Pastor Leslie Chua

The Bible is very clear on the issue of eating food offered to idols, or other gods. Believers must not eat food offered to other gods. There should not be any dispute concerning the matter.

3 passages in the New Testament Scripture address this issue.

In Acts chapter 15, the apostle, James, delivered a statement on behalf of the Jerusalem Council regarding whether Gentile believers had to comply with the Old Testament ceremonial laws such as circumcision and resting on Sabbaths. In delivering the council’s decision, James said, “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:19-20, 29). The edict is clear. Believers must refrain from eating food offered to idols and hence polluted by these idols.

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The Bible is very clear on the issue of eating food offered to idols, or other gods. Believers must not eat food offered to other gods. There should not be any dispute concerning the matter.
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In His letters to the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, Jesus also expressly stated that He was against the eating of “food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:14, 20).

The third passage is found in 1 Corinthians chapters 8 to 10. In this passage, Paul gives a long and detailed argument as to why believers must abstain from eating food offered to idols. The theological reason is food offered to idols is offered to demons and eating food offered to idols is participating in the worship of other gods. Therefore, believers are supposed to refrain from doing so (1 Corinthians 10:18-22). Essentially, the issue of eating food offered to idols is about who believers are fellowshipping or having communion with. Is it with God or with pagan gods

Unfortunately, the issue of food offered to idols has always been considered a controversial issue since the days of the early church. For instance, some believers in the Corinthian church disputed Paul’s teaching on the matter. Today, some believers agree with this clear biblical command while others disagree..

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The theological reason is food offered to idols is offered to demons and eating food offered to idols is participating in the worship of other gods. Therefore, believers are supposed to refrain from doing so (1 Corinthians 10:18-22). Essentially, the issue of eating food offered to idols is about who believers are fellowshipping or having communion with. Is it with God or with pagan gods?
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Many Christians ignore the command to refrain from eating food offered to idols because of inconvenience and the risk of straining their relationship with their loved ones.

Having said that, some believers have legitimate questions about whether Jesus’ and the apostles’ commands not to eat food offered to other gods are as clear-cut as believed.

There are 3 common objections. I will address these objections one by one.


The First Objection

The first objection: The Bible does not object to eating food offered to idols. It only prohibits participating in idol feasts.

In other words, Christians can eat food offered to other gods as long as they do not consume the food in a pagan worship setting.

Is that the context of the biblical prohibition? Clearly not. I offer you 3 counter arguments.

First, consider the case of the prophet, Daniel. Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank (Daniel 1:8).

The main reason for Daniel’s refusal to take the food and wine from the king’s table is because these items had been offered to the Babylonian gods.

Some people disagree. They claim that the issue is not about food offered to idols. Rather, it has to do with the Old Testament dietary law. That is, Daniel could only eat kosher food, or food permitted under the Levitical dietary law.

While that is also Daniel’s consideration, what about his refusal to consume the wine? Know that there is no prohibition to drinking wine under the Old Testament dietary law.

That leaves us with only one reason for Daniel’s avoidance of the delicacies, including the wine, from the king’s table, and that reason is those items had been offered to the Babylonian gods.

Here is my point. The king’s table was not a worship setting. The 3 meals served daily on the king’s table were not pagan religious feasts. The food and wine were sacrificed to the idols before they were served on the king’s table.

Second, in the decision of the Jerusalem Council, the apostles specifically forbade eating food “polluted by idols” (Acts 15:20). This refers to food that has been polluted or defiled because it had been offered to idols earlier.

If the apostles had wanted to refer to eating food in a worship setting, they would have said it specifically instead of using the phrase, “food polluted” by idols. They would have said something such as “abstain from eating in pagan temples” or “abstain from eating at pagan worship places.” But they did not.

Third, look at 1 Corinthians 10:25. Here, Paul gave the Corinthian believers practical advice - “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.”

Just before this, Paul had told them pointedly that they must not take food offered to idols because “I do not want you to be participants with demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20). If Paul was referring to eating food offered to idols in a worship setting, it would be unnecessary for him to give the practical advice on meats sold in the marketplace. This is a commonsense reading of the passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

Therefore, you can see from these 3 counterarguments that the biblical command is a blanket prohibition of eating food that has been offered to other gods irrespective of whether it is in a pagan worship setting or not.

