The following message was delivered
on Sunday morning, August 4th, 2002, in the Adult Sunday School
class at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. God willing, this morning and
then next Lord's Day morning in the adult class, we will be
addressing this subject, wrestling together with this very practical
subject, the Christian and the stewardship of his physical health. and I've arranged the material
under four major headings, and I urge you not to try to scribble
down notes. The headings that I give you
are typical Martinized headings. They're full of words, and they
are lengthy, and I would rather to have your full mental concentration
and visual contact. Again, hopefully I'm going to
dictate the headings and the major text to Anne Rimbach throughout
the week, and with some handouts that we'll be giving you next
week, six different articles that I've collected over the
past several years on the whole matter of physical fitness and
diet and exercise, etc. We'll hand out an outline that
will help you to retain eye trust and refer back to the main headings
and to the main text that we have covered. God willing, between
now and next Lord's Day morning and the conclusion of the class,
we will consider this very vital subject under four major headings. Heading number one is what I'm
calling an emphatic disclaimer and a sober warning. An emphatic
disclaimer and a sober warning. Now a disclaimer, to disclaim
according to our dictionaries is to give up or to renounce
any claim to or connection with something. And so I want to make
a disclaimer on the very outset of this study and the disclaimer
is this, the concerns of these two lessons, that is the lessons
on the Christian in relationship to his physical health are not
are not underlined in red, highlighted in orange highlighter, felt marker. These lessons are not in any
way an outgrowth of or a capitulation to the growing cult of body worship,
which in turn is a clear manifestation of our increasingly paganized
society and culture. As surely as body markings and
body piercings are a manifestation of a return to pagan culture,
so likewise the cult of body worship is a manifestation of
that slide into a pagan culture. I have lived long enough to witness
in the last 25 to 30 years a plethora of magazines such as Men's Health,
Women's Health, the proliferation of health clubs and fat-burning
supplements and physical fitness gadgets and contraptions constantly
being advertised in the infomercials on TV, books and videos, and
how to attain and maintain the body beautiful. I can't get my
papers on Monday without being smacked with articles advertising
this and that medical center that will give you the body beautiful.
Men can have their fat handles removed with liposuction and
excessive fat tissue in their chest so they have nice well
chiseled pecs. And women can have breast enlargement
and all of the rest. The evidence is out there for
anyone to see. that our increasingly pagan society
is manifesting its paganism by this cult of body worship. Many of us grew up and never
heard the word anorexia or bulimia. More technically, anorexia nervosa
and bulimia rexia. Girls getting so obsessed with
thinness, and men, that they starve themselves and never get
thin enough. or they binge and purge. Some of us grew up and never
heard the words, let alone met a real-life anorexic or bulimic. But it's epidemic proportions
now. Why? Because of the growing cult of
body worship that is an undeniable manifestation of a return to
paganism. We are witnessing a horrible
manifestation of the truth of Romans 125. when they no longer
worship the God revealed in creation and special revelation and in
the theater of their own conscience, they worship and serve the creature
more than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. And I
want to make this disclaimer at the outset. My concern and
the concern of your elders to address the subject of the Christian
and his physical health or the stewardship of the care of his
body is not in any way an outgrowth of or a capitulation to this
growing cult of body worship in our own society. Now, as surely as these two lessons
are not an outgrowth of or a capitulation to this modern pagan cult of
body worship, now I want to give a warning. And the warning is
this. Don't take what is considered
this morning and, God willing, next Lord's Day morning and run
off into a form of joining the cult of body worship. Nothing
would grieve me more or your elders more if someone sitting
here this morning, whose conscience will be enlightened in these
studies, that you have been sinfully neglecting the stewardship of
the care of your body, and arrows of conviction will find their
mark in your heart, and there will be deep and real repentance,
O God forgive me, I've sinned in not being concerned about
the stewardship of my body, nothing would grieve us more than for
you then to swing from indifference and carelessness about the care
of your body, all the way in to a wretched form of body worship. I don't know who said it to me,
but I've quoted it many times to my fellow elders and to other
Christians. Early in my Christian life, someone
said these two things to me have been a great help to me. They
said, my brother, never forget, if the devil can't keep you climbing
the hill of any truth, he'll push you down the other side
of it. And if he can't freeze you out, he'll burn you up. Now I hope that will be a help
to you. Some of you have been standing down at the bottom of
the hill of the biblical revelation with respect to a responsible
care of your body. And in trying to get you to climb
the hill, once you start climbing up that hill, the devil will
be plotting how to put you down the other side and have wreckage
at the bottom of the hill. Some of you have been utterly
indifferent to the biblical teaching concerning the stewardship of
your body. The devil has frozen you out You're going to have
the heat of God's word come into your conscience and into your
heart, into your understanding. The devil's right there to take
the bellows and blow on it and burn you up with it and consume
you with body worship. So at the very outset, I want
to make a disclaimer and I want to give a warning. All right?
