Can Christians eat bacon?

I’ve come across some Christians who don’t eat bacon, pork or ham, because “the Bible says not to”.
But wait a second, you might be thinking ... I’m a Christian and I eat bacon, pork and ham. Is that okay?
To answer this question, let’s have a look at what the bible says.
Does the bible say not to eat pig products?
The Old Testament books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy contain a whole bunch of rules and regulations which God gives to his people, the Israelites. The reason he did this is mentioned by Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 14:
“…for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.” – Deuteronomy 14:2 (NIV)
God gave the laws to the Israelites because they were chosen by him to be set apart from the rest of the world – and thus they were to live differently to everyone else. Part of this affected what they ate.
A little later in chapter 14, after Moses begins outlining what God says they can and can’t eat, he says:
“The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.” – Deuteronomy 14:8 (NIV)
It seems pretty clear for the Israelites – bacon, pork and ham are off the menu.
So does the bible say not to eat pig products? Yes.
But … who exactly is God commanding not to eat pig products?
Understanding the context
At first glance, we might assume these words are God speaking to us. After all, the Old Testament is the word of God, inspired by him and according to Paul, “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
But like any literary text, we need to read it in context. We can’t just pluck out a sentence and automatically assume it’s talking to us.
This verse is part of Moses’ farewell speech to his people, which makes up the book of Deuteronomy. So it is Moses imparting the wisdom he has received from God to his people.
We have to remember that these words were given to a specific people – the Israelites – at a particular point in time.
It’s true that as Christians, we are the new chosen people of God (see 1 Peter 2:9). But does that then mean we are to follow all the rules that God gave to his old chosen people, the Israelites?
It’s a tricky question. I think we should look at what Jesus says about it.
What does Jesus say?
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day criticized him and his disciples for not conforming to the Old Testament food laws. In response, Jesus said:
“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” – Mark 7:15 (NIV)
Jesus makes the point that with his arrival, the Old Testament rituals no longer have the same power – now, what is more important is what comes out of a person – things like gossip, lying and slander.
Jesus’ disciples were perhaps a little shocked at what Jesus says, so they ask for clarification. He replies:
‘“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)’
Jesus repeats his message, and just to make absolutely certain we’ve got the point, Mark clearly tells us in brackets that in saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean – fit to be eaten.
So while the Old Testament food laws were important for the Israelites to obey, Jesus makes it clear that these laws are not necessary for his followers. For God’s people in the new covenant, what comes out – slander, gossip and lying – is much more important than what goes in.
How then, should we eat?
The question of what to eat seems to have come up again in Paul’s time. In Romans 14, he reaffirms what Jesus said, but at the same time he advises what Christians should do when others believe only special foods can be eaten for religious reasons.
“I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.” – Romans 14:14-15
So, can Christians eat bacon, pork, ham and other pig products?
Yes – and I believe Jesus and Paul make this pretty clear.
But there might be situations where it’s best to lay off the bacon – if eating pig products is going to turn people off the gospel, don’t do it, because after all, our aim as Christians is to share the good news of Jesus to the world.

In Isaiah 65:4, we're told that those who eat the flesh of pigs will go to destruction. Doesn't this apply to Christians?

In Isaiah 65:4 the Lord, speaking through Isaiah, is addressing the nation of Israel. He declares that Israel has a long history of disobeying His commandments. Let's look at the passage in its proper context:
Is. 65:1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which did not call on My name.
Is. 65:2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,
Is. 65:3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
Is. 65:4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
Is. 65:5 “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
Is. 65:6 “Behold, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
Is. 65:7 Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the LORD.
“Because they have burned incense on the mountains
And scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

In this passage, the Lord cites numerous examples of how Israel has disobeyed the instructions given to them in the covenant of Law, including Israel's disobedience in eating pork. The people of Israel were commanded in their law to never eat pork, but the nation disobeyed the Lord nonetheless. Because of their disobedience under the Law, the Lord promises to prevent them from receiving their Messiah for a time, while the Gospel goes to the Gentiles.
The Old Covenant was only binding on Israel. It was intended to set Israel apart from the Gentile world, and it eventually gave the Lord just cause to withhold the Kingdom from Israel while offering salvation to the Gentiles. The Lord was speaking to Israel in 65:4, so His admonishment was directed to Jews alone, who were willingly violating the Old Covenant law.
Today, Christian believers in Jesus Christ are saved by the grace found in the New Covenant, and as Paul taught, we are not bound by the regulations of the Law found in the Old Covenant:
Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Rom. 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Rom. 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Col. 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day —
Col. 2:17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Therefore, any Gentile and all Christians are free to consume pork or anything God has made, since the regulations of the Law do not apply to those who are not bound by that covenant. Only unbelieving Israel is bound by that covenant today.
Furthermore, there is nothing inherently sinful about pork or any food. The Lord's displeasure at Israel for eating pork had nothing to do with pork itself. Just as the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden was not inherently sinful, neither is pork inherently sinful. In both cases, the problem wasn't the food itself, for as the Paul says:
1Tim. 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
1Tim. 4:5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

Rather, the problem in both cases was disobedience to God's word. Adam received an instruction from God, which he disobeyed resulting in God's judgment against him. Likewise, Israel received a word to abstain from pork in the covenant, yet they disobeyed, provoking His anger against them.
For more information on this issue, we invite you to read the following articles on the believer's relationship to the Law of Moses.

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