Ok, so after Jesus was ressurected and we were left with the new covenant, this was very difficult for some of those who had been faithful for years. They were used to tons of laws, rules, regulations, rituals, and in the new covenant, these things were no longer needed. But they felt they had to keep doing these things in order to be right with God. In Pauls letter to the Galatians he tries to explain these things to them.
See, the law, the 10 commandments in particular, were a guide. NO ONE has ever kept them. (Except Jesus, of course) The law shows us how awful we are and how unworthy. It shows us we can NEVER be as good as God would want. Never.
Jesus set us free from all the old testament laws. Since we could never be good enough, he did that for us. He lived the perfect life. He was the perfect sacrifice. Now, we no longer need to sacrifice animals, because Christ became the ultimate sacrifice.
What does that have to do with the old laws? Well, the new covenant is based on faith in Jesus Christ.
We used to be "slaves to the law," but Christ set us free.
Gal 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Gal 3:2-3 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Gal 2:10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
Here, he is saying that we can never live up to the laws. The new covenant is by faith, not works. We cannot earn our way to Heaven. Even if we were required to work our way to Heaven, we would never make it.
Gal 2:11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
Gal 2:15-16 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Gal 3:25
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Now, as far as eating pork and shrimp, etc, we need not worry about what we eat.
1 Cor 10:25-26 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
vs 31 31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Rom 14 :1-8 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Hope this helps some. I am not that good at explaining it, and its late, but I think the scriptures say it all. Might want to read through the whole book of Galatians. It explains alot more.
