Does the scripture require self-torture to please God?
No. Scripture does not require self-torture or bodily torment to please God. Believers are told not to yield their members to unrighteousness and to keep the old Adam under subjection, but the Christian life is presented as freedom and joy, not monastic self-punishment.
Les explains that the constant admonition of Paul’s letters is not to give in to old Adam but to keep him under subjection, exercising the will in yielding rather than letting members become instruments of unrighteousness. Paul himself kept his body under control. Les clarifies this does not mean becoming a cleric or a monk. He notes that in the dark ages some Roman priests wore hair garments next to the skin to torment themselves, supposedly to please God and show humility, but that is not what Scripture asks. Believers do not have to torture themselves to be spiritual; the Christian life is freedom, joy, responsibility, and full enjoyment.