Are Christians allowed to eat...

[bosco]

"Arise, slay and eat."

Sounds pretty convincing to me, too.

Not really RK, Peter clearly defined the intent of the vision as dealing with Jews considering Gentiles unclean. If you want to believe that set of verses is telling you to eat anything you want, you have that right. But there is nothing in those verses saying that.

RK, the Pharaoh had a dream about 7 sick skinny cows and 7 healthy fat cows. The sick cows ate the healthy cows. Now Joseph comes along and interprets the dream, 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. Using the way you interpret Peter's vision, we must make sure we never place fat healthy cows in the same pen with sick skinny cows, because they will eat the fat cows! Dreams and visions are not literal, which is why they always require interpretation.

Bosco

[Scar]

Lasciviousness

las⋅civ⋅i⋅ous [luh-siv-ee-uhs]
–adjective 1. inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd: a lascivious, girl-chasing old man.
2. arousing sexual desire: lascivious photographs.
3. indicating sexual interest or expressive of lust or lewdness: a lascivious gesture.

All forms of sexuality outside of marriage are frowned upon in the New Testament.

grav⋅en [grey-vuhn]
–verb 1. a pp. of grave 3 .

–adjective 2. deeply impressed; firmly fixed.
3. carved; sculptured: a graven idol

Notice, both of those definitions come from dictionary.com, and the definition for graven even mentions idol.

Sorry, Keck, God doesn't play word games.

[Slug1]

Because that verse doesn't say to have a beard. Mind you, it may assume you have one, but it isn't clear. I personally do not have a beard, though I know many with some pretty long ones and there isn't a thing wrong with it. If that is the conviction they infer from those verses, who are we to say it is wrong. They hurt no one...ya know?

Bosco

The problem is when specific Laws are adhered to and thus forced down our throats when we (other Christians) don't follow what they (other Christians) adhere to.... the whole while they're tossing some in the trash. Lev 19:27 is one tossed in the trash.

It's good that we have Jesus to keep us straight now, instead of the Law.

[Firstfruits]

My point is this:

ALL morality, ALL instructions for life/living, ALL elements of my physical, spiritual and mental existance that are worthy come from God alone.

There is no other source. I am going to trust what God says and nothing in this world is going to change my mind. I have to tell you it's been a real blessinig for me and my family to break the yoke of men's traditions and legalism, and draw near to God's way. It really has, and I am excited to share it, even if I can't communicate it well.

So therefore you trust Jesus since Jesus is God with regards to the following?

Jn 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Is following the spirit against the will of God?

God bless you!

Firstfruits

[L'Ange]

Me too, I've been asking this question for about 3 years. I just want to know why if a Christian follows the Law doesn't have those long tassels of hair hanging from their temples and a beard just as long

It is my understanding that long tassels are not part of Scriptures at all.
There is also nothing saying that a beard must be long. There is a lot of stuff that comes out of the Talmud which people quote as Scriptures.

[BHS]

Jesus defined His love by what He did. Love without actions is senseless. None that I know are trying to shove rules down anyone, but simply wanting to promote a better understanding of God's Word without dismissing the earlier teachings of the Lord.

Dr. Michael P.V. Barrett in his book "Love Divine and Unfailing -- the Gospel According to Hosea" says --

"The word law (Torah), the most general designation in the OT for special revelation, encompasses all of God's Word, not just legislation and commandments. ... Through this speaking the Lord made clear what He was like and what He liked -- that is what would please Him. ... There is something about knowing God that produces behavior that is pleasing to Him. Their (Israelites) ignorance of God was not because God did not make Himself known, but rather because they did not listen. To know God is to fear Him; to fear God is to love Him; to love God is to keep His commandments. So God's giving His law was ultimately a means of aiding His people to love Him. ... If there has been a work of grace in the heart, there is a desire to please the Lord. The Lord in His kind wisdom has not left His people guessing as to what pleases Him: He gave His law. ... At Sinai, He gave the law to a people already redeemed ... (having redeemed them from bondage in Egypt) The great things of God's law defined how God's children were to live -- no guessing. ... It is imperative to remember -- whether in the OT or in the N -- that the law is a servant of grace and the gospel, never their enemy. ... In Christ believers are free from the penalty and condemnation of the broken law. In Christ, believers have the freedom, ability, and desire to obey the law as a way of life that pleases God: the law defines the borders of holiness."

Blessings,
BHS

[keck553]

Sorry, Keck, God doesn't play word games.

Exactly my point. His word is eternal, so let's not throw His commands in the trash.

