Bible Study: Can Christians Eat Pork? - What the Bible Says About Unclean Foods Under The New Covenant of Grace"What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, do not you defile and profane by regarding and calling common and unhallowed or unclean." (Acts 10:15, AMP) This is an original Bible Study. Read more of my original and exclusive Bible Studies, Sermon Notes and Devotionals on my Patreon. Are there any unclean foods under the new covenant? Is there any food that I should stay away from because I believe in Jesus Christ? These are probably questions that many Christians have, and chances are, the reason why they ask these is because they want to be right with God. This personal Bible study is written to answer these questions and to explore what the Bible says about this. I will be showing two sides of the coin: For and Against the belief that "yes, a Christian cannot eat pork and there are unclean foods under the new covenant of grace". Enjoy this Bible study, and remember to like, share and leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post! :) Let's start with the case FOR the belief that "yes, a Christian cannot eat pork and there are unclean foods under the new covenant of grace". The following Old Testament verses are what some Christians and even non-Christians from other religious groups quote to show that Christians cannot eat pork, and that pork is considered an unclean food: “And the swine, because it divides the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.” (Leviticus 11:7-8 AMP) “Yet these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or have the hoof split in two: the camel, the hare, and the coney, because they chew the cud but divide not the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the swine, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh or touch their dead bodies.” (Deuteronomy 14:7-8 AMP) However, like my church pastor Pastor Joseph Prince teaches, context is key. If you remove the "text" from the word "context", all you're left with is a con. Let us explore the context behind these instructions given by God. Before the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, is the Book of Exodus. Notice that the Ten Commandments and the Old Covenant of the Law was given before God said that the swine (pig) is unclean for the children of Israel. Take a look at the verses below: “IN THE third month after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, the same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. When they had departed from Rephidim and had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, they encamped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites. So Moses called for the elders of the people and told them all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you and remain steadfast forever. Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Go and sanctify the people [set them apart for God] today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes And be ready by the third day, for the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people. And you shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, Take heed that you go not up into the mountain or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch it [or the offender], but he shall surely be stoned or shot [with arrows]; whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. [Num. 24:8.]” (Exodus 19:1-13 AMP) The word "wings" in "how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself" is the Hebrew word "kanaph". It represents God's grace. For more explanation on that, click here to read Pastor Joseph Prince's sermon about Psalms 91 that expounds on this. God is saying that from Egypt until Sinai, God had been dealing with the children of Israel by grace, and that grace is the covenant relationship that He wants to have with the children of Israel. However, the children of Israel responded in an arrogant, prideful way, boasting in their own strength and ability to keep God's commandments. The focus was on themselves and not on God. From that point on, God changed His attitudes towards them, not dealing with them by grace, but by the Covenant of the Law. Essentially, the children of Israel had asked for the Law themselves. It was not God's original plan for them. The instruction that God gave to the children of Israel with regards to not eating pork because it was unclean, was never the original plan for them! It was only because they were under the Old Covenant of the Law, that's why it was pronounced unclean to them. Many Christians and even non-Christians from other religious groups also use the following verses to strengthen their argument that pork is an unclean food. Take a look: “THEY CAME to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gerasenes. And as soon as He got out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs a man [under the power] of an unclean spirit. This man continually lived among the tombs, and no one could subdue him any more, even with a chain; For he had been bound often with shackles for the feet and handcuffs, but the handcuffs of [light] chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he rubbed and ground together and broke in pieces; and no one had strength enough to restrain or tame him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always shrieking and screaming and beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones. And when from a distance he saw Jesus, he ran and fell on his knees before Him in homage, And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [What is there in common between us?] I solemnly implore you by God, do not begin to torment me! For Jesus was commanding, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! And He asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. And he kept begging Him urgently not to send them [himself and the other demons] away out of that region. Now a great herd of hogs was grazing there on the hillside. And the demons begged Him, saying, Send us to the hogs, that we may go into them! So He gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered into the hogs; and the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea. The hog feeders ran away, and told [it] in the town and in the country. And [the people] came to see what it was that had taken place. And they came to Jesus and looked intently and searchingly at the man who had been a demoniac, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, [the same man] who had had the legion [of demons]; and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear. And those who had seen it related in full what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the hogs.” (Mark 5:1-16 AMP) Firstly, why did the group of demons called "Legion" asked to be sent into the hogs (pigs)? It's simple. It is simply because the pigs were nearby on that hillside and the demons could see them there! The demons just didn't want to be sent away out of that region as Legion said, that's why they settled for the pigs - they just needed living hosts to possess. If there was a herd of sheep or goats or cows, instead of a herd of pigs, I believe that they would still beg Jesus to be sent into that herd, regardless of what kind of animals they were! It is not that they specifically wanted to possess the pigs. Secondly, just because the demons possessed that herd of 2000 pigs, doesn't mean that all pigs are possessed by demons! In fact, the pigs knew that the demons were unclean and they would rather rush into the sea and drown to death than to be possessed by the demons. If the pigs were so unclean, wouldn't they have warmly welcomed the demons and basked in that uncleanness, instead of killing themselves to free themselves from the demons?
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AuthorHi I’m Milton Goh, I'm 30 years old and i'm a blogger who writes about Christianity, Parenting, Life Lessons that I learn from Movies/Shows, and Lifestyle. |