LENT, REPENTANCE AND LIVING THE GODLY LIFE

LENT, REPENTANCE AND LIVING THE GODLY LIFE

“Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance”“
Matthew 3:8 “

In the ancient church, the period of forty days before Easter (not counting Sundays) is referred to as “Lent.” Hence, if this was observed today, Lent this year would be from 6 February to 22 March 2008.

Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the believers rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days, where He fasted, and prayed and endured the temptations of Satan. The idea behind Lent is for the believer to spend a season of time in soul-searching and repentance, and in reflection and prayer.

We “lost” this practice (and many other “holy days” traditions) because in the 16th Century, many Reformed Christians (Calvinists, Baptists, and others) discarded all Christian holy days, on the assumption that they were “Roman” innovations. However, later discoveries of ancient documents showed that some of these practices and traditions went back to the days of the apostles and therefore were not Roman inventions. While we may not observe Lent these days, the idea behind it is sound and is worthy of embrace.

When John the Baptist burst upon the Jewish nation, he came preaching a simple, fiery message in the wilderness of Judea. His message was a call to repentance, a genuine renewal of piety, in the context of preparing for the Kingdom of Heaven. His first words to the people who came out to him seeking to confess their sins and baptism was: “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.”

According to Albert Barnes, the classic Bible commentator, “to bring forth therefore fruits…” means “the proper fruits of reformation; the proper evidence that you are sincere. Do not bring your cunning and dissimulation [insincerity] to this work; do not carry your hypocrisy into your professed repentance, but evince your sincerity by forsaking sin…” (emphasis added).

John the Baptist’s message is a call to repentance - a turning away from sin and turning towards God. He was a stern realist regarding right and wrong,calling for public confession and integrity in daily life. His was the voice to prepare the way – for the kingdom was at hand.

While it is a reminder, we do not need Lent to uphold this principle – for to repent means to live the life that God means for us to live – all year round, not just for forty days on a calendar.

In Him,
Rev Robert Chew