The Second Helvetic Confession - Chapter 24
Of Holy Days, Fasts and the Choice of Foods
The Time Necessary for Worship.
Although religion is not bound to time, yet it cannot be cultivated and
exercised without a proper distribution and arrangement of time. Every Church,
therefore, chooses for itself a certain time for public prayers, and for the
preaching of the Gospel, and for the celebration of the sacraments; and no one
is permitted to overthrow this appointment of the Church at his own pleasure.
For unless some due time and leisure is given for the outward exercise of
religion, without doubt men would be drawn away from it by their own affairs.
<Most comments regarding this were covered under
assemblies and the not forbidding of self from assembling together.
Before us is the need for a regular scheduled time and place. While
worship begins in regeneration and never ceases, this is on the assembly level
and we are speaking of the corporate church. Corporate worship will not happen
in disorder. Such chaos is not of God. >
The Lord's Day. Hence we
see that in the ancient churches there were not only certain set hours in the
week appointed for meetings, but that also the Lord's Day itself, ever since the
apostles' time, was set aside for them and for a holy rest, a practice now
rightly preserved by our Churches for the sake of worship and love.
<The fourth commandment has not been set aside. It is
not ceremonial law but moral law. Any other conclusion concerning the Sabbath
would require tossing out part of the divine Word and clear disobedience of God.
Man though the ages have found a lot of oxen in some strange ditches. This does
not negate the original Word from God. The
reformers looked at the Sabbath not as being bondage, but of grace.
The Lord never gave this day over to man. In the creation God hallowed
and claimed the seventh day for Himself. To allow man any freedom on this day is
grace. To command that which will
cause man to pause from tasks, often most laborious, is grace of a high nature.
What bondservant expects one day in seven to rest? >
Superstition. In this
connection we do not yield to the Jewish observance and to superstitions. For we
do not believe that one day is any holier than another, or think that rest in
itself is acceptable to God. Moreover, we celebrate the Lord's Day and not the
Sabbath as a free observance.
<Sabbath is often used as a synonym for Seventh.
It is not and means rest. In the Old Testament God rested from the work
of creation. In the New Testament the church celebrate the Lord’s Day in the
celebration of the Lord’s resurrection on the first day of the week.
Nonetheless both in agreement with the author and with additional thoughts
concerning Sabbath keeping I do not find the use of the Word Sabbath in
connection with the Christian day of celebration out of place. The Reformed
people have always limited all work except that pertaining to the worship of God
as if it were the Sabbath. The intent here is to deny both the ancient and
current practices of fasting in observance of seasons, times, or days as if the
day had significance in itself. Worship is always to God alone. To put worship
in an orderly format on God’s own day seems most appropriate. While not in
sync with the Jewish calendar, the Christian Church does in effect keep the
seventh day holy to God and thus has a Sabbath. I see this as the intent of the
author in this place. That is the attempt to denounce special days, but not
disdain the command of God to honor the seventh day (Sabbath) and keep it holy
unto the Lord. We find all of this is in accord with the teaching of Calvin.
The Festivals of Christ and the
Saints. Moreover, if in Christian liberty the churches religiously celebrate
the memory of the Lord's nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and of
his ascension into heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon his
disciples, we approve of it highly. But we do not approve of feasts instituted
for men and for saints. Holy days have to do with the first Table of the Law and
belong to God alone. Finally, holy days which have been instituted for the
saints and which we have abolished, have much that is absurd and useless, and
are not to be tolerated. In the meantime, we confess that the remembrance of
saints, at a suitable time and place, is to be profitably commended to the
people in sermons, and the holy examples of the saints set forth to be imitated
by all.
<Hebrews chapters eleven and twelve give testimony to
the great cloud of witnesses (saints) who have gone before that we might find
comfort and strength in our own journey of faith. The reformer here does not
take away due consideration of past saints, or deny their place of worthiness in
our emulation of them. He does deny there should be special days set apart and
the focus directed to the saints as in worship, which must be to God alone. >
Fasting. Now, the more
seriously the Church of Christ condemns surfeiting, drunkenness, and all kinds
of lust and intemperance, so much the more strongly does it commend to us
Christian fasting. For fasting is nothing else than the abstinence and
moderation of the godly, and a discipline, care and chastisement of our flesh
undertaken as a necessity for the time being, whereby we are humbled before God,
and we deprive the flesh of its fuel so that it may the more willingly and
easily obey the Spirit. Therefore, those who pay no attention to such things do
not fast, but imagine that they fast if they stuff their stomachs once a day,
and at a certain or prescribed time abstain from certain foods, thinking that by
having done this work they please God and do something good. Fasting is an aid
to the prayers of the saints and for all virtues. But as is seen in the books of
the prophets, the fast of the Jews who fasted from food but not from wickedness
did not please God.
<Right conclusion but I am not sure at all how the
author ended up here as he presents the material here. As with all things
pertaining to God anything other than total service is not acceptable. It is
also a truth that the Christian will live like a Son of God should. It is also
true that fasting out of mere ceremony and for self-profit is of no godly use
whatsoever. Nonetheless the Lord did not say if you fast, Christ said “when
you fast,”
and proceeded to give directions for godly fasting. The motivation and intention
of the heart is always considered in all things offered to God and fasting is no
exception. >
Public and Private Fasting.
