Bible Verses About Asceticism

If, along with the Messiah, you died to the elemental spirits of the world, then why, as if you still belonged to the world, are you letting yourselves be bothered by its rules? —

“Don’t touch this!” “Don’t eat that!” “Don’t handle the other!”

Such prohibitions are concerned with things meant to perish by being used [not by being avoided!], and they are based on man-made rules and teachings.

They do indeed have the outward appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed religious observances, false humility and asceticism; but they have no value at all in restraining people from indulging their old nature.

The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron.

They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected,