I have been asked on several occasions questions on tattoos and piercings by the young people in my church. They want to know if it is okay for them to get a tattoo or piercing of some sort. This is a difficult one because the only mention of tattoo in the bible can be found in the book of Leviticus
““‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:28 NIV
However many would say that as Christians we are no longer living under the Old Testament law. So this law does not apply to us
“But Christ makes the Law no longer necessary for those who become acceptable to God by faith.”Romans 10:4 CEVDCUS06
“Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace.” Ephesians 2:14-15 CEVDCUS06
Yet Christ on the other hand said in Matthew that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it.
“Don’t suppose I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning.” Matthew 5:17 CEVDCUS06
What is important for us to consider is what impact the three verses above should have on one’s decision to get a tattoo or piercing or both. When Christ destroyed the law, does this mean that we should never obey the law again? Not really. What Christ destroyed is not the law itself but the restrictions and ritual that comes with the law. Things like animal sacrifice, having to go to the high priest before you can approach God, eating certain types of animals, on working on a Sabbath day e.t.c. These things under the law were stumbling blocks for many of us and because of this we could not obtain Christ.
“The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. In fact, the Law was to be our teacher until Christ came. Then we could have faith and be acceptable to God.” Galatians 3:23-24 CEVDCUS06
If God did get rid of the law this means that the Ten Commandments would no more apply to any of us anymore, we would not need to keep them. For example thou shalt not commit murder would not apply to us anymore, anyone could go around committing murder and it would not be wrong However, we know that this is not the case. The apostle Paul wrote this
“Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”” Romans 7:7 NLT
So the old laws is there to show us what is sin, however, we are no more under the power of the law and do not need to obey the letter of the law but live in the spirit.
“But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” Romans 7:6 NLT
For example let’s say someone was a murderer before he or her became born again but after giving his or her life to Christ repented. Even though in the eyes of the law he or she is guilty, in the eyes of God he or she would be found innocent. The law prevents forgiveness from happening and finds us guilty for all our sins.
So regarding tattoo and piercing, for those of us who are thinking of getting one and believe that Leviticus 19:28 does not apply to us, THINK AGAIN!!! Even though
there are no scriptures in the New Testament that talk about tattoos we can find scriptures that tell us how to take care of our bodies.
““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.” 1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV
““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
So under the new law, we might think we have the right to get a tattoo or piercing. The question I would like to ask is, is getting a tattoo or piercing beneficial, is it constructive, does it honour God? The answer is NO!!! Remember Galatians 3:23-24 says the law was to be our teacher until Christ came. Does this mean that the law has stop teaching us, I think not.
As a teenager and the most of my twenties and early thirties I wanted a tattoo. One of the first things I did when I graduated from secondary school was to pierce my ears. I would have gotten a tattoo but back then there were no tattoo parlour in Nigeria. Even after I became born again and moved to the United Kingdom I eagerly desired to have a tattoo. I had in mind the design for the tattoo, I wanted the Holy Spirit like a Dove on the back of my shoulder so when someone asks me why I got it, I would say because I was born again.
Then I started working for a sandwich bar the Au Bon Pain (which has since closed down) I met a guy who later became a friend, Marco. Marco loved tattoos and was a huge football fan and a fan of David Beckham. He made it a point to get every tattoo David Beckham got. Through him I was able to find out the cost of my tattoo, it was £30 back then. I kept the money aside for it, however, a few days before I was going to get the tattoo I came across Leviticus 19:28. I was devastated, I really wanted a tattoo and I even went as far as to say that we are no more under the law but I knew the truth. The fact that we are no more under the law does not mean I should go out of my way to do something wrong
The truth is I came across that scripture for a reason, I already knew 1 Corinthians 10:23 and 1 Corinthians 6:12, 19-23 and knew I had to honour God with my body. I also knew that having a tattoo and also wearing an earring will not do that so I did not get the tattoo and I stopped wearing an earring.
What do you think? Please leave a comment down below. Also if this article has been helpful or you have any questions you can leave them down below.
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