Meat sacrificed to false gods

8 Now concerning meat that has been sacrificed to a false god: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes people arrogant, but love builds people up. ² If anyone thinks they know something, they don’t yet know as much as they should know. ³ But if someone loves God, then they are known by God.

⁴ So concerning the actual food involved in these sacrifices to false gods, we know that a false god isn’t anything in this world, and that there is no God except for the one God. ⁵ Granted, there are so-called “gods,” in heaven and on the earth, as there are many gods and many lords. ⁶ However, for us believers,

⁷ But not everybody knows this. Some are eating this food as though it really is food sacrificed to a real idol, because they were used to idol worship until now. Their conscience is weak because it has been damaged. ⁸ Food won’t bring us close to God. We’re not missing out if we don’t eat, and we don’t have any advantage if we do eat. ⁹ But watch out or else this freedom of yours might be a problem for those who are weak. ¹⁰ Suppose someone sees you (the person who has knowledge) eating in an idol’s temple. Won’t the person with a weak conscience be encouraged to eat the meat sacrificed to false gods? ¹¹ The weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed by your knowledge. ¹² You sin against Christ if you sin against your brothers and sisters and hurt their weak consciences this way. ¹³ This is why, if food causes the downfall of my brother or sister, I won’t eat meat ever again, or else I may cause my brother or sister to fall.