In this lesson, we examine the doctoral error of asceticism. Asceticism is a way of thinking that sees money and things as evil. To the ascetic, the less you own, the more spiritual you are.
Many have fallen for this error throughout history, including Origen, the desert fathers, and the monastics. In our day, asceticism has expanded and broadened. Not content with personal asceticism, many embrace liberation theology and demand government to confiscate the wealth of others and redistribute it to the poor. A prominent example is author Ron Sider who wrote "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger."
In 1 Timothy 4, Paul states that asceticism – forbidding to marry and abstaining from meats – is a lie and a doctrine of devils. The apostle implicitly exults the goodness of God's creation when he commands us to receive all created things with thanksgiving, underscoring the doctrine of God's common goodness to all men.
Ascetics are fond of pointing to Christ's life of poverty as the example that all Christians should follow. But the argument does not stand. First, Christ was born and raised in the home of a carpenter, which meant that in the first century, he was part of the middle class.
Despite their life of poverty as a result of living the life of an itinerant teacher, Jesus and his disciples were not ascetics. Other than when he addressed sins of idolatry, he never told his followers to sell all and become poor. Nor did he ever teach that marriage, food, or money were wrong. Instead, he and his disciples enjoyed the gifts of God, so much so that the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a glutton and a drunkard.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
