Dr. Couch, the Muslims fast. I was wondering what is the NT teaching on fasting, and, what is the purpose of fasting?
Fasting is a picture of something that can emotionally be happening to a
person who is under great spiritual or emotional suffering. One does
not wish to eat but simply go away and bury themselves in grief. This
became a kind of ritual among the very emotional people of OT times, but
it carried over into the times of the Jews in the NT period as well.
There are two basic words in the NT for fasting: (1) Asitos is used only once in Acts 24:16. A related word, asitia is used only once also and is translated in Acts 27:21 as a long abstinence. Asitos has the idea of not eating. (2) The more common word, used thirty times in its noun and verb form, is neestuo. By seeing where this word is used in the NT we get the idea that it really had an OT orientation.
Fasting was not as prevalent in the dispensation of the church age,
though as a practice it has not gone away and is still viable for those
who wish to do so. Out of the thirty uses of the word neestuo only eight
times is it mentioned in the dispensation of the church (Acts 10:30;
13:2-3; 14:23; 27:9; 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 11:27). This means that the
practice is downplayed and was not as prevalent among Gentile
Christians.
In giving up food the one fasting is saying to the Lord, “I am going
to concentrate on prayer and seeking your favor. I am not even
interested in eating!” In fasting Christ did not eat for forty days
(Matt. 4:2). When fasting one was not to appear pious and morbidly
gloomy (6:16). Those who did were seeking sympathy and wanted people to
say, “Oh, are they not spiritual?” To make themselves look religious
some of the Pharisees fasted more than once during the week (Luke
18:12). As already mentioned fasting was connected with deep and
concentrated prayer (Acts 13:3).
I would never tell someone not to fast, though in my personal
experience, those who fast often many times brag about their fasting and
use it as a practice of “works.” “I fast and you don’t!” Fasting is not
a cheap way to cover up going on a diet! It should be practiced because
someone is really under conviction and terribly concerned about a
burning spiritual issue. God knows our heart and He knows whether
fasting is genuine or just for a show!
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
