Doctrinal Disunity Impacts Evangelism (1)

Disunity within Christendom has had far-reaching negative effects.  Dr. Joel R. Beeke wrote in The Church’s Unity, “Disunity affects the whole church, including the work of evangelism”.

The success of evangelism, here in the USA and worldwide, has been hindered by a perceived disunity existent in Christendom.  Also, disunity inhibits fellowship among already believing Christians.

The factors which cause disunity in the church are many.  Doctrinal controversy is a significant factor.  The apostle Paul exhorted Titus in Ti.2:1, “Speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine”.

From Does Our Focus On Sound Doctrine Detract From Biblical Evangelism? “Doctrinal purity is extremely important. Biblical love never minimizes the importance of God’s truth…from Genesis to Revelation. A healthy focus upon truth and sound doctrine is essential for God’s honoring evangelism.”

This topic deals with unity in doctrine, and table fellowship which contributes to unity.  There’s the old adage, ‘Those who eat together stay together’, and ‘The family that eats together stays together’.

Jesus said there is one “way” (Jn.14:6).  Jesus is the way.  Some of His earliest followers were known as “the Way” (ref Ac.9:2, 24:14).  Yet in the 50s AD, Paul asked the rhetorical question in 1Co.1:11-13, “Each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Peter,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ Has Christ been divided?”  Disunity and division was happening even then in Corinth.

There are presently more than 2.2 billion people in the worldwide Christian family.  But they are divided into more than 40,000 denominations, sects, or groups!  Why is that?

Answers.com How Many Christian Denominations Are There? “Different people have different beliefs in Christianity. Unfortunately, those differences lead to divisions. God requires unity. Jesus’ last prayer was for His disciples to remain united (John 17). The Lord never intended for His church to be divided into competing groups teaching different doctrines. The Lord is not the Lord of confusion. Much of Christianity has been polluted by other false pagan religions, which has led to differing beliefs and unscriptural practices which has caused them to break apart.”  Unscriptural practices cause division!

But what if all Christian beliefs and practices were based on scripture…with no pagan or contradictory unscriptural dogma based on traditions that cause disunity, dividing brothers & sisters in the faith!?

Most Christian churches make the claim that their beliefs, teachings and practices are based on the Holy Bible.  The late Dr. Myles Munroe wrote in 2008, “The Bible is the Constitution of the Kingdom of God”.  Pastor Benny Hinn says, “The Holy Spirit authored the Bible”.  That’s the written scriptures.

The inspired word of God is the true standard for our faith!  We learn the word/Bible over the years by various means…reading, study, sermons, etc.  We learn of our salvation, available via Jesus’ sacrifice!

1Ti.4:13 Paul told Timothy to do public reading of Old Testament (OT) scriptures in the church.  Barnes Notes 1Ti.4:13 “The then written portions of the sacred volume, the Old Testament, are doubtless specially intended here.”  The written word of God is the basis, the foundation, of true knowledge…unlike the traditions of men.

In addressing various Bible topics on this site, some verses I’ve quoted or referenced are verses which, unfortunately, are ignored by much of mainstream Christianity.

Wikipedia: Mainstream “Mainstream Christianity’ is a term used to collectively refer to the common views of major denominations of Christianity (such as Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Protestantism) as opposed to the particular tenets of other Christian denominations. The context is dependent on the particular issues addressed, but usually contrasts an orthodox majority view against a heterodox minority view.”

Heterodox minority groups may be disregarded as lacking overall credibility.  But, the orthodox majority may emphasize its traditions; also the orthodox churches themselves disagree among themselves.

There are principles found in scripture, valid for all humankind (Christians too)…that mainstream omits.  Sadly, these points of scripture limit or divide fellowship between various Christian sects/groups.

Missiologist Dr. Ed Stetzer Tribalism Outside the Church. And In “Of the many negative impacts that spring from church disunity, perhaps most troubling is the damage it does to our gospel witness.”

Gavin Reid OBE Doctrine Matters “Doctrine in evangelism is not so much what converts, but what establishes the new believer. Evangelism and doctrine are inseparable.”

In this two-part topic, I’ll focus on four significant points of doctrine that impact Christian unity and (table) fellowship, but which much of mainstream ignores.  Yet these points are scriptural, and can help us improve our rapport with other peoples we hope to evangelize.  They’ll also benefit our own lives.

There is a cause for every effect in our life!  These doctrinal points teach us how to better live blessed and healthy lives!  They are practices found in scripture…for Christ’s people OT Israel, and even for gentiles prior to when Christ spoke His Decalogue to Israel on Mt. Sinai (Ex.20)!

#1) CLEAN/UNCLEAN creatures:  If I were to list only one important practice that mainstream ignores, I might well choose this one!  The neglect of this principle hinders unity and table fellowship among Christian brethren; and it limits the success of our evangelistic efforts in Middle East nations.

The pre-incarnate Christ was the Creator and executive God of the OT (Jn.1:1-3, 14).  He was the God of ancient Israel…according to Peter, John, Paul.  see the topic “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”.

Christ wasn’t like a harsh heathen god who may subject his people to bondage.  Christ freed Israel from Egyptian bondage.  Then He gave commands and principles to Moses/Israel for their benefit.  Christ wasn’t overly restrictive or selfish, and didn’t Lord it over them to flaunt His authority.  He loved them.

As Creator, Christ knows which creatures are compatible with the human digestive system, and which aren’t.  And which creatures will typically carry parasites or can even be carcinogenic.  Christ instructed ancient Israel in His guidelines of clean and unclean…out of love!  Moses told them in De.7:6-15, “You are a holy people; the Lord your God has chosen you. The Lord loved you.”  Christ the Lord gave Israel His dietary laws for their well-being…to bless, not burden, them!  see “Unclean versus Clean Food”.

But even centuries before Christ conveyed His dietary standards to ancient Israel, the gentile Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean animals.  Ge.7:1-2 “The Lord said to Noah, ‘Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, male and female; and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, male and female.”  Had they eaten of an unclean pair, that genus could have there ceased!

Noah wasn’t Jewish.  There was no Jews or Old Covenant (OC) in Noah’s day; his right understanding predated the OC!  Clean vs unclean creatures (ref Le.11 & De.14:1-21 for detail) were known by that gentile prior to Christ’s OC law for Israelites/Jews!  Perhaps such knowledge had been passed down from Christ’s instructions in Eden, or from Adam & Eve’s experience, or righteous Enoch had taught it, or by revelation from God to Noah.  (also see “Added in the Old Covenant”.)

The Lord spelled out in Le.11:2-ff, “These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth”.  Benson Commentary Le.11:2 “For the preservation of their health.”

Unclean creatures carry micro-organisms which cause disease.  Eating them harms all races of mankind.  Not just Jews.  (Whereas properly fed clean animals don’t normally carry those disease-causing organisms.)  Feeding or serving unclean flesh to our neighbor…isn’t loving our neighbor!

Humanity (Christians too) consumes numerous unclean scavengers, created by God to clean up earth’s refuse and thereby limit disease.  Wikipedia: Scavenger “Scavengers play a fundamental role in the environment through the removal of decaying organisms, serving as a natural sanitation service.”

