First, I wanted to say thank you for all that you do! Your articles are very helpful in learning the truth of God’s word. I am contacting you today because I saw a discussion for which I did not have an answer. It concerns Leviticus 3:17, “It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat<\/strong> nor blood.”<\/p>\n I’ve read a few of your articles about it being still sinful to eat the blood of an animal, and I agree with your conclusion that we should not do that. However, I have not seen any discussion on the “fat” part of that Scripture in your articles. If the first part of that verse is still in force for those living under New Testament Law, then so would the part about not eating fat. Can you clarify what the word “fat” would include today if it is a sin to consume that part of an animal today? Would it include fat on steaks, using lard to cook with, pork belly, hotdogs, and many other meats containing or containing fat?<\/p>\n Your insight on this subject would be very appreciated! Thanks again, and God bless!<\/p>\n\t The context of Leviticus 3:17 is the various laws dealing with how peace offerings were to be offered (Leviticus 3:1). Peace offerings were to show fellowship between the worshiper and God. When combined with other sacrifices, the peace offering was always the last offering done, as sin must be atoned before fellowship can exist with God. Individuals also offered peace offerings\u00a0at appointed occasions, such as feasts, as the fulfillment of a vow, or as a freewill offering (Numbers 16:3;\u00a029:39). When an individual offered a peace offering, he was allowed to choose whatever he desired within specific guidelines.<\/p>\n When the peace offering involved a clean animal, the blood was poured out before the altar. The fat, kidneys, and liver were offered up as a burnt offering (Leviticus 3:3-5). What remained could be eaten by the offerer and the priests (Leviticus 7:11-18), so long as it was consumed within 48 hours. Any leftovers beyond that time were to be burnt. Leviticus 3:17 emphasizes that the fat belongs solely to God.<\/p>\n We don’t offer animal sacrifices in the New Testament. The prohibition against drinking blood comes from God’s covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:4). The Law of Moses and the Law of Christ continue that prohibition. It is broader because it was not limited to just sacrifices.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: First, I wanted to say thank you for all that you do! Your articles are very helpful in learning the truth of God’s word. I am contacting you today because I saw a discussion for which I did not have an answer. It concerns Leviticus 3:17, “It shall be a statute forever throughout your…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[240,272],"class_list":["post-70847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-diet","tag-sacrifices"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67939,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-life-has-been-spiraling-into-an-ocd-nightmare\/","url_meta":{"origin":70847,"position":0},"title":"My life has been spiraling into an OCD nightmare","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I really need your help with this struggle. \"But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin\" (Romans 14:23). My life has been spiraling more and more into an OCD nightmare because I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1374,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-abels-sacrifice-prove-meat-was-eaten-before-the-flood\/","url_meta":{"origin":70847,"position":1},"title":"Does Abel’s sacrifice prove meat was eaten before the flood?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article on Jesus eating meat. You make the point that God gave plants to be eaten in the beginning. Then you state that was changed at the Ark. However, Abel was a keeper of sheep (Genesis 4:2) and he sacrificed the sheep with the fat (Genesis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-fatness-of-the-land-and-the-dew-of-heaven-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":70847,"position":2},"title":"What does “the fatness of the land and the dew of heaven” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What does \"the fatness of the land and the dew of heaven\" mean? Answer: \"Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine\" (Genesis 27:28). A \"fat\" land is one which produces bountifully. The twelve spies\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/08\/Huge-Cluster-of-Grapes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42508,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-seven-year-old-who-is-tall-and-skinny-thinks-she-is-too-fat-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":70847,"position":3},"title":"My seven-year-old, who is tall and skinny, thinks she is too fat. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you for such a helpful website! I've read the article on\u00a0Five to Nine-Year-Olds\u00a0this morning. I'm concerned about my seven-year-old girl who attends public school. She's naturally a tall, thin girl but she asked me if I think she's fat and lately has been obsessed about this -- showing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2584,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-disappointed-you-didnt-answer-my-question-about-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":70847,"position":4},"title":"I’m disappointed you didn’t answer my question about animals.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"I find it very interesting that you choose to ignore passages from the Bible that do not condone the inhumane treatment of animals. You still haven't answered my question. I suppose you will not answer it and continue to divert the subject to something it's not about. Unfortunately, I see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13698,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-eating-blood-only-wrong-because-it-was-associated-with-idolatry\/","url_meta":{"origin":70847,"position":5},"title":"Was eating blood only wrong because it was associated with idolatry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been here a week and a half in Chile but having a discussion already with people. What is your opinion of eating or drinking the blood of an animal? Here they have a thing where they kill a lamb and then cook its blood in some spices\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Answer:<\/h2>\n