Teaching – That… Which Matters Most

Tra’Paul

The third of five for the class of 2025: Tra’Paul.

Tra’Paul really challenged me as a teacher. But as you will see, we definitely formed a bond. I have more pictures of him, by far, than any other student. Why? Because of that bond. He challenged me and I tried to challenge him. And whenever we went anywhere, he was with me. He walked besides me. He would take my arm as we went down the hallway. He was never more than 35 to 85 feet from me (hyperbole), unless of course, I was looking for him. Which isn’t bad, inside the confines of Waco High School. But when when we were at Magnolia on a field trip? Or the mall? Or the train station?

But then, why was I worried? It was Tra’Paul. He wasn’t going to break anything, even though he wanted to touch everything. He was and is curious.

The real break through for me, was during his junior year. He did something out of line in the classroom, and I took him out into the hall to talk to him. AS I was reading him the riot act, he suddenly reached up and took my glasses off my face. I was speechless. I really thought he was going to twist my glasses into a pretzel.

I got my glass back and told him, “DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!”

So he didn’t.

He took both his hands and put them on my face. What? I thought he was about to hit me or something.

At this point, I was so angry at him, I had no idea what to do. So I called for behavior to come and deal with him.

I made sure to tell his sister, Shay, when she picked him up that afternoon. In fact, I may have called her to come and get him early. I told her what happened and that he had grabbed my face.

She said, “Mr. Hammons, he wasn’t going to hurt you. He was trying to make you smile.”

What?!? Make me smile? I was speechless and… humbled. This young man was more concerned with the fact that I wasn’t happy than anything else. Did I say I was humbled? My heart broke.

OK… That’s Tra’Paul. Yes, I get teary eyed, every time I think about it.

From that point on… I really began to understand. Tra’Paul is like a happy 5-year-old in a linebacker’s body. I had seen glimpses of this before, like the time I played an episode of Sid The Science Kid for the class. Tra’Paul was up, dancing and singing along with the entire show. In fact, he had the show memorized. We all laughed and he sang away.

After that one bit of information from Shay, I never really had any trouble with Tra’Paul again. Sure, he would wander off. He would try to beat the other kids to lunch. He would take his time whenever we were in a hurry. (I called it Tra’Paul time). But it was OK. That was Tra’Paul.

Because we had formed such a bond, I was asked to walk with him during graduation. We were not sure if he would get up and begin to walk around as we waited for his line of students to go up to the stage. I know I wanted to get up and walk around. Maybe that is the real reason they asked me to watch him. He wouldn’t let me do that.

So we sat together on the field. We walked together in the line. He waved at everyone that waved at him. He was so joyful going across the stage that I got so caught up in that when the administration told him congratulations, I said “thank you” as well.

After we got off the stage, his mother asked that I escort him back to her, so they could leave early.

“No Hammons!”

Tra’Paul was having none of it. He knew that graduation wasn’t over until he got to throw his hat. So we sat back down, waiting for the rest of the 800 other students to cross the stage. Did I say there were more than 800 students?

Finally, that moment came. He threw his hat. Then we had to wait until the school song was finished. And then… he still didn’t want to leave. He was soaking up every minute.

The only reason he left was that his sister came down onto the field and escorted him out. What a wonderful evening.

Enjoy the pictures, especially the graduation pics.

If you would like to see my post on Tonsie, click here.

If you would like to see my post on Jorge, click here.

I have two more posts to go: Austin’s and Isaiah’s.

My favorite picture from the night.

After crossing the stage.

With Tonsie. They went to the prom together.

Our walk to Benny ‘n Beaus. Anthony, Antianna, and Miranda graduated last year, class of 2024.

We got caught in a rain shower on the bridge over the Brazos.

As I said, he loved to touch everything, and try on some clothes. This was on a field trip to the mall.

Notice the railroad sign? So did he. He wanted to wait there until the train came by. It did about 30 minutes later.

The train finally came by, and we watched it from the top of the WACO ISD parking garage.

On the bridge over the Brazos.

Photobomb!

No, we did nog go inside to eat.

Our first trip to Bitty ‘n Beaus.

Never too old for the slide!

Leaving his mark!

The day we took the Amtrak train from Temple to McGregor.

When Tra’Paul works, he really works hard.

