those were better days in which the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys sold life insurance in the off season to make a living. And today I suffer from "Old Man's Disease," a longing for something from the past which seems in many ways so much better than its counterpart in the present.

I suppose there are a number of folks sitting in the pew each Sunday who also suffer from "Old Man's Disease." Often we long for something in our past whether it be a particular hymn, preacher or sanctuary which made us feel great passion and excitement for God and our faith in Him. Some of these "jewels of the past" can occasionally be recaptured but others are now forever consigned to our memory. Thank God for those the things in our history which inspired us to greater faith in Christ! Yet, isn't it good to know we are not dependent upon people, things or methods for the vitality of our faith? Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! Aren't you excited for what God has in store for your future? If He could inspire you with so much goodness in the past just imagine what He has planned next!

James