The more we recognize Christ and His work as sufficient, the less we need man’s endless legislation of rituals and observances to feel spiritually complete. However, the less we see Christ as sufficient the more vulnerable we will be to all sorts of clever ways to either add to the gospel’s sufficiency and/or efficiency. 

It seems that in the recent years Lent has been trending in Evangelical churches where it was not a part of their practice.  In a period where things like woke religion, an inflated and ever-increasing civil government, and the general world of Pandemic are excessively binding the conscience and endlessly legislating all spheres of life, it seems timely to address the legalistic nature of Lent.  Below are thirteen reasons why Evangelicals in general, and the Reformed churches in particular, should leave Lent behind.

1. God never commands the church to observe annual fasts to remember the cross. God has always been specific about special days and certain rituals that the church is to observe; where God has not been specific on such things there is no need to fill in the blanks.
2. We have been given two sacraments in the New Testament church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. So there is no need to add anymore sacraments and/or sacramental like signs. The sign that God gave us to regularly focus on Christ is the Table with faith and repentance, not an ashy cross on one’s forehead 40 days of avoiding burgers, social media or the like.
3. Jesus fasted in the wilderness before He went to the cross and that fast is sufficient. There is no need for us to deprive ourselves to come to the cross of Christ as Jesus sufficiently did that for us.
4. Lent began in a superstitious way where it was believed that there was something extra spiritual and special about avoiding certain foods. 1 Timothy 4:3 says that those who claim to be spiritual due to avoiding certain foods are being demonically deceived. There is nothing spiritual about avoiding French toast, there is nothing sinful about having bacon; spiritual is eating or drinking through faith in Christ in thanksgiving for His grace.
5. Christ commands us to fast in secret with no need to broadcast it to the world (Matthew 6:16-18). He tells us to go out of our way to not be obviously seen as fasting. Lent is an annual virtue signal fast that runs contrary to the way God calls us to fast when and if we believe the need to.
6. Colossians 2:20-23 says that merely abstaining from things has no value in making us godly or curbing our fleshly desires. Lent and the pseudo spirituality of asceticism are closely related. Finding our joy and satisfaction in Christ is that which makes us holy, not creating an annual rule of deprivation and abstinence of some particular thing.
7. We are called to repent of idols and receive Christ as a regular part of our walk with him, not a set month on a scheduled calendar (Colossians 3:1-8). We do not schedule repentance, rather we walk in repentance as a lifestyle.
8. Lent comes historically from Roman Catholicism which has an elaborate system of works and penance to add to the gospel. I personally am not interested in redeeming that system of works and penance at all.
9. Lent is part of enforcing a liturgical calendar throughout the whole year where the church mandates endless observances rather than simply acknowledging the one observance Christ has prescribed which is the one day in seven Lord’s Day.
10. The Reformation and what it stood for was sparked by Zwingli eating sausage during the season of Lent. He protested the extra-biblical binding of the conscience and the superficial view of sanctification taught by the Roman Catholic Church overall and in the practice of Lent in particular. The Reformed tradition is to protest the endless traditions of men that add to the commands of God, and not to observe them.
11. Lent (though people now define and practice Lent however they want) goes against the nature of the New Covenant where God has declared all foods to be clean (Mark 7:20-23; Acts 10:9-16); Lent takes the church back to the Mosaic era of types and shadows.
12. We are commanded to focus on the cross not by images of the cross but by the word of the cross (Colossians 3:16).
13. Contra the reasons for Lent, Jesus’ fast in the wilderness was not for exemplary purposes but objective, redemptive ones. His fast wasn’t a model but a unique and finished work for us to believe. It is inappropriate to see Jesus’ ministry as nothing more than moralistic acts of “go and do likewise,” rather than the unique and finished work to believe and apply.

The more we recognize Christ and His work as sufficient, the less we need man’s endless legislation of rituals and observances to feel spiritually complete. However, the less we see Christ as sufficient the more vulnerable we will be to all sorts of clever ways to either add to the gospel’s sufficiency and/or efficiency.  It is Jesus, fasting for 40 days to obey and fulfill where Adam and Israel failed, emptying, humbling, and sacrificing himself that makes us spiritually whole (Philippians 2:5-8).  And it is by God’s ordained and prescribed means of Word, sacrament, prayer, and weekly Sabbath worship, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that are the simple and sufficient means by which we are connected to Christ’s finished work.

Aldo Leon is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Pastor of Pinelands PCA in Miami, Fla.