Meat Offered to Idols

“Meat Offered to Idols” sermon given by Mario Seiglie on 2011-11-26

Brethren, one of the purposes of sermons is to help understand biblical principles and how to apply them to our own lives. That's one of the main purposes of sermons, to help us understand biblical principles and how to apply them in our own lives. And that's what this sermon will be about. This is a subject that has not been talked about very much. It's certainly in the Bible. Many are perplexed by it. It has to do with a subject you might think is a little arcane, that doesn't have to do much with us. But as you will see, it's something very important that God left for all of us in the Scriptures. And it has to do with the subject of food offered to idols. During the first century time, the Church had quite a bit to say about that. It was a controversial issue. And, of course, how to apply the principles to our day as well. Some believe it can be an excuse to eat pork. Others think it's about having some things be a private matter. So it's important to clearly understand what this subject is all about, especially with the season that is arriving now. And so for that it's important to begin at the beginning.

This subject of meat offered to idols is based on, first of all, one of the Ten Commandments. The Second Commandment says that you shall not worship anything else except God --- that you shall not make any idols to Him or to any of these gods, false gods, not have any type of idol worship or paganism. And this subject falls into the category. It says meat offered to idols. It has to do with idols, which comes from the prohibition in the Second Commandment. And this begins after the Gospel accounts finish with the life of Jesus Christ. This happened pretty early in the history of the Church.

THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS

We can begin the story in Acts chapter 10 with the conversion of Cornelius, a Gentile centurion who was the first Gentile that was converted to the faith. In Acts chapter 10, of course I won't go over every detail of this, but at that time Peter was following the usual Jewish custom of considering a Gentile as being an unclean person, someone that you shouldn't have much contact with. The Jews usually wouldn't even touch a Gentile because they thought, well, Gentiles ate unclean food, they went to their unclean temples, and so if I touched a Gentile, I would become unclean. And so I'd have to go through a ritual washing to become cleansed of it. So they were very skittish about dealing with Gentiles. Yes, the Romans were there. They had conquered Israel, and so they had a treatment, but it was always aloof and kind of separate because of this. And so you always, as Peter was doing, you would limit any association with them. But God was about to show that through Christ's sacrifice a person could be made clean. A Gentile could be made clean without the ritual cleansings involved. And so let's pick it up here in Acts chapter 10 verse 10. It says Peter was praying and then he became very hungry. And then there was a great sheet in verse 11 with all kinds of animals. Now you notice here these are not only four-footed animals, but wild beasts, so here are tigers, bears, wolves, creeping things. In the Bible, creeping things have to do with all kinds of insects and lizards, snakes, anything that creeps along, whether with feet or like snakes do. But you're talking about all kinds of lizards, chameleons, and birds of the air, so all kinds of vultures were in there. And a voice said, “Rise Peter, kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” So that shows that Jesus Christ never did, because this was years after Christ died. You'd think if Christ would have said, well, guess what? We're doing away with the food laws in the Bible. Well, Peter would have been eating them, but he said no. Up to this time, he had never eaten anything unclean or common, so he was scrupulous. And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.” This was done three times, and the object was taken up into heaven again. Notice this was a vision. He didn't start, “Oh, okay. I'm going to start eating lobsters and pigs and everything else.” No, but he was wondering “What is this all about?” And verse [17], now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate. So here are some Romans from Cornelius had received a vision to send men to bring Peter to his house. Now, if Peter would not have received this vision, he would not have gone into Cornelius' house. He would have accompanied the men. He would have stayed outside, had Cornelius, because he didn't want to get contaminated with any type of uncleanness, whether they were eating unclean foods, or they were not ceremonially washed. The woman, after her menstruation, had not gone and gotten her ritual purity, so they just considered these people unclean, just like unclean animals. And so they talked with him about it, and we go on here to verse 19. It says, and while Peter thought about this vision, the Spirit said, “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.” So yes, they're Gentiles, and don't worry about all of this ritual cleansing. You just do what I have told you. Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?” And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, ….” So he was a sympathizer. He would go to the synagogue. They had a section of Gentiles that could go inside the synagogue. They were called the “fear worshippers.” They feared God, but they had not been circumcised. So they were still considered unclean, but they were converting to the faith. So they were kind of like proselytes.

