Chapter 10

The Lesson of Israel’s Past.^{[a] 1} Brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, ² and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ All ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink—for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵ Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the desert.

⁶ These events occurred to offer examples for us so that we might not desire evil things as they did. ⁷ Do not become idolaters, as some of them did. It is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to engage in revelry.”

⁸ Let us not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand of them died in a single day. ⁹ Let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and they were destroyed by serpents. ¹⁰ And do not complain, as some of them did, and they were slain by the Destroyer.^{[b] 11} All these things happened to them to serve as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us upon whom the end of the ages has come.

¹² Therefore, if you think you are standing securely, take care that you do not fall ¹³ No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it.

¹⁴ The Eucharist Versus Pagan Sacrifices.^[c] Therefore, my dear friends, avoid idolatry at all costs.^{[d] 15} I am talking to you as sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel.^[e] Are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? ¹⁹ What then am I implying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

²⁰ No, I simply mean that pagan sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become partners with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. ²² Do we truly wish to provoke the Lord to jealous anger?^[f] Are we stronger than he is?

²³ Concerning Idol Offerings.“All things are lawful,” you may say—but not all things are beneficial. All things may be lawful—but not all things are constructive. ²⁴ No one should seek his own advantage in preference to that of his neighbor. ²⁵ You may eat whatever meat is sold in the market without raising questions on grounds of conscience, ²⁶ for “the earth and all it contains belong to the Lord.”

²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you decide to accept, eat whatever is set before you without raising any questions on the grounds of conscience. ²⁸ However, if someone says to you, “This food was offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹ I mean the other person’s conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom be governed by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰ If I partake of the meal with thankfulness, why should I be criticized for eating food for which I give thanks?

³¹ Give No Offense. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. ³² Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God, ³³ just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own good but that of the many, so that they may be saved.