[keck553]

So therefore you trust Jesus since Jesus is God with regards to the following?

Jn 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Is following the spirit against the will of God?

God bless you!

Firstfruits

The Spirit of God is not in conflict with the will of God or His Holy Testimony. If you are following a spirit and it leads you against God's word, then you need to question which spirit you are following.

[reformedct]

surely not every OT law applies to us does it? are we supposed to stone our brothers and sisters when they sin? are we to burn them alive with their children as well? are we forbidden to marry people who are not our same race? as it was mentioned earlier are we forbidden to shave our beards? i mean what does any of this have to do with worshipping God and loving our neighbor?

Hello, would you like to be a Christian? Christians are not allowed to shave the corner of their beards. When Christians catch someone in sin they stone them and burn their families. Christians who have their privy parts cut off are rejected from the congregation. By the way there are over 600 more things Christians do and if you dont do them you are not a true Christian. Just sign here and you can join!



is that what the apostles taught? is this what the early church emphasized and preached? observe all feasts and obey every law of the OT with no exceptions?

[L'Ange]

surely not every OT law applies to us does it? are we supposed to stone our brothers and sisters when they sin? are we to burn them alive with their children as well? are we forbidden to marry people who are not our same race? as it was mentioned earlier are we forbidden to shave our beards? i mean what does any of this have to do with worshipping God and loving our neighbor?

Hello, would you like to be a Christian? Christians are not allowed to shave the corner of their beards. When Christians catch someone in sin they stone them and burn their families. Christians who have their privy parts cut off are rejected from the congregation. By the way there are over 600 more things Christians do and if you dont do them you are not a true Christian. Just sign here and you can join!



is that what the apostles taught? is this what the early church emphasized and preached? observe all feasts and obey every law of the OT with no exceptions?

Well, my friend, do you believe that YHWH made those laws for the people of Israel or not? If He did, do you think He made a mistake in any of them?

We are not in Jerusalem now, living under a Theocracy. Stoning people could not be done as it was then, with a Priesthood under YHWH
overseeing the procedures. Some things have changed since the Temple was destroyed and the priests, along with others, were scattered. But what YHWH has not changed, we are not to change for Him.

YHWH never tells us not to marry certain races. There is no concept of races in Scriptures as we are all one race. However, we are told not to marry pagans. In the New Testament this is also reinforced when believers are told not to be unequally yoked to unbelievers.

I do not see any commandment saying men have to have beards. As I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes people are misunderstanding Scriptures and quoting things from the Talmud that they have heard were from the Bible.

Actually if you study Scriptures you will see that the apostles did teach people not to abandon the Law of Moses. See Acts 21 where it is totally reinforced.

Let's say, however, that Paul or any other apostles taught people to abandon what YHWH has said. With what authority would they be speaking? Where did YHWH ever say that some apostles were going to come along and make His laws more "user friendly" for us all? Yeshua said He did not come to change the law or the prophets. If He didn't come to change them, then who would the apostles, mere mortals, be to change them?

YHWH said He changes not. He and Yeshua are One.

When we pull away from the traditions of men and start to follow what YHWH has actually said, it is a great blessing.

These concepts were offensive to me, too, at first. I thought they were "legalism". I decided to study first century history and see what the apostles and early believers were actually doing in terms of the Mosaic Holy Days, the Sabbath and food laws.

For once, secular, Protestant and RC scholars said the same thing! They said that the early believers, pretty solidly for about 123 years, and in some places in the world into the middle ages, kept the true Sabbath, the Mosaic High Holy days and the food laws! I figured actions of people back then, rather than traditions of men 2000 years later with a different language and culture, speaker louder than words.

Constantine made it a crime punishable by death for anyone to rest on the true Sabbath. He said people had to rest on "the venerable day of [not Christ but] the sun." He was a sun worshipper.

[L'Ange]

Exactly my point. His word is eternal, so let's not throw His commands in the trash.

Well, amen to that!!

[reformedct]

Well, my friend, do you believe that YHWH made those laws for the people of Israel or not? If He did, do you think He made a mistake in any of them?

We are not in Jerusalem now, living under a Theocracy. Stoning people could not be done as it was then, with a Priesthood under YHWH
overseeing the procedures. Some things have changed since the Temple was destroyed and the priests, along with others, were scattered. But what YHWH has not changed, we are not to change for Him.

YHWH never tells us not to marry certain races. There is no concept of races in Scriptures as we are all one race. However, we are told not to marry pagans. In the New Testament this is also reinforced when believers are told not to be unequally yoked to unbelievers.

