NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body Essay -- Theology

There is NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body of Comfort or Pleasure I. Doctrine There is a great falsehood that is perpetuated by the modern church, and it is one that threatens the very mission assigned to every believer in Matthew 28:18-20. Before one can address this falsehood, one must understand the duty of God's people in this life. It is the believer's task to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them as God ordained, and teaching them how to obey the teachings of Jesus. What then are the teachings of Jesus? As believers, we hold as doctrine that God the Father, along with the Holy Spirit and the Son created all that is. He gave Man, God's special creation made in His own image, dominion over the physical creation, directing Man to "fill the earth and subdue it". Scriptures outline in Genesis 1:28-30 this natural stewardship of Man over the fish of the sea, all living creatures on the ground, and the birds of the air. In addition, God gave to Man the use of "every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit w ith seed in it" (Genesis 1:29b). God, after reviewing all that He had created noted in Genesis 1:31 that it was "very good". Man's charmed life lasted until the Fall, by which sin and sin nature entered the world. Pain in childbirth, difficulty in agriculture, and, most importantly, death are all results of Man's disobedience (Genesis 3:16-19). Death, despite its negative connotations was given to Man as a gift, for only in death could the separation between God and Man be bridged. The practice of offering firstborn livestock to God began with Abel's first sacrifice. This offering pointed to God's ultimate resolution for sin's breach, first promis... ...s idolatry is the fundamental problem of this world, and drug-related idolatry is no different than any other flavor in God's eyes. Rejecting Christ is this world's flaw, and is the sin against which believers wage war. Teaching a drug idolater that the drugs are evil in and of themselves denies the basic truth that placing anything higher than God is sinful (Exodus 20:3-6). Programs like the 'Twelve Steps' teach blasphemy. They teach drug and alcohol idolaters to remain just that, although the idolaters no longer permit themselves to indulge in that which they worship. It is only through recognizing that God's creation is good and that Man commits evil that one can come to true freedom in Christ. It is with respect that this author pleads for such a tactic for those who seek healing in areas of addiction. After all, His grace and only His grace are sufficient.