You kids hearing me? You hear me with three ears?
Sometimes I ask you that at the door. When I said something that
has peculiar relevance, I said, did you hear me with three ears
this morning? And that usually gets the two ears listening to
me. What do you mean three ears? I say, well, at least you're
listening to my question. And I hope you listen to the message
the same way. There's the disclaimer and there's the warning. That's
Roman numeral one. All right. Roman numeral two
and three will form the bulk of our study this morning. And
God willing, next Lord's Day morning, as I take up the next
two headings, I want to do so under the analogy of a string
of pearls. And the string that goes through
the pearls is comprised of six strands. You know that string
sometimes you tie up a package with will have three or four
strands and the ends will get frayed if you don't knot them
off. Well, I want you to think in terms of a string that has
six strands to it. And the seven pearls have a hole
through them. And this string goes through
those seven pearls. Those seven pearls are seven
basic biblical texts that we're going to study, God willing,
next Lord's Day. that I believe every Christian
ought to memorize, every Christian ought to internalize until he
cannot think of his body without thinking of those texts, and
that those texts regulate his sense of the stewardship of the
care of his body or his concerns about physical health and well-being. But those seven pearls are not
hung out there on a sky hook. They come to us in the scriptures
hung together by this six-stranded string of biblical and theological
perspectives. At the end of the day, there
is no issue that is not theological. That is, we must think of that
issue in terms of God, his revelation, our relationship to him. And
so this morning I want to set before you in the time that remains
what I'm calling, this is Roman numeral two, I gave you the disclaimer
and the warning. Roman numeral one, Roman numeral
two, the larger biblical and theological context in any responsible
consideration of the Christian stewardship of the care of his
body. More briefly stated, the string
on which the pearls hang. All right? That's Roman numeral
two. And we're going to look at six strands. All right? Here is strand number one. And
I cannot emphasize how critical these things are. I've lived
long enough to see Christians go off the rails in this matter
of the stewardship of their physical health because they either did
not understand nor perhaps did not hold to one or more of these
strands of biblical truth. Here's the first. As a result
of the fall, physical abnormalities, liabilities, degenerative diseases
and various illnesses and death itself are woven into the fabric
of human existence and will remain until the coming of the Lord
Jesus and the redemption of the body. You've got to get hold
of that and hold it in a death grip. As a result of the fall,
physical abnormalities and liabilities, degenerative diseases and various
illnesses, and death itself are woven into the fabric of human
existence and will remain until the return of Christ and the
redemption of the body. Remember, Genesis 3, 19b, God
says to Adam subsequent to the fall, dust you are, and to dust
you shall return. Therefore, Our bodies, even as
believers in their present state, will, in their most healthy condition,
still remain what the Bible calls them in Philippians 3 and verse
21. The old King James rendering
is not good. Who shall change our vile bodies? No, our bodies are not vile in
the present sense of the use of that word. Who shall change
the body of our humiliation? The old 1901 renders it, the
NIV renders it in more contemporary language, our lowly bodies. Until Christ comes and fashions
our bodies like unto the body of his glory, in our most healthy
state it is still a body of humiliation, a lowly body, a body which according
to 2 Corinthians 5, 2 and Romans 8, 23 will make us groan and
long for resurrection glory. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5,
2, we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, longing
to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven. And Paul
says in Romans 8.23, likewise, we also groan within ourselves
waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our bodies.
I say this because a Christian ought immediately to have all
his caution lights blinking when someone comes along and says,
I have the key to perfect health. You've got the gurus who say,
all the potential for perfect health is in you. You've just
got to get it released. You heard that kind of nonsense?
