Biblical Diet | Let's Talk Biblical | Episode 8

if you love talking about the Bible as much as I do then I think you're really enjoy this show Welcome to list talk biblical the podcast where we dig deep into the heart of scripture explore Timeless truths and have real conversations about what the Bible says and how it applies to us my name is Lex and I want to thank you for joining me on today's episode so grab your bible get comfortable and let's talk biblical today we're tackling a topic that Sparks a lot of debate what does the Bible say about food does God care what we eat there are so many diets in the world today you could be a vegan a carnivore or anything in between popular diets today include things like keto paleo South Beach and the Mediterranean diet but does the bible give us instructions about what we should eat and what we shouldn't eat as we will see the Bible does in fact tell us what to eat but many people believe the biblical instructions about food no longer apply so we need to find out what the Bible actually says about food in this episode we're going to examine the relevant biblical passages to uncover the truth about what we should and shouldn't eat if you've ever wondered if your diet matters to God then stick around this episode is for you let's begin in Genesis chapter 1 and we learn that God gave us plants to eat Genesis 1:29 says and God said see I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth and every tree whose fruit yields seed to you it shall be for food many vegans point to this verse and say that this is the diet that humans were created to eat but they seem to ignore the next verse where God says that vegetables are for all animals as well Genesis 1:30 also to every beast of the earth to every bird the air and to everything that creeps on the earth in which there is life I have given every green herb for food and it was so we know that not all animals are vegans so we can't say that God designed all animals to only eat vegetables pcking one verse out of the Bible and building a Doctrine on it is sloppy Theology and it disregards everything else the Bible says on that subject so we need to be careful not to do that it's possible for us to say that in the garden all animals ate plants because we have no record of them eating anything else however that doesn't mean that all animals are always only supposed to eat plants we see in Scripture that outside the garden many animals are omnivores and carnivores the Bible talks about wolves lions and eagles eating their prey this is a reference to them being carnivores the Bible also speaks about dogs eating the scraps from the table which indicates their omnivores eating whatever they can get likewise people are also portrayed in scripture as being omnivores outside of the garden for example in Genesis 27 Jacob makes stew for his father Isaac and the stew includes meat from goats Yeshua ate fish and he fed the multitudes with bread and fish if eating meat was a sin then Yeshua would have never eaten fish these are just a few examples of people eating an omnivores style diet that includes both plant and animals in fact just a few chapters after Adam and Eve leave the garden we learn that after the flood God tells Noah that he can eat animals and not just plants Genesis 9 2-3 says and the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every Beast of all the Earth on every bird of the air on all that move on the earth and on the fish of the sea they are given into your hand every moving thing that lives shall be food for you I have given you all things even as the green herbs so we see here that God specifically told Noah that he can eat animals this is problematic for our vegan and friends who try to say that eating meat is a sin if it was a sin God would have never told Noah he could do it speaking of sin the first sin in the Bible has to do with food God gave adam Specific Instructions about what he could eat and what he couldn't Genesis 2: 16-1 17 says and the Lord God commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden you may eat freely but the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die I think we all know this story The Serpent tempted Eve to eat from the forbidden fruit and she and Adam both ate the fruit then they realized that they were naked and they hid from God now listen to what God said in response Genesis 3 ver 11 and he said who told you that you were naked have you eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat because of their Disobedience God cursed them and removed them from the Garden of Eden and Adam sin has haunted mankind ever since what we can see in this example is that if God gives us Commandments or instructions about something then we should do what he says it also shows us that God does care about what we eat and we see this in other passages as well another thing I want to point out to our vegan friends is that Abraham gave beef and milk to Yahweh and the two angels when they visited him and they ate it Genesis 18:8 says so took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared and set it before them and he stood by them under the tree as they ate if eating meat was a sin then Yahweh and the two angels would have never eaten the meat in fact they would have rebuked Abraham for offering to them if it was a sin however the Bible says they ate it so we can safely conclude that eating meat is fine however there are some people who twist the scriptures and teach people not to eat meat the Bible actually has something to say about those people as well in 1 Timothy 4 1-5 it says now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons speaking lies and hypocrisy having their own conscience seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with Thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth for every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with Thanksgiving for it is Sanctified by the word of God and prayer here we see that the Bible warns us about vegans who forbid eating meat this is called a doctrine of demons and the Bible says they are being led astray by deceiving Spirits if you hear someone teaching that eating meat is a sin or if they're trying to convince you not to eat meat just remember that the Bible calls this a doctrine of demons you should also stop listening to that teacher because the Bible says they've been LED astray by deceiving Spirits they are teaching false doctrines which makes them a false teacher however this passage in 1 Timothy 4 also includes an interesting statement about which animals we can eat verse 5 says for is Sanctified by the word of God and prayer Sanctified means set apart this indicates that not all animals are meant to be food some animals are set apart by the word of God to be food while others are not this is a verse that is often ignored by people who want to teach that we can eat any animal we want the Bible does say we can eat animals but it gives us Specific Instructions about which animals we can eat and which we can't these instructions are given in Leviticus 11 this chapter begins with these words Leviticus 111 and2 says now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying to them speak to the children of Israel saying these are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth this is very similar to what is said in Genesis 1: 29 when God gave the plants to be food for humans the rest of Leviticus 11 outlines which animals are food and which are not now as we look at the instructions concerning animals think about how similar this is to Genesis chapter 2 when God told Adam he could eat from all the trees of the garden except one as we look at the list of animals notice that God is making a distinction between clean and unclean animals Leviticus 11: 3-8 says among the animals whatever divides the hoof having cloven Hooves and chewing the cud that you may eat nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have clo and Hooves the camel because it chews the cud but does not have clo and Hooves is unclean to you the rock hyrax because it chews the cud but does not have clo and Hooves is unclean to you the hair because it chews the cud but does not have clo and Hooves is unclean to you and the swine though it divides the hoof having clo and Hooves yet does not chew the cud it is unclean to you their flesh you shall not eat and their carcasses you shall not touch they are unclean to you do you see the similarities to what God told Adam you can eat this but not that the animals that have a split hoof and chew the cud such as the cow deer sheep and goats are clean to be food but the animals that do not have both the split hoof and chew the cud are not clean for food this means dogs cats bears and other such animals that don't have a split hoof and don't chew the cud are not clean for food animals such as rabbits although they chew the cud but they don't have a split hoof so they're unclean then we get to animals such as the pig that has a split hoof but it doesn't chew the cut and we're told they are not food either God gave us two clear distinguishing things to look for in animals that we eat they must have a split hoof and they must chew the cud if they don't have both of these things God says they are not food think about it the unclean animals are the Scavengers and the carnivores when a dead carcass is on the side of the road the unclean animals such as dogs and coyotes come to clean it up unclean animals without hooves are also more likely to have parasites and diseases animals such as the pig are also garbage disposals and they're full of toxins and parasites because of their diet