We decided to plant a garden in the courtyard and had to move some pavers in order to do so. Once he got the idea that they needed to be moved, he moved just about all of them.

Sadly, the courtyard had no water hose. Not a single seed came to fruition.

A pep rally for classmate Fidencio, who was on the district champion soccer team.

This was another project that Tra’Paul loved. We decided to paint murals on the walls, since we had no windows, and the walls were institutional white. Once we taught Tra’Paul what to do… he kept right on going.

I can remember saying, “Tra’Paul, put your brush down. No more painting. Your mother is here to pick you up.”

He didn’t want to leave.

Jorge

The second of five students of mine who graduated this year is Jorge. Tonsie, Jorge and Tra’Paul all have been with me for three years. Three posts are forthcoming: Tra’Paul’s, Isaiah’s, and Austin’s. Yes, that is a lot of students for one class.

But this post is for Jorge. He is one of my favorite students and had the ability to use sarcasm from time-to-time without my ability to pick up on it. That may be his super power. He would say something to me that seemed off sorts. I would get on to him. And then he would say, “I was being sarcastic.” In that light, what he said made perfect sense and I would realize I’d been schooled by one of my students. I was left with my typical reply: “Jolly good!”

Jorge loves dinosaurs, Skittles, and Red Velvet cupcakes. We both shared a love for Red Velvet cupcakes from HEB, the specialty ones, not the 14 for a dollar ones. From time to time, I would pick some up just for him. I also kept a supply of Skittles… just for him. Yes, the other students like the Skittles, but I knew he loved them. I made sure to buy the different kinds of Skittles, just for him.

What he didn’t like was cheeseburgers. I found this out the hard way. We made a quick field trip to HEB, for a cooking project, and missed the city bus back to school. We were going to miss lunch. I walked over to McDonald’s while my aids watched the student and bought them all cheeseburgers.

He took one look at it, saw that it was cheeseburger, and crumpled it up, and put in the trash can. He doesn’t like cheeseburgers. He doesn’t like pickles on his hamburgers, or onions. In the three years we spent together, this was the important thing for me to know. No cheeseburger. No pickles. No onions.

I feel like I owe him a proper burger!

Perhaps after I finish the diet my wife has me on from eating all the Red Velvet cupcakes from HEB, I can take him and get a proper hamburger.

We were on our Train Ride field trip, waiting for the train when I took this picture. There was a playground under a bridge next to the train station. We took the Amtrak train from Killeen to McGreggor. A short ride, but worth the effort since most of my class had never been on a train.

At Cameron Park, with Fidencio and Miranda.

Every year, we would walk over to the Yes! Expo and this was one of the exhibits. We got to see how television newscasters use the green screen. Jorge is in front of the green screen.

A garden project… in which… nothing grew. We had no access to a hose to water what we planted and were dependent upon the rains for our crops. It was a sad, bitter crop and answers that lifelong question: should I have been a farmer?

A cooking project.

At Bitty ‘n Beau’s.

Cameron Park Zoo.

Getting ready for his senior picture.

He looks mighty dapper! (Which is a good thing!)

An experiment using acrylic paint to show us how hard it is to wash every crevice of our hands. Jorge liked the bronze colored pain.

A fascinating field trip to the Waco Police Headquarters involved the ride on the elevator. It was the best part!

A trip to the mall!

Drinks and snacks at Bitty ‘n Beau’s.

Tonsie, Tonsie, Tonsie!

One of the things about my job as a teacher at Waco High School that I really love, is that I get to keep the same students for their entire time they are in high school. This means I really get to know them, watch them grow and learn. And I also share in the struggles they deal with.

This is one of the reason’s Tonsie became so special as a student. I had the opportunity of walking with her through some of the hardest days of her life, after she lost her Granny in the summer of 2023. Her Granny was actually raising her when she suddenly died. It was a shock to the entire family, and really hit Tonsie hard. The Bible says, weep with those who weep, and we wept a lot during that time.

But we also laughed a lot as well. When she would come through the door every morning, I would say, “Tonsie, Tonsie, Tonsie!” She knew it was my special name for her. There were even times I would tell her, “Tonsie, you are my favorite student.”

She would say, “Mr. Hammons, be quiet. You’re not supposed to have favorites.”

“Well, I guess I’m breaking the rules.”

