The other day I had a fun little Twitter (X) exchange with the noted teacher and author of The Case for Christian Nationalism Dr. Stephen Wolfe. Wolfe, and his followers of mostly young men, are known for being proponents of hitting the gym, lifting weights and that sort of thing. Wolfe posted something related to Christian Nationalism and weight lifting, and so I responded saying that we shouldn’t allow the Thomists to have a monopoly on fitness, but us Presuppositionalists should hit the gym as well!
https://x.com/LoganRamseySDG/status/1836332998465139055
Obviously, this post was not intended to be a super deep intellectual exercise (see what I did there?), but because I got so much positive feedback and response, I decided that we should take some time to seriously consider some Biblical principles of wisdom, how they relate to our health and fitness, as well as consider some potential spiritual dangers related to this topic.
Mortal Bodies
The Apostle Paul often referred to our bodies as “mortal”- the word mortal (θνητός thnetos) meaning “subject to death”.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. - 1 Corinthians 15:53 (ESV)
Because of this, as well as the important Christian truth of eternal life, it may seem to some that, in the grand scheme of things, it’s really a waste of time to be concerned at all about one’s physical health. But actually, it is the opposite that is true.
The above quoted verse is from 1 Corinthians 15 which, as you know, is the grand section on resurrection- both Christ’s resurrection as well as the final resurrection when He returns. In this glorious apologetic section, Paul talks about how vain life would be if these things weren’t true. “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). In stark contrast to both the Gnosticism of the ancient world, and the radical pietism of our day- Christian spirituality, and the understanding of life after death, does not detract from the value of this temporal life but rather enhances it. Jesus came to bring life, and to bring it abundantly (John 10:10)- of course we as Christians understand that these are inherently spiritual truths, but the idea that the physical and the spiritual contradict one another is an idea that comes not from Scripture, but rather from darkened autonomous human reasoning.
The Bible does not present man as if he has a spiritual component on the one side, and a physical body on the other. The Bible doesn’t present man as if he is a spirit living inside a fleshly machine. Rather, the Bible presents the constitution of man as a unified whole- and what I mean by that is man is man, you can distinguish between the physical and the spiritual, but you can’t separate them.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. - Genesis 2:7 (KJV 1900)
The fact that God made us with matter, with physical bodies is a good thing. And hence, Paul’s defense of the resurrection is 1 Corinthians 15. The reason that resurrection is such a beautiful truth, is because without the physical body, man is not truly who he is. He is deficient. Yes, our bodies have become mortal, and perishing thanks to the fall- but from the beginning it was not so! And so, this all comes together to teach us that we should be very concerned with what we do with our bodies.
The thought that says “because there is life after death, this body doesn’t matter” is not a reflection of Christian truth, but rather a reflection of paganism! Paul says, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (1 Cor. 15:32). Overindulgence and a neglect of bodily health, according to Paul, is the opposite reaction we should have to the truth of eternal life!
Jesus Christ rose from the dead with a physical body. There need be no further proof that the physical body is meaningful.
Good Stewards
A principle of wisdom, as well as a command of duty, we are exhorted to in Scripture is that we are to be good stewards of what the Lord our God has given us. One thinks of Jesus’ parable of the talents, in which a sharp rebuke and condemnation comes to the servant who buries his talent (Matt. 25:26) or Paul’s command to “redeem the time” in Ephesians 5:16. A Biblical principle is that if God gives you something, you use it well.
Obviously, as we saw in the above heading, God gives us physical bodies and thus- we are to take care of them! We want to live long and healthy lives so that we can do the most good for God’s kingdom. If the Bible tells us to “redeem the time” we are sinning if we purposefully do things that shorten our lifespans, such as smoking, being overweight, or general neglect of our physical health. This doesn’t mean our life is in our own hands- you can have the best nutrition and exercise and get hit by a truck later on tonight, or diagnosed with cancer. Always remember that our number of days, and our physical well-being are gifts grom God, and He is free to take them away if He so chooses. The point simply is that, to the best of our ability, we should strive to live as long as we can, as healthy as we can, for His glory.
