The church in Corinth had this same problem. Some of the believers were saying they should not eat meat offered to idols. Others said an idol is nothing, just rock, so it really doesn’t hurt the food. We can eat that meat. This is how the Apostle Paul answered the question in 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 (NLT):
“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god…There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods…But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything…And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything…However, not all believers know this.
“Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.
“For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.”
Essentially, Paul is saying that idols are nothing, therefore eating food offered to idols is not a sin. However, if a believer thinks it is a sin, he should definitely not eat it. We should never violate our consciences. Additionally, we should never encourage any other person to violate their consciences.
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions
Ep.1252: Is It a Sin if I . . .? (Part IV) – the discussion about meat offered to idols begins at 00:38:48
Understanding Halloween’s roots and weighing our participation in it
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes