What About Ash Wednesday?
[Ed. Note: This year, Ash Wednesday occurred last week, February 22. We sent out a request for comment to our writer’s pool on the whole topic of Lent and its holy days. Two of them responded. This article is the first. We will publish the second piece Thursday, March 2.]
As one of my college students and I were sitting in Starbucks this past Wednesday, we watched a young couple with their son walk into the shop all with a cross of ashes smeared across their foreheads. After they sat down, he looked at me and said, “what is that?” It gave me a great opportunity to share with him some key doctrines and an opportunity to share those same doctrines with you.
Ash Wednesday is a Catholic holy day that marks the beginning of Lent, a period of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading up to Easter Sunday. It is primarily observed by Catholics and some Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists. I’ve had friends, even Baptist friends, adopt some of these practices, especially the practice of Lent. I have never been in favor of this or in agreement to practicing it. Please allow me to explain to you why.
The Reformation: Martin Luther lead the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, which was a movement to call out false teaching and an attempt to reform the Catholic Church. One of the key tenets of the Reformation was a rejection of certain Catholic practices and doctrines that were seen as unbiblical or contrary to the Gospel. God used Martin Luther in a special way to see the inconsistencies of the church and promote the only way to Christ was through faith alone. Therefore, Protestants have historically been suspicious of any man-made practices of Catholicism, including Ash Wednesday and Lent.
Sola Gracia: “Salvation from the judgment and condemnation of God that every human being deserves (because we are sinners) is a gift of grace from God. It has nothing to do with human merit” (Rom 3:10-12).1
We must emphasize the importance of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Salvation cannot be earned through good works, especially not through religious rituals or practices. Ash Wednesday or Lent is simply an additional work to help attain salvation or God’s favor.
Sola Scriptura: “The 66-book Bible is the sole authority for Christians in faith, doctrine, and practice. Sola Scriptura acknowledges the fact that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant, sufficient, without error, and the source of all truth” (2 Tim.3:16-17).2
We should prioritize the authority of Scripture above all else, and there is no biblical support for celebrating or practicing Ash Wednesday. In scripture, you will find references to “repenting in dust and ashes.” But there is no biblical support for true repentance in this manner. It’s like David says in Psalm 51:16-17 (KJV) “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Sola Gloria: “Salvation is wholly a work of God for His glory. Believers contribute nothing to their salvation. Because Christ is both Lord and Savior of believers, they are commanded to live their lives to glorify God” (Jn 6:44).3
There is no significance to the work of God in the practice of having a cross spread on one’s forehead. Ash Wednesday and Lent put the focus not on God, but on man and his ritualistic effort as the means of grace.
Our human nature enjoys doing works and putting on display our religious behaviors before man. Jesus makes it clear these practices need to be done in secret and not for the world to see on Facebook, social media, or at Starbucks.
My Past: I was born and sprinkled in the Catholic Church. I still have many family members who are devout Roman Catholics. It is heartbreaking and sad to see them following religion as their hope for eternity, and not our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross.
We should never mix religion with our walk with Jesus. This will only cause more confusion for those who are “on the outside” looking in.
Treg Spicer is pastor of Faith Baptist Church – Morgantown, WV. Follow his blog here. We republish his articles by permission.
Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash
- Quote source: What Are the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation? by Adriana Thompson. [↩]
- Ibid. [↩]
- Ibid. [↩]