Is "Ash Wednesday" Biblical?
There is no place in Scripture where the New Testament church ever practiced anything similar to what the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of the Nazarenes and others call "Ash Wednesday."
Even though there is mention (primarily in the Old Testament) of repenting in sackcloth and ashes, it was never practiced with a marking on the forehead. Furthermore, this practice of sprinkling oneself in dust and ashes was never commanded to be a ritual in the New Testament church. There are only two rituals commanded by Scripture to be observed by the New Testament church: baptism and the Lord's supper.
If this practice didn't arise from Scripture, where did it come from? It appears to have been adopted from pagan cultures/religions absorbed over the course of centuries. Most point to the years of rule of Emperor Constantine.
Jesus gave guidelines to follow if a person chose to fast and pray, and roundly condemned doing anything to disfigure your face to indicate that you were fasting. On the contrary, Jesus commanded that you wash your face and anoint your skin:
"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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 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." --Matthew 6:16-18
A command by a church to abstain from meat is categorized by Scripture to be a deviation or departure from the faith, derived from wrong beliefs.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." --1 Timothy 4:1-4
Holy cow! No... There are no holy cows in Christianity. Cows are delicious. "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." --Gen. 9:3
The Bible is very plain in its condemnation of man-made rules and traditions in the worship of God. Deuteronomy 5:32-33 explicitly says, "Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess." Later in the same book (Deut. 12:32): "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."
There are severe consequences for disobedience, as can be seen in numerous places in Scripture: Leviticus 10:1-2 (Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron (and nephews of Moses) were devoured by fire for disobeying the commands of God) or in Acts 5, when Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying about their tithes and offerings.
Liturgy is easy. Ritual and rote are comfortable. But the only way to know God is to seek God and to study. No one in Israel before the Messiah came had any doubt that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) was the Word of God. The passage of centuries, which brought us the complete Bible, as well as Jesus Himself, has done nothing to erase the Word of God, and yet fewer and fewer people who call themselves "Christians" are really interested in knowing anything about Christ or studying these precious words.
The good news is that it is never too late to start! Get out of that "comfort zone" and work those spiritual muscles! In Deuteronomy 4:29, God promises you will find Him: "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." And with a little faith added to that diligence, you will! "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." --Heb. 11:6
Adapted from a sermon by Pastor John Leonard, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Sahuarita, Arizona (2/13/2013).
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