1002. 'Not eating' means not mixing together. This follows from what has been said above. Regarded in itself eating animal flesh is something profane, for in most ancient times people never ate the flesh of any beast or bird, but only different kinds of grain, especially wheaten bread, also the fruit of trees, vegetables, milk, and milk products such as butter. Slaughtering living creatures and eating their flesh was to them abominable, akin to the behaviour of wild animals. Service and use alone was demanded of those creatures, as is clear from Genesis 1:29-30. But in the process of time when mankind began to be as savage as wild animals, indeed more savage, they first began to slaughter living creatures and eat their flesh. And because man had become such, he was permitted to do so and is still permitted today. And insofar as he does so from conscience, it is quite legitimate, for his conscience is given form from all those things he presumes to be true and so legitimate. Consequently nobody nowadays stands in any sense condemned because he eats meat.

It's pretty easy for most people to read the Bible and get a sense for what “sheep” means without any help. They are simple, peaceful, trusting and willing to be led, and the image of the Lord as both a shepherd and a lamb reinforces a sense of innocence. And indeed, sheep represent people who desire what is good, to be good, and to do what is good. Arriving at such a state requires the work of a lifetime -- learning what's right, setting aside what's evil, determining to follow the Lord -- but once we arrive at such a state, we can be cared for by the Lord in peace.