Anna’s Example

Anna’s Example

[Anna] never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

Luke 2:37

Someone might say about this passage, “In Anna’s story, we see Scripture praising good works, such as fasting, praying, and going to the temple. Doesn’t this keep us from rejecting good works?” Here’s our answer: Who rejected good works? We only reject the false works that appear to be good works. Fasting, praying, and going to church are good works if they are done in the right spirit.

But the problem begins when blind fools jump into Scripture, clomp around in it with boots and spurs, and only look at the works and outward example of people in the Bible. They want to learn about being holy and so immediately try to follow their example. This only leads to people becoming hypocrites, because they forget that the Scriptures speak much more about the person than their works. For example, the Bible praises Abel’s sacrifice, but it praises the kind of person he was even more. These hypocrites, however, skip right over the person and only take note of what they do. All they grasp is the works—they miss the faith. They eat the husk and throw out the grain. As the prophet Hosea says, “They turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes” (Hosea 3:1).

If you wish to fast and pray as holy Anna did, that’s fine. But see to it that you first follow the example of her as a person and then afterward follow the example of her works.