Ash Wednesday is a time in the Church Calendar when many Christians go to a special service. This service kicks off the season of lent, which anticipates the sorrow of Good Friday and the triumph of the Resurrection. It is an exciting time in the life of the Church! Lots of special events are happening. It is no longer considered “ordinary time.” The question of whether or not to observe this calendar is often unwelcome. What’s the harm, anyway, in celebrating holy days which seek to honor Christ, impart wisdom, and strengthen Christians in their faith? Certainly these are praiseworthy intentions! But as the proverb goes, good intentions are not enough.1 We may have the best of intentions, but yet be mistaken and even do harm. The Reformed creeds and confessions exclude the holy days of the Church calendar on the basis of the sufficiency of Scripture, the second commandment and the conviction that it is God’s place alone to prescribe the manner in which he is to be worshipped. In place of Ash Wednesday, the Sabbath is to be used for the remembering of our frailty, the immanence of death, and growth in humility.
The Sufficiency of Scripture
Many evangelicals and Christians of all sorts are prepared to make a glorious confession regarding the written word of God. It is said to be inerrant, divinely inspired, and unique among all literature. Yet it may still be treated in practice as leaving important questions for our spiritual life unaddressed. Some traditions will even come out and say plainly the Holy Scriptures — while God breathed and inerrant — are not an adequate resource for the Church in her various tasks.2 These traditions will teach a high view of Scripture, but deny this jewel on the crown which they bestow upon the written word of God.
Yet we see in Scripture itself that it alone is sufficient for the growth of the Church. Thankfully, Scripture is not all that God gives to the Church for her growth, but it alone carries the honor of being the sufficient resource for us. We are given pastors, teachers, apostles, and spiritual gifts from Christ. But Holy Scripture is above all to be treasured as sufficient. After all, if we attribute God as the ultimate author of Scripture, are we prepared to say that he forgot to add something needful for us?
When we look to Scripture, we see nothing about the need for Christians to observe Lent, Easter, Christmas, or Ash Wednesday. Instead, we are commanded to observe one day in seven.
The Fourth Commandment
On Ash Wednesday, we are given a powerful reminder of the brevity of life. It is meant to be a solemn occasion where we humble ourselves before God. Again, while there is nothing wrong with this at all from a human perspective, and such noble intentions are very much to be praised, we must acknowledge that nowhere in Scripture do we see a warrant for ashes to be applied to the forehead as an act of worship. Therefore, we cannot assume such worship is pleasing to God.
For those who find this conclusion harsh, please consider the doctrine of the Sabbath as a suitable replacement for Ash Wednesday.
Like Ash Wednesday, the Sabbath teaches us the immanence of eternity. Even when it is not the Sabbath, we are taught to “remember” it. In this sense, it is always coming for us. The same can be said of death and eternity. We are always headed toward our final resting place.
Unlike Ash Wednesday, the Sabbath is an occasion filled with joy. Christ has not taught us to put ashes on our heads but rather oil, signifying joy and gladness. Likewise, death is no longer a dreadful curse. Instead, it is our entry into paradise. At death, we will be ushered into the regal presence of the Risen Christ. We will participate in worship with the angels. We will be reunited with loved ones who died in the Lord. What a glorious salvation our God has given to us!
How we observe this day is addressed in the Second Commandment.
Who Decides How We Worship?
In the Second Commandment and elsewhere we see the low-level principle that God alone is the one who institutes the manner of his own worship. If he decided to leave it up to us, what we would come up with would not be pleasing to God. As sinners, even our “sanctified imaginations” are not a trustworthy source of guidance in spiritual things. Consider two examples from Scripture.
First, we shouldn’t think so little of the Israelites that they did not have good intentions in worshipping the golden calf. When the calf was presented the congregation said “Behold your gods who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”3
Another example of this principle is found in the book of Leviticus. After the pomp and circumstance of the new tabernacle and the very first accepted sacrifice, Aaron’s sons came to offer incesnse as the sons of the High Priest of Israel.4 There was much glory and joy in the worship of God but these precious sons of Aaron were consumed by fire from God and died for offering worship which was not commanded by God. Before we dismiss this as an example of the angry “old testament god”, we must see that the author of Hebrews makes direct reference to this occurrence — “which occurred for our instruction” — when he writes “Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”5
In the Old Testament, God provided meticulous instructions for his own worship. As cited in the verse from Hebrews above, not all worship is “acceptable.” God is not so impoverished by our lack of worship that he is willing to receive with pleasure whatever it is we have to offer. No, instead, we are commanded to give to God what he prescribes.
Conclusion
Worship is a glorious privilege. It is not a right. It is not something that we can do however we please. Worship is not about us. It is not about our desires, our preferences, or in any way what pleases us. Rather, when we gather to worship our great God, we are eager to please him.
When we take this perspective, we come to find that God is meticulous regarding how we worship him for our own benefit. Our God is not exacting and demanding. He is jealous for his glory through our glad and joyous praise. He knows that when we worship him as he prescribes, we come to see him as he is and not as we expect him to be. He is not clothed in battle armor ready to destroy us. Nor is he far off and disinterested in us. Rather he is clothed in the promises of the gospel, radiant in the splendor of his glory, and prepared to serve us as our God. As we come to God in worship as he has commanded us, he serves us by bringing Christ before our eyes. Then we are full of the joy, peace, and righteousness which comes from his Spirit.
- Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing. (Proverbs 27:14)
- This is the Church of Rome’s contention and rationale for introducing the Magisterium as a necessary source of authority along side (if not even above!) that of Scripture.
- They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ (Exodus 32:8)
- Leviticus 10 tells this story. Note that Leviticus 9 tells the story of the acceptable sacrifice which Aaron offered after the tabernacle was newly finished. This sacrifice is the dramatic culmination of exceedingly elaborate instruction on tabernacle worship beginning from the latter half of the book of Exodus. The contrast between chapter 9 and 10 is striking. It powerfully drives home the point that God is jealous for proper worship from his people and is deeply interested in the details of it all.
- The Apostle Paul teaches us that the things which happened in the Old testament occurred for our instruction. (1 Corinthians 10:11) “Our God is a consuming fire” refers specifically to Leviticus 10 as it addresses the subject of worship and depicts God as a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29) Of course other instances where God is likewise depicted could also be in the mind of the author.
