There seems to be some major confusion concerning the
Fathers dietary laws. Most Christian preacher’s today claim that all animals
are now considered clean and therefore we are free to eat anything we choose.
Some of the go to verses to support this claim are 1. 1 Timothy 4, 2. Acts 10, and
3. Mark 7. Matthew 15 also is a parallel to Mark 7, but is rarely used as a
defense for eating unclean animals.
I say we look into what the scriptures have to say about all
of this and decide on it after the evidence is presented. We will start with
the book of Acts, chapter 10. This chapter depicts the vision Peter has of the
sheet with all the unclean animals that comes down from heaven. This used to be
the number one go to verse for everyone that claimed the dietary law was now
changed.
Acts 10: 10-13
Then he became very
hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and
saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners,
descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of
four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of
the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
The first thing we can notice is that before Peter fell into
the trance, he was very hungry. In my mind this makes sense as to why he would
have had a dream centering on food. We also must point out that even though he
was very hungry, he still later refuses to eat the unclean animals.
This is the passage that was quoted as the “nail in the
coffin” for being allowed to eat unclean animals. Granted, upon first look
without any further study, I can see why this was the conclusion. However, if
we continue reading, this does not seem to be the case.
Acts 10: 14-16
But Peter said, “Not
so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
And a voice spoke to
him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This
was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
“What God has cleansed you must not call common”, here we
go, the sheet had nothing but unclean animals, and now God is calling them
clean, because he cleansed all things. Right? And He showed this vision three
times. There can be no other explanation. Well, let’s continue reading.
Acts 10: 17
Now while Peter
wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant…
Even after this dream, we can see that Peter still did not
understand what it meant. That leads me to believe he did not understand it as
God telling him, “Peter, go eat some pork, it’s cool now”.
Acts 10: 19
While Peter thought
about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise
therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
Peter is still thinking about the vision and then finds out
that three men are coming to see him. Three, which is the same amount of time
he saw the sheet with the unclean animals. We also must think about the fact
that maybe there was something wrong with these men, why else would Peter need a
warning about going with them?
Acts 10: 28-29
Then he said to them,
“You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one
of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common
or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I
ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
Here we have our answer! It was unlawful for a Jewish man to
keep company with a gentile. The word gentile literally means out of covenant
and from another nation. I would like to point out that nowhere in God’s Law is
this a commandment from God. This is a law made up by the Pharisees. We later
have Peter explaining his vision to the men, giving us the exact interpretation
of the vision, that being God has made all men clean, including gentiles. There
is no reason to think any man is less than another, especially concerning
believers. After having read all that, one would think it would be quite
understood that the vision was pertaining to men, and not animals. Even still,
Peter goes on to explain the vision again in the next chapter.
Acts 11: 4-17
But Peter explained it
to them in order from the beginning, saying: “I was in the city of Joppa
praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great
sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. When I observed
it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild
beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me,
‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or
unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered me again from
heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ Now this was done
three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. At that very moment, three men stood before
the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. Then the Spirit
told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren
accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen
an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call
for Simon whose surname is Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all
your household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell
upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord,
how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with
the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when
we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
Next I would like to discuss Mark chapter 7. This was the second
argument I heard after going through the chapters in the book of Acts. I keep
hearing people quote verse 15, so here is the verse. I will also give the parallel
verse from Matthew 15.
Mark 7: 15
There is nothing that
enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out
of him, those are the things that defile a man
Matthew 15: 11
Not what goes into the
mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Reading these it is seemingly stating that we are good to
eat any meats, as in, there are no foods that can cause us defilement. However,
if we take the context into consideration, I think it paints a different
picture.
Mark 7: 2-3, 5
Now when they saw some
of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they
found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash
their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.
Then the Pharisees and
scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition
of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
As shown here verse 15 is in reference to the eating with
unwashed hands. This is yet another Pharisee custom that is not found in the Bible,
as in having unclean hands while eating defiles a man. If we jump over to the
book of Matthew in the parallel verses we can see exactly what is being
explained here. This must be why the verse in Matthew is rarely mentioned.
Matthew 15: 19-20
For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, and blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat
with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
Now this one isn’t brought up nearly as much the ones we
just covered, but it is still used often enough that I though it be a good idea
to address it here.
1 Corinthians 8:8
But food does not
commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not
eat are we the worse.
Basically the argument here is that food has no bearing on our
salvation, so who cares what we eat. Unfortunately, this is not the case and
again we can read how badly this is being taken out of context simply by
reading what was written a few verses before. By simply taking the time to go
through and read the entire context of a verse, we avoid cherry picking things
and can ultimately discover what was actually being said. This is a huge
advantage for us in our quest to become closer to the Father.
1 Corinthians 8: 4
Therefore concerning
the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the
world, and that there is no other God but one.
Quite clearly the issue being discussed in this chapter is
the eating of meat that has been sacrificed to an idol. There is nothing here
that indicates unclean animals are now clean to eat.
Finally, I would like to get to 1 Timothy chapter 4. There that
people use to validate eating their bacon, but as of yet, I haven’t found any
that definitively support the eating of unclean animals. Let’s just jump right
into the passage.
1 Timothy 4: 1-5
Now the Spirit
expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving
heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in
hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to
marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received
with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature
of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with
thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Verse 1 – people will depart from the FAITH (meaning they
had to once be part of the faith)
Verse 1 – these people will draw near to deceiving spirits
and DOCTRINES of demons
Verse 2 – These people will be liars, hypocrites, their
moral conscience will no longer be aligned with Gods morals
Verse 3 - The will forbid marriage,
Verse 3 - command people to abstain from foods which God
called good in the Torah
Verse 4 – All creatures of God are good to eat and should
not be refused
Verse 5 – according to Torah, there are certain animals that
have been sanctified (set apart) by the word of God and prayer.
We must take verse 4 and 5 together, especially considering
that they are one sentence. Also, the word sanctified literally means to be set
apart and not common. If every creature is sanctified then they would all be
the same, also known as common, and therefore would not be sanctified at all.
They would all be the same. Verse 4 is specifically talking about the creatures
that have been established as food and clean to eat according to the word of
God, aka Torah.
“giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” –
If we are to say that this passage is later stating that all animals are now
clean to eat, and use it in defense against those preaching that there are
still unclean animals, than that can only mean that Leviticus 11, and 20 is
considered a doctrine of demons.
Leviticus 11: 41-43
‘And every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten.
Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many
feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth—these you shall not eat,
for they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any
creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them,
lest you be defiled by them.
Leviticus 20: 25
You shall therefore
distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean,
and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any
kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you
as unclean
I do not believe that these passages are no longer in place.
That makes no sense in terms of at least two other very important scriptures
that are seemingly looked over.
2 Timothy 3: 16-17
All Scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work
Acts 17: 11
These were more
fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all
readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things
were so.
If all scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, and
correction, then how can we say these passages from Leviticus.
Doctrine: a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a
church, political party, or other group.
Reproof: an expression of blame or disapproval
Correction: the action or process of correcting something
The Bereans were constantly checking everything Paul said
and ensuring that it aligned with Scripture. There is no way they would have
allowed him to get away with preaching anything that did not match up. They
would have called him out on it. After going through these passages, I hope at
minimum you will at least consider reevaluating the dietary law that our
Heavenly Father commanded us to follow.
