WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? pt. 1
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATOOS? pt. 1 – The subject of tattoos has never been on my radar until recently. Even as a non-believer I never gave tattoos much thought. Therefore, I had never studied this subject or provided any teaching on it. When someone close to me began getting tattooed, however, I found myself uncomfortable with it, but I didn’t necessarily have a strong Biblical basis for my feelings at the time. More recently I have been giving the subject of tattoos much closer attention to help address my own questions...
read moreWHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATOOS? PT. 2
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATOOS? pt. 2 THE SOCIAL AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF TATOOS 1. Tattooing is Addictive I cannot explain the psychological reasons why tattooing is often addictive, but the evidence is most certainly there. Once a person gets a tattoo, it seems fairly common that it never stops with just one. First, it’s a flower or something small on the upper arm, and before long the entire arm is covered in them. And then the tattooing extends to the chest, back, legs, and even the neck and face. This isn’t always...
read moreWHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? pt. 3
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? pt. 3 Set Apart from the World It appears that the primary Biblical argument against tattoos I have seen so far is based upon Leviticus 19:28, which reads, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.” As some see this passage as antiquated because of what is seen as an outdated application (which I will address later), let’s therefore turn our attention first to other passages that give us a broader and more...
read moreWHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? pt. 4
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? PT. 4 Glorify God with Your Body Some may counter that their tattoo is a great conversation starter and provides an opportunity to share the gospel. But what if I told you it’s acceptable for a man to dress in drag because it provides an opportunity to share the gospel with transgender people? Would it then be acceptable in God’s eyes? No! When God forbids something, we cannot attempt to “Christianize” and excuse it by claiming it is a tool for the gospel. Heaven forbid! Even though...
read moreWHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? pt. 5
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? pt. 5 Do Not be Conformed to This World Even if we totally leave out the Old Testament argument against tattoos, the aformentioned Scriptures in the previous posts in this series make it clear that avoiding tattoos is the preferable choice for Christians. In order to please God, we must walk in faith in following His commands (2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:6), because “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). In other words, we can’t simply hope we are doing the right thing; we...
read moreWHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS, pt. 6
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS, pt. 6 What about Pr0minent Christian Influencers who are Tattooed? Let’s turn our attention to the question about prominent Christian influencers who are tattooed. First of all, there is the issue of Christians who have been tattooed in their early lives before giving their lives to Christ, and as already discussed the tattoos have no bearing on a person’s current state of salvation. But what about well-known and influential Christian people who are getting tattooed now? What do we make of this...
read moreWhat Does the Bible Say about Tattoos, pt. 7
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS? Part 7 Why did God Forbid Tattoos in the Old Testament? As stated earlier, I wanted to base the bulk of our discussion around New Testament principles since many proponents of tattoos dismiss the Bible’s only mention of tattoos in Leviticus 19:28 as irrelevant to New Covenant believers. But any discussion on tattoos would be incomplete without including some insight on this passage. I’ll begin this part of our discussion by first emphasizing the grace of God. Nothing any of us have done...
read moreWorship or The Word: Which is More Important in Church?
Worship or The Word: Which is More Important in Church? In my three decades-plus being involved in various aspects of church, and having been raised in the more charismatic persuasions of church, from time to time the question comes up about what our focus should really be when God’s people gather for corporate worship. In a perfect church world there would be awesome worship combined with deep, compelling, and challenging teaching. But in today’s church culture it seems like we have to choose one or the other. If you...
read moreWhat the Bleep?
WHAT THE BLEEP? For years now I have been perplexed about the way some professing Christians talk. Profanity coming from the mouths of people who profess Christ is perplexing because my assumption is that people who want to please God want to obey the Bible, and the Bible speaks very plainly about the way we speak. However, I know we live in a very profane society. I realize that everywhere you turn there is profanity. Even sports shows and newscasters use profanity on the air these days, something that would have been...
read moreAnother One Bites the Dust
Mega Church pastor, T.D. Jakes, has come out of the closet, so to speak. During an interview with Huffington Post, a liberal publication that has promoted positions and values that are often very anti-Christian, Jakes said that homosexuals should attend congregations that affirm their lifestyles and that politics do not need to reflect biblical ethics, adding that his position on homosexuality is both “evolved and evolving.” Jakes is yet another prominent figure in the world of televangelism and Christian entertainment who has caved to...
read more