They were becoming future members of the Jewish community. He was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you. Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day, Peter went away with them and some brethren from Joppa accompanied them. So he actually had them in his house. But why? Because of the vision and the statement. And the following day, they entered Caesarea,  which was a Roman capital at the time. That's where the Romans had their big fortress. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up saying, stand up, I myself am also a man. That's why nobody should ever bow down to a human being. We see that happening. Some church leaders, people bow down, kiss his feet, kiss his ring, whatever. See how idolatry starts slowly, gradually getting in, even into Christianity, traditional Christianity. And as he talked with them, he went in and found many who had come together. Then he said, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation.” So here he's explaining. You know about the ritual cleansings and that these people are ritually unclean. “But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask then, for what reason have you sent for me?” So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging at the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ “So I sent to you immediately and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.” It's interesting God said “Go”, didn't tell him what to say. He told Cornelius “Bring”, but He didn't say what. So see, God likes to delegate.

He could have spelled everything out. Peter had already received a training from Jesus Christ. And so now it was time for Peter to apply the principles he had learned. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. I understand now, Christ's sacrifice supplanted the ritual aspects of the law. “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ --- He is Lord of all --- He's not just Lord of the Jews. He's Lord of all --- “that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout Judea, ….” and then it says here, verse 44, While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believe were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because looking at these men, these are uncircumcised Gentiles, and they've received God's Spirit. God has accepted them into His church. And so they were shocked. He says, For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. That was the sign that God showed at that time. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked them to stay a few days. Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, This was the circumcision party. These were mostly converted Pharisees who said, you can't just do away with this ritual aspect and the circumcision and all of this. So they said, “You went into uncircumcised men and ate with them! You went into their unclean houses, and you ate the food offered them.” Now it wasn't pork or anything, but it was food that had not been prepared in the same way, with all the prayers. So all the Pharisees, they said, “Oh, we would never eat even a piece of beef at the home of a Gentile because those are touched by unclean hands. And these Gentiles, they don't have the ritual washings and everything else.” So this is what they were doing. But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa.” He explained everything. And then it says, verse 18, When they heard these things, this explanation, they became silent; and they glorified God saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” See, “repentance” is the key word here. People have repented. They have really committed to God. They have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. And they're willing to commit to obeying God the rest of their lives.

THE ACTS 15 JERUSALEM CONFERENCE DECREE

And so we take up the following scene because there were three questions that were brought up. One was, although the Gentiles needed to keep the Ten Commandments, did they need to also be circumcised? That was a big question. First, in 1 Corinthians 7:19, Paul says “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.” So that's what they learned. Number two, did the Gentiles need to keep the ritual law, the sacrifices, temple regulations, being uncircumcised? How could they do that? Number three, how were they to keep from idolatrous and pagan associations? What was going to be their dealings as now Gentile Christians with the rest of the Gentiles that they would be around? So to answer all of these, they set up a council in Jerusalem. They brought the apostles together. They brought the elders together and the membership in that part of the world also came. In Acts 15, we see in verse 6 that Peter explained about how to be purified by faith and that that supersedes the need for circumcision. He says in verse 6, Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter, and when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to their men, And brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. That's talked about Cornelius and the conversion. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us, no clean or unclean person between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. So see, it's not talking here about whether you keep the commandments or not. It's about the ritual washings and whether you're clean, ritually clean before God or not. Now therefore, why do you test God? By putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. All these ritual purifications and all of these regulations going on, which included also the oral law that the Pharisees had added to all of this ritual law. It was a big yoke and burden upon the people.

He says, But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they. Through the faith of Jesus Christ we don't have to worry about all the ritual law, with the sacrifices and cleansings that people have to go through. Women don't have to go through and ritually watch every time after their menstruation. And men also, with their omissions, they don't have to. But that was part of the ritual law, all the cleansings and washings. And so then James says in verse 19, the conclusion, he says, “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those who among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain. Now here are the things he says you no longer, as Gentile converts, have to worry about being circumcised. But these four things you need to know. These are part of the law for them not to mistake as being part of the ritual law. This, he said, is not part of the ritual law because it's based on the Ten Commandments. One is to abstain from things polluted by idols. So that has to do with the Second Commandment. From sexual immorality, that has to do with the Seventh Commandment. From things strangled and from blood, which has to do with the Sixth Commandment. Which has to do with the food laws to keep you alive and you shall not murder yourself by eating wrong foods. Because you eat wrong foods, you will eventually intoxicate yourself with all the fat and all the toxic bacon and things like that. The pig meat does have a certain toxic level to it. It won't kill you overnight, but eventually it will lead to serious diseases and serious deterioration of your body. And then he says in verse 21 to confirm that the Sabbath is still there. For Moses has had those throughout many generations who preach him in every city being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. So he says the rest of the things the Gentiles will learn as they go to the synagogues, they talk about the church, the assemblies of the church, that they will be taught more about God's scriptures on the Sabbath. So then they commissioned Paul and others to go and to send this decree to the different Gentile areas where they had churches.

