Vegan Living Honors God
An all-creatures Bible Message

Vegan Living Honors God
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
10 March 2019
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-16
Luke 4:1-13

Vegan living honors God, because it is very similar to living in the heavenly will of God, since vegan living doesn’t cause any other beings to have pain, or to suffer, or to die, because ethical vegans bring peace to the world around them.
 
The opposite of vegan living is to cause or contribute to the millions of humans and billions of animals who suffer and die every year in this corrupt world.
 
This unfortunately also applies to people who keep silent and hide their vegan lifestyle from others for fear of being ridiculed or rejected.
 
If people are not committed to being a positive peaceful influence on the world around them, they are still part of the problem.
 
Think about the fact that vegan living honors God as we journey through the Bible passages we have chosen for today.
 
As we look at Deuteronomy 26:1-11, note carefully that no animal had to suffer and die to honor the Lord our God, which is in keeping with the heavenly will of God.

1. "Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it,
 
2. that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you shall bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.

The expression “where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name” generally refers to the Temple, but perhaps in this case it didn’t, because fresh produce could not be transported long distances due to the lack of refrigeration in those days; perhaps, the Lord originally wanted to establish regional synagogues or houses of worship in each community, and such things were not included in the Bible. 
 
However, I hope we all recognize the fact that the Lord is only seeking to have the fruit of the earth brought to the house of the Lord our God as a way of honoring and thanking Him; there isn’t even a mention of an animal sacrifice, because such things weren’t added to the Biblical text by the priests and scribes until a later date.
 
This is all that God ever wanted.
 
When animal sacrifice was added, all it did was turn the house of the Lord into a giant slaughterhouse that became a very lucrative business for the priests, which in turn brought about their love of money, which Jesus took a stand against, which is proof to us that animal sacrifice was never in the heavenly will of God; it was always from the devil.
 
Let’s go on and see how vegan living honors God…

3. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, 'I declare this day to the LORD my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.'
 
4. "Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

The Lord is plainly stating that the free-will offering of plant foods is what God desires; God does not want animal sacrifice.

5. And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation.

This is a thankful offering before the Lord that is in keeping with His heavenly will.

6. 'And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.
 
7.'Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression;
 
8. and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders;
 
9. and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

“Milk and honey” unfortunately became an ideological expression that means a place of plenty and has nothing to do with the animal by-products stated in the expression, except if it applies to people who live in the corrupt and evil ways of this world which exploits animals.

10. 'And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which Thou, O LORD hast given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;
 
11. and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household.
NASB

And because these directions do not say to leave the offering before the altar, it most likely means that the whole household should enjoy the produce they brought before the Lord, and presumably share it with the Levites who received the offering to the Lord.
 
Let’s continue our discussion about how vegan living honors God as we look at Psalm 91:1-16…

1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

We believe that this refers to people who live in the heavenly will of God, which means that they are not intentionally doing any harm to any aspect of God’s creation.

2. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"

Do we trust God enough to live as ethical vegans in the world around us even if most of the people are still living in the corrupt ways of the world?

3. For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper,
And from the deadly pestilence.

We need to remember that the trapper is generally considered to be a killer who lives in the corrupt ways of this world, and makes his or her evil gain by causing others to suffer and die.

4. He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
 
5. You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
 
6. Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

The Lord does protect us, but not always from the evil ways of this world, but He always reserves a place for us in heaven, that is if we are truly living in the heavenly will of God.
 
We also need to remember that the opposite of love is fear, so if we have God’s perfect love within us, we should not fear the corrupt and evil people of the world, and we should show the world who we are and that vegan living honors God.

7. A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not approach you.

We also should remember that Jesus taught us that the broad way leads to destruction, and the narrow way leads to heaven, and we believe that most of those who are falling are those who are living in the corrupt and evil ways of this world.

8. You will only look on with your eyes,
And see the recompense of the wicked.
 
9. For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

This is because we are living in the heavenly will of God and peacefully showing the world that vegan living honors God.

10. No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.

The interesting thing about this verse is that it was written thousands of years ago, before modern medicine proved that the consumption of animal products is the primary cause of all of our chronic diseases, which means that vegans are not subject to the plagues the psalmist wrote about.

11. For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
 
12. They will bear you up in their hands,
Lest you strike your foot against a stone.

An example of this is not being afraid to speak in public about the benefits of vegan living.

13. You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

We believe that the lions and cobras mentioned here are not animals but the corrupt and evil people of this world whom our loving, compassionate, and empathetic message for the whole of God’s creation is spiritually crushed or silenced.

14. "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

We believe that the ones referred to here are those who are the peacemaking children of God who openly live in His heavenly will and do no harm to any part of His creation.

15. "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him, and honor him.
 
16. "With a long life I will satisfy him,
And let him behold My salvation."
NASB

What could be a longer life than to live in heaven forever and ever?
 
We can all have this, if we want it and live in His heavenly will.
 
Let’s continue thinking about how vegan living honors God as we look at Luke 4:1-13…

1. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness
 
2. for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry.

If we are truly full of the Holy Spirit, we will also be living in the heavenly will of God and would not do anything to harm any part of God’s creation, which includes all other humans, all the animals, and the environment in which we all live.

3. And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

We need to realize that the devil says a lot of things that may sound correct or they may even sound like they are from God, but we shouldn’t be fooled any more than Jesus was.

4. And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone.'" 
 
5. And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
 
6. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
 
7. "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours."
 
8. And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" 
 
9. And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;
 
10. for it is written,
'He will give His angels charge concerning You to guard You,'
 
11. and,
'On their hands they will bear You up,
Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" 
 
12. And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 

And neither should we; we are not to be fooled by the devil into thinking that it is God’s will for us to eat animal flesh and bodily secretions, or to exploit animals in any other way, and God is not honored by such acts.

13. And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
NASB

The devil will find opportune times to tempt us every single day, and we need to be on the alert for his tricks and remember that only vegan living honors God.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

Return to: Sermons Archive