Should Christians keep God’s law on food? by Rafael Batista

Chapter 3:  Should Christians keep God’s law on food?

by Rafael Batista

One day I was sitting in a church. The preacher was going back and forth getting the congregants excited. Then he preached from the pulpit that God does not care of such an insignificant of a thing as you stuffing a pork chop in your mouth at a family Bar-B-Q. That the notion of this is ridiculous and that Jesus cares for the condition of your heart, and your willingness to serve him only. That all who tell you otherwise are trying to trip you up in your relationship with Christ and trying to put you under the bondage of the law.

Noting the fact that I have expounded on the bondage of the law in earlier chapters, clearly demonstrating that the law that held people in bondage was not God’s law but manmade traditions. God makes things good and does not mess up. He is perfect therefore the laws he makes are perfect. Someone who believes keeping the Sabbath and keeping Kosher are bondage, should really evaluate what he will say to God when one day he appears before the entity who created those things. God does not create bondage he creates freedom. The constitution written by God is the precursor to all human rights documents and protects the well being of his people better than any other form of government. The weekend we now enjoy is one of the remnants left from God’s Sabbath law.

It is important to note that though U.S. law has more laws than almost any other country, it actually defends our freedoms and protects our rights more than any other country. So U.S. law is not bondage. It does not restrict you to driving a speed limit because it wants to remove your freedoms but rather protect the livelihood of the unsuspecting old lady, who has grandchildren in the backseat of her car, and who comes into your lane, having no idea you are going 120 MPH. And so understanding how U.S. law protects our rights and freedoms may help in understanding how God’s law does the same.

Upon study and reflection of the statement in the first paragraph, it is not difficult to identify the conundrum in such a statement as the preacher on that pulpit had made. God does not care about senseless rules (he created) he only cares that you want to serve him (even if you are disobeying). Also that people telling you to obey God, they are the bad ones and they are putting you under bondage (which God created).

Now when you are finished with your reflection at human rationalization of actions, let us continue with the verses used to support such a world-wide Christian accepted doctrine.

Mark 7:18-19

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)

Well there you have it. Jesus declared all foods clean. It’s in the bible. We can eat whatever we want.

What first bothered me about this is why would God make a set of food laws for one group of people and get rid of them for another group of people? Also one must take into account the fact that any prophet in whose words did not come true or whose words contradicted Torah (The first 5 books of the bible) according to Torah is deemed as a False Prophet. Most scriptures are easily resolved by reading them in context. Take this scripture for instance.

Luke 14:26

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

If someone showed you this verse would you then proceed to hate your family? Doesn’t this contradict Love thy neighbor? The truth is in the context. What did Jesus mean when he said you must hate your family? In this chapter of Luke, Jesus was telling the parable of the banquet in which many were making excuses as to why they could not follow Jesus. Claiming they had a field to attend to, a yoke of oxen to check out or they had just married so could not follow Jesus. So Jesus was explaining that your love for him should surpass your love for earthly things and even people. In other words your love for Jesus should be so great that your love for men should seem as hate in comparison. In other words, if you wanted to follow Jesus and your spouse tried to convince you not to, it shouldn’t be an issue in Jesus’ eyes. You shouldn’t be contemplating your decision, wondering which way to go. Your answer should be immediate, shun the spouse’s opposition to you following Christ.

In the same way Mark 7:18-19 is an excerpt all too much used by the church but never in its true context. Let us read it in context and remember to key in on who is speaking, to whom he is speaking, what is being spoken of, and the point to the story.

Mark 7:1-23

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe any other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain;

their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your other,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ ”

After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)

He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ “

So who is doing the speaking? Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew from Galilee. Who is he speaking to? Jews in Israel. What is considered food to them? Everything outlined in Leviticus 11. Leviticus 11 says that all seafood that does not have fins and scales is not food. It also states that predator birds such as the eagles and owls are not foods as well and certain conditions for land animals. Pork for instance was not a food. So when Jesus declares all food clean, he was declaring all of what they considered food ceremonially clean. We nowadays for example do not eat rattlesnake, scorpion, grass, or leaves. We also don’t consider insects as food. These things simply are not food to us. Should we eat these now since Jesus declared all foods clean? Of course not. We will say that grass is obviously not food so that is not what Jesus was talking about. Grass can be eaten as food however, as we can see in Daniel 4:33 when Nebuchadnezzar was cursed by God and ate grass. His sanity was later restored. So grass can be eaten. It’s not very nutritious, but that’s another matter. The point, is that we can easily see that Jesus was not talking about grass. So now we must open our eyes and realize that Pork and shrimp were not considered food to the Jews. They did not even think it right to touch those animals much less eat them.

So when Jesus declared all foods clean, in context of the chapter you just read, you must understand that he was speaking of ritually clean. As you see in the chapter again the problem is people clinging to the Traditions of the Elders. The issue is ritual hand washing and purity of food as according to the Traditions of the Elders. And once again Jesus rebukes them and tells them to stop forsaking the commandments of God for their traditions. So did he then proceed (after just telling everyone to NOT break Gods commandments) instruct everyone to break Gods commandments outlined in Leviticus 11? I think such a thing would be a complete contradiction and would break the very point that Jesus is trying to make. God’s commands are most important, and no one should break them even for tradition or even if you have been so taught.

The next excerpt often used for this wide accepted doctrine would have to come from

Acts 10:9-16

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

This would almost assure everyone that all foods are clean. Unless someone examines this scripture with a scholar’s eye. Peter a disciple of Jesus, whom had declared all foods clean, is refusing to eat the foods. Did Peter not hear Jesus when Jesus had cleaned all foods? Is Peter not the leader of the Christian church, a living example of Jesus? Why would he refuse these foods? Furthermore it is God commanding Peter the leader of the Christian church to eat these foods. Will you not do what God commands? Peter, even after being told 3 times to eat these foods by God Almighty, still refused. I would not have been so bold! I would have eaten upon command from God Almighty. So on what grounds did Peter refuse? It would appear that he was convinced that God would not contradict his Torah (First 5 books of the bible). This vision meant something, but he could not bring himself to eat these foods because in his mind and heart this could not be the meaning of this vision.

So what is the meaning of this vision? Again most answers lay in the context of the story.

Acts 10:17-20

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

If you remember Joseph’s interpretations of dreams everything in a dream meant something. The things in the dream are symbols of real things. In one dream Pharaoh relayed of 7 fat cows and 7 thin cows. In his dream the 7 thin cows ate the 7 fat cows yet remained thin. Joseph told Pharaoh that the 7 fat cows represented 7 years of plenty while the 7 thin cows represented 7 years of famine. Now did this dream mean that one day the famine would be soo bad that 7 cows one day would decide to eat 7 other cows? Certainly not.

In the same way this dream had a number. 3 times did God speak to him about the vision and now notice in verse 19, how many men came to see Peter? Three. Let us continue.

Acts 10:24-29

The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”

First it is important to not that there are about 26 different words for law in Hebrew. So when Peter speaks of it being against the law, he is not referring to Torah (The first five books of the bible). There is no law instructing an Israelite to not associate himself with a non Israelite. As a matter of fact there were laws God had made to protect foreigners and those of foreign birth from abuse of those of native birth. Laws God had created in Torah stating that you should treat the foreigner the same as the Native Born.

Leviticus 19:34

The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

So Peter was not referring to God’s law obviously. He was referring to man-made laws that contradicted God’s law. The Tradition of the Elders. Obviously not being able to associate with a foreigner completely contradicts Leviticus 19:34. So God corrected this injustice by giving Peter a dream. God had said “Do not call unclean what i have cleaned”. Jesus did not die on a cross so that man could eat pork. Pork is bad for you and that would be a wasted sacrifice on Jesus’ part. Jesus died to make all mankind sin free through belief in him. So he made all men who believe in him clean. Therefore he told Peter ‘Do not call unclean what God has called clean’. Peter realized this was the true meaning of the dream because in verse 28 he states “God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean”. How did God show Peter that he should not call any man impure or unclean? The dream he just had that prepared him for the visit from the servant of Cornelius.

So as you can see this had nothing to do with food. Christ did not die on the cross to allow you to eat something that is bad for you. Nor did he die on the cross that he may contradict his own commandments. He died on the cross so that we may be free from the penalty of our sins (some of which deserve stoning) through the blood of the sacrificial system instituted by God, but this time with blood that was good enough to clean all of mankind upon the condition of submission.

Hebrews 9:12-14

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Another objection usually stems from…

Colossians 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

The answer to this objection again lies in its context.

Colossians 2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules have to do with things that are destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.

One such example of such human teachings was a first century heresy that claimed that Adam and Eve only ate vegetables. Although that is in fact true, the surmised further that now being cleansed from our sin through Jesus, we should go back to eating vegetables, the way it was in the beginning. Paul addresses this false teaching in…

Romans 14:2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

In Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus boldly proclaims that not one jot or one tittle will by any means pass away from the law. And since the law is not destined to perish, it cannot be the law that Paul is talking about in this excerpt from Colossians chapter 2. He even specifies what rules and what things he is referring to in verse 21 “Human Commands and Teachings.”

Again Paul’s issue lies with doctrines of men and not doctrines of God.

Should someone pass judgment on you since you, a gentile, do not do these things? Of course not. It is against God’s word to pass judgment on someone and say they are going to hell because they aren’t following this or aren’t doing that. But exposing a friend’s sin out of love is not judgment. Let us be careful what we call judgment.

Matthew 18 15-17 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the congregation.

1 Corinthians 5:12 “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?”

Galatians 6:1 “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person Gently”

The last verse used to support the eating of all foods is found in…

1 Timothy 4 1-4

The spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if received with thanksgiving.

First, be careful when someone tells you that following the Old Testament is a doctrine taught by a demon or a deceiving spirit. The practice of eating according to Leviticus 11 is taught by the very mouth of God. Secondly, many who use this verse conveniently leave out verse 5 or place little emphasis on it.

1 Timothy 4:5

because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer

In other words there are two things that consecrate your food. Yes one is prayer. But the other is the word of God! Keep in mind, the New Testament had not yet been written when Paul wrote this to Timothy. So what word of God was Paul referring to? It would inevitably and irrefutably have to have been the Old Testament. Keeping that in mind, it is important to realize that every time “the word” “the word of God” or “scriptures” is used in the New Testament it is always referring to the Old Testament since the New Testament had not yet been compiled. If we read the New Testament with this realization, things said in the New Testament take on a whole new meaning then how they were originally taught.

2 Timothy 3:16

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

The scripture above would normally be taken as “The training manual for righteousness is all of the bible. 66 books”. But again taking into account what we just realized what this truly is saying is “The training manual for righteousness is all the books in the Old Testament. All 39).

Matthew 22:29

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God”

Mark 7:13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.