SECONDARY ISSUE OF 1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTERS 8 & 10

But at the church in Corinth a secondary issue arose over this food offered to idols. The question they asked Paul was what to do about meat that was possibly offered to idols. So what if you don't know the providence, the origin of the meat? We don't know if it was offered or not. Should we eat it or not? Should we become vegetarians because we don't know? Seems like some people were just abstaining from meat because they couldn't figure out whether it was offered to an idol or not. Which brought these three questions to the floor. Number one, is meat offered to idols contaminated? In other words, if you have some beef and it's offered to an idol and then it's sold in the market, is that meat contaminated because it had been offered to an idol? It could be beef, it could be goat meat, it could be sheep, whatever it was. But does the act of offering it before an idol contaminate that meat? Number two, what about meat brought or bought at the market next to the temple precincts? Which is of unknown origin. What if you go to this place where some of that meat was being sold within the temple precincts, which are the surrounding area, they had meat markets because there was all kinds of meat being sold there. We don't know what origin. Is it banned? And number three, what about eating food in private homes of unbelievers? What are we supposed to do? We don't know if he got it from the  marketplace that the meat had been offered to an idol or not. So this is what Paul answers in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 10. Corinthians 8 verse 1, Paul says here, Now concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up but love edifies. So he knew that Jerusalem decree had made it very clear about abstaining from food offered to idols. He knows that. But he says, you know, there are many things involved in this where you can offend a brother. You can apply the wrong principle to this. You can become puffed up with supposedly more knowledge. But if you have love, you're going to be concerned about what the other thinks. He says, and if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. If he thinks he's a know-it-all, he's vain, doesn't know what sad state he is really in. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. If you're really concerned to apply the biblical principles in the right way to not offend, God's going to love you for that. Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one. So what he's saying is, look, if it's beef and it's been offered to an idol and you buy it later on, the beef is still beef, the lamb is still lamb chops or whatever, and it does not contaminate the meat, the act of just having offered it to an idol. This is what he, the first principle. He says, for even if there are other so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords that have been called by those names, yet for us there's only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live. So he says, look, we don't have to worry about some different gods out there. It's only one true God. All of those are false. They're not real at all. So he says, whatever they do in front of a statue of an idol, that's not going to contaminate the meat. He says, however, there is not in everyone that knowledge. For some with consciousness of the idol until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. So he says, the problem is that some people say, well, this is meat that was bought in the temple precincts, and I think that meat has been sanctified by this God. And so I used to do that, and now I can go ahead and do it. It's almost like when, as a Catholic, I took the host, the bread, and it's supposed to be consecrated and all of this. If I went around and said, “Oh, I want to eat a host now. I want to remember those days.” It'd be like going back to that way of life. I'm not interested in eating hosts. I'm not interested in that. But some people, they would eat the meat, and they would associate it with what they had done offering it to their particular god. Now, pagan sacrifices, when they were offered, first of all, they did not offer unclean animals like pig or horses. They offered either sheep or goats or calves or some type of beef animal, but they did not use it because even they felt those were impure and shouldn't present it to a God. You don't want to get in the wrong side of those. So in the normal procedure, when you did the sacrifice, the sacrifice was divided up into three parts. The first part was very small. Sometimes it was the heart. It was the intestines. That would be offered to the idol. The second part would be given to the priests and the personnel at the temple. It's kind of like a temple tax. You had to give a bigger portion to the priests who would pray for you and do all the type of nice things. And then the largest portion you would get to keep. And there were two things you could do. You could invite other people over, and then you could have a meal with that portion, just sort of a lot of partying and enjoying because you're there before a god. Or you could take a good part of that meat and you could sell it, make a profit at the meat market. Those were the three things that you could do with it. So this is what Paul now is addressing. So he goes on and says in verse 8, The food does not commend us to God. He says the food itself is not going to make us better or worse. For neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. So this meat, he's saying, look, it's something created by God. If it's beef, it's beef. If it's chicken, it's chicken. It's not going to be contaminated because it was in front of an idol. He says, But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. Be careful because there are some people that associated some special blessing from having been offered by an idol. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, the precincts there, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? So you might just be there, the temple precincts, and you say, well, you know, this is regular meat. I'm eating it. But then a person who feels that, well, boy, maybe I can do the same thing, and I secretly desire to go back to that. So you're becoming a stumbling block to your brother. He says, And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, he could leave the church over that. For whom Christ died, you help them go back to his old style. It's almost like, again, people seeing something in you that they used to do before.

