Romans_Clean and Unclean, Part 2

Remember how Peter reacted when it "appeared" in a vision on his rooftop that the Lord wanted him to eat "unclean things" that were lowered down to him in a sheet? That wasn't what the Lord was saying at all, which I believe we already discussed, but until Peter realized what God meant, he was horrified! Let me try to explain to you why he had such a reaction…

How many of us here in America go to the fridge for an afternoon snack and choose….a mouse!

Of course, we don't! No one in their right mind, at least here in America, would eat a mouse! In fact, we don't consider mice as food to eat at all. We consider cows to be food, and sheep to be food, and vegetables to be food. But we have never seriously believed that mice or earthworms are "food" for us, just as we have never considered cannibalism to be an option. We cringe at the thought of eating such things!

For the chosen people of God, the Jews, pigs and shellfish created the same reaction in them, as mice and earthworms do for us! If you invited them to your house and offered them pig to eat, they would think you had lost your mind…or they would know that you were a pagan, because only pagans ate such things.

At the time Jesus and the disciples and, later, Paul, were alive, pork and shellfish and other things were not even considered food by the Jews. They were not considered "meat" to eat. So the judging that was going on was not about what was considered non-food items…it was about "food" items…things considered to be "food"…things considered to be "edible."

Just because somewhere along the way, we Gentiles decided pig was a good thing, doesn't mean that once we became the Lord's we shouldn't have learned to "detest" the same things that God finds "detestable." But we didn't learn to do that. Paul and the disciples WANTED us Gentile converts to learn them; it is obvious from Acts 15:19-21 that the Gentiles did not have to become circumcised, but were to be alerted about some basic practices of the Torah while they continued to learn other practices from the discussions each Sabbath at the synagogue:

"Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." (KJV)

"…for Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." (NIV)

It is extremely clear to me that the Jerusalem council of the disciples of Jesus determined to alert the Gentiles to four laws immediately (perhaps because of their importance to "not being cut off" as the law prescribes), but that the expectation was that the Gentiles would be hearing and learning the law of Moses from the synagogues they were going to be attending…on the SABBATH!

Now let's look at three other scriptures concerning "clean and unclean":

In that section of Romans that was in the last posting, in Romans chapter 14, there is a verse in which Paul says this:

"I am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean." (Romans 14:14)

Kind of sounds as though he is saying there is not "clean" and "unclean" because NOTHING IS "unclean" unless you BELIEVE it to be so, and then, for you, it BECOMES "unclean." But he really isn't saying that at all, because if he were, he would be stating something contrary to God's Word.

What he is saying is that amongst believers there in the church at Rome, there were some who have decided that "meat" (cows, sheep, etc…meats of the "clean" variety) are now suddenly "unclean" or unhealthy for man to eat. Perhaps they decided that what was good for man in the Garden before sin entered in, is still the best for man…so why now eat meat instead? Perhaps those folks then turned "vegetarian" or "vegan" instead, eating only herbs. And Paul says that while that is not necessary, it is not sin either, if they decide to eat only herbs. What is important is that what they believe, they act according to…then it is of faith. If they do not act according to what they believe, then it is not of faith, it is hypocrisy.

Paul is convinced that we are perfectly free to eat anything that is considered to be "food" – that would be the list of "clean" animals. It is only when man tries to over-govern himself, that he restricts himself in ways that are not important to God. But if it is important to that man to be "vegan" instead of a "meat" eater…it's ok for him to do so. It is not sin. And he is not to be judged by other believers for his choices. By the same token, he is not to judge others because they ARE NOT "vegan." It is a two-way street. And those who decide to continue to eat meat are just as OK as the one who decides to go "vegan."

In fact, it becomes sin only when the one who has determined in his mind that either "meat' or "herbs" is sin, decides then to go ahead and EAT the thing he has decided he should not eat. THEN it is SIN! Eating meat, for example, is not a sin to Believer #1, so whether he eats meat or doesn't eat meat, for him it is not sin. But when Believer #2 determines from his study of scripture, let's say, that to eat meat is sin, then to him it IS sin IF he decides to eat it anyway.

Two other scriptures used by Gentile Christians today that makes them believe that they don't have to observe the dietary laws of Moses are these:

"Are you so dull?" He asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods 'clean.')" (Mark 7:18-19 NIV)

[Please read this same verse in the King James version and you will find that the portion that is in parentheses, while included in the NIV, is not in the King James version….meaning it was not in the original Greek text, but was added by the translator. And it is error, because nowhere in this verse did Jesus declare it was now Ok to eat 'unclean' foods. He was simply stating that it is not the body that becomes defiled, but the heart.]

That scripture above in Mark in the NIV will direct you to 1Timothy 4:3-5 :

"They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

Gentiles Christians think, rather superstitiously, that if they will just pray over their food, then God will magically make all "unclean" things "clean" and we will be pleasing God in the process. That is not to say that we are not to pray over our food, and over a thousand different blessing that we receive each and every day, whether food or not food. We are to offer our thanksgiving up to God for each and every blessing, including the food that we have been provided to eat. In fact, Paul is not talking about food alone, but about MANY things here…about the marriage bed and its sacredness; and about food (that which is to be considered edible, of course) and about EVERYTHING that God created. All that He created is good. Even the unclean animals are good works of His hands. There is no disputing that.

