This is about sacrifices to idols, and the apostle Paul’s related conscientious guidelines. The pertinent chapters are 1Corinthians 8, 1Corinthians 10, Romans 14. This issue has to do with respecting the consciences of others, so others aren’t mistakenly influenced to return to sin.
The society and religious beliefs of Nero’s Roman Empire (54-68 AD), a ‘beastly’ regime, were quite different from ours. Times were much worse in the 1st century world than in 21st century America!
As background, let’s first reference scriptures about idolatrous practices which were extant in the ancient world. Ex.20:1-6 Christ had commanded ancient Israel to not have any other gods besides Him, nor were they to make or worship physical representations of God. But those Israelites disobeyed, and engaged in rites to the heathen gods of other peoples & nations.
Despite Christ’s commands, Israel ate and bowed down to the god Báal (Nu.25:1-3). David wrote of idolaters in Ps.16:4. “The sorrows of those who run after another god will be multiplied; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor take their names on my lips.” Drink offerings to pagan gods were often blood mixed with wine. Ezk.33:25 “Thus says the Lord, ‘You eat with the blood, and lift your eyes to your idols.” Israelites were eating ‘strangled’ meat with the blood, dedicated to idols. The heathen ate the blood of sacrifices, or sat beside that blood in a vessel, to communicate with evil spirits (Benson Commentary). The heart of their sacrificial animals was often extracted. Ho.4:12-14 Israelites were sacrificing to idols at altars with temple prostitutes.
Ac.14:11-15 “The priest of Zeus, whose temple was outside the city, brought oxen to the gates to offer sacrifice.” In 1st century Lýstra of S. Galatia, the priest of Zeus wanted to honor Barnábas & Paul with animal sacrifice, as if they were gods! Oxen are clean animals. But not all pagan animal sacrifices were clean…in the 160s BC Antíochus Epíphanes offered swine’s flesh and polluted the Jerusalem temple.
From the Acts 15 Jerusalem council, four prohibitions were sent out in a decree to the church at large. (see the topic “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.) Ac.15:28-29 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols (Strongs g1494 eidolóthuton, Greek), from blood, from things strangled (dying of itself), and from sexual immorality.” These four things were customarily practiced in the Roman Empire and impacted the early church, especially gentile believers.
Gentiles worshiped idols by drinking the blood of strangled animals and having sex with heathen temple prostitutes. Many gentile idol-worshipers were now coming to Christ. This was a big issue!
It was said…anciently the worship of pagan deities could be engaged in on almost ‘every street corner’! 1Th.1:9 Paul wrote, Christians at Thessaloníca had “turned from idols to serve the true God”. 1Co.12:2 when Christians at Corinth were pagans, they were “led astray to dumb idols”. Ac.15:29 prohibited Christians from sacrificing to idols at pagan temples. Yet years later some in the churches at Pérgamos (Re.2:14) & Thyátira (Re.2:20) still “eat things sacrificed to idols and commit immorality”…violating two Ac.15 prohibitions. The worship of pagan gods & goddesses was a way of life in the ancient world. A multitude of animals were often sacrificed; a ‘hécatomb’ was the Greek term for offering 100 oxen.
Here’s a hypothetical question…would the Holy Spirit have approved or disapproved of Christians eating roast beef sandwiches at the Aphrodíte Diner and wine shop (adjacent to her temple)?
Paul explained where/when questionable food should and shouldn’t be considered defiled by idols, idolatry. He wrote 1 Corinthians around 55 AD. Ancient Corinth, located 50 miles SW of Athens, had many idol temples; e.g. to Aphrodite, Poseidon, Apollo, Ísis, Deméter.
In verses of 1Corinthians 8, Paul addressed eating things sacrificed to idols. Pagan idols represented pagan gods. 1Co.8:1 “Concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” v.6-7 “We know there’s no God but only the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But not all believers know this. Some people are so accustomed to idolatry, that when they eat food offered to an idol, their weak conscience is defiled.” Some believers ate it thinking that since the idol represents a (lesser) god, the sacrificial meat is holy. Or, since the meat was offered to a heathen god, it thereby became polluted, unfit to eat anywhere. Two extremes. Paul continues in v.8, “We’re no worse if we don’t eat it, and no better if we do”. Although fasting, dieting, or of course eating have benefit, these actions won’t affect our salvation standing with God.
1Co.8:9-12 “But be careful that your choice doesn’t become a hindrance to the weak. For if someone sees you dining in an idol’s temple [eidolíon g1493], won’t his conscience be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? And through your knowledge the weak for whom Christ died is ruined. Thus by wounding their conscience you sin against Christ.” Don’t you cause others weak in the faith to violate their conscience. Your bad example of eating in an idol temple area might cause a weak Christian to think it’s okay to worship the pagan god, and thereby defile his conscience. Paul sarcastically refers to this as your “knowledge” (or your abuse of it), which he indicated can make one arrogant (from v.1). Jesus said in Mt.25:40, “Whatever you did to the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me”.
Paul concludes this passage with 1Co.8:13. “Therefore if food causes my brother to offend, I would never eat flesh again.” Paul considers eating food/flesh comparatively unimportant, if it would cause a weak brother to return to idolatry. Of note, whether such meat is clean or unclean isn’t addressed.
Orthodox Bible Note 1Co.8:4-13 “Throughout the Roman Empire, animals were sacrificed to gods at feasts and public occasions. Part of each offering was used in a ceremonial meal or went to the donor; the remainder was often sold in public meat markets. A dilemma…should Christians eat meat that had been offered before idols? Jews had prohibitions.” Pagan temples also served as restaurants and butcher shops.
In 1Corinthians 10, Paul returned to this issue. v.14 “Beloved, flee from idolatry.” v.19-21 is an idol itself a god? “No. The things which the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” Don’t do both the Lord’s Supper and an idolatrous ceremony.
1Co.10:25 “Eat whatever is sold in the shambles without letting your conscience trouble you.” Of course, “whatever is sold” in the public markets doesn’t mean rancid meat or meat having harmful parasites! Community, Conflict, and the Eucharist in Roman Corinth “The quality of the meat was questionable.” Paul was saying that the buyer shouldn’t worry his conscience about the source of the food/leftovers, possibly unknown.
1Co.10:27 “If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, eat what is served without asking questions of conscience.” It was okay to eat meat at a dinner or banquet in someone’s home (but not in pagan temple eateries) if a place at the table isn’t set for a god; no need to ask the host about the source of the food. v.28-29 “But if anyone says to you, ‘This was sacrificed to idols’, don’t eat it, for the sake of him that disclosed it and for the conscience of another.” If anyone makes an issue about the source of the food, then don’t eat it out of respect for the conscientious scruples of the person who informed/‘warned’ you or a fellow-guest.
1Co.10:31-32 Paul concludes the passage with, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to Jews, Greeks, or to the church of God.” So in 1Co.10, Paul elaborated on this matter of things sacrificed to idols, which he began in 1Co.8.
Eating leftovers from previous sacrifices to idols would also offend Jews & Jewish Christians. Mishneh Avodat Kochavim 7:15 doesn’t allow eating leftover flesh, wine, or fruits from an idol temple. Jews had an overly restrictive interpretation from Ex.34:15, originally regarding heathens in the Land. “They prostitute themselves after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods and invite you to eat of it.” This verse related to ancient Israel worshiping pagan gods with Canaanites in pagan idol-feasts. Ahavat Israel “This prohibition [for Jews] applies to anything served to an idol in a sacrificial manner.”
Close to two years after his 1Corinthians epistle, Paul wrote to the Romans around 57 AD. Here Paul addressed the same issue. Ancient Rome had approximately 400 idol temples…e.g. to Diana, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Juno, the Pantheon to the gods. (also see the topic “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers”.) The sacrifice for Jupiter (Zeus) was a castrated white ox, for Juno it was a white heifer.
Generally meat in ancient Rome could be expensive and was rarely eaten. Only very cold weather would allow it to stay fresh. Roman scholar R.W. Davies said the soldiers were reluctant to eat meat, fearing they’d get sick from it. Cereals and legumes made up the bulk of most diets.
Misapplying or misinterpreting Romans 14 has resulted in hard feelings and even a measure of division in the church. Let’s now go through Ro.14, keeping in mind the verses of 1Co.8 and 1Co.10.