Whenever another student heard me say that, they would say: “I thought I was your favorite.” To which I was read: “No, you’re the one I like the most!”

One of the other areas that she showed maturity was the fact that she learned not to get caught up in all the high-school drama that goes on between students. She would remember that she didn’t have to be a part of it, and wouldn’t get involved. In a class like mine, this was huge. Drama is always waiting around the corner to disrupt things, and the more students I could teach to avoid it, the better.

Needless to say, I’m proud of Tonsie for her accomplishments. She is growing into a fine young woman.

The following is my gift to her. This will probably be my longest post ever, for below, I have pictures going all the way back to her sophomore year, when she first came to my class.

Here she is with her Auntie Shawtay.

Tra’Paul and Tonsie went to the senior prom together.

On one of our many field trips. We were intending to go to the zoo that day, but it rained, so we went to Bitty & Beau’s for drinks and pastries.

When we finally did make it to the zoo.

Getting ready for her senior picture.

Tra’Paul made a big poster inviting her to the senior prom.

This was at Magnolia. Many drive many miles to visit Magnolia. We took the city bus and had a blast.

Three of my five graduates this year: Jorge, Isaiah, and Tonsie.

Our first field trip back in January 2023. We went to Kristi’s Burgers on the east side of town, and then to a museum.

Ms. Griffin and Tonsie.

We were on a long walk through downtown, headed to our first trip to Bitty N’ Beaus. This is Tonsie with classmate and friend Antianna.

Same trip.

One of the few pictures I have of Anthony (Class of 2024) and Tonsie together. He was one of the original students when I took over the class in in the fall of 2022, with Tonsie, and others.

Pig-Out Day! We took a trip to Golden Corral. No one came away hungry!!!

This is the first of two pictures that hit me emotionally. These five, without Antianna, were all in my original class. They’ve all graduated. Yes, I miss them all. From left to right: Anthony (’24), Fidencio (’23), Jorge (’25), Miranda (’24), and Tonsie below.

This is the second group picture that reminded me of all who have graduated. Tra’Paul (’25) is added, Antianna and Anthony are missing.

Another one…

At the Mayborn Museum.

We decided to walk over to Dairy Queen for some ice cream.

Taken from our wall project, which was to paint as much of the walls as we could, since they were all white, cinder block walls. We did what we could to brighten up the room since it had no windows.

Three Sermons on Head Coverings and More…

Women wearing head coverings in worship has become controversial here in the past few years. There are those who are steadfastly against it, declaring that it was merely cultural in Paul’s day, and now no longer necessary for women today.

For example, since I started putting this post together, Doug Wilson has come out with 21 Theses on Head Coverings For Women. You can read his position for yourself. But I would like to draw you attention to one of his points. Wilson asks:

Thesis #6: At Corinth, the men were covering themselves and the women were not. This leads us to wonder why.

Sixth, the men in Corinth were for some reason covering themselves in worship, because Paul tells them not to, and the women were uncovering themselves, because Paul makes a point of saying that if they pray during the meeting, or if they bring a prophecy, they must do so covered. What might those reasons be?

Apart from Doug’s added question, this is exactly what we believe the text to be saying. Men are not to pray covered. Women are not to pray uncovered. Wilson grants this point in this statement, and also shows that the issue is not cultural, because it is dealing with worship.

Those who oppose head coverings love to offer all kinds of cultural and Old Covenant references to show how coverings were viewed, and used, but miss the main point: Paul is telling the church in Corinth, and all the churches, what the cultural setting should be in the church, and he is rooting that cultural setting in creation.

Paul bases his arguments on creation, the hierarchy of Christ, the husband, and the woman, and for the purpose of the angels. In other words, it doesn’t matter what the Jews use to do, or what the Jews were doing. It doesn’t matter what the Romans used to do, or what they were doing. In fact, it doesn’t matter what the church has been doing today, but what we should be doing. Paul sets the culture for us, by rooting his arguments in the created order, and we are to submit to his instructions, as do all the churches (1 Corinthians 11:16).

We also believe, as Bnonn Tennant so beautifully shows, that only God’s glory is to be seen in worship, therefore, women are to cover their hair. Bnonn writes:

The way in which we worship matters. To have another glory on display—a glory that simply by merit of being present is competing with (H)is, suggesting itself as worthy of appearing alongside (H)im—is embodied blasphemy. And glory that is present alongside (Him) suggests also that we may worship the creature, rather than the creator, who is blessed forever! Amen—and is thus implied idolatry.

