The Lie Most Christians Believe about food

Can we eat pork if it’s received with thanksgiving? It's time to UNLEARN the lies. UNLEARN Hey, welcome to UNLEARN. My name is Lex, and I'd like to invite you to join us each week as we UNLEARN the lies and dig deeper into the truth of God's Word. Now, let's get started. Thanksgiving is coming up and many people like to eat ham at their Thanksgiving dinner in spite of the fact that the Bible forbids eating pork. “and the SWINE, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh YOU SHALL NOT EAT, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.” - Leviticus 11:7-8 To justify eating unclean animals, many people point to 1 Timothy 4:4 which says, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving” - 1 Timothy 4:4 Used alone, this verse is being plucked out of context, and we need to be careful that we always look at the whole context of any verse to really understand what’s being said. We at least need to look at the verse before and the verse after. So, lets look at the context of this verse. “…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.” - 1 Timothy 4:3-5 Notice that Paul is talking about “foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving”, and he also explains that these things are “sanctified by the word of God”. This is very important, because the Bible gives us very clear instructions about which animals are given for food and which ones are not. That’s actually what it means when it says it is “sanctified by the word of God”. Sanctified means set-apart. So, by definition all animals cannot be set-apart because if all animals are clean and none are unclean, then there is no distinction being made and nothing is sanctified. To be sanctified means that one thing is distinguished from something else. So, in Leviticus 11 we see that God tells us we can eat the land animals that have a split hoof and chew the cud. “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 cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.” - Leviticus 11:3-8 So, we see a distinction being made. Some animals are sanctified for food and others are not. We see that the Bible is defining which animals are food and which ones are not. This is what Paul was talking about when he said, “foods which God created” and are “sanctified by the word of God.” Paul is not telling us we can eat anything we want. He is arguing against people who were saying you can’t eat meat. Basically, this is an argument against vegans who are trying to impose their veganism on us. This is not an argument in favor of eating unclean animals. Paul makes a similar argument in Romans 14, saying; “For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.” - Romans 14:2 We may eat all things, or all types of things, but that does not mean we can eat everything. This does not mean we can eat unclean things, just that we don’t have to be vegetarians. If a cannibal tried to apply 1 Timothy 4:4 and Romans 14:2 to mean we can eat all things including humans, I am sure almost every Christian who ever lived would have a big issue with his application of those verses because they understand that humans are not food. Well, according to the Bible, pig is not food either. Look at what Ezekiel 22 says about how the priests and leaders are leading people astray, and I want you to think about how this might apply to leaders in the church today. “Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.” - Ezekiel 22:26 Most preachers today are telling people to ignore the laws concerning clean and unclean animals, as well as teaching against the Sabbath. These are the exact things Ezekiel was speaking against. Many people seem to think God is bipolar, or that He changes His mind about things. I’ve actually heard people argue that God used to want His people to obey Him, but He no longer requires us to do so. Listen! The Bible tells us that God does not change. “For I am the Lord, I do not change” - Malachi 3:6 It also tells us that Yeshua doesn’t change either. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” - Hebrews 13:8 If God tells us to only eat certain animals that He says are clean, and God does not change, then how can we conclude that we can eat anything we want now? So, this year at Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you to consider which things God has sanctified for you to eat, and receive only those things with Thanksgiving. Don’t be ungrateful for the things you are not allowed to eat. Be thankful that you have so many wonderful things to eat. God could have made us eat grass like cows, but instead He gave us such a wonderful variety of good things to eat. We have so much to be thankful for. SHARE THE TRUTH UNLEARN THE LIES Thanks for watching. If you found this video helpful then share it with your friends and family so they can UNLEARN the lies with us. 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