I do not see any commandment saying men have to have beards. As I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes people are misunderstanding Scriptures and quoting things from the Talmud that they have heard were from the Bible.

Actually if you study Scriptures you will see that the apostles did teach people not to abandon the Law of Moses. See Acts 21 where it is totally reinforced.

Let's say, however, that Paul or any other apostles taught people to abandon what YHWH has said. With what authority would they be speaking? Where did YHWH ever say that some apostles were going to come along and make His laws more "user friendly" for us all? Yeshua said He did not come to change the law or the prophets. If He didn't come to change them, then who would the apostles, mere mortals, be to change them?

YHWH said He changes not. He and Yeshua are One.

When we pull away from the traditions of men and start to follow what YHWH has actually said, it is a great blessing.

These concepts were offensive to me, too, at first. I thought they were "legalism". I decided to study first century history and see what the apostles and early believers were actually doing in terms of the Mosaic Holy Days, the Sabbath and food laws.

For once, secular, Protestant and RC scholars said the same thing! They said that the early believers, pretty solidly for about 123 years, and in some places in the world into the middle ages, kept the true Sabbath, the Mosaic High Holy days and the food laws! I figured actions of people back then, rather than traditions of men 2000 years later with a different language and culture, speaker louder than words.

Constantine made it a crime punishable by death for anyone to rest on the true Sabbath. He said people had to rest on "the venerable day of [not Christ but] the sun." He was a sun worshipper.

so you are saying that if there was still a temple and we were somehow able to be under a theocracy again we christians are supposed to stone and burn our brothers and sisters alng with their innocent children if they sin? with life and death hanging in the balance the apostles simply assume all the new Gentile Christians all know that they are supposed to still stone people under the right conditions? what happened to recieving our brothers if they say they repent? and the verse that says you shall not shave the corner of your beard or something is from the Bible.

im just having a VERY hard time sensing a spirit of Gods mercy in this time of calling all to repentance when at the same time we should be stoning people to death? its like we are still at mount sianai except we have this Jesus attached to it now but its exactly the same???? hmmm... i will definetly have to look into this because right now this sounds like a spirit of bondage similar to what the Judiazers were teaching. i will definetly have to check this out for myself.

just because the early church(which was heavily watched by and started with the Jews anyway) observed feasts and ceremonies DOES NOT PROVE that those things are mandatory or that they MUST be celebrated by Gentiles. in fact it seems that the NT clearly points out that we are not to let anyone judge us about any kinds of sabbaths or ceremonies or any of that. it seems the ceremonies are optional not mandatory. and is there any SCRIPTURE that clearly supports the idea that we still should stone our brothers and sisters and their families. surely such a drastic measure would be properly addressesd to the Gentiles in the NT

i also read acts 21 i have no clue what this has to do with Gentiles being bound by mosaic law. The reason they tell Paul to go through with the customs is so the people dont get ticked when they saw him. but they were already glorifying God about the Gentiles and what God had did among them before they even told Paul all of that. i dont see your point? it was paul who went through with the extra measures not all the gentiles. also the list of things prohibited is the same 4 from earlier in acts: abstain from fornication, food sacrificed to idols, blood, and things strangled. it didnt say: follow every single law in the mosaic law. there is a difference between 4 and the whole thing. we observe the whole Bible and the whole OT through the lens of us being saved by faith through Christ. there no longer remains an offering for sin. i hope you at least agree that we no longer neeed to sacrifice animals

[revrobor]

ham and pepperoni pizza and stuff? is it against the law to eat pig still? what about steak, etc

Read Acts 10: 9-16.

[Toymom]

ham and pepperoni pizza and stuff? is it against the law to eat pig still? what about steak, etc

depends if you have high cholesterol or not.
ham and pepperoni are both high in fat and in salt content -not good for cholesterol or if you have high blood pressure. steak can also contribute to cholesterol problems.

[L'Ange]

so you are saying that if there was still a temple and we were somehow able to be under a theocracy again we christians are supposed to stone and burn our brothers and sisters alng with their innocent children if they sin? with life and death hanging in the balance the apostles simply assume all the new Gentile Christians all know that they are supposed to still stone people under the right conditions? what happened to recieving our brothers if they say they repent? and the verse that says you shall not shave the corner of your beard or something is from the Bible.

im just having a VERY hard time sensing a spirit of Gods mercy in this time of calling all to repentance when at the same time we should be stoning people to death? its like we are still at mount sianai except we have this Jesus attached to it now but its exactly the same???? hmmm... i will definetly have to look into this because right now this sounds like a spirit of bondage similar to what the Judiazers were teaching. i will definetly have to check this out for myself.

