The topic of weight lifting comes up often from people in the streets or those who contact me on line, who claim to be of Christ. So much so that I felt it needed an article that speaks to those who claim to be born again.
This topic is a good one for me to write on as... I am an EXPERT!
The reason I am an expert is because in my pagan days before Christ I was a gym rat/body builder. Yes indeed I was the king of pride and the pursuit of more muscle/vanity. It was my MAIN sin in life but God has helped me over come it and I want to help others do that as well. This topic just came up again recently with a man who I was once united to. It was this topic (among others) that added to his sin that caused us to part ways. (flesh/pride/vanity)
In this article I will cover what scripture says on it, why one could weight lift and then how it can be a great danger for those who aim to please Christ.
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:16
John the Baptist said about Christ:
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30
Lets be honest, weights and lots of training is a very fleshly thing and Romans 8:8 says:
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God!
The truth is you can search the Word of God and you will not find ANY verses that tell you to focus on building up your physical body.
The closest you get is Paul saying this:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1 Cor 9:24
(*** Paul is talking about running a spiritual race)
Then the carnal man I spoke of tried to tell me that the men in the Old Testament were strong men of war, not weak!
Well, it was true but 2 facts remain there:
1) They lived a brutal hard physical life and were very strong because it took that to survive back then. (They did not weight lift on the side, how silly.)
2) In the Old Testament, God was instructing them to kill and go to war often but today in the New Testament, Jesus commands we be at peace, NOT to be violent. See the sermon on the mount then go complain to Jesus, not me!
Physical strength is a sad fleshly excuse that scripture does not back up! It is in fact a sad, fake, MACHO man excuse and I know I was the poster boy of this sinful way some decades back!
Now that we have confirmed there is NO support for weight lifting in the holy bible, I want to be clear and say I am NOT saying it is always bad to exercise. No, not at all. (My wife and I walk as exercise.) Let me tell you the good reasons to weight lift and then the bad reasons then you decide where you fall on.
The GOOD / godly reasons to weight lift a small amount:
*To rehab an injury to get back to normal strength.
*If your job requires you lift heavy things daily you may train your body to do that task or you will get injured and miss work.
*You find a small amount of weight lifting eases stress and keeps you
from losing the normal muscle strength that we all need daily as we age.
Note: none of the above reasons are "fleshly" or for "how do I look" reasons (pride) and they also do not take lots of weights or much time at all either. You can use very simple weights and spend not much time or money to accomplish those above simple goals. In fact, I have a brother who has to lift 30 lbs way up on shelves daily and he is not a big or strong man. So he will use a piece of tree log (on his days off) to lift it up and down to better train his body for his job, so he can support himself. No sin in that, amen?
The BAD /sinful reasons to weight lift:
* You like the feeling you get as you push your body to lift more and more (fleshly for no real purpose) It actually releases chemicals in your body that you get addicted to when the bible says be mastered by nothing. (1 Cor 6:12)
*Your goal is to put on muscle for the sake of muscle (this is prideful and God hates pride. see Prov 6)
*You begin to like how it makes you look better in your clothing and people notice you more. (We are to dress to cover and hide our forms Genesis 3 not show them off. This is more vanity and pride.)
*You think being a strong man means having muscles ( you need to study more as a strong godly man can be 85 and skinny! See real strength is inside via God, NOT outside men so wake up!)
If you dress as God commands, you won't need to worry about showing off your body as it is to be covered. See this article on dress for men to help with your pride:
http://spiritandtruthdiscernment.blogspot.com/2020/02/majorchrists-blood-to-so-called.html
Note: I have heard the excuses that we should weight lift to be strong in our old age. Again some exercise is indeed good but if you are counting on that vs trusting God/godliness to meet your needs in your old age, you are in great danger! We can walk, do yard work, climb stairs and carry household things around as we age, we do not need Olympic gyms! We need to be about God's Word and work most of all and if you are not you are in sin.
Keep in mind your witness is damaged as people see you acting like the world, pursuing muscle and fleshly things. Then you think you can tell them about Christ, holiness and coming out of their flesh and have credibility? I think not!
I think a reasonable godly person can see that a small amount of exercise (or weight lifting) for the right reasons is fine and not a sin.
Perhaps the story will help illustrate it all:
The believer man I told you about is a prime example of the danger of it all. He was about to move near us and he said: is it ok if I do some weight lifting on your land as I have a few weights? (he lied) I said well a small amount is fine for some fitness but it should not be over done as it can become pride filled and fleshly. Note: He had fleshly carnal ways about him in clothing and actions that he had even admitted/that damaged his marriage. Well, it turns out the man had a HUGE weight room of Olympic equipment worth, thousands of dollars and he had debt so he could not even afford them! This was NOT just for fitness it was for building up muscles to look good. This is pride, vanity and carnality that a Holy God hates! He then got convicted and made videos online to admit it all. He even destroyed / tossed his weights all out, only to then come back to the vomit and defend using them once again! He (like myself once I admit) became addicted to them/pride and what they did to us. No doubt it made him more fleshly and carnal, thus we cannot unite. (Among other sinful areas as well.)
While he thought he was just lifting weights he was really...
lifting up his pride and vanity!
I myself had done it all before Christ and I want to warn others about it lest they fall in the trap that this man and I had fallen into.
Let me close with this:
Men, you are called to be holy, godly and do ministry for God's glory. You do NOT have the time to train your body as these men spend far more time with weights, then with the Word of God. This man was no different really. He was weight training but did not know God's Word after 25 years as a believer. As proof, he has jumped around from this false man made group, to that one, then this one, then back again, then in and out then back again and it has damaged his walk and harming even his marriage to almost divorce.
Ask yourselves men, do you know and live out the Word of God daily as good as much push your weights around? In truth, the answer is NO. I have yet to see a man who knows and lives the Holy Word who would stoop to the fleshly, carnal, pride and vanity of weight lifting for those all bad and sinful reasons I listed.
Need I remind you men that Apostle Paul says we are in a SPIRITUAL battle these days and no weight training will aid you.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness . And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Ephesians 6
The next you are pushing weights around for hours, remember souls are going to hell while you feed your flesh! And the days are getting evil so I warn you men to repent of your idle fleshly/prideful ways like useless weight training. Get training in the Holy Word of God for the battle to come in daily life, ministry and the great tribulation. My website www.dontperish.com will help you there.
No physical muscle will help you overcome/be saved in those terrible days!
Repent you prideful gym rats (I had to) and obey the gospel or you will perish!
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2 Tim 2:4
God be praised
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