1 Corinthians 8
8
Food Offered to Idols
1In your letter you asked me about food offered to idols. All of us know something about this subject. But knowledge makes us proud of ourselves, while love makes us helpful to others. 2In fact, people who think they know so much don't know anything at all. 3But God has no doubts about who loves him.
4Even though food is offered to idols, we know that none of the idols in this world are alive. After all, there is only one God. 5Many things in heaven and on earth are called gods and lords, but none of them really are gods or lords. 6We have only one God, and he is the Father. He created everything, and we live for him. Jesus Christ is our only Lord. Everything was made by him, and by him life was given to us.
7Not everyone knows these things. In fact, many people have grown up with the belief that idols have life in them. So when they eat meat offered to idols, they are bothered by a weak conscience. 8But food doesn't bring us any closer to God. We are no worse off if we don't eat, and we are no better off if we do.
9Don't cause problems for someone with a weak conscience, just because you have the right to eat anything. 10You know all this, and so it doesn't bother you to eat in the temple of an idol. But suppose a person with a weak conscience sees you and decides to eat food that has been offered to idols. 11Then what you know has destroyed someone Christ died for. 12When you sin by hurting a follower with a weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13So if I hurt one of the Lord's followers by what I eat, I will never eat meat as long as I live.
Currently Selected:
1 Corinthians 8: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 8
8
The Question About Food Sacrificed to Idols
1Now I’d like to talk about food that has been sacrificed to statues of gods. We know that “We all have knowledge.” But knowledge makes people proud, while love builds them up. 2Those who think they know something still don’t know as they should. 3But whoever loves God is known by God.
4So then, here’s what I say about eating food sacrificed to idols. We know that “an idol really is nothing at all in the world.” We know that “there is only one God.” 5There may be so-called gods either in heaven or on earth. In fact, there are many “gods” and many “lords.” 6But for us there is only one God, the Father. All things came from him, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things came through him and we live through him.
7But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food, they think of it as having been sacrificed to real gods. And because their conscience is weak, they feel guilty. 8Eating sacrificial food doesn’t prove how close to God we are. We aren’t any worse off if we don’t eat it, and we aren’t any better off if we do.
9So be careful how you use your rights. Make sure you don’t cause someone who’s weaker than you to fall into sin. 10Suppose that you, with all of your knowledge, are eating in a temple of one of those gods. And suppose someone whose conscience is weak sees you. Won’t that person think it’s okay to eat food sacrificed to honor “gods” and be encouraged to do so? 11If that happens, then your knowledge will destroy that weaker brother or sister Christ died for. 12If you sin against them that way and wound their weak conscience, you’re actually sinning against Christ. 13So if eating food sacrificed to idols would cause my brother or sister to fall into sin, I’ll never eat that food again. That way, I won’t ever cause them to fall.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Radiate™ New Testament
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014, 2020 by Biblica, Inc.
Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.