They were told to abstain because these practices were tied to pagan idolatry and could stumble weak believers.
At the Jerusalem Council, Jewish leaders agreed that Gentiles could be saved without the Law of Moses, but asked them to abstain from pollution of idols and from blood. In Paul's day, meat from pagan sacrifices was sold in the marketplace, so this was a real issue. The idol itself had no power over the meat, but eating it could damage a weak believer's conscience and give the wrong testimony before unbelievers.
Acts 15:20 — This is the Jerusalem Council's direct instruction to Gentile believers to abstain from pollutions of idols and from blood.
1 Corinthians 8:8 — Paul uses this verse to show that meat itself does not make a believer better or worse spiritually.
In Acts 15:20, the Jerusalem Council wrote to Gentile believers, telling them to 'abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.' This is the direct biblical command behind the question. Scripture also makes clear that meat itself has no spiritual value: 'But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse' (1 Corinthians 8:8). Paul further instructed that if someone says, 'This is offered in sacrifice unto idols,' the believer should not eat it for the sake of the one who told him (1 Corinthians 10:28).
Les Feldick places the Jerusalem Council's instruction in its first-century context. In Paul's day, paganism was everywhere, and the custom was for priests of pagan temples to keep part of the sacrifice and sell the rest in the marketplace. So Christians had to decide whether meat that had been offered to an idol was safe to eat. Paul's answer, as Les explains, was that a dumb idol could not affect the meat; the meat was still legitimate food. However, if eating it would cause a weak believer to stumble—or if a host pointed out that it was offered in sacrifice to an idol—the believer was not to eat it. Les emphasizes that the issue was never vegetarianism; the Bible never demands that believers avoid meat. The restriction was about not participating in idolatrous associations, not damaging a weak conscience, and not giving an unbeliever reason to think the believer made no distinction between the true God and demonic gods.
When the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem agreed that Gentiles could be saved by Paul's gospel without adhering to the Law of Moses, they asked that these Gentile believers be taught to abstain from pollution of idols. Les notes that in Paul's day paganism was everywhere, and the pagan temples were blatant idolatry. The biblical command included abstaining from pollutions of idols, fornication, things strangled, and blood.
Les explains that pagan priests kept a portion of the animal sacrifices for themselves and returned the remaining part of the carcass to the individual. If the individual wanted cash, he could sell the leftover meat to the butcher shop and market. Unsuspecting people would buy meat that had already been in the pagan temple.
No. Les says Paul spoke his mind: the dumb idol could not affect that meat, so Paul could eat it and think nothing of it. Offering meat to an idol did not affect the meat one iota; it was nothing but a dead, dumb idol. Meat does not commend us to God, for neither if we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worse.
Paul's concern was the weaker believer. A mature Christian could eat such meat, but a young believer who knew where the meat had come from could have his weak conscience defiled. If a mature believer's liberty caused the young believer to stumble, Paul said he would rather not eat meat at all. Likewise, if a host said the meat was offered in sacrifice to an idol, the believer should refuse it for that person's sake, to show that he does make a difference.
The Jerusalem Council's letter explicitly included abstaining from blood (Acts 15:20). The included transcripts do not contain Les's detailed explanation of the blood prohibition, but the instruction itself is part of the same command concerning pollutions of idols and things strangled.
Jerusalem Council and Marketplace Meat
Les sets the Jerusalem Council instruction in its historical context: pagan temples offered animal sacrifices, and the leftover carcasses ended up in the marketplace, making 'pollution of idols' a practical issue.
The Idol Could Not Affect the Meat
Les explains Paul's personal conviction that a dumb idol could not affect meat, so eating it was not automatically wrong; yet Paul would forgo meat entirely to avoid being a stumbling block.
Pagan Priests and the Weak Believer
Les describes how pagan priests kept part of the sacrificed meat and returned the rest, and how a young believer could be caused to stumble by seeing a mature Christian eat meat that had been offered to an idol.
Refusing for the Sake of the One Who Told You
Les teaches that when a host points out that the meat was offered in sacrifice to an idol, the believer should not eat it for the host's sake, showing that he does make a difference.
Sacrificed Meat Sold in the Market
Les explains that unsuspecting buyers purchased meat in the marketplace that had already been taken to a pagan temple, which is why the Corinthians asked Paul what to do.
No Fellowship with Demonic Gods
Les says that when informed that meat was offered in sacrifice, the believer refuses it to show he will have nothing to do with what has been tainted by demonic gods; otherwise the meat itself is fine.
Liberty Must Not Stumble the Weak
Les notes that the Bible never commands vegetarianism, but a believer with knowledge must not use his liberty to become a stumbling block to a weak believer.
Weak Conscience Defiled by Superstition
Les explains that weak young believers had reservations about eating meat that had been offered to an idol, because pagan society saturated the people with superstition and their consciences were defiled.
Acts 15:20: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
The Jerusalem Council's written instruction to Gentile believers—the direct command behind the question.
1 Corinthians 8:8: But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
Paul's statement that meat itself does not make a believer better or worse, used by Les to explain the idol question.
1 Corinthians 10:28: But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
Paul's instruction to refuse meat when someone says it was offered in sacrifice to an idol, for the sake of the one who told him.
Paul taught that the idol itself could not affect the meat, so eating it was not automatically sinful. However, if eating it caused a weak believer to stumble, or if a host said it was offered to an idol, then the believer was not to eat it.
Paul refused for the sake of others. If a weak believer would be caused to stumble, or if an unbeliever pointed out that the meat was offered to an idol, Paul would not eat it so that his testimony would be clear.
No. The Jewish leaders agreed that Gentiles could be saved by Paul's gospel without adhering to the Law of Moses, but they asked that Gentile believers abstain from pollution of idols, fornication, things strangled, and blood.
Pagan priests kept part of the animal sacrifice for themselves and often sold the rest in the marketplace. So meat that had been offered to an idol could end up being bought by ordinary people.
No. Paul said meat does not commend us to God, and Les emphasizes that the Bible never demands believers be vegetarians. The restrictions were about avoiding idolatrous associations and stumbling others.
Watch the Teaching: Paul's Vision of Heaven & the Jerusalem Council Explained