Radiant Living

Q&A
Q. Is the concept of clean and unclean
animals a fundamentally Jewish teaching?
A. Long before He brought the Jewish
nation into existence God classified
the animals into categories of clean and
unclean (see Gen.7:1,2; 8:20). This
distinction existed in Noah’s day before
there were different races or a Jewish
nation. Most of the unclean animals are
predators or scavengers whose bodies
harbor diseases and toxic chemicals.
Not only is the Bible clear that the flesh
of swine and rodents is unfit for human
consumption, modern medical science
also extensively confirms this. It is not
to rob us of pleasure, but to protect our
health, that God warns us not to eat
unclean animals.
Q. Didn’t Peter receive a vision telling
him that no animal is unclean? (Acts 10).
A. Quite simply this vision was God’s
symbolic representation of the way the
Jews felt about the Gentiles. They saw
them as common and unclean. Peter himself
explained the meaning of the vision
in verse 28: “God hath showed me that I
should not call any man common or unclean.”
God’s message to Peter was that
they should not call the Gentiles unclean,
and the gospel was to be proclaimed to all
people. Not once did the apostles or early
church apply this vision to the question of
what foods may be eaten.
Q. Didn’t Jesus say, “Not what goes into
the mouth defiles a man; but what comes
out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” (Matt.
15:11; Mark 7:15); and didn’t Jesus declare
all foods clean? (Mark 7:19 NIV).
A. The subject in these two passages
(Matt. 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23) is not diet
or food. The Pharisees had made very
strict laws regarding ceremonial cleanliness.
They believed that you picked up sin
by contact with Gentiles or anything they
might have touched, and absorbed it when
you ate with unwashed hands. Jesus was not
giving license to eat unhealthfully, but was
rejecting the idea of ceremonial defilement
by touching Gentiles.
The expression “declared all foods
clean” NIV, “Purging all meats” KJV in
Mark 7:19 is merely Mark’s restatement of
what Jesus said and reiterates the point that
you can’t eat sin with your food; sin comes
from within. It should also be noted that the
word “meats” in the KJV is more correctly
translated foods. Jesus did not consider
unclean animals food.
Q. Why does the Bible say, “Let no man
therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or
in respect of an holyday” (Col. 2:16). Does
this text free us to eat and drink anything
we want?
A. Colossians 2:14-16 warns believers
not to enforce the observance of ceremonial
laws given to ancient Israel that pointed
forward to Christ’s death. These laws,
pertaining primarily to the services in the
sanctuary included meat and drink offerings
and various holy days. Those offerings
which typified different aspects of Christ’s
atoning sacrifice came to an end when
Christ died on Calvary. (See Lev. 23:37;
Heb. 9:9-12). But Jesus did not cancel
moral, physical, social, governmental or
health laws by His sacrifice. Rather, by His
60 s RADIANT LIVING