New Testament in a Year

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?^[a] 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.