And so they use it as a license to return to that way of life. He says, But when you thus sin against the brethren and wound their weak  conscience, you sin against Christ. You should have been more cautious. Make sure that that was not going to be a stumbling block. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. Paul was willing not to eat meat, just not to offend somebody that was weak in the way he lived. So he says it's very important to take into consideration the other person's point of view. Is this going to help them in the faith, or is it going to undermine their faith? Then he goes on in chapter 10. In verse 14 he takes up again the subject of meat offered to idols. So he answered the first one. Is meat offered to an idol contaminated? The answer is no. But you have to be careful, not use that liberty to cause it to be a stumbling block to a weaker brother. What about the meat bought at the market next to the temple precincts of unknown origin? Is it banned? This is what he's going to answer in chapter 10, verse 14. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men. Judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we eat, break, is not the communion of the body of Christ. For we, though many, are one bread and one body, for we all partake of the one bread. So he's saying basically for the Passover we all meet, and we're accepting Christ's sacrifice in our lives. Now he's saying, how can we go and at the same time later go to a temple of a false idol and be participating in their ceremonies and in the meat offered before an idol? He says for we, verse 19, what am I saying then? That an idol is anything? Or what is offered to idols is anything? He says, I already explained to you, yeah, an idol isn't anything. It's not going to contaminate us. Or what is offered to an idol is not going to contaminate us. He says, rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. So he's saying, well, just because the meat is okay, if it had been offered, it doesn't give you a license to go there and participate and say, well, I don't believe any of this. That idol doesn't mean anything to me, and that meat that's being offered, well, I'll go ahead and eat it because I know that isn't contaminated. He's saying, look where you're at. You cannot be in an idolatrous temple acting like nothing's happened. You're breaking the second commandment. You're there and people are watching you, and you are an accomplice to all those demon activities, demonic activities. He says, verse 21, you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? Getting ourselves into trouble when we start getting involved in pagan ceremonies. And so he says here in verse 23, he's going to answer, what about eating food in private homes of unbelievers? He says, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience sake. So he's saying, “Look, don't become this fanatical investigator trying to trace where this meat came from, because then you'd have to maybe go two or three people. Maybe this person bought it from this other person who bought it this place, who did buy it at a temple. He is saying, don't become this fanatical investigator to try to figure out what the origin. Every time you go somewhere, you're just asking, was this offered to an idol or not? He says, “For the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness”, which he's saying, God is the author. He created all these animals. You know, idols are not the ones who created. None of these false gods created any of these animals. These animals are good to eat if they are biblically accepted. And we shouldn't be worried about where they had been offered or not. He says, if any of those who do not believe, again, an unbeliever, invites you to dinner and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience sake. But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols, do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’s sake, for the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. So again, this isn't about eating unclean meat. It is good meat, but this person now is saying, “Oh, you know what, I offered this to an idol. This is part of the remains I brought home to eat. And this is consecrated food by this idol.” Then you are not to participate because then the second commandment comes into play. And that is part of worshiping an idol. It is giving and backing idol worship, and that should not be done. And he says, again, for the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. Yes, God created everything, but man can pervert what God created by this type of idolatry. It kind of reminds me even in the medieval times when we are talking about the dark ages and medieval ages and Europe and things that sometimes they would grab you and they would force you into eating a host. If you did not eat a host, they would kill you because they said you are not Catholic, you are not part of it, you are a heretic, and that you had to eat that meat offered to an idol, that bread offered to an idol. And a lot of people had to give up their lives not to participate of it. Verse 29, he says, So your conscience becomes strengthened when somebody is trying to pawn something that is not correct. This person is saying, well, you know what, this meat is offered. And it kind of sort of reminded me in a way when my mother served me a big special meal that I used to like a lot which had all kinds of unclean things. And I just told my mother I am not going to eat that. And she said, “Oh, but this is your favorite.” No, I am not going to eat it. You cannot force me to eat it. I never ate any of that because I felt that was going to be my conscience violating me. I was going against God's law. And I knew what He said. So now what? I am supposed to please my mother and displease God? And so even at that early age of 18, I had to tell my mother I am not going to eat that anymore. And she just couldn't believe it. And she got over it. Now when I visit her, she doesn't serve me any of those things. She knows. But again, you got to know when to stand firm and when if it is beef or it is chicken and you are living in India or you are living in Africa and they have got some rituals out there and they are doing that and all of a sudden are you going to start asking, well, was this meat offered to, you know, Moloch or some type of thing? Should I eat it or not? It is the same principle. And so he says here, but if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks? So he said, look, if I am invited and it is good, sound beef or chicken or whatever, don't go around asking, well, was this offered to an idol or not? Now I am asking God, thanking him, blessing him because he is the one that made it and I don't care about the origins of what that meat came from. He says, therefore, verse 31, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. That is an important thing. If I eat or drink, I am going to eat the right food, I am going to drink the right things and I am going to give God the glory for having created it and for enjoying such a delicious meal. Wasn't that Thanksgiving great? Didn't have anything unclean there to worry about, get sick over. And so we should give thanks. Verse 32, give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God. Learn how to be tactful, diplomatic. I didn't go in a big tantrum over, I just told my mother I can't eat that anymore. Please respect my beliefs. And she did. She got a bit angry about it, I understood, but I didn't make a big thing. I didn't throw it in her face that she was going against all of these things.

