Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about fasting? There is much confusion as to what fasting is about. In its essence, fasting is abstaining from food for a period of time. While the New Testament does not command that Christians fast, it is implied that Christians will fast. When they do, the fast should be accompanied by prayer. Beyond prayer, the Bible indicates that there is a purpose for the abstinence. Fasting is not simply a diet technique; at least not in the Biblical sense.

Jesus Taught that Fasting was Appropriate for a Christian

Matthew 6:16-18 “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

Luke 5:33-35 “And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”

Fasting at Times of Spiritual Importance

Luke 4:1, 2 “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.”

Exodus 34:28 “And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”

Acts 13:2, 3 “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”

Biblical Precautions When Fasting

Just because you fast, does not mean you are right with God.

Luke 18:12-14 “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Fasting is not a substitute for true repentance.

Isaiah 58:3-5 “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?”

Why Christians May be Confused About Fasting

I think one of the reasons many Christians are confused about fasting is that it has become a tradition in some churches to abstain from certain foods on specific days or events. To require the church congregation to fast without teaching the people what fasting really means seems to cause people to rebel against the practice. It certainly isn’t in keeping with the spirit of fasting as taught in the Bible. When we fast—according to the passage in Matthew 18—it should be a private matter between the Christian and God. Not something that is demanded by a religion for the purpose of showing others how spiritual one is.

I hope these verses about fasting will be an encouragement to you to consider the practice of fasting. Using these verses and other fasting tips, I trust you will grow in your spiritual maturity and relationship with the Lord.

We come to the last of the six principles of social ethics for this series. If you have not read from the beginning, let me encourage you to go back to the first post in the series. It will help you understand when to apply these principles. The most important thing to note about these principles is that they are only applied after you have determined from studying the Bible that God has not put a prohibition on the activity.

Expediency Principle: Defined

Of the many good choices in life that we are given, God desires that we select the best of those choices. This has nothing to do with the unbiblical teaching that God wants you to be happy, healthy and wealthy. However, when you are given a choice between two options you need to decide which one is the best, or most appropriate one you should choose. This isn’t always the easiest decision. There are times that the best choice, based on the other principles, is the one that is going to cost you more money, or even cause you to lose friends in the process.

The Expediency Principle is based on the word used in the Bible which is translated expedient. The word is συμφέρω (sympherō or süm-fe’-rō). This comes from the two words σύν which means with and φέρω which means to carry, bear or endure (as if carrying a burden). The word translated expedient means to bear or bring together. The idea is that the burden is carried by more than one person. Another way to think about this is to be helpful or to be profitable. In other places in the Bible the word is translated as profit, to be profitable or to bring together.

This is important to discuss because the current definition of the word expedient is the idea of accomplishing a task in the easiest possible way without regard to ethics. It is to achieve ones goals in the end, not necessarily concerned about what is right. If you think of the phrase “the end justifies the means” you get an idea of what the modern definition of expediency is. This is certainly not what God is teaching in the verses which use the word expedient.

Expediency Principle: Clarifying Question

What is the best choice I can make in this situation?

When we have to make a decision it is because we have more than one option, even if options are are to do, or not to do the activity. Often there are multiple choices. Sometimes they are all good options. You are looking for which one is your best choice within all the options you have.

Jesus has an encounter with the two sisters Mary and Martha in Luke 10. At the end of the chapter (v. 38-42), Jesus visits Mary and Martha in their home. Martha is busy trying to serve the Lord by getting the house prepared and putting food on the table. She was full of busyness. In the activity she began to build an attitude of, “I’m the only one doing any work around here.” She even went as far as to ask Jesus to reprimand her sister Mary. Jesus’ response was that Mary had made the better choice. Both serving Jesus and worshiping Jesus are good activities, but Jesus encouraged the sisters to make the best of their many good choices.

Expediency Principle: Biblical Basis

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23 that there are many things that are permissible and good, but not all things are expedient. Not everything is the best choice we can make. In 1 Corinthians 12:31 the Bible says that we should covet the best gifts and choices of all the many good ones we have. Immediately following that verse Paul launches into chapter 13 where he says that it doesn’t matter what your abilities are—you must serve with love.

Expediency Principle: Application

As a teenager I knew that God wanted me to attend a Bible college to prepare for the ministry. Like most teens trying to make the choice of which school to attend, I struggled a little bit with the decision. I primarily had my eyes on one school, but wanted to stay open to the Lord’s leading. The college I was most interested in held my attention from the 10th grade until graduation from high school.

Intentionally I kept an open mind about where I should go to school, even though I had already announced to everyone I was going to Oklahoma. Then, with about four weeks before school began I started to feel the Lord leading me to a different school in Florida. Both were very good schools. At the time it would have been hard to say that one was a better choice than the other. However, I felt the Lord nudging me to the school in Florida. It was humbling to have to tell everyone that I was going to a different school than the one I had decided on two years previously. The easy route would have been to go to the school I originally intended to go to. But using this principle, I had to choose the better of the two choices. In this case the only thing that made one school better than the other is that I felt the Lord leading me down the path to the second school. I had two very good choices, but I had to choose the better one to stay in God’s will.

