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This episode is part three of a mini series I'm doing on the spiritual component of health. Now I know that in this series, I'm probably sounding a little bit more like I'm preaching a sermon than I'm talking about health and wellness as a health coach. But that's what makes this show unique. This show is not called Christian Healthy Lifestyle by accident. I'm not afraid to cover the spiritual component of health and talk about just how foundational it is
to becoming all the men and women that God created us to be. Now, as I said in last episode, Charlie Kirk's assassination has emboldened me to tackle some more challenging topics about God and the Christian faith. The foundation of health and wholeness is our spiritual condition. It's my intention to share biblical truth with you so that you don't have any false beliefs about God holding you back from an intimate walk with our Creator.
It's my contention that we maximize our health potential by aligning our lives more fully with God's natural design for spirit, mind, and body. In order to do that, we need to surrender to His goodness. In order to surrender to His goodness, we need to trust Him. In order to trust Him, we need to know Him. And that's what I want to help you with in this mini-series. I believe there's some critical misunderstandings that are quite common in Christian theology that are holding us back from
really trusting in the love of God and his goodness and his intentions towards us. Instead of promoting more love and trust in God, those misunderstandings promote more fear and selfishness. One of those misunderstandings is how we interpret God's law. God's law is a natural law, and it's based on the reality of the way life is designed to operate. It's based on timeless truths and
not on an arbitrary set of made-up rules. At first glance, that difference may seem trivial, but it's not just semantics. A solid understanding of God's law and how it works is foundational to what we believe about the nature and character of God. Once I got clear on this, it forever changed the way I see God and my walk with Him. Let's talk about it.
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Welcome to the Christian Healthy Lifestyle Podcast, where I help you navigate natural health so you can stay out of the doctor's office, age gracefully, and live a more purpose-driven life. I'm your host, David Sandstrom. All too often, misunderstandings about the nature and character of God cause us to keep God at a distance. Philippians 4.13 says, can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In order for God to strengthen us,
we need to be walking closely with Him. If the enemy of our souls, Satan, can convince us to believe lies about God, those lies can put distance between us and God, and they put the brakes on us reaching our full potential and fulfilling our God-given purpose. Think about it. Isn't that the same strategy Satan used in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve? He used lies to cast doubt about the nature and character of God.
Did God really say, you will not surely die? God's lying to you. Satan was using lies to bring God's character into question. Adam and Eve believed those lies and what did they do? They were afraid and they hid. So Satan was pretty effective at creating distance between the human race and God himself. He's still at it today.
Just because we're living in the 21st century doesn't mean we're immune to those same type of attacks. One of the foundational beliefs that creates distance between us and God is that God's law functions like man's law. And the implications of that false belief are far-reaching. It can cause us to develop an inaccurate view of the true nature and character of God. And then, in order to support that inaccurate view, we may twist Scripture
to conform to our beliefs. We shouldn't be twisting scripture to align with our beliefs. We should be aligning our beliefs with what the Bible actually says. A good example of a man-made law is the speed limit. Our local municipalities decide what the speed limit should be on any given road, and they send cops out with radar guns to enforce the law and try to catch us speeding. If they do, we're in trouble with the law.
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and we're required to pay a fine to that municipality to get us out of that trouble. That's the way man-made law functions. The emperor passes a decree and all his subjects are required to obey. If we break the emperor's law, we'll be in some form of punishment or there'll be some type of recompense to pay. We may pay a fine or we may be required to do some community service or the authorities may even send us to jail.
You see, threatening people with some form of punishment is the only way to enforce man-made laws. God's law doesn't function that way. God's law is not an arbitrary set of made-up rules. God's law is a set of principles that are in harmony with the reality of the created order. We're all familiar with the physical laws of creation. We call them Newtonian physics. I am named after Sir Isaac Newton.
The law gravity, the law of inertia. The physical laws are based on immutable truths. Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and freezes at 32 degrees. The physical laws are constant and they don't change with the wind. They apply to all people, in all places, at all times. That's the nature of truth and God's law is based in truth.
I'm often reminded of the nature of truth when I'm driving down the road and I see an 18-wheeler by R &L carriers. They have their slogan on the back of every one of their trucks and it says, ship anything, anywhere, anytime. That's similar to the nature of truth. It applies to all people, in all places, at all times. It doesn't matter if we believe in those truths or not. They apply to us anyway. If I say I don't believe in the law of gravity,
and I jump off the Empire State Building in New York City, I'm going to go splat because the law of gravity will be there waiting for me when I step off the building. It doesn't matter if I believe in gravity or not. Now, the same is true with God's moral laws. Stealing is wrong because private property ownership is a reality. Murder is wrong because all human life is precious. Adultery is wrong because it breaks apart relationships.
