Bible Question:
We are new christians. . . recently saved. . . coming from a catholic background. Is there a biblical directive to observe lent? Is lent mentioned in the bible? Thank you in advance for your support! |
Bible Answer: To Gad, There is no dirrective that you must observe lent according to the Bible. I too was raised as a Roman Catholic. I have not remained in the Catholic Church but I do understand your situation. Let me first say, you are not under pain of sin that if you do not observe lent you will go to hell or you will be considered as sinning. However, do not use the liberty you have as a born-again believer to weaken someone you may be involved with (a boyfriend/girlfriend, mother, father, friend, cousin, sister, brother, etc)that if you flaunt your freedom in Christ, you may cause them to sin. (I Cor. 8:9). For instance, if you are with someone to whom you wish to be witness, do not gobble up a desert in front of them to make your point. If they do it with you and really in their heart think of it as a sin, it is a sin for them and you will be causing them to sin. But you are not bound by it. I, for one, do not think you can leglislate good acts in a general sense. I, however, do not think it is entirely wrong to encourage a time of introspection and reflection which would cause repentance and correction in the body of Christ. Having said this, many Protestants and even many Roman Catholics may not realize what the good of this "lent" process is. For one thing it is biblical to fast and seek the presence of God. Putting down the body helps our spiritual nature rise up and become stronger or allow us to be more spiritually aware. This is not a bad thing. The way Lent is set up in the Roman Catholic Church is that it begins with Ash Wednesday. The ashes used are the burned remaining palms from the previous Palm Sunday. The priest dips his finger into the ashes and makes a cross on the foreheads of the believer to remind him/her that he/she comes from the dust of the ground and to that ground his/her body shall return. From this day on the fasting begins and is over on Easter Sunday when we all celebrate the greatest event in all of Christendom. Without the resurrection all Christianity is in vain. While believers fast, they are supposed to be dwelling on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ who paid for our sinful selves and who made us able to live forever in the next life with Him and His Father. It is a worthy exercise to have a regular time to do this self-examination. The problem is that because it is legislated by the Catholic Church on a regular basis, many ignore it or have forgotten the meaning behind the outward actions they are taking. I hope these comments somehow are helpful to you. Itiswritten. |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Bible general Archive 1 | Author | ||
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justme | ||
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Taleb | ||
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bug85kr | ||
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sherwin | ||
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dat | ||
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sisterkath | ||
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gad | ||
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CDBJ | ||
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itiswritten | ||
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kids2 | ||
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Denise Todd | ||
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Denise Todd |