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Can we eat pork today?

 Submitted: 9/15/2008
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Question: My niece asked me this question: What do you guys say that the bible says about eating pork? And if the not eating of pork is only in the old testament, then tell me where in the new testament it says that it is okay. Could you answer for us, also, would a basic home bible study have prepared me for this question? Mary
Answer: Colossians 2:16-17 says, 'So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.' This verse shows us that the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic law have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They are described here as mere shadows of that which was to come. For example, keeping the Sabbath was an Old Testament shadow of the New Testament reality of living in the Spirit, which is our rest and refreshing (see Isaiah 28:11-12). The dietary law, which forbit the eating of pork, was an Old Testament shadow of the distinction between Jews and Gentiles. But in the New Testament that wall of separation between Jew and Gentile has been removed so that all men can come together in one body in Jesus Christ. The removal of the wall is depicted in Acts 10:9-16. This means that just as we are no longer required to keep the Sabbath as a moral imperative, we are also no longer required to keep the dietary law.

We should say that this does not mean that we should eat lots of pork. The Old Testament dietary law has been shown to be a healthy way of eating. A little pork is okay, but we would probably be better off to keep it to a minimum. In the same way, just because we are no longer required to keep the Sabbath, that does not mean it is okay to work seven days a week. The Sabbath was made for man because God knows that we all need to take a break on a regular basis for refreshment and rejuvenation.

We cannot say whether you would have learned this in a Bible study. It depends on the Bible study and the teacher. Nevertheless, if you have not had a good Bible study, we suggest you get strated in one as soon as possible. We all need to learn as much as we can about the Bible.


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