1. God Wants Us to Prosper and Be in Good Health.
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in all _respects_ you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul _prospers_.
2. Sanctification Includes the Body, Mind, and Emotions As Well As Spiritual Faculties.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be _preserved_ _complete_, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Present Your Body As a Living Sacrifice.
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy _sacrifice_, acceptable to God, which is your _spiritual_ service of worship. [2] And do not be _conformed_ to this world, but be _transformed_ by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
4. Your Body Is the Temple of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? [20] For you have been _bought_ with a price: _therefore_ _glorify_ God in your body.
5. Whatever You Eat Or Drink, Do All to the Glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 _Whether_, then, you eat or drink or _whatever_ you do, do all to the glory of God.
6. Wine Is a Mocker and Strong Drink Is a Raging.
Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And _whoever_ is _intoxicated_ by it is not wise.
7. Wine Causes All Kinds of Problems.
Proverbs 23:29-32 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has _contentions_? Who has _complaining_? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? [30] Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine. [31] Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it _sparkles_ in the cup, When it goes down _smoothly_; [32] At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper.
8. Woe to Those Intoxicated with Wine.
Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the _evening_ that wine may _inflame_ them!
9. Excessive Wine Leads to Violence.
Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of _wickedness_ And drink the wine of _violence_.
10. Wine Perverts the Judgment of Kings.
Proverbs 31:4-5 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, [5] For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And _pervert_ the rights of all the _afflicted_.
11. Since We Are Kings and Priests Unto God, We Need Clear Minds.
Revelation 5:10 "You have made them to be a _kingdom_ and _priests_ to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
12. God's Original Diet Was a Vegetarian Diet.
Genesis 1:29 Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the _surface_ of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it _shall_ be food for you;
13. Noah Understood the Difference Between Clean and Unclean Animals.
after the Flood God Gave Permission to Eat Clean Animals.
Genesis 7:2 "You shall take with you of every clean animal by _sevens_, a male and his female; and of the _animals_ that are not clean two, a male and his female;
14. Clean Animals Must Have a Split, Or Divided Hoof and Chew Their Cud. Unclean Animals Are Those Like the Pig That Does Not Have Both Features Just Mentioned.
Leviticus 11:1-8 The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, [2] "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'These are the _creatures_ which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. [3] '_Whatever_ divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. [4] '_Nevertheless_, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the _camel_, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. [5] '_Likewise_, the _shaphan_, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; [6] the _rabbit_ also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; [7] and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. [8] 'You _shall_ not eat of their _flesh_ nor touch their _carcasses_; they are unclean to you.
15. Clean Sea Animals Must Have Both Fins and Scales.
Leviticus 11:9-12 'These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. [10] 'But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the _teeming_ life of the water, and among all the _living_ _creatures_ that are in the water, they are detestable _things_ to you, [11] and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their _flesh_, and their _carcasses_ you shall detest. [12] 'Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you.
16. Those Who Rebel Against God's Dietary Standards Will Not Be in the Kingdom.
Isaiah 66:15-17 For behold, the LORD will come in fire And His chariots like the _whirlwind_, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. [16] For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the LORD will be many. [17] "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, _Following_ one in the center, Who eat swine's flesh, _detestable_ things and mice, Will come to an end _altogether_," _declares_ the LORD.
17. God Links Eating Unclean Foods to Heathen Idolatry.
Isaiah 65:1-5 "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here am I, here am I,' To a nation which did not call on My name. [2] "I have spread out My hands all day long to a _rebellious_ people, Who walk in the way which is not good, _following_ their own _thoughts_, [3] A people who _continually_ provoke Me to My face, Offering _sacrifices_ in gardens and _burning_ incense on bricks; [4] Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who eat _swine's_ flesh, And the broth of _unclean_ meat is in their pots. [5] "Who say, 'Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!' These are smoke in My _nostrils_, A fire that burns all the day.
18. Peter Had a Vision of a Sheet with All Kinds of Unclean Animals Which God Told Him to Eat.
Acts 10:9-16 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. [10] But he became hungry and was _desiring_ to eat; but while they were making _preparations_, he fell into a trance; [11] and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, [12] and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and _crawling_ _creatures_ of the earth and birds of the air. [13] A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat!" [14] But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten _anything_ unholy and unclean." [15] Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has _cleansed_, no longer _consider_ unholy." [16] This _happened_ three times, and _immediately_ the object was taken up into the sky.
19. Peter Later Understands That the Vision Does Not Apply to Food But to the Jewish Practice of Calling Gentiles Unclean. God Is Breaking Down Racial Barriers.
Acts 10:28 And he said to them, "You _yourselves_ know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a _foreigner_ or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.
20. Jesus Provides Spiritual Strength to Overcome Physical Habits.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all _things_ through Him who _strengthens_ me.
21. Jesus Was Tempted Like We Are. He Fasted 40 Days and Overcame So That We, Too, May Receive His Power to Overcome.
Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who cannot _sympathize_ with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. [16] Therefore let us draw near with _confidence_ to the throne of grace, so that we may _receive_ mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Next Bible Study: 24-Questions Regarding Health
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