Tag: ceremonial

What Exactly Is This Forbidden Strangled Meat?

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

 

What Exactly Is This Forbidden Strangled Meat?

 

We have been looking closer at 3 Overlooked Dietary Laws in the New Testament. The last installment discussed why the admonition to abstain from strangled meat was not merely meant to placate the Jews.

We mentioned that commentators struggle with Acts 15:20, 29; and 21:25 because the prohibition against eating strangled meat (a seemingly ceremonial law) is side by side an obviously moral law (abstaining from sexual immorality).

In Was The Early Church Trying to Placate the Jews with This Dietary Law? we noted that many commentators assert this law was intended to avoid offense to the Jews. In addition, they maintain that the law was ceremonial and is therefore not binding today.

Yet, when we study the law more closely, we see several important truths:

  1. The law was given by “the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament era.
  2. It was practiced faithfully by the early church.
  3. The teaching was an “essential” part of the Christian practice.
  4. The law did not have its origin in the ceremonial law, but rather an older law.
  5. If the law was meant to placate, why not have the early Christians circumcised?

Read more here: Was The Early Church Trying to Placate the Jews with This Dietary Law?

Focusing in on Strangled Meat.

Now we are going to look closer at what is actually meant by “food that is strangled.” Before we begin, it is important to note that “food that is strangled” has a very close tie with the 3rd overlooked dietary law — to abstain from eating blood. Continue reading “What Exactly Is This Forbidden Strangled Meat?” →


Disclaimer:

Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.

This page may contain affiliate links. Please refer to our affiliate policy.


Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.


Copyright:

© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
All Rights Reserved

Was The Early Church Trying to Placate the Jews with This Dietary Law?

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

Was the Early Church Trying to Placate The Jews with this dietary law?

We have been looking closer at 3 Overlooked Dietary Laws in the New Testament. The last installment discussed why the admonition to abstain from food that is strangled may be moral in nature, not ceremonial.

We mentioned that commentators struggle with Acts 15:20, 29; and 21:25 because the prohibition against eating strangled meat (a seemingly ceremonial law) is side by side an obviously moral law (abstaining from sexual immorality).

We gave 3 Reasons this Dietary Law may Be Moral, Not Ceremonial. Here is a quick summary:

  1. If the law was merely ceremonial, why command it when the ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ?
  2. The law has moral implications: since God is the owner of animals, we are obligated to treat them as He commands.
  3. The law is not rooted in the ceremonial law, but in a deeper law that was established before the law of Moses.

Today we will answer the question: Was the Early Church Trying to Placate the Jews with this Dietary Law?

Commentators Don’t Want to Offend.

We noted before that this is the position of many commentators. They claim that the sole purpose of this dietary law was to appease the Jews so they would not be offended at the eating of food that was forbidden by their Jewish law.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers states of this restriction: “Here the moral element falls entirely into the background, and the prohibition has simply the character of a concordat to avoid offence.”

Matthew Henry writes:

They were counselled to abstain from things strangled, and from eating blood; this was forbidden by the law of Moses, and also here, from reverence to the blood of the sacrifices, which being then still offered, it would needlessly grieve the Jewish converts, and further prejudice the unconverted Jews. But as the reason has long ceased, we are left free in this, as in the like matters.

Based on these commentaries and the practice of the modern church, most Christians treat this dietary law as non-binding today. The widely held position is that the laws were only put into place temporarily in the early church to avoid offending the Jewish believers.

Are the Commentators Correct?

But is this the best way to understand these dietary laws?  Continue reading “Was The Early Church Trying to Placate the Jews with This Dietary Law?” →


Disclaimer:

Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.

This page may contain affiliate links. Please refer to our affiliate policy.


Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.


Copyright:

© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
All Rights Reserved

3 Reasons This Law May Be Moral

3 Reasons This Dietary Law May Be Moral and Not Ceremonial

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

3 Reasons This Law May Be MoralWe have been looking closer at 3 Overlooked Dietary Laws in the New Testament. The last installment introduced the admonition to abstain from food that is strangled: What Does It Mean to Abstain from Food that Is Strangled?

We noted that commentators struggle with Acts 15:20, 29; and 21:25 because the prohibition against eating strangled meat (a seemingly ceremonial law) is side by side an obviously moral law (abstaining from sexual immorality).

This led us to ask some questions, which we will begin to answer.

The question we will address today is whether or not the admonition to abstain from strangled meat was indeed a ceremonial law — which is the position of many commentators. In fact, they say the law is no longer binding on the Christian church.

A strong case can be made, however, that it is not a ceremonial law at all. I will give three lines of argument to support this claim.

#1 If Ceremonial, Why Command It?

When Moses recorded God’s law, there were ceremonial portions and moral portions. The moral law consisted of the Ten Commandments as well as case laws expounding the Ten. Men for centuries have been debating which of these case laws are moral and which are ceremonial.

All ceremonial laws have their foundation in the Tabernacle and Temple worship instituted at Mount Sinai under the leadership of Moses. These ceremonial laws pointed to Christ who would be the final sacrifice. When He gave Himself up as that sacrifice, the sacrificial system ended spiritually. Physically it ended at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD — never to be re-instituted. Continue reading “3 Reasons This Dietary Law May Be Moral and Not Ceremonial” →


Disclaimer:

Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.

This page may contain affiliate links. Please refer to our affiliate policy.


Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.


Copyright:

© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
All Rights Reserved