God never intended for us to be sick. And all sickness and
degenerative diseases are because we are somehow blocking the potential
for perfect health that is within us. Others say it's out there
in the right combination of herbs. Now this is not Dr. DeLisi's
position, but I've heard some chiropractors say it's all between
here and here. Get rid of all the subluxations
in your spine and you will release the nerve energy and have perfect
health. That is sheer heresy, nonsense,
garbage. And I don't care how many gurus
are let loose on Channel 13 with big bushy beards and all the books A child of
God should say no until the resurrection. Physical disabilities, degenerative
diseases, sickness and death itself are part of the fabric
of human experience. Get that strand deeply embedded
in your soul. All right? Strand number two. Our concern for and care of our
bodies must always, must always be subservient to the greater
concerns of our souls and of the kingdom of God. Let me give
you strand number two again. Our concern and care of our bodies
must always, without exception, be subservient to the greater
concerns of our souls and of the kingdom of God. Now, in setting
body and soul against one another, I am not infected with platonic
dualism, and I resent anyone thinking that about me. I'm simply
trying to express what the Bible teaches. Matthew 10, 28, Jesus
said, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but rather
be afraid of him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Don't be afraid of those diseases
that can debilitate. Don't be afraid of those afflictions
that can make life miserable. Let your greater fear be the
state of your soul and its condition before God and its destiny. Or 2 Corinthians 4, 17 and 18
Paul said, our light affliction, which is but for a moment works
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while
we look not on the things that are seen, but on the things that
are not seen, for the things that are seen are temporal, but
the things that are not seen are eternal." He calls all of
the physical afflictions he bore, light affliction, and he says
in the setting of that, while the outward man is decaying,
the inward man is being renewed day by day. outward man, inward
man. What is to be our primary concern?
The outward man or the inner man? Scripture says it's the
inner man. Or take Matthew 6.25 and following. Jesus said, Don't be anxious
for your body. What you shall eat, what you
drink, what clothes you'll wear. Your great concern should not
be with these external temporal things. And it concludes in verse
33, Seek first the kingdom of God. and his righteousness in
all these things shall be added unto you." And then the text
will come back to God willing next week as one of the pearls.
1 Timothy 4, 7b and 8. Timothy, exercise yourself unto
godliness for bodily exercise is profitable for a little. And
it's unclear whether the little is time, space wise, or little
in comparison to something greater. But bodily exercise is profitable
for a little. That's one of the most positive
statements about a Christian's view of bodily exercise. It is
profitable for a little. But, Paul says, godliness is
profitable having promise not only of this life, but of the
life which is to come. Comparatively, godliness is more
profitable. So you see, the primary concern
of the Christian must always be the state of his soul and
the greater concerns of the kingdom of God. This is why a Christian
justifies martyrdom. He is willing to have his body
sacrificed, immolated, beaten, starved, rather than sell his
soul. by denying Christ. This is why
the scripture tells us of a man like Epaphroditus in Philippians
chapter 2, one of those men who was like-minded with Paul. It
says, for the cause of the gospel, he hazarded his life. He was
reckless about his physical well-being for the sake of the gospel. There's
a place for being reckless with my body for the sake of the gospel,
for the sake of the gospel. There's a place for being willing
to submit to radical surgery that removes an organ. Why? That one might live to serve
in the work of the gospel. So our concern for and care of
our bodies must always be subservient to the greater concerns of our
souls and of the kingdom of God. Beware of any teaching which
holds out physical health itself as the greatest good. It isn't. Third strand that holds our biblical
pearls together is this. A long and healthy life is to
be desired and sought when it is desired and sought for the
sake of fruitfulness for God. A long and healthy life is to
be desired and sought when it is desired and sought for the
sake of fruitfulness for God. And here I'm not just going to
quote the passage. You've all been very attentive
and I've been quoting passage after passage. I want you to
get it through your eye gate. Two key passages. Philippians
chapter 1. This is the spirit of the apostle. He has no grandchildren who want
to have a grandpa to play ball with, go fishing with. watch
the stars together. He has no wife who will stand
grieving by his casket. Paul had very few things that
many of us have that would make it natural for us to want to
stay on and live a bit longer. And this intensified his sense
of eagerness to depart and to be with Christ. And he tells
us this in verse to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
But if to live in the flesh, if this should bring fruit from
my work, then what I shall choose I do not know. But I am in a
strait between the two, having the desire to depart and to be
with Christ, for it is very far better. Yet, yet, to abide in
the flesh is more needful for your sake, and having this confidence
I know that I shall abide, yes, and abide with you all for your
progress and joy in the faith." You see what the Apostle is saying?
In the inner man, my greatest desire is to see Christ face
to face and be with Him, be done with all of the inconveniences
and all of the hassle that I continue to experience. He's writing this
from a prison, and he's in prison not because he mugged anybody.
Not because he was guilty of corporate fraud, just because
he preached Jesus and loved people enough to tell them the truth
about their need of the Son of God. But he said, I'm willing
to stay on and take all this hassle for what end? That I might
be fruitful in the lives of others. So that's why I framed this third
strand with this language, a long and healthy life is to be desired
and sought after, if it is desired and sought for the sake of fruitfulness
for God. Now the second passage I want
you to look at with me is Psalm 92, Psalm 92, where this principle
is clearly articulated by the psalmist. Verse 12, the righteous
shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar
in Lebanon, the stately cedar, the fruitful palm tree. They
are planted in the house of the Lord They shall flourish in the
courts of our God. They shall still bring forth
fruit in old age. They shall be full of sap and
green to show that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there
is no unrighteousness in Him." Here the psalmist holds out the
prospect of a lengthy and a healthy life. To what end? fruitfulness
for God, not to grow dry and brittle and sour and lemony,
but to be full of sap and green, to have as it were the freshness
of youth percolating through the wrinkles and the arthritic
joints of old age, that people will look and say a life of godliness
is a wonderful thing. To show that all of God's promises
of His blessing, they're real! They're true! Look at that woman!
Look at that man! Even in old age, they're not
all wrapped up in themselves. They have something more to talk
about than their latest ache, their latest pain, and how life
has done them in. They're praising God. They're
finding people with need. They're involved in others. They're
full of fruitfulness. Now, you've got to get hold of
that strand. that a long and healthy life is to be desired
and responsibly sought if, if it is desired and sought for
the sake of fruitfulness for God. That's why the scripture
says in Proverbs 17, 6, the hoary head, the gray head is a crown
of glory if it is found in the way of righteousness. And we
need old, wise, respected, and seasoned saints full of sap and
green. to be beacons to the rising generation. And to seek that is righteous
and godly and biblical. And therefore, to use every means
to attain that is righteous and godly and biblical. To fail to
use those means and yet to expect that end is wretched presumption. Expecting God to give that end
while we are indifferent to the means. Now the passion for a
long life in our society for the most part is utterly self-centered
and self-serving. People want early retirement
and longevity and they want government-funded spare parts so they can live
long to indulge themselves. It's not the passion to live
long to serve and to be useful. It's the passion to live long
simply because you only go around in life once and you want to
grab as much gusto for as long as you can. The Christian has
no sympathy with that. Deuteronomy 4 and 9 says, you
shall teach them to your children and to your children's children.
It's right for me to say, Lord, I want a long and fruitful life
that my grandchildren will remember a grandpa who taught them the
ways of God. That's a noble and godly ambition. All right, strand number four.