I pray that these posts have helped you think through different issues. If you have a question that you think the Bible doesn’t address directly, then use these six principles to help you decide what you should do. If you are still not able to decide, then leave a comment and we can apply the principles together.

When looking at the six principles discussed in this series, the one that seems to answer most questions for me is the Edification Principle. While I use this principle most often, it should not be used alone. Each of the principles should be used together to help us make biblically correct decisions. Though this principle often helps make the final decision on a matter.

Remember that when applying the principles of social ethics from a biblical perspective, you are only looking at items that God has not specifically banned in His Word. If something has already been prohibited in the Bible then you should not use these principles but simply obey God’s Word.

Edification Principle: Defined

God wants us to do that which will build us up as Christians. Many permissible things in life aren’t necessarily helpful to us as Christians. God does not prohibit us from listening to talk radio. But is what you are listening to helping you grow closer to Him? Or, is it possibly causing you to even question God’s Word and principles? The word edification means to improve a person morally or spiritually. You should look for activities that will build you up spiritually and morally.

Edification Principle: Clarifying Questions

• Does this activity help build me up as a Christian?
• Does this help my devotional life?
• Will my involvement in this activity help other Christians?
• Does this activity help my Christian testimony?

An activity may seem to be otherwise permissible, but is it helpful to your personal life? Will it be a help to other Christians? If not, then you should not be involved.

The questions are intentionally worded from a positive perspective. Obviously, if an activity will damage your testimony, or that of your church, then it is an inappropriate activity. These inquiries deal with the fact that the activity in question is obviously not wrong. The issue now is, is it the right thing to do? The Doubt Principle goes hand in hand with this one.

Occasionally I will find a book that captivates me (such as God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life). I will end up spending all my free time digging into the book. There may be nothing wrong with the book from a biblical standpoint. But, sometimes as I think about the previous few days I can’t remember when I last picked up my Bible to read it. I have traded my Bible reading time for the biography I am reading. This is when something that is certainly not wrong is also not edifying. It is not building me up as a Christian if it is keeping me from reading my Bible.

This can be true with any activity. Whenever you become obsessed with something to the point that it is begins to encroach on your godly habits and activities, it no longer passes the test of the Edification Principle.

Edification Principle: Biblical Basis

Romans 16:19 encourages us to be ignorant concerning evil things. God desires that we engage in activities that are spiritual and not even have an education in that which is wrong.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:23 that there are activities that may be permissible, but they don’t all edify. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean that we should do it.

Edification Principle: Application

Try to think through your daily activities. Are they helping to build you up spiritually? If not, is there a way you can change the activity so that it can be edifying as a Christian? You may need to look at changing the activity.

One of my favorite activities is exercising. Particularly I like to run. Running and exercising are certainly beneficial to the body. But what about my spirit? There are things I can do while running to help build me up spiritually as well. Instead of listening to music or podcasts I could listen to preaching or an audio Bible. Do you always exercise with your music device? How about leaving it at home and spending time in prayer or memorizing Bible verses? You might be able to make your normal activities into spiritual ones.

The Edification Principle should be applied with any activity that you have already determined is permissible by using the other principles of social ethics.

In this series we are looking at six principles that will help us make ethical decisions. The daily application of these principles concern regular activities that we are involved in. However, there are larger issues where these principles can be applied. When making decisions for your family, business and government you can use these principles to help you know how to lead and cast your vote.

Doubt Principle: Defined

God requires that the Christian abstain from that which he does not reasonably know is right. Paul says that offending a weaker brother is sinful (Romans 14). It is reasonable to encounter times when you are unsure as to whether engaging in an activity will cause a weaker brother to sin. In those instances, Paul says that it is better to not engage in the activity. When unsure whether something is right or wrong, then you should err on the side of caution and not get involved (Romans 14:23).

Doubt Principle: Clarifying Questions

• Do I think this activity might be wrong?
• Am I certain the activity is appropriate?

Any time there is not an absolutely clear teaching in the Bible on an issue and you are struggling with whether something might be wrong, then the teaching of this principle is to avoid the activity. The activity might be perfectly fine. But the admonition in the Bible is that when there is an atmosphere of doubt then to do the activity would be sinful.

Recently I was reading a blog post where the writer asked if it was wrong for a Christian to flash their lights at other drivers on the highway warning them that there was a speed trap up ahead. There was a good deal of friendly debate over the issue. In some states, according to some of the posters, it is actually illegal to warn other drivers in this way. Others argued that warning fellow drivers is a “Christian thing to do” because it could save the other person from endangering others and from having financial problems with the ticket.

There were people completely convinced on each side of the argument as to whether it was right or wrong. Obviously in the states where there is a law against it, then the decision is to obey the law. According to Romans 14:5 whatever your decision on such an activity, you should be absolutely convinced that your position is the right one. Later in the chapter (verses 21-23) the Bible clearly says that it is sin to engage in any activity that you are not convinced is right.

The principle then is that you only do that which you are convinced is biblically correct. This is a principle that requires spiritual maturity and knowledge of the Bible. A principle like this should drive you to the Bible to find out God’s opinion on various matters. There are obviously daily activities that we are engaged in in which the Bible does not even touch. You need to ask the Lord to guide you in those decisions using these principles.

