For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. (Deut. 14:2)
God commanded the children of Israel to only eat certain clean animals because of their peculiar status as His people. He chose the nation of Israel, not because they were mighty or great, but to glorify Him and because of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is Israel. They were not to follow the unclean ways of the peoples around them, nor eat any animal, especially ones offered to God, but be obedient in only offering in sacrifice and eating that which God had declared clean, because of the righteousness of God. God is Holy and He demands holiness from His people that they might shine as lights in the darkness around them. He also called for the tithe to be brought into the treasury that the Levites would be supported; and the stranger within her gates, the fatherless, and the widow, could receive from the Lord.
While the prohibition concerning which foods to eat is no longer a strict requirement for God’s people, God still demands holiness and separation of His people. As children of God, Christians are peculiar, set apart from the world and the lost. We cannot be so separate that we never witness or interact, for we are to shine God’s light into this dark, sinful, broken world. We are not to do the things of the world, nor seek its ways, but live the life which Christ has purchased for us by His putting to death the flesh for our sins. When we repented of our sins and received Him by faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary we were set free from the Law, not to sin all we want to, but to live in Him a more abundant life of liberty and His righteousness. We follow Him and give cheerfully that His work of the Gospel may continue and His people may be blessed.
God has sent those who are His and know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet