Can Christians Consume Crayfish?

A few weeks ago I ran across an online post called, "11 Things the Bible Bans, But You Do Anyway". It was a fascinating list that included things like tattoos, eating shellfish, and trimming one’s sideburns.  A formidable list!  And indeed, all of those prohibitions can be found in the pages of Scripture.  But the post invites a question…

 What does it mean when someone says “the Bible forbids” something? 

The Bible isn’t a single book – it is a library.  The individual books were written at different times, to different people, and for different reasons.  To assert that “the Bible says” something is to treat the text like a single homogenous block of instructions… which it isn’t. 

Many of the prohibitions that website listed are found in the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus – two books which recorded the Mosaic Law.  That was the body of law which God gave to the ancient Hebrews as part of their covenant.  It was what governed them, bound them together, and protected them against a hostile world. 

So do those laws still apply now?  The answer… is complicated.

The Fulfillment of the Law:

 Some people will propose that the Law of Moses is still binding upon Christians.  They will cite this passage from Matthew’s Gospel:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished" - Matt 5:17-18

In that passage Jesus is assuring his audience that He is not encouraging His disciples to abandon the practice of the Mosaic Law.  And it is true that Jesus did not tell His disciples to disobey the Mosaic Law.  They remained faithful Jews throughout His earthly ministry.  But if you notice, that statement contains within itself an acknowledgement that the Mosaic Law will pass away "when all is accomplished".   

We ought to ask:  When is that?   

We can identify when that was by looking at other things Jesus said about the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law.  Let’s look at three places.   The first is during Jesus’ ministry, the second is during the crucifixion, the third is after the resurrection.

Before they went to Jerusalem, Jesus took the Apostles aside and said:

"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” - Luke 18:31

From this statement we can see that the fulfillment of the Law will occur when Jesus is handed over to the Romans and killed.  That agrees with what Jesus said during the crucifixion itself: 

                "It is accomplished." - John 19:30

Then, after the resurrection, Jesus reiterated that the Mosaic Law had been fulfilled:

"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he went on, "You see what was written: the Messiah had to suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” - Luke 24:44-46

With these three instances in mind, we can say that the law and prophets was fulfilled in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Thus, from that time on no further sacrifices were necessary. And for those in his new covenant, obedience to the Mosaic Law had passed away. 

The Law and the New Covenant:

The purpose of those laws was tied to the mission of the Hebrew nation as a whole; to deliver the Messiah into the world.  They set the Hebrew people apart, and taught them about the reality of sin.  The Messiah was Himself a Jew born under the Mosaic Law.  However, toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He instituted a new covenant with God:

 “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” – Matthew 26:28

 This New Covenant would no longer require the sacrifice of bulls and goats.  Rather, it would instead center on the one sacrifice made my Jesus Christ.  In this New Covenant, Jesus is both the sacrifice and the High Priest. 

Consequently, this change from one priesthood to another meant the Law of Moses – which mandated the sacrifice of bulls and goats - could not be kept by Christians.  Thus, the writer of the Hebrews said:

“For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.” – Hebrews 7:12

The Cessation of the Mosaic Law:

From that moment on, the Law of Moses had fulfilled its purpose and was binding on precisely no one.  Righteousness would no longer be attained by adherence to the Mosaic Law, but through faith in Jesus.  Saint Paul spends a good bit of time explaining this in his letter to the Galatians.

“Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed.  So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian.” – Galatians 3: 23-25

That is why we can see within New Testament record that the Apostles did not require obedience to the various precepts of the Law of Moses.  Notable examples include the practice of circumcision [Acts 15], the dietary laws [Acts 10:14], and keeping the Sabbath [Col 2:16]. 

Great!  Christians don’t need to obey the Mosaic Law.  So does everything forbidden in the Mosaic Law becomes fair game? 

Not exactly.

The Universal Moral Law:

The Mosaic Law contains different types of laws.  There are dietary laws, judicial laws, ceremonial rites, and even building codes.  Undergirding it all – sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly - is what is called the “moral law”.  The most explicit example of this is the 10 Commandments, but there are many others. 

The moral law points to things which are right and wrong by their very nature – like murder and robbery.  Things which you almost don’t have to be told are wrong.  Since it forbids things which are intrinsically evil, the moral law isn't an arbitrary imposition on a certain group of people.  It applies to everyone, everywhere, and at all times. 

 The laws against eating shellfish and beard-trimming were only meant for the Hebrews for a certain time.  However, God’s moral law is something written into the fabric of human nature – into the cosmos itself.  Therefore Christians are bound to it.  This is why Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians about how the Mosaic Law was fulfilled and not binding, but then closed with a list of evil things they should still avoid.  (Gal 5:19-20)

So that website’s interest in New Testament vs Old Testament morality is praiseworthy, but their analysis was a bit ham-fisted.  They need to realize that Christ came to perfect our understanding of morality, not to call the whole thing off.

Thanks for joining me.