1 Corinthians 8
8
Honouring God instead of idols
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.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
1 Corinthians 8
8
1Now about “food sacrificed to idols.”#8:1. Paul continues answering the issues the Corinthians have raised. So “we all have knowledge” about this subject. Knowledge makes us proud, but love strengthens us. 2If anyone thinks they know anything, they don't know as they really should know! 3But whoever loves God is known by God.
4So regarding eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that there are no such things as idols in the world, and that there is only one real God. 5Even though there are some things called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth—in fact there are many “gods” and “lords.” 6But for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom everything was made, and he is the goal of our existence; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made, and he is the means of our existence.#8:6. This is a complex verse the meaning of which is much debated. It is seen as an early “creed” or declaration, identifying God as Creator and Re-creator, the focus of our lives. It literally says, “But to us one God the Father, from whom the all and we into him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the all and we through him.”
7But not everyone has this “knowledge.”#8:7. Paul takes issue with this knowledge being misapplied, as seen in verse 10 when it could be seen as being proud and arrogant. Some who up to now have been so used to idols as a reality that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience (which is weak) tells them they have defiled themselves. 8But food doesn't gain us God's approval! If we don't eat this food, we're not bad, and if we do eat this food, we're not good. 9Just take care not to use this freedom you have to eat food sacrificed to idols to become offensive to those with a weaker attitude. 10If another believer sees you who have such “better knowledge”#8:10. See under 8:7. eating food in an idol temple, won't his weak conscience be convinced to eat food sacrificed to idols?#8:10. In other words, deciding to follow another's example, while still believing it is a sin. 11By your “better knowledge” the weaker believer is destroyed, a believer for whom Christ died. 12In this way you sin against other believers, wounding their weaker consciences, and you sin against Christ. 13So if eating food sacrificed to idols would cause my fellow believer to stumble, I will never eat such meat ever again, so that I don't offend any believer.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com