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Alright we're in Genesis chapter number one and the title of my sermon this evening is vegetarianism in light of the Bible. Vegetarianism in light of the Bible. Now what is a vegetarian? According to the dictionary, a vegetarian is a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or in some cases any food derived from animals as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, etc. Now the point of this sermon tonight is I submit to you that eating meat is a good thing and that eating meat is actually something that God wants us to do, that it's something that's a blessing in our lives, and I don't think that God wants us to be vegetarians. And I'm gonna show you from the Bible why that is, but the reason I'm starting in Genesis chapter number one tonight is because for those that would subscribe to vegetarianism and for those who would say that even the Bible supports this lifestyle, this is the chapter that they're gonna go to. And this is their strongest point basically of why they believe this, so we're gonna go ahead and start with that. So let's start reading Genesis chapter number one verse 29. The Bible says, And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the witch is the fruit of a tree yielding seed. To you it shall be for meat. And if a vegetarian was gonna take you anywhere in the Bible to show you why they believe that their lifestyle is the best, this is where they're gonna turn. Look at verse 30, it says, And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every herb for meat, and it was so. So what are these two verses saying? Basically, God is saying, Hey, for you man, I've given you these herbs, I've given you these trees, these greens, if you will, and it's gonna be food for you. Not only is it gonna be food for you, but also for all the animals, for the beasts, for the things that creep on the earth, that stuff is also going to be food for them. Now, I will grant that that is what the Bible says. I mean, we just read those verses, that's what the Bible clearly says. But here's the thing, I have strong doubts that Adam and Eve were strict vegetarians. Now, I also concede that it is possible that before the fall that they ate a vegetarian diet. I'm gonna explain why that does not prove that we should be doing this today, or why that this is a good lifestyle. I'm just simply trying to explain their argument, we're not gonna have any straw man arguments tonight, this is where they would go, this is what they would tell you. Now, here's why I have some doubts as to why Adam and Eve were vegetarians. Well, look at Genesis chapter 3 verse number 21, Genesis chapter 3 verse 21. Notice what it says, it says unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. So here, God, you know, Adam and Eve were naked, they sinned, they realized that they were naked, they sewed themselves fig leaves, but that wasn't enough for God, so he made them coats of skins. Skins is telling us that this is from an animal, right? So God himself killed an animal for what purpose? For human use. So Genesis 3 verse 21 proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is okay to kill an animal for human activities, for human use, and in fact it was God himself that did that. God's the one that made those coats of skins for Adam and Eve. Look at Genesis 4 verse 2, Genesis 4 verse 2, and she, that's Eve, again bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So notice Adam and Eve's son, Abel, he was a keeper of sheep. Well, why do human beings keep sheep? Isn't it usually to eat them? Now, here's the thing, I'll grant, the Bible does not specifically say that they were doing that, but just by power of deduction here, it makes sense that they were eating these sheep, all right? Look at verse number three through five, it says, and in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, notice, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. So here's the thing, Abel, Adam's son, brings an offering to the Lord, and what is that offering? It's a firstling of his flock, so it's one of these sheep, right? And it says that he brought the fat too. So Abel had the knowledge of butchering an animal and rendering the fat from that animal. Where did he learn that? Well, it would make sense to me that he would learn that from his father. Why would his father have known how to butcher animals? Well, because if you're eating animals, that's one reason why, or sacrificing to the Lord, that's another reason why, but I'm just saying it is a little bit of a gray area in the book of Genesis to say for sure Adam and Eve for sure were vegetarians, and it's a little bit of a gray area to say that they were eating meat. I leaned more towards the side on I have doubts that they were vegetarians and think it's possible that they were eating meat, but the reason I start here is because I just want to give you their strongest point, but the rest of the sermon is gonna be very, very clear as to my position that we should eat meat. Now here's another thing. So that's one reason I have some doubts. I think these verses could lead to a little bit of doubt as to saying that they were vegetarians, but here's another reason why I don't think that this story proves their point is because what if I told you that the situation with Adam and Eve in a pre-sin idyllic world is not exactly applicable to us today. Let me give you an example of that. Look at Genesis 2 verse 21, Genesis 2 verse 21, and the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man and Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. Now there's one aspect of this story that for sure does apply to us today from the pre-fall world and that is that a man should leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. That absolutely applies today, but look at the next verse. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now here's the thing, Adam and Eve were just walking around the garden completely naked. Why? Because there was no sin in the world at this time so even if we just grant to the vegetarians we say okay you can have Genesis chapter 1 let's just say for sake of argument that Adam and Eve were vegetarians. You know what they also were? They were nudists too. And are you saying that in 2024 oh Adam and Eve were vegetarians so that we should be vegetarians today? Okay Adam and Eve they were walking around naked in the garden. Should we all be walking around naked today? No. Okay and man if I had to choose between meat and that it'd be a little bit of a tough choice. No I'm just kidding obviously all right just joking. But do you see what I'm saying though? Even if you grant them Genesis 1 that is not a just absolute proof that we should be doing this today. Now so that's that's the Garden of Eden. God made a change there but here's the rest here. Go to Genesis chapter number 9, Genesis chapter number 9. That's the situation with the Garden of Eden but number one this evening the Bible speaks positively about eating meat. The Bible speaks positively about eating meat. You know you should expect that if that if my position is true that God wants us to eat meat that there would be a lot in the Bible of God saying positive things about eating meat. Look at Genesis chapter number 9 verse 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of the air upon all that moveth upon the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea into your hand are they delivered every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you even as the green herb have I given you all things so now there's no gray area here he's saying hey I gave you the herb to be meat for you in times past but he's saying but now you're gonna have dominion over all the animals of the earth the creeping things the beasts the fowl the fish and God even struck into the heart of animals a natural fear of human beings if you've ever been hunting if you ever been around wild animals you know usually they're very afraid of you you know when you are going hiking and also you come a bunch upon a bunch of deer usually what do they do they get up and they just sprint away why because God put man at the top of the food chain on this earth we are the apex predator in this world and God made animals afraid of us and what does he say in verse 3 every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you so this was before the law this was before any dietary restrictions and we see that God was giving Noah just a complete open menu here he could eat the shellfish he could eat the bacon he could eat anything he wanted and it was God Almighty God that told him that so you know you could take the Genesis one story you could say okay maybe they were vegetarians but what about Genesis 9 where God is specifically telling them that every animal is on the table literally on the table sounds to me like God is speaking positively here about eating meat now go to Leviticus chapter number 11 Leviticus chapter 11 once the law was given yes there were dietary restrictions and those things were given for a reason but when the dietary restrictions came what you're gonna find when we look into this chapter a little bit is God didn't say hey you guys are all vegetarians now hey you guys are all vegans now no there was certain animals that were on the table certain that were not there was restrictions but let's look through this chapter and see there's still a lot of meat on the table here Leviticus chapter number 11 verse 4 nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that oh I'm sorry verse verse 1 I'm sorry and the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron saying unto them speak unto the children of Israel saying these are the beasts which ye shall eat okay so God's saying you will eat these animals among all the beasts that are on the earth whatsoever parteth the hoof and is cloven footed and cheweth the cud among the beasts that shall ye eat and you know what great wonderful creature fits into this category cows thank God for that today and in the Old Testament you could eat steak and in fact God said ye shall eat these animals and man that is an easy commandment to follow I mean someone could command me to eat steak any of the day of the week and I will obey I don't care who you are I will obey that command any time cows fit thank God verse 4 though says nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud or of them that divide the hoof as the camel because he chew at the cud but didn't divide if not the hoof he is unclean unto you so the Middle East is not where you want to be don't be eating camels okay God didn't want them at this time to be eating camels verse 5 and the coney because he chew at the cud but divide if not the hoof he is unclean unto you and the hair because he chew at the cud but divide if not the hoof he is unclean unto you and the swine though he divide the hoof and be cloven footed yet he chose cheweth not the cud he is unclean to you of their flesh shall ye not eat and their carcass shall ye not touch they are unclean to you so notice God's giving these stipulations they've got to be cloven footed they've got to park the hoof they have to chew the cud and it has to be a whole package they can't just have one of those qualities they have to have all of those qualities so beef was on the table but unfortunately for the people living at this time bacon was not on the table pork chops were not on the table you know that is sad for them but great for us this is not apply today and I'll get to that in a minute but we didn't see here God say hey I'm implementing some laws just so you know it's kale only it's seaweed only it's lettuce only it's grass only no it's like here's a bunch of animals that you can eat here's a few that are off the table look at verse 9 these shall ye eat of all that are in the waters so we're going to talk about aquatic life now whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters in the seas and in the rivers them shall ye eat and of all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers of all that move in the waters and of any living thing which is in the waters they shall be an abomination unto you they shall be even an abomination unto you ye shall not eat of their flesh but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters that shall be an abomination unto you so if it had fins if it had scales and it lived in the water you're good to go and hey praise God we can eat fish and even at this time you can eat fish don't be a fish hater okay fish is good fish is okay fish is on the table I've done a lot of fishing in my life and up north in Idaho you got beautiful fish clean water sources and when you pull a trout out of the river you throw some butter on that sucker you throw some salt and garlic and it's really good and thank God for providing for us some fish some salmon this is good now at this time unfortunately for them shellfish was off the table okay octopus was off the table that stuff now we can eat but back then that was something that was to be held in abomination but notice they're not vegetarians and not saying go eat grass saying eat fish you just can't eat shellfish now what about birds look at verse 13 birds there seems to be way more restrictions in the Old Testament on birds verse 13 says and these are they which he shall have an abomination among the fowls they shall not be eaten they are an abomination the eagle and the ossiferage and the osprey and the vulture and the kite after his kind every Raven after his kind and the owl and the nighthawk and the cacao and the hawk after his kind and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl and the swan and the pelican and the guyer eagle and the stork the heron after her kind and the lapwing and the bat all fowls that creep going upon all four shall be an abomination unto you so birds it just seems like way more birds were off limits but you know what you didn't see here restricted were things like chickens or things like turkey and those are some good birds that we enjoy today I've eaten dove before doves really good and today even if you were you know in a pinch you need to eat one of these today you can do that because this has been done away with in the New Testament look at verse 21 this one's a little bit sad to my flesh but I acknowledge that