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NASB | 1 Timothy 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 4:4 For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; |
Subject: It isn't right to eat pig is it? |
Bible Note: Greetings, wordoer; In Mark 7:18-19, Jesus specifically mentioned eating, not hand-washing. And he specifically said "all" foods, not ceremonially clean foods. He said these things twice (earlier in v. 14-15). Jesus drove home his point in v. 20-23: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'" Given Jesus' own explanation, it is clear that he talked about food - not hand-washing - because that's what he meant. Your reference to 1 Tim 4 was very helpful. Writing about false teachers, Paul said "They ... order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." (v. 3-5) Note the unqualified words "everything" and "nothing." The key is not what goes into the consumer's stomach but what was in his heart to begin with. This helps to put your objection to Makarios' use of 1 Cor 10:25-26 in context. Earlier (v. 18-21), Paul wrote about participating in both pagan feasts and the Lord's Table. His objection was not to the food but to the context: "the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons." (v. 21) Paul then expands on this idea by first stating our freedom in Christ: "'Everything is permissible' - but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible' - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." (v. 23-24) It is in this context that he writes in verses 25-26 that there is no prohibition against specific foods. The food isn't the problem; the consumer's intent is the problem. In the next section, Paul returns to the subject of meat sacrificed to idols: "If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, 'This has been offered in sacrifice,' then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake - the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours...." (v. 27-29) Given what Paul wrote in 1 Tim 4:3-5, it is clear that it is the intent, not the species, that matters. The sacrificed meat is to be avoided because to eat it is would be to participate in the unbeliever's intent, that is "to be participants with demons". This may do no harm to the believer: "If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?" (v. 30) But (closing the loop with v. 24) eating the meat and participating in the unbeliever's intent would work against "the good of others"; that is, it would encourage the other's unbelief and set a bad example for other believers. Add to this Peter's vision in Acts 10, and the message is very clear. Eating pork (or rattlesnake, or shrimp) can't make a believer unclean because there are no unclean foods. Jesus, Paul, and God himself speaking to Peter in his vision said so. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |