Addendum to Yesterday's Topic

Amber raised some very good questions and asked for my opinion, so here goes! Again, this is my personal conviction, I'm not trying to condemn anyone...

Mark 7:19 ("...in saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")
At the beginning of Mark 7, some Pharisees confront Jesus about the fact that His disciples were eating meat without washing their hands. I believe Jesus' statement here is only saying a bit of mud does not make clean meat unclean. The conversation with the Pharisees involved only their concern with the cleanliness of otherwise clean meats.

There actually is a difference between biblically kosher and traditionally kosher. There are a lot of "extra" rules and regulations added by Jewish tradition that weren't stated in the scriptures. I believe Jesus was rejecting the ritualistic adherence to these traditions, as well as driving home His point that nothing you put in your body can endanger your salvation.

Acts 10:15 (“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean”)
The apostle Peter once faced a dilemma on this matter of clean and unclean. Some ten years after the resurrection of Jesus he had a vision of "all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air" being lowered before him in a huge sheet. A voice said "Rise, Peter, kill and eat". This was completely shocking to Peter:

"Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean". Peter knew the vision could not relate to food, so he was confused, but, as events unfolded, Peter came to understand the point of the vision: all men are equal in the eyes of God. Regarding salvation, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Peter was not to consider any man "unclean". In the vision, God was telling him that salvation is open to all men. I believe the vision had nothing to do with food. Peter himself later tells Cornelius, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean."

Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:15 (each of these is about Christ abolishing the law)
I firmly believe Christ did abolish the law when He died on the cross for our sins. Indeed, it is clearly stated. But if that means we are no longer to observe it for the purpose of our good (though NOT necessary for salvation), then Christ, Himself, would be contradicted in His teachings. Jesus quoted the law during His temptation in Matthew 4. He taught us to follow the commandments of the law in Matthew 5:17-20:

"'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

I think He's telling us following the law is still what is best for us. Only, He knows we cannot follow it in our own strength, and it is not by our righteousness (the Pharisees were puffed up by the illusion they were righteous), but by His that we will enter the kingdom of heaven. He knows we are flesh, but that shouldn't give us the license to reject any part of the law. Rather, in humility we should seek His strength and invite the Holy Spirit to live out His commands in us until the day He comes back for us!

As I said in the original post, I believe the closer we stick to God's original laws (all of them), the more freedom and abundance we will experience in this life. I just can't escape the conclusion that this is one area Christians have not been taught, and we should be diligent to study it for ourselves and prayerfully consider this question until His good and pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2) is revealed.

The LAST thing I want to do is come across as a legalist, enforcing the law to the letter and considering myself better than someone else because we differ on this issue. I just want to reinforce my own health and well-being by taking God's diet to heart and experiencing the health and wellness that can come from it. I've been a nutrition nerd for a while now. That's just part of who I am these days. To me, looking to God's word for what He has to say about it is just a logical next step, simplifying my search for what is best to put in my body.

Perhaps you will study and come to a different conclusion. If so, I love you all, and as long as we agree on the gospel of Christ Jesus, we will still live in unity, yes?