You can read the full article here. You can also listen to Bnonn and Smokey (Bnonn’s wife) answer questions to objections here. Most of the objections they address, will deal with the statements in Wilson’s article, and others as well.

Just by looking at what the text actually says, like I do in my sermons below, and what Bnonn and Smokey do, we answer most of the objections people have.

I am sharing the three sermons I have preached on the subject of head coverings from 1 Corinthians 11. I did this back in April and May of 2023 at Waco Reformed Church. Most of our congregation has since adopted the practice. However, even those who do not accept the practice, are welcome to worship with us.

You can also read other articles here and here.

First sermon: Head Coverings and Hierarchy

This first sermon not only deals with the hierarchy of those in the body of Christ, but also the culture in which Paul was working. It does answer the question: are head coverings a result of culture?

Second Sermon: Head Coverings and Prophecy

Third Sermon: Head Coverings and Glory

At Waco Reformed Church, we believe that it is right and proper for women to wear head coverings in worship. However, we accept that there are many men and women who are not convinced from Scripture to do so. Therefore we allow for those who are not convinced to act upon their conscience, as long as they don’t teach otherwise in our congregation.

For Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 24

Preparation for Worship: Psalm 73:25-26

Call to worship: Hebrews 12:18-24 (Keep it, same as last week).

Reading of the Law: Proverbs 10:30-32 (Dichotomy continues: righteous and wicked)

AOPG: Isaiah 1:18; Hebrews 12:24

Old Covenant Reading (read first): Ezekiel 47:1-5

New Covenant Reading: Matthew 5:1-10

(This is the inspired and holy word of God.)

Sermon – For Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

Introduction –

Our text reads: “He sat on a mountain…” I’ve tried to show that more is going on than meets the eye. If we remain in an elementary understanding of Scripture, we will never see the true richness of what Jesus is doing. This is why I spent much of last Sunday’s sermon showing the significance of Jesus sitting on a mountain, teaching the people of God.

This means something. It shows us the greater spiritual reality of what takes place when we gather for worship, on the mountain, with the people of God, sitting at the feet of our Savior.

He is the Temple of God. We are the building blocks of that Temple. When we gather, true worship takes place. When we gather, He feeds us, and gives us drink.

The Apostle John also hits upon this theme as well, but not directly.

John gives us another picture of this reality.

Revelation 21:2-6

²Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Part of the already/not yet reality)

⁵Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Including us) And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

⁶And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”

As Jesus sits on the mountain to teach, He is laying the foundations for this new city, this Tabernacle. He is setting up the fountain of the water of life, which we know from Ezekiel that it becomes a flowing river.

When Jesus started preaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” the trickling of the river of life began. It then continued to grow into a stream. As Jesus teaches on the side of the mountain, that stream becomes a river flowing to all the people who hear. As His ministry continued, and He ascended into heaven, then the river flowed to the point that no one could cross it. It was too deep, too wide.

In other words, as we sit here this morning, the waters of life are a river that …(we) could not cross… for the waters of life flow around the world… the waters of life seek to sustain those who are citizens of the kingdom.

And it is the citizens of the kingdom that Jesus is speaking to.

Dear Elon Musk and DOGE

Dear Elon Musk,

I know I’m not a federal worker, so your mandate that federal workers provide five accomplishments from the previous week, doesn’t apply. But I wanted to write you and give you five accomplishments I had for the previous week for two reasons. First, for the joy of looking back at what I accomplish every week, and more importantly, to show how easy it is for anyone to do if they simply do their jobs throughout the week. It’s really quite simple.

