TATTOOS and BODY PIERCING
In this lesson I want to take on a subject that has dominated our culture and has become a nearly accepted practice in the church as it is in the world. It is the subject of Tattoos and Body Piercing.
I realize there are different kinds of people reading this with different kinds of expectations: For Parents and Grandparents: You can't wait for me to just blast your kids…and give you some ammunition to blast them. For some teenagers and individuals: You've hoping to see if there is a loop hole in God's Word for you to get a tattoo or body piercing. People who have tattoos: you may be nervous because you don't know what I'm going to say…You don't want to feel guilty…you don't want people thinking that you've done a very sinful thing. Others: you may not really care what I'm going to say…you're going to believe what you want to believe.
First, let me say that I am not here to condemn anyone who has a tattoo or anyone who has some part of their body pierced. Jesus said, "I have not come into this world to condemn it but to save it."
I am aware that there are many of you that have a tattoo…there may be some that have their tongue pierced or their belly button pierced…again, let me tell you that this lesson is not to beat you over the head, but my objective is to inform you…what does the Bible say?
Let's start with tattoos! The subject of tattoos will be the central topic. I'm sure by the time we are done you will have understood what the bible is saying about Body piercing as well. Tattoos have been around for thousands of years. Tattoo's have a rich history in Eurasia, Japan, Egypt….. Many other cultures have had their own tattoo traditions, ranging from rubbing cuts and other wounds with ashes, to hand-pricking the skin to insert dyes.
Tattoos have served as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts. Within the last decade the tattoo has virtually conquered the cultural world.
The tattoo was until recently reserved for the heavy metal rocker or biker…for criminals and the social outcast of society. But today the tattoo glamorously appears everywhere and anywhere. It's the latest fashion craze. Tattoos are found on movie stars,...music stars,... sports stars,... etc. It is no surprise that more than 40 % of NBA players have at least one tattoo.
A 2006 a study done by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that about 25% of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed; that's one in four. And the survey showed that about 36% of Americans age 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo!
According to US news and World report, tattooing is the country's sixth-fastest growing retail business. It is estimated that one new tattoo studio opens up every day. The world has gone tattoo crazy! Even among Christians, the once forbidden tattoo is welcomed with open arms…(and necks ...and legs and backs and just about any where else one can imagine)…
With the rise of Christian music artists now flaunting their tattoos…thousands of Christian young people are getting "marked for Jesus" at Christian tattoo shops… Everyone is doing it….Its the cool thing to do now… Is it really wrong? What's so bad about it? What if I get a Christian symbol? How can that be wrong?
Do you want to know what the Bible says? Or do you want my opinion? Do you care what the Bible says? Is the Bible relevant for today? Is there any reference in the Bible that even talks about tattoos? In Leviticus 19:28 it says; "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD."
Now that sounds pretty clear…doesn't it? Pretty simple and straight forward…Don't cut your body. Don't tattoo your body. Don't pierce your body. Some might say…"yea I see that…but that's not for today…that's for the Old Testament"
If it's in the Old Testament…do we throw it out just because it's in the old testament? In Biblical times often when a person would purposefully cut themselves…it was done for a reason In 1 Kings 18:28 it states; "And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." and in Jer. 16 :6 we read; "Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:" and in Jer. 41:5: "That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD."
1 Kings 18:28 is the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Remember the contest that Elijah had with them…He said call upon Baal …to come down and produce fire…on an altar. The bible says that they shouted and screamed at Baal to come down…they even cut themselves…as there custom allowed…slashed themselves until blood flowed from their bodies….and Baal did not listen…
Any kind of self-laceration or marking of the body was prohibited among the Hebrew people. It was associated with pagan cults….and had to do with dead people. People who were caught up in idol worship and followed false gods…would cut themselves or tattoo themselves as an act of mourning for the dead.
That's why God said in Lev. 19:28…. "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD." God did not want his people to have anything to do with false gods or idol worship or witchcraft…
God was basically saying…don't do like they do….Don't do it like the world does it….they don't know…They don't know that God is the God of life…and that man is made in the image of the true God. You don't have to get God's attention by cutting yourself or tattooing yourself.
Some people say…well I want to get a tattoo not for any religious reasons…but because I think it's cool…everyone has one…tattoos don't have anything to with dead people now! Ok….let's forget about doing it for dead people like it says…in the Leviticus. 19:28 the phrase; "...nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD." really is a stand alone command…. Many Bible scholars and commentaries believe that that phrase alone was intended to emphasize the proper reverence for God that was required for the Israelites.
Still some people would argue… "Come on…It's the Old Testament…It's not mentioned in the New Testament."
