Acts 15:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

From pollutions

Things

Bible References

From pollutions

that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.

So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.

"You shall have no other gods before me.

Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, you will eat from his sacrifice;

These women invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers and engage in prostitution with detestable idols?

With regard to food sacrificed to idols, we know that "we all have knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.

But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.

The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood -- idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.

He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.

Things

But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided that they should avoid meat that has been sacrificed to idols and blood and what has been strangled and sexual immorality."

But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.

This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live: You must never eat any fat or any blood.'"

"Tell the Israelites, 'You must not eat any fat of an ox, sheep, or goat.

"'Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,

However, you must not eat blood -- pour it out on the ground like water.

You may not eat any corpse, though you may give it to the resident foreigner who is living in your villages and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

However, you must not eat its blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.

So the army rushed greedily on the plunder, confiscating sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground, and the army ate them blood and all.

And I said, "Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat has never entered my mouth."

Therefore say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, pray to your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess the land?

For every creation of God is good and no food is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.