Leviticus 11:2-47 MKJV Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, These are the animals which you shall eat among all the animals that are in the earth. 3 Whatever divides the hoof, and is cloven-footed, chewing the cud, among the animals, that you shall eat. 4 Only, you shall not eat these of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: the camel, for he chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you. 5 And the rock badger, because he chews the cud, but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you. 6 And the hare, because he chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; he is unclean to you. 7 And the swine, though he divides the hoof and is cloven-footed, yet he does not chew the cud; he is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall not touch their dead body. They are unclean to you. 9 These you shall eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them you shall eat. 10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing that is in the waters, they shall be an abomination to you. 11 They shall even be an abomination to you. You shall not eat of their flesh, but you shall have their carcasses in abomination. 12 Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters shall be an abomination to you. 13 And you shall have these in abomination among the fowls. They shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the black vulture, and the bearded vulture, 14 and the kite, and the falcon, according to its kind; 15 every raven according to its kind; 16 and the ostrich, and the great owl, and the gull, and small hawks, according to its kind, 17 and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the eared owl; 18 and the barn owl, and the pelican, and the owl-vulture; 19 and the stork, the heron according to its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 Every flying swarming creature going on all four, it is an abomination to you. 21 Yet you may eat these of any flying swarming thing that goes on all four, those which have legs above their feet, to leap with on the earth. 22 You may eat these of them: the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the long horned locust after its kind, and the short horned grasshopper after its kind. 23 But every other flying swarming thing which has four feet shall be an abomination to you. 24 And you shall be unclean for these. Whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the evening. 25 And whoever carries the carcass of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; 26 even every living thing which divides the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor chews the cud, they are unclean to you. Everyone that touches them shall be unclean. 27 And whatever goes on its paws, among all the living things that go on all four, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the evening. 28 And he that carries their dead bodies shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you. 29 These also shall be unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind; 30 and the gecko, and the monitor, and the lizard, and the sand lizard, and chameleon. 31 These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32 And whatever shall fall on any of them when they are dead, shall be unclean, whether any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack; whatever vessel in which work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean to the evening. So it shall be cleaned. 33 And every earthen vessel in which any of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean. And you shall break it. 34 Of all food which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean. And all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And every thing on which any part of their dead body falls shall be unclean; whether it is the oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down. They are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36 But a fountain or pit, with a collection of water, shall be clean. But that which touches their dead body shall be unclean. 37 And if any of their dead body falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. 38 But if any water is put on the seed, and any part of the dead body falls on it, it shall be unclean to you. 39 And if any animal among those you may eat dies, he that touches its dead body shall be unclean until the evening. 40 And he that eats of its dead body shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. He also that carries its body shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 41 And every swarming thing that swarms on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten. 42 Anything going on its belly, and any going on all four, and all having many feet, even every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them. For they are an abomination. 43 You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that swarms, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, so that you should be defiled by them. 44 For I am Jehovah your God, and you shall sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any kind of swarming thing that swarms on the earth. 45 For I am Jehovah who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 This is the law of the animals, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that swarms on the earth, 47 to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the creature that may be eaten and the creature that may not be eaten.
Leviticus 5:2-3 MKJV Or if a soul touches any unclean thing, whether a dead body of an unclean beast, or a dead body of unclean cattle, or the dead body of unclean swarming things, and if it is hidden from him that he is unclean and guilty— 3 or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever uncleanness by which he is unclean, and it is hidden from him, and he knows, then he shall be guilty.
