SHOULD WE EAT LIVER?
A group of English doctors were teaching at a student camp in Russia. A medical student from Siberia, who had recently become a Christian, came up and said,
“Our pastor has told us we should not eat liver because it is ‘meat containing blood’ and the Bible tells us that we should not do this. What do you think?”
It was tempting to reply that anyone who likes liver needs their taste buds testing, but this obviously was a serious question.
We looked up Acts 15 v. 19-20, where James, the leader of the Council of the Church in Jerusalem was summarising their conclusions about whether the Gentile Christians were obliged to keep all the old Jewish ritual laws.
“It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, and from meat of strangled animals and from blood.”
It would have been possible to argue that liver does not contain significantly more blood than other meats but there is a more important principle at stake here. Why were such regulations imposed on the early church and what is their significance to us today?
The Bible is God’s Authority
The apostles were very clear that the Bible was the word of God, because that was what Jesus had taught them. Jesus had affirmed that ‘Scripture cannot be broken’ (John 10:35) and accused the Sadducees of doctrinal error ‘because they did not know the Scriptures’ (Matthew 22:29). Stephen, in his final speech says that Moses received ‘living words to pass on to us’ (Acts 7:38). Paul refers to the Old Testament as ‘the very words of God’ (Romans 3:2) and in his final letter to Timothy reminds him that ‘all Scripture is God-breathed’ (2 Timothy 3:16).
The student’s Russian pastor was correctly using the Scriptures as his authority but was he understanding them as God intended? Under the old covenant the Children of Israel were given strict instructions how they were to behave so as to clearly mark them out as being different from other people, and to remind them constantly that they were God’s special people. Amongst the food laws were the following passages,
“Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood – I will set my face against that person who eats any blood and will cut him off from his people.” Leviticus 17:10-14
“The pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.” Leviticus 11:7-8
However Jesus and his apostles made it abundantly clear that keeping religious rules such as these cannot hope to satisfy God. Jesus attacked the hypocrisy of the Pharisees for ceremonially washing their hands and other rituals to make themselves “clean”, that is, clean before God.
“Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him “unclean”? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean”.)
“What comes out of a man is what makes him “unclean”. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft murder, adultery, greed, malice, . . . All these come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’.” Mark 7:18-23
So Jesus taught that what his followers eat couldn’t, of itself, defile us before God.
This was confirmed to Peter in a dream. He needed to learn that God’s mission was to all races and that religious food laws should not be used as an excuse for not becoming involved with Gentile people. In his dream he saw, “. . . all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air” coming down on a sheet from heaven.
Then a voice told him,
“Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Then the voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times. (Acts 10 13-16)
Jesus, Peter and, as we shall see, Paul seem to be very clear. No food is unclean. Christians are not bound by any food laws. Christians are allowed to eat sheep’s eyes, monkey brains, whales, wasps and worms . . . , if they really want to!
If the New Testament is so clear that the old food laws no longer apply but that God’s people were to be distinguished by other features such as their love, faith and hope, why did the Council of Jerusalem insist on Gentiles keeping some Jewish laws and what is the relevance of this to us today?
The Effect of our Behaviour on Others
A Pakistani Christian who had recently arrived in England visited a sandwich shop with two Christian Gambians and an Englishman. The Englishman and the Gambians ordered pork sandwiches. The Pakistani however was shocked. He said: “In Pakistan, Christians take the Bible very seriously. We don’t eat pork.” This conclusion could be due either to a misunderstanding of the old law or it could be due to very practical reasons.
If all foods are clean, should anything limit our eating anything? The apostle Paul writes in detail on this question in Romans chapter 14.
“As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” Romans 14:14-21
Effect on Other Christians.
Yes, we must consider how our actions will affect other Christians. We should not insist on our rights if this is likely to cause serious problems for others less clear about the faith. Paul develops this argument in 1 Corinthians chapters 8-10, relating to the special case of food sacrificed to idols. Should Christians eat such food? In this country few are troubled whether the meat in their Indian takeaway meal has been obtained through the ‘halal’ ritual killings required by Muslims, but such questions were a real problem for the weak Corinthian church. Similar problems do face Christians today in other countries, such as in some Indonesian and some African tribes. Should Christians compromise their commitment to Jesus by eating food that has been openly committed to another God? If we are thankful to the one God who supplied it we may eat it (Romans 14:6) but this may not remove the impression our actions have on others.
Food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak. (1 Corinthians 8:8-9)
So what do we say to our brothers in Christ from Russia and Pakistan? Are they allowed to eat liver and pork? And should they do so? What are the circumstances where we should restrict what we eat for the sake of our “weaker” brothers and sisters?
A nurse working in accident and emergency in a Glasgow hospital has no doubt that alcohol abuse was the major factor in the majority of her patients. She said that her church, in a tough part of the city, taught that Christians should not drink any alcohol. Their argument was that much of the domestic and other violence in the city was alcohol-related. Also, more than a third of the congregation were ex-alcoholics. Similarly in Russia drunkenness is such a prevalent social problem that many churches insist that members should totally abstain from alcohol. They do this knowing very well that Jesus turned water into wine and drank wine himself, and Paul advised young Timothy to ‘take a little wine for your stomach’s sake’.
If members of a church in that environment freely offer alcohol or other drugs to people who may be tempted to forget their problems by such means, this could be a real temptation or stumbling-block.
“If what I eat [or drink] causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.’ 1 Corinthians 8:13
So to love and build up our fellow Christians who have brought baggage with them from their past, we must try hard to exercise our freedom in Christ for their sakes, not for our sakes.
2) Effect on Non Christians
Paul also addresses the need to consider the effects of our actions on non believers.
“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
The early church did not stand by their rights, but considered the effect of their behaviour on others.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God – even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
How would Paul have lived among Muslims in Pakistan? These passages suggest he would be extremely wary about eating pork or drinking alcohol there. Are we free to do so? Yes. All food is clean for the Christian. Would we be wise to do so? No. We would be endangering the faith of our brothers from a Muslim background, and the Muslims we are trying to win would consider us disgusting.
This would seem to be the concern of James in the Council of Jerusalem as well. Notice the verse that ends his statement:
“It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, and from meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
The Jews that the early Christians were living near and whom they were trying to win would be disgusted if the new teaching gave the appearance of total irreverence. The Jews were making a costly stand against the standards of the pagan world and in this the early Christians were asked to be associated. The pagan temples and their social environment appealed to many because they taught that there were many ways to God and because of their association with cult prostitution and immorality. So in order to make a stand against ungodliness and to be appreciated by the Jews the council gave these instructions.
So what about eating liver in Russia? Will eating liver in that community cause any Christian brothers or sisters to stumble? Will it impede the salvation of those they are trying to reach for Christ? If the answer to both these questions is no, then the Christians should be free to eat as much liver as their taste buds allow. The problem would then be how to lovingly help the pastor and the congregation to think through how to correctly understand Scripture.
There is also a need to balance the making of a strong social message with the possible risk of giving a wrong view of the gospel. If the message heard coming out from churches is just a negativity to much that society enjoys, such as films, theatre, dancing, pubs, alcohol and the like they may not be open to hear of the peace and joy that can be found through a close relationship with Jesus.
BVP
