Dual PanelFood offered to idols
1NOW ABOUT meat consecrated to heathen deities. Of course “We all have knowledge,” as you say. “Knowledge” inflates a man, whereas love builds him up.
2If anyone fancies that he has some kind of knowledge, he does not yet know in the true sense of knowing.
3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
4Well then, about eating this consecrated meat: of course, as you say, “A false god has no real existence, and there is no god but one.”
5Even though there be so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth -- and indeed there are many such gods and many such lords --
6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for him; there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we exist through him.
7But not everyone possesses this knowledge. There are some who have been so accustomed to idolatry that they still think of this meat as consecrated to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by eating it.
8Certainly food will not bring us into God's presence: if we do not eat, we are none the worse, and if we do eat, we are none the better.
9But be careful that this liberty of yours does not become a pitfall for the weak.
10If one of them sees you sitting down to a meal in a heathen temple -- you with your “knowledge” -- will not his conscience be emboldened to eat meat consecrated to the heathen deity?
11This “knowledge” of yours destroys the weak, the fellow-Christian for whom Christ died.
12In sinning against your brothers and sisters in this way and wounding their conscience, weak as it is, you sin against Christ.
13Therefore, if food be the downfall of a fellow-Christian, I will never eat meat again, for I will not be the cause of a fellow-Christian's downfall.