“unclean” – tame – H2931
BDB Definition:
1) unclean, impure
1a) ethically and religiously
1b) ritually
1c) of places
Part of Speech: adjective
“hidden” – alam – H5956
BDB Definition:
1) to conceal, hide, be hidden, be concealed, be secret
1a) (Qal) secret (participle)
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be concealed
1b2) concealed, dissembler (participle)
1c) (Hiphil) to conceal, hide
1d) (Hithpael) to hide oneself
Part of Speech: verb
“A man’s touching any thing that was ceremonially unclean. Though his touching the unclean thing only made him ceremonially defiled, yet neglecting to wash himself according to the law, was either carelessness or contempt, and contracted moral guilt. As soon as God, by his Spirit, convinces our consciences of any sin or duty, we must follow the conviction, as not ashamed to own our former mistake.” – Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
“All such persons were to wash their clothes and themselves in clean water, and were considered as unclean till the evening, Leviticus 11:24-31. But if this had been , they were obliged to bring a trespass-offering.” – Adam Clark
“If he did it unawares, yet that would not excuse him, because he should have been more circumspect to avoid all unclean things. Hereby God designed to awaken men to watchfulness against, and repentance for, their unknown, or unobserved sins.” – Joseph Benson
Clean
Split hooves and chews cud such as cows, sheep, goats, deer
River or sea if they have fins and scales
Can eat insects with jointed legs so they can jump such as Locusts, Crickets, Grasshoppers
Kosher birds such as chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons, doves
Unclean
Chew cud but don’t have split hooves such as camels, rock badgers, rabbits, horses
Split hooves but don’t chew the cud such as pigs
Anything that walks on paws such as squirrels, dogs, cats
Anything that is normally clean but it dies (not slaughtered)
Lives in river or sea but doesn’t have fins and scales
Eagles
Vultures and Buzzards, Carrion Vultures
Kites
Falcons
Black birds
Ostriches
Nighthawks
Sea Gulls
Hawks
Owls
Cormorants
Great Owls
Water Hens
Pelicans, Storks, Herons
Hoopoes
Bats
No insect that has wings and crawls
Moles
Mice
Lizards, Geckos, Crocodiles, Sand Reptiles, Chameleons
Any reptiles that crawl on their bellies or walk on 4 feet including worms
“After the flood, when God entered into covenant with Noah and his sons, he allowed them to eat flesh (Genesis 9:13), whereas before they were confined to the productions of the earth (Genesis 1:29-30). But the liberty allowed to the sons of Noah is here limited to the sons of Israel. They might eat flesh, but not all kinds of flesh; some they must look upon as unclean and forbidden to them, others as clean and allowed them.” – Matthew Henry’s Commentary
“The learned observe further, That most of the creatures which by this law were to be abominated as unclean were such as were had in high veneration among the heathen, not so much for food as for divination and sacrifice to their gods; and therefore those are here mentioned as unclean, and an abomination, which yet they would not be in any temptation to eat, that they might keep up a religious loathing of that for which the Gentiles had a superstitious value. The swine, with the later Gentiles, was sacred to Venus, the owl to Minerva, the eagle to Jupiter, the dog to Hecate, etc., and all these are here made unclean.” – Matthew Henry’s Commentary
“Some suggest that the prohibition of these beasts as unclean was intended to be a caution to the people against the bad qualities of these creatures. We must not be filthy nor wallow in the mire as swine, nor be timorous and faint-hearted as hares, nor dwell in the earth as rabbits; let not man that is in honour make himself like these beasts that perish.” – Matthew Henry’s Commentary
“How noteworthy the fact that the glorious Jehovah should extend his oversight of Israel to such minute dietic and sanitary regulations. But the minute is not less within God’s thought than the majestic; the ‘hairs of your head’ are guarded (Matthew 10:30) with a providence which equally controls dynasties and kings (Matthew 10:18). There is nothing unimportant with Him ‘whose we are’ He careth for you with a care which gathers all into consideration—each single step, ‘lest we dash our foot against a stone’; each moment of life, lest ‘sudden destruction’ come upon us; each item which makes for health, for happiness, for holiness; for God thinks of us in every particular. The special purposes effected by these dietic regulations for the Hebrew people were:—1. Sanitary: to effect health and cleanliness in the individual and the family. And beyond question the classification of meats is founded upon the wholesomeness of the creatures as man’s food, while the stringent laws respecting the ‘dead’ were of emphatic importance in an Oriental country and climate. It is Bacon’s testimony that ‘cleanliness of body was ever esteemed to proceed from a due reverence of God’; and Thomson affirms that ‘health is the vital principle of bliss.’ 2. Political: to enforce a distinction between the Hebrew and surrounding nations, restricting them, by minute prohibitions in diet, from mingling with other people in the usages and indulgences of social life; enforcing on them a constant necessity of avoiding all close familiarity with ‘strangers.’ This distinction, in habits at the table, and in all festivities, rendered them ‘a peculiar people,’ and restrained them from a perilous intermingling with idolatrous neighbours; thus conserving the Theocracy, and marking out Israel as a nation selected and governed by Jehovah. 3. Religious: The distinction of meats rested on a moral, a religious, a theological basis. The creatures here classified were images of virtues and vices, suggestive to the Oriental mind of moral and sacred truths; were a pictorial delineation, therefore, of theological instructions. Certainly those creatures pronounced ‘clean’ have been acknowledged most wholesome as man’s meat in all after times; and this enforced limitation on Israel that only ‘clean’ food should pass their lips carried the important lesson to every man, woman, and child, that ‘God had called them not to uncleanness but unto holiness’ (1 Thessalonians 4:7).” – Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary
In the days when God gave these laws about clean/unclean food, mankind did not have very much medical and scientific knowledge. They didn’t know about germs and bacteria, food poisoning, putrefaction, internal parasites, etc. They didn’t know how to treat the effects of food poisoning, colitis, pancreatitis, worms, etc. They didn’t have the technology to keep things cold, to preserve meat, to transport food in a safe manner so that it’s fresh to the consumer. There were dietary reasons for not eating unclean things. It was what was best for those people at that time in history. BUT, it went beyond just hygiene and health, because it was a command of God and therefore good whether we understand it or not. Back then they didn’t understand it but they were still required to obey God’s commands. Do you trust God enough to obey His commands even if you don’t understand why He commands it? If God gives a command, we are under authority to obey His commands no matter if it makes sense to us. God has His reasons. His wisdom and knowledge goes far beyond ours, therefore we should listen and obey. We also should know whatever God commands, our obedience is in our own best interest. God loves us and would not arbitrarily command us to do something harmful to us physically, spiritually, emotionally. Disobedience to His commands does harm us physically, spiritually, emotionally. We may not understand, and we may balk against being told what to do, but obedience will only result in our ultimate good.
