Any type of diet that exceeds the limit of moderation becomes a sin.
Meats, by their taste and smell, as well as sweets, drinks and processed and sweetened treats, excite and awaken the temptations of gluttony. In these cases, the person seeks more to satisfy his impulses than the real needs
of his body .
He is no longer guided by the need to nourish his organism, but by an excessive desire to procure pleasure, thus sliding towards behavior that takes away from selfcontrol .
Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction; their gods are their belly, their glory is in their shame, their minds are on earthly things .
Excess in diet, as in every other aspect of life, is a hindrance to complete holiness and spiritual discipline. Lack of moderation is a sign of weakness in the face of carnal desires, for it places instant gratification above self-control.
Maintaining a balance in diet, meeting the needs of the body without giving in to excess, contributes not only to physical health but also to spiritual integrity, showing respect for God’s gifts and honoring the body as a temple of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
By going beyond dietary moderation, one not only satisfies a personal desire, but also opens the door to an addiction to bodily pleasures, which can become an obstacle to the spiritual life. It is not simply a harmless act: excess food
becomes a distraction that prevents one from remaining fully
attentive to the presence of God and the demands of the
spiritual life.
Gluttony is not only an excessive pleasure, it weakens personal discipline, making the mind more vulnerable to other temptations . In the control of bodily appetites, it is the strength of the will that is strengthened,
allowing the believer to remain vigilant and to detach himself from earthly pleasures in order to turn better to eternal things.
Proverbs 23:2 Put a knife to your throat, If you are master of appetite.
Pork and other animals are considered unclean because their consumption is likely to transmit carcinogenic and bacterial diseases. Likewise, some processed products, rich in bad carbohydrates and bad fats, can lead to obesity over time, as well as other types of pathologies and inflammations.
The body being the temple of the Holy Spirit , it is essential to maintain it according to principles of hygiene and moderation that honor this gift from God.
All that is fast food, all- youcaneat buffets, restaurants that attract taste and gluttony, chips, salty snacks, industrial cereals, industrial pastries,
sweets, meat, drinks, cakes, etc … is the food industry under satanic influence.
By taking care of our bodies, we honor the Creator who has entrusted us with this responsibility. Physical health directly impacts spiritual life, because a weakened or sick body limits our ability to act, serve, and fully live the mission entrusted to us .
By avoiding harmful foods and adopting a balanced diet, we cultivate a spirit of discipline that strengthens our commitment to living according to God’s Law.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
This dietary discipline, far from being a simple constraint, is a way of manifesting our love and respect for the gift of life, while protecting us from excesses which divert our attention from God and weaken our determination to lead a holy and pure life.
Proverbs 23:20-21 Be not thou among winebibbers, and among gluttons for meat: for a drunkard and a glutton shall be poor, and drowsiness shall wear
rags.
Gluttony is characterized by an immoderate desire for tasty foods, often appreciated for their taste, texture or richness, especially when it comes to meat or elaborate dishes . This desire, which aims primarily to satisfy the pleasures of the palate , contrasts with a simple diet , which meets only the
essential needs of the body.
Gluttony is opposed to moderation and control, essential virtues in Christian ethics.
Food, by nature, is limited by the capacity of the human stomach , and yet gluttony pushes one to exceed this limit, not out of necessity, but out of excessive pleasure.
Forms of gluttony
1. Eating too early: When one gives in to the urge to satisfy
the taste buds without waiting for the appropriate meal time.
2. Seeking expensive flavors: Consuming expensive foods,
enriched with stimulants and seasonings, solely for the
pleasure of taste.
3. Overeating: Eating more food than is necessary for the
body to function properly.
4. Eating greedily: Eating with a disordered appetite, even if
the quantity consumed is reasonable.
5. Eating impatiently: Showing an exaggerated eagerness to
consume food, without restraint or control.
Gluttony also includes drinks
Gluttony is not limited to food, but also includes drinks consumed solely to satisfy the pleasures of taste or to artificially stimulate the tongue. Sugary drinks, sodas, alcohol and other processed beverages such as beer often fall under this excessive search for pleasure.