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Do you see how God's moral declarations are based in truth? They're based in the reality of the created order. We can't pass laws that change that reality. Illicit drug use is harmful. A state can pass a law that makes marijuana legal, but they can't pass a law that makes it not harmful. Two people can agree to have an open marriage, but that doesn't change the fact that adultery is harmful to relationships.
Adultery was wrong before the Bible was written. Adultery is not wrong because the Bible says it's wrong. The Bible declares adultery is wrong because it is wrong. If someone commits adultery, they bring harm to themselves, their spouse, and the person who participates in the adultery with them. With adultery, there's betrayal, mistrust, and damage that occurs with the act. No matter how warped our value system is,
No matter how seared our conscience is, the harm cannot be removed from the act. That's the principle that God's law is founded on. God's law is based on immutable truths and it's in harmony with his created order. If you touch a red-hot stove, you're going to get burned. That's simply the reality of the way things work. Here's an important implication of getting this wrong.
If we believe that God's law functions like man-made law, then we would naturally conclude that God is obligated to punish people for breaking the rules. That belief paints an inaccurate picture of the nature and character of God. If we were to hold that belief, then we would see God like we do the traffic cop, hiding behind the bushes with a radar gun, just waiting for us to slip up so he can give us a ticket and make us pay for our wrongdoing.
That's not who God is. God is love. And as 1 Corinthians 13 says, love keeps no record of wrongs. Here's just a handful of scriptures that support this idea. 2 Corinthians 5 19, that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. Then there's Romans 8 1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
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Psalm 10312, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Now, I can't resist this temptation. You know, I've been an airline pilot for many years, and there's an interesting aspect about this east and west versus north and south. If you get in an airplane and start traveling east, you will always be traveling east until you travel all the way around the world, and you'll never stop traveling east. But if you go north or south,
you will eventually start traveling in the opposite direction. If you start at the equator and go north, once you hit the north pole, you'll be traveling in a southerly direction. That's not the way east-west works. It's interesting. And the Bible, of course, chooses this more plain, accurate description of separating the sin from the sinner. Then there's Isaiah 43.25, God speaking, I, even I,
Am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more? That's only a handful of verses. There's plenty more. Scripture teaches that God is always near. His Holy Spirit indwells us. We're the ones that create distance through ignorance or holding false beliefs. And let's be honest, sometimes we create distance with our rebellion and the enemy has a heyday with that. Here's how it works.
We indulge in some sin, maybe it's gluttony or gossip or something like that. Then Satan comes along and says, you're a horrible Christian. God knows what you did. You're in trouble now. If we start paying attention to those lies, we allow shame, guilt and fear to creep in. And then we allow distance to creep in between us and God. The truth is there's nothing we can do to make God love us any less.
And there's nothing we can do to make God love us anymore. His love is constant, like the law of gravity. It doesn't shift with the wind. I believe that many people, because they view God's law the same way they view man-made law, they falsely conclude that because God is just, He has no choice but to punish us for violations of His law. That is a false belief. And I'm going to be covering that in more depth in the next episode when I talk about the wrath of God.
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But for now, God does discipline those He loves, Proverbs 3.2, but there's a difference between discipline and punishment. Man-made law requires a punishment for violations because it doesn't change people's hearts. God's law operates differently. God said, I will put my law within them, and on their hearts I will write it, and I will be their God. That's Jeremiah 31.33.
When God's truth is illuminated in our hearts and minds, it changes us from the inside out. We're always better off surrendering to God's clear instructions in His Word. When God gives us admonitions, He has our well-being in mind. When He gives us a prohibition, it's for our protection. Now you, the natural nation, know that we maximize our health potential
by aligning our lives more fully with God's natural design for spirit, mind, and body. Proverbs chapter 3, verses 1 and 2 says, son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Many people are familiar with Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your path straight. Straight to where? Health and wholeness, that's where. In the very next verse, the Bible explains itself. Verse 7, Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Have you ever heard anybody connect those verses in a sermon? I haven't, but that's what the Bible says. Remember,
This show is called Christian Healthy Lifestyle, and the Bible is full of healthy lifestyle recommendations. I'm talking about clear instructions. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not envy. Be generous with your resources. Don't let anger linger. Forgive others. Love one another. Have a Sabbath day of rest each week. This is what it means to abide in Christ. When we abide in Christ, we produce more fruit.