Background

I am a teacher in Texas, and I live very close to your rocket testing facility. I teach high school Special Education students, so I won’t be giving names or too many details since they have privacy rights. With that, and with the joy and ease of doing so, here are my five bullet points of things I accomplished in the last week:

First, I completed accumulating and assessing all the data for one of my student’s Annual Review and Dismissal meetings that are required by law. In that meeting, I was able to show how much the student had accomplished and learned over the four years he has been with us. He is about the graduate, and the data showed that as a SPED student, he has met all the requirements necessary for graduation.
Second, in accumulating the data for another student’s ARD, I’ve come to realize that even though he has Autism, he has an analytical mind. The student can solve a Rubric’s cube in under 2 minutes. What makes this important is that we have another full year to see how we can develop that mind of his. This is truly exciting.
Third, with another senior, I was able to help him begin to see the need for personal responsibility. He hasn’t learned this lesson yet, but over the coming three months, hopefully it will sink in and he will begin to work harder in class. I have this lesson with all my students, but have only had this particular student in my class for a month.
Fourth, through another ARD meeting, I worked with a team to convince a student who had quit school all together to return. He has 18 credit hours and only needs 22 to graduate. We managed to convince him to return to school and persevere. This is a major accomplishment.
Fifth, I continued teaching all my student ELAR, Math, Social Studies, and Science throughout the week. For instance, this week’s math focus was addition and subtraction numbers up to 1,000. For ELAR and Social Studies, we continue reading and learning about Black History, focusing on MLK Jr., Daisy Bates, Sojourner Truth, etc., along with the implications of the Civil Rights Movement. We didn’t do much for science this week, other that watching a video about a man in Central Texas who took a large portion of land, and restored it simply by removing cedar trees, and replacing it with natural grass, which helps replenish the aquifers.

OK, that took about 10 minutes to write. Hopefully our Federal Workers can do so as enthusiastically as I was able to do, since their jobs are far more important than mine.

He Departed Galilee — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 20

Waco Reformed Church

Sermon Text: Matthew 4:11-17

Old Covenant Text: Isaiah 9:1-7

This sermon focuses on Jesus leaving His home and going to Galilee fulfilling the prophecy spoken of in Isaiah 9.

Preached February 2, 2025.

YHWH’s King: Gospel of Matthew Number 5

David is the model of the King who is to come. No, he was not sinless. The writers of Samuel make sure to bring that to light. But David does give us a glimpse of what the coming King is to be. He was a man after God’s own heart, filled with zeal for the LORD, to the point that he was willing to die for the Name of the LORD. This is what made him YHWH’s King.

“If you believe the Bible, then why do you eat shrimp?”

If you believe the Bible, then why do you eat shrimp?

Gotcha! That is usually the response of most atheists when they ask the above question because most Christians are hard pressed to answer it biblically. I confess, on the spot, I struggle answering it as well.

The implied accusation is that Christians don’t really believe the Bible because they eat shell fish, or shrimp, which the Old Testament dietary Laws prohibit.

Atheists love playing off our ignorance. Don’t get me wrong. They are ignorant too. But their ignorance is damnable. Ours is just sad and we need to work to clarify our understanding of the Law.

Please don’t think that I want you debating the atheists on this issues. That may not be your calling. But as a brother or sister in the LORD, I do want you to understand that that the dietary Laws have been set aside, by both Christ and the Apostles.

The Argument

Now, the argument with the atheist usually goes as follows: They ask if you believe in the Bible. Once you say yes, then they will say, “do you eat shellfish?” The implication is that if you do believe in the Bible, why do you eat shell fish? The command they are referring to is in Leviticus 11:10

‘These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. …

Please note that the food itself wasn’t an abomination. But it was an abomination for the Jews to eat the food. The LORD was telling them that the food was off limits, just as He told Adam that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was off limits. The Jewish people are a type of Adam.

Separation

There is more to it than that. The laws were intended to separate the Jews from the Gentiles, reminding them that they were holy unto the LORD. This really helped keep the young Jewish boys from going after young Gentile girls. The laws were so drilled into their culture that when the young Gentile girl invited the young Jewish boy over for diner, the Jewish boy was suddenly faced with the reality that by eating the food of the Gentile, he would become unclean, and be cut off from the covenant-keeping community (also known as excommunication). This was a serious consequence for his disobedience.

The goal behind this was to help keep the covenant-keeping people inside the covenant, with God. When the young man goes after the Gentile woman, he will not only be tempted to eat that which has been declared an abomination for him, but also to worship the gods of the Gentiles, which is idolatry. The dietary laws were given to help prevent idolatry.

Just to be clear: idolatry is having a god other than the living and true God. We see this mostly today in people who don’t really worship the Triune God of Scripture, but a god of their own making.

