4 Bible Verses about Meat

The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of uprightness, peace, and happiness through the possession of the holy Spirit.

I know and as a follower of the Lord Jesus I am convinced that nothing is unclean in itself; a thing is unclean only to the man who regards it as unclean. For if your brother's feelings are hurt by what you eat, your life is not governed by love. You must not, by what you eat, ruin a man for whom Christ died. The thing you have a right to do must not become a cause of reproach. read more.
The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of uprightness, peace, and happiness through the possession of the holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in that way pleases God and gains the approval of men. Let us, therefore, keep before us whatever will contribute to peace and the development of one another. You must not, just for the sake of food, undo the work of God. It is true, everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to hurt the consciences of others by what he eats. The right thing to do is to eat no meat at all and to drink no wine or do anything else if it hurts your brother's conscience. For your part, you must keep the faith you have to yourself, as between God and you. He is a happy man who has no fault to find with himself in following the course that he approves, but the man who has misgivings about eating, and then eats, is thereby condemned, for he is not following his convictions, and anything that does not rest on conviction is wrong.

About food that has been offered to idols, it is true, as you say, that we all have some knowledge on that matter. Knowledge gives people airs; love is what builds up character. If a man thinks he has acquired some knowledge, he does not yet know it as well as he ought to know it. But if a man loves God, God is known by him. read more.
As to eating things, then, that have been offered to idols, we all know that no idol has any real existence, and that there is no God but one. For supposing there are so-called gods in heaven or on earth??nd indeed there are plenty of such gods and lords??6 yet for us there is just one God, the Father, who is the source of all things, and for whom we live, and just one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made and through whom we live. But it is not everyone that has this knowledge; for some, through being long accustomed to idols, still eat meat that has been sacrificed to them as really offered to an idol, and their consciences, being oversensitive, are troubled. But food is not going to affect our standing with God. We are none the worse if we do not eat it, and none the better if we do. But you must take care that this right of yours does not prove a hindrance to the overscrupulous. For if somebody sees you, who are intelligent about this matter, attending a dinner in an idol's temple, will not he, with his sensitive conscience, be led to eat meat that is offered to idols? For this overscrupulous brother, for whom Christ died, is ruined by what you call your knowledge. But in sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their too scrupulous consciences, you are really sinning against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat makes my brother fall, I will never eat meat again, rather than make my brother fall.

Therefore, my dear brothers, have nothing to do with the worship of idols. I appeal to your good sense. Make up your minds about what I say. Does not the consecrated cup which we bless mean that in drinking it we share in the blood of Christ? Does not the bread that we break mean that in eating it we share in the body of Christ? read more.
Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Think of the Israelites' practices. Do not those who eat what is sacrificed have divine fellowship at the sacrificial altar? What am I saying then? That there is any such thing as being offered to an idol, or any such thing as an idol? No, but that what the heathen sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot eat at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. Or are we trying to arouse the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he is? We are free to do anything, but not everything is good for us. We are free to do anything, but not everything builds up character. No one should look after his own advantage but after that of his neighbor. Eat anything for sale in the meat market without raising any question, as far as conscience is concerned, for the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. If one of the heathen invites you to his house, and you wish to go, eat whatever is served, without raising any question, as far as conscience is concerned. But if someone says to you, "This meat has been offered in sacrifice," let it alone, on account of the man who told you and his conscientious scruples; his scruples, I say, not yours. For why should my liberty of action be limited by another's scruples? If I give thanks for what I eat, why should I be denounced for eating what I give thanks over? So whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do it all to the honor of God. You must not be hindrances to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God either, just as I for my part try to please everyone in all I do, not aiming at my own advantage, but at that of people generally, in order that they may be saved.

I know and as a follower of the Lord Jesus I am convinced that nothing is unclean in itself; a thing is unclean only to the man who regards it as unclean. For if your brother's feelings are hurt by what you eat, your life is not governed by love. You must not, by what you eat, ruin a man for whom Christ died. The thing you have a right to do must not become a cause of reproach. read more.
The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of uprightness, peace, and happiness through the possession of the holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in that way pleases God and gains the approval of men. Let us, therefore, keep before us whatever will contribute to peace and the development of one another. You must not, just for the sake of food, undo the work of God. It is true, everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to hurt the consciences of others by what he eats. The right thing to do is to eat no meat at all and to drink no wine or do anything else if it hurts your brother's conscience. For your part, you must keep the faith you have to yourself, as between God and you. He is a happy man who has no fault to find with himself in following the course that he approves, but the man who has misgivings about eating, and then eats, is thereby condemned, for he is not following his convictions, and anything that does not rest on conviction is wrong.

About food that has been offered to idols, it is true, as you say, that we all have some knowledge on that matter. Knowledge gives people airs; love is what builds up character. If a man thinks he has acquired some knowledge, he does not yet know it as well as he ought to know it. But if a man loves God, God is known by him. read more.
As to eating things, then, that have been offered to idols, we all know that no idol has any real existence, and that there is no God but one. For supposing there are so-called gods in heaven or on earth??nd indeed there are plenty of such gods and lords??6 yet for us there is just one God, the Father, who is the source of all things, and for whom we live, and just one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made and through whom we live. But it is not everyone that has this knowledge; for some, through being long accustomed to idols, still eat meat that has been sacrificed to them as really offered to an idol, and their consciences, being oversensitive, are troubled. But food is not going to affect our standing with God. We are none the worse if we do not eat it, and none the better if we do. But you must take care that this right of yours does not prove a hindrance to the overscrupulous. For if somebody sees you, who are intelligent about this matter, attending a dinner in an idol's temple, will not he, with his sensitive conscience, be led to eat meat that is offered to idols? For this overscrupulous brother, for whom Christ died, is ruined by what you call your knowledge. But in sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their too scrupulous consciences, you are really sinning against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat makes my brother fall, I will never eat meat again, rather than make my brother fall.

Therefore, my dear brothers, have nothing to do with the worship of idols. I appeal to your good sense. Make up your minds about what I say. Does not the consecrated cup which we bless mean that in drinking it we share in the blood of Christ? Does not the bread that we break mean that in eating it we share in the body of Christ? read more.
Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Think of the Israelites' practices. Do not those who eat what is sacrificed have divine fellowship at the sacrificial altar? What am I saying then? That there is any such thing as being offered to an idol, or any such thing as an idol? No, but that what the heathen sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot eat at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. Or are we trying to arouse the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he is? We are free to do anything, but not everything is good for us. We are free to do anything, but not everything builds up character. No one should look after his own advantage but after that of his neighbor. Eat anything for sale in the meat market without raising any question, as far as conscience is concerned, for the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. If one of the heathen invites you to his house, and you wish to go, eat whatever is served, without raising any question, as far as conscience is concerned. But if someone says to you, "This meat has been offered in sacrifice," let it alone, on account of the man who told you and his conscientious scruples; his scruples, I say, not yours. For why should my liberty of action be limited by another's scruples? If I give thanks for what I eat, why should I be denounced for eating what I give thanks over? So whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do it all to the honor of God. You must not be hindrances to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God either, just as I for my part try to please everyone in all I do, not aiming at my own advantage, but at that of people generally, in order that they may be saved.