Did you know that as sick and perverted as bestiality is...that ...it was only forbidden in the Old Testament Levetical Law….. The New Testament does not say a word about it. Does that mean that because it's not mentioned in the New Testament that it's OK now?
What about Lev. 19:29, the verse right after the tattoo verse…"Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness" that's only in the Old Testament You can't find that in the New Testament….Does it make it ok? There are many other moral laws that are only forbidden in the Old Testament…and not found in the New Testament…
In Matthew Henry's Commentary, at the beginning of Lev. 19 it explains that most of Lev. 19 are moral commandments that applies not only for Israel but for the New Testament Christian today.
The fact is…Up until a few years ago, virtually everyone, including the most liberal Christian, believed the tattoo was clearly forbidden by the word of God. And throughout history, the tattoo has always been condemned by Bible Believing Christians. Always. Every Historical resource ever written on tattoos clearly confirms it.
Ok…let's put the Old Testament to the side for a moment…Does the New Testament say anything about tattoos and body piercing? If you were a Jew living in the Old Testament, it would be clear that God forbids tattoos. But let's ask, "Do the Old Testament verses line up with any basic principle found in the New Testament?"
The answer is
"yes." There is the New Testament concept that our bodies are not our
own. This teaching is found specifically in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20:
• "Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord
for the body." 1 Cor. 6:13.
• " What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
1
Corinthians 6:19.
• "glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1
Corinthians 6:20.
The key principle here seems to be that our bodies belong to God, not ourselves, and that we are to use them in ways that honor and reflect God's glory.
MEDICAL
I could share tons of information with you about how dangerous it is to your health…whenever you get a tattoo...There are lots of reported cases of major diseases like Aids, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Tetanus, syphilis, tuberculosis, It has been researched that the commercial tattoo may be the number one distributor of hepatitis C
The American Red Cross prohibits donors from donating blood for 12 months after getting a tattoo? Why…because they are concerned with Hepatitis.
Some would still say….Come on Doug…God looks at the heart…not the outside of our bodies… That's correct…and aren't you so glad he does. I guess you could rationalize things and say…It's Ok to get a tattoo….But the question is should you?
Paul tells us in I Cor. 10:23; "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not."
If you want to get a tattoo…Check your motives… "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." (1 Chronicles 28:9) The Lord sees every heart and understands and knows every plan and thought.
Why do you want one in first place?
With tattoos appearing on everyone and anyone it becomes a common question as to why do people get tattoos? What exactly is it that motivates us to modify our bodies and inject ourselves with tattoos in a rather painful manner? What exactly is it that causes us to approach complete strangers and allow them to permanently place their artwork upon our bodies for life? Of course the reasoning will vary from person to person but here are some of the most common reasons why people get tattoos.
Some get tattoos simply as a form of self expression and the rebellion of society. We get them to show off who we are and what we stand for. We get them to show the world that we are who we are no mater what they think or what they expect from us.
People get tattoo's to show our affiliations and connections. This doesn't have to be gang related or anything of the sort. For some it is the affiliation to the Marines or something we are very proud to be apart of, others it is simply a sign of their family and who they belong to and love.
Some get tattoos simply because it is something we want to do and something we want to endure. Our reasons are as simple as we have gotten our first tattoo and became addicted. Getting tattooed is an addictive habit. And once addicted and bitten we go back for more tattoos. And that can be the simple reason behind getting the tattoo.
Some choose to get their tattoo to show off what has happened in their lives, to recall everything that has happened in their lives. This is the case of prisoners who have their entire stories tattooed upon their bodies. For those without tattoo's are said to have never lived or existed.
Do you want a tattoo because everyone else has one? You want to prove to people that you are tough? That you're cool? That you're a real man or a tough chick? Because someone dared you to get one.
In Romans 12:2 God says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. "
Maybe you want to get a tattoo because you have a heart of rebellion. Rebellion toward your parents: "I can't wait until I'm 18 then I am going to get tattoo…and no one can stop me! – I don't care what my mom and dad think about it…I don't care what anyone says…it's my body!!
Maybe it's rebellion toward some kind of authority in your life… Be careful…examine your motives for getting a tattoo. The Bible says that rebellion is as witchcraft…If you get a tattoo because of rebellious reasons…it's only going to be an outward symbol of what was planted in your heart.
Let me close by saying this, in 1 Peter 3:3, 4 it says; "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."
And in Romans 12:1, 2 it states; "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
God created us so that He might show His glorious image in and through us. He has made it clear that what we wear, how we dress and what we do to our body can and will affect His ability to be seen in us. Don't do anything to your body that will hinder or prevent His image from being seen in you..