Reducing the populations of these ‘creature janitors’ can increase global disease due to excess decaying matter extant.  Eating scavengers is self-indulgence, perhaps done under the guise of dietary freedom.  But removing scavengers from their created purpose of sanitation/clean-up…isn’t loving our neighbor.

The makeup of animals, such as unclean swine (a scavenger), didn’t change at the cross!  Scientists say the AIDS virus was transmitted to humans by slaughtering and eating monkeys.  Monkeys are unclean.  How tragic!  The scourge of AIDS has nearly wiped out entire peoples!  It’s a result of disobeying or ignoring Christ’s food laws!  False teaching or lack of teaching has led to this great calamity.

The internet is full of medical articles which explain the dangers of eating pathogenic unclean creatures.  Literate affluent societies can easily learn their dangerous effects, and stop eating the unclean.

This table fellowship issue of clean vs unclean divides church groups.  More than that…Christian evangelism to Jews and Muslims is impeded by Christians eating prohibited creatures.  It can offend those Abrahamic peoples!  Yet the scriptures about this are on their side.  It is a shame for Christ’s church that these other two religions are showing more love for their neighbor (Le.19:18b) in this regard!

Count Zinzendorf (1700-1760), leader of the Moravian church (Czechoslovakia/America) in 1738 wrote of himself. “I have during my lifetime not eaten the foods which were formerly forbidden them….that I have done without design, in simplicity of heart.” (Budingsche Sammlung, 1742, sec.8, p.224.)

#2) BLOOD abstention:  Abstaining from blood is a health issue, related to clean vs unclean.  Two of the four restrictions of Acts 15 for the New Testament (NT) church…are dietary.  God wants us to be in good health (3Jn.1:2), and He gave us guidelines in scripture which contribute to good health.

Ac.15:28-29 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things dying of itself [strangled], and from sexual immorality.”  However, this directive wasn’t something new in the book of Acts.

Christ previously had decreed these same four restrictions in the OT!  Abstention from blood and from eating things dying of itself or strangled are dietary laws involving clean animals only…for Israelites and aliens.  Le.17:13-16 “When any man from Israel or aliens among them catches a beast or bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood.”  Unclean creatures may not be eaten (Le.11).  The carcass of an unbled or unslaughtered clean animal is defiled as food and was forbidden, for aliens too.  Neither will gentile Muslims eat it.  It is very risky health-wise.  Pulpit Commentary Le.11:2 “There is something loathsome in the idea of eating such flesh.”  (see the topic “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.)

God forbad the consumption of blood.  He commanded the non-Jew Noah in Ge.9:4, “You shall not eat flesh with its life, its blood”.  This principle applies to everyone…gentiles, Israelites, aliens.

Christ said in Le.17:10-12, “If any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens among them, eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off”.  That’s serious!  v.11 “The life of the flesh is in the blood.”  Blood is the principle carrier of life…and of disease.

Sickness and even death can result from consuming blood…and also from contacting blood.

Ge.31:33-35 shows that incidental contact with blood was avoided.  If bleeding is detected on a player during today’s NBA games, e.g., the officials immediately stop play, and he must have it attended to.

Le.18 identifies acts of sexual immorality/porneia.  (Sexual immorality is prohibited also in Ac.15:29.)  Le.18:19 “Do not have sexual intercourse with a woman during her monthly period.”  also ref Le.20:18; Ezk.18:5-6, 22:10.  Having sexual relations with a menstruating woman can put her at risk for vaginal infection, cervical cancer, and possible tubal pregnancy.  Doing so isn’t loving our neighbor/wife!

Dr. (Ms) De Souza Dangers of Sex During Menstruation “Irritation and an introduction to infection are major risks. Any wound or bleeding is a gateway to infection. The cervix is slightly opened during menstruation to let out blood. This heightens the risk of infection, not being limited only to the vagina, but additionally to the uterus. ‘Engaging in sex during menses is associated with the development of STDs such as chlamýdia, gonorrhéa and HIV infection, which in turn are associated with cervical cancer’ (Ben-Noun, 2003:101).”  Ac.15:29 commands the church to abstain from blood.

Cycle Harmony: Potential Side Effects of Having Sex During Period “It can cause blood stasis and lead to amenorrhéa (no period or scanty period), dysmenorrhéa (painful period), menorrhágia (heavy and prolonged period), or irregular periods.”  Dr. Elaine Loh Sex During Menstruation “Studies have shown that immunity is decreased during menstruation. Momentary pleasure versus risky health – you be the judge.”  Christ had warned in the OT that menstrual sex must be avoided.

To this day, religious Jews avoid menstrual sex.  Judaism 101: Kosher Sex “According to the Torah, a man is forbidden from having sexual intercourse with a niddáh, that is, a menstruating woman. The law of niddah is the only law of ritual purity that continues to be observed today; all the other laws applied to when the Temple was in existence, but aren’t applicable today.”  That one is relevant today.

Woman’s anatomy and her monthly cycle didn’t change at the cross or when the Temple fell in 70 AD!  Menstrual intercourse is still risky.  Abstention from sex during her period is mostly for her sake.

Neither do (most) Muslims engage in menstrual intercourse.  Quranic Path “The only prohibition in the Quran during menstruation is sexual intercourse.”  Yahoo Answers: Why is Sex While the Wife is Menstruating Not Allowed in Islam? “To protect women from infection and disease.”

I’m not Jewish or Muslim.  But this issue regarding blood has had a negative effect on evangelizing Jews and Muslims, two Abrahamic peoples.  Yet scripture about this too is on their side.  Also, menstrual sex causes conflict in the American home between some Christian husbands and their wives.

Christian neglect to practice doctrinal points #1) and #2) limits the credibility of our evangelism in the eyes of Jews and Muslims.  Yet the war-torn Middle East so desperately needs the Spirit of the Prince of Peace!  Benson Commentary Le.11:2 “When men cannot eat together, they have little inclination to enter into any close intercourse with one another.”  If we could all eat together in like-minded table fellowship…the opportunity and believability of our gospel witness would be enhanced!

Jesus’ principles and His morality is “The same yesterday, today and forever” (He.13:8).  No man could compel Him to reiterate His many beneficial principles over & over again, or in the NT too.  Christ said, “It is written”.  He didn’t err in commanding these two good-sense principles.  Love was His motive.

This topic is continued and concluded in “Doctrinal Disunity Impacts Evangelism (2)”.

Sacrifices To Idols and Romans 14

This is about sacrifices to idols, and the apostle Paul’s related conscientious guidelines.  The pertinent chapters are 1Corinthians 8, 1Corinthians 10, Romans 14.  This issue has to do with respecting the consciences of others, so others aren’t mistakenly influenced to return to sin.

The society and religious beliefs of Nero’s Roman Empire (54-68 AD), a ‘beastly’ regime, were quite different from ours.  Times were much worse in the 1^st century world than in 21^st century America!

As background, let’s first reference scriptures about idolatrous practices which were extant in the ancient world.  Ex.20:1-6 Christ had commanded ancient Israel to not have any other gods besides Him, nor were they to make or worship physical representations of God.  But those Israelites disobeyed, and engaged in rites to the heathen gods of other peoples & nations.