pigs and rats are very similar in these ways and God says not to eat such animals next God gives us instructions about the water animals and the sea creatures in Leviticus 11: 9-12 it says these you may eat of all that are in the water whatever in the water has fins and scales whether in the Seas or in the rivers that you may eat but all in the Seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water they are an Abomination to you they shall be an Abomination to you you shall not eat their flesh but you shall regard their carcasses as an Abomination whatever in the water does not have fins or scales that shall be an Abomination to you again God has given two things that set the clean water animals apart from the unclean they must have both fins and scales so lobster crab shrimp and other shellfish are not clean because they don't have fins or scales fish has fins but it doesn't have scales so it's not clean notice that God calls the unclean animals an Abomination the word Abomination means something that causes disgust or hatred that means these animals should be disgusting to us we shouldn't even want to eat such things think about it Crustaceans and catfish are all Bottom Feeders that means they eat the crud at the bottom of the water they eat the dead rotten carcasses the poop and the trash in the water they serve a great purpose they clean up the gross disgusting things in the water but God says they're not food next God gives us instructions about birds but this list is a little different from the others remember that the land animals have two things to look for it must have a split hoof and Che the cut to be clean likewise fish must have both fins and scales to be clean however with the birds God just list specific birds that are unclean Leviticus 11:1 13-19 says and these your shall regard as an Abomination among the birds they shall not be eaten they are an Abomination the eagle the vulture the Buzzard the kite and the Falcon after its kind every Raven after its kind the ostrich the shorted owl the seagull and the hawk after its kind The Little Owl the Fisher Owl and the screech owl the white owl The Jacka and the caran vulture the stor the Heron after its kind the Hopi and the bat this list is interesting because there are no distinguishing things that we are given to look for in the birds we're not told about their diet or the shape of their beak or the type of feet they have all we're given is a list of specific birds that are not food however many people have observed that these specific unclean birds have certain things in common most of them are carnivores or scavengers such as Eagles Hawks owls and vultures however we're not given those things to look for we're simply given a list of birds that we are not allowed to eat also the bat isn't even a bird but it falls into this category because it's an animal that flies we know that from other scriptures that God provided Quail for food in the desert we also see that clean Birds such as doves could be offered as sacrifices in the temple and the dove is also used to represent the Holy Spirit most people actually do a pretty good job at avoiding unclean Birds because we usually only eat chicken turkey duck quail and pheasant those birds are not on the list of unclean animals so they're fine to eat the next list of clean animals is actually a list of clean insects that we can eat Leviticus 11: 20-23 says all flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an Abomination to you yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to LEAP on the earth these you may eat the Locust after its kind the destroying Locust after its kind the cricket after its kind and the grasshopper after its kind but all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an Abomination to you once again God provided something to distinguish the clean from the unclean the clean insects have wings and jointed legs for jumping such as the grasshopper Locust and Cricket those are the only insects that God gives us for food that means all other insects are unclean the final list given is concerning the creeping animals such as Vermin and reptiles but this list is unique in that it doesn't give us anything clean to eat Leviticus 11:29 9 to 30 says these also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth the mole The Mouse and the large lizard after its kind the gecko the monitor lizard and the sand reptile the sand lizard and the chameleon Leviticus 11:41 and 44 says and every creeping thing that creeps on the Earth shall be an Abomination it shall not be eaten whatever crawls on its belly whatever goes on all fours or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the Earth these you shall not eat for they are an Abomination you shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them lest you be defiled by them for I am the Lord your God you shall therefore consecrate yourselves and you shall be holy for I am Holy neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth this means that God doesn't want us eating any of these types of animals notice also that God ends this list with the phrase be holy as I am Holy this means that part of our Holiness is connected to what we eat and what we don't eat the last two verses of this chapter summarize and explain everything we just read Leviticus 11:46 to 47 says this is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters and every creature that creeps on the earth to distinguish between the unclean and the clean and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten why did God tell us which animal animal or food and which ones are not here are a few things to consider first God cares about what we eat he wouldn't have given us instructions about what we can and can't eat if he didn't care second God wants us to be holy and he tells us this is part of our Holiness third knowing this should help us better understand what Paul was talking about in 1 Timothy 4:5 when he says for it is Sanctified by the word of God and prayer the word of God sanctifies the clean animals because it distinguishes them from the unclean God wants us to learn to distinguish between clean and unclean and this extends Beyond food into every aspect of our lives in Leviticus chapter 20 God even tells us that he wants us to distinguish between the clean and unclean Leviticus 20:25 says you shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean between unclean birds and clean and you shall not make yourselves abominable by Beast or by bird or or by any living thing which creeps on the ground which I have separated from you as unclean we're commanded to distinguish between clean and unclean and we're commanded not to make ourselves unclean by what we eat in fact Ezekiel CH 22 gives a Stern rebuke to the religious leaders who are not making a distinction between clean and unclean Ezekiel 22:26 says her priests have violated my law and profaned my holy things they have not distinguished between the holy and the Unholy nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean and they have hidden their eyes from my Sabbath so that I am profaned among them later in Ezekiel 44 we are told that the priests are required to teach people to distinguish between the clean and the unclean Ezekiel 44:23 says and they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the Unholy and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean this should concern pastors who are not teaching people about clean and unclean animals I don't want to be a pastor who is rebuked for profaning God's name by not teaching about unclean and clean animals that's why I believe this is an important topic we need to discuss however that brings us to something Yeshua said about food some of you might already be thinking about what Yeshua said in Mark chapter 7 about what enters the stomach doesn't defile you so let's look at the context of what Yeshua saying to get a better understanding of it Mark 7: 1-3 says then the phes and some of the scribes came together to him having come from Jerusalem now when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled that is with unwashed hands they found fault for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way holding the tradition of the elders so this sets the stage for what is about to follow the Pharisees have a special handwashing ritual that they require before eating anything this this is attributed as being a tradition of the elders because it's not commanded in the scriptures now let's look at the question they asked Yeshua in mark 7:5 it says then the Pharisees and the scribes asked him why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashed hands the context here is eating bread with unwashed hands this is not a discussion about which animals are clean for food this is a discussion about following the handwashing tradition of the elders now listen to the stern rebuke Yeshua gave them in Mark 7: 6 through 8 it says he answered and said to them well did Isaiah prophesy of you Hypocrites as it is written this people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me and in vain they worship me teaching as doctrines the Commandments of men for laying aside the Commandment of God you hold the tradition of men the washing of pictures and cups and many other such things you do he rebuked them for exalting their own man-made Traditions above the scriptures Yeshua is telling us that we can't exalt man's Traditions above the word of God we need to walk in obedience to the Commandments of God not the traditions of men then he continues by explaining that they are rejecting the Commandments of God by keeping their Traditions