Foods Christians Should Avoid (Acts15:16~20)

Foods Christians Should Avoid (Acts15:16~20)

 

16 “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

 

17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—

18 things known from long ago.

 

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

 

20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.

 

Head)

1. In the laws of the Old Testament, God forbids the consumption of a wide range of foods. It would take a while to go over each one, so church groups will be studying them in-depth during the month of March. Today, we will look at what the New Testament says about food, what we should avoid, and the lessons they teach us.

 

2. Why is what we eat important in a life of faith? Though there have been great medical developments, Hippocrates said, “Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Eastern medicine also emphasizes the importance of what we eat and its impact on one’s health. Food is vital for our physical and spiritual health.

 

Body)

 

A) Jesus’ Lessons

 

1. In the New Testament, Jesus gives us a different message from the laws of Moses’ time in the Old Testament.  

 

Matthew 15:11-12 says, “11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

 

This passage tells us that, according to Jesus, it is not what goes in but what comes out of one’s mouth that defiles him/her. The Pharisees, who were heavily law-focused, saw this statement to conflict directly with God’s covenant with Moses (Mosaic Covenant). Hence, they were offended by Jesus’ statement.

 

In the Old Testament, the Mosaic Covenant basically said that it was dirty/unclean to eat what God had forbidden and said were unclean (Leviticus 11:8,46-47).

 

The Pharisees and Sadducees took this law and upheld it faithfully. But then Jesus comes along and tells them it does not matter what you eat; it matters what comes out of your mouth instead. To these Jews this statement is offensive and blasphemous.

 

Mark 7:17-19 says, “17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 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.)”

 

Through this Jesus negated the previous covenant of Moses’ time in the Old Testament that declared unclean foods were forbidden.

 

B) Visions Through Peter

 

1. Acts 10:11-16 says this:

“11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.

12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.

13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.”

 

2. In this passage Peter sees the heavens open and a sheet with all kinds of animals, including those considered unclean. A voice tells Peter to kill and eat these animals, to which Peter replies that he cannot for they are unclean, hence forbidden by the Lord. The voice then tells Peter, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happens three times and the sheet is taken back up to heaven.

 

This vision is not strictly about food. It means to say that even foreigners, meaning gentiles, need to hear and receive the grace of the Gospel. This can further be interpreted to understand that since grace has been extended to gentiles, the Gospel and grace of Jesus has also lifted the laws of food and eating.

 

Before seeing this vision, Peter also followed the strict dietary laws of the Old Testament like Ezekiel and Daniel before him. However, this vision was God’s way of telling Peter to not let the differing practices and laws of food, and differing lifestyles in general, become a hindrance in reaching out to the gentiles (who did not have the same laws of “unclean vs clean food” as the Jews).

 

3. Hebrews 8:7-8 points out, “7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.”

 

In other words, if there was nothing to be fixed with the first covenant (unclean vs. clean food), then there would have been no need for the second covenant (Jesus, salvation, his message, and the New Testament). Hence, errors in the first covenant were necessary for the second covenant to be necessary.

 

Hebrews 7:18-19 add, “18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.”

 

Salvation was now received through grace, not one’s actions, thus the new covenant of the New Testament is a covenant of grace and better than the old. Therefore, the apostles reached out to evangelize gentiles, asking them to uphold only 4 of the vital restrictions instead of the countless limits of the Old Testament.

 

C) 4 Things the Apostles Prohibited

 

1. Here is what the new covenant (New Testament) says about what we eat.

 

Acts 15: 19-20 says, “19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.”

 

Verses 28 and 29 continue, “28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.”

 

Let’s take a closer look at the 4 things the apostles prohibited in the New Testament:

 

1. Idolatry

This first one is self-explanatory.

 

2. Sexual Immorality/fornication.

 This basically umbrellas all immoral sexual acts committed outside of marriage including adultery, rape, prostitution, and homosexuality.

 

3. Blood.

Some theologians and pastors interpret this to mean one cannot eat foods like blood sausage or seonji (cooked blood clots of cows and pigs). But there is no animal that does not have blood. Even steaks cooked “well-done” are not completely devoid of blood. Since it is impossible to eat any form of meat without any blood, we can take this to mean a prohibition on fresh blood.

 

For example, we should not eat raw meat or drink the blood of animals (some drink the blood of deer for male stamina.) After all, fresh blood has been found to be full of bacteria and germs.

 

Experts explain that over 20% of deer blood contain disease germs like tuberculosis, and if this blood were consumed it could transmit the disease to the human drinker. For these reasons, Japan does not use deer antlers, musk, and other animal parts in oriental herbal medicines. Those who are sick and weak are especially vulnerable to the tuberculosis germs in deer blood.

 

Consuming raw/fresh deer blood could also put one at risk of getting Sparganosis, an infection caused by parasitic tapeworms living the blood. Sparganosis has caused severe brain damage and there have even been cases where the victim scratched their itchy bodies so much the parasites actually poked out of their broken skin. The sparganum tapeworm also lives in wild snakes, frogs, and boars so none of these should be eaten raw.

 

4.Strangled Animals.

The last thing the apostles forbade was the consumption of strangled animals. During the time of the New Testament, gentiles would strangle sheep and goats to death in order to enhance the texture and flavor. Some Koreans strangle and beat dogs very severely before cooking them for boshintang(healthy soup) because it makes them taste better.

 

But that is an incredibly cruel and ruthless method of slaughter and even God would despise such acts. Our Lord may be a benevolent and merciful God, but we must never idly watch or partake in anything so horrendous. It is also best to eat meat with as little blood as possible for your health.

 

Conclusion)

The apostles say in Acts 15:29, “29 You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.” With the Holy Spirit of Christ, we will stay away from “food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals.” Our spirits and our health will be blessed and all we do will prosper in His name. Let grace overflow in your life by following these rules. Hallelujah!

 

         2/28/2016,  Ik sun Ahn, Translated by yebin Choi Ahn