Food Sacrificed to Statues of Gods
1Now I want to deal with food sacrificed to statues of gods. We know that “We all have knowledge.” But knowledge makes people proud, while love builds them up. 2Those who think they know something still don’t know as they should. 3But whoever loves God is known by God.
4So then, here is what I say about eating food sacrificed to statues of gods. We know that “a god made by human hands is really nothing at all in the world.” We know that “there is only one God.” 5There may be so-called gods either in heaven or on earth. In fact, there are many “gods” and many “lords.” 6But for us there is only one God. He is the Father. All things came from him, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord. He is Jesus Christ. All things came because of him, and we live because of him.
7But not everyone knows this. Some people still think that statues of gods are real gods. They might eat food sacrificed to statues of gods. When they do, they think of it as food sacrificed to real gods. And because those people have a weak sense of what is right and wrong, they feel guilty. 8But food doesn’t bring us close to God. We are no worse if we don’t eat. We are no better if we do eat.
9But be careful how you use your rights. Be sure you don’t cause someone weaker than you to fall into sin. 10Suppose you, with all your knowledge, are eating in a temple of one of those gods. And suppose someone who has a weak sense of what is right and wrong sees you. Won’t that person become bold and eat what is sacrificed to statues of gods? 11If so, then your knowledge destroys that weak brother or sister for whom Christ died. 12Suppose you sin against them in this way. Then you harm their weak sense of what is right and wrong. By doing this, you sin against Christ. 13So suppose what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin. Then what should I do? I will never eat meat again. In that way, I will not cause them to fall.
O hrani žrtvovanoj idolima
1Što se tiče mesa žrtvovanog idolima, o tomu svi posjedujemo znanje. Ali znanje čovjeka čini umišljenim, a ljubav izgrađuje. 2Misli li tko da mnogo zna, taj ne zna kako treba znati. 3A Bog poznaje čovjeka koji ga uistinu ljubi.
4Smijemo li, dakle, jesti meso žrtvovano idolima? Svi znamo da idol zapravo nije Bog i da postoji samo jedan Bog. 5Neki vjeruju da ima mnogo bogova na nebu i na zemlji—jer zaista ima mnogo takozvanih bogova i gospodara. 6Ali mi znamo da postoji samo jedan Bog Otac koji je sve stvorio i za kojega postojimo. I jedan je Isus Krist po kojemu je sve stvoreno i po kojemu imamo život.
7Ali to ne znaju svi. Neki ljudi toliko su naviknuti na idole da jedući žrtvovano meso o njemu razmišljaju kao o mesu žrtvovanom pravim bogovima te tako kaljaju svoju slabu savjest. 8Zapamtite da jelom nećemo steći Božju naklonost. Niti što gubimo ako takvo meso ne jedemo, niti što dobivamo jedemo li ga. 9Ali pazite da zbog te vaše slobode ne posrne slabiji brat ili sestra.
10Jer tko smatra da je grijeh jesti tu hranu, može te vidjeti kako jedeš u idolskome hramu. Ti znaš da u tome nema ničega lošega, ali on će jedući meso žrtvovano idolima naučiti da kalja svoju savjest čineći ono što smatra grijehom. 11Tako zbog tvojega znanja može propasti nejaki kršćanin8:11 U grčkome: brat. za kojega je Krist umro. 12Griješeći tako protiv braće i ranjavajući njihovu nejaku savjest, griješite protiv Krista. 13Ako će moje jelo navesti na grijeh mojeg brata, neću više jesti mesa dok živim da moj brat zbog mene ne posrne.
