The Truth About Sabbath and Dietary Laws in the Bible: A Powerful Scriptural Guide

Discover the biblical truth about the Sabbath and dietary laws in the Bible. Learn what Christ and Paul really taught, and why these laws still matter today.

Understanding the Confusion Surrounding Biblical Sabbath and Dietary Laws

Millions of Christians today no longer observe the Sabbath and dietary laws in the Bible because of widespread misunderstandings passed down through sermons, church traditions, and theological assumptions. Many pastors teach that the Old Testament laws were abolished, replaced, or made obsolete by Christ’s arrival. But is that really what the Scriptures say?

The confusion usually comes from isolated New Testament verses that people interpret without context about the Sabbath and dietary Laws. Instead of allowing the Bible to interpret itself, many rely on commentaries, denominational traditions, or cultural habits. The result? A belief system far removed from what Christ Himself taught.

To uncover the truth, we must follow a simple rule of biblical study:

Interpret every obscure verse through the lens of very clear verses — never the other way around.

This article will walk you through these clear verses, using Scripture to interpret Scripture, just as the Bible commands.

Christ as the God of the Old Testament Who Formulated the Sabbath and Dietary Laws.

One of the most misunderstood truths in Christianity is the identity of the God who appeared in the Old Testament. The New Testament provides crystal-clear statements that no one has ever seen the Father:

• “No one has ever seen God…”John 1:18.
• “Not that anyone has seen the Father…”John 6:46.
• “You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.” John 5:37.
• “No one has ever seen God…”1 John 4:12.

Yet in Exodus 24:9–11, Moses and Israel saw God.
Was Scripture contradicting itself? Not at all.

Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that the Rock they encountered in the wilderness was Christ. This shows that Christ Himself interacted with Israel in the Old Testament—He was the Lawgiver long before the incarnation.

Christ was the God of the Old Testament. He was the God who interacted with the Israelites in Mt. Sinai.  It was Christ himself who said No one has ever heard the voice of God the Father, except Him.

Christ Existed Before Abraham

John 8:56–59 confirms this truth when Christ declared:

“Before Abraham was, I AM.”

This powerful statement links Christ directly to the Divine Name revealed in Exodus 3:14. No wonder the Jews tried to stone Him—they understood exactly what He meant.

Christ’s Affirmation of the Law, Includes Sabbath and Dietary Laws

Many claim that Christ came to abolish the law, but Jesus left no room for misunderstanding in Matthew 5:17–19:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law… but to fulfill.”

Christ didn’t come to tear it down—He came to live it perfectly.

He continues:

“Till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law.”

Since heaven and earth are still here, Christ’s words remain in full force.

A distinct practice absent from the early New Testament Church was that of animal sacrifices or burnt offerings. This was due to two major points: the practice was not originally commanded, and, critically, it never fully atoned for sin. When Christ came, he rendered the practice obsolete, having demonstrated that people could violate God’s law and then offer a substitute without the sincere repentance required to truly remove the sin’s penalty.

Jer. 7: 21-22 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.”  

What is very clear in the New Testament Church of God is the apparent lack of verses showing the sacrificial animals to atone human sins, Hebrews 10:11.

Passover Ceremony Changed and Animals Sacrifices Stop

Christ has performed for all time the atonement of sin and that anyone who accept Christ as their Saviour is covered by His sacrifice on the cross. The Passover ceremony was likewise substituted by wine and unleavened bread and this is not done weekly but only once a year.

There is no New Testament yet in the time of Christ and Paul and both used the Old Testament Bible.  How could the scholar of the age dispute that the Laws are done away when Christ and Paul obeyed and quoted them?

1 Cor. 10:11″ Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

The Old Testament was written for our admonition and not only for the Israelites or Jews, for us Gentiles also.

Righteousness Defined as Commandment-Keeping

The Bible plainly defines righteousness:

• Psalm 119:172: “All Your commandments are righteousness.”
• Luke 1:6: Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous because they kept God’s commandments “blamelessly.”

