10. Health Discussion Part 3 - What We "Should" Do vs. What Is "Acceptable" to Do
How do we justify the way we eat today based on biblical references? I’d like to take a moment and address a few of those verses and dive deeper into the original text and determine what the original texts were referring to and how the new translations of the bible have caused some confusion; as well as, has become the basis as to why most people say we should allow people to eat what they want as long as they are following God’s word.
First of all, I think it is important to know when the bible is saying we “should do” something, as opposed to when it says it is “acceptable” to do something. Christians take this as a scapegoat to say God says to do something when in fact it had to do with the old testament laws for cleanliness.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. - Romans 14:20 (KJV)
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. - Romans 14:20 (NIV)
The original Hebrew text of Romans 14:20, arguably all of Chapter 14, refers to the Jewish tradition of not being able to eat animals declared unclean by God through the Laws of Moses. Now God is saying through the Apostle Paul, not to divide his church on this teaching; to unify the church because God has made everything “clean,” (New International Version) from the Greek, “Kathara [καθαρά],” translated to “acceptable” (New Living Translation). Romans 14 is not referring to it as being healthy or good for our body to consume these things. Therefore, with modern science and technology, we can deduce what healthy is for our bodies, even though, it is permissive or clean to eat all things under the law during the time of Paul and the Romans, written in late 55 - early 56 A.D. or late 56 - early 57 A.D.
Furthermore, we see another reference to this same scenario in Acts when Peter has a vision and it is initially unclear what it means but as the story unfolds it is made clear; which is counter to the initial assumption the reader has at the onset of the vision:
11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” 14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.[a]” 15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. (Acts 10:11-16 NLT)
The meaning of the vision explained by the Holy Spirit:
17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there. 19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?” 22 They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” (Acts 10:17-22 NLT)
There is a high likelihood Peter knew and remembered the story of the Rechabites who refused to drink the wine Jeremiah offered them according to the instructions of the Lord and how the Lord used this as a testimony against the men of Judah in Jeremiah 35:1-19. The Rechabites didn’t give in to temptation and neither does Peter. In the same way, Peter’s vision isn’t meant to be taken literally. God wasn’t cleansing unclean animals and making them clean but referring to the Gentiles as the “reptiles” on the clean white sheet. The same Gentiles whom God would deliver at the door looking for Peter in just a few moments. This has nothing to do with the literal meaning of killing and eating all the animals of the world.
There have been many commentaries regarding this vision through the centuries and I will be researching the different perspectives. For the sake of brevity, I’ve included an excerpt from the 1857 commentary, Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, by Rev. Joseph Benson, regarding Acts 10:11-14, Peter’s vision, for an additional perspective.
“Acts 10:11-14. And saw heaven opened — While he lay in a trance, the heaven appeared to be opened above him, to signify the opening of a mystery that had been hiding. And a certain vessel — Or utensil; (for the word σκευος, here used, extends to all sorts of instruments, and every part of household furniture, of which see on Acts 9:15;) descending unto him as it had been a great sheet — Οθονην μεγαλην, a great linen cloth, or wrapper, an emblem of the gospel, extending to all nations of men; knit — Δεδεμενον, tied; at the four corners — Not all in one knot, but each fastened, as it was, up to heaven; and let down to earth — To receive from all parts of the world those that were willing to be admitted into it. Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts — The net of the gospel was to enclose persons of all countries, nations, and languages, without any distinction of Greek or Jew, or any disadvantage attaching to barbarian or Scythian, Colossians 3:11. And there came a voice, Rise, Peter, kill and eat — Of what thou seest, without any exception, or putting any difference between clean and unclean; the Lord thus showing him that he might now converse with Jews and Gentiles indifferently and preach unto the latter, as well as unto the former, the word of life; and, at the same time intimating, that the Jewish Christians were, by the gospel, absolved from the ceremonial law, in which the distinction between clean and unclean meats made so considerable a part. But Peter said, Not so, Lord — I would rather continue fasting a great while longer, than satisfy my hunger on such terms; for I see only unclean animals here; and I have never —
From my childhood to this hour, defiled my conscience by eating anything common or unclean — Hitherto I have kept my integrity in this matter, and am determined still to keep it. Peter’s words speak his resolution still to adhere to God’s law, though he has a counter command by a voice from heaven; for he knew not, at first, but the words, kill and eat, might be a command of trial, whether he would abide by the sure word, the written law; and if so, his answer, Not so, Lord, had been very proper. Temptations to eat forbidden fruit must not be parleyed with, but peremptorily rejected. Reader, if God by his grace has preserved us from gross sin unto this day, we should use that as an argument with ourselves to continue to abstain from all appearance of evil” (Benson, 1857).
