When should a believer not eat meat that was sacrificed to an idol?
A believer should not eat meat sacrificed to an idol when he has any idea that the pagan sacrifice has tainted the meat. Pagan gods have no power to affect the meat, but if the believer supposes it was somehow tainted by that sacrifice, then he should not eat of it.
Les explains that the Jerusalem leaders agreed Gentiles could be saved by Paul’s Gospel without the Law of Moses, provided the Gentile believers abstain from pollution of idols. In Paul’s day, pagan temples sacrificed animals, and much of that meat ended up in the marketplace. Paul said it did not bother him, because pagan gods had no power and could not affect the meat. But if a believer had any idea that the animal sacrifice to that pagan god had somehow tainted the meat, then he should not eat of it.