Bible Question:
The Old Testament makes certain statements that are changed in the New Testament. God FORBADE us to eat of the meat of swine citing that it was damned. Yet the New Testament says God changed his mind and now we can eat everything as it is all good. I have never known GOD to retract any law he gave to us so I have a problem understanding this among other things. Please explain so that I too can understand. |
Bible Answer: Hello Questioner, you cited the eating of certain foods as an example of a way that God 'changes his mind'.. In 1 Samuel 15:29, it reads "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind".. However, you have pointed out (through food) that seem to portray that God might change his mind (such as 1 Samuel 15:11). On the one hand God is unchanging in His nature (Malachi 3:6) and is unchanging in His eternal purposes (see Ephesians 1). But this does not mean that God is some kind of Robot who cannot interact with His creatures and respond to them.God promised to judge the Ninevites but then withheld judgment after the entire city repented (see Jonah). Many people fail to realize that God has what you might call a built-in repentance clause to His promises of judgment. This "clause" is found in Jeremiah 18:7-10: "At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it." What we see here is that God changes His policy toward man when He beholds a change in the actions of man. God is a God of mercy. And when He sees repentance, He responds with mercy and grace. We should all be thankful that God is this way. If God gave us what we actually deserved, we'd all end up in hell. As for food, in Leviticus 11:1-12, we learn about what God has abstained from His people to eat. However, in Mark 7:18-20, we learn that this law about food in Leviticus was fulfilled by Jesus in this way: it is not what goes into a man, but what comes out of a man (his thoughts, words) that makes a man 'unclean'. So God has not merely 'changed his mind', but is fulfilling the law by making perfect that which was imperfect. |