Luke 21:34 Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness , and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares
The modern food industry, often geared toward profit and immediate pleasure, encourages this trend . Processed foods such as chips, candy, humbergers, ultra-processed cheeses, barbecues and other rich dishes are poisons to the human body .
They contribute to health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and many other disorders, while fueling the sin of gluttony. It becomes an idol that controls the mind and body, fuels this addiction and enslaves man to
increasingly uncontrollable urges.
Proverbs 23:3 Do not covet her dainties: they are deceitful meat.
In 98% of cases, obesity is a direct result of this sin . Visible physical signs, such as excess weight around the belly, chin or cheeks, often reflect a lifestyle marked by overeating . In both women and men, these physical manifestations testify to the presence of uncontrolled gluttony , and consequently of this
sin of the soul.
Gluttony, as a sin , is opposed to the Christian virtues of moderation, self-control, and temperance . It distracts man from God’s purpose of maintaining the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). By cultivating a simple, balanced diet, and eating with gratitude to God, man can overcome this inclination and restore harmony between his body and mind.
The Christian is therefore called to watch over his food consumption, not only to preserve his physical health, but also to honor God in moderation, temperance and selfcontrol.
Gluttony is a deadly sin that manifests itself not only in the soul but also in the body. In many men and women, the inability to control their carnal urges toward food leaves visible and unmistakable traces: protruding bellies, thick
cheeks, chins weighed down by fat, and bodies swollen by
excess.
These physical marks testify to the domination of the desires of the flesh over temperance and self-control.
1 Corinthians 2:15 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned . But he that is spiritual judgeth all things , and is himself judged of no man.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.
A large belly, especially in men, reflects much more than just a weight problem. It is a symbol of a lack of spiritual and bodily discipline, of a life where the pleasure of the palate has taken precedence over reason and moderation. It is a visible demonstration of slavery to food impulses.
In women, this excessive accumulation of fat throughout the body also
reveals a loss of control over carnal desires related to food ,
which is in total opposition to the call to live in temperance
and spiritual purity.
Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires.
We must be “ the temple of the Holy Spirit » The inability to control these food urges is a manifestation of the absence of spiritual discipline. Self-control, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), is essential to
counteract fleshly desires, including those related to food.
The Christian is called to make his body a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and not to defile it with excesses that lead to disease, degradation, and sin .
The Christian must realize that his body belongs to God and that he is responsible for using it to glorify Him. Men and women who allow gluttony to dominate their lives betray not only their bodies but also their souls. Every excess of food or drink reflects a victory of fleshly desires over the mind, and
every physical manifestation of this sin (bloated bellies,
accumulated fat) is a visible reminder of this defeat.
In the Old Covenant there was a law that “IF” a man had a son who was a glutton and a drunkard, severe punishment was applied. It was strict and intolerable about gluttony, how one must fear God not out of fear of punishment but out of a filial fear of not offending Him .
Deuteronomy 21:20
Behold our son is stubborn and rebellious, and will not obey our
voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die. Thus shalt thou put away evil from among you,
that all Israel may hear and fear .
Matthew 11:18-19 : For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold
a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified by her works .
This passage puts an end to the unfair criticism of Jesus, who was accused of eating or drinking too much. In contrast to these accusations, his sinless, self-controlled life demonstrates his perfect righteousness and conformity to
God’s law.
When Jesus says that “ wisdom has been justified by her works ,” he shows that his blameless sinless righteousness and moral behavior testify to his divine wisdom. His self-control in all aspects of life, including diet, reflects the balance and perfection that God requires of his children.
On Gluttony, Sermon on the Mount, Seventh Discourse, John
Wesley
It is impossible to say how much a delicate and varied diet influences the body and soul, and disposes us to give ourselves up to all the pleasures of the senses, as soon as we find the opportunity. It will therefore be, for every wise man, a new motive to put a bridle on his soul and to keep it subject, to wean it more and more, as to those inferior appetites which tend to chain it to the earth and to defile it by brutalizing it. To cut off the food of lusts and sensuality, to remove the sting of senseless and pernicious desires, of vain
and impure affections, this is for fasting a motive which
always subsists
Sermon 51, The Faithful Steward
The Master of all things will again ask you: “What use have you made of the earthly goods that I have entrusted to you?
Have you considered your food, not as a thing in which you should seek and place your happiness, but as a means of maintaining the health, strength, vigor of your body, so that it would be the docile instrument of your soul? Have you
considered clothing, not as a matter of pride, vanity, or, worse still, as a means of tempting others and making you sin, but as intended to protect you in a convenient and decent way against the inclemency of the air? In preparing and having your house or any other object used, have you had my glory in view above all? Have you sought in everything my honor
rather than your own, sought to please me rather than yourself?
Sermon 19, John Wesley, The Great Privilege of Those Who Are Born of God
Justification changes our relations with Him, so that from enemies we become children; the new birth changes the depths of our soul, so that from sinners we become saints.
The former restores to us the favor of God, the latter His image.
The one removes the guilt, the other the power of sin: so then, united as to time, they are not the less fully distinct.
In what sense does the apostle say that “he who is born of God does not commit sin.”
Now he who is born of God in the manner described above, who continually receives God in his soul the breath of life, the influence of the Spirit of
grace, and who continually brings it back to God; he who
believes and loves, who, by faith, has the continual feeling of
the action of God on his spirit, and, by a sort of spiritual
reaction, incessantly returns this grace to him in love, in
praise, in prayers; he alone does not commit sin “while he
thus preserves” himself; but as long as this “seed remains in
him, he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
” By sin I mean here outward sin, in the ordinary sense of the word; a present
and willful transgression of the law, of the revealed and written law, of every commandment of God, recognized as such at the very moment of transgression. But whoever is born of God, as long as he abides in faith and love, in the spirit of prayer and thanksgiving, neither so commits nor can
commit sin. As long as he is thus in faith and in the love of
God by Christ, and pours out his soul in his presence, he cannot willfully transgress any commandment of God; that seed which dwells in him, that faith which produces love, prayer, thanksgiving, compels him to abstain from things
which he knows to be an abomination before God.
Sermon 31, Eleventh Discourse, John Wesley
“The gate of life is strait, the way of life is strait”; so strait that ” nothing unclean and defiled ” can enter through it . This is an inseparable characteristic of the way to heaven. No sinner can pass through that gate until he is saved from all his sins.
Not only from his gross sins, “from the vain way of life which he learned of his fathers.” It is not enough that he has “ceased from doing evil, and learned to do well,” nor that he is saved from every impure action, from every useless and evil word.
He must also be changed inwardly and completely renewed in the spirit of his understanding; without which he cannot pass through the gate of life, nor enter into glory. For the way that leads to life, — the way of perfect holiness is
narrow. — It is narrow, the way of poverty of spirit, the way of
holy sorrow, the way of humility, the way of hungering and thirsting for righteousness. It is narrow the way of mercy, of charity without hypocrisy, of purity of heart, of benevolence toward all men, of patience and joy in suffering evil, every kind of evil for the sake of righteousness.
Conclusion.
Men will not be judged according to the sinful habits that have become a norm in society, but according to the divine standards established by God. The normalization of sin and perverted morality, which are accepted or tolerated by the world, will not serve as the criteria for divine judgment. God
will judge each individual according to His perfect, unchangeable, and righteous law, regardless of the corrupt standards adopted by society.
God does not care about human justifications based on shifting standards or cultural excuses. Perversion of morality, even when widely accepted, is still an affront to God’s holiness. As it is written, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).
Just because a society accepts or normalizes a sinful practice does not mean God accepts it.
His judgment is universal and based on the absolute truth of His eternal Law, not on human compromises or interpretations.
Each person will be held accountable for his or her actions according to God’s standards, not the sinful degraded standards of his or her century.