Christ kept the Sabbath, the Holy Days, and the dietary laws perfectly. If followers of Christ imitate Him, as Paul commanded in 1 Corinthians 11:1, then Christians today should be walking as He walked.

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia “That Jesus and his disciples kept the seventh day, and without vital departures from Pharisaic usages, is indisputable.”

Examining Misused Passages About Sabbath and Dietary Laws

Some translations, especially the NIV, inserted commentary into Scripture—most famously in Mark 7:19:

“In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.”

This line does not exist in the original Greek manuscripts. It was added by NIV (Non-Inspired Version) editors, who are not afraid of God. This is a violation of do not add or detract, Prov. 30:6.

What Jesus Actually Concluded

Matthew 15:20 provides Christ’s own summary:

“To eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

The context was hand-washing traditions, not clean and unclean meats.

Adding human commentary to Scripture violates Deuteronomy 4:2 and Proverbs 30:6, which warn against adding to God’s Word.

Why God Declared Certain Animals Unclean-Plain Bible Sabbath and Dietary Laws

When God gave the dietary laws in Leviticus 11, He did not explain why certain animals were off-limits. Modern science now reveals the reasons:

Unclean Animal	Associated Disease
Bats	Ebola, COVID-type viruses
Swine	Swine flu, high toxicity organs
Rodents	Bubonic plague
Monkeys	HIV origins

These animals serve as environmental cleaners—God designed them to remove decay, toxins, and waste from marshlands, farmlands, rivers, streams, seas, mountains and the air. Eating them disrupts ecological balance and harms human health.

Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) defended Trump’s language by saying, “China is to blame, because the culture where people eat bats and snakes and dogs and things like that.”

“First, bats carry a great variety of viruses — and the viruses they carry seem more likely to spread to people. Kevin Olival, vice president of research at EcoHealth Alliance, U.S.-based nonprofit, says scientists aren’t completely sure why, but it may have to do with the families of viruses that some bats tend to carry. There are over 130 different kinds of viruses found in bats,” National Public Radio.

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Unclean Animals Still Unclean

Bat is still unclean contrary to the BIG LIE of NIV affirmation, not Christ, of Mark. 7: 19

Rabies, for which bats are a known reservoir, is estimated to have killed over 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, according to the WHO.  Why don’t we LEARN? How many people would be alive today if we have obeyed Lev. 11.

Science has proven the claim of false pastors and false biblical scholars that Jesus had cleansed the unclean animals mentioned in Leviticus 11. Do not believe them. In fact, no verse in the New Testament indicates that the death of Christ made unclean animals clean. Instead, several verses plainly prove that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross has cleansed us from our SINS, not animals, thus paving the way for us to gain ETERNAL LIFE.

Truth About Annual Sabbaths and Their Permanent Nature

Leviticus 23 repeatedly states that God’s Holy Days are “forever.” Christ observed them (John 7), the apostles observed them, and prophecy shows they will be observed in the Kingdom.

If Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” He would still teach these laws today.

Paul’s Teachings Are Consistent With Christ

Paul never abolished the law. In fact, he said:

• Acts 24:14: He believed “all things written in the Law and the Prophets.”
• 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”

Acts 15 and 21 — What Was Actually Discussed?

The discussions centered on:

• sexual immorality
• food sacrificed to idols
• meat with blood
• meat from strangled animals

There is no mentioned of clean vs. unclean animals.

Peter’s Vision in Acts 10 — What It Really Means (Sabbath and Dietary Laws)

Peter himself explains the meaning:

“God has shown me that I should not call any man unclean.” (Acts 10:28)

This vision was about people, not animals.

And even when commanded to “kill and eat,” Peter said:

“Not so, Lord! I have never eaten anything unclean.” (Acts 10:14)

If Christ had abolished the dietary laws years earlier, Peter would not have said this.

