What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
The warning against idolatry in this verse holds for all time and applies with special force to the present day. Idolatry here means not only the worship of idols but also selfishness, love of ease, and the gratification of appetite and passion. Mere profession of faith in Christ and boastful knowledge of the truth does not make a person a Christian. A religion that seeks only to gratify the eye, the ear, and the taste, or that permits any hurtful self-indulgence, is not the religion of Christ but is in harmony with the spirit of the world and opposed to the teachings of Scripture. Festivals and scenes of amusement in which professed members of the church imitate the customs of the world and enjoy its pleasures are idolatry and constitute virtual union with the enemies of God.
The warning against idolatry in this verse holds for all time and applies with special force to the present day. Idolatry here means not only the worship of idols but also selfishness, love of ease, and the gratification of appetite and passion. Mere profession of faith in Christ and boastful knowledge of the truth does not make a person a Christian. A religion that seeks only to gratify the eye, the ear, and the taste, or that permits any hurtful self-indulgence, is not the religion of Christ but is in harmony with the spirit of the world and opposed to the teachings of Scripture. Festivals and scenes of amusement in which professed members of the church imitate the customs of the world and enjoy its pleasures are idolatry and constitute virtual union with the enemies of God.