Something else to consider; another reference to a clean white sheet we can draw a similarity to is when Jesus was killed on the cross:
20 “It was after they hung him on the cross that four Roman soldiers sought to divide the quality clothes Christ wore. Though they almost certainly were not aware of it, they were fulfilling the prophecy found in Psalm 22:18 where David wrote they would part his clothes and cast something to see who won which piece. (the Roman soldiers) took His garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and the coat also. But the coat was seamless . . . For this reason, they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it . . . ' They divided My garments among them, and they cast lots for My vesture (John 19:23 - 24) When the soldiers wanted to divide Jesus' coat or tunic, they saw it was not a patchwork of pieces sewn together. Rather, it had no seams, a quality garment that took some time to make. It was the same quality of clothing, woven from top to bottom in one piece, worn by the high priest in Jerusalem's temple. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus stated in his book "Antiquities (History) of the Jews" that the temple's high priest had to wear a vestment colored blue. This clothing was not made by pieces of cloth sewn together, or even two large pieces. It was one long vestment that was parted along with the breast and back” (Whiston & Josephus, 1890).
The vision given to Peter was in fact, a reflection of Jesus dying on the cross, saving the sins of every human being on earth, and the fulfillment of the Roman soldiers dividing his seamless and perfect cloak into the four pieces. In this similar way, God was going to use Peter to unite his people and save them.
The importance of fasting is paramount. We may be doing well when we are well-fed, but we won’t know the true power of the Holy Spirit working within you until we remove the dependence on food and rely on God to fulfill our needs. There are over 40 verses in the Bible talking about fasting, yet in my experience at church, why have so very few focused on the importance of fasting?
Before Jesus left this earth, He told his disciples the importance of fasting. We can read about this in Matthew 9:15, “Jesus replied, "Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” As Dr. Tony Evans puts it in his article The Importance of Fasting, Fasting is the spiritual link between us and Christ while He is not here on earth with us. “We feed the body by eating, but we feed the soul by not eating. Fasting makes the soul a higher priority than the body” (Evans).
It gives us the opportunity to realize what we think we desire is to be closer to Jesus. Our desire to be fulfilled comes from him and not from the things bringing us satiation at the moment.
Fasting removes food as the basis for reliance on God but it also encompasses other areas of our life when we can experience a fast, whether it be physical things, material items, hobbies, security, sex, alcohol, drugs. It all depends on us and where we are with God. How is God calling us to rely on him during our fast from something? What in your life has been slowly taking over our thoughts and free moments? Lusting after material things is something many of us struggle with, including me. Social media constantly beckons me to see what’s new, what others have, what I need to do with what I have, should I upgrade my gear, or should I buy more of what I already have.
When writing this section, I chose to fast so I could more clearly understand the words God had for me and so I could connect with him again in a way I hadn’t in a while. It reminds me of others who relied on fasting to help them re-center their lives in the bible. In Acts 13 and 14 we see the Holy Spirit coming to the people during their time of fasting; in order to, bring forth those whom Jesus has called for his work. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust” (Acts 14:23).
Fasting is used in a time of sadness and fear to prevent us from turning inward, we can turn outward to God for guidance. How often we turn to ourselves and become trapped in our own minds of possible bad scenarios or asking why this tragedy occurred. Satan uses these opportunities to tempt us. Satan says, “You don’t deserve this, why would God let this happen to you?” but through fasting and intimate connection with God, God says “Look what I’m going to do for my kingdom through you.” We see this connection with Moses when the Lord gives him the ten commandments, “Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments” (Exodus 34:28). All of the Israelites were fearful of the mountain. Satan used this opportunity to instill fear, doubt, and mistrust in people’s minds. Instead of fasting and growing closer to God they turned inward and succumb to the anxiety of questions: Had Moses abandoned them in the desert? Would he be coming back? We left everything so how would we survive out here? Is this really the God who delivered us from Egypt? Is God even here with us now?
How frequently do we have this same sort of fear, the sadness of loss, or anxiety and instead of fasting to grow closer we get caught in Satan’s pitfalls? The war of attrition is won through the hearts and minds of the warriors. We either stay connected to the source which gives us the strength to carry on or we begin to fall off, think of how life would be so much easier if we just gave up or went back to the way things were. The warrior who has the resolve to stay in the fight will not be caught in the pitfalls of the devil. This resolve does not come from our strength within; it comes from God alone. As Christian we are called to join God in our place of fasting; in order to, wait on the Lord and let Him reveal his great plan to us.