The point to the dietary, or separation laws was to help the Jews remain true to YHWH. The laws were guard rails to keep them on the narrow path.

You may not like that reality, but it drives home the point: those who are of God’s covenant-keeping community are to be holy, they are to be clean, they are to be set apart. They are not to look or live like the world.

One might ask: what about the Gentile girl? Was she forever doomed? No, she and her family were to join the Israelites in their faith and practice, not the other way around.

That is the background for the dietary codes of the Mosaic covenant.

The Change

So what has changed?

The coming of Christ brought about the institution of the New Covenant, a more glorious covenant than the Mosaic covenant. Under the New Covenant, the signs and seals of the holy people of God have changed. For example, both the bloody signs of the covenant, known as Passover and circumcision, have been replaced by bloodless signs: the sacraments of baptism (replacing circumcision) and communion (replacing the Passover). Both the new signs are bloodless in that they point back to Christ’s fulfillment of the earlier signs showing that there is no longer a need for shed blood. The new signs signify the same as the old, but show forth a better covenant in Christ.

I hope you see that things have changed under the New Covenant. This doesn’t mean that God has set aside the Law, especially the moral component summarized in the Ten Commandments. Christ speaks to this issue of setting aside and shows us that the Law will not pass away.

And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than it is for one tittle of the law to fail, Luke 16:17.

The Law is still in play and still useful in three ways. First, it is used as a mirror in our own lives to show us our sinfulness before a holy and just God, driving us to Christ. Secondly, it is used as a restraint in society, warning mankind of a day of justice ahead. (This is why the removal of the Ten Commandments from the public square has been so pursued by the godless. They want no reminder of the coming day of judgment). Third, the Law is the Christians guide on how we are to live. The Law is a pleasing thing to the LORD, so we do not set it aside simply because we are in Christ.

With this we see the Law’s usefulness. But where exactly do we see the laying aside of the dietary codes? Or a better question might be: why do we have to know all this to answer the question about shellfish?

This is why so many Christians struggle with the answer to the question. It is complicated. It is meant to be. We are to work to give our full attention to understanding God’s word. It’s not easy to do so (and impossible without the Spirit opening our eyes to the truth).

Christ Changes the Law

That said, let’s get back to the setting aside of the dietary/separation laws.

We get the first glimpse that something might change when Christ declares that it’s not what a man puts in his mouth that defiles a man. He does this in Matthew 15, when the Pharisees confront Him about the disciples not washing their hands before they eat.

Jesus introduces a paradigm shift to the topic. He declares that what we eat, doesn’t defile us. NEWS FLASH: it’s not the pork that makes us unclean (bacon lovers everywhere are rejoicing).

In fact, He makes it clear that defilement comes from the heart, our hearts.

Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies (Matthew 15:17-19).

This was a paradigm shift for the Jews because so much of their religion was outward and observable. The problem with that is that it allows one to go through the motions of the sacrifices, the festivals, keeping the dietary/separation laws, but still not believe any of it.

Just before His statement above, He also declared:

‘These people ^[a]draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
⁹And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” Matthew 15:8-9

Jesus is removing much of what had become performance-based religion. Anyone can go through the motions of religion without actually dealing with the real issues of wicked desires found in the heart. This is where the focus of the Law was to be. It wasn’t just a guard rail to help us stay on the narrow path, but meant to be used to help us see how far we come from having any righteousness of our own.

If I boast in not eating shellfish, and keeping the Levitical law, I may seem pious and righteous. But I’m not. In keeping any of the Law, we cannot boast, for then we are doing only as we should have done.

For example, the famous golfer Bobby Jones reported tapping the ball during a major tournament, adding another stroke to his game and costing him the victory. No one else saw him tap the ball, and officials were reluctant to accept the penalty shot. But Jones insisted.

“You’re to be congratulated Mr. Jones,” the official said. Jones responded saying, “Sir, that is like congratulating a man for not robbing a bank. I don’t know how else to play the game.”

Whenever we keep God’s Law, we are simply doing as we should and there is no reason for boasting.

But given that the Laws cannot convert the heart, many of the Jews became proud in the areas of their obedience.

Christ Instructs Peter

We see this pride with Peter in Acts 10. There, Cornelius, who is a believing Gentile, has been told to seek out Peter for better understanding. Therefore, the LORD gives Peter a vision from heaven while in a trance.

