Food Offered to Idols

8 Now concerning^{[a] (A)}food offered to idols: we know that ^(B)“all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” ^(C)puffs up, ^(D)but love builds up. ^2 (E)If anyone imagines that he knows something, ^(F)he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, ^(G)he is known by God.^[b]

⁴ Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ^(H)“an idol has no real existence,” and that ^(I)“there is no God but one.” ⁵ For although there may be ^(J)so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶ yet ^(K)for us there is one God, the Father, ^(L)from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and ^(M)one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and ^(N)through whom we exist.

⁷ However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, ^(O)through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and ^(P)their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ^8 (Q)Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹ But take care ^(R)that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block ^(S)to the weak. ¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating^[c] in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged,^[d] if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹ And so by your knowledge this weak person is ^(T)destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹² Thus, sinning against your brothers^[e] and ^(U)wounding their conscience when it is weak, ^(V)you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, ^(W)if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Do All to the Glory of God

^23 (A)“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. ^24 (B)Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. ^25 (C)Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁶ For ^(D)“the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” ²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, ^(E)eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹ I do not mean ^(F)your conscience, but his. For ^(G)why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that ^(H)for which I give thanks?

³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or ^(I)whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ^32 (J)Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to ^(K)the church of God, ³³ just as ^(L)I try to please everyone in everything I do, ^(M)not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

^5 (A)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(B)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(C)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(D)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(E)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(F)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(G)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(H)we will all stand before ^(I)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

¹² So then ^(K)each of us will give an account of himself to God.