I have fasted from meals, in which I used to help me pray. And I don't think that it is nessasary for a christian to do, (as in he will not be damned) but I find it important for myself.
Matthew Wall wrote:Our society is no longer set up in such a way as to make it a viable option. It's not commanded, therefore it's not necessary.
Mike wrote:Even a literalist can recognize figures of speech.
I don't recognize: "gnashed on him with [their] teeth" as a figure of speech. It's probably just a matter of the phraseology being typical of Elizabethan English.
In today's English, we'd be more familiar with "gnashed their teeth at him."
Anyway ...I just brought it up for a little light-hearted humor.____
Some of you men need to lighted up! Ut-oh, it's catching!
God bless you Mike.
Observation Post wrote:I can't speak for the strict literalist but when I want to comprehend the sense of a passage like you quoted I usually do a little Berean burrowing by means of a word or phrase search and read a number of similar instances in context. The following is a good example...He teareth in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. (Job 16:9-11)It seems to me that such expressions represent the reactions of the ungodly children of Satan who in the bitterness of their ungodly familiar spirit react angrily when presented with the Truth and their vile heart has been convinced of sin. Their eternal fate is then sealed and the wrath of God abides on them until the day of judgment because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be saved. IMHO they didn't literally bite or chew on Stephen but that is just my view and I could be mistaken so I will defer to a literalist.
He teareth in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. (Job 16:9-11)
It seems to me that such expressions represent the reactions of the ungodly children of Satan who in the bitterness of their ungodly familiar spirit react angrily when presented with the Truth and their vile heart has been convinced of sin. Their eternal fate is then sealed and the wrath of God abides on them until the day of judgment because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be saved.
IMHO they didn't literally bite or chew on Stephen but that is just my view and I could be mistaken so I will defer to a literalist.
What does a strict literalist do with a verse of Scripture (from the KJV) which reads:
"When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth." [Act 7:54]
I just read that verse and it gave me a bit of a chuckle. So ... did the Jews literally gnash on Stephen with their teeth? The immediate surrounding context gives no clear indication if they bit Stephen or not.
What say you?
" Fasting promotes a works mentality as people think either a) God must bless this work because I am fasting or b) I am going to earn a greater reward in heaven for fasting. Both views are garbage. If eating a meal makes u pay attention more in church eat a breakfast!"_____
Scripture teaches fasting. Jesus fasted. Paul fasted.
Mat 6:16 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.
In the love of Jesus Christ with prayersAbigail
oldandgrey wrote:I do not think we should be answering this question for our fasting should be in secretMat 6:16 ¶ 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. Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; Mat 6:18 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.
Thank God for a few men and women wholove the Lord and just want to praiseHIM with their comments.... Also, they want to make a STAND forTRUTH....
" No, I do not fast. I have in the past until I realized what Jesus said about it. Matthew 9:14-17 John the B's disciples asked why Jesus' disciples do not fast and Jesus replied, "Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." The bridegroom was taken from them for three days and during that time they fasted, but then he rose from the grave and lives even today. Why fast? He is alive. We need not mourn any further."_____
Not many people fast any more. In Matt 6:16, Jesus said, "when you fast…". Paul fasted often (2 Cor 6:5; 2 Cor 11:27). Fasting humbles us, brings our flesh into subjection to the Spirit, and increases ability to pray with faith. In addition, it makes us more thankful for our blessings. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness (literally) brings blessings from our Father. We should mourn over the lost souls of humanity.
