This morning as I was frying my breakfast bacon, I was thinking about all the Christians who pass on this tasty treat due to the Law’s prohibition. Despite Paul’s declaration that we are not under the Law (Rom. 6:15), and his assurance that “every creature of God is good” (I Tim. 4:4), these dear brethren remain convinced that “the swine…is unclean” (Lev. 11:7).
If this is your religious conviction, we would invite you to consider the reason God determined that pork was unclean. After God instructed Peter to eat some unclean animals (Acts 10:9-16), you would think that he would say: “God showed me that I should not call any animal unclean.” Instead, he testified that God had showed him “that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). You see, Peter understood that the only reason God made certain meats unclean was to teach Israel that certain people were unclean: the Gentiles.
“…I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean…” (Lev. 20:24,25).
We know that those who hold that pork is still unclean would never say that any people are still unclean, and so we invite all who hold this view to recognize the symbolism that Peter understood and acknowledged, and rejoice with us that in the dispensation of God’s grace there are no foods—or people—that are unclean in God’s sight. source
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