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Sabrina, a new Christian, faced a dilemma during Ramadan. Her husband, who did not know what she was a believer in Jesus, wanted her to keep the fast with him. She wondered how could she obey her husband and not disobey God. Imaan is the only Christian in her family. During Ramadan, she said, “My mother doesn’t believe in Jesus. She is purifying herself by fasting. Since I have accepted Jesus, I don’t need to fast in order to be accepted by God”. Fatima’s father-in-law was critically ill. She asked if fasting would help him be healed. Each of these women had as adults faithfully followed the rules of Ramadan even when they had not practiced the other pillars of Islam. Now as a Christians, each woman needed to understand fasting from a biblical perspective.
Fasting was a common occurrence during Bible times. No rules for fasting were given in the Old Testament. However, the Old Testament includes many stories of fasts that were done for different reasons and in different ways. Since Jesus seemed to assume that His followers would fast, His rules were only for the procedure. There are also many stories in the New Testament regarding the fasting of Jesus and later the Christians. The question for the Muslim convert often seems to revolve around how to fast in a manner of pleasing to God.
The Old Testament lesson provides a list of fasts that seem to have been performed around three different purposes. Examples of fasts that support each purpose have been selected for study. There are many other stories of fasts in the Old Testament. A concordance will provide references for those who wish to have more examples. The New Testament lesson focuses on the teachings of Jesus and the examples of fasts by Jesus and the early Church. These are intended to be a guide to help the Christian decide when, how and for what purpose to fast. The teacher should keep in mind that neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament commands fasting.
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