So be tactful, be diplomatic. We need to be a lot more diplomatic at church, the way we talk. If a person has put on some weight or something, don't go around, “Oh look how big you are.” Don't be that way. Don't talk about whether the person is short or tall or he's got a smudge in his shirt or whatever --- or he's got a wrinkle. Some people they can just right afterwards go, did you see that person? Did you see how they looked? This is the way brethren get offended because of our lack of tact, our lack of diplomacy. And this is what Paul is talking about. Christianity is loving your brother. Don't say offensive things about the other person. Sometimes just physical things that happen, you can be so hurtful with your words. And those words, you can't take them back. You hurt that person. You made them feel bad. And it's amazing. Some people, they can be conscious, they think they're too tall. And what do they say, “Oh yeah, how's it up there? How's the weather up there?” You think it's kidding, but many times they're conscious. They don't like to be tall. Some people don't like to be too short or whatever. But just it's better to not say anything about the person's appearance or their family and what you think about everybody else or what their beliefs and political parties or anything. Just don't get involved in any of that. Paul is saying here, “Give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God.” That's the name of the Church. That's why we're called the United Church of God. Just as I also please all men in all things not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. Imitate me, he's saying in this, just as I also imitate Christ. That's the context. He's saying be diplomatic.

Just on the food offered to idols, it's a way of learning to be diplomatic. Now we have to face many times this principle of the second commandment. This principle shows why we do not associate with Christmas, Easter or other such practices. The origins were based on idolatry and worship of false gods. Now they were eventually adopted by the Catholic Church. The Protestants have gone along, but the Christmas tree is based on the sacred tree idolatry. Almost any encyclopedia will tell you. You look it up in Google.

So this is a type of food sacrificed to idols. This is something that's reminding of putting something that in ancient times was a symbol of a pagan god. Now we bring it in, we say, “Oh no, this is nice, this is part of Christmas.” No sir, I honor Christ's birth, I honor Him as my Savior, but I'm not going to have any pagan trappings either in my home --- or I'm not going to be involved in anything offered to idols. The principles in the second commandment, we are not to participate in Christmas celebrations, but we are not to shun the families either. If they say, “Oh come here, we're going to have a Christmas dinner and we want you there, this is our religious celebration.”, we're not going to do it. But if it's a simple family dinner, people are together, that would be different. Again, the principle of conscience is very important. Are they there to test you and your faith or not? Or is it something that you're just there and you're just enjoying the moment with friends and families and relatives?

REVELATION 2:14, 20

In Revelation 2 verses 14 and verses 20, God tells the churches there He doesn't want any meat being offered to idols. Some of the church members were participating in that. Notice in Revelation 2 verse 14 as we finish, it says, But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. Yeah, there are some things there and ceremonies where people are involved in the wrong type of celebrations. Verse 20, it says, Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, [this is a false church], to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. So God doesn't want us celebrating with the pagans. He wants us separating from their religious practices. But the food itself, if clean, isn't something that we should be investigating its origins. Why we don't keep Christmas is very clear in this principle. We don't celebrate Christmas, Easter, or participate in the celebrations because of the second commandment and what it is to offer things that came from pagan origins. You know, we have wonderful feasts. Enrique Vidal just told you those are clean feasts. Those come from God. They tell us about His plan of salvation. So a sermon should help you glean understanding of principles behind the Scriptures, and how to properly apply them in our own lives. In Romans 3-4, I will end with what Paul said, “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” In other words, God is right and man is wrong.