| 8 | 1 Corinthians | ||
| 1 | NOW ABOUT FOOD consecrated to heathen deities. Of course we all 'have knowledge', as you say. | Food Offered to Idols 1Cor.8.1-13 | |
| 2 | This 'knowledge' breeds conceit; it is love that builds. | ||
| 3 | If anyone fancies that he knows, he knows nothing yet, in the true sense of knowing. But if a man loves, he is acknowledged by God. | ||
| 4 | Well then, about eating this consecrated food: of course, as you say, 'a false god has no existence in the real world. There is no god but one.' | ||
| 5 | For indeed, if there be so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'— | ||
| 6 | yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all being comes, towards whom we move; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came to be, and we through him. | ||
| 7 | But not everyone knows this. There are some who have been so accustomed to idolatry that even now they eat this food with a sense of its heathen consecration, and their conscience, being weak, is polluted by the eating. | ||
| 8 | Certainly food will not bring us into God's presence: if we do not eat, we are none the worse, and if we eat, we are none the better. | ||
| 9 | But be careful that this liberty of yours does not become a pitfall for the weak. | ||
| 10 | If a weak character sees you sitting down to a meal in a heathen temple—you, who 'have knowledge'—will not his conscience be emboldened to eat food consecrated to the heathen deity? | ||
| 11 | This 'knowledge' of yours is utter disaster to the weak; the brother for whom Christ died. | ||
| 12 | In thus sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience, you sin against Christ. | ||
| 13 | And therefore, if food be the downfall of my brother, I will never eat meat any more, for I will not be the cause of my brother's downfall. | ||
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