Building on the Foundation

Many Christians today point to a handful of New Testament passages to claim that God has declared all animals good for food. But if God’s word stands forever, as He says, then those claims must be tested carefully; otherwise, we run the risk of accusing God of contradicting Himself.  The answer to this question is actually quite grave, because as we saw in this post , God says He will harshly judge those who eat pork, and the answer can't be both things. So if God's word does not stand forever, then we have some major problems with our faith.  God is the one constant in a world of continual quaking and shifting, and if we can't trust what He said to be true, where does that leave us? Let's take a look at the main passages that are used to say that all animals are now good for food. The first passage we'll examine is Peter's vision, where Peter states, years after the crucifixion, that he has never eaten anything unclean, which shows he didn't believe Jesus m...

In previous posts, we examined the various laws regarding cleanliness and uncleanness and concluded that the rituals involving uncleanness no longer apply to us. They deal solely with physical uncleanness,  and since we are a spiritual people, temples of the Holy Spirit, physical uncleanness cannot separate us from God. The sacrificial system pointed to Jesus' sacrifice, and since He died, He is the one sacrifice for all time. The various other rituals were superseded by baptism.  Hebrews 9:9 NKJV - It [was] symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience-- Hebrews 9:10 NKJV - [concerned] only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. Paul is talking about all the various offerings, the washings, and other sundry things that went along with the sacrifices and the temple system. All of those things pointed ...

  In both Old and New Testaments, we occasionally find puzzling verses that require much thought, study, and prayer to understand. Today, let’s examine one such passage in the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage begins clearly enough. Deut. 22:25-27 plainly states that if a man rapes a woman who is betrothed to another man, the rapist must be put to death. Naturally, this would extend also to a fully married woman. The Bible deems raping another man’s wife to be just as terrible of a crime as murder: “For just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter” (Deut. 22:26). But in vv. 28-29, we read something different: “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.” Thos...