Featured Ready for Lent?

"The average Baptist is a plain, straight thinking person. He may be a great scholar, or a hod carrier, but, in religion, he takes on the complexion and manners of the New Testament. He believes in simplicity. He likes plain preaching and simple worship. If the choir, by any machination of the devil, falls under the lead of any professional musician and is turned to singing tunes with the delirium tremens, the average Baptist is grieved, and solaces his soul by singing 'How Firm a Foundation' or 'Amazing Grace'...The average Baptist takes no stock of Easter, and the like, not that he does not believe in the resurrection; not that people may not observe days; but, like Paul, he is skittish of these extras and prefers the plain, old, level Jordan road, with a steady incline up, all the way till it reaches the city of God." J. B. Gambrell, from The Baptist Standard, May 1907

In the over one hundred years since Gambrell wrote this, the "average" Baptist may have changed just a "little" bit.

[Note: James Bruton Gambrell (1841-1921) was born in South Carolina, raised in Mississippi, lived in Georgia, and later came to Texas. He was a Southern Baptist pastor, educator, and denominational leader; editor of the "Baptist Record" 14 years; President of Mercer University; editor of "The Baptist Standard"; and President of the Southern Baptist Convention 1917-1921.]

 

Nice article, in my opinion.

Why I Encourage People Not to Observe Lent, by Bart Barber

[Note: Bart Barber is an Arkansas native, and since 1999 pastor of First Baptist in Farmersville, Texas. He has a PhD in Church History from Southwestern Seminary, for which he wrote a very interesting dissertation about a denominational split among Arkansas Baptists in 1902 ("The Bogard Schism: an Arkansas Baptist Agrarian Revolt").]

 

Not to mention....there are many brothers and sisters like myself that have been "taken out of Rome" by the Grace of God and it makes us cringe to hear the words like "lent". I understand, many Baptists and Evangelicals have not gone through the darkness that is "false religion", but let me help everyone out. Show your brother kindness and gentleness...do not entice them to go back to things that the Lord delivered them from.

 

Forget lent, try giving up apostasy for Jesus.

 

Really, what's going on here is more insidious than that. Catholicism, like all the cults of Mystery Babylon, operate as subversives. They creep into places where genuine Christians are to pervert and corrupt truth. If Paul was running this forum, this thread wouldn't have gotten past the first post. Additionally, the people pushing this garbage would be banned as they clearly have no regard for the truth.

Christianity is inclusive when it comes to all people, but exclusive in its adherence to true doctrine. All are invited, but only if they're humble enough to submit to the simple truths of God's word.

 

Matthew 7
15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 10
16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

Luke 10
3 Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Acts 20
29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

John 10
11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

 

I'm ready for lent as I'll ever be for any of that RCC, non-Scriptural horse feathers.

 

Matthew 9:14-15
14 Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."

Jesus expects us to engage in the regular disciple of fasting, when physically possible. Lent is a period of intentional fasting and reflection. Those who want to participate in the Lenten discipline can do it in a way that honors Christ. Those that condemn them have no standing to do so before Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what partnership has light with darkness?
And what harmony has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel?
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Therefore come out from among them, and be you separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.


Fasting is wonderful

Partnering with a false religion is evil.

 

Who said anything about converting to another belief system?

Do you realize that Roman Catholics and Buddhists pray? Should we then avoid praying? Obviously not.

 

That's quite the illogical jump. Do Buddhists celebrate lent?

 

No, it's a logical comparison.

Your position: Catholics celebrate Lent so Christians should not, because "[p]artnering with a false religion is evil."

I pointed out that participating in Lent does not require conversion to any other belief system.

Then I made a comparison of your "logic" that participating in Lent (a spiritual practice) involves partnering with a false religion by noting that the spiritual practice of prayer is common to Catholics and Buddhists, drawing the absurd conclusion (based on your reasoning) that therefore Christians should avoid prayer.

There certainly is an illogical jump there, but its your jump not mine.

 

Fasting is a spiritual practice. Lent is a particular form of fasting that purports to be a spiritual practice.

For example:

 

So basically what I read here is, "Nuh uh". Got it.

Brother, if you want to join in the Catholic Tradition of Lent, go ahead. But I will not subject myself, nor will I promote, the made-up traditions of the Roman Catholic Cult. If (when) I fast it is because I've spent time in prayer and God's Word and the Spirit moved on me to fast. Or I purposed with the Lord that I would fast and draw closer to Him. To "afflict myself" as an offertory sacrifice to be pleasing to God spits in the Face of our Savior.

 

Obviously, you don't. I can explain it to you, but I can't make you understand it. You have the choice not to accept whatever truth I put in front of you.

Thank you for the blanket condemnation. Nobody is spitting in the face of Jesus despite your emotional rant.

 

With these statements it is obvious you have no idea why Roman Catholics celebrate "Lent" and what their intentions are.

 

Lenten (the word is derived from "spring season") is a 40-day fast of preparation for the resurrection observance. All kinds of Christian faith traditions observe it, including many evangelical churches. One does not have to follow the faith and order of the Roman Catholic church to observe Lent. Nor should anyone.