PORK OR UNCLEAN FOOD
Can we eat the food which in the Bible is called "unclean?"
I know a woman who after her family cooked meat she threw out all the pans into the trashcan.
And this is not the only case when people whom God is calling out of darkness, are not willing to accept His light.
I pray for them with grateful heart and thankfulness, may the veil which covers their minds and hearts be taken away in Christ, and may the Holy Spirit lead them into the Truth. In Jesus Name. Amen.
So, now back to the question.
Can Christians eat bacon, pork, ham, or any other food which in the Law is described as unclean?
Yes, Christians can eat whatever they wish for two reasons.
First - we are free in Christ. John 8:36; Romans 8:1.
Second - Jewish dietary Law (and Law in general) was given to the Israelites to set them apart and to be different from other nations; may they go out and tell all other nations about God. As we know they failed, but that is another story.
Clean and Unclean Food
1 You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
2 for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession.
3 Do not eat any detestable things.
7 However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit, or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.
8 The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.”
(Deuteronomy 14:1-8).
"And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you…." (Leviticus 11:7-8; Deuteronomy 14:8).
Also: “…all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales--whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water - you are to regard as unclean….” Leviticus 11:10-20.
Now, keeping all this in mind let's take a look at what Jesus said about this subject.
“Jesus called the crowd to Himself and said,
"Listen to Me, everyone, and understand this: "Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them." Mark 7:15.
“What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them… “ (Matthew 15:11).
“Are you so dull? Jesus asked. Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean).
He went on: What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, those evil thoughts come - sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.
All these evils come from inside and defile a person." (Mark 7:18-23).
See, nothing that comes into a person can defile him. It is our gossip, lying, negative criticism, cynical attitude, jealousy, slander, etc., that is defiling us. Never food, which God has made for us to enjoy, defiles us.
Further. In the NT we can read that God gave Peter a vision (Acts 10:9-16), in which He told that all God's made creation is clean. In this vision God told Peter:
"Do not call anything impure that God has made clean" (Acts 10:15).
All foods are clean – pig, crab, shrimp, and all other foods now are clean.
(anything, all things on this world are clean and if you wish, it can be consecrated, made holy, by the Word of God (Jesus) and Prayer, not by any human’s hands; because who can know what is in that person's heart?).
For it has been said also that
"to the pure (heart), all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted." (Titus 1:15).
So, get rid of filthy conscience and repent - believe in that what God is saying, not man; and begin to enjoy the walk with the God your Father in freedom.
Obey God’s Word rather than man’s, and do not call unclean or forbidden anything you have received from God, instead receive everything with joy and be thankful for everything.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1; John 8:36).
All Law, including dietary law, was given to the Israelites and the whole set of 10 Commandments particularly indicates and clearly shows how sinful humans are and that they by themselves are not able to fulfill or keep even the smallest one commandment of all. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,…” (Romans 3:23).
And now, in the NT, all commandments from the OT are even more intensified.
For example
“….anyone who is angry with a brother or sister; who will call him/ her to be foolish …. Has committed murder….” Matthew 5:22; 1 John 3:15.
For this reason, we must understand that any Bible verse taken out of context can bring unwanted consequences.
Concentrating more on anything except Jesus and His teaching, we often can fall into the devil’s traps and be easily led away from the Truth; led into despair, and thrown back into darkness.
For this reason, renew your mind daily reading His Word and my prayer for you is:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him Better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. May He help you and be with you at all times. In Jesus' name. Amen.
“May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23.