Despite Christ’s commands, Israel ate and bowed down to the god Báal (Nu.25:1-3).  David wrote of idolaters in Ps.16:4. “The sorrows of those who run after another god will be multiplied; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor take their names on my lips.”  Drink offerings to pagan gods were often blood mixed with wine.  Ezk.33:25 “Thus says the Lord, ‘You eat with the blood, and lift your eyes to your idols.”  Israelites were eating ‘strangled’ meat with the blood, dedicated to idols.  The heathen ate the blood of sacrifices, or sat beside that blood in a vessel, to communicate with evil spirits (Benson Commentary).  The heart of their sacrificial animals was often extracted.  Ho.4:12-14 Israelites were sacrificing to idols at altars with temple prostitutes.

Ac.14:11-15 “The priest of Zeus, whose temple was outside the city, brought oxen to the gates to offer sacrifice.”  In 1^st century Lýstra of S. Galatia, the priest of Zeus wanted to honor Barnábas & Paul with animal sacrifice, as if they were gods!  Oxen are clean animals.  But not all pagan animal sacrifices were clean…in the 160s BC Antíochus Epíphanes offered swine’s flesh and polluted the Jerusalem temple.

From the Acts 15 Jerusalem council, four prohibitions were sent out in a decree to the church at large.  (see the topic “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.)  Ac.15:28-29 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols (Strongs g1494 eidolóthuton, Greek), from blood, from things strangled (dying of itself), and from sexual immorality.”  These four things were customarily practiced in the Roman Empire and impacted the early church, especially gentile believers.

Gentiles worshiped idols by drinking the blood of strangled animals and having sex with heathen temple prostitutes.  Many gentile idol-worshipers were now coming to Christ.  This was a big issue!

It was said…anciently the worship of pagan deities could be engaged in on almost ‘every street corner’!  1Th.1:9 Paul wrote, Christians at Thessaloníca had “turned from idols to serve the true God”.  1Co.12:2 when Christians at Corinth were pagans, they were “led astray to dumb idols”.  Ac.15:29 prohibited Christians from sacrificing to idols at pagan temples.  Yet years later some in the churches at Pérgamos (Re.2:14) & Thyátira (Re.2:20) still “eat things sacrificed to idols and commit immorality”…violating two Ac.15 prohibitions.  The worship of pagan gods & goddesses was a way of life in the ancient world.  A multitude of animals were often sacrificed; a ‘hécatomb’ was the Greek term for offering 100 oxen.

Here’s a hypothetical question…would the Holy Spirit have approved or disapproved of Christians eating roast beef sandwiches at the Aphrodíte Diner and wine shop (adjacent to her temple)?

Paul explained where/when questionable food should and shouldn’t be considered defiled by idols, idolatry.  He wrote 1 Corinthians around 55 AD.  Ancient Corinth, located 50 miles SW of Athens, had many idol temples; e.g. to Aphrodite, Poseidon, Apollo, Ísis, Deméter.

In verses of 1Corinthians 8, Paul addressed eating things sacrificed to idols.  Pagan idols represented pagan gods.  1Co.8:1 “Concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  v.6-7 “We know there’s no God but only the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But not all believers know this. Some people are so accustomed to idolatry, that when they eat food offered to an idol, their weak conscience is defiled.”  Some believers ate it thinking that since the idol represents a (lesser) god, the sacrificial meat is holy.  Or, since the meat was offered to a heathen god, it thereby became polluted, unfit to eat anywhere.  Two extremes.  Paul continues in v.8, “We’re no worse if we don’t eat it, and no better if we do”.  Although fasting, dieting, or of course eating have benefit, these actions won’t affect our salvation standing with God.

1Co.8:9-12 “But be careful that your choice doesn’t become a hindrance to the weak. For if someone sees you dining in an idol’s temple [eidolíon g1493], won’t his conscience be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? And through your knowledge the weak for whom Christ died is ruined. Thus by wounding their conscience you sin against Christ.”  Don’t you cause others weak in the faith to violate their conscience.  Your bad example of eating in an idol temple area might cause a weak Christian to think it’s okay to worship the pagan god, and thereby defile his conscience.  Paul sarcastically refers to this as your “knowledge” (or your abuse of it), which he indicated can make one arrogant (from v.1).  Jesus said in Mt.25:40, “Whatever you did to the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me”.

Paul concludes this passage with 1Co.8:13. “Therefore if food causes my brother to offend, I would never eat flesh again.”  Paul considers eating food/flesh comparatively unimportant, if it would cause a weak brother to return to idolatry.  Of note, whether such meat is clean or unclean isn’t addressed.

Orthodox Bible Note 1Co.8:4-13 “Throughout the Roman Empire, animals were sacrificed to gods at feasts and public occasions. Part of each offering was used in a ceremonial meal or went to the donor; the remainder was often sold in public meat markets. A dilemma…should Christians eat meat that had been offered before idols? Jews had prohibitions.”  Pagan temples also served as restaurants and butcher shops.

In 1Corinthians 10, Paul returned to this issue.  v.14 “Beloved, flee from idolatry.”  v.19-21 is an idol itself a god? “No. The things which the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.”  Don’t do both the Lord’s Supper and an idolatrous ceremony.

1Co.10:25 “Eat whatever is sold in the shambles without letting your conscience trouble you.”  Of course, “whatever is sold” in the public markets doesn’t mean rancid meat or meat having harmful parasites!  Community, Conflict, and the Eucharist in Roman Corinth “The quality of the meat was questionable.”  Paul was saying that the buyer shouldn’t worry his conscience about the source of the food/leftovers, possibly unknown.

1Co.10:27 “If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, eat what is served without asking questions of conscience.”  It was okay to eat meat at a dinner or banquet in someone’s home (but not in pagan temple eateries) if a place at the table isn’t set for a god; no need to ask the host about the source of the food.  v.28-29 “But if anyone says to you, ‘This was sacrificed to idols’, don’t eat it, for the sake of him that disclosed it and for the conscience of another.”  If anyone makes an issue about the source of the food, then don’t eat it out of respect for the conscientious scruples of the person who informed/‘warned’ you or a fellow-guest.

1Co.10:31-32 Paul concludes the passage with, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to Jews, Greeks, or to the church of God.”  So in 1Co.10, Paul elaborated on this matter of things sacrificed to idols, which he began in 1Co.8.

Eating leftovers from previous sacrifices to idols would also offend Jews & Jewish Christians.  Mishneh Avodat Kochavim 7:15 doesn’t allow eating leftover flesh, wine, or fruits from an idol temple.  Jews had an overly restrictive interpretation from Ex.34:15, originally regarding heathens in the Land. “They prostitute themselves after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods and invite you to eat of it.”  This verse related to ancient Israel worshiping pagan gods with Canaanites in pagan idol-feasts.  Ahavat Israel “This prohibition [for Jews] applies to anything served to an idol in a sacrificial manner.”

Close to two years after his 1Corinthians epistle, Paul wrote to the Romans around 57 AD.  Here Paul addressed the same issue.  Ancient Rome had approximately 400 idol temples…e.g. to Diana, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Juno, the Pantheon to the gods.  (also see the topic “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers”.)  The sacrifice for Jupiter (Zeus) was a castrated white ox, for Juno it was a white heifer.