Example: We’ve all watched movies where a character sees a monster, or a disaster, coming. He/she runs back to someone they care about (child, spouse, girl/boyfriend, best buddy, etc) and shouts, “RUN!” And the most frustrating thing happens. The one being told to “Run for your life!” stops what they are doing and begins asking questions. They don’t understand that a disaster (or monster) is coming. They can’t see it. They are in denial. They want to know everything and they want to know it NOW or they aren’t going anywhere. Sometimes they will belligerently plant their feet and force the one who is trying to warn them to stop and answer their 50 questions or they aren’t going anywhere. They have not only put their own life in danger but have put the life of the very one, who is trying to warn them, in danger. Sometimes, in the movie, by the time they get an answer, figure it out and process it in their minds… it’s too late! The disaster, or monster, has caught up with them. They are doomed! Meanwhile, if they had listened the first time and RUN, they might have saved their lives.
Is this not like each and every one of us? We can’t take God’s commands and just immediately obey. We want to stop Him and demand He give us a full explanation and back it up with evidence and make sure we are fully apprised of the situation. As if we are in a position to demand that, or even understand what He tells us if He did give us all the answers. We are in no position to question God. We must trust He loves us and He has far more wisdom and knowledge than we do. He knows things we can’t possibly know… like the future. He knows variables we can’t know. He is working on a level we can never understand with our finite minds. So it behooves us to listen and obey as He commands. It is in our own best interests.
So God found it good to make these commands and the people were to obey, whether they understood the reasons for clean versus unclean foods or not. If God had answered their questions by saying, “There are germs, bacteria and parasites that can live in these unclean things and it can kill you”… then the people would have said, “We don’t see these things. We don’t believe you.” They didn’t have microscopes and couldn’t see “bacteria” with their naked eye so they wouldn’t have believed God because it was beyond their human experience at that time in history. “What’s a germ? What’s bacteria? What’s an internal parasite?” They had no way of knowing.
The same can be said about us. God has perfectly good reasons, and it’s to our own benefit, for what He commands us to do. If He tried to answer our 50 questions as to “Why?”, we probably wouldn’t be able to understand it either because it may be beyond our human experience at this time in history. Or it may be beyond our finite minds to understand… “mind blown”.
The only thing we can grasp is… if God commands it, we should obey it. It saves us a lot of heartache, pain, suffering; complications that we could well do without. And obedience brings it’s own blessing. For us to obey, means we trust God and trust, faith, obedience are what pleases God because it means we have a relationship of love with Him and we trust Him enough to listen and obey. It’s a win/win situation! Our obedience saves us a lot of trouble and pain AND brings blessing.
Example: Let’s do a simplification that might help us understand (again, this would be on a human level and God is far above that). Let’s say God tells me to wear my red shirt today. I really feel like He’s telling me to wear it although I have no idea why. But I put on my red shirt. Later in the day, someone, who is particularly attracted to their favorite color of red, sees me and it helps them in some way. Maybe I’m doing something that blesses them. Maybe I’m doing something that teaches them. Maybe they see me doing something that encourages them to emulate. Maybe they are in an accident and the woman with the red shirt helps them and they always remember the woman in the red shirt. Who knows?!? All I did was obediently put on the red shirt and trust that God knew what He was doing. I may never know, on this side of Heaven, why He told me to wear my red shirt, but He had His reasons and I obeyed. He will bless me for obeying. Our love relationship grows closer every time I trust and obey.