Ro.14:1-2 “Accept him whose faith is weak, without becoming divided over his scruples. One believes he may eat all things; another who is weak eats vegetables only.” No leftover flesh. By “all things”, Paul doesn’t mean harmful or fatal things! David Stern Jewish New Testament Commentary “Paul isn’t proposing that the Jewish dietary laws have been abrogated.” Paul had referred to the weak in 1Co.8:9. The weak in Rome are thought to be Jewish Christians (the minority) who’d returned after their 49 AD exile by Claudius (ruled 41-54 AD), Ac.18:2. Strict kosher slaughter places in Rome were now fewer.
Jews and some God-fearers wouldn’t eat leftovers from idol temples. Barnes Notes Ro.14:2 “Another who is weak – there is reference here, doubtless, to the Jewish convert; whether it was lawful to eat the meat which was offered in sacrifice to idols. In those sacrifices a part only of the animal was offered, and the remainder was eaten by the worshipers, or offered for sale in the market like other meat.” Life Application Bible Ro.14:2 “After a sacrifice was presented to a god in a pagan temple, only part of it was burned. The remainder was often sent to the market to be sold. Thus a Christian might easily, even unknowingly, buy such meat in the marketplace or eat it at the home of a friend.” Amy Jill Levine Judaism and Jewishness “Many Jews refused to partake of meat distributed at civic festivals, what the Jews called ‘meat sacrificed to idols.” It was safer for Jews (and Jewish Christians) in Rome to just renounce all meat sold at markets. That’s what Ro.14 is dealing with.
Ro.14:3-6 “Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains condemn the one who eats, for God has accepted him. One man regards one day above another, someone else regards them all alike. He who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; he who eats not does so to the Lord and gives God thanks.” (cf. 1Co.10:31) Some abstain from food due to scruples of conscience. The self-righteous Pharisees appointed Mondays & Thursdays as fast days to abstain from food. The Pharisee declared in Lk.18:12, “I fast twice in the week”. They chided Jesus in Mk.2:18-20. “The disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples don’t fast.’ Jesus replied, ‘They will fast in those days.” There were Christians (Jews & gentiles) who chose to eat nothing at all on some (fast) days…we shouldn’t judge Christians for being selective about what food groups (meat, fruit, veggies, etc.) they’ll eat “to the Lord”, Ro.14:6, on (non-fast) days.
Ro.14:13 “Let us not judge each other, nor put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way.” (cf. 1Co.8:13) Don’t offend or cause another (Jewish) Christian to doubt, backslide, or lose his faith.
Ro.14:14 “I am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiled/common [koinós g2839] of itself; but to him who thinks anything to be defiled/common [koinos g2839], to him it is defiled/common [koinos g2839].” Paul is saying it’s a matter of conscience. Barnes Notes “Greek ‘common.” Vincent Word Studies “Lit. common. Compare Mk.7:2 ‘With defiled [koinos g2839], unwashed hands.”
In Ro.14:14, many Bibles mistranslate koinos as “unclean”. But the Greek LXX and New Testament term for unclean is akáthartos g169, not koinos g2839. (In the LXX, koinos never meant unclean!) This distinction is evident in Ac.10:14 where Peter used both terms in the same verse. “I have never eaten anything defiled/common [koinos g2839] or unclean/impure [akathartos g169].” The two Greek terms had different meanings!
Meat of a healthy clean animal is naturally undefiled. But it became defiled or made common and unfit for holy use if the animal was lame, blind, or defective (e.g. De.15:21 & 17:1), or if eaten in idolatrous rites (Ex.34:15). Pharisees racially considered clean meat defiled if it’s touched by gentile hands.
Ro.14:15 “For if because of food your brother is hurt, you aren’t walking according to love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.” Don’t grieve or trouble his conscience. This is similar to 1Co.8:11-13. Ro.14:20 “Don’t tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things are indeed pure, but they are evil for the man who eats and causes stumbling.” Everything God said is pure, is pure, and to those with a pure conscience. Paul wrote in Ti.1:15, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure, both their mind and conscience are corrupted”.