Generally meat in ancient Rome could be expensive and was rarely eaten.  Only very cold weather would allow it to stay fresh.  Roman scholar R.W. Davies said the soldiers were reluctant to eat meat, fearing they’d get sick from it.  Cereals and legumes made up the bulk of most diets.

Misapplying or misinterpreting Romans 14 has resulted in hard feelings and even a measure of division in the church.  Let’s now go through Ro.14, keeping in mind the verses of 1Co.8 and 1Co.10.

Ro.14:1-2 “Accept him whose faith is weak, without becoming divided over his scruples. One believes he may eat all things; another who is weak eats vegetables only.”  No leftover flesh.  By “all things”, Paul doesn’t mean harmful or fatal things!  David Stern Jewish New Testament Commentary “Paul isn’t proposing that the Jewish dietary laws have been abrogated.”  Paul had referred to the weak in 1Co.8:9.  The weak in Rome are thought to be Jewish Christians (the minority) who’d returned after their 49 AD exile by Claudius (ruled 41-54 AD), Ac.18:2.  Strict kosher slaughter places in Rome were now fewer.

Jews and some God-fearers wouldn’t eat leftovers from idol temples.  Barnes Notes Ro.14:2 “Another who is weak – there is reference here, doubtless, to the Jewish convert; whether it was lawful to eat the meat which was offered in sacrifice to idols. In those sacrifices a part only of the animal was offered, and the remainder was eaten by the worshipers, or offered for sale in the market like other meat.”  Life Application Bible Ro.14:2 “After a sacrifice was presented to a god in a pagan temple, only part of it was burned. The remainder was often sent to the market to be sold. Thus a Christian might easily, even unknowingly, buy such meat in the marketplace or eat it at the home of a friend.”  Amy Jill Levine Judaism and Jewishness “Many Jews refused to partake of meat distributed at civic festivals, what the Jews called ‘meat sacrificed to idols.”  It was safer for Jews (and Jewish Christians) in Rome to just renounce all meat sold at markets.  That’s what Ro.14 is dealing with.

Ro.14:3-6 “Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains condemn the one who eats, for God has accepted him. One man regards one day above another, someone else regards them all alike. He who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; he who eats not does so to the Lord and gives God thanks.” (cf. 1Co.10:31)  Some abstain from food due to scruples of conscience.  The self-righteous Pharisees appointed Mondays & Thursdays as fast days to abstain from food.  The Pharisee declared in Lk.18:12, “I fast twice in the week”.  They chided Jesus in Mk.2:18-20. “The disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples don’t fast.’ Jesus replied, ‘They will fast in those days.”  There were Christians (Jews & gentiles) who chose to eat nothing at all on some (fast) days…we shouldn’t judge Christians for being selective about what food groups (meat, fruit, veggies, etc.) they’ll eat “to the Lord”, Ro.14:6, on (non-fast) days.

Ro.14:13 “Let us not judge each other, nor put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way.” (cf. 1Co.8:13)  Don’t offend or cause another (Jewish) Christian to doubt, backslide, or lose his faith.

Ro.14:14 “I am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiled/common [koinós g2839] of itself; but to him who thinks anything to be defiled/common [koinos g2839], to him it is defiled/common [koinos g2839].”  Paul is saying it’s a matter of conscience.  Barnes Notes “Greek ‘common.”  Vincent Word Studies “Lit. common. Compare Mk.7:2 ‘With defiled [koinos g2839], unwashed hands.”

In Ro.14:14, many Bibles mistranslate koinos as “unclean”.  But the Greek LXX and New Testament term for unclean is akáthartos g169, not koinos g2839.  (In the LXX, koinos never meant unclean!)  This distinction is evident in Ac.10:14 where Peter used both terms in the same verse. “I have never eaten anything defiled/common [koinos g2839] or unclean/impure [akathartos g169].”  The two Greek terms had different meanings!

Meat of a healthy clean animal is naturally undefiled.  But it became defiled or made common and unfit for holy use if the animal was lame, blind, or defective (e.g. De.15:21 & 17:1), or if eaten in idolatrous rites (Ex.34:15).  Pharisees racially considered clean meat defiled if it’s touched by gentile hands.

Ro.14:15 “For if because of food your brother is hurt, you aren’t walking according to love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.”  Don’t grieve or trouble his conscience.  This is similar to 1Co.8:11-13.  Ro.14:20 “Don’t tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things are indeed pure, but they are evil for the man who eats and causes stumbling.”  Everything God said is pure, is pure, and to those with a pure conscience.  Paul wrote in Ti.1:15, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure, both their mind and conscience are corrupted”.

Ro.14:21 “It’s better not to eat meat or drink wine or anything by which your brother stumbles.”  (Paul said in Ro.9:31-32 that those stumbling were Jews.)  Don’t eat meat from the butcher shop or drink wine which might have been used in pagan libations, if eating would offend a brother or sister present.  Da.1:8, 16 in Babylon, the prophet Daniel had refused royal food and wine which was corrupted.  He lived on mostly vegetables and water.

Ro.14:22 “Blessed is he who doesn’t condemn himself in what he allows.”  Stay free from a doubting conscience.  v.23 “But whoever has doubts, yet still eats, is condemned, because his eating isn’t from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.”  Don’t eat it, if we can’t eat it with a clear conscience.  Have an assured belief that what we do is right.  This is a general maxim of the Christian faith.  Matthew Poole Commentary “By faith here is meant knowledge or full persuasion, not a wavering mind.”  It’s dangerous to ignore one’s conscience, and possibly fall back into old ways of sin.

Ro.15:1 “We who are strong ought to bear with the weaknesses of the weak, and not just please ourselves.”  Paul began this passage about dealing with “the weak” in Ro.14:1 (also it’s in 1Co.8:11).  Don’t let one’s choice of action offend or hinder the weak, regarding the source of food sold in markets.  We’d want others to bear with us in matters where we may be weak!  Ro.15:2 “Let each of us please his neighbor for what is good to build him up.” (as 1Co.10:24 “Let no one be forever seeking his own good, but that of others.”)  Accommodate ourselves to others (for good, not for evil).  Speak and act so as to build-up our brothers/sisters in the faith, whether they be strong or weak.

In reading through 1Co.8, 1Co.10, Ro.14, similarities are noted.  The center column cross-refs in many Bibles tie several Ro.14 verses to 1Co.8, and 1Co.10 too.  Paul’s overall subject is the same.  In Rome there were 400 pagan temples…it’s possible much of the meat sold in the marketplace had come from a temple sacrifice somewhere!  So for a weak Christian or Jewish Christian to avoid thinking of an idol when eating meat, a form of ‘second-hand’ idolatry to him…he’d just quit eating meat altogether!

Ro.14 doesn’t address the eating of clean or unclean creatures, about which Christ commanded in Le.11.  (see “Unclean versus Clean Food”.)