Now there is a public and a private fasting. In olden times they celebrated
public fasts in calamitous times and in the affliction of the Church. They
abstained altogether from food till the evening, and spent all that time in holy
prayers, the worship of God, and repentance. These differed little from
mourning, and there is frequent mention of them in the Prophets and especially
by Joel in Ch. 2. Such a fast should be kept at this day, when the Church is in
distress. Private fasts are undertaken by each one of us, as he feels himself
withdrawn from the Spirit. For in this manner he withdraws the flesh from its
fuel.
<So the church continues to call for days of fasting in
serious circumstances because first Christ said we should fast. In yet another
place the Lord coupled fasting with prayer in noting that some things only yield
to fasting and prayer. Paul held
fasting and prayer in high enough esteem to allow it was a fit purpose to set
aside some duties of marriage for a season.
>
Characteristics of Fasting.
All fasts ought to proceed from a free and willing spirit, and from genuine
humility, and not feigned to gain the applause or favor of men, much less that a
man should wish to merit righteousness by them. But let every one fast to this
end, that he may deprive the flesh of its fuel in order that he may the more
zealously serve God.
< This is in accord with the Scriptures and common
sense. We do all things as unto Christ. >
Lent. The fast of Lent is
attested by antiquity but not at all in the writings of the apostles. Therefore
it ought not, and cannot, be imposed on the faithful. It is certain that
formerly there were various forms and customs of fasting. Hence, Irenaeus, a
most ancient writer, says: "Some think that a fast should be observed one
day only, others two days, but others more, and some forty days. This diversity
in keeping this fast did not first begin in our times, but long before us by
those, as I suppose, who did not simply keep to what had been delivered to them
from the beginning, but afterwards fell into another custom either through
negligence or ignorance" (Fragm. 3, ed. Stieren, I. 824 f.). Moreover,
Socrates, the historian says: "Because no ancient text is found concerning
this matter, I think the apostles left this to every man's own judgment, that
every one might do what is good without fear or constraint" (Hist.
ecclesiast. V.22, 40).
<Prayer and fasting are always personal. The church may
with all due authority point out these are of the blessedness belonging to the
believer and commanded in Scripture. Nonetheless, the choice to partake of the
feast spread before the individual by grace remains with the individual.
Likewise when the church calls for days of prayer and fasting the choice of
partaking in this worthy venture is with the individual. James says it is the
fervent prayer of the righteous man that avails much.
To command prayer or fasting will result in the complete loss of zeal and
fervency, thus profane one of the great benefits of the body of the Lord.
Choice of Food. Now
concerning the choice of foods, we think that in fasting all things should be
denied to the flesh whereby the flesh is made more insolent, and by which it is
greatly pleased, and by which it is inflamed with desire whether by fish or meat
or spices or delicacies and excellent wines. Moreover, we know that all the
creatures of God were made for the use of service of men. All things which God
made are good, and without distinction are to be used in the fear of God and
with proper moderation (Gen. 2:15 f.). For the apostle says: To the pure all
things are pure (Titus 1:15), and also: Eat whatever is sold in the meat market
without raising any question on the ground of conscience (I Cor. 10:25). The
same apostle calls the doctrine of those who teach to abstain from meats the
doctrine of demons; for God created foods to be received with thanksgiving by
those who believe and know this truth that everything created by God is good,
and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving (I Tim. 4:1
ff.). The same apostle, in the epistle to the Colossians, reproves those who
want to acquire a reputation for holiness by excessive abstinence (Col. 2:18
ff.).
<There are those who wear times of fasting and other
ceremonial like rites as badges of their standing before God. This practice can
be found in many of the Pentecostal or Holiness churches as well as many others
today. This was not a practice limited to the days of the reformers. The Jewish
people still have their restrictions on food as well as the Church of Rome. The
words of the author are simple and direct; such is neither of God nor the
church. We find this same ego trip attitude with many in these same churches as
they proclaim various gifts of the Spirit as their own. None of this is of any
benefit whatsoever to the individual and their place before God. >
Sects. Therefore we entirely disapprove of the
Tatians and the Encratites, and all the disciples of Eustathius, against whom
the Gangrian Synod was called.
<Tatian – c 160 was the
founder of a sect called the Encratites who practiced asceticism. He had a
sizable following in the Syriac church. He held to the complete purity of the
church and the whole Greek civilization as a cesspool and evil, of which the
Christian church could have no part of.
Eustathius
– c. 324 one of the founders of the monastic movement.
What we see in these men from the
history of the church is independent thinking almost always leads to gross
error. Left to self, man can convince himself almost anything is true and from
God. Add the ever-present temper and without the biblical subjection to one
another in love and the church would all but cease to exist. The reformation
stands as pragmatic proof of this statement. We see much of this same attitude
of individualism in the church today. It is apparent in inter-denominational
relations and in the relationship of particular churches to their so-called
higher courts. The evangelical church is divided from the grass roots upward
because of the pride and ego of the individual members. There should be no sects
in the Church of Christ. Nonetheless, God has so ordained such divisions but
this doe not legalize the divisions in unity of purpose and worship. It is a
fact of the nature of the beast that many cannot exist when the doctrines
differ. For this purpose God allowed denominations and even independent churches
to arise in His holy name. Unless
the differences are heresy or gross error, the churches however should be in
full fraternal relations and in fact one body and all of Christ. Churches that
move outside what is essential to the faith should be so marked and no church of
Christ have any fellowship with them. As the author here does in naming these
sects and denying all of their works, so should we today. In the diversity
permitted by God all believers have a place where they should belong and support
a local church that is in accord with the Bible. >