I'm going to look at the clock here. I say, Lord, help me not
to preach myself out of a voice. I had a watch here somewhere. I got a clock. Okay, it's ten
after. We got to pick up speed. All right, strand number four. Poor health, chronic physical
ailments, and premature death may be the result of an unexplained
exercise of the absolute sovereignty of God. Poor health, chronic
physical ailments, and even premature death may be the result of an
unexplained exercise of the absolute sovereignty of God. Let me give
you a couple of biblical examples. John chapter 9. Jesus, who sinned? This man? or his parents that
he was born blind. He says, you only got two alternatives,
you're dead wrong. It was an exercise of absolute
sovereignty against the day when my glory and power would be manifested
in this physical abnormality. Lazarus in John chapter 11, premature
death by one of whom it says Jesus loved Lazarus. Lazarus
is dead. Yes, Lazarus is dead. And until
Jesus raises him from the dead, it's a premature death that comes
to Lazarus as an unexplained manifestation of the absolute
sovereignty of God. And then when Jesus raises him,
the divine purpose then becomes clear. But he doesn't always
make the purpose clear in this life. Exodus 4 and verse 11,
a key text in thinking biblically about this matter of physical
health and the stewardship of our bodies. Exodus 4 in verse
11, when Moses is complaining that he had some kind of a lisp
or something, he says, I can't speak well. I don't know whether
it was a lisp. I don't know what it was. But
he says, I can't be the speaker you want me to be. And what does
the Lord say to him? The Lord said unto him, who has
made man's mouth? Or who makes a man dumb or deaf
or seeing or blind? Is it not I the Lord? God says
I take full responsibility to exercise my sovereignty with
respect to specific physical malities and limitations. And
a Christian has got to think in that category of God's absolute
prerogative to do this. You see, we read the book of
Job, and we know the whole story. Job never did. All of this affliction
that came upon him, Job never knew the story like we do. The
whole cosmic warfare going on out of sight between God and
Satan. All Job knows is he loses all
his kids, all his goods, all his stuff, and he's sitting on
a pile of ashes, scraping boils. because God is absolutely sovereign
in that cosmic warfare, accomplishing designs often hidden from our
sight. So in taking up the subject of
the Christian and the stewardship of his physical health, for those
of you that take these articles, every one of them responsible,
medically sound articles, and beginning to implement them in
a new way, it's no nickel-in-the-slot automatic assurance. that for
those of you who right now have physical maladies that have a
direct connection, as far as medical knowledge would connect
the two, between your present maladies and your lack of concern
about the stewardship of your body, it's not automatic that
if you begin to exercise the stewardship, you're going to
move from ill health to good health. God is still on his throne,
and he'll never relinquish his right to be God, not to your
treadmill or mine. not to your weight machine or
mine, not to your carefully fat-limited intake diet to bring your cholesterol
down and all the rest, God is still God and He'll remain God. And you and I need to remember
that. All right, strand number five. Poor health, chronic physical
ailments, and even premature death may be the result of divine
chastisement for sin or a divine restraint from sin. Poor health,
chronic physical ailments, and premature death may be the result
of divine chastisement for sin or a divine restraint from sin. Two passages. The first one,
1 Corinthians 11. Paul has been dealing with some
of the sinful irregularities in the church at Corinth. And
as he addresses those irregularities, calling them to repentance, notice
what he says. Verse 30, For this cause, and
in the context, it is the cause of people who are profaning the
Lord's table, coming to it drunk insensitive to its significance,
not discerning the significance of the bread and of the fruit
of the vines set apart for that ordinance. He says, he who eats
and drinks in this way, eats and drinks judgment to himself
if he discern not the body for this cause. Many among you are
weak and sickly and not a few sleep. But if we discerned or
judged ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord that we may not be condemned
with the world. A passage could not more clearly
state the fact that some sickness, some chronic physical weaknesses,
and even premature death are God's chastisement for sin in
the life of a believer. On the other hand, if we turn
to 2 Corinthians, And we find that a chronic physical affliction
that left the Apostle Paul so weak that he said, no way I can
go on and fulfill my ministry. God, you've got to take it away. And he said three times, I sought
the Lord to take this thing away. Probably intense seasons of prayer
joined to fasting. It doesn't say it. All it says
is for this cause, I sought the Lord thrice for this thing. It
was whatever this thorn in the flesh was, it was a thorn in
his flesh. And it made him consciously,
physically weak. And God says, now Paul, you think
that this physical malady is inconsistent with your usefulness.
I know better. I know it's essential for your
usefulness. And God tells him the purpose.
He said, I've given you this. lest in the light of all of your
special privileges, the abundance of the revelations I've given
to you, you'd have too high a pin of yourself. Paul, my spirit
will not rest in power upon a proud man, but it can rest in power
upon a humble, physically weak man, and so clothe him with my
strength. that he'll be a walking manifestation
of the truth, that my grace is sufficient for you, my strength
is made perfect, not replacing weakness, but the text says,
if you look at it, my strength is made perfect in the midst
of weakness. You look at Paul and see weakness. How in the
world does this guy do what he does? Look at him, bent over,
coughing up blood. You can hear his creaky joints.