Nazarite vows were anciently taken (Nu.6), and occasional fasting is a good Biblical principle (e.g. Mk.2:20).  But the Ro.14 avoidance of possible leftovers isn’t asceticism.  Abstaining from okay wine-drinking, ref Jg.9:13 (in moderation), could be due to asceticism with some people.  In the Ro.14:6 “he who eats not does so to the Lord”, its doubtful Paul was referring to Pythágorean vegetarians among the gentile majority…since the abstaining in the church at Rome was “to the Lord” (cf. 1Ti.4:1-3 “doctrines of demons”).  JFB Commentary Ro.14:2 “Restricting himself probably to a vegetable diet for fear of eating what might have been offered to idols.”

The main issue in Ro.14, 1Co.8, 1Co.10 was…whether or not Christians should eat meat (and drink wine) thought to have been previously sacrificed to idols.

Conclusion: It would’ve been unacceptable to eat a sandwich at the Aphrodite Diner (1Co.8:10).  1Co.6:9 idolaters won’t inherit the Kingdom of God.  But it’s okay to eat at home or church or at a friend’s home…food purchased in the marketplace/shambles.  Such meat or leftovers might have come from Diana’s Deli adjacent to her temple, or from Aphrodite’s Diner.  The source is unknown.  That is, it’s okay to eat the food/leftovers at home…if doing so didn’t bother someone’s conscience.  But, Paul says that if there’s a conscience problem (because a gentile Christian had worshiped idols before conversion, or a Jewish Christian was overly concerned about a possible idol temple source of leftovers prior to their sale in the shambles)…don’t eat it.  That’s the gist of Paul’s guidelines.

Idolatry is still practiced in today’s world.  This principle of not inadvertently hurting a Christian’s conscience or resolve is applicable to other matters besides idolatry…e.g. certain holidays so-called (such as Halloween), avoiding wine in the presence of a recovering alcoholic, etc.

The Holy Spirit with the written word of God will educate and guide our consciences rightly.  And while we ourselves are engaged in this education process as part of our sanctification, we should be considerate of others’ consciences.  So we won’t cause unnecessary offense which might result in a brother or sister backsliding into a past sinful practice or losing faith in God.

Unclean versus Clean Food (2)

Foundational scriptures for this topic were addressed in “Unclean versus Clean Food (1)”.  This Part 2 is the sequel to the material covered in Part 1.  The verses noted in Part 1 are essential to Part 2.

In Part 1, we looked at the scriptural concept of “unclean” in general.  We saw Christ’s basic guidelines in Le.11/De.14:2-20 about edible and inedible creatures (especially unclean swine).  We read in Ge.7:2 where the gentile Noah differentiated between clean and unclean creatures…prior to the Old Covenant!  Without recapping Part 1, here we’ll examine other passages, mostly from the New Testament (NT).

In NT times, Pharisees were overly concerned about self-righteous ritual washings.  The rabbis wrongly assumed hands could defile, even when no Tanakh ritual uncleanness applied.  Pharisees taught that hands must be washed before eating to avoid conveying some ‘uncleanness’ to the food they touched, supposedly resulting in unclean food.  (Also some thought evil spirits were washed away at the fingertips.)

Mt.15:1-2 “Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem asking, ‘Why do Your disciples violate the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat bread [ártos Strongs g740, Greek].”  The issue of cleanliness here specifically pertained to unwashed hands when eating bread, not to eating the flesh of unclean creatures!  The controversy had to do with oral law tradition, not with the Lord’s written Old Testament commands.  Jesus’ disciples and those Jewish Pharisees weren’t eating unclean flesh at meals!  Had Jesus done so, He would’ve sinned…and then we’d have no Savior!

The Pharisees self-righteously misapplied Ex.30:19-21. “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet when they burn an offering by fire to the Lord.”  Ritual washing of the priests was required before they sacrificed, and then ate the holy meal of various (peace) offerings.  But that handwashing applied to priests.  (Foot-washing of guests was customary in the culture, cf. Jn.13:5.)  But there was no command in scripture/Tanakh requiring a layman to wash his hands before a common meal.  The Mt.15 passage reflects the Pharisees wrongly valuing their oral law above the written word of God.  So Jesus replied to them in Mt.15:3. “Why do you invalidate the word of God by your tradition?”

Jesus continued in Mt.15:10-20, “Everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated”.  But parasites, viruses, bacteria (e.g. salmonella) transmitted from unclean meat aren’t simply eliminated (see Part 1)!  Rather, Jesus is addressing eating bread with unwashed hands, not eating unclean animals.  v.15 “Peter said to Him, ‘Explain the parable to us.”  Note that it’s Peter who asks.  Jesus’ bottom line conclusion in v.20, “To eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man”.

Mk.7:1-23 is a parallel account.  The Mk.7:19b phrase in some Bibles, “Jesus declared all foods clean”, isn’t in the earliest manuscripts or the KJV.  It’s a later addition.  Nonetheless, if it’s ‘food’, in scripture it’s innately clean (though it could become defiled or contaminated).  Contrary to the Pharisees, Jesus told them that laymen’s common bread remained clean and wasn’t defiled ceremonially when touched by unwashed hands.  (ref David H. Stern Jewish New Testament Commentary, p.93.)  In Luke’s shorter account (Lk.11:37-41), the Pharisee who asked Jesus to dine with him is surprised that Jesus didn’t wash before eating.

Unclean meat wasn’t mentioned in the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke.

Le.20:22-26 clean versus unclean creatures also had typified a distinction Christ made between His holy nation Israel (and aliens among them, v.2)…from heathen nations with their abominable practices.  Da.7:1–6 gentile empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece were symbolized by unclean wild animals.  But since all humans, Israelites and gentiles, are unclean to eat…it’s an analogy only, and will end.  This analogy doesn’t restrict Jews from associating with most gentiles.  (Ge.8:20 early post-Flood, when there was no Israel or clear separation of peoples, God required only clean creatures be sacrificed by the gentile Noah…also later by gentiles in Jb.42:8.  Those earlier gentiles weren’t unclean by analogy.)

Ac.10:9-17 Peter’s vision regarding gentiles occurred 5+ years after the Mt.15/Mk.7 unwashed hands incident.  When Peter saw in vision the mix of sheep, cows, snakes, spiders, bats, pigs, mice, cats, dogs, etc., most were unclean to him.  (Nigel Barber 2011 Psychology Today “In China, India, and other countries, dogs are commonly eaten.”)  Ac.10:13-15 “A voice came to him, ‘Arise, Peter, kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘No, Lord. I have never eaten anything defiled or unclean.’ The voice came to him again, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.”  Peter, knowing Christ’s commandments of Le.11, even said “No” to the heavenly voice!  Jesus hadn’t said unclean creatures were now fit to eat.  Rather, those envisioned unclean creatures symbolized the gentile world comprised of various peoples.

Jesus had told Peter and the disciples in Jn.14:26, “The Holy Spirit will remind you of all things I said to you”.  We recall that it was Peter specifically to whom Jesus gave the clarification in Mt.15:15-20; Jesus said eating with unwashed hands doesn’t defile a man.  In Mt.15/Mk.7 Jesus didn’t make any change to His food laws for the Holy Spirit to later remind Peter of in Ac.10!  Ac.10:14, 11:8 are NT verses later saying Peter still didn’t eat anything unclean (akáthartos g169).  Christ’s principles are consistent!  1Co.3:16-17 we’re not to destroy the ‘temple of God’ by eating toxic creatures He forbad.

