What New Testament passages relate to dietary laws in Leviticus 11:11? Leviticus 11:11—The Original Command “They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their flesh, and you must detest their carcasses.” (Leviticus 11:11) Why This Matters • God marked out Israel as holy by distinguishing clean from unclean (Leviticus 11:44–45). • The prohibition includes sea creatures without fins and scales—food still common today. • The verse establishes an absolute ban under the Sinai covenant. What Jesus Taught about Food “Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.) • Jesus shifts the discussion from ceremonial defilement to moral purity of the heart (vv. 20-23). • He neither denies the authority of Moses nor leaves the law unchanged—He anticipates its fulfillment. Peter’s Rooftop Vision “Then a voice said to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ ‘No, Lord,’ Peter answered. ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’ The voice spoke to him a second time: ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” • The immediate application is Gentile evangelism (Acts 10:28, 34-35). • The vision rests on Christ’s prior declaration that foods are clean; Peter is commanded to act on it. • Acts 11:8-9 repeats the point for the Jerusalem believers. Jerusalem Council: Where the Line Was Drawn “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements: You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.” • Clean/unclean distinctions of Leviticus 11 are not imposed on Gentile believers. • Minimal food restrictions address fellowship between Jewish and Gentile Christians and respect for God’s moral will (cf. Leviticus 17). Paul on Liberty and Love • Romans 14:14 — “I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.” • Romans 14:20 — “All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating cause another to stumble.” • 1 Corinthians 8:8 — “Food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” • 1 Corinthians 10:25-31 — Eat with thanksgiving, abstain if it harms conscience or witness. • Colossians 2:16-17 — “Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink…. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is Christ.” • 1 Timothy 4:3-5 — “Every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” Hebrews: Ceremonial Laws Were Temporary Hebrews 9:9-10 explains that regulations “about food and drink and various ceremonial washings” were “external regulations imposed until the time of reformation.” Christ’s atoning work brings that reformation. Putting It All Together 1. Leviticus 11:11 is God-given, literal, and historically binding on Israel. 2. Jesus fulfills the law (Matthew 5:17) and declares all foods clean by locating defilement in the heart. 3. The Spirit confirms this through Peter’s vision and the Jerusalem Council. 4. Paul teaches that food is morally neutral but must be used in love. 5. The ceremonial aspect of dietary law was a shadow; Christ is the substance. Believers may eat any food with gratitude, provided they do not violate conscience, cause others to stumble, or participate in idolatry. Practical Takeaways • Give thanks; God created food for enjoyment and nourishment. • Exercise liberty in love—never flaunt freedom or pressure a weaker brother (Romans 14:15). • Keep moral purity central; unclean hearts, not unclean foods, defile (Mark 7:21-23). • Remember the gospel witness: eating or abstaining can either advance or hinder the message. |
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