1Now about “food sacrificed to idols.” ³¹So “we all have knowledge” about this subject. Knowledge makes us proud, but love strengthens us.

2If anyone thinks they know anything, they don't know as they really should know!

3But whoever loves God is known by God.

4So regarding eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that there are no such things as idols in the world, and that there is only one real God.

5Even though there are some things called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth—in fact there are many “gods” and “lords.”

6But for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom everything was made, and he is the goal of our existence; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made, and he is the means of our existence. ³²

7But not everyone has this “knowledge.” ³³Some who up to now have been so used to idols as a reality that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience (which is weak) tells them they have defiled themselves.

8But food doesn't gain us God's approval! If we don't eat this food, we're not bad, and if we do eat this food, we're not good.

9Just take care not to use this freedom you have to eat food sacrificed to idols to become offensive to those with a weaker attitude.

10If another believer sees you who have such “better knowledge” ³⁴eating food in an idol temple, won't his weak conscience be convinced to eat food sacrificed to idols? ³⁵

11By your “better knowledge” the weaker believer is destroyed, a believer for whom Christ died.

12In this way you sin against other believers, wounding their weaker consciences, and you sin against Christ.

13So if eating food sacrificed to idols would cause my fellow believer to stumble, I will never eat such meat ever again, so that I don't offend any believer.