By Ac.10:28, Peter understood the meaning of his vision. “God has shown me that I shouldn’t call any man defiled or unclean.”  Contrary to Pharisee oral law, Christian gentiles weren’t to be shunned and racially treated as unclean compared to Jews.  Unclean donkeys & horses belonging to Jews were touched/ridden and cared for (but not eaten)!  Humanity is all of one blood, Ac.17:26 KJV.  No peoples are unclean due to race.  (Though all humans are omnivores…Noah & gentiles, Jews too…unclean to eat!)  Ac.15:7-9 & 1Jn.1:9 believing gentiles too are cleansed from unrighteousness.  The Le.20:22-26 distinction of men especially isn’t applicable to those cleansed by Christ’s blood and given the Spirit.

Christ had given Peter the keys to the Kingdom (Mt.16:17-19).  Peter wrote to scattered Christians (1Pe.4:16) 25 years after his Acts 10 vision (which debunked the Pharisee oral law that Jews mustn’t associate with gentiles, Ac.10:28).  In 1Pe.1:15-17, Peter quoted God saying “Be you holy, for I Am holy”.  Here Peter referenced the Le.11 passage about clean & unclean creatures (his quote is repeated in Le.20:25-26).  Le.11:43-47 “Be you holy, for I Am holy. This is the law regarding all creatures, to make a distinction between the clean and the unclean, between the edible and the inedible.”  That was God’s word on clean/unclean which related to sanctification or set apart or holy.  Even as an old man, Peter still tied holiness to Christ’s commands of Le.11!  Peter knew Jesus hadn’t flip-flopped on this.

2Ti.3:15-16 Paul said Timothy had known the sacred scriptures from childhood, i.e. the Old Testament (OT).  Paul said they’re inspired.  1Ti.4:1-5 Paul also said there’s “Men who advocate abstaining from foods which God created to be shared by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good and nothing to be rejected, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer”.  What is that truth?  Ps.119:160 “Thy word is true from the beginning.”  Jesus said in Jn.17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; Thy word is truth”.

Where in God’s written word (known by Timothy) do we read the truth about sanctified meats?  Even unclean creatures were created for a good purpose (Ge.1:21, 25).  But they’re not sanctified as food fit for humans, according to the truth of God’s word!  ref Le.11 & De.14:2-20 (see Part 1).  Paul went on to tell Timothy in 1Ti.4:13 to even read the OT to the church!  In the Bible, no unclean creature is identified or sanctified as ‘food’.  (Though we needn’t be vegetarians.)

Jesus stated in His parable of the fishing dragnet that was cast into the sea, Mt.13:47-50. “They gather the good into vessels, but the bad they throw away.”  Van d Brink Commentary “The bad, unacceptable fishes are all unclean fishes (Le.11:9-12), i.e. all fishes without scales and fins, and all inedible water creatures.”  Pulpit Commentary “This would include the legally unclean.”  Jesus made the distinction.

We still see unclean in the book of Revelation, written decades after the cross.  Re.16:13 mentions “three unclean spirits like frogs”.  Frogs and all amphibians are unclean.  In Re.18:2, Babylon the Great is “a hold of every unclean and hateful bird”.  Many birds are unclean.  Unclean creatures are still unfit for human consumption & health.  God loves all people, beyond the 144,000 of Israel (Re.7:4-10).

Ezekiel wrote futuristically in his latter chapters.  In Ezk.44, God spoke of the Prince, and priests.  v.23 “They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and to discern between the unclean and the clean.”  Barnes Notes “The directions in the new order represent the necessity for holiness in all Christians.”  Matthew Henry Commentary “This chapter contains ordinances relative to the true priests.”  Again, Peter quoted Le.11:44, which is dietary, “Be you holy, for I Am holy”.

God says in Is.66:4-5, “They did evil in My sight. Hear the word of the Lord.”  v.15-18 “The Lord will come in fire and render His anger. The Lord will execute judgment on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many. Those who eat swine’s flesh, abominable things, and mice, shall come to an end,’ declares the Lord.”  In Isaiah’s futuristic prophecy, God’s punishment for willfully eating swine & mice pertains to “all flesh”!  Barnes Notes “He will execute His vengeance on all the human race. The small field mouse was regarded as a great delicacy by the Romans.”  Here God gave a stern warning!

In Ro.14, 1Co.8, 1Co.10, Paul dealt with the related issue of food sacrificed to idols…a prohibition of the Acts 15 Jerusalem council.  (for that issue, see “Sacrifices To Idols and Romans 14”.)

Ro.2:9-11 there is now no difference between Jews and Greeks/gentiles.  God is no respecter of persons.  And regarding dietary and the human digestive system…whatever harms the Jew, harms the gentile.  The whole church is to abide by the four prohibitions of Ac.15, some are dietary. (see “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.)  Eating unclean (parasitic) creatures harms all the races of mankind.

Scientists say the AIDS virus was transmitted to humans by slaughtering & eating monkeys.  Monkeys are unclean.  How tragic…this scourge has nearly wiped out entire peoples!  It’s a result of disobeying the guidelines of Christ’s food laws!  False teaching or lack of teaching has led to this great calamity!

There are some who are willing to teach the scriptural truth about this issue.  Joel Osteen, pastor of the largest church in America, is one who teaches that unclean creatures aren’t to be eaten.  Dr. Don Colbert (author of What Would Jesus Eat?) is on Christian TV…he says pork is dangerous & prohibited, and he calls shellfish the ‘cockroaches of the sea’.  Pastor Benny Hinn has commented on Ge.7:2, where the gentile Noah differentiated between clean and unclean creatures.  Benny Hinn said clean creatures are ‘the ones we’re allowed to eat’.  Hinn is a gentile, as was Noah.  Ex.15:26 Christ said He won’t put sickness on those who obey His commandments and statutes.

In the 1300s AD, European Jews were even accused of instigating plague disease epidemics, because they themselves were less affected by those epidemics!  Yair Davídiy Bible Studies and Historical Researches “Contemporary evidence does indicate that proportionately less Jews than Gentiles died from the Black Death.”  Jewish History.org The Black Death “Christians claimed that the Jews died at only half the rate.”  Why weren’t Jews as affected?  Many of those Jews practiced Biblical food laws and sanitation…they didn’t eat or touch unclean rodents which had the yersínia péstis bacteria (and carried infected parasitic fleas/lice; the rat flea is xenopsýlla cheópis.)

George Lamsa was a Syriac Christian who translated the Aramaic Péshitta into English in the 1930s.  Reportedly he claimed that in the Near East neither Jews, nor Moslems, nor Christians, were eating creatures prohibited by Mosaic Law.

Again, eating unclean (parasitic/carcinogenic) creatures harms all races of mankind.  Feeding or serving unclean flesh to our neighbor…isn’t loving our neighbor!

A Christian brother I know visited the nation of Jordan in 1989.  He told me there was no unclean pepperoni pizza in those restaurants.