Mark 7:9 says he said to them all too well you reject the Commandment of God that you might keep your tradition and Mark 7:13 says making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down to you and many other such things you do this should also serve as a warning to us to be careful that we don't reject the Commandments of God because of the things that have been handed down to us now let's jump down to the explanation he gave to his disciples mark 718- 19 says so he said to them are you thus without understanding also do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him because it does not enter his heart but his stomach and is eliminated thus purifying all foods remember the context is about eating bread with unwashed hands he's not talking about which animals are clean for food also we need to understand that these are Jewish men who've been raised to understand that some animals are food and some are not they would have never taken yeshua's words to mean you can eat unclean animals now because in their mind unclean animals are not food you wouldn't eat plastic or gravel because those things aren't food you wouldn't eat your dog or your cat because it's not food that's how they understood unclean animals those animals are not food and the context of this passage is about eating food specifically bread with unwashed hands understanding this helps us better understand what he's saying all food is clean already because God said it's clean for food so eating with dirty hands doesn't make the food unclean because as 1 Timothy 4:5 says it is Sanctified by the word of God your dirty hands don't make clean food unclean likewise washing your hands doesn't make the food clean either it's only the word of God that makes food clean or unclean because the word of God defines food for us this food includes certain fruit bearing plants and certain animals that are defined by scripture as being food now listen to what Yeshua said defiles us Mark 7:21-23 says for from within out of the heart of men precede evil thoughts adulteries fornications murders thefts covetousness wickedness deceit lewdness and evil eye blasphemy Pride foolishness all of these evil things come from within and defile a man it's the evil in our hearts not the dirt on our hands that defiles us this chapter has absolutely nothing to do with which animals are food and which are not however many preachers and teachers have Twisted this passage and taught that Jesus declared all animals to be food some of you might be asking what about Peter's vision well let's look at the text and see what it says acts chap 10 begins with a gentile named Cornelius who feared God this man received a vision from God telling him to send men to bring Peter back to his house to teach him so Cornelius sent men to go find Peter now keep that in mind as we look at the vision God gave to Peter in Acts 10:9 to 16 it says the next day as they went on their journey and Drew near the city Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour then he became hungry and wanted to eat but while they made ready he fell into a trance and saw heaven open and an object like a great sheep bound at the Four Corners descending to him and let down to the Earth in it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth wild beasts creeping things and birds of the air and a voice came to him rise Peter kill and eat but Peter said not so Lord for I have never eaten anything common or unclean and a voice spoke to him again the second time what God has cleansed you must not call common this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again the first thing to notice is that Peter said that he has never eaten anything unclean if Yeshua had told the disciples that they don't have to keep the Commandments concerning clean and unclean animals then Peter wouldn't have been arguing about it right now Peter was confused by this vision and he was trying to figure out what it meant acts 10:17 says and now while Peter wondered within himself what this Vision which he had seen meant Behold The Men Who had been sent from Cornelius had made their inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate Peter wondered what the vision meant he understood that God wasn't telling him to break the Commandments and eat unclean animals he wondered what the interpretation of the vision was and as he was thinking about it the men Cornel I sent arrived at his door Peter saw the vision three times and while he was thinking about it the Holy Spirit told Peter that three men were seeking him acts 10:19 says while Peter thought about the vision the spirit said to him behold three men are seeking you do you see the connection the vision came three times so Peter would connect it with the three men at the door now listen to Peter's interpretation of the vision in Acts 10:28 29 then he said to them you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another Nation but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean therefore I came without objection as soon as I was asked for I asked then for what reason have you sent for me Peter understood that the vision had nothing to do with food and he explained that God showed him not to call any man common or unclean after speaking with Cornelius Peter was given more clarification about the vision in Acts 10:34 to35 then Peter opened his mouth and said in truth I perceive that God shows no partiality but in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him but let's keep reading because chapter 11 gives us even more information about this Vision acts 11 1-3 says now the apostles and Brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God and when Peter came up to Jerusalem those of the circumcision contended with him saying you went to un circumcised men and ate with them so when Peter returned to Jerusalem he was confronted by Jewish men who were upset that Peter ate with Gentiles so Peter explained the order of events telling them about the vision and the three men now listen to the response to what Peter told them acts 1118 when they heard these things they became silent and they glorified God saying then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life at no point does anyone conclude that Peter's vision was about food they all understood it to be about taking the gospel to the Gentiles however many preachers and teachers have taken Peter's vision out of context and told people that it's about food saying that God declared all animals to be clean for food but once again this is a twisting of scripture they're ignoring the context and imposing their own interpretation onto the text instead of letting the Bible interpret itself Peter gave us the correct interpretation of the vision therefore we cannot conclude that Peter's vision is about food now I know that some of you are saying what about Romans 14 so let's take a look at it the chapter begins with a warning not to argue about doubtful things Romans 14:1 says receive one who is weak in the faith but not to disputes over doubtful things this gives us context for what Paul is about to say Romans 14:2 says for One Believes he may eat all things but he who is weak eats only vegetables here we have an interesting scenario one man is a vegan and the other is an omnivore when it says one believes he may eat all things it's saying he eats all types of food plants and animals the Greek word used here is Penta and in this context it means all types or all kinds of things basically Paul is referring to an omnivore someone who eats both meat and plants however this does not imply that he eats unclean animals it's simply contrasting one who eats meat and veggie with one who eats only veggies this is the context for what Paul says in verse 14 Romans 14:14 and 15 says I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself but to him who considers anything to be unclean to him it is unclean yet if your brother is grieved because of your food you are no longer walking in love do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died let me remind you that in verse one Paul explains that he talking about disputes over doubtful things meaning things that are not clearly defined by scripture next he gave the scenario of two men one who eats an omnivore diet and one who is a vegan now he's talking about a person who considers something to be unclean even if the Bible says it's clean he's talking about the vegan who says that eating meat is unclean Paul explains that even though it is clean to the man who considers it to be unclean it's unclean to him meaning that the vegan doesn't considered meat to be food to the vegan meat is unclean meaning that meat is not food for a vegan now let's go back to verse three for more context Romans 14 3-4 says let not him who eats despise him who does not eat and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats for God has received him who are you to judge another servant to his own Master he stands or Falls indeed he will be made to stand for God is able to make it stand Paul says to the omnivores who eat both meat and veggies we are not supposed to despise the vegan or think less of him for only eating veggies and he says to the vegans that they're not supposed to judge the people who eat meat then he punctuates it by saying who are you to judge another man's servant basically mind your own business in summary vegans don't be telling meat eaters that they're wrong for eating meat and meat eaters don't think less of people who choose not to eat meat the entire context of chapter 14 is about not fighting about different opinions concerning things that don't matter verse 