But we are not to eat EVERYTHING He created or we would be eating rocks for an afternoon snack. So of course, Paul is NOT saying that we are to eat everything or anything and it is ok if we do it with gratitude. He is not saying that if we choose to eat "unclean" things we will be perceived as being obedient to God if we just pray over them first. He is not saying that at all.

But we are not to say that to eat a cow, a "clean" animal which is considered to be food that God has provided for us, is SIN. No denomination is to say that. I can think of one denomination, Seventh Day Adventists, who don't eat meat at all. There is nothing wrong in that, as long as they don't judge someone in their midst as not being obedient to God if he decides to eat beef or lamb, for example. Certain things, like whether to eat "clean" animals or herbs only, are "freedoms" to us to choose.

Other things, like trusting that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death on the cross atoned once and for all for our sins, are still for us to choose or reject, but the only way there that will count, is God's way, for it is an important tenet of the faith, as is not being sexually immoral, and things of greater importance than other lesser things. We are not to divide over the lesser things, thus we are not to judge one another over the details, while never compromising on the important things.

Regarding food: none of the scriptures mentioned in this posting, when seen in light of the law of Moses being a good thing and a thing to be observed by Christians everywhere, tell us to eat unclean foods.

Besides, you already have a list of things that you consider to be detestable and inedible, just as I do. I think beets should not be considered as food; to me they are detestable. You have a list of things that you consider to be detestable as well, and you will not eat things on your list of detestable things.

The question here is whether or not our lists line up with God's list, for God has a list as well. And our goal is to please God, not man. It is not about salvation, however. That has, and is, being accomplished in us. Rather, it is simply about being obedient out of a heart of gratitude…and about what we are to be obedient to.

In summary, I have tried to show some things that I believe the New Testament is telling us to do that we are not listening to. And in the process, we are neglecting things in the Old Testament that we are STILL to do. But biased doctrines passed down to us through the ages (not from Jesus and Paul and the disciples, but from the Church Father era) have put us off track in some areas.

The bottom line here is that we are not only to study to show ourselves approved, but we are to study with minds open to the Holy Spirit, and not closed because of traditions of men. I am suggesting that we all study with minds not closed by those traditions, unless those traditions are of the early church alone (Jesus, disciples, Paul).

I don't yet have all the answers regarding what we are to observe as obedient Gentile Christians, but I am diligently studying deeply every day to determine what is true and to separate out what is just "traditional error". It is very important to me to do so, as the Lord is very important to me.

And I have not written with the intent to "guilt" anyone into eating or not eating certain foods. I have written these things to challenge Christians to move into discussions, honest discussions, such as they once had in the synagogues. Jews are famous for lively discussions; that is a tradition that was still going on in the synagogues of Jesus' time and that of the disciples and Paul and the early Gentile converts. They were free to challenge each other, and this format allowed the Jewish believers to "challenge" their orthodox neighbors in the synagogue into a deeper study of scripture, knowing that as they dug deeper they would see Jesus in the prophecy of their scripture. There was spiritual growth in their challenges, as there should be still today.

But many churches today are places where we get "talked to" instead of being able to discuss. Home groups lend to discussions sometimes, but not always. In either case, when traditions are challenged, people feel threatened, and honest discussion stops; instead we say things that we know will conform to each other's thinking for the sake of "unity"….only it isn't always "unity" in Christ, sometimes it is "unity" in traditions. But this must not be allowed to continue. Whatever our place is in the body, whether we are pastors or teachers or elders or deacons or members of the body in any form, we are to challenge one another to grow in the Word, but we are not to judge one another regarding traditional error because we have ALL been guilty of following biased traditions in SO many ways, albeit in ignorance! I myself am certain that even as I sweep this one area of my life clean from traditional error, another will soon pop up that I had not seen before. After all we have two centuries of traditions to sort through. And honest discussions amongst us all, as we challenge each other deeper into the Word, will "clean up" our doctrines lining them up more perfectly with the Word of God.

What remains important to remember is that we each should be "free" in Christ to question and to study and to discuss, without the necessity of getting into angry debates because someone feels threatened. And without the concern that our brothers and sisters in Christ might turn against us because we question and search and challenge each other.

These postings have the potential to upset some folks who will not be able to see past the word "grace" and thus unable to move into "obedience" for they will consider the latter to be in opposition to the first.

But, if these postings have moved you to study more deeply the Word of God for yourself, without the bias of anti-Semitism, then I have accomplished what I hoped to accomplish: a challenge has been issued to you, to find biased doctrine, and remove it from your midst; keeping only that which is good and true, as I myself am trying diligently to do.

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few." (Acts 17:11)