his ways are higher than mine and God's right about everything verse 21 says yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four which have legs above their feet to leap with all upon the earth even these of them ye may eat the locust after his kind and the bald locust after his kind and the beetle after his kind and the grasshopper after his kind that's what the Bible says folks I mean this is hard preaching for me but you can eat beetles you can eat grasshoppers you can eat locusts and I thank God I live in America and this is not something that I even have to think about doing but if I was starving and if I was in the wilderness and I saw that cicada I would figure out a way to cook it and I would eat it I would survive okay but I mean John the Baptist he ate locusts and wild honey right so you know be thankful for what you have because it could be it could be a lot worse right but you can you can eat this stuff now the next one the whole continent of Asia is gonna be really disappointed okay this one's gonna break the Asians hearts in the room here says Leviticus 11 verse 27 and whatsoever goeth upon his paws among all manner of beasts that go on all four those are unclean unto you who so touch it their carcass shall be unclean until the even sorry no dogs no cats you know at this time that was unclean that's off the table all right now today if you wanted to I don't recommend it all right probably is gross you could do it but at this time saying no dogs and why is that well because dogs are filthy animals which is why sodomites are represented by the dogs because they're filthy they're gross they eat their own vomit okay it's just a disgusting creature and it's not something that I want to eat now go to Colossians chapter number two Colossians chapter number two so we saw Leviticus 11 we saw Genesis 9 okay God said whatever you want to eat Noah you're in charge of this world you get to eat whatever you want Leviticus 11 there's a little bit of a change there's some restrictions but meat is still on the table God still wants us to eat meat look at verse 13 now what I want you to understand is that these dietary laws are not in effect today how do we know that Colossians chapter 2 verse 13 and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him having forgiven you all trespasses blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross and having spoiled principalities and powers he made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of and holy day or of the new moon or of the Sabbath's which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ so notice today no one is allowed to judge you about what kind of meat you eat you get to eat whatever meat you want you want to eat bacon that is on the table today thank God for that you want to eat shellfish that's on the table and no one's allowed to look at you and judge you or think less of you because you want to eat a certain type of meat that's the case now in the New Testament why because the meat the drinks the Sabbath's the holy days they were a shadow of things to come they were shadow of Christ what is a shadow a shadow is a physical representation a picture of something but it's not the thing itself and the Jews today they got just obsessed with the shadow rather than getting obsessed with the thing itself you know they should have looked to the Lord Jesus Christ and realized hey that Old Testament's done it's perishing it's ready to vanish away and now in 2024 it is gone it's vanished away it's perished what do we have now now we have Jesus Christ the thing that all of these other things were picturing and so thank God today that we live in the better Testament the Bible literally says that the New Testament is the better Testament that has a better covenant better promises better meat laws thank God for that right because I had bacon for lunch I had a big old BLT for lunch and I enjoy that I'm glad that I get to have that for lunch now go to second Corinthians chapter number six second Corinthians chapter number six now why is it why is it that God in Leviticus established these dietary laws some people harp on the fact that they think it was for health reasons and here's the big problem that I have with people that claim those for health reasons is because if it was unhealthy then then that means it's unhealthy now so if that's true then you should be able to judge someone for what they eat and their meat but God's saying that that's not the case saying you're not allowed to judge any more for this stuff why I don't think that there was a health benefit to that and some people they have that personal opinion oh you know pork is unhealthy for you I don't believe that okay you think that whatever do whatever you want to do but this is why I think God established those dietary laws second Corinthians chapter number six verse 17 says this wherefore come out from among them and be separate sayeth the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you here's the thing God's telling you hey this beast is unclean this beast is unclean this beast is unclean and God often uses physical truth to illustrate spiritual truth so when you're living your day-to-day life and you're constantly thinking I can't eat that I can't eat that I can't eat that I can't eat that what it's reminding you of is that God wants you to be spiritually separated and realize that there's things in life that God wants us to avoid God wants us to be separated from spiritually what things like sin right touch not the unclean thing you know there's things that are off limits to us alcohol fornication idolatry covetousness witchcraft hatred sedition variants emulations right there's things that God says those are unclean things be separate from those things don't touch those things and he was using a physical thing to help remind those people hey we're a special people we're separated unto the Lord we need to be separated but I know for sure that it's not that those beasts were unclean in and of themselves because in the New Testament the Bible is going to talk about how you're not supposed to call anything common or unclean referring to animals we'll get there in a minute but go to Deuteronomy chapter number 12 Deuteronomy chapter number 12 what are we talking about we're talking about the Bible speaks positively of eating meat here's another example Deuteronomy 12 verse 19 take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth when the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border as he hath promised thee and thou shalt say I will eat flesh so what are they saying they're saying I want to eat some meat because thy soul longeth to eat flesh thou mayest eat flesh whatsoever thy soul lust it after it sounds to me like God is endorsing eating meat here he's saying hey you're gonna get to this place I'm gonna enlarge your border you're gonna say I want to eat meat why because your soul wants to eat meat and I'm gonna say to you whatever you want to eat go for it I mean is that what your Bible just said hello look at verse 21 if the place which Lord thy God have chosen to put his name there be too far from thee