Struggling with buying from store that affirms sin publicly. Did Israelites/Jews do business with Pagan Nations/Romans and do we know if this was permissible?
Hi, I’ve been struggling with if a Christian can buy from a store that publicly affirm sin. I’m wondering if the Israelites/Jews did business or bought from pagan nations/shops, would that mean a Christian could buy from stores that affirmed sin?
All I know is that in the Bible the Israelites traded with foreign nations, but I’m wondering if there’s an instance where we know for sure that was okay, not always a bad thing.
Or I’m wondering if the Jews bought/did business with the Romans in the first century.
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Sorry if my thinking is weird here, but I really don't know what to do. I've tried to look at 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, Paul writes that the Corinthians could buy meat from the market and some of the meat had previously been sacrificed to idols. The meat is no longer associated with the idol worship. My current issue with how this relates to my issue, is how do we know when the meat is no longer associated: Is it when it leaves the temple or when the idol worshipper has sold the meat to the meat seller. (Or am I even understanding this situation correctly). Or could the Christ-following Corinthians buy the meat directly from the pagan temple?
If I knew the meat seller was clearly an idol worshipper, then I think it'd be okay to buy from a store that publicly affirmed sin. So I'm wondering if we know that the meat sellers the early Corinthian bought from were idol worshippers, or did they just get some of their meat from idol temples?
I’m just wondering if this line of thinking shows that Christians could purchase something from a store that publicly affirmed sin. If I’m wrong please let me know. Any advice, historical information, prayers, anything would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Posted Dec 11, 2025, 9:48 AM UTC