Ro.14:21 “It’s better not to eat meat or drink wine or anything by which your brother stumbles.” (Paul said in Ro.9:31-32 that those stumbling were Jews.) Don’t eat meat from the butcher shop or drink wine which might have been used in pagan libations, if eating would offend a brother or sister present. Da.1:8, 16 in Babylon, the prophet Daniel had refused royal food and wine which was corrupted. He lived on mostly vegetables and water.
Ro.14:22 “Blessed is he who doesn’t condemn himself in what he allows.” Stay free from a doubting conscience. v.23 “But whoever has doubts, yet still eats, is condemned, because his eating isn’t from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” Don’t eat it, if we can’t eat it with a clear conscience. Have an assured belief that what we do is right. This is a general maxim of the Christian faith. Matthew Poole Commentary “By faith here is meant knowledge or full persuasion, not a wavering mind.” It’s dangerous to ignore one’s conscience, and possibly fall back into old ways of sin.
Ro.15:1 “We who are strong ought to bear with the weaknesses of the weak, and not just please ourselves.” Paul began this passage about dealing with “the weak” in Ro.14:1 (also it’s in 1Co.8:11). Don’t let one’s choice of action offend or hinder the weak, regarding the source of food sold in markets. We’d want others to bear with us in matters where we may be weak! Ro.15:2 “Let each of us please his neighbor for what is good to build him up.” (as 1Co.10:24 “Let no one be forever seeking his own good, but that of others.”) Accommodate ourselves to others (for good, not for evil). Speak and act so as to build-up our brothers/sisters in the faith, whether they be strong or weak.
In reading through 1Co.8, 1Co.10, Ro.14, similarities are noted. The center column cross-refs in many Bibles tie several Ro.14 verses to 1Co.8, and 1Co.10 too. Paul’s overall subject is the same. In Rome there were 400 pagan temples…it’s possible much of the meat sold in the marketplace had come from a temple sacrifice somewhere! So for a weak Christian or Jewish Christian to avoid thinking of an idol when eating meat, a form of ‘second-hand’ idolatry to him…he’d just quit eating meat altogether!
Ro.14 doesn’t address the eating of clean or unclean creatures, about which Christ commanded in Le.11. (see “Unclean versus Clean Food”.)
Nazarite vows were anciently taken (Nu.6), and occasional fasting is a good Biblical principle (e.g. Mk.2:20). But the Ro.14 avoidance of possible leftovers isn’t asceticism. Abstaining from okay wine-drinking, ref Jg.9:13 (in moderation), could be due to asceticism with some people. In the Ro.14:6 “he who eats not does so to the Lord”, its doubtful Paul was referring to Pythágorean vegetarians among the gentile majority…since the abstaining in the church at Rome was “to the Lord” (cf. 1Ti.4:1-3 “doctrines of demons”). JFB Commentary Ro.14:2 “Restricting himself probably to a vegetable diet for fear of eating what might have been offered to idols.”
The main issue in Ro.14, 1Co.8, 1Co.10 was…whether or not Christians should eat meat (and drink wine) thought to have been previously sacrificed to idols.
Conclusion: It would’ve been unacceptable to eat a sandwich at the Aphrodite Diner (1Co.8:10). 1Co.6:9 idolaters won’t inherit the Kingdom of God. But it’s okay to eat at home or church or at a friend’s home…food purchased in the marketplace/shambles. Such meat or leftovers might have come from Diana’s Deli adjacent to her temple, or from Aphrodite’s Diner. The source is unknown. That is, it’s okay to eat the food/leftovers at home…if doing so didn’t bother someone’s conscience. But, Paul says that if there’s a conscience problem (because a gentile Christian had worshiped idols before conversion, or a Jewish Christian was overly concerned about a possible idol temple source of leftovers prior to their sale in the shambles)…don’t eat it. That’s the gist of Paul’s guidelines.
Idolatry is still practiced in today’s world. This principle of not inadvertently hurting a Christian’s conscience or resolve is applicable to other matters besides idolatry…e.g. certain holidays so-called (such as Halloween), avoiding wine in the presence of a recovering alcoholic, etc.
The Holy Spirit with the written word of God will educate and guide our consciences rightly. And while we ourselves are engaged in this education process as part of our sanctification, we should be considerate of others’ consciences. So we won’t cause unnecessary offense which might result in a brother or sister backsliding into a past sinful practice or losing faith in God.
Bible Topic Exposition 