just because the early church(which was heavily watched by and started with the Jews anyway) observed feasts and ceremonies DOES NOT PROVE that those things are mandatory or that they MUST be celebrated by Gentiles. in fact it seems that the NT clearly points out that we are not to let anyone judge us about any kinds of sabbaths or ceremonies or any of that. it seems the ceremonies are optional not mandatory. and is there any SCRIPTURE that clearly supports the idea that we still should stone our brothers and sisters and their families. surely such a drastic measure would be properly addressesd to the Gentiles in the NT

i also read acts 21 i have no clue what this has to do with Gentiles being bound by mosaic law. The reason they tell Paul to go through with the customs is so the people dont get ticked when they saw him. but they were already glorifying God about the Gentiles and what God had did among them before they even told Paul all of that. i dont see your point? it was paul who went through with the extra measures not all the gentiles. also the list of things prohibited is the same 4 from earlier in acts: abstain from fornication, food sacrificed to idols, blood, and things strangled. it didnt say: follow every single law in the mosaic law. there is a difference between 4 and the whole thing. we observe the whole Bible and the whole OT through the lens of us being saved by faith through Christ. there no longer remains an offering for sin. i hope you at least agree that we no longer neeed to sacrifice animals

As far as different rules for gentile and Jews, why is Paul telling these former pagans to follow the food laws of Moses if he thinks there is to be a difference between himself, a Jew, and them? Why does he say, truly, "Neither Greek nor Jew?" Scriptures make it very clear that there is no difference, the same YHWH is the same for all and expect all to follow His words with no differences because one formerly walked in darkness. If that is not true, then "neither male nor female" must be wrong also.

I am saying that what YHWH said for people to do in the past was true and right. "If a Temple was rebuilt"? Any Temple would be an offense to YHWH. The true and final Sacrifice has been made. Yeshua fulfilled His part as that Sacrifice. What YHWH has changed we are not to change.
What YHWH has not changed we are not to change. He changed the priestly system under which people were stoned because we now have a better and different High Priest.

He did not change the Sabbath or the food laws or the Holy days.

Examples:

SABBATH
Yeshua said, referring to the time after His resurrection about the impending disaster: "Pray that your flight not be on the Sabbath."
Why did He say those words? Because the Sabbath was still to be a day of rest. Also, YHWH says that He will not change what has gone out of His mouth. At Mt. Sinai, to the terrified Israelites, he spoke the 10 Commandments. He also wrote them in stone with His own finger. Who would the disciples be to change what YHWH spoke and wrote with His finger in stone? Who would they be to change what Yeshua did not change, and really could not change because He is One with YHWH who "changes not."

The truth is, nowhere in Scriptures does it say the Sabbath will be changed. Some of Paul's remarks, spoken to former pagans, have been misunderstood. He is talking about their former pagan observances, and he does not even say that the Sabbath has been nullified and they are now free to do "whatever is right their own eyes." We don't get to pick and choose what we want to do about the Sabbath. We are to rest as YHWH rested, on the 7th Day. "Pray that your flight not be on the Sabbath."

FOOD LAWS

In Acts 15 (also repeated in Acts 21) Paul tells former pagans, new believers, to refrain from blood and meat from strangled animals. This is straight out of Mosaic law. If
the food laws had ended (and who would Paul or any mortal man be to say they were ended when YHWH ordained them) why is he telling these new converts to obey what Moses was taught to teach?

FOLLOWING THE TORAH/LAWS GIVEN TO MOSES BY YHWH

From Acts 21, Amplified Bible: "...You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are enthusiastic upholders of the [Mosaic] Law. Now they have been informed about you that you continually teahc all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn back from and forsake Moses, advising them not to circumcise their children or pay any attention to the observance of the [Mosaic] customs...
therefore do just what we tell you...Thus everybody will know that there is no truth in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself walk in observance of the Law."

HIGH HOLY DAYS

Regarding the Holy Days, Paul is quoted as saying, re Passover, "I must by all means keep the feast." What day was it, what were the apostles and other believers doing when the Holy Spirit came down on them? They were celebrating Shavuot! (This is what Pentecost has been substituted for, but it does not fall on the right day.) The apostles were celebrating, as they had done always, the High Holy Day of Shavuot? Yes. And the result? The Holy Spirit honored them and came upon them.

Yes, I do agree that we no longer need to sacrifice animals and, in fact, that it would be a sin to do so. I believe this, just as I believe we are still bound by the food laws, the Sabbath, and the Holy Days, because YHWH's Word is true.