9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind. 7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: Genesis 9:1-8

After the flood and the start of the new world, God tells Noah that everything that lives and moves can be used for food. Birds in the sky, animals roaming the earth, and fishes in the sea: God says to consume every living thing for food, including green plants. But God doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t say, “Have had it, and do whatever you want!” He warns them, “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.” Why is this so important? It’s so important that in Acts 15 James tells Gentiles turning to God to abstain from “sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” Think about it. Not eating the meat of strangled animals comes right after sexual immorality!
Why should we avoid eating meat that still has its lifeblood in it? Why is it so important to avoid the meat of strangled animals and from blood? God gives us animals, plants, fruits, and everything on this earth for us to consume. They are gifts from God. When we eat something, we must thank God for giving us the food to eat, and we must eat it with the purpose of using the food to become like God. In other words, with every meal we eat, we strive to become the image of God. That is the sole purpose of eating food.
When God tells us not to eat meat that still has its lifeblood, God is telling us not to be cruel. He is telling us not to enjoy killing another life solely for personal pleasure. There are people like that. They enjoy the thrill of killing and taking life. I don’t look fondly upon hunters who don’t hunt solely for food but for the pleasure of the “hunt”: exploring the woods, tracking animals, and scouting. This is not what God intends. Killing for hobby, fishing to feel the tug of life and the end of the rope… whatever it is, when we confront living things, we mustn’t be vicious and cruel. God created those things for us to consume and grow to His likeness, not for our personal pleasure.
Even when we see a plant or fruit that has grown and blossomed beautifully, we can say, “God has given me this fresh and wonderfully grown plant. I will eat it with unending thanks.” But if we see something that has blossomed into something beautiful and feel the urge to crush it, destroy it, we’re already breaking God’s command. We are eating the meat of strangled animals.
Even for butchers, yes you can prepare and sell meat. This can be a good or bad in the eyes of God. If you do it with the right disposition, the right outlook that all things are created from God and you are providing food for others to grow in God’s image, being a butcher is fine. But if you became a butcher or continue to be a butcher because a part of you enjoys the slaugher, the viciousness, and the power of taking life, you are sinning. Stop being a butcher.
When the Bible says not to eat the meat of strangled animals right after shunning sexual immorality, it tells us how important it is as Christians that we cherish life. Yes, we have to eat food to live, but our attitude towards what we eat makes a big difference. It’s all from God. We must consume these things with gratefulness and with the sole purpose of using this food to grow into the image of God. When we learn to respect life, that it comes from God, we learn to cherish it in all its forms.

Click for Korean sermon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9siFmrrP-jI&t=1011s