That’s highly simplified but maybe helps us understand what we are dealing with. Is it not frustrating when your child refuses to listen to you and refuses to obey you. You could be shouting, “GET OUT OF THE ROAD!” to save their life but they refuse to obey and could get hit by a car. They balk at being told what to do. Something in the human psyche hates the thought of someone else controlling them and telling them what to do, even if it’s in their own best interests! They will rebel to their own detriment. They will stubbornly stay in the middle of the road until they decide they want to walk into the yard. We use the term, “Shooting your own self in the foot”, to describe someone who has control but chooses a self harming action. The control I have is to obey or not obey. Disobedience is to choose to self harm. It means you have rejected God and chosen to do what you want to do so that you feel in control. But you have actually made a choice that is self harming with consequences you aren’t going to enjoy.
“Most of the meats forbidden as unclean are such as were really unwholesome, and not fit to be eaten; and those of them that we think wholesome enough, and use accordingly, as the rabbit, the hare, and the swine, perhaps in those countries, and to their bodies, might be hurtful. And then God in this law did by them but as a wise and loving father does by his children, whom he restrains from eating that which he knows will make them sick. Note, The Lord is for the body, and it is not only folly, but sin against God, to prejudice our health for the pleasing of our appetite.” – Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Should we obey these dietary laws today? As a Christian, am I disobeying God when I eat bacon?
Matthew 15:3-20 MKJV But He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and mother”; and, “He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him die by death.” 5 But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever you would gain from me, It is a gift to God; 6 and in no way he honors his father or his mother. And you voided the commandment of God by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 “This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 But in vain they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” 10 And He called the crowd and said to them, Hear and understand. 11 Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? 13 But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. 15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, Explain this parable to us. 16 And Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the waste-bowl? 18 But the things which come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; 20 these are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.
Mark 7:14-23 MKJV And calling near all the crowd, He said to them, Listen to Me, every one of you, and understand. 15 There is nothing from outside a man which entering into him can defile him. But the things which come out of him, those are the ones that defile the man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when He had entered into the house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 And He said to them, Are you also without understanding? Do you not perceive that whatever enters into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the waste-bowl, purifying all food? 20 And He said, That which comes out of the man is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things pass out from inside and defile the man.
Acts 10:10-48 MKJV And (Peter) became very hungry and desired to eat. But while they made ready, an ecstasy fell on him. 11 And he saw the heaven opened and a certain vessel like a sheet coming down to him, being bound at the four corners and let down to the earth; 12 in which were all the four-footed animals of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the reptiles, and the birds of the heaven. 13 And a voice came to him, saying, Rise, Peter! Kill and eat! 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spoke to him again the second time, What God has made clean, you do not call common. 16 This happened three times, and the vessel was received up again into the heaven. 17 And while Peter doubted within himself what the vision which he had seen might be, even behold, the men who were sent from Cornelius had asked for Simon’s house and stood on the porch. 18 And they called and asked if Simon whose last name is Peter was staying there. 19 And while Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Therefore arise and go down and go with them without doubting, for I have sent them. 21 And going down to the men, those sent to him from Cornelius, Peter said, Behold, I am the one you are seeking. For what reason have you come? 22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man and one who fears God, and one of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear words from you. 23 Then he called them in and lodged them. And on the next day Peter went away with them, and certain brothers from Joppa went with him. 24 And the next day they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. 25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped. 26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up! I also am a man myself. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 And he said to them, You know that it is an unlawful thing for a man, a Jew to keep company with or to come near to one of another nation. But God has shown me not to call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without complaint, being sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me. 30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. And at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing. 31 And he said, Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your merciful deeds have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and call here Simon whose last name is Peter, he is staying in the house of Simon, a tanner by the seaside; who, when he comes, shall speak to you. 33 Therefore I immediately sent to you, and you have done well to come. Now therefore we are all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded you by God. 34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Truly I see that God is no respecter of persons; 35 but in every nation he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him. 36 You know the Word which God sent to the sons of Israel, preaching the gospel of peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all!); 37 that word which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed; 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him and hanged Him on a tree; 40 but God raised Him up the third day and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses hand-picked before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the Prophets give witness to Him, that through His name whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins. 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those hearing the Word. 45 And those of the circumcision, who believed (as many as came with Peter), were astonished because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the nations also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 47 Can anyone forbid water that these, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we, should not be baptized? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they begged him to stay certain days.