19 says it very well Romans 14:19 says therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another this is not about someone who eats biblically clean versus someone who eats anything he wants at no point does Paul say we can eat unclean animals however that's what some people want to turn this passage into we need to be careful that we we are not reading our own opinions into the text the Bible clearly defines which animals are food and at no point are we told that anything change concerning those animals now I want to give you a few other things to consider 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 says or do you not know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God and you are not your own for you were bought at a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods your body is a Temple and we need to be careful that we aren't polluting our temple with unclean things I'm not just talking about food I'm also talking about things we consume with our eyes and our ears are we learning to discern between clean and unclean in every aspect of Our Lives the food laws teach us principles about sanctification some things are set apart to be food while others are considered unclean we need to do this with our entertainment as well do the things you read glorify God or do they glorify sin do the TV shows and movies you watch glorify God or do they glorify sin does the music you listen to and the games you play glorify God or sin eating biblically clean teaches us to consider the choices we make in life am I going to choose the things that please God or am I going to please myself I still remember the first time I ordered a pizza after understanding that God cares about the food I eat I used to order all the pork products on my pizza but when I understood that my body is a temple and God doesn't want me putting unclean animals in my body I had a choice to make would I order pork pepperoni ham or sausage because I liked it or would I order hamburger that's when I understood that even the food we eat can be an act of worship when we choose to obey God with our food we're worshiping him and doing the things that please him also consider this warning from Philippians 3 Philippians 3:18 and 19 says for many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the Cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on Earthly things have you made your stomach your God when you eat are you seeking to eat only things that please God by obeying his Commandments or do you eat whatever you want this will tell you which God you serve don't let food get between you and God Hebrews 12:16 says lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau who for one morsel of food sold his Birthright one final thing to consider when Yeshua cast out the Legion of demons out of the man he allowed them to enter a herd of pigs he let the unclean spirits inhabit unclean animals Luke 8: 30-33 says Jesus asked him saying what is your name and he said Legion because many demons had entered him and they beg begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss now I heard of many swine was feeding there on the mountain so They begged him that he would permit them to enter them and he permitted them then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine and the herd ran violently down the Steep Place into the lake and drown this makes me wonder if there's a spiritual aspect to why some animals are clean and others are unclean could we potentially be exposing ourselves to unclean spirits by eating unclean animals I know that God has a really good reason why he told us not to eat certain animals remember the trees in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from The Forbidden tree they were exposed to something God didn't want for them they were given the knowledge of Good and Evil God had a good reason for telling them not to eat that tree but they chose to disobey God and they suffered the consequences for it likewise God has a good reason for telling us not to eat certain animals but we have to decide if we're going to obey God or listen to The Serpent who's whispering in our ear did God really say that what do you think should Christians follow the biblical diet today let me know in the comments hey friends if you've been enjoying the show and you want to help keep the conversation going then we love your support let's talk biblical is a listener supported podcast and we couldn't do this without you your support helps keep this show running for more information about how you can support this ministry visit unlearned th lies.com and thank you so much for being a part of let's talk biblical now that we've explored the depths of today's topic it's time to hear from you welcome to the Q&A portion of the show where you can ask questions about today's topic so post your questions in the chat and let's talk biblical all right the first question I have in the chat tonight is are we saved by faith alone on Christ or with Works um I actually did a video on faith uh a couple weeks ago in the end of January and I talked about the connection between faith and works um and so I would recommend you go watch that video because it's it's got uh quite a bit of information in it but just to um kind of summarize and answer the question uh we are saved by faith we are not saved by works uh but Faith produces works so if you believe you will obey if you believe you will do things that please God if you believe you will want to um honor God and please him and so our faith produces good works in us but if you try to do the inverse of it you could do all the works you want but if if you don't have faith what's the point um The Works The Works don't save you it's the faith that saves you um so that's I guess kind of a a summary of it I had a question I saw in there earlier and I I don't don't see it anymore so I don't know what happened to it uh but the question was about Noah and um they asked if uh Noah ate all animals or if he only ate the clean animals and so I want to go and let's look in Genesis uh let's start in seven I think uh nope sorry six and let's go to okay uh verse 19 says of every living thing that of All Flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you they shall be male and female but um there is another verse me find it here real quick uh maybe it was verse chapter 7 there's a verse I'm looking for that talks about they took seven pair of the clean animals oh here it is yep chapter 7 verse 2 you shall take with you seven each of every clean animal a male and his female to each of animals that are unclean a male and his female so here we have Noah given instructions about clean and unclean animals it it's kind of interesting kind of peculiar because you don't hear about clean and unclean animals again until you get into Leviticus 11 and so why was God telling Noah to bring in seven pair of clean animals a M and a female uh seven males seven females um well because those are the ones that are meant for food if you have two pigs a male and female and you eat one of them the entire population of pigs will no longer exist they'll all die out they will um you won't be able to to reproduce pigs and then you know after you eat one uh you might might as well eat the other because they they can't reproduce but he said bring seven pair of the clean animals well why did he say bring seven pair because if you eat a clean animal and you have you have six more that you can reproduce from and so you can e one of the sheep and you still have six sheep left I'm sorry seven pairs so it' be 14 total so you'd have 13 left sorry um my my math skills are lacking tonight um so you have seven pair which makes 14 sheep so if you eat one you still have 13 sheep left um you can eat quite a few actually and still have plenty left to repopulate the Earth um but the idea is that there would be extra clean animals so they could eat of the animals and still have animals left over to reproduce and to repopulate because after the flood God needed the animals to reproduce and repopulate the Earth so um that was important but the unclean animals didn't need as many to repopulate the Earth because they weren't intended to be food um and I think that's really the big um the big misunderstanding that people have about clean and unclean animals it's not clean and unclean Foods it's clean and unclean animals um clean animals are food unclean animals are not food U it would be like if you know if I said hey I have a I have a pen here would you eat this no because it's not food um I have a piece of paper here would you eat this no because it's not food um you know I have a uh plastic bottle would you eat that no it's not food so there's there's plenty of things you wouldn't eat cardboard you wouldn't eat rocks you wouldn't eat dirt um you wouldn't eat metal there's lots of things on the earth that you're not going to eat because it's not food you understand it's not food the problem The Dilemma that we face in our culture is that certain animals have been offered up in the supermarket as food and they're served on menus at restaurants as food um contrary to what the Bible says that's really the issue and so um the Bible says that pig is not food but you can find pig at many restaurants most restaurants probably have pig and so we we grow up thinking pig is food because we're exposed to it so much it's you know every time we go to the store we see pork on the the meat aisle every time we go to a restaurant we see pork on the menu um when you order a pizza you have options for pork when you uh go to get breakfast at McDonald's it they have pork it's sausage