Interpreting Obscure Verses Using Clear Verses About Sabbath and Dietary Laws

Peter warns that Paul’s writings can be “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:15–16). This is why we must interpret Romans 14 and Colossians 2:16 through Matthew 5:17–19 and Acts 24:14—not the other way around.

2 Cor. 4:2: “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

1 Cor. 1:20, 26-29: “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

Continued: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

God’s Calling: The Wise, The Base, and The Truth

God purposefully calls only a few of the world’s noble and wise. Why? Because most highly educated and high-status individuals often choose to dispute the teachings of the Apostles, particularly Paul, instead of simply listening to the words of Christ. Rather than accepting God’s words with humility, these disputers often twist the Scriptures deceitfully to suit their own doctrines or desires.

The “base things”(agenés) mentioned in verse 28 refer to people without family lineage or those considered ignoble—individuals with no perceived breeding, education, wealth, or civic standing in the Greco-Roman world. They are the insignificant. Culturally, they represent the lowest stratum, similar to how the term Dalit (“broken” or “scattered”) in India refers to those outside the traditional caste hierarchy. These are the ones who are often overlooked by society.

God calls those who are “despised”(exoutheneó), meaning they are considered contemptible or rejected. Imagine an object, like a twisted, rusty, crumpled tin can—useless, zero, nothing in the eyes of the world. God intentionally selects these individuals because, unlike the proud, they are willing to listen, obey, and acknowledge their need for Him. They come to God ready to hear His truth, not to argue against it.

Prophetic Importance of Sabbath and New Moon Observance

Isaiah 66:23 shows that during the Millennium, from Sabbath to Sabbath and from new moon to new moon, all flesh will worship before God.

Zech. 14: 16 prophesied for those who will not keep the Feast of Booths will be punished with drought, verse 17.

If the Sabbath is part of the future Kingdom, it has not been abolished.

• Isaiah 66:3 condemns the hypocritical worship of those whose hearts delight in “abominations,” specifically linking their rebellion to the use of swine’s blood in sacrifice.

• Isaiah 66:17 issues a clear judgment, declaring that those who eat pig’s flesh and the mouse (both biblically unclean animals) will “come to an end together.

FAQs About Sabbath and Dietary Laws in the Bible

1. Did Jesus ever abolish the Sabbath?

No. Jesus kept the Sabbath and declared it was “made for man” (Mark 2:27).

2. Are dietary laws only for Jews?

No. Clean and unclean animals existed before Israel (Genesis 7:2).

3. Didn’t Paul say the law was a burden?

No. Paul said the law is “holy, just, and good” (Romans 7:12).

4. Was Peter’s vision about animals?

Peter says it was about people, not food (Acts 10:28).

5. Does Colossians 2:16 cancel the Sabbath?

Paul says not to let others judge you for observing the Sabbath. It does not cancel. It affirms.

6. Are God’s Holy Days still required today?

Leviticus 23 calls them “perpetual,” and Christ and Paul kept them. The laws are to be kept  in the generations of the Israelites. The Jews still live today. Therefore the commandment to observe the Feasts are still binding.

Follow Christ, Not Human Tradition

When we allow clear Scriptures to interpret the obscure, the conclusion is powerful:

• The Sabbath remains.
• Dietary laws remain.
• God’s Holy Days remain.
• Christ and Paul taught obedience, not abolition.

To be “great in the Kingdom,” Christ said we must keep and teach His commandments (Matthew 5:19).

A Call To Action

If you’re ready to rediscover the authentic teachings of Christ—and align your life with His commandments—start today by studying His Word without filters, without traditions, and without fear.
Follow Christ. Obey Scripture. Observe Truth.

If you truly seek biblical truth, don’t rely on tradition. Return to the clear words of Christ and the Scriptures. Share this study, teach others, and stand firmly on God’s commandments so you may be called great in the Kingdom of God.

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