Colossians 3:1-3 says, “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above....Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul began with the cross and ended with resurrection. We are citizens of heaven. Therefore, we should not care for the things on earth. If we pay attention to what we should not touch, taste, or handle, we are setting our mind on the things of the earth. Paul went on to tell us that we are in resurrection. Since we are in resurrection, we should seek the heavenly things. If we take care of the heavenly things, earthly problems will disappear. A Christian should set his mind only on spiritual and heavenly things. He should not set his mind on what he should not eat, touch, or handle.
Christians should not pay attention to asceticism, because this is an error; it will introduce heathen doctrines into the Christian fold. We must deal with it in a thorough way.
We should read 1 Timothy 4:1-3, which says, “In later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to...teachings of demons...who forbid marriage and command abstaining from foods.” This also is asceticism. Asceticism will be greatly revived toward the end times. Men of one age may be materialistically inclined, but the next age will react against materialism and extol asceticism. What is asceticism? It is the forbidding of marriage and the abstinence from foods. These are things invented by the ascetics. They try to eliminate food and sex. Asceticism will come back to us in the end times.
As Christians we must understand the difference between human nature and human lust. Let us briefly cover these two things.
God ordained that man should have food. He also gave man the urge for food. The urge for food was not a sin in the beginning, nor was it a lust. Man has the urge for food, and he eats to preserve his own life. God wants man to preserve his life. Therefore, when He gave food to man, He also gave man an urge for eating. God has no intention that man take his food without the sense of taste; He likes man to have enjoyment while he eats. Our enjoyment of food preserves and sustains our life. In the same way, God gave man the urge for sex for the purpose of reproduction and the continuation of human life. God gave man such an urge so that it would be a joy for man to continue human life. Please remember that no element of sin is involved in the urge for food or the urge for sex. In Genesis 2 these things had nothing to do with sin. Even today they have nothing to do with sin. We must be clear about God’s view concerning these urges. These are urges created by God Himself.
What is lust? If I am hungry, I may eat. The enjoyment of that food, however, is not related to lust, but to the urge for food. However, if I have no food and I try to steal from others because I am hungry, that is lust. Or if I have food and indulge myself in the food, that also is lust. The desire for food is an urge, while the intention to steal food or the wanton indulgence in food is lust. There is a difference between an urge for food and a lust for food. Urge is the desire to eat; one feels happy while he eats. Lust is the intention to take food by stealing in a wanton way.
As Christians we eat when food is available and do not eat when food is not available. Not only should we not steal; we should not even have such a thought. This is the teaching of Matthew 5, which says that we should not have any lust for these things. It says that we should not even have any thought for these things. For example, I enjoy good food when it is available. This is related to the urge for food. This urge was created by God and is not sinful. When does a problem arise? It arises when I have nothing to eat and I see food. If I try to steal, my urge for food becomes a lust for food. If I start thinking about stealing, that is lust. This lust comes from my urge for food. Lust is simply the expression of one’s urge to steal. The Old Testament says, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exo. 20:15). But in the New Testament, when Christians are hungry and without food, they should not only refrain from the act of stealing; they should not even have the thought of such an act. This is the principle of Matthew 5. The Old Testament forbids the act of stealing, whereas the New Testament forbids the thought of stealing. Stealing is lust, while the thought of stealing also is lust.
The same principle applies to the urge for sex. This is something that pertains to this age. While eating and drinking preserve the life of an individual, sex extends the life of the human race. Some people in the world steal when they have nothing. At least they contemplate stealing. Others indulge themselves in food. Both are lust. There is always the possibility that an urge for food and an urge for sex can turn into lust.