then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which the Lord have given thee as I've commanded thee and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lust it after even as the Roebuck and the heart is eaten so shalt thou eat them the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike he's not saying eating unclean or clean animals he's saying whether you're ritually clean or unclean according to the laws of the Old Testament hey you're still gonna be able to partake in this and you're gonna be able to eat whatever you want for the sacrifice now go to Acts chapter number 5 Acts chapter number 5 you say well I'm confused because in Leviticus it did say that some animals were clean some were unclean it did say that some were an abomination some that you can't eat well the New Testament's gonna clear it up for us in Acts chapter number 5 this is a famous vision that the Apostle Peter had starting in verse 10 and he became very hungry and would have eaten but while they made ready he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending upon him as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth wherein we're all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and fowls of the air so get the picture here Peters in a trance and all of a sudden he's seeing this vision where he's just seeing every animal you could think of under the Sun not just animals that we would think are common to eat for us we're thinking of cows we're thinking of chickens we're thinking of turkey I mean he's seeing everything he's seeing giraffes he's seeing elephants he's seeing you know gazelles and he's seeing elk and deer and bears and mountain lions even he's just seeing everything here and look what verse 13 says and there came a voice to him rise Peter kill and eat now notice God's showing him a vision of all these animals many of which would have been considered unclean in the Old Testament but here we are in the New Testament Peter is getting this vision and God tells him rise kill and eat now look at verse number 14 but Peter said not so Lord for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean and the voice spake unto him again the second time what God hath cleansed that call not thou common this was done thrice and the vessel was received up again into heaven so notice Peter sees all these animals that in the Old Testament would have been considered off-limits and unclean but here we are in the New Testament and God's telling him rise kill and eat he's confused because he's saying wait a second this was unclean stuff but he's saying hold on what I have cleansed don't call common and of course another picture of having all these unclean beasts was to show to the Apostle Peter and to people like him that Gentiles while in times past would have been considered by God's people unclean or common or something that you should not touch something that should be an abomination unto you but now you know what don't call them unclean because God has cleansed those people now God wants to make sure that Peter goes and does what preaches the gospel to Cornelius a Gentile and that he doesn't just stop at Cornelius but that he's gonna go preach to every creature like the Great Commission commanded him to do and so that's why God gave him this vision it's a spiritual vision but there's a carnal aspect here where God said rise kill and eat so you know there's nothing wrong with going out into the woods and getting a gun or getting a bow and arrow and killing an animal ending its life for you to eat it there's nothing wrong with that and you know what only a complete idiot would say that that's murder and you have leftists today that love to protest and they say meat is murder no it's good to kill animals to eat them I've done it I love it I will eat animals till the day I die and you know I don't recommend this but just a funny story I had this Russian friend and we worked at a rebar fabrication shop that was right by a slaughterhouse and this slaughterhouse always had all these liberals out with their little you know signs meat is murder and my Russian friend being a Russian if you've ever been around Russians this is gonna make sense to you he just goes and buys all these burgers and he just walks up to all these little liberals and he just starts just just pounding the burgers in front of them and they're losing their mind and they're crying but yeah I'm not saying you should do that but you know what it is kind of funny because those people are a bunch of idiots let's just be honest thinking that that kind of stuff is murder I mean you are a fool if you think that no God created animals for our pleasure and our enjoyment and I'll chop a chicken's head off any day of the week and fry it up on the grill I'll shoot a cow and eat that sucker I love steak and you know what thank God for farmers and ranchers and people that raise food and kill food and bring it to my table you know thank God we're in the New Testament I'm you know I'm not really sad for these vegetarians why because God speaks positively about eating me number one the Bible speaks positively about eating me number two Jesus condoned of eating and did eat meat himself and to me that's really all I need to know my Lord and Savior ate meat sounds like this is not a bad thing because Jesus never sinned go to John chapter number six John chapter number six I don't know how you can be a Christian look at something that Jesus Christ did and be like oh I'm too good for that I'm so much better I'm on a moral high ground because I don't eat me really because Jesus ate meat are you telling me you're more moral than Jesus Christ no that's fake spirituality I don't buy that John 6 verse 5 when Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him he saith unto Philip whence shall we buy bread that these may eat and this he said to prove him for himself knew what he would do Philip answered him 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little one of his disciples Andrew Simon Peter's brother saith unto him there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and notice two small fishes what is that that's meat but what are they among so many and Jesus said make the men sit down now there was much grass in the place so the men sat down in number about 5,000 and Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to them that were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would so our Lord and Savior saw that there was some bread and saw that there was some fish and he's about to work a miracle here where he's gonna multiply that stuff to feed 5,000 people but notice what he doesn't do he doesn't say all right we got bread we got fish the bread's okay but go ahead and change this fish into kale let me go ahead and do a miracle here and change this fish into lettuce or broccoli I mean could Jesus have done that if he wanted to yes he could have but yet what did he do he said hey this is actually good this is fine this is a good balanced meal here you got your grains you got your carbohydrates on one hand with the bread and what do you got on the other side you got protein you got all sorts of vitamins and fish oils it's really good for you he says hey this is a really good balanced meal here sit down and I'm gonna feed it to you if eating meat was wrong why would Jesus have served 5,000 people fish you can't claim you can't make that claim you might be able to you know argue a little bit about Adam and Eve and whether they were or they weren't vegetarians but you know who wasn't a vegetarian Jesus Christ the God man our Lord and Savior he saw some fish and he said hey I'm gonna feed people some fish why because meats good meats good for you God wants us to eat meat in fact he fed people meat go to Luke chapter number 24 Luke chapter chapter number 24 so this is after Jesus rose again it says in verse 39 behold my hands and my feet that it is I myself handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have and when he had thus spoken he showed them his hands and his feet and while they yet believed not for joy and wondered he said unto them have ye here any meat and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb and he took it and did eat before them so here we have the risen Savior the Lord Jesus Christ he's showing unto his disciples hey it's really me I really rose again check out the holes in my hands and in my feet touch me handle me I'm not just a vision here and he says man I'm hungry give me some meat they give him some broiled fish some honey and he eats it gladly you know I guarantee you that if the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ showed up to one of our fellowship events you know what he'd get him a big old plate of meat how do I know that because he ate meat the first time he was here and he's not gonna go to your vegetarian club he's not gonna you know be some prissy soy boy asking for the vegetarian menu no he's gonna go ahead and just eat the protein he's gonna go ahead and eat the fish and you know what you have a warped mentality when you think there's something wrong with eating meat when God ate meat you know what that is that's blasphemous right there you know there's you could have a difference of opinion you could say oh I'm just doing this for health reasons but look if you think it's wrong to eat meat you know what you're saying you're saying that Jesus did something wrong or you're saying that the Bible is not true that he didn't eat meat which one is it you know I have no tolerance for someone that wants to make it seem like it's bad to eat meat you have your own opinion but don't you dare sit here and say that it's wrong or bad or sinful to eat meat first Peter chapter number two I'll read for you you could go and turn to Romans Romans 14 Romans 14 now I'll read for you first Peter 2 21 says this for even here unto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow in his steps now I recognize that the context of this passage is talking about the suffering of Jesus Christ and the suffering that he endured as an example to us that we should follow but let's expound that a little bit because I think that anything Jesus did is a good example for us to follow and the steps that he took in this world and in his life are steps that you and I are always safe following it's not like there's just some special rule for Jesus well well Jesus can eat meat because he's Jesus but we can't know any step that he took you're safe and following that step so if Jesus ate me hey I'm gonna eat me point number three vegetarians are weak vegetarians are weak you know I had someone tell me that I'm not allowed to say this but what I'm about to show you is that the Bible literally says this and just so you know don't ever tell me what I can and cannot preach unless you want that to be the very next sermon it's a really bad idea okay number three vegetarians are weak you say is that your opinion look at Romans 14 verse 1 him that is weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations for one believeth that he may eat all things another who is weak eateth herbs now did I make this up or is this what the Bible says in front of you now let's talk about different ways that a person can be weak from being a vegetarian okay because one way is talking about is in the faith but let's just talk about being physically weak for a second because you know when I lived in the Vancouver Washington Portland Oregon area there's a lot of vegetarian men in that that town and you know what you see in that town is a bunch of weak men much of a feminine men and there there are exceptions of course where vegetarians can be very strong because they're supplementing a lot of protein because they're supplementing a lot of other things there's exceptions but the rule is when you're vegetarian you're weak and you know I had a family member who tragically died in her 20s from cancer and she was one of these vegans that lived her entire life never eating meat living a vegan lifestyle and you know left her kids dying in her 20s of cancer and I think a huge part of that was that she ate a really terrible diet because God didn't intend for us to be vegetarians now how are vegetarians weak well I found this article it's from healthline.com and it says this seven nutrients that you cannot get from plants so if you want to be real strict and say I'm only gonna eat plants not gonna supplement I'm just gonna be a strict vegetarian there are some nutrients that your body cannot get number one is vitamin b12 vitamin b12 is an essential nutrient that's almost exclusively found in animal sourced foods such as fish meat dairy products and eggs so God created all these animals to sustain us and to give us nutrients and one of the things that all these animals have inside of them is vitamin b12 when you don't eat animals you're not getting the vitamin b12 that you need also known as cobalamin it's a water-soluble nutrient involved in developing red blood cells and maintaining nerves in normal brain function studies have shown that without supplements or enriched foods vegetarians are at a high risk of vitamin b12 deficiency lacto-ovo vegetarians can get adequate amounts of this nutrient from dairy products and eggs so some vegetarians they'll eat dairy products and eggs because they're hypocrites so so vegans who don't take supplements are at a higher risk of vitamin b12 deficiency symptoms of vitamin b12 deficiency include ready for the first thing weakness how funny that the Bible says that he that eateth herbs is weak here's this scientific article saying if you don't eat meat you're gonna have vitamin vitamin b12 deficiency and the very first symptom of being deficient of this is weakness it's almost like God created animals for us to eat fatigue impaired brain function neurological disorders that's why they're voting for Kamala psychiatric disorders neurological disorders in babies of breastfeeding mothers mega megaloblastic anemia I don't even know what that is but it doesn't sound fun all right possible links to Alzheimer's possible links to heart disease I mean those are some serious side effects this is just one nutrient that you're deficient in if you're not eating meat and you're not eating animal products here's another one creatine creatine is a molecule found in animal foods most of it is stored in your muscles but