from all the beatings and all of the shipwreck and all of the
rest." He said, only one explanation for that guy. The power of God
has literally intented itself around him. That's the language
in the original. Most gladly, therefore, he says,
I will glory in my weakness, in my afflictions, that the power
of Christ may intent itself around me. You see why I get so distressed
when these health, wealth, and prosperity gurus parade their
stuff and talk as though any Christian who gets lined up with
the word of God in a life of faith will just be bouncing around
like he's swallowing a handful of amphetamines morning, noon,
and night. You look at Paul and you'd say, man, oh man, what
a wreck. And some of the detractors of
Paul picked up and they said, his physical presence is unimpressive. His bodily presence, oh, he writes
these hot shot bold letters. But you should see him. He's
nothing to look at. Nothing impressive. You young people especially,
don't buy this nonsense. Whatever these texts that we're
going to look at, God willing, next week say about, I will,
that you be in health and prosper even as your soul prospers. When
we look at such text as glorify God in your body which is his,
whatever that means, never exclude this fifth strand, that poor
health, physical ailments, chronic debilitating diseases may be
not only the result of chastisement for sin, but a divine restraint
from sin. And then my sixth strand is this,
or the Bible's sixth strand is this, poor health, chronic physical
ailments and premature death along with all of the consequences
may be the direct result of sinful carelessness with respect to
the stewardship of the care of our bodies. You see, there's
the clincher. That's the clincher. All the
other strands are not canceled by this. This is woven in as
strand number six, and I want to give it to you again. Poor
health, chronic physical ailments, along with their negative consequences,
may be the direct results of sinful carelessness with respect
to the stewardship of the care of one's body. Text, all right,
Galatians 6, 7, and 8. Do not be deceived. God is not
mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall
he also reap. You sow indifference, carelessness,
a cavalier attitude about what you eat, how much you eat, what
the scales tell you, indifference, to your cholesterol levels, indifference
to your cardiovascular system, and you have chronic ailments,
it may well be a direct result of your sinful carelessness concerning
the stewardship of your body. Now, don't anyone go out and
say, well, my chronic illness pastor said it's a result of...
I didn't say it. Remember, the other strands are all in place.
This is strand number six. Fits in very neatly and comfortably
with the other five, but the other five are incomplete without
this. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. I shall
never forget, and I'm sure, Gene, you don't mind me telling this
illustration, because dear Jake reminded me of it. A number of
years ago, when dear Jake VanderWeel, who many of you don't know, he
was the brother whose labors were significant in what you
sit in every Lord's Day, and all those lovely hand-crafted
oak rails Jake crafted those They were all custom made, even
the little plugs that were put in there. And Jake had had a
habit, an addictive tobacco habit for years. And he reminded me
of this on his deathbed. I had forgotten it. He one time
offered to take me as my chauffeur to a conference. And on the way
home, he told me that in the car, he said, pastor, do you
mind if I have a smoke? And he said, you said to me,
no, Jake, I don't mind if you have a smoke, however, I hope
I don't have to stand by your bedside in a hospital when you're
dying of lung cancer." He reminded me of those words when I stood
by his bedside in a hospital while he was dying of lung cancer. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall
he also reap. And as I see many of you baby
boomers coming up into that stage in life when metabolism changes,
when you feel you've paid your dues in this or that area, and
the idea of undertaking new and intensive disciplines about what
you put in your mouth, what you do with your body, what you don't
do with your body, I don't know how long I'm going to be around. But I fear that some of you are
setting yourselves up for serious, chronic, if not death-bringing
illnesses because of a sinful carelessness with respect to
the stewardship of the care of your body. You precious young
people being brought up in a society with body worship, I fear that
some of you will succumb to the skinny mentality. Some of you
young ladies become anorexics and bulimics. Some of you men
will get so absorbed with having a six-pack. You know that's the
term when your abs are so well-defined you can see the three sets of
them to the left and to the right. That's the term. Boy, he's got
a nice six-pack. You get so absorbed in that you'll
sell your soul pumping iron and doing a thousand sit-ups a day.