and bacon um you know whatever everywhere you go you see pork on the menu and so we grow up with this mindset thinking pork's food and so people resist that because they've grown up eating it and thinking it's food and when they get to the scripture that says you're not supposed to eat it they they challenge that and they question that and they say well what's wrong with eating it I like it I eat it all the time but you know they they don't question or challenge hey should I eat my dog no because your dog isn't food to you you don't ever think about oh uh when you know here here in a couple months we're going to butcher our dog and eat him you nobody ever thinks that the the dog's the pet the dog is not food um same with cats you know they don't they don't say hey I'm going to butcher my cat and have him for dinner because you don't think of cats as food the only reason people think of pig as food is because they see it at the supermarket and at the restaurants um same with catfish shrimp Lobster um clams um you know all different kinds of shellfish and things like that the only reason you think of them as food is because they're on the menu at the restaurant um they're they're not meant to be food though God didn't create them to be food and God didn't tell us to eat them he told us not to eat them and so that's that's really the the big difference is what do you consider to be food and what do you not consider to be food and so so for example in some Oriental countries like China and Japan and and things like that you might go visit those countries and you see a rat hanging up in the market on the street for sale for food they they butchered a rat and they hung up his carcass and they're selling it and people eat it you go to those countries and they eat rat um you know some places they eat eel eel is not food but some places people eat it and so in um you know in the United States people don't eat rat and and if you said hey I'm come over to my house for dinner tonight we're having rat uh the people would look at you like you're disgusting they would say why in the world would you eat a rat but if you go to China or uh some other country where they rat is on the menu and they say hey come over for dinner and you show up and they say we're having rat you know you you're like what in the world's going on here um why are these people eating rat we don't eat rat in the United States rat is a disgusting Vermin it's nasty why would anybody want to eat that well it's the same thing with pig it's a it's a disgusting animal why would anybody want to eat it well it's because it's offered on the menu the reason people in China eat rat is because it's offered on the menu um it's become culturally acceptable to eat rat even though in other places around the world it is not not culturally acceptable in those countries it is so does that make it okay to eat just because it's culturally acceptable not according to the Bible um you know Frog as another you know frogs and lizards and and uh alligator and things like that you know you go to uh Louisiana and you may walk into a restaurant and they say hey we're having frog for on the menu tonight well or or they're having Gator on the menu tonight well that's not something that you may be familiar with because where you grow up they don't have frogs and Gators for for dinner um you don't consider that food you consider that a weird slimy reptile um but in certain places they eat that and they consider it food well it's culturally it's become culturally acceptable in that area as food but that doesn't mean it's meant to be food by God um you know so those are things we've got to consider is just because it's culturally acceptable doesn't mean it's acceptable in the eyes of God God created some animals to be food and he created other animals not to be food and he told us these animals are food and these animals are not um and that's really the question what what does clean and unclean mean is clean means it's food unclean means it's not food that's really what the Bible is saying these animals are food these animals are not food and you know when people come along and they say well those laws don't apply anymore has something changed about those unclean animals that now it's no longer unclean um has you know it says that clean animals have a split hoof and they chew the cud when you look at a look at a pig do they chew the cud no they all these years they still don't chew the cud they still eat all kinds of garbage and uh you look at a rabbit after all these years rabbits still don't have a split hoof nothing has changed about these animals they're still the same animals today as they were thousands of years ago um so why would they all of a sudden be okay to eat it doesn't make sense uh eel eel still doesn't have scales um lobster and crab still don't have fins and scales nothing's changed about them they're still listed as unclean an animal because they don't have they don't meet the requirements that the Bible gave us for what is food and so once we realize that that's what clean and unclean means clean means food unclean means not food um hopefully that helps shift our attitude towards some of these things and realize that what I've been eating isn't actually food God didn't call it food God never told us it's food um and it also helps better explain some of the the things in the New Testament um you know when they're talking about food they're they're not talking about anything you feel like putting in your mouth um they're talking about the things that God has defined as food so I hope that helps better un uh explain some of those things um but uh you know back to Noah uh did he eat unclean animals I really doubt it because if he like I said if he had eaten a pig pigs wouldn't exist today they would have been extinct because there's only two pigs but we have seven each seven pair of sheep we have seven pair of goats we have seven pair of cows we have seven pair of deer we have seven pair of gazelle seven pair of antelope but there's only two horses I I don't think Noah ate a horse because horses wouldn't exist today if Noah had eaten one of those horses um so to say that you know Noah ate unclean animals really doesn't make sense um it only makes sense to think he he must have only ate the clean animals because the unclean animals would have been extinct if he'd eaten one of them um I mean I guess he could you know cut a leg off and just have okay I'm just going to have a pig leg so I'll cut the leg off the pig the rest of the pig will still be there he'll be a three-legged Pig now but he'll still be alive like I guess you know you could make that argument maybe but uh I think that's kind of a silly argument [Music] um so hopefully that helps understand and explain some of those questions um I really haven't seen a whole lot of questions in the chat so oh here's here's the uh the Noah question I found it can we confirm that Noah ate clean animals or uh can we only guess I I I think it's more than a guess um like I said if if he' had eaten one of those two pigs pigs would have gone extinct uh but he could have eaten one of those 14 sheep and uh he could have eaten one of those 14 cows and he could have eaten one of those 14 deer and those animals would not have gone extinct they would have still been alive but if he had eaten one horse or one pig or one dog those species would have gone extinct so I think it it makes sense to say that he must have only aten clean animals and the interesting thing is um God God tells Noah um take seven each of every clean animal a male and a female but he doesn't tell him well this animal's clean this animal's not clean Noah somehow understood which animals were clean and which ones were unclean how did Noah have that understanding and so um there's actually a lot of of speculation and guesswork that maybe some of these things were understood from the beginning and they got lost along the way and God had to remind people uh when Leviticus came along and he had to tell them hey you know here's here's your reminder these animals are clean these animals are not clean um but that maybe early on Adam and Noah and Abraham and some of those people they understood it and they they knew it we we can't prove that we don't know for sure uh but that's that's uh a possibility I think especially when you consider this verse because um you know he was supposed to take seven pairs of clean animals um and he did he did that and so how did he know which ones were clean he he must have somehow known um or else he would have gotten wrong he would have taken you know seven pair of of something unclean or only two of the clean ones if he hadn't known for sure so somehow he knew um let's see go back to the questions here um let's see uh somebody said that they they've had scripture removed um uh I've seen scripts removed and not sure the reasons why someone else said uh why did why did they delete my script reference um nobody's deleting script references um I have I have a couple people doing moderation for me um the only things that they delete are people who are really obnoxious and um trolls and and people posting spammy stuff and hate um they they don't they don't delete things that are uh even contradictory or questions that challenge something that I've said they they don't do that um and they don't definitely don't delete Bible verses so U just just so you guys understand uh the moderators are just basically trying to uh keep the chat from being uh crazy and not having um ridiculous hateful or spammy types of comments B basically so and I think last week somebody called me a