1 Corinthians 10

₁Friends, you must understand what happened long ago. Our forefathers, the Israelites, were all under the cloud and they all walked through the sea. ₂They were all baptised as followers of Moses. He led them and they walked with him under the cloud and through the sea. ₃And they all ate the same food that God gave them. ₄And they all drank the same water that God gave them. They drank the water that came out of a rock. It was a rock that God gave them and that rock went with the Israelites. That Rock was Christ. ₅But God was not pleased with most of the Israelites and He caused them to die in the desert. ₆These things happened to warn us. They showed us that we must not want bad things like the Israelites did. ₇Do not worship_idols like some of the Israelites did. The Old_Testament says:

₈Do not live immorally. Some of the Israelites lived immorally and in one day God caused 23 000 Israelites to die.

₉Do not test Christ and make Him angry. Some of the Israelites did that and then snakes killed them. ₁₀Do not complain. Some of the Israelites did that and then the angel_of_death killed them. ₁₁These things happened to the Israelites to warn us. It is written down so that we can learn from it. We must understand it better than the Israelites did because we now live in the time after Christ has come.

₁₂That is why anyone who thinks that he will never sin must be careful not to start sinning. ₁₃There are things happening that test you and that want you to stop worshipping God. But remember, these things are not so difficult that we can not defeat them. Everyone knows these tests. And God will always do what He has promised. He will always help you and will not let you be tempted too much or in a way that is stronger than your faith. He will make you strong and show you a way out of that temptation so that you will be able to do what is right and keep on believing. ₁₄My friends, that is why you must stay away from worshipping_idols. ₁₅I know you are wise. You can decide if the things that I say are true or not.

₁₆When we have holy_communion and we drink wine from the cup, we thank God who saved us and we praise Him. Then we become part of Christ who gave his blood to save us. And when we eat the bread, we are one with Christ, who gave his body to save us. ₁₇There is one bread and it is the same with us: We are many people but together we are one body_of_Christ because we all eat together from the same bread. ₁₈It was the same with the Israelites in the time of the Old_Testament. When they were eating the meat that was sacrificed to God, they served and belonged to Him.

₁₉I am not saying that the idols are alive or that meat sacrificed to them is important. ₂₀But when the Gentiles sacrifice that meat, they think that they sacrifice it to a god, but they sacrifice it to demons. And I do not want you to serve demons and belong to them. ₂₁You can not drink from the cup of holy_communion of the Lord and also drink from the cup of demons. You can not sit at the Lord's table and have holy_communion and also sit at the table of demons. ₂₂If we do that, we are unfaithful and we make the Lord angry. And you know that we are not stronger than He is.

₂₃Yes, we are free to do anything, but there are things that are not good for us. We are free to do anything, but not everything makes our faith stronger. ₂₄We must not be selfish and do only the things that are good for us. We must also do things that are good for other people. ₂₅You may eat any meat that they sell in a meat market. Do not ask where the meat comes from, because if they say it is meat that has been sacrificed to an idol, then maybe you will think it is a sin to eat it. ₂₆It is written in the Old_Testament:

₂₇When people who do not believe invite you to come and eat with them and you want to go, then you may eat everything they give you. Do not ask where the meat comes from, because if they say it is meat that has been sacrificed to an idol, you may think that it is a sin to eat it. ₂₈But if someone tells you: ‘This is meat that has been sacrificed,’ do not eat it because then you know that it is a problem for the person who told you. ₂₉You know it is not a sin to eat it, but the other person may think it is sin. Now you may ask: ‘I may eat anything, so why may I not eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol? I think it is not a sin to eat it. It is the other believers who think it is sin. ₃₀I have thanked the Lord for the food that I eat. Why does someone else tell me that it is a sin when I eat food for which I have thanked the Lord? That is not right.’

₃₁But you must remember: You must praise God with everything you do, even when you eat or drink. ₃₂Do not live in a way that makes problems for Jews or Greeks or for the people of God's congregation. ₃₃Look what I do. I always ask what is important to other people. I don't do only the things that are good for me. I also do things that are good for other people, so that God can save them.