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refused,
if
it be received with
thanksgiving: for it is
sancti.fied.
by
the word of God and prayer." What
does it mean to be
SANCTIFIED
by
the Word of God and prayer?
Sanctify
is a
wor~
meaning to
make holy, or set apart for a right
use or purpose- to set apart as fit
for human food.
Now which meats has God
sancti fi ed for human food? The
onl y passages in a ll the Bible
showing which meats God sancti–
fied are found in Leviticus 11 and
Deuteronomy 14. Here you find
that it is the "clean"-health fu l–
meats that are good for food .
These are the only meats that can
be received with thanksgiving and
prayer!
There is not a single scripture
showing that God ever set apart as
fit for food any unclean creatures
-snails, oysters, clams, snakes,
octopuses, eels, horses, rabbits, or
swine! Yet people eat these crea–
tures without realizing the harm
they are doing to their bodies.
Paul lnstructs Vegetarians
Paul's letter to the saints at Rome
is often quoted as supposed proof
that any kind of fte.sh food is good
to eat. But is this what Paul really
taught?
Turn to the beginning of the
14th chapter of Romans. Notice
what the apostle is writing: "Him
that is
weak
in the faith receive
ye"-don't d ispute with him and
sit in judgment on him because of
his weak understanding of the
faith. Paul continues: "For one
believeth that he may eat all things,
another, who is
weak,
eateth
herbs
[vegetables only]" (Rom. 14:1 -2).
Of whom is Paul writing? Of
those who were vegetarians, as well
as those who believed in eating
both flesh foods and vegetables.
Paul was confronted with the
same problem that we encounter
today in carrying the gospel to the
world. You would be surprised at
the number of people who do not
eat meat or even any animal prod–
ucts-milk, butter, cheese, eggs.
Sorne have meatless days or days on
which they will eat fish only. These
are all people who, because they are
weak in the faith, abstain from
those clean meats that God origi–
nally sanctified or set apart in his
38
Word for man's physical nourish–
ment.
The ques tion confronting Paul
was not that Christians at Rome
contended that all unclean animals
had now been cleansed by God–
the common false assumption of
today- but the real issue, accord–
ing to verse 2, was over the vegetar–
ían belief held by sorne that no
meats whatsoever should be eaten.
Paul was straightening out the
brethren on this matter, telling
them that none of those clean
meats that had been created by
God to be received with thanksgiv–
ing should be refused. He pointed
out to them, however, that it would
be wrong for the vegetarians to eat
meat if they bad doubts about it,
tbereby defiling t beir weak con–
sciences. For he wrote: " ... Happy
is he that condemneth not himself
in that thing which he alloweth.
And he that doubteth is damned if
he eat, because he eateth not of
faith: for whatsoever is not of faith
is sin" (verses 22-23).
We must follow what God has
revealed to us to be right according
to tbe Word of God. This does not
mean that our consciences always
tell us what is right-not at all. We
have to continually study to learn
what is right and wrong. But God
tbinks more highly of a vegetarían
who might sincerely and conscie'n–
tiously deny himself the clean
meats, because he does not know
the full truth, than he does a person
who would do the right thing
according to the letter, but who
really believes in his heart that he is
doing wrong.
So "to him"-the vegetarían
-"that esteemeth any thing to be
common, to
him
"-the vegetarían
- "it is
common"- koinos
in the
original Greek. That is, it
seems so
to him. But it is not common
in
fact,
nor to us, for we know that al!
clean meats are good for food. That
is why Paul wrote: " 1 know , and am
persuaded by the Lord J esus, that
there is nothing [common] of
itself ..." (verse 14).
Note that in verse 14 the word
" unclean" is a mistranslation. The
Greek word
koinos
does not mean
"uncl~an"
but "common"-pol–
luted in the mind of the one who
eats. Vegetarians who were weak in
the faith- weak in understanding
God's Word - thought meats
should not be eaten. To such a
vegetarian- "to him," not to
others- that meat
seemed to be
polluted. His conscience defiled the
meat for him; he would become
upset if he were to eat meat. But
that does not make the meat pol–
luted, in fact or for everybody
else.
Notice Paul's concl usion: "For
meat destroy not the work of God.
All things indeed are pure"-that
is, all things that God sanctified
and gave us to eat are clean -"bu t
it is evil for that man who eateth
with otfence. It is good neither to
eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any
thing whereby thy brother stum–
bleth ..."(verses 20 and 21).
Paul is not recommending eating
unclean meats! Quite the opposite.
He is recommending not eating any
meat at all in the presence of a
vegetarían brother if he is otfend–
ed!
When ls "Ciean" Meat
" Common"?
The only circumstance in which
clean meats are ever common or
polluted is when the clean animals
have died of themselves or when
the blood has not been properly
drained. That is why the apostles
and elders who gathered at Jerusa–
lem forbade the use of meat from
strangled animals and meat with
the blood in it (Acts 15:20). This is
New Testament teaching for
today!
S uch animal flesh was called
common because it cou ld be given
to strangers or aliens in Old Testa–
ment times if those people wanted
to eat (Deut. 14:21).
In New Testament times, clean
meat otfered to idols was prohib–
ited if it had been polluted by
strangulation or if the blood were
remaining in it. Otherwise the meat
was permitted to be eaten if
it
did
not otfend anyone.
Paul devoted the entire 8th and
1Oth chapters of I Corinthians to
instructions on not raising the
question of meats otfered to idols.
" But if any man say unto you, This
is otfered in sacrifice unto idols, eat
not for bis sake that shewed it, and
for conscience sake" (ICor. 10:28).
In other words, if c lean meats
(Continued on page 42)
The
PLAIN TRUTH