significant amounts are also concentrated in your brain it functions as an easily accessible energy reserve for muscle cells giving them greater strength and endurance so if you're if you're deficient in vitamin b12 what's the first thing that you're deficient in strength okay creatine what does that help with strength it's almost like the Bible's true here that he that eateth herbs is weak cardinosanine is another thing that you're deficient in if you don't eat meat vitamin d3 vitamin D is an essential nutrient with many important functions also called the sunshine vitamin it doesn't have to come from your diet your skin can produce vitamin D exposed to sunlight however if your sunlight exposure is limited or you live far from the equator you must get it from food or supplements so you know you might be able to get your vitamin D intakes when you live in the south or in the equator but if you're living in you know Iceland Norway Russia you're not gonna get the vitamin D that you need from the Sun where do you get it from you get it from animals or supplements which is just hilarious to me how they want to claim vegetarians want to claim that their life is so much healthier but yet they have to take so many supplements just to get their body functioning like God intended doesn't really sound like it's that healthy DHA is an acid it's an essential omega-3 fatty acid that's important for normal brain development and function that people that don't eat meat are often deficient in it could have a deficiency can have an adverse effects on mental health and brain function especially in children in addition inadequate DHA intake and pregnant women may adversely affect fetal brain development it's mainly found in fish fish oil and certain types of micro algae so again it's just talking about all the mental problems that you're gonna have when you're deficient in this it just it's starting to make sense now why certain parts of the country seem like they have more mental illness and mental disease iron iron only found in meat especially red meat it's much better absorbed than non hemi iron which is commonly found in plant foods hemi iron also improves your absorption of non hemi iron from plant foods this phenomenon is not entirely understood but is called the meat factor so even even the iron that you do get from plants and stuff like that when you're getting the iron that comes from meat it's helping your body absorb the iron that comes from plants and here's the thing God never said thou shalt eat only meat I'm not against vegetables I'm not against fruit I'm not against greens I love those things I think we should eat both and even the scientific article saying hey all the positive iron that you can get from greens your body can only really absorb that if you're also getting the iron from meat taurine is another chemical is another compound that you can be deficient in if you don't eat meat it's found in various body tissues including your brain heart kidneys while its bodily function is not entirely clear it appears to play a role in muscle function how funny you know I'm not just making fun of vegetarians for making fun of them here I'm saying like they're literally weak because they're deficient in all these nutrients that God intended you to be eating through meat and so what you're gonna see if you see someone that's a strict vegetarian and they're not taking all these supplements I promise you you'll see a weak person physically and the only people that are the exceptions to this are the people that are spending tons of time tons of money tons of effort and energy and research and to figure out all the other things that they need to add to their diet just so that they can be normal and you know what I don't really think that God wants us to spend that much time on what we eat look at verse where were we here first Timothy chapter number four first Timothy chapter number four first Timothy 4 verse 4 for every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with Thanksgiving you know I think God wants us to be healthy I think God wants us to put some level of care and thought into what we're putting into our bodies I'm for that I'm for eating healthy you know I don't think God just wants us obsessed with every micronutrient that's entering our body and every single you know supplemental pill that we could possibly get God saying look every creature is good nothing's to be refused if you just receive that sucker with something with some Thanksgiving pray for your food and you know what just down the hatch it goes you'll be good to go but vegetarians they're like oh I gotta be a vegetarian I don't want to murder me so I'm gonna make sure I get all these other supplements I'm gonna put all this thought energy money effort into this it's like dude nothing is to be refused it's all good God said just thank God for your food and eat it now go back to Romans chapter 14 now another way that vegetarians are weak and I think this is the primary application of what Romans 14 is actually saying is that they're spiritually weak okay look at Romans 14 verse 1 him that is weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations for one believe it that he may eat all things another who is weak eateth herbs now why is someone who is a vegetarian who eats herbs why are they spiritually weak well have you seen all the Bible that we've looked at this evening where the Bible is speaking positively of meat where Jesus Christ is feeding other people meet where Jesus Christ is eating meat himself I mean not trying to be offensive to you but if you don't understand that you are spiritually weak you are spiritually a baby go to Hebrews chapter number five and in fact the Bible likens someone who is spiritually mature to someone that eats strong meat why because God uses carnal truths to illustrate spiritual truths look at Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12 for when for the time you ought to be teachers you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat he's saying look you guys your spiritual growth has been retarded and I mean that in the scientific term there it has been retarded you guys should be eating strong meat right now but you know what your babies your immature you're weak so you need to drink milk and right aren't our babies in this room they're weak and what are they eating right now milk and when they grow up and when they get strong they'll eat meat look at verse 13 for everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness for he is a babe but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil so here's the thing the verses we've been looking at it's not really strong meat guys it's verses about meat but spiritually this is some milk stuff right here the verses we're looking at we're just saying like hey God's saying every creatures good hey here's the dietary laws of God saying what we can eat hey here's Jesus eating me here's Jesus feeding people me this is not hard stuff to understand so if you're having a hard time grasping this you might just be a babe in Christ you might just be spiritually weak and you know you need to keep getting the milk here and keep