a chauvinist and the moderators didn't delete it which is fine I didn't expect them to um but it was kind of a hateful thing for the person to say uh but the moderators didn't delete it and I I actually responded to it um so I you know I I try not to um filter out uh questions and comments that are contrary to what I think or or believe uh because I think being able to respond to those is good and um and it's good to be challenged sometimes if especially if you're wrong you need to be challenged uh but sometimes even if you're right you need to be challenged just so you can have a better understanding and uh a better defense for what you believe and why you believe it so all right uh here's question um says I've been hearing a lot of people question chickens being clean or unclean what do you think clean or unclean why um I I would say chickens are clean because they're not on the list of unclean Birds um that's something I mentioned earlier is that with the birds he doesn't give us qualifiers he doesn't say this one's clean because of this and this one's unclean because of that he just says here's a list of birds that you're not supposed to eat and so you don't eat the hawk or the falcon or the Raven or the uh vulture or the owl you know and he just goes lists these these birds and he says don't eat these they're not clean um and if it's not on the list then it's fine to eat and so chicken's not on the list so it's fine to eat turkeyy is not on the list so it's fine to eat duck is not on the list so it's fine to eat Quail is not on the list so it's fine to eat pheasant is not on the list so it's fine to eat and those are the birds you typically will see uh being sold as food um I don't think I've ever seen an owl for sale as food anywhere I I don't think that at least not anywhere in the United States maybe in other countries uh but I've never seen an owl for sale as food in the United States um I've never heard of a a hawk being for sale as food um I've never heard of anybody trying to uh kill an eah Hawk um or an eagle or a bat or you know any of these unclean animals uh unclean Birds uh and so with the birds I feel like most people do a pretty good job of sticking with the list even if they don't know the list and so it seems pretty intuitive um that you can eat certain birds and not others and people kind of understand that um and really what um what it boils down to is some people have a biblical definition of what is food and what is not and other people have a non-biblical view of what is food and what is not but everybody has some sort of idea about some animals are okay to eat and some are not um and so like one person might think squirrel is fine to eat and other people would say why in the world would you eat that that's disgusting someone might think that eating snake is fine and other people be like no that's nasty that's disgusting why would you eat that and so everybody has their own internal built-in uh understanding of clean and unclean that just doesn't always match up up with what the Bible says is clean and unclean and so U like I mentioned dog and cat earlier um you know some person you know like once in a while you hear something on the news about uh this Chinese restaurant um got busted for serving cat uh instead of chicken you know and and uh a bunch of cats are gone missing in this neighborhood and they and they've been trying to figure out where all the cats have gone and then they realized oh it's the Chinese restaurant they're cooking the cat um and you know Americans are appalled they're disgusted they're they're throwing a fit they're up in arms that why would this restaurant be killing cats and serving them on the menu this is a disgusting perversion this is so nasty so gross I'm appalled I will never eat at this restaurant again that's the attitude of most Americans uh but if you go to China and they they may serve cat on the menu and nobody even questions it and they don't have to tell you it's chicken they just tell you it's cat um they don't you know they serve rat on the menu they don't tell you it's chicken they tell you it's rat um and it it's not a problem for them but in America we have a different perspective on that we have our own um American list of clean and unclean animals it just doesn't always line up with the Bible and that's that's really what it comes down to to is is are you eating a biblically clean diet or are you is your diet something else are you eating things that the Bible says is not food um that's really what it boils down to so uh let's see uh okay in Cambodia people eat cats dogs eel literally everything even blood yeah and you know that's another thing blood U didn't mentioned it earlier but the Bible specifically forbids eating blood um you know most people are are okay with that commandment they they don't challenge it they don't question it they don't um say oh I really want I really want to drink some blood most people don't do that it's it's it's strange and odd to most people to think about it um but the Bible says don't don't eat blood well why does it say Don't eat blood it it really makes you wonder what what is it you know it says the life of the animals in the blood um and you're supposed to pour it out on the earth you're not supposed to eat it but um I I've heard of like Voodoo and and uh occult practices where uh Witchcraft and things like that where they will drink blood and that it somehow invokes demonic possession maybe that's why God said don't drink blood because the spirit of that animal you know says that the the blood contains the life of that animal well if that animal had a evil spirit in it and you drank the blood then you've you've just invited that evil spirit into your body maybe that has something to do with it um I don't know I'm just speculating I'm just guessing but um you know I know that you know that is that is a a strange practice that um most people are not okay with um but they throw fit about pork you know I can't believe you're telling me I can't have pork uh what's wrong with pork well the Bible says it's not food that's what's wrong with it um and that's really the big one that most people throw fit about nobody you don't hear Too Many people saying O I really really really want to eat a a skunk I I would love to have a horse why you you never hear people say that I would love to eat horse I would love to eat um raccoon I would love to eat pum oh man can you can you imagine some good pum stew it's just it's disgusting why why would anybody want that um and so most people don't throw a fit about those things what they throw fit about is pork because Walmart sells it in the grocery store uh because they serve it at at the restaurant and that's why they throw fit about it that that's really the only reason they throw a fit about it honestly because they've been raised to think it's food when it's not um H okay can you expound on Mark 77 well let's pull that up Mark 7:17 okay this is Mark 7:17 when he had entered the house away from the crowd his disciples asked him concerning the parable um I'm not sure I'm not sure if that maybe you put the wrong verse in the in the question um but I'm not I'm not sure what needs to be expounded here um when he entered the house away from the crowd his disciples asked him concerning the parable uh so he explained it to them uh and he said are you without understanding do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him um you know so it's not the things so here's here's the uh I I already talked about Mark 7 um but you know let me just kind of give you a little bit more context for it so the question is okay they were eating bread with unwashed hands and they said that the the unwashed of your hands defiles you because you're eating something with dirty hands and so by and so you're defiling the food and then you're taking that food into you and it defiles you that's not Yeshua is saying no that's that's not how it works um eating with dirty hands doesn't defile the food and it it doesn't defile you um you know the the the food is not defiled by your hands and you are not defiled by what you eat but uh so let's just let's take unclean things into account here was he saying you can eat anything you want no that's not what he said uh he didn't say hey uh just go out and um you know pick up uh a lizard and pop it in your mouth he didn't say that um he wasn't saying that you can eat anything you want and and it's okay he wasn't saying all animals are food um he was saying food is clean because God said it's clean and um there your dirty hands don't make that food unclean that's that's all he was saying is your dirty hands don't make the food unclean um and eating that food with dirty hands doesn't make you unclean either it doesn't defile you um the the question is not it's not a debate about what animals are food and that's where so many people have gotten it twisted and they've turned it into something that is not um it's not a debate about what's food and what's not food that nowhere in this entire chapter is there any question about hey is it okay if I eat this unclean animal that's not the question the question is does unclean hands defile the clean food and you know it'd be like um if let's see I've got here's a here's a plastic bag with some stuff in it if I said hey are you hungry here's some plastic you you wouldn't eat that um it's not food right why would I eat that it's not food um the the debate isn't what can you eat and what can't you eat the debate is does do you need to wash your hands before you eat or does that somehow defile you that's really all the scenario is about um