Message
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The above passage tells us clearly that God wants your spirit, soul, and body to be preserved blameless until His coming. This is opposed to what many people say about God only caring about our spirit and soul, and not our body. God cares about your body, and He wants it to be blameless. He cares about what you wear (), how you use your body (), and if you get a tattoo or not (). He cares as much about your body as He cares about your soul.
The truth is, the state of your soul will determine the state of your body. What is inside will show on the outside. Many years ago, I invited some ministers to teach at The Redeemed Christian Bible College. They told the students that I was too legalistic by placing restrictions on how they use their bodies and that God only cares about the soul. By the time I got back to the class, the students had believed the people I invited. I needed to convince them otherwise, so I went to get two oranges. One orange was yellow, and the other was green. I raised both oranges up in the class and asked, “Which of these two oranges is ripe?” They all pointed at the yellow one. I asked again, “How did you know?” They said it was obvious from the outside that it was ripe on the inside. With that, I told them, “If Christ that you claim to have on your inside is not showing on the outside, it is likely that you do not have Christ in the first place.”
Whether we like it or not, people look at your outward appearance and make conclusions about Christianity based on what they see you do with your body. If you look like the people of the world, they will believe that you are just like them and that there is nothing special about you. They will not listen to the gospel you are preaching if you are dressed like a harlot or a hooligan. Don't make someone turn away from the gospel because of your outward appearance, keep your body blameless.
The above passage tells us clearly that God wants your spirit, soul, and body to be preserved blameless until His coming. This is opposed to what many people say about God only caring about our spirit and soul, and not our body. God cares about your body, and He wants it to be blameless. He cares about what you wear (), how you use your body (), and if you get a tattoo or not (). He cares as much about your body as He cares about your soul.
The truth is, the state of your soul will determine the state of your body. What is inside will show on the outside. Many years ago, I invited some ministers to teach at The Redeemed Christian Bible College. They told the students that I was too legalistic by placing restrictions on how they use their bodies and that God only cares about the soul. By the time I got back to the class, the students had believed the people I invited. I needed to convince them otherwise, so I went to get two oranges. One orange was yellow, and the other was green. I raised both oranges up in the class and asked, “Which of these two oranges is ripe?” They all pointed at the yellow one. I asked again, “How did you know?” They said it was obvious from the outside that it was ripe on the inside. With that, I told them, “If Christ that you claim to have on your inside is not showing on the outside, it is likely that you do not have Christ in the first place.”
Whether we like it or not, people look at your outward appearance and make conclusions about Christianity based on what they see you do with your body. If you look like the people of the world, they will believe that you are just like them and that there is nothing special about you. They will not listen to the gospel you are preaching if you are dressed like a harlot or a hooligan. Don't make someone turn away from the gospel because of your outward appearance, keep your body blameless.