There are many new dieting trends such as the keto diet, Mediterranean diet, and the Paleo diet to name a few. As food directly affects our physical health, food can also affect our spiritual life of faith. We can find in the history of Christianity that God gave us certain food regulations to follow God in the act of worship. Lets us see how food directly affects our spiritual worship to God.
Through the advancement of technology and society, many people live a fast-paced lifestyle. Since it is easy to grab a quick meal from the nearest fast food restaurant, many fast food restaurants are crowded with back-to-back traffic during the regular lunch hours. Unfortunately, not everything that is quick and easy, is healthy. Raising health concerns have made people become more concerned about what they eat.
Nowadays, there are many new dieting trends such as the keto diet, Mediterranean diet, and the Paleo diet to name a few. As food directly affects our physical health, food can also affect our spiritual life of faith. We can find in the history of Christianity that God gave us certain food regulations to follow God in the act of worship. Not only in Christianity, but also other religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam practice certain food regulations for worship to other gods.
More importantly, through food regulations, we can be recognized either as one who worships the Christian God, or as one who worships other gods. Therefore, as the people of God, let us examine the food regulations given in each age.
Food Regulations In Each Age
Ceremonies to worship God have existed since the beginning of the Bible until the present time. We can see this fact through the book of Genesis which outlines the history of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
To Adam and Eve, God gave all kinds of fruits and vegetables for food. As a result, vegetarianism was founded as the way to follow God. Then, sometime later, God changed the food regulation. Let us examine this in the time of Noah.
Noah was not only allowed to eat fruits and vegetables, but was commanded by God to eat all kinds of meats. After hundreds of years of vegetarianism, eating meat was a characteristic of those who worshiped God. Let us fast forward to the time of Moses.
Although it was previously allowed to eat all kinds of animals without condition, at this time, animals were divided into two different groups: the clean animals and the unclean animals. So, God commanded his people, the Israelites, to only eat clean animals. Then, what was the purpose of regulating our food intake?
Purpose of Food Regulations
As written in the Bible, God’s people are blessed and saved when they follow God’s commandments. The book of Revelation depicts the warning of God given to those who add or take away from the words recorded in the Bible (Rev 22:18-19). Those who add or subtract from the prophecies of God cannot help but receive disasters and fail to enter heaven.
Therefore we must regard God’s words as trustworthy and follow them to show our faith in God. The purpose of the food regulation is not solely about food, but about obedience and faith. Oppositely, through food regulations we can spot out the disobedience within current religious organizations that exist today. Let us take a look at some examples:
In the last days, religious organizations that enforce abstaining from certain foods also enforce man made rules that do not come from the Bible. This is why the Bible says that they follow deceptive spirits and things taught by demons. Among many religious organizations, the Seventh-day Adventist church enforces vegetarianism, teaching others that eating meat is related to violence although Jesus and the apostles ate meat. The Catholic Church also restricts eating meat and prohibits their nuns and priests to marry, which is evidence of being taught by deceptive spirits and things taught by demons as Apostle Paul mentioned.
Besides these denominations, there are also other religions that practice certain food regulations. For example, India, which is known for having thousands of deities, observes vegetarianism and fasting as a religious custom and, therefore, is one of the most idolatrous countries in the world. Religious organizations that follow these customs are also apt to break the second commandment of the ten commandments which prohibits the worship of idols. A church is a place to worship God. However, if the Holy Spirit’s presence is absent, it cannot be the place that leads us to heaven.
Obedience Results in Blessing
The Holy Spirit commands us that everything is acceptable as long as it is received with thanksgiving. The only things the Holy Spirit refrains us from is eating food sacrificed to idols, drinking blood, and eating meat of strangled animals. Besides this, we can freely eat animals that were previously categorized as unclean and vegetables, as long as we do not implement our own regulations for the purpose of worshiping God.
We do not need to look to a different age to understand about the food regulations anymore. Since God has given us a new command, let us follow the commands given by the Holy Spirit, so that we may be proven as faithful and obedient servants of God. In this age of the Holy Spirit, there is only one church that follows the regulations of the New Covenant and leads people to follow and worship God according to the regulations of the bible. It is the World Mission Society Church of God. We hope to see you here!