Because God wants us to take care of our bodies the Bible affirms, “Physical training is good…” (1 Timothy 4:8). It's good because being healthy and fit will help us better fulfil our God-given purpose in a variety of ways.
1 Timothy 4:8
Training your body is of some value, yes, but don't sacrifice it at the expense of your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. May your movement flow from the fruit of the Spirit, which will last forever.
Exercise is a good thing
God has put us in the world with a mandate to use the creative talents He has given us. Sport is good because God made it that way; He made us enjoy our bodies, working them to become faster, higher, and stronger, together, is thrilling because God made it that way.
Hebrews 12:11–12 (NIV) — 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
Colossians 3:23-24: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
He created our bodies and will resurrect them. He wants us to honour Him by taking care of our bodies. Because God wants us to take care of our bodies the Bible affirms, “Physical training is good…” (1 Timothy 4:8).
Not only did God command us to work, but, being created in his image as a Creator, we are hardwired with a desire to create—to work.
By idolizing the body, we fail to glorify God with or through our bodies, but rather we glorify our body as God; this is idolatry; idolatry is a mortal sin (Exodus 20:3). In short: it is perfectly okay to workout or exercise to improve your physical fitness and to take care of your body.
2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 1 Timothy 4:8: 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.
Leviticus 19:27 in Other Translations
27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards. 27 "Don't cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard. 27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
Spiritual benefits of physical training (PT) include: Quieting the mind and being present in the moment. Breaking through personal barriers. Testing your fortitude while working out.
Church gyms have evolved to become more than just a place for the congregation to get some exercise. Today, many churches are taking advantage of the space to create multi-functional areas that can serve a variety of purposes.
Romans 12:1-2 urges us to: 'Offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship'. That means that sport is an area of life that can be offered to God as an act of worship.
Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.” These prohibitions were done in honor of the dead, to propitiate their sins or gain the attention of a god (cf. 1 Kings 18:28).
However, diet has more to do with it than exercise. The six-pack is already there, but for most it's hidden due to excess body fat. Jesus was a carpenter who engaged in daily physical labor, walked 100's and 100's of miles, ate healthy, and rested well.
13 That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. 14 Do everything readily and cheerfully - no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! 16 so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns.
God made us to move, and to do so vigorously. And he wired our brains to need it, reward it, and reinforce it. Exercise makes happier humans, and God made humans to be happy — in him — with bodily movement being an assistant, rather than adversary, to our joy.
Deuteronomy 25:13-16
“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.
David exercised faith in God by confessing his sin and by asking God to forgive him. He believed that if he would come clean about what he had done that God would cleanse and restore him and help him refrain from ever going down that road again.
1 Timothy 4:8 In-Context
8 Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future. 9 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed.
With your identity in Christ, you are free to compete justly without compromising your integrity. You are free to compete and yet show mercy and grace in victory. And when you win, you can be humble by showing restraint and self-control. There will be no need to humiliate your opponent to glorify yourself.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Scripture shows that God is not concerned with what career you choose (unless, of course, it's in direct disobedience to His revealed will in Scripture, such as prostitution) as He is about how you work at your career. As Gary Friesen shares in his book, your work is to be characterized by: Sincerity of heart (Eph.
The Bible tells us the importance of developing a solid work ethic, and of putting our all into everything we do. There are numerous Bible verses about hard work and diligence — scriptures that should get us thinking deeper about how we are to look at our jobs and responsibilities.
In the time of Christ it was the custom of the Jews to divide the daylight portion of the day into twelve hours. Christ asked His disciples, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" John :9. This is understood to mean the working day, from sunrise to sunset.