Christian evangelistic efforts to Jews & Muslims are hindered by Christians eating unclean creatures…it offends those peoples!  cf. 1Co.9:19-23 for Paul’s approach.  (see “Doctrinal Disunity Impacts Evangelism”.)

Before concluding, here’s a few additional passages which relate to eating/health:  Le.3:17 Christ said, “You shall not eat any fat or any blood”.  v.3-4 organ meats, which cleanse the body of impurities, weren’t eaten.  Fat, intestines, kidneys, liver, blood isn’t to be eaten!  Blood carries disease.

Ge.1:29 “God said, ‘I have given you every plant yielding seed on the surface of the earth; it shall be food for you.”  Unlike green plants, funguses aren’t seed-bearing.  They don’t do photosynthesis.  Funguses live on rot!  The most common commercial mushroom is said to be carcinogenic!  Neither do algae (e.g. spirulína) bear seed.  Seaweed isn’t a green plant.  (Carragéenan is a seaweed form of algae.)

After the Flood, Christ said in Ge.9:3, “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you, as I gave the green plant”…a parallel.  An unslaughtered carcass which had strangled/died of itself wasn’t a moving thing.  It’s not to be eaten.  We read some creatures are unclean & unfit to eat, as some green plants are poisonous & unfit to eat…e.g. African violet, philodendron, azalea, carnivorous plants (Venus flytrap), etc.  From Ge.9:3, vegetarians abstaining from meat are accepted (Ro.14:2).  However, most vegetable food lacks vitamin B12.  1Ti.4:1-3 Paul said, a doctrine of demons is to religiously advocate the abstention from (clean) meat.

Ge.1:11-12 at the Creation, “God said, ‘Let the earth sprout plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind”.  Christ ordained reproduction “kind after kind”.  No GMOs! (ref De.22:9.)  All the dangers of GMOs are yet to be determined.  There are those who engage in the business of genetically modifying organisms for the sake of profit.  Ps.59:2 “Deliver me from those who do iniquity.”  We can pray for protection from the effects of gene-splicing.

To conclude…naturopath Dr. Jordan Rubin’s The Maker’s Diet was a New York Times bestseller for a year.  He strongly believes unclean creatures such as swine, shrimp, lobster, shouldn’t be eaten.

Personally, God has shown me for 45 years the health benefits resulting from Divine healing and not eating the unclean!  (see “Healing Our Bodies”.)  God’s health guidelines haven’t been bondage for us…whereas visits to the doctor & waiting rooms and medical costs may seem like bondage to many.

Jesus and Paul said of the OT authority, “It is written!”  God loves us and wants us to enjoy healthy lives.  In Le.11/De.14 Christ gave knowledge of health principles the average person won’t obtain apart from the Bible.  Yet the findings of medical science increasingly provide data which validates the health benefits of God’s teachings.  Jesus Christ was/is Lord!

Unclean versus Clean Food (1)

The ages of my three children together totaled 60 years before any of them visited a doctor for illness or antibiotics (excluding visits to the dentist).  Their mother hasn’t used my health insurance for 35 years – no doctor visits, no prescription drugs, no antibiotics.  When they infrequently were sick, they were prayed for and anointed with oil (Ja.5:14-16).  God heals by faith.  (see the topic, “Healing Our Bodies”.)

Two main factors contributed to their general good health: Divine healing, and refraining from eating any creature identified as unclean by Christ’s guidelines.

Ex.15:26 reveals, “If you will obey the Lord your God, and hearken to His commandments and keep His statutes; I AM the Lord your Healer.”

According to the apostle Paul and others, Christ was the Rock, the Old Testament (OT) God of Israel.  cf. De.32:3-4, 18 with 1Co.10:4. “That Rock was Christ.”  Also in the Greek Septúagint/LXX De.10:17, Moses told Israel their God is “Lord of lords”…and in Re.17:14 the Lamb Jesus is “Lord of lords”.  The same Greek terminology.  In the LXX Is.45:21 their God is the Savior…and in 1Jn.4:14-15 Jesus is the Savior.  The same Greek term.  (also see “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”.)

Christ the Word/Lógos (Jn.1:1-4, 14) created the creatures in Ge.1.  They were all declared “good” (v.20-25).  He created them for their purpose/place in the ecosystem and food chain of life.  But not all of these good creatures are fit for human consumption.  Only clean creatures are, according to scripture.

Clean animals are naturally herbivores.  Herbivores are grazing/plant-eating ruminants (cud-chewers).

Most unclean creatures are scavengers/garbage disposers, carnivores, or omnivores.  Carnivores are meat-eating, and often carry pathogens & dangerous toxins.  Omnivores eat both plants and animals.

Unclean creatures aren’t called ‘food’ in the Bible.  By definition, it must be clean…else it’s not real food in scripture.  (However, food can be rendered unclean when it becomes defiled or contaminated.)

Jesus’ basic injunctions regarding clean & unclean creatures are described twice in the Law He gave to Moses/Israel, in Le.11 and De.14:2-20.  Christ told man His instructions and the characteristics of clean & unclean creatures He’d created.  Jesus as Creator should know…and they’re His food/dietary laws!

What was Christ’s motive in giving ancient Israel the knowledge of His dietary laws?  Most New Testament (NT) readers don’t view Jesus as a harsh or overly restrictive God…not one who would encumber people unnecessarily just to flaunt His authority.  De.7:6-15 Moses told the Israelites, “You are a holy people; the Lord your God has chosen you. The Lord loved you”.  Christ the Lord gave Israel His dietary laws for their well-being, because He loved them!  To bless them, not burden them.

Actually, two of the four restrictions of Acts 15 for the NT church…are dietary.  Ac.15:28-29 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things dying of itself (strangled), and from sexual immorality.”

Christ previously had decreed these four restrictions in the OT too.  Abstention from blood and from eating things dying of itself/strangled are dietary laws involving clean animals only (Le.17:12-15), for Israelites and aliens.  (see “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.)

Unclean is disallowed as food.  The oral law of the Pharisees was burdensome (Ac.15:5, 10).  Christ’s dietary laws are beneficial, not burdensome.

Man’s harvesting of unclean creatures as food removes them from God’s created purpose.  Opposition by man to God’s intent brings a penalty.  Consuming unclean creatures can cause sickness, even cancer.

Scavengers were designed for their role in maintaining the environment.  Reducing the numbers of God’s ‘creature janitors’ limits the amount of carcass clean-up on the planet, and thereby disease can increase.  Harvesting unclean shrimp has destroyed nearly 40% of vital mangrove forests worldwide; reducing the populations of bottom-feeders (to eat them) results in unwanted excess CO2 in our atmosphere; and so on.  The earth and humanity suffers – man reaps what he sows (Ga.6:7).

Also, the overall effect of hunting & killing wild unclean animals for trophies isn’t good.  They too are God’s creatures.  Their survival in nature depends on the intricate balance of ecosystems.  Natural predators maintain this normal balance by killing the sick and weak.  Needless hunting disrupts the balance.

Let’s see what scripture and Jesus reveals about unclean & clean meat.  We can have faith in His word!