Doubt Principle: Biblical Basis

Romans chapter 14 is the basis for this principle. The whole chapter talks about our relationship with others. It even concedes that there are times when people can disagree on matters that aren’t prohibited directly in the Bible. They can come to two different conclusions and both be right.

The key verses in Romans 14 are verses 5, 21 and 23 when looking at the Doubt Principle.

Doubt Principle: Application

• Should a missionary drive a car or ride a bike?
• Is it appropriate for men to wear shorts?
• Should teenagers be allowed to hold hands?
• Should a missionary work in a large cities or smaller villages?

You can see where some of these questions aren’t even biblical matters.

Now that we have discussed four of the six principles in this series, I hope you are starting to see that God has given us clear teaching on how to make decisions. God does not need to create a law that says “thou shalt not” for everything that man may encounter through history. Using principles that are taught in the Bible we can see that God has given direction for our lives.

Social Ethics from a biblical perspective can help us make decisions on activities that the Bible does not expressly state as sin. Because the Bible was revealed for us over a long period of time, God did not create a list of rules that would dictate our actions in every possible situation. He revealed a few unchangeable rules regardless of time or place, but the rest of our decisions should be filtered through a set of biblical principles.

While I am discussing six principles in this series, there could be other principles that you can pull from scripture to help you better make decisions. I think you will find these principles will help you decide most questions you have in life.

Wedge Principle: Defined

God cautions us against anything that becomes habit forming or lends itself to further involvement which leads to sin. Of course godly habits are permitted. The caution is against activities that may not be wrong by themselves but may be formed into habits that control our lives inappropriately. A quick example of this is viewing television. Is a TV wrong or wicked? It can be, but not necessarily. What about watching TV 16 hours a day with a complete disregard for the wicked programming you may be viewing? You can see how one could lead to the other. The key is to keep the initial activity from forming a stronghold in your life so that you don’t delve into the depths of the other.

Wedge Principle: Clarifying Question

Will my involvement in this activity lead to possible sin in the future?

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:1 that “it is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Does that mean that men should never have any physical contact with a lady? Obviously not. Married men and women certainly have the right to touch their spouse as you can clearly see from further down in the same chapter. Through other verses in the Bible we can conclude that Paul is talking about inappropriate physical contact. The word touch used in this verse carries the idea of “clinging to, intercourse or cohabitation” (according to Strong’s Concordance). We can conclude then that the prohibition is not on any physical contact, rather it is on contact that is obviously sensual. This is consistent with teaching found in other parts of the Bible.

Using the question, will my involvement in this activity lead to possible sin in the future? and the information above, we will consider the question of holding hands.

Is it wrong for a dating couple to hold hands? At what point is hand-holding no longer satisfying to a couple of kids? Eventually the desire will be to engage in greater physical contact. Where does it stop? I submit that, according to the Wedge Principle, you will decrease your likelihood of progressing to obvious sin by never involving yourself in holding hands to begin with.

Wedge Principle: Biblical Basis

Here are some verses that help you see the principle of avoiding things that may lead to further involvement.

Deuteronomy 12:30, Matthew 5:27-35, Romans 16:19, 1 Corinthians 6:12, Ephesians 5:12

Wedge Principle: Application

The Wedge Principle can be seen in the case of abortion. Previous to the Roe v. Wade decision of the Supreme Court in 1973 it was legal for a woman in 14 states to have abortions because of rape and/or incest. The Roe v. Wade decision established federal laws on when an abortion could be performed. The number of abortions increased dramatically following that decision. Consistently since 1988 the number of abortions performed in the US due to rape or incest has been 1%. Where there is a risk of death to either the mother or the child, abortions are performed 6% of the time (of course virtually 100% of the time the baby is killed in the abortion process). The other 93% of the time an abortion is performed because the child is unwanted or inconvenient to the life of the parents. How did we go from allowing abortions in cases of rape to having over 1,000,000 children killed every year in the US through abortion? This is an example of where we did not heed the Wedge, or sometimes called the Slippery-Slope Principle.

Other applications:

• Is 16 years old too young to be dating?
• Should men be alone in a car with a lady?
• Is it permissible to play violent video games?
• Should a Christian have Internet access?
• Is it appropriate for a 13-year-old child to be on a social network?

I think this principle takes some spiritual maturity to know how to apply. You don’t want to go as far as to say that you will never go outside your house because it might lead to sin; however, you can also argue that you limit your risk of seeing and doing something inappropriate if you are not around other people. The application of the principle depends on the person as well. People who are not at all tempted by cigarette smoking can be a great witness to their co-workers by participating in a work related activities away from the office. However, if the temptation to smoke when hanging out with unsaved co-workers is too great for someone, they should abstain from any unnecessary contact that might tempt them into an activity they know is wrong.

Some of the biblical principles of social ethics stand on their own, but don’t forget to apply as much of God’s Word as you can to any decision you make. The Wedge Principle may not give you enough information to make a wise decision by itself. Spend time in the Bible while looking at some of the other principles for direction from the Lord.