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John chapter 15. What's the fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Think about it. Are any of the fruit of the Spirit harmful to our health? No. All the fruit are health promoting. So it's not a stretch to conclude that God is always near and His presence in our hearts and minds promotes health and wholeness. But it's not His presence alone.
We need to heed His admonitions in order to expect blessings. When it comes to our health and well-being, we need to surrender to God's clear admonitions and be obedient to them. Proverbs chapter 4, verses 20 and 22 says this, My son, give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight, keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their
body. I'm not talking about obedience born out of guilt or duty or some kind of obligation. I'm talking about obedience born out of a grateful heart and a desire for true wholeness by thinking, speaking, and acting in ways that are in harmony with God's natural design for the created order, which we are a part of. We're His creatures.
And that doesn't mean if we surrender to God's will, things will always be easy and nothing bad or hurtful or difficult will ever happen to us. Romans 8.28 says, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. Bad things do happen to us, but for believers anyway, God will eventually work things out for good. Jesus himself said, in this world you will have trouble, but take heart or be encouraged.
I have overcome the world. We can trust that God is in control and He'll work things out in the end. We should be actively looking for areas of our lives that we can more fully surrender to His Lordship. We shouldn't be holding back on that. In the last part of the book of Genesis, we see the story of Joseph. Now Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. They meant to bring him harm and Joseph went through a lot of hardship because of that.
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But what did Joseph say to his brothers when he was reunited with them many years later? You meant evil towards me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive. That's Genesis 50 20. All right. Now I'm getting a little sidetracked here. This episode is supposed to be about God's law. God's law is not an arbitrary set of rules that were obligated to obey.
or God's going to send lightning bolts our way, God's law is an expression of the reality of His created order. It's just the way things are, and we do well to align ourselves with it. Someone might be saying right about now, this sounds good, Dave, but God did give the Israelites many laws in the Old Testament that needed to be obeyed, or sometimes there were some pretty harsh penalties associated with law breaking. Yes.
That's absolutely true. I believe the biblical explanation is that God was dealing with a very immature group of people who had spent the last 400 years living in brutally oppressive conditions in slavery in Egypt. They didn't know anything but brutality. So God gave them a set of rules designed to limit the brutality while He prepared them for the coming Messiah. By giving the Israelites the Mosaic Law,
God made a way for the Israelites to live in a civil society as imperfect as that law may have been, so they would preserve the bloodline for the Messiah. The law was sort of like a first aid for God's people, to hold them over, to buy them some time until the coming of the Messiah. The Old Testament law was never intended to be permanent. It was like a splint on a broken limb, designed to limit the damage until that
person can make it to the emergency room where the limb could be set and that person could be restored to health. The ancient Israelites didn't have the character formation or the maturity they needed. And God wanted to move them in the direction of being able to understand him more fully and prepare their hearts for the coming Messiah. The law was insufficient and only intended to be a temporary measure. Paul explains that in Galatians 3.19.
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He says, why the law then? It was added because of transgressions. And then in verse 24, the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith. So the law was given to prepare their hearts and ours for a new life in Christ with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The law is not there to keep us devoted to obeying a set of rules that we could never keep.
but to pave the way for the life and work of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It was part of God's master plan that he announced back in Genesis 3, when he said, will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed, you will bruise his heel, and he will crush your head. God was speaking to Satan, and he was referring to the life and work of Jesus Christ. His plan was to supplant our fallen nature that we inherited from Adam,
fear and selfishness with a new nature based on God's character of love and trust Now with the interwelling of the Holy Spirit God's law abides in our hearts We inherit eternal life and were transformed from the inside out Salvation happens the moment we choose to repent and make Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of our lives But our full transformation takes time some people call that sanctification
It doesn't happen all at once. It's a process of more and more surrender to Him. When we pay attention to God's admonitions, we're not being good little boys and girls by being obedient to the law. We're living in harmony with God's created order. There's a big difference. So with this new understanding of God's law, I hope it makes more sense to you now when I say we maximize our health potential
by aligning our lives more fully with God's natural design for spirit, mind, and body. With a more accurate picture of God's nature and true character, it's easier to surrender to His goodness. If you know someone you think is ready to hear this liberating message, I encourage you to share the show with them. You're listening to the Christian Healthy Lifestyle Podcast, and this is episode number 198. Be sure to tune in the next episode.
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I'm going to be tackling the logical question many of the natural nations might be thinking right about now. What about all those passages that talk about the wrath of God? The wrath of God is probably not what you've been told either. I'm going to address that in the next episode. That's it for now. Go out there and live abundantly. I'll talk with you next time. Be blessed.