the whole context of it but um he goes on he says uh because it does not enter his heart but his stomach and is eliminated thus purifying all foods and so again he's talking about eating food he's not talking about eating things that are not food um and so rat is not food so he's not talking about eating rat he's talking about eating food um so but it goes into your stomach and then it's purged out into the stool it's eliminated from your body your body pulls the nutrients and and protein and vitamins and whatever gets out of it minerals whatever's in the food and your the things your body needs it pulls it out and uses it and then it just purges the rest it's not necessary for your body so it just gets purged out and flush down the toilet that's basically what he's saying here it it doesn't go into your heart to defile you um it goes into your stomach and then is eliminated in your bowels um and then he says what comes out of a man is what defiles him so you know it he says uh from within out of the heart of men proceede evil thoughts adulteries fornications murders Etc okay so it's out of your heart comes the evil and so it's what comes out of you that defiles you the things that you say and do the things that you think the things uh um you know how you treat other people those are the things that defile you is is your behavior and your thoughts and your actions and your words um those are the things that defile you and so but you know eating meat with or eating bread with unwashed hands um does not defile you so uh let's see question if something like a dog oh sorry didn't put up on the screen okay question if something like a dog eats pork for example and licked your licked you would that make you unclean um well the dog is unclean also so um you know you you you're not unclean by touching the dog you're unclean uh the the dog is unclean to eat and so it's not touching the touching the dog doesn't make you unclean the dog is unclean and the dog is not fit to be food uh um so you know I think it's kind of a misunderstanding of of what what this means um It also says you know you're not supposed to touch the carcass and I've heard people say well can we touch a football if a football is made out of pig skin um well the the football made out of pig skin is not a carcass um the football made out of pig skin is is leather that's been treated and Tann and um turn into a product so I don't think that's what it's referring to but if you have questions or concerns about that then um get a football that's made out of cow skin or get a football that's made out of synthetic material um you know if you just you know are concerned that that might be a problem but I I don't think it's a problem um uh let's see um looking for one more question oh here we go question I try to eat clean but sometimes I am invited to a wedding or engagement party and the food is clean but they have put [Music] uh inex inan sticks into the for blessing how should we I don't know what that means instan sticks um into it for blessing uh I'm going to look up that word real quick and stand sticks uh got a large selection of mobile devices available um wholesale electronic and telion I I'm I'm guessing that's the wrong word um because I'm not sure what that means and it seems to be connected to some sort of electronic devices um they put in Stand six into it for blessing how should we react I I wish I knew what you were trying to ask because I'm not sure that makes I don't understand the question um they put something into it for blessing um what would they put into wedding food for blessing um now are are you asking about uh you know if it was a Islamic wedding and they blessed it to Allah I don't think that's what you're asking um there put something into it for blessing so something in the food to bless the couple Maybe um so would be like a superstitious act I I really don't know how to answer your question because I don't know what you're asking I so sorry um okay uh this is not a question but I think it's a I'm going to make a question out of it and so is he says there is a difference between clean unclean and sin um unclean you can go into the temp Temple to worship or eat I'm sorry unclean you can't go into the temple to worship or eat of the sacrifices uh nowadays we are unclean we are all unclean but it doesn't let us break God's law okay so I'm going to turn this into a question what is the difference between clean unclean and sin or what's the difference between clean and uh what's the difference between unclean and sin and so uh let's think about I'm going to uh I don't have a bullseye but im a bullseye and so the very center of the bullseye is Holy and clean they they are the same thing in the center holy and clean is the same exact thing in the center so whatever is Holy is clean but then outside of that you have another ring and it is clean but it's not holy and so um you know it's a it's the the the the second ring is is clean it's things that are clean but they're not necessarily holy there there's there's nothing wrong with them but they're not set apart they're not Sanctified they're not holy in that sense well then outside that you have common and so things that are common they're not uh they're not clean or unclean they're just common they're just kind of whatever and then outside that you have unclean well unclean is um is further removed you know as you're going out from this ring centner is Holy Holiness and the closer to Holiness you are the better the further out from Holiness you are the worse right so you're you're now getting into this area of unclean okay and unclean is far removed from holy it's far removed from clean it is something um uh foul it's something that's it's it's um not good and outside of that you would have evil you would have perverse you would have um you know just the the most foul type of stuff and so you know you've got these all all these different levels Rings um and you want to be as close to Holy as you can you want to move towards Holiness you don't want to move away from Holiness and so when you are a sinner you're on this outside ring the the the outside ring where it's profane where it's evil where it's foul where it's um perverse and you you're a sinner and you want to move towards Holiness and so you you you move from perverse to unclean and then you move from unclean to Common then you move from common to clean and then you move from clean to Holy and as you're moving in you are you are getting rid of the stuff in your life um and then you have okay so so that kind of helps better understand what hopefully it helps better understand what clean unclean and sin is so sin would be that outer ring where it's perverse right um You can be unclean and not be sin so for example uh a woman who is on her menstrual cycle is considered unclean but she has not sinned is something that happens every month um and it's something that just naturally happens to her body something God created in her body she is unclean for a time because of it it's because of the emission of blood um so she's unclean which means she cannot enter into the temple um and you know you're not supposed to uh to sleep with your wife when she's on her menstrual cycle and um you know you're supposed to avoid sitting on furniture that she's sat on because of the blood and you don't want to get the you know touching the blood contaminates you and so this regulation about the blood is about containing the contamination not spreading the contamination and so the blood itself is what's unclean and so you don't want to touch uh you know this this woman on her menstrual cycle because then it contaminates you and you become unclean um and that teaches us something about Sin and so we we we learn that sin is also unclean and we want to avoid sin we don't want to touch sin we want to distance oursel from it we want to um uh isolate ourselves from sin we want to um what's a good word anyway we we want to separate from it we don't want to embrace it we want to distance oursel from sin same thing with unclean we want to distance oursel from unclean um so that we can remain clean so that we can be holy um but a woman can be unclean on her menstrual cycle and she has not sinned so she's not in sin by being on her cycle um and there's lots of things the Bible says make us unclean but it doesn't necessarily mean that we've sinned um so that's something else we've got to consider but there are times when they do overlap and so some things are inclean and they do make us uh they are sin they they do defile us and so uh like for example the uh let's just go back to the menstrual cycle um it says if a man sleeps with his wife during her menstrual cycle or if a man sleeps with a woman during her menstrual cycle um he is he has committed a sin and he's to be excommunicated from from God's people excuse me he's to be excommunicated he's going to be kicked out of the community because he has committed sin he has done something um sinful but the woman on her period uh she's not done something sinful by having a period the man who sleeps with her though has committed a sinful act because he slept with the woman on her menstrual cycle and so he's committed sin um and so there you know there is some overlap at times but um being unclean doesn't necessarily mean sin has taken place so uh let's see oh okay uh back to the question earlier I met Mark 7:19 in saying this Jesus declared all foods clean okay Mark 7:19 let's look at Mark 7:19 uh Mark 7:19 and the new King James says because it does not enter his heart but in his stomach and is limited thus purifying all Foods um it doesn't