(Peter) saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. ¹²In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. ¹³And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

The list of animals clearly indicate those that are called “unclean.” The LORD is telling him to rise, kill and eat, even those things which are not considered clean. Peter’s response is one of pride.

“Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”

His pride causes him to argue with the LORD. Instead of responding in humility, being obedient to the commands given, he declares his own righteousness. So the LORD tells him three times, in order to stress the point.

“What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

The main point of the passage is that Peter needed to learn that the gospel was going to the Gentiles. God was making them clean. But for this to take place, God needed to make it clear to the disciples that He was setting aside the dietary/separation Laws of the Old Testament, so that the disciples could take the gospel to the Gentiles in good conscience.

The LORD put the separation Laws in place so that the Jews would not mix with the Gentiles, and under the New Covenant, removes those same Laws so that they would mix with the Gentiles.

This was a monumental revelation to the first generation Christians. God was bringing about a mystery, which Paul tells us about in Ephesians 2-3. In that letter, he declares this mystery to us: Jews and Gentiles are made one new man in Christ.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation (this includes the dietary laws), ¹⁵having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

But again, for this to happen, the dietary laws needed to be set aside. The LORD was no longer seeking to keep the people of God bound by such Laws, but was bringing them together through a much greater covenant, the New Covenant, through the gospel of Christ.

After all, where the Law was weak, the gospel was not. It is the power unto salvation for both the Jew and the Greek (Romans 1:16-17).

When We Shouldn’t Eat

But there is more to this. Paul does acknowledge that there are things we should not eat, not in conjunction with the dietary laws, which he could very well have restated in making his case, but he chooses not to. The reason that Paul gives that we should abstain from eating meat is if that meat has been dedicated to an idol, and by eating it we will cause another Christian to fall away from the faith and follow the idol. So the issue isn’t separation, as it was in the Old Testament, but a matter of conscience.

But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” ²⁹“Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience? (1 Corinthians 10:28-29).

The point here is that we do not eat if someone else might stumble and leave the faith. However, it does not apply to those who are merely offended that we eat meat. Abstaining from eating meat is only a gospel issue if the person might fall away because of it.

Paul has already given permission to eat meat freely from the market.

Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake; ²⁶for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” (1 Corinthians 10:25-26).

So he isn’t giving the warning about eating meat to appease our modern vegans/vegetarians, etc. He is doing so for the sake of the Christian who might be tempted to return to idolatry over the use of meat that was sacrificed to that idol.

Paul even shows that we have the freedom to dine with those who are unbelievers, and eat what they eat. This too was a reversal of the dietary Laws, which prevented faithful Jews from eating with Gentiles at all.

If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake (1 Corinthians 10:27).

Notice the focus is the non-believer in this verse. We are to go to their homes if invited, and if we desire to do so, and we are to eat whatever is set before us. The dietary Laws, if they were still to be kept, would prevent this freedom, a freedom we are to have in reaching the lost.

When We Can Eat

Finally, in a direct statement, Paul shows that every creature is good, and is not to be refused if we receive it with thanksgiving (bacon lovers everywhere are again rejoicing).

⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵for it is ^[b]sanctified by the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4-5).

This is in the context of dealing with deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons… (who) were forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

So those who do call for us to abstain outside of what Paul has given us are actually under the influence of demons, not the Spirit of God. This should not surprise us. The Devil is always taking God’s word and applying it in the exact opposite way that it was intended to be applied. Both marriage and food have been given to us by the LORD to enjoy. For someone to claim that we should abstain as matters of religion are not following God’s word.

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see that when the atheists asks us the above question, that he does so out of ignorance. What it takes for us to have a proper understanding of our freedoms in Christ, is a continual study of God’s word. The atheist will not do so. They are merely looking for ways to attack believers and belittle them.

Don’t be fooled. The dietary Laws of the Old Testament have been set aside and we have perfect freedom to enjoy a good steak with some shrimp on the side. These things are a blessing from the LORD, given to us to enjoy. I don’t expect those who read this article to be able to reproduce it on the spot when an atheist attacks. But you can remember one or two of the above verses to go over with the atheist while you have him over for steak and shrimp. Better yet, let him invite you over for steak and shrimp and you provide the spiritual food.