Regarding eating in a pagan religious setting, it is obvious that Christians cannot participate in it. That would be a blatant disregard for God.


The Second Objection

The second objection: Whether a believer can or cannot eat food offered to other gods is a matter of conscience.

This is a flawed argument that is embraced by many Christians. This mistaken position arises out of a misreading of Paul’s explanation in 1 Corinthians chapter 8.

Paul gives a detailed argument against eating food offered to idols. Paul’s explanation of his position stretches from chapter 8 to chapter 10.

Earlier, Paul had most likely taught the Corinthians not to eat food offered to idols. But some of the Corinthians disagreed with him. So, they either wrote to Paul or passed a message to Paul by word of mouth. Take note that in these 3 chapters, Paul was responding to the Corinthians. Most people do not realise this.

In chapter 8, Paul began by quoting the Corinthians’ argument on why they could eat food offered to idols.

They claimed to have “knowledge” of the issue – “all of us possess knowledge” (1 Corinthians 8:1). This is what they believe - “an idol has no real existence” and “there is no god but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4).

These words and phrases placed within the open and close inverted commas are not Paul’s words but the Corinthians’ assertions. You find these quotation marks only in the ESV, NRSV, and HCSB translations. These are Paul’s quotations from the Corinthians’ letter to him.

Essentially, the Corinthians were claiming that idols were nothing and there was only one God. Given that, they were free and they had the right to eat food offered to idols.

In his response, Paul told them that they were wrong in their knowledge – “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know (1 Corinthians 8:1-2).

Essentially, Paul told them that their “knowledge” concerning this issue was flawed – “he does not yet know as he ought to know.”

After this, Paul went on to argue from the Corinthians’ position on why they should not eat food offered to idols. Basically, Paul was telling them, “Assuming that your flawed knowledge is correct, you should still not eat food offered to idols because in doing so, you stumble other believers who do not possess your knowledge and therefore their conscience would be wounded.” This is essentially Paul’s message to them.

Paul concluded this part of his argument by saying, “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13). Here, Paul was urging them to give up their rights to eat food offered to idols even if they were right in their mistaken knowledge.

In chapter 9, Paul went on to talk about how even as an apostle, he chose to give up his rights for the sake of God, ministry, and good conscience.

Then, in chapter 10, Paul gave the biblical view on the subject of food offered to idols. First, Paul equated it to the sin of idolatry. After that, he made several important theological points – “what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

Essentially, Paul is saying that for this reason, believers cannot eat food offered to idols or other gods. It is not a matter of conscience. The basis of the argument using conscience is fundamentally flawed and biblically wrong.


The Third Objection

The third objection: Food is a small and insignificant issue. So, do not let it divide believers.

Believers who make this objection usually resort to quoting several Bible verses to justify their stand. Let me give you 2 examples.

1 Corinthians 10:23a – “All things are lawful.”

Please take note that these are not the words of the apostle, Paul. Once again, Paul was quoting the Corinthians. That is why these words are placed within open and close inverted commas.

After quoting these words, Paul gave his response - “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up (1 Corinthians 10:23). Notice that Paul did not agree with the Corinthians.

Paul said these words after he had made the point that believers were not supposed to take food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 10:18-22).

So, be careful not to anyhow quote a verse to justify your position without understanding its meaning and context.

Here is another example.

Romans 14:3, 6b - Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him… The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

People quote this verse to make the point that they are free to eat or abstain from food offered to other gods as long as they give thanks to God. So, we are to refrain from passing judgement and making a fuss regarding eating food sacrificed to idols.

But the context of these verses is not about food offered to idols. It is about personal convictions that do not have any biblical basis. Rather, the convictions arose out of personal opinions – “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables” (Romans 14:1-2).

You cannot quote Bible verses randomly without looking at the contexts to justify your position. If you are serious about knowing what God says about eating food offered to idols or any matter, read the Bible properly. Read and understand what is said in its proper context.

These are the 3 common objections against the biblical command to abstain from eating food offered to other gods. This matter is not controversial if you bother to study the Word of God carefully and honestly. I say honestly because many believers want to avoid inconvenience and the risk of straining close relationships. But our primary motivation ought to be knowing the truth so that we can obey God properly.