Sinful Appetites


Introduction

Sinful appetites are the disordered cravings of the flesh — desires for food, drink, pleasure, or comfort that exceed God’s bounds and make the body a tyrant over the soul. Richard Baxter treated this with seriousness, warning that “gluttons are commonly, and well called belly-gods” because they give to appetite the love, care, and diligence that belong to God. Sinful appetites do not stop at the bodily act; they reside in the will. A person may be guilty in God’s sight even when restraint comes only from lack of opportunity, not from a heart that is truly mortified. For Baxter, to indulge sinful appetites is to slide toward idolatry, weaken the reason, cloud the mind, and grieve the Spirit of God.


Scripture Focus

“For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18–19, KJV)
“And 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.” (Luke 21:34, KJV)
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:14, KJV)


List of Relevant Scriptures

  • Genesis 25:29–34 – Esau sells his birthright to satisfy appetite.
  • Proverbs 23:20–21 – The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.
  • Ecclesiastes 10:17 – Blessed are those whose leaders eat for strength, not for drunkenness.
  • Isaiah 5:11–12 – Woe to those who chase strong drink.
  • Daniel 1:8 – Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:12–13 – All things lawful, but not to be enslaved by any.
  • Galatians 5:16–17 – Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.
  • Titus 2:11–12 – Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.


Overview of the Biblical Teaching on This Issue

Scripture consistently warns that unchecked appetite becomes bondage. To let the body rule is to dethrone God and enthrone desire. The Bible calls for temperance, self-control, and sobriety, not as mere restraint, but as the fruit of the Spirit and a testimony that our joy is in Christ rather than the flesh. Food and drink are good gifts when received with thanksgiving, but when they become ends in themselves they reveal idolatry. The gospel teaches us to mortify sinful cravings and to seek satisfaction in Christ, the Bread of Life, and the Living Water.


Pastoral Guidance

Baxter’s Counsel:

  • Discern the heart’s bondage: “He is a drunkard in God’s account, who would drink too much if he had it, and is not restrained by his will, but by necessity.” The will’s consent, not just the outward act, marks the sin.
  • Call appetite what it is — idolatry: Baxter speaks of “belly-gods,” exposing that sinful appetite gives to food, drink, or pleasure the devotion owed only to God.
  • Employ both bodily and spiritual remedies: He recommends not only prayer, watchfulness, and fasting, but also wise use of diet, labour, and lawful recreations to weaken the tyranny of lusts.
  • Avoid occasions of temptation: Do not stand where excess is easy. Remove yourself from company, customs, and conditions that inflame appetite.
  • Strengthen contrary habits: Form habits of moderation, thanksgiving, and contentment. Direct the mind to higher joys in Christ so that the body is the servant, not the master.
  • Remember the end of sin: Appetite indulged ends in shame, sickness, poverty, and ultimately destruction. Appetite subdued testifies of grace and prepares us for heaven.


Further Reading

  • Richard Baxter, A Christian Directory, Part I, ch. viii (“Directions against Gluttony and Drunkenness”).
  • John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin.
  • Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices (esp. on Satan’s use of sensual bait).
  • Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture.
  • William Perkins, A Treatise of Vocations.