Kill and Eat

by Terry Wane Benton

Peter's Vision Acts 10:9-12

In Acts 10 Peter was told by God in a vision to kill and eat the animals, and there was a wide assortment, some of which God had forbidden to the Jews under the Old covenant. God explained that those unclean animals (off-limits to the Jews before) were now clean. For example, pork was forbidden under the Old Law, but now it was allowed under the New Testament. "What God has cleansed you must not call common" (Acts 10:9). Peter, a Jew, could now eat pork and anything else. God had changed the covenant law. Peter needed to bring his conscience up to date. He was now free to kill and eat all kinds of new foods. He was not under the former law anymore. He was free in Christ under the perfect law of liberty.

Lessons:

1.  PETA is a misguided organization that tries to make eating meat "animal cruelty." God said to "kill and eat." God made the animals for man to eat (Genesis 9:3). God did not always insist that people be vegetarians. When people "forbid foods" (I Timothy 4:1-4), they are teaching a "doctrine of demons." God must be allowed to be true while man is a liar (Romans 3:4). God's word is true. Truth must triumph over error every time, not just when we want it to.
2. Neither Peter nor anyone else was under two laws at once. Peter was either bound by the Law of Moses totally or he was totally under the law of Christ. There was no such thing as "phasing out the old law and phasing in the new" as our AD 70 brethren contend. God was not telling Peter to sin. If Peter was under the Law of Moses, he would have to be under all of it including the unclean meat laws, the circumcision laws, and the animal sacrifice laws. There was no pick and choose what you want out of the Law. It was all or none (Galatians 5:1-6). He was either obligated to Jesus as now having all authority (Matthew 28:18-20), or Jesus only had some authority and Moses still had some. When God told Peter to "kill and eat" and Peter saw those unclean animals, Peter was being challenged to bring his conscience up to date with the full authority of Jesus and realize he was now "dead to the Law" of Moses (Romans 7:4,6). Jesus has brought in the new covenant at His death on the cross (Hebrews 9:15-17). Acts 10 will always confirm that the law had changed by means of Jesus' death on the cross (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:13-16; Hebrews 7:11-12).

Do not let people shackle you with a yoke of bondage that is not true to the New Testament of Jesus Christ. Feel free to kill and eat!