In The Puritan Hope, author Iain Murray quotes this passage from the life of the great evangelist George Whitfield; wherein Whitefield is going on about his longing for eternal rest when he is rebuked by an older minister:
He then appealed to the ministers around him, if it were not their great comfort that they should soon go to rest. They generally assented, excepting Mr. Tennent, who sat next to Mr. Whitefield in silence; and by his countenance discovered but little pleasure in the conversation. On which Mr. Whitefield, turning to him and tapping him on the knee, said, 'Well! brother Tennent, you are the oldest man amongst us, do you not rejoice to think that your time is so near at hand, when you will be called home and freed from all the difficulties attending this chequered scene?' Mr. T. bluntly answered, 'I have no wish about it.' Mr. W. pressed him again; and Mr. T. again answered, 'No, sir, it is no pleasure to me at all, and if you knew your duty it would be none to you. I have nothing to do with death; my business is to live as long as I can-as well as I can-and to serve my Lord and Master as faithfully as I can, until he shall think proper to call me home. (Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope, Banner of Truth Trust, pg. 231 - emphasis mine)
God does not need any of us to advance His kingdom. He could make the stones cry out if He wanted to (Luke 19:40), but He chooses to use human beings (the only creatures made in His image) to accomplish His purposes here on the earth. One of the things that has always fascinated me, is in Acts 10 when God sends an angel to the gentile Cornelius, to prepare the way for Peter to come preach the gospel. Now, couldn’t God have just had the angel preach to Cornelius? Of course, so why not? Wouldn’t that have been just as easy? Perhaps, but you see God glorifies Himself by using human means to accomplish His divine purposes. If we want to live in obedience to God, we will do everything in our earthly power to prolong our lives to do the most work for Him. Yes, as Whitefield recognized, our ultimate hope is in the resurrection and our final rest, but our rest will be most sweet when we’ve done the most labor.
But when it comes to our physical health, longevity or lifespan are not the only things that matter. We also want bodies that are physically capable of doing great work for God. Now again, this is in the Lord’s hands. We could be paralyzed, be struck blind or numerous other things could happen in His Providence which would greatly limit our physical capabilities. And so do not become presumptuous, my point is just that we do what is within our means to keep us energized, physically fit and having mental clarity. One of the first things people notice when they begin taking their health seriously, is that not only has their physical appearance changed (losing weight, gaining muscle etc.) but that other aspects of their lives have enhanced as well. They have more energy, they are able to think better and stay focused without besetting brain fog. I myself know from experience that the more active I am, and the more attentive I am to my nutrition, my productivity in sermon prep and writing (things that require brain power) is greatly enhanced.
Because of the fact that God made us of the dust of the ground, the better we take care of our bodies the better we will be able to perform the functions God has called us toward.
A Spiritual Pitfall to Avoid
“for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” - 1 Timothy 4:8 (ESV)
As wonderful as I believe it is to be prudent with one’s fitness, I am not so foolish as to think that our hearts (which Calvin said are perpetual forges of idols) are not capable of turning it into something sinful. Anything, no matter how good it is, if we place it above God, and turn it into an idol can become sinful and health and fitness are no different. Paul tells us in Scripture that bodily training is valuable, but godliness is far more valuable. He is not saying bodily training is bad, but what he is saying is that we should not disproportionately value it above our spiritual health.
Any Christian who has ever tried to research nutrition and fitness online has encountered the fact that the “fitness industry” is an inherently worldly industry, full of vanity and fleshly sinfulness. Throughout this article, I have not once argued that you should pursue fitness in order to feel better about yourself, to look better or anything like that. It is not that those things are terrible, it’s just that they are not the main reasons we should be concerned about our bodies. However, lacking a Christian worldview, the internet’s fitness influencers are unable to think in the values that I have proposed here. The reality is that most people want to get fit for purposes of vanity, and so my exhortation to you is not to get caught up in this trap. Pursue bodily training, find an exercise routine that you enjoy, eat a balanced diet that satisfies you as well as meets your nutrition goals- but do all of these things as a Christian seeking to glorify God in your mortal body.
There is usually a ditch on both sides of the road, either we totally neglect our bodily health, or it becomes our entire personality. Dear Christian, practice sobriety in all things and do not ever lose sight of the things that matter most. Pray that God would equip your body to serve Him as He would lead you.