Peter tended to try and put God in a box of his own making. He had a bad habit of telling Jesus “no” (Matthew 16:22, John 13:8). Imagine Jesus, Himself, telling Peter something and Peter “corrects” the Lord as though he knows better than Jesus! LOL! But don’t we do it all the time!?!? We think we know better. Sometimes I think churches and church leadership treat God this way. They try to put God in a box and only let Him out at their own discretion. What they don’t realize is God left the building and there is nothing but air in that box of their own making. When we plan every little song, word, schedule, program, order of service, etc. we are the ones in control. We only bring out the box for a moment, unlock it, lift the lid for a brief glimpse and slam it shut and lock it back because we want to control God. But when we do that, we are only showing the congregation an empty box because God will not be put in a box and used for man’s glory. The church and the service is His or it’s not. Beware of telling God what to do or not do!
Peter was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit but he was still Peter and God had to work with the Peter that Peter was just like He will work with the Sharon that Sharon is. How gracious is our God! He knows us intimately and works with us on our level of understanding. If we have a heart for Him, He will work on us, with us, through us, for us to lead us to Him, His Word, His Truth, His Way!
Romans 14:1-23 ERV Be willing to accept those who still have doubts about what believers can do. And don’t argue with them about their different ideas. 2 Some people believe they can eat any kind of food, but those who have doubts eat only vegetables. 3 Those who know they can eat any kind of food must not feel that they are better than those who eat only vegetables. And those who eat only vegetables must not decide that those who eat all foods are wrong. God has accepted them. 4 You cannot judge the servants of someone else. Their own master decides if they are doing right or wrong. And the Lord’s servants will be right, because the Lord is able to make them right. 5 Some people might believe that one day is more important than another. And others might believe that every day is the same. Everyone should be sure about their beliefs in their own mind. 6 Those who think one day is more important than other days are doing that for the Lord. And those who eat all kinds of food are doing that for the Lord. Yes, they give thanks to God for that food. And those who refuse to eat some foods do that for the Lord. They also give thanks to God. 7 We don’t live or die just for ourselves. 8 If we live, we are living for the Lord. And if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord. 9 That is why Christ died and rose from death to live again—so that he could be Lord over those who have died and those who are living. 10 So why do you judge your brother or sister in Christ? Or why do you think that you are better than they are? We will all stand before God, and he will judge us all. 11 Yes, the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘Everyone will bow before me; everyone will say that I am God.'” 12 So each of us will have to explain to God about the things we do. 13 So we should stop judging each other. Let’s decide not to do anything that will cause a problem for a brother or sister or hurt their faith. 14 I know that there is no food that is wrong to eat. The Lord Jesus is the one who convinced me of that. But if someone believes that something is wrong, then it is wrong for that person. 15 If you hurt the faith of your brother or sister because of something you eat, you are not really following the way of love. Don’t destroy anyone’s faith by eating something they think is wrong. Christ died for them. 16 Don’t allow what is good for you to become something they say is evil. 17 In God’s kingdom, what we eat and drink is not important. Here is what is important: a right way of life, peace, and joy—all from the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ by living this way is pleasing God, and they will be accepted by others. 19 So let’s try as hard as we can to do what will bring peace. Let’s do whatever will help each other grow stronger in faith. 20 Don’t let the eating of food destroy the work of God. All food is right to eat, but it is wrong for anyone to eat something that hurts the faith of another person. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that hurts the faith of your brother or sister. 22 You should keep your beliefs about these things a secret between yourself and God. It is a blessing to be able to do what you think is right without feeling guilty. 23 But anyone who eats something without being sure it is right is doing wrong. That is because they did not believe it was right. And if you do anything that you believe is not right, it is sin.
1 Timothy 4:3-5 ERV They say that it is wrong to marry. And they say that there are some foods that people must not eat. But God made these foods, and those who believe and who understand the truth can eat them with thanks. 4 Everything that God made is good. Nothing he made should be refused if it is accepted with thanks to him. 5 Everything he created is made holy by what he has said and by prayer.
Hebrews 9:9-10 ERV This is an example for us today. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices the priests offer to God are not able to make the consciences of the worshipers completely clear. 10 These gifts and sacrifices are only about food and drink and special washings. They are only rules about the body. God gave them for his people to follow until the time of his new way.
Hebrews 13:9 ERV Don’t let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Depend only on God’s grace for spiritual strength, not on rules about foods. Obeying those rules doesn’t help anyone.
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