say Jesus declared all foods clean that says thus purifying all foods now uh the NIV and a couple of other translations say that but I want to go ahead and pull up um let's go to Mark and I want to look at the Greek and so I'm going to pull it up in here and show you Mark 7 19 in the Greek so you're not just taking my word for it that that's a poor translation but that you can actually see for yourself uh what the text actually says so that you understand why the NIV has a poor translation of it okay uh oops that's 17 uh 19 okay because not it enters of him into the heart but into the belly and into the sewer goes out purifying all the food okay so that word uh so first off I want you to notice there's nothing about declaring anything it doesn't say Jesus declared anything there's no that Greek uh the words there Jesus declared do not exist in Greek in this text um and so Jesus didn't declare anything that is nowhere present in this entire chapter in this entire verse um Jesus didn't declare anything it just says purifying all the food okay so this word purifying means to cleanse to purify uh to make clean um uh let's see implies a transformation from a state of impurity to an aity um let's see removing ad mixture uh okay here we go cleanse um make clean purify uh so funny thing is it says declared clean here well that's because some translations translate it that way but it it has nothing to do with declaring anything um let's see physical stains and dirt uh so it makes clean from physical stains and dirt um to let's see remove by Clean by remove by cleansing um free from defilement or sin or free from wickedness um free from guilt or [Music] sin to consecrate by cleansing or purifying to dedicate something uh to pronounce clean um to purge or purify okay so here's what I was looking for uh it means cleanse Purge or purify um and so when when you look at back to the verse here um it goes into the sewer purging all the food okay so it's it's purging the food from your body it's removing the food from your body um you wouldn't say that the poop is clean right um so when you you know you go to the bathroom and you poop you don't say oh look uh there's some clean food in there for me I'm going to eat that now because it's now it's clean because it's been purified no that's not what he's saying um so it doesn't that doesn't make sense to say when it comes out you know it goes through your stomach and then out your bowels uh then it's clean that's not what he's saying he's saying it's purged it's being purged from your body and so now we go back to uh the new King James where it says it does not enter his heart but into his stomach and is eliminated thus purifying all foods or thus purging all foods is really what it says um but if we want to go to um let's see Mark 19 and let's go to the NIV and up I got to put on the screen sorry here you go Mark 719 in the NIV says it doesn't go go into their heart but into their stomach and then out of the body in saying this Jesus declared all foods clean now notice that in saying this Jesus declared all foods clean notice that is in parenthesis that means it was not in the original text that means it was added by a translator okay when when they do that they bracket it off like that it's showing you this is not actually part of the text this is an addition that a translator put in there that is his translator's bias um that is not what the original text says so um this was an addition of a translator and people read that as if it's scripture itself uh let's go ahead and look at um let's see what the ESV says I'm just curious I I'm not familiar with what they say okay so since it enters his heart uh enters not his heart but his stomach and is ex expelled thus he declared all who is clean again there's nothing in the Greek that says he declared anything um it says that he it goes into the stomach and then out into the stool and is purged from the body um and so I you know already showed you the Greek and what it says there so this is again in parenthesis showing you that that is a translator um bias uh let's look at uh let's look at the Amplified let's see what they say Mark 719 in the Amplified says since it does not into his heart but only his stomach and from there it is eliminated by this he declared all food ceremonially clean so they added the word ceremonial to it um but it's not in the original text the RSV uh thus he declared all foods clean the uh NE let's look at The Net Bible uh this means all foods are clean again it's still in parentheses every one of these they put in these parentheses is not in the original text Young's living let's see what that one shows okay Young's Living Translation is known as uh one of the most literal translations available to us it is a word for word literal translation in the same word order as the Greek uh or in very similar close word order it's maybe not exact but it's very close word order so it's sometimes awkward to read uh because it doesn't make as much sense in English um but is a very literal translation of the text because it doth not enter into his heart but into his belly and into the drain it doth go out purifying all the meats okay now this is an old uh old translation and so uh the word Meats there is actually Foods um but back at that time uh as you'll see in the King James we'll jump over the King James U meat is often times um used in place of food so King James says because it entereth not into his heart but into the belly and goeth out into the drought purging all Meats okay and so the translation you have makes a difference um and I I talked about translations you know earlier uh in January and um so if you're curious about translations you might want to check that one out as well um nasb let's look at the nasb uh thus he declared all foods clean is in parenthesis um let's see I did the NLT uh Hebrew names version uh because it doesn't go into his heart but his stomach then into the latrine thus making all foods clean um uh let's see is there any others trying to think of any other popular ones that people like to use csb thus declared all foods clean as in parenthesis uh you kind of get the point though so they put in parentheses because they know it's not in the text um and so they they they want it in they want it on the page though they want you to read it but it's not in the it's not in the Greek and so um you know again the new King James says uh is is actually a really good translation of this one because it does not interest heart but in stomach and is eliminated thus purifying all foods uh the only thing I would change about is instead of purifying I would say purging thus purging all foods because um the stuff that goes out into the toilet is not clean it's not pure uh I would go with the definition of purging not purifying for that word um but that's uh as you see this there's nothing declared here um because not it enters of him into the heart but into the belly and into the sewer goes out purifying all the food or purging all the food and food here is bromma and it means food or meat food of any kind um meaning to eat or devour so it's referring to whatever you eat right bromma has to do with the things you eat the the um what you're consumed or what what what you consume it refers to your meal um and so well how how did Yeshua Define food how did the disciples Define food how did the Pharisees Define food because those are the people that are in the context of Mark 7 they didn't Define rat as food they he wasn't talking about eating a rat and oh it's fine you can eat a rat uh he wasn't talking about that he was talking about eating bread with unwashed hands and all of those men present were Jewish men who understood the biblical food laws and they had an understanding of what is clean for food what is food and what is not food according to the Bible and so by imposing some other uh definition of food on there you are altering what the context is um so anyway let's see Epal says I understand now unclean animals are not to be considered food exactly um that's exactly what the Bible's telling us if it says it's clean that means it's food if it says it's not clean that means it's not food um so uh okay I think that is probably a good place place to stop we've I know there's more questions in the chat um and and I know if I answer a question there's going to be two more pop up and if I answer another one two more are going to pop up so we're never going to get through all the questions um hopefully uh I've given you guys at least a good starting point for understanding this topic and um hopefully you can take it from there and go and um learn more on this topic and and continue with it um I hope this has been a blessing for you I hope this show has been um beneficial and helpful in in your own walk with the Lord and uh let me tell you about next week can we defend the Virgin birth of Yeshua in today's world the Virgin birth is under attack Skeptics claim it's a misinterpretation of a prophecy a later Church invention or even borrowed from Pagan myths but what does the bible truly say is Isaiah 7:14 really about a virgin birth how did Matthew and Luke confirm it and why is the Virgin birth essential to yeshua's Divine Nature join us next week as we provide a strong scriptural defense of the Virgin birth and why it matters for our faith today thank you for joining me on list talk biblical if you enjoyed this episode then share it with your friends and keep the conversation going be sure to subscribe so you don't miss anything and I look forward to chatting with you again next week until next time keep talking biblical shalom