feeding yourself some milk so that you can grow and get some meat spiritually maybe you might start eating some meat physically too if you do that now here's the thing just because someone is a vegetarian and just because I am strongly against that lifestyle and I'm against it because I think that the Bible is very positive about eating meat that does not mean that a vegetarian cannot come to our church that does not mean that a vegetarian would not be welcome to be a member of our church to hang out with us to be in good fellowship and standing with the church why we'll look at Romans 14 verse 1 again let's focus on a different aspect of this verse says him that is weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations so look hey you're vegetarian you're the weaker brother we will receive you but not to doubtful disputations we're not going to agree with your stupid beliefs because it's wrong it's just dead wrong the Bible is against it I'm not going to listen to you try to convince me or try to convince other people that they should be a vegetarian because the Bible is against that mentality but if you want to come here and learn and grow you're welcome that's absolutely fine now Roman chapter 14 before I read verse 3 here's the thing I'm not I'm not for us being mean to them if a vegetarian comes into our church you will see me being very gracious and kind of them unless they start teaching other people to be vegetarian and stuff like that but here's the thing in our country right now in our in our culture right now and in the way things are going we don't need a ton of preaching to balance people out from being mean to vegetarians like we need a ton of preaching saying like hey that idea is stupid that idea is wrong it'd be one thing if our country was just full of a bunch of carnivores that were like beating up vegetarians and being mean to them but you know what our country is full of a bunch of soy boys a bunch of effeminate men a bunch of liars telling you eggs are bad red meat is bad and to those people I say shut up that's what I say to them you want to come and be a church member that's great we'll be nice to you but we're not gonna have your doubtful disputations okay you're welcome we're not gonna be mean to you but quite honestly this type of preaching is needed a lot more than the be nice and hold hands with the vegetarian type of preaching all right that gets there you know maybe you'll hear that someday but I highly doubt it look at verse number three let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not so look I'm not gonna just hate someone I'm not gonna just despise someone just because they're a vegetarian but that being said they can cross the line to where it's just going from this is my personal opinion this is my own choice for my life to them saying like it's a sin to eat meat or it was wrong for Jesus to eat meat no that stuff you better believe that's gonna be a different conversation but notice this let not him which eateth not so this is the vegetarian let not him judge him that eateth for God hath received him and again in our culture what we don't need a ton of preaching right now saying like hey don't despise the vegetarians we need the opposite because constantly everywhere you go the vegan messaging is being pumped that oh yeah it's so good to be a vegetarian it's so good to be a vegan it's like no we don't need that culture right now we don't need the culture of being nice and coddling to them we need the culture of telling them hey you're not allowed to judge us us for eating meat yeah we won't judge you yeah we won't despise you but remember this goes both ways and usually it's the vegetarians usually it's the vegans that are so judgmental about their lifestyle and it's like how do you know you meet a vegetarian because they'll tell you they'll tell you hey did you know I'm a vegetarian hey do you want me over to your house I'm a vegetarian though it's like no I don't want to invite you over I mean you're welcome to come to church I love you as a brother in Christ let's go soul winning but if like you think that me and my family are gonna bend over backwards for your weird lifestyle that's not biblical the answer is no and our society is way too coddling of these people way too coddling we're too coddling of feminists from this morning sermon we're too coddling of vegans and the vegans and the vegetarians are the ones that they want to go judge everyone about their food just shut up and pray for your food look at verse 15 but if thy brother be grieved with thy meat now walkest thou not charitably destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died let not then your good be evil spoken of for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost for he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things where with one may edify another for meat destroy not the work of God all things indeed are pure but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense it is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth or is offended or is made weak pass thou faith have it to thyself before God happy is he that condemneth not himself and that thing which he alloweth and he that is doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not a faith for whatsoever is not a faith is sin so here's the thing if someone is weak in this area first of all let's just acknowledge what the Bible says that they're weak in this area say step one this person is weak in this area that doesn't mean I'm gonna despise him that doesn't mean that I'm gonna treat him poorly that doesn't mean that I'm gonna try to force him to eat meat or trick him and try to serve him meat or something like that to wound the weaker brothers conscience right if you see me interact with a vegetarian I will be kind I will be polite I don't care what people's personal opinions are but behind the pulpit I'm gonna preach what the Bible says I'm gonna preach what God's perfect will is I'm gonna preach that God speaks very positively about meat but don't hear a sermon like this and think like oh man I'm gonna call my vegetarian sister tonight and just tell her what an idiot she is and that you know she's voting for Kamala because she has brain disorders because she has a lack of all these essential you know things in your body and you know it may be true but I'm just not saying that may not be the wisest thing to do we're not trying to destroy the work of God for meat or anything like that but like I keep saying we are living in a culture that doesn't need more hand-holding to the vegetarians we need them to feel a little bit uncomfortable about their weird lifestyle not like oh man here's a church of a hundred people and one vegetarian walks in let's just change everything about us let's just bend over backward for their weird lifestyle no you could be a vegetarian you can have that to yourself but just keep it to yourself don't try to convince people to be a vegetarian and dead sure don't try to say that the Bible teaches that you should be a vegetarian why well that leads me to point number four go to 1st Timothy chapter number four those people point number four people who teach vegetarianism as a commandment are demonic demonic devil-filled wicked people there's a difference for someone that's just has stupid health beliefs and that's their personal ideology whatever that's one thing it's a whole different ballgame when you say the Bible says you shouldn't eat me or God's against you eating meat or eating meat is murder no actually you are demonic let me prove that to you first Timothy 4 verse 1 says this now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and notice doctrines of devils so what we're about to explain is a doctrine or a teaching or an understanding an ideology of what devils verse 2 speaking lies and hypocrisy having their conscience seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth for every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer you know the but what the Bible saying is very serious saying that in the latter times there's gonna be people that do what they depart from the faith so they depart from this right here and they give heed to they give credence to they pay attention to doctrines of devils what are those doctrines of devils one of them is forbidding to marry and let me tell you something if some person tells you God doesn't want you to get married it's wrong for you to get married you need to be a man going your own way you need to be like Andrew Tate you need to be like Tristan Tate and be like those guys you know what that person's a devil and if someone commands you to abstain from meat that's a doctrine of devils that's something that's not gonna be tolerated yeah we'll tolerate your opinion we'll tolerate you don't like me you don't want to eat it that's your personal thing cool you start saying that someone has to do that you start saying that's what the Bible teaches that will never be tolerated that will never be allowed we're not gonna bend over backwards backwards for that at all you know isn't it funny how you have false religions the religion of Satan called Catholicism and isn't it funny how they they both give credence to both of these doctrines right Catholics teach all of these doctrines of devils the abstaining of marriage right because if you're gonna be a priest a bishop a cardinal a Pope what do you have to do in order to get that high in the Catholic Church you have to not get married and it's just so obvious for us that are saved that have the Word of God I mean it's just there they have a giant red blinking sign on their church saying like we're of the devil we are satanic we are demonic why because they're teaching to abstain for marriage not only that you know what else the demonic wicked satanic Catholic Church teaches to abstain from eating meat during certain times you think that's a coincidence why would I want to get yoked up with some ideology some health ideology that has more in common with Catholicism one of the worst satanic religions that have ever existed then to eat me like the Bible says to and like Jesus did here's some things that they teach you know they teach that during Lent that you're to abstain from eating all meats on Fridays during the season of Lent which is the 40-day period leading up to Easter Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent where they teach staying from eating meat Good Friday which it's Good Thursday okay but Good Friday according to Catholics you're not allowed to eat meat traditionally more staunch Catholics abstain from eating meats every Friday of the year what a sad life but let me just remind you of where you're sitting this evening this is a Baptist Church this is not a Catholic Church we don't want anything to do with the Catholic doctrines the doctrines of devils of saying no marriage no meat I mean marriage and meat is like two of the greatest things on earth I mean would we even want to live without marriage and meat that's a sad life I mean Wow God punishes you for worshiping the devil I mean he really does he takes away like the two greatest things in the world marriage and meat man it must suck to be a Catholic stupid Catholicism verse 6 here's the thing I may seem a little mean tonight but it's okay I've been nice the last couple Sundays all right you've gotten the practical sermons sometimes we just need to be a little bit mean I may seem like I'm being a little bit mean to the vegetarians but here's what I want you to understand I'm not just being mean for the sake of being mean here not just trying to be bombastic for the sake of being bombastic look at verse number six remember what we just read look what it says if thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things what things the fact that these are doctrines of devils if you preach these things if you put the brethren in remembrance of these things look what it says thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine whereunto thou hast attained and here's the thing not just trying to be mean to the vegetarians for the sake of being vegetarians you know what I'm trying to do I'm trying to be a good minister of Jesus Christ and sometimes a minister of Jesus Christ has to say something that's a little bit offensive but you know what it's not my fault that the world is so screwed up it's not my fault that the Liberals have taught this lie for so long look the by why do I say this stuff why am I putting the brethren in remembrance of this stuff well number one because the Bible speaks positively of eating meat why am I talking about this stuff because Jesus Christ himself ate meat and because Jesus condoned of eating meat and because Jesus offered meat unto others why am I talking about this stuff because the Bible literally says that vegetarians are weak and I don't want anyone to be weak physically or spiritually why am I talking about this stuff because the Bible says that commanding people to abstain from meats is literally a doctrine of Devils you know what we are a Baptist Church we care about what the Bible says more than hurting anyone's feelings and you know what there might be some vegetarian that listens to this and they're upset and look if you're my brother in Christ I love you even though I strongly disagree with on this but you know what teaching that it's a commandment of God is a doctrine of Devils and I'm never gonna back off from that that's what the Bible says you so let us be a church that no matter what the topic no matter how offensive it may be no matter how culturally unacceptable a certain view is that we're just gonna stick with what the Bible says regardless of whose feelings it hurts with that let's pray Lord thank you for this day thank you for the blessing of meat thank you that you've just given animals to us to be used in so many different ways from clothing to soap making to food to transportation just you've blessed us with animals and thank you so much for it I pray that we would never get this fake liberal attitude that meat is murder and I dead sure pray Lord that no one in here would ever think that it's a commandment of God to abstain from meat I pray that people's hearts would be open to this message and that we would eat meat to be spiritually and physically strong love you in Jesus name we pray amen