To begin, even centuries before God conveyed His dietary guidelines to ancient Israel, the gentile Noah knew the difference between clean & unclean animals.  Noah wasn’t Jewish.  Clean and unclean was known prior to God’s law at Sinai for Israelites/Jews!  Perhaps such knowledge was passed down from Christ’s instructions in Eden, or from Adam & Eve’s experience, or righteous Enoch had taught it.

Ge.7:1-2 “The Lord said to Noah, ‘Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, male and female; and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, male and female.”  Then after the Flood, Noah sacrificed clean animals, Ge.8:20.  God didn’t accept sacrifices of unclean animals or wild animals – only domestic clean animals were suitable for sacrifice.  The pairs of wild clean animals (e.g. deer) were for food.  But if Noah’s family had eaten an unclean male or female, that kind might have become extinct (there was only one pair of each unclean kind).  Important note…righteous Noah was a gentile!

The Lord Christ told Israel the characteristics which identify edible creatures.  Le.11:1-8 “Whatever creature has split hooves and chews the cud you may eat.”  Clean land animals/ruminants have a complex digestive system which removes toxins.  Examples of clean are sheep, goat, cattle, bison, deer, giraffe.  Unclean are swine, rabbit, squirrel, groundhog, bear, dog, cats, mice, bats, monkeys, etc.  Pulpit Commentary Le.11:2 “There is something loathsome in the idea of eating such flesh.”

Le.11:9-12 “Whatever is in the water, all that has fins and scales you may eat.”  No shellfish or skin fish are permitted.  Shellfish can be contaminated with parasites and have viruses which high heat even may not kill.  Shellfish (e.g. raw oysters & clams) can contain pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella.

Le.11:13-19 lists unclean birds.  By process of elimination, it is ascertained that clean birds have a crop for storing food, double-lined gizzard, extra finger/toe; and they eat their food only on the ground, while not holding it.  Birds of prey and scavengers (e.g. vultures) are unclean.  Wading birds don’t have the necessary gizzard with a double lining, and are unclean to eat.  Unclean birds transmit viral diseases, and their enzymes make their flesh incompatible with the human digestive system.

Most insects and creeping things are unclean, Le.11:20-23.

All reptiles and amphibians are unclean (cf. Le.11:29-30, Re.16:13).

All carnivores and most all omnivores are unclean.  Humans are omnivores, unclean to eat. (ref Ezk.4:12-15 dried cow dung was an okay common fuel.)  Cannibalism, eating a human corpse or afterbirth (even when killing isn’t done), is sin.  Humans don’t have split hooves and don’t chew the cud (Le.11:3).

Swine are unclean scavengers.  Christ commanded in Le.11:7-8, “Swine divides the hoof, making a split hoof, but does not chew the cud. You shall not eat their flesh, they are unclean to you”.

The Bible doesn’t indicate that swine were ever created as food, or became food, for humans.  There’s no historical evidence that the anatomy or habits of pigs suddenly changed at the cross!  Swine are still scavengers.

Swine carry tapeworms and trichina worms.  Trichinosis can kill people.  Those who thoroughly cook & eat pork are still ingesting (dead) trichina worms!  Who would knowingly want to eat or serve even dead trichina worms?!  In third world countries, pigs choose to be in garbage.

Squamous cancer in the pig’s skin is common.  Pig fat is even used as a medium for cultivating lab cancer growth.  Since pork fat is found throughout all cuts, it’s difficult to trim off.  Sausage and bacon are high in saturated fat & cholesterol.  For more, see the article, “Why You Should Avoid Pork”, by Christian talk show host Dr. Axe.

{Sidelight: Mine isn’t a scientific essay…but readily accessible on the internet are dozens of more technical medical articles which detail the many health hazards of eating unclean creatures.}

As scavengers, pigs will eat decaying flesh, maggots, feces, slop.  Some cities utilize swine to eat their garbage/sewage (e.g. Philadelphia, Cairo), saving millions of $ in landfill costs.  This is a wiser use of pigs.  But serving someone pathogenic unclean creatures such as swine…isn’t loving our neighbor!

The Hebrew term for swine, chazíyr Strongs h2386, occurs 7 times in the OT.  Pr.11:22 “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.”  The Greek term for swine, chóiros g5519, occurs 14 times in the NT.  Mt.7:6 “Neither cast your pearls before swine.”  In Lk.15:13-17, Jesus said the prodigal son’s status in a distant country was reduced to feeding swine and eating swine husks.  In the Bible, swine represent unclean and degradation, the low state to which a person can fall!

De.14:3, 8 “You shall not eat any abomination…the pig.”  Here Christ says eating swine’s flesh is an abomination!  For comparison, other abominations are: causing a child to pass through the fire, witchcraft, sorcery, casting spells (De.18:9-12)!

At Gádara in the Decápolis was a herd of swine which was being used wrongly to feed the occupying Roman army.  A man there was possessed by a legion of demons, which Jesus cast out.  Mk.5:8-16 “The unclean spirits entered into the swine, and 2,000 of them rushed down the hill and drowned in the sea.”  Of note…here Jesus wasted 2,000 unclean swine, yet saved fragments of clean food in Mk.6:41-44! (ref Jn.6:10-13)

In the NT and OT LXX, the Greek term for unclean is akáthartos, g169.  The term applies to both unclean creatures and spirits, as we saw in Mk.5 (another example is Mt.10:1).  In the NT, unclean (akathartos g169) occurs 30 times, usually referring to unclean spirits.

{{Sidelight: Uncleanness also applies to worshiping foreign gods (2Co.6:16-17), religious prostitution, seeking advice from the occult darkside, ungodly heathen mourning rites.  Also to contact with decomposition (Nu.19:11-ff), house mold (Le.14:37), and impure bodily conditions such as leprosy, bodily discharge, infection, blood, menstruation, copulation (Le.13–15).  Not all uncleanness is wrong or sin.  These other aspects of unclean which are unrelated to eating won’t be discussed here.}}

Perfectly good food (clean) could become defiled if eaten in a heathen temple as a sacrifice to idols. (see “Sacrifices To Idols and Romans 14”.)

Also, the carcass of an unbled or unslaughtered clean animal was defiled as food and was forbidden.  For example, an animal that died a natural death or was killed by another animal (Le.17:15, Ac.15:29).

The admonitions in Le.7:19-20, Le.22:4-6, Hag.2:12-13 referred to holy meals like peace offerings, not common meals.  However, if someone who’d touched a human corpse was to handle/prepare food, that (clean) food could become defiled (Nu.19:16, 22).  Infectious disease, hepatitis, HIV, TB, ebola can be transmitted from a corpse.

Some Bible readers think there are NT scriptures which indicate a distinction no longer exists between unclean and clean creatures (fit to eat).  As if Christ suddenly changed the human digestive system or the composition of His unclean creatures, or His character & principles aren’t really the same yesterday, today and forever (contrary to He.13:8)!

There’s more to this extensive topic.  It’s continued and concluded in “Unclean versus Clean Food (2)”.  There we examine more NT passages such as Mt.15/Mk.7, Ac.10, 1Ti.4:1-5, and other verses.  We’ll see whether or not Christ has a double-standard…one standard for the gentile Noah and then the Israelite people He loved…and a different standard for other gentiles since the cross.