The Christian Diet!

Today we will be covering what the bible says about food. By the end of this study you should be able to Answer questions like. Should Christians be vegetarians? What Animals are ok to eat? Is there any kind of food Christians shouldn't eat? and more.

Let's start off by discussing vegetarians, should we as Christians avoid eating meat? There is no doubt that eating certain plants is good for us, after all it's what God originally designed for us to eat (Gen 1:29-30). Additionally there will be no more predation when God makes the new heaven and earth ( Isa 11: 6-7, Isa 65:25). Undoubtedly it seemed to improve Daniel and his 3 friends health when they ate pulse and drank water, although this could very well be attributed to a miracle; since Daniel and his friends refused to defile themselves with the kings meat (Dan 1). 

So does the bible say it's a sin to eat meat? Well yes and no, it depends on certain circumstances, and dispensations in the bible. right after the flood God allowed man to eat Animals as well as plants (Gen 9:3), but when He led Israel out of Egypt he designated which animals they were and were not permitted to eat, aka the clean and the unclean beast (Lev 11). The beast that chewed the cud and divided the hoof were the land animals they were permitted to eat, and of the seafood, it had to have fins and scales. However these specific laws of clean and unclean animals only had to be followed by Israel under the old testament, we as Christians don't have to keep them today. 

Now you may want to ask me as to why i'm so confident that we don't have to keep those specific laws today. I will give you five reasons. 1. Jesus taught that it's not what goes in the mouth that defiles but what comes out (Mat 15:11, 20). 2. Peter's vision of God cleansing all beast (Acts 10:10-16). 3. Paul writing that there is nothing unclean of itself ( Rom 14:14-23). 4. We are instructed not to Judge others in meat ( Col 2:16). 5. We learn that in 1 Tim 4:3-5 that every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused. For those who insist that the old testament unclean animal food restictions still apply today read Acts 15 and 21, these two chapters of the bible prove that New Testament Christian's do not need to be circumcised or keep the old Mosiac law.

So we have learned so far from the bible that eating plants is good for us and that we can eat whatever animal we desire, but is there anything we can't eat as a christian? There are a few things. The first thing I will mention is blood, eating blood is forbidden by God in both the old and the new testaments. (Gen 9:4, Lev 7:27, Lev 17:10-14, Lev 19:26, Deu 12:23, 1 Sam 14:32-34, Eze 33:25, Act 21:25). We must also avoid eating meat that has been offered to idols as to avoid wounding the consciences of others (Jer 7:18, 1 Cor 8, 1 Cor 10:7, 1 Cor 10:19-23, 1 Cor 10:25-33, Rev 2:20). So we are to avoid eating either of these two things (Acts 15:20, Acts 15:28-29).

I will conclude this study by listing a few other truths derived from scripture. We can expect that God will not let his followers starve (Pro 10:3, Pro 13:25, Isa 65:13). When we go and eat supper we should invite the poor and handicapped instead of our friends, family, or rich neighbors because the needy cannot repay us therefore our reward will be in the hereafter (Luk 14:12-14). As Christians we should be on guard against gluttony and we shouldn't be ruled by our belly (Php 3:18-19), because we can expect to become poor if we continue to over indulge in eating (Pro 23:21). 

We should avoid eating too much sugar because even overindulging in honey can be bad for you (Pro 25:16, Pro 25:27). Those who are unwilling to work shouldn't eat either (2 Thess 3:10). We should also seek to glorify God by what we eat as well (1 Cor 10:31). Finally, we shouldn't despise those who don't eat meat nor should vegetarians judge those that aren't (Rom 14:1-3). Thus concludes this study on food.

A List of Some Different Kinds of Food Mentioned in the Bible.

Gen 18:8  butter

Gen 25:34 pottage

Gen 43:11 spices, nuts

Exo 30:23 cinnamon

Lev 2:13 salt

Num 11:5 cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlick

Num 17:8 almonds

Deu 8:3   bread

Deu 8:8  wheat, barley, pomegranates, oil olive

Deu 22:6  eggs

Rth 2:14  vinegar

1Sa 25:18  raisins 

2Sa 17:29  cheese

Pro 27:27  milk 

Son 2:3  apple

Jer 24:2  figs

Jer 31:29  grape

Eze 4:9  beans, lentiles, millet, fitches

Zec 9:17  corn

Luk 13:19  mustard seed

Luk 24:42 fish

Bonus Verses: Pro 15:17, Pro 30:8