This is an area that still bothers me a lot. I eat all kinds of food, even those considered to be "unclean" according to God's laws in the old testament.
If Jesus did not come to abolish the law of the prophets but to fulfil them, then doesn't that mean that the dietary laws of God still apply to His followers, today?
Perhaps our interpretation of the New Testament is wrong and we still need to steer clear from unclean foods? I really need help in this area as I do not want to be judged by God of practicing lawlessness and teaching that to others!
I just have to say out of brotherly love, pray about this, ask for the Spirit of understanding to show you God's loving gift of grace. I myself come from a mixed Jewish-Gentile family, yet we are all partakers of the grace that comes from the Messiah. I hear many people who claim to now be Old Testament/Torah observant believers that are compelled to follow God's ordained laws that were followed by the Children of Israel...I always ask out of love, how can someone follow all 613 commandments without EVER breaking just one???--I know of only one person that has ever been able to follow ALL the laws---it is ONLY Christ Jesus alone!!!
I ask this because the Bible says, "For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws" (Jm.2:10). It amazes me Ken, how these people can advocate following one part of the law, but doing away with other parts, like mixing fabrics on your garments/seeds, or cutting the sides of your hair & rounding your beards (must have a beard to obey this commandment)---this & even more impossible things are part of the law that is not, & CANNOT be followed without breaking it. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in [all things] which are [written in the book] of the law to do them" (Gal.3:10). So basically what I am saying is that people are picking and choosing what laws to follow, my Lord Jesus called that action, which the Pharisees were guilty of, HIPOCRISY!!!
If someone does not eat meat or 'unclean' foods out of being health conscious--that is good for being healthy, but it is NEVER going to make someone any more or less righteous because, "It's true that we can't win God's approval by what we eat. We don't lose anything if we don't eat it, and we don't gain anything if we do" (1 Cr 8:8, Rm 14:17). So many young ones in Christ assume that when our Lord said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Mt 5:17) that we are still obligated to follow the law-including it's prescribed diet, but the Lord in fact fulfilled the law to its designed purpose by His resurrection & by the Father giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Making those things known by His love, such as muder as not an act, but a feeling, as well as divorce, no longer permissible other than by unfaithfulness...the Lord brought us from the unatainable performance of the law, to His perfection of the [law of the Spirit], that includes unimportance of what we eat, "not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man" (Mt 15:11).
We know that we cannot serve two masters, we are either under the law, or under the Spirit given in God's love...."But if you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the (Israelite) law" (Gal.5:18). "For all the (Israelite) law is fulfilled in one word, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Gal.5:14). Therefore, doing all things in love for one another is the greatest testament to showing God's grace in your life...Reading Romans 14, you understand that if you eat meat or unclean foods in front of someone that feels convicted for it, or you yourself feel convicted for it---Do not do it!!!--BUT---do not judge anyone that does or does not eat those foods...There is NO righteousness found in food...BUT never say, are believers free to eat unclean foods because "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." (Gal.5:3,4).
Brother, think of pork & other unclean foods like alcohol, if we are ministering to those who suffer from its bondage or feel convicted from it, how is that abiding in God's love? Likewise, if you are ministering to Muslims, Jews, Hindus, or vegetarians, you probably shouldn't eat anything that offends them out of love as the Apostle Paul suggests. But, pray that the Spirit of truth reveals the Lord's grace. Remember brother, you are not wrong to hold your own personal convictions, but understand that they are your own. In the end, Chrisitanity is a personal relationship with Jesus/Yeshua, others will feel differently, but we are all partakers in God's unfailing love & gift of grace....To God alone be the glory, bless the name of our Lord, Jesus, our Messiah....His perfect peace to you....
My answer to your question: I do not know. But look what I know.
God gave us His laws with purpose. Everything is reasonable.
All Jewish laws are perfect.
Why do Jews have to bear beards? Because idol worshipers living around them, cut it. God made them a special and HOLY nation distinct from heathers. That's why Jews were so remarkable different from other nations.
God said that we should not eat unclean or dirty animals. Why? To be a HOLY nation.
Many things in the Old Testament/Torah were symbolic. So, the pig has come to represent hypocrisy, someone who shows themselves to be righteous, but is not-so-kosher on the inside.
God wants to make us all a HOLY nation. He commanded us by saying: �Be holy as I am HOLY!�
Today we are imputed the righteousness of His Son Jesus. He died on the cross and took the sin of the world. That�s why through FAITH and repentance of our sins when we TURN from them to God, we could be FREE of our sins. It means we are righteous in the eyes of God if we live and WALK with God. It means we implemented the law of God which reads: �Be holy as I am HOLY!�
Can we eat the clean food to get this righteousness? No. Only Jesus gives us His righteousness. If we are cleansed of all our sins and iniquities, can we eat everything? Yes.
This Jewish dietary law is based on a verse in the Book of Exodus, which forbids "boiling a (kid) goat in its mother's milk"
Why does God forbids that we would cook a kid goat (a more general meaning, including calves and lambs) in the mother�s milk? Because it is an abomination for Him who created animals and cared about them during their life time. He does not want that we would commit abominations and do what He hates.
So, it is a holiness law. We are HOLY by the Jesus� righteousness through FAITH in Him. But we should respect the feeling of God when He commanded to respect His animals and His feelings. We should be clean, cleansed and holy and walk in HOLINESS/righteousness/godly life.
This is the purpose of this law. The purpose of the food laws was to make the Israelites distinct from all other nations.
Read it:
Romans 14
The Law of Liberty
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another�s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord�s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
� As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.�
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother�s way.
The Law of Love
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
Leviticus Chapter 11:
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, to say to them:
2. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: These are the creatures that you may eat among all the animals on earth:
3. Any animal that has a cloven hoof that is completely split into double hooves, and which brings up its cud that one you may eat. 4. But these you shall not eat among those that bring up the cud and those that have a cloven hoof: the camel, because it brings up its cud, but does not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you. 5. And the hyrax, because it brings up its cud, but will not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you; 6. And the hare, because it brings up its cud, but does not have a [completely] cloven hoof; it is unclean for you; 7. And the pig, because it has a cloven hoof that is completely split, but will not regurgitate its cud; it is unclean for you.
8. You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
I have a related question for the OP. If the concern is to follow the law, then why is the focus on the dietary laws? How about all the others? Otherwise, if seems as if people can just pick and choose what they find palatable enough to follow. No offense meant to anyone, Jew or Gentile.
Imo, u get into dangerous territory when u assume that perhaps the law is still to be followed, as what becomes of the laws that order that people be killed for committing adultery? A lot of America would be dead if that were followed. And if you believe Jesus changed that, then what else did God change, and perhaps what else of the Law wasn't meant to be God's ideal way of dealing with things?
That said, why don't you research the health benefits or detriments of eating unclean food. To my understanding, pork isn't as healthy for you as beef or chicken is, especially because pigs are designed as animals to be garbage disposals that eat a large variety of things, including dead animals. I've heard that eating bottom dwellers (like crab, lobster, oysters) is also less healthy, and I've heard that lobsters actually get more red in color when increased amounts of toxins/unhealthy for the lobster substances are in the water. And even most Americans practice not eating meat with the blood still in it. Imo, the dietary laws may have been simply common sense laws that God gave to mankind, and not simply symbolic laws that were to reveal some hidden idea or truth. Though I haven't fully gone over the dietary restrictions myself. And while I did read part of the book "The Maker's Diet" and it seems to have the Jewish dietary guidelines in there, and so that book may be helpful, at the same time the author sounded like a used car salesman in it, so if you read it, let his sales pitches go out the window and try to focus on the data/potential facts presented in the book. And don't worry so much about offending God, even worrying is unholy. Remember God's grace and that Jesus not only died for you, he lived the perfect life in your place. So take a deep breath, remember you're God's child, and remember that growing up as a kid takes time, and God's grace helps to cover that. You're not righteous because you do 99 works instead of the 90 works you could have done at a slower pace; you're righteous because Jesus gave his righteousness to you at the cross as a sign of God's mercy. And know that as your seeking God, he is big enough to help you find the truth, though that doesn't mean the devil won't want to try to stop you. I would just say just try to relax and do what you can with God. Imo, the food issue is a minor one compared to the impact a lot of the other sins can have in a person's life.
Thank you all so very much for the replies! Im feeling the love of God from everyone of you! God bless :)
I've done some of my own research and have finally found peace in the law of Christ. I now understand that by fulfilling the law of Christ we fulfill all the requirements of the written law.
Romans 13:8-10 (NIV)
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, �You shall not commit adultery,� �You shall not murder,� �You shall not steal,� �You shall not covet,�[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: �Love your neighbor as yourself.�[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Here's just the conclusion from what I've been reading but if u have time, I encourage u to read the whole thing: http://www.gci.org/law/lawtoday
Conclusion
"Christians are called to live a holy life in obedience to Christ. They are to live by every word of God as it applies to them. The law system applying to Christians now is not the law of the Old Testament, but the law of Christ. It is not a written code that one defines by rules and regulations. It is the application of God�s living law of love that affects every area of our lives.
This does not mean that Christians discard Old Testament law as if it has no relevance to them today. There is much relevance because it expresses the will of God for a particular people during a particular age. The principles underlying many Mosaic laws are valid for Christians today. As D.J. Moo observes:
Jesus never attacks the Law and, indeed, asserts its enduring validity. But it is only as taken up into Jesus� teaching, and thus fulfilled, that the Law retains its validity. The Law comes to those living on this side of the cross only through the filter of its fulfillment in Christ the Lord. (Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels [InterVarsity Press, 1992], 450)
Often the application of the law of Christ coincides with laws and principles in the Old Testament. Sometimes it does not. But whenever there is a conflict between them, the law of Christ prevails because it more fully expresses the will of God." By John Curry
Thanks again to everyone for responding to this thread! May the love of God continue to grow in your hearts, in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.
I am a Messianic Jew and to answer your question it depends on what "religion" has thought you follow. I follow law and can quote many, upon many scripture why we follow Torah even the food laws... Yet make no mistake we are all saved by grace weather we follow Torah or not. Thanks be unto Him salivation is by faith not by works weather the Law of Torah or the "Christian" man-made works�!!!!!!!!!!!!! Personally if a person wants a "true" quality of life they will follow can quote many, upon many scripture why we follow Torah even the food laws...that Torah has not passed away. Yet make no mistake we are all saved by grace weather we follow Torah or not. Thanks be unto Him salivation is by faith not by works weather the Law of Torah or the "Christina" man-made workers�!!!!!!!!!!!!! Personally if a person wants a "true" quality of life they will follow the Bible period.... not man written but G-d written.
