1 Corinthians 10:23

Plain English Version

Some of you might say this, “We are free from that Jewish law. We can do anything we like. We can eat that food that they give to those statues, and it will not hurt us.” All right, but I’m telling you, “No. Not everything is good for us Christians to do.” And you might reckon, “We are free, so we can do anything.” But I’m telling you, “No. Not everything helps us be better Christians.”

Cross References

Romans 14:15

Sometimes you might know that something is all right, so you think you will eat it. But if you know that another Christian will get upset when you eat it, then don’t eat it. Leave it. If you love other Christians, you will not do things that hurt them. Remember, Jesus Christ died for those people, so don’t eat that food. You know that it is all right to eat it, but leave it anyway. Then nobody will blame you.

1 Corinthians 14:12

And it is the same for you too. I know that you really want God’s spirit to give you special powers, so ask God to give you the powers that will help the church people be strong.

1 Corinthians 14:17

You might be thanking God, but your words don’t help anyone else.

1 Corinthians 14:26

So, my friends, this is how to have proper church meetings. Whenever you church people meet together, each one of you can have something to help the other people there. One of you might have a song that all of you can sing to God. Another person might have something that they can teach you. Somebody else might want to tell you about something that God has shown them. Another person might talk in a special language, and then somebody else can tell everybody what those words in that special language mean. Do all those things to help each other be strong Christians.

1 Corinthians 6:12

Some of you say, “I’m free from the Jewish law now, so I can do anything I want to.” Yes, but not everything will be good for you. You see, I can say that too. I can say, “I’m free from the Jewish law, so I can do anything I want to.” But I don’t want to do bad things. And if I think about doing bad things, I will start doing bad things, and I will not be able to stop myself. But I don’t want that.

1 Corinthians 8:1

I will answer your next question now, about those statues that some people make, and they think those statues are gods. They give food to those statues, and they reckon the statues give that food power. Then those people eat that food, or they sell it to other people. And you Christians asked me, “Can we eat that food that they gave to those statues?” That’s what you asked me. Well, before I answer your question, I want you to remember this. All of us know something, but if we think we know more than other people, we start thinking wrong, like we reckon we are really smart. No, we can’t try to be smart. Instead, we have to love people. If we love other people, it helps them to get strong.

1 Corinthians 8:9

But you have to be very careful. Even though you are free to eat anything, you have to think about those Christians that can’t work out what is true and what is not true. You don’t want to make them go wrong.

Ephesians 4:29

And don’t swear, or say any bad talk. Only say good things that will help people, and say things that they need to hear. When you do that, your words will be good for the people that hear you.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

So then, tell those things to each other, and help each other to become stronger for God, not sad and weak. And yes, I know that you are doing that already.