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Bible Study 18
The Bible And The Good Health

What is God's wish for everyone?
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in good health."
3 John 2

What has God promised to do for His people if they will obey Him?
"And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee."
Exodus 23:25

As our Creator, what does God claim as His property?
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20

What warning has God issued regarding the care of the body?
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
1 Corinthians 3:16, 17

Note: The Christian should avoid any and all harmful substances. Tobacco contains nicotine, a deadly poison. Recent scientific findings establish the fact that the use of tobacco often shortens the lifespan by as much as one-third. This violates God's commandment against killing (Exodus 20:13). Most people are aware of the harmful effects of tobacco, but what about debilitating beverages? "Tests clearly showed that the pharmacologic effects of coffee were due to its caffeine content.... It is reasonable to classify the coffee-drinking, or caffeine habit with the other drug habits-opiates, alcohol, barbiturates, and nicotine.... The popular cola drinks get their appeal from their caffeine content; should not "cola" addiction be classed with drug addiction? There are tea addicts, too." New England Medical Journal, May 13, 1954.

What is our reasonable service toward God?
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Romans 12:1

Note: God wants us to be healthy. In the Bible we find His guidelines for health and happiness. God will not force us to follow His manual, but failure to follow it will result in poor health. His promise is, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee." Exodus 15:26

Does the Bible advise against the use of alcoholic beverages?
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
Proverbs 20:1

"Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."
Proverbs 23:31, 32

"Nor thieves … nor drunkards … shall inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10

What was God's original plan for the human diet?
"Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you."
Genesis 1:29 (New American Standard Version)

Note: God's original diet for humanity included grains, nuts, fruits and herbs (vegetables). Flesh food was not included in the human diet until after the flood (Genesis 9:1-3). When flesh foods became part of the human diet, the lifespan was greatly shortened!

What distinction or division did God make between the animals when He sent them into Noah's ark?
"Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female."
Genesis 7:2

What is God's definition of a clean animal?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat."
Leviticus 11:1-3

What are some of the animals God lists as "unclean" and unfit for food?
"However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided, you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses."
Deuteronomy 14:7, 8 (New International Version)

Note: In other words, animals of the field must pass these two tests. Evidently there is something unwholesome about animals that do not pass these tests, or God would not withhold them from us, for "no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11.

What about seafood and fish?
"These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you."
Leviticus 11:9, 10

Are there "clean" and "unclean" fowl?
"You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat."
Deuteronomy 14:11-18 (New International Version)

Years after Peter became a Christian, he received a vision from God. In his vision, he saw a great sheet descend from heaven filled with unclean animals and heard a voice saying to him, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat." What did Peter reveal about his diet?
"I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean."
Acts 10:14

Note: Peter did NOT change his diet when he became a Christian. He observed the dietary laws of the Old Testament.

What was not clear to Peter after he had received this strange vision?
"Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean."
Acts 10:17

Two days later, what did Peter finally understand was the meaning of his strange vision?
"God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean."
Acts 10:28 (NKJV)

Note: In the eyes of a Jew, a Gentile was an unclean human being, and Jews were taught not to associate with Gentiles. This vision was the means God used to convince Peter that it was now time to take the Gospel message to the Gentiles. Some Christians use chapter 10 of Acts, especially verse 15: "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common," as license for eating unclean animals. However, a careful reading of the vision reveals that God told Peter not to treat any human being as unclean or common. The human stomach is the same whether Jew or Gentile! God's dietary laws have never changed.

A Summary of Bible Principles for Good Health:

1. Eat at regular intervals and avoid eating between meals.
"Eat in due season." Ecclesiastes 10:17

2. Eat to live and don't live to eat. "Put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." Proverbs 23:2

3. Rest according to God's plan. "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work."
Exodus 20:9, 10

"Come ye yourselves apart … and rest a while."
Mark 6:31

"It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep."
Psalm 127:2

4. Keep your body clean. "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh."
2 Corinthians 7:1

5. Control yourself. "Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things."
1 Corinthians 9:25

"Let your moderation be known unto all men."
Philippians 4:5

6. Put on a happy face. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
Proverbs 17:22

7. Do not use animal fat or animal blood in any form. "It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings that ye eat neither fat nor blood."
Leviticus 3:17

8. Trust and obey God. "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.... For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
Proverbs 4:20, 22

9. Give God the glory in everything that you do. "Whether therefore ye eat , or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

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