13. You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.
14. My friends, you must keep away from idols.
15. I am speaking to you as people who have enough sense to know what I am talking about.
16. When we drink from the cup that we ask God to bless, isn't that sharing in the blood of Christ? When we eat the bread that we break, isn't that sharing in the body of Christ?
17. By sharing in the same loaf of bread, we become one body, even though there are many of us.
18. Aren't the people of Israel sharing in the worship when they gather around the altar and eat the sacrifices offered there?
19. Am I saying that either the idols or the food sacrificed to them is anything at all?
20. No, I am not! That food is really sacrificed to demons and not to God. I don't want you to have anything to do with demons.
21. You cannot drink from the cup of demons and still drink from the Lord's cup. You cannot eat at the table of demons and still eat at the Lord's table.
22. We would make the Lord jealous if we did that. And we are not stronger than the Lord.
23. Some of you say, “We can do whatever we want to!” But I tell you that not everything may be good or helpful.
24. We should think about others and not about ourselves.
25. However, when you buy meat in the market, go ahead and eat it. Keep your conscience clear by not asking where the meat came from.
26. The Scriptures say, “The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”
27. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, and you want to go, then go. Eat whatever you are served. Don't cause a problem for someone's conscience by asking where the food came from.
28-29. But if you are told that it has been sacrificed to idols, don't cause a problem by eating it. I don't mean a problem for yourself, but for the one who told you. Why should my freedom be limited by someone else's conscience?
30. If I give thanks for what I eat, why should anyone accuse me of doing wrong?
31. When you eat or drink or do anything else, always do it to honour God.