Does Acts 10 Change the Dietary Laws?

Does Acts 10 change the dietary law?

It took me 30 years to figure out that Acts 10 being does not abolish the dietary laws of Leviticus. In this post, we will discuss and demonstrate misconceptions related to this doctrine and how it relates to our salvation.

Some people have read Acts 10 as a passage that gives permission to eat all types of meat, both clean and unclean. Let's examine. In verse 14, Peter mentioned that he had "never eaten anything common or unclean." This is stated to highlight that Peter still lived according to the dietary laws set forth in Leviticus - even after the resurrection of Christ. However, in verse 15, God declared, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This statement from God in verse 15 has been interpreted as a "new law" that nullifies the Dietary Laws outlined in Leviticus 11. Furthermore, some teach that this text allows the consumption of foods like pork, shrimp, crab, and lobster. This misinterpretation poses a significant salvation issue, suggesting that God changes his laws, although the bible says otherwise (Baruch 4:1, Psalm 119:44, Matt 5:18).

The bible is clear about God's unchanging nature, and the perfection of his laws. In Psalms 33:4 he says, "For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth." So when God set the framework of clean and unclean foods there never needed to be an amendment. Why would God allow us to willfully sin by eating animals he forbade us to eat? Doesn't 2 Timothy 3:16 say that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God?

In Romans 3:31, Paul says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

Our faith in God through Christ should make us want to keep his laws and not find ways to circumvent what he has established.

Not adhering to the dietary law outlined in Leviticus 11 can lead to your destruction, at least that what Isaiah's prophecy says. Isaiah 66:17"They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD."

In this verse, sanctifying and purifying oneself in a garden behind a tree is a parallel to Adam and Eve and a reference to idolatry and disobedience. This verse points to the story of Adam and Eve because of their rejection of God's command, and their subsequent attempt to cover themselves with the leaves of the fig tree - an attempt to hide their shame from the ever-watching eyes of God. Regardless of where and how you hide, Isaiah points out that all those who indulge in these types of foods will be consumed together. [and consumed means destroyed!]

As the story in Acts 10 continues, Peter meets Cornelius and tells him, "Ye know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (vs. 28). This section of the story highlights what Peter's vision represented, it was not about the foods he ate, it was about the bringing the message of salvation to people the Jews were not supposed to keep company with.

In conclusion, many of us have lived with this misconception that God amended the dietary laws or suspended them during the lifetime of the Apostles. But that is not what the passage is attempting to teach. As diligent students we have to keep in mind these verse from the bible and ensure that we are not entangled with dangerous doctrines and deceptions.

Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."

and

Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."