This stuff has got to get into your system in a biblically balanced,
thoroughly spirit-controlled perspective. Poor health, chronic physical
ailments, and premature death may be the direct results of
sinful carelessness with respect to the stewardship of the care
of one's body. And this is why I've given myself
to sitting for hours at my desk, pleading with God, Lord, help
me to think biblically. Help me to guide the consciences
of your people in such a way that we may have a thoroughly
biblical perspective on this critical issue, and that we may,
as in so many other areas, you have shown yourself a people
ready to be obedient to the Word of God, that some of you would
look back on these two lessons and say, it was a turning point
in my life. And it may, for some of you,
add 10 years to your life. That you might be fruitful for
more years. That you might have more energy
to serve in those years. That you might be a good example
to the rising generation. That your kids will be able to
say, hey, look at my mom and dad. They haven't let themselves
go to pot. Look at my grandpa. He keeps
himself in shape. He can go out and play ball with
us. Grandma can keep up with us, teaching us this and teaching
us that. Dear people, that's a noble,
noble ambition to be alive, long, and well, that you might serve,
that you might be a good example. Now, I'd be very surprised if
there aren't some, maybe only a few, that you see I'm a sinner
too. And I know what it's like when
the Holy Ghost begins to shed light, and God's light is usually
like a laser. And it just comes... And then
we start to wiggle. And we want to get out from under
the laser. And somebody's saying, oh, but Pastor Martin, look at
Winston Churchill. Born in 1874. Died in 1965. Drank at least a pint of brandy
every day. Sucked on his big cigars. sat
open-legged with his belly hanging over the chair. He lived into
his 91st year. So what? God's sovereign and
God's merciful. He might have lived to be 120
if he'd taken care of himself and done a lot more good. Oh,
but I know some Christian who had a real conscience about diet
and exercise and weight control and caress all levels. Got up
one morning and went to work. He was dead of a heart attack
at age 47. So what? As he's breathing his
last, he can say, Lord, I'm not going out because I defied the
basic principles of good health. I've had people say, well, Pastor
Martin, you know, with your concern about this, look at you. You've
had prostate cancer. I say, yeah, but it's sure wonderful
when you're being wheeled in the operating room to say, Lord,
I'm not going in there because I just piled all the high fat
red meat into my body and now I'm reaping the fruit of it.
It's wonderful to say, Lord, I've done the best I can reasonably
to keep this instrument in as good health as possible. You've
allowed this cancer, I don't know why, some genetic predisposition
to kill my father. You see, it's irrelevant. My
duty is my duty. The results are God's. Don't
hide behind Winston Churchill. And don't squeeze out because
you know a 47-year-old man that he keeled over and he looked
like he was the epitome of someone embracing biblical principles.
Your duty is your duty. My duty is my duty. And our duty
is determined by a balanced grasp upon the precepts of God. Your
word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway. So there's the six stranded strings. on which we want to hang, God
willing, next week, the seven pearls. Don't take the pearls
and just take them off one by one. No good if detached from
the string. But the string is incomplete
without the pearls. So we've looked at the string in the six
strands this morning. I trust God will help us to be
Bereans, to search our Bibles, to see if indeed these things
I've got about two minutes, so I'm just going to give you the
review. Run over them. As a result of the Fall, physical abnormalities,
liabilities, degenerative diseases and various illnesses and death
itself are woven into the fabric of human existence until the
redemption of the body at the coming of Christ. Strand number
two, our concern and care for the body must take second place
to our concern for the soul and the advancement of the kingdom.
Thirdly, A long and healthy life is to be desired and responsibly
sought when it's desired and sought for the sake of fruitfulness
for God. Fourthly, poor health, chronic
physical ailments, and premature death may be the result of an
unexplained exercise of divine sovereignty. Fifth, poor health,
chronic physical ailments, and premature death may be the result
of divine chastisement for sin or a divine restraint from sin. And sixth, poor health, chronic
physical ailments, and premature death with all the consequences
may be the direct results of sinful carelessness with respect
to the stewardship and care of the body. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful that
we have the scriptures as a lamp to our feet and a light to our
pathway. We thank you that amidst all of the cacophony of voices,
all of the reams of print in popular magazines telling us
this, that, and the other, we have your word to flush out all
of the worldly thinking and to give us a sure path by which
to glorify you in our bodies. So we pray that you would write
upon our hearts the principles of your word and that you would
enable us to internalize them, and then, Lord, to give us grace
when we begin to see the implications in the day-by-day decisions that
must be made, what we will and will not put into our mouths,
what we will and will not do with our bodies. Lord, help us,
help us, that our bodies may not be our masters, but that
Christ the Lord will help us to master every appetite every
passion. O Lord, with the Apostle Paul,
we too would say, we keep under our bodies, lest in speaking
to others we ourselves should be reprobate. Help us, we pray,
and seal these things to our hearts. For our good and for
your glory, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.