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Lesson 25 - Preparing for EternityIntroduction: In Lesson 6 we learned that our bodies are temples "of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19). We need clear minds so God can effectively communicate to us, and we need healthy bodies with which to serve Him properly. As with money and time, God has made us stewards of our body-temples. The principles of healthful living are set forth in the Bible, but because ours is a special generation that God wants to translate, and because this generation is facing health problems that have never existed before, God has given us special health counsels through Ellen White. To shed light on the Bible, we will quote from her books, The Ministry of Healing (MH) and Counsels on Diet and Foods (CD). Not all these principles are standards for church fellowship--some are ideals to grow into. 1. Why is God holding off earth's final disasters? Rev. 7:1-3 [The Further-study verse is Mal. 3:2, 3] (Revelation 7:1-3 NKJV) After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. {2} Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, {3} saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 2. What will the church be like when Jesus returns? Eph. 5:25-27 [Rev. 19:7, 8] (Ephesians 5:25-27 NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, {26} that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, {27} that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 3. Therefore, to be acceptable, how should we present our bodies to God? Rom. 12:1, 2 [1 Cor. 10:31] (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 4. To what extent is God concerned about our physical health? 3 John 2 [Ex. 15:26] (3 John 1:2 NKJV) Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 5. How should we live if we hope to win the "imperishable crown"? 1 Cor. 9:24-27 [1 Peter 2:9] (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV) Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. {25} And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. {26} Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. {27} But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 6. What do the Scriptures say about wine? Prov. 20:1 (Proverbs 20:1 NKJV) Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. [Note: The immediate effect of intoxicating drink is to deaden the conscience and distort reasoning. It has destroyed millions of lives and homes--surely it is not of heavenly origin. Jesus refused even to taste vinegar upon the cross, and the wine He used for communion was "new" (unfermented) wine. The Adventist Church believes in total abstinence from alcoholic beverages. This applies also to mindaltering drugs, except for true medical purposes. Tobacco, tea, and coffee contain addictive drugs and poisons, and must be given up before baptism. "Tobacco is a slow, insidious, but most malignant poison. In whatever form it is used, it tells upon the constitution .... Can you as Christians indulge a habit that is paralyzing your intellect and robbing you of power rightly to estimate eternal realities?" "Tea and coffee do not nourish the system.... What seems to be strength is only nervous excitement.... These nerve irritants ... wear away the life forces." MH 327, 329, 326. Rom. 6:3, 6, 16; 2 Peter 1:6 KJV; Matt. 27:34; 26:29; Prov. 23:29-33; Isa. 28:7; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Hosea 4:11; Lev. 10:9-11] 7. What is another area of intemperance that Solomon warns about? Prov. 23:2, 19-21 (Proverbs 23:2 NKJV) And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. (Proverbs 23:19-21 NKJV) Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. {20} Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; {21} For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. [Note: We should not overeat even of good food. Rom. 8:12-14; Matt. 4:4] 8. What balancing counsels about work does God give? Prov. 6:6; 23:4 (Proverbs 6:6 NKJV) Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, (Proverbs 23:4 NKJV) Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! [Note: God wants us to be balanced--neither lazy nor "workaholics." Matt. 6:31-34; Ex. 20:8-11; 2 Thess. 3:10-13; 1 Tim. 6:8; 5:8] 9. What was God's original diet for mankind? Gen. 1:29 (Genesis 1:29 NKJV) And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. [Note: While vegetarianism is not a test of church fellowship, it is a goal toward which to work for "Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing." MH 313. In most countries, modern transportation and refrigeration make it unnecessary to include flesh in the diet. Moreover, "Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat eating will eventually be done away." "God is trying to lead us back, step by step, to His original design,--that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth." CD 380. Dan. 1:8-20] 10. What does the Bible say about honey as part of one's diet? Prov. 24:13; 25:16, 27 (Proverbs 24:13 NKJV) My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; (Proverbs 25:16 NKJV) Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit. (Proverbs 25:27 NKJV) It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one's own glory is not glory. [Note: Just as "It is not good to eat much honey," so it is not good to eat much sugar. "Far too much sugar is ordinarily used .... Especially harmful are the custards and puddings in which milk, eggs, and sugar are the chief ingredients." There are other refined foods that, especially when eaten to excess, tend to weaken our bodies. "Fine-flour bread", for example, "is lacking in nutritive elements to be found in bread from the whole wheat." MH 301, 300] 11. Into what kind of environment did God place our original parents? Gen. 2:15 ] (Genesis 2:15 NKJV) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. [Note: "The Creator chose for our first parents the surroundings best adapted for their health and happiness." MH 261. Exercise in nature promotes health of body and soul.] 12. What disposition leads to health? Prov. 17:22 (Proverbs 17:22 NKJV) A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. [Note: This is that joyful, happy, inner peace that comes from Christ. John 14:27; 15:11] 13. Can healthful living earn us a place in heaven? What do you think should be our motive for healthful living? Eph. 2:8-10 (Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Commitment: Keeping our body-temples in health involves the proper use of "pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, . . . diet, . . . water, [and] trust in divine power." MH 127. Will you dedicate your bodytemple to God for His service? Will you invite the Holy Spirit to teach you how to preserve your health, preparing you to meet Jesus at His coming?
Further Study VersesQuestion 1 - Further Study (Malachi 3:2-3 NKJV) "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderer's soap. {3} He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. -->Back to Study Question 2 - Further Study (Revelation 19:7-8 NKJV) "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." {8} And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. -->Back to Study Question 3 - Further Study (1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV) Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. -->Back to Study Question 4 - Further Study (Exodus 15:26 NKJV) and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." -->Back to Study Question 5 - Further Study (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; -->Back to Study Question 6 - Further Study (Romans 6:3 NKJV) Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Romans 6:6 NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:16 NKJV) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (2 Peter 1:6 KJV) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; (Leviticus 10:9-11 NKJV) "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, {10} "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, {11} "and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses." (Proverbs 23:29-33 NKJV) Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? {30} Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. {31} Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; {32} At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. {33} Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. (Isaiah 28:7 NKJV) But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. (Hosea 4:11 NKJV) "Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart. (Matthew 26:29 NKJV) "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." (Matthew 27:34 NKJV) they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV) Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, {10} nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, {20} idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, {21} envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. -->Back to Study Question 7 - Further Study (Matthew 4:4 NKJV) But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Romans 8:12-14 NKJV) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. {13} For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. {14} For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. -->Back to Study Question 8 - Further Study (Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days you shall labor and do all your work, {10} but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. {11} For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Matthew 6:31-34 NKJV) "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' {32} "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. {33} "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. {34} "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 NKJV) For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. {11} For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. {12} Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. {13} But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. (1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV) But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 6:8 NKJV) And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. -->Back to Study Question 9 - Further Study (Daniel 1:8-20 NKJV) But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. {9} Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. {10} And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king." {11} So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, {12} "Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. {13} "Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants." {14} So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. {15} And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. {16} Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. {17} As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. {18} Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. {19} Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. {20} And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. -->Back to Study Question 12 - Further Study (John 14:27 NKJV) "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 15:11 NKJV) "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. -->Back to Study Question 13 - Further Study (2 Corinthians 5:14 NKJV) For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, {12} teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, {13} looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, {14} who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. -->Back to Study
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