Comments on: Do Old Testament laws and restrictions still apply to us today?

By: Vicki Cavender

Vicki Cavender — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:59:01 +0000

Jeffrey, I just got a tattoo of a cross with the word “maranatha” below it. Maranatha can be found in the word. I believe it is 1 corinthians 16:22. It means, Our Lord will come. I have an angel below that. I have plans to wait on the best tattoo artist in OKC,OK to put a portrait of Jesus on the same arm (spiritual sleeve), a dove, a lamb, another angel, 7 stars to represent God’s perfect number, a triquestra (represents the Holy Trinity), etc. I want the sleeve to be an unspoken message to everyone who sees it that Christianity is the ONLY way. I like to believe that the Lord would approve. You would have to seek professional Christian counsel to get your answer about right or wrong, but I wanted you to know that you are not alone in wanting to have a cross that the world can see, because we cannot stop to speak to every person we pass on the streets. Also, I believe that it is a test to see if our Christian brothers and sisters will judge us or not, and we know that judgement is wrong. God bless you as you make your decision. Sincerely, Vicki

By: Libby

Libby — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:27:29 +0000

I do think this is okay. I know people with tattoos that have started conversations about God because of their tattoos. I also know people who have led people to Christ because of their tattoos, So it is glorifying God.

By: Eldeejay

Eldeejay — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:44:10 +0000

When the Apostle Paul was in Athens he was greatly disturbed by that city’s worship of false gods. But he maintained his composure, sought a common ground with the people who were there, and went about teaching them how we should only worship our Heavenly Father. He explained the true God to them and made disciples and believers. His only segregation is that he separated himself from becoming like them and engaging in their style of worship, choosing instead to raise them up by teaching them Godly standards.

By: tubbykitty

tubbykitty — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:21:45 +0000

Hey all I think as long as the tattoo isnt vulger or nasty it is ok… God looks on the inside not the outside anyways… As long as you are a Christian and ask God to forgive you of your sins that you are going to Heaven….

By: DC

DC — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:40:30 +0000

I have tattoos. I eat pork and catfish (fins, no scales). I am a Freemason. I have a beard that is trimmed. I am divorced, and remarried to a divorced woman. We were both married to drunkards. We got together before we were divorced.
It is our belief that we were both in abusive, unhappy relationships and decided to find happiness together.
Christ is our Saviour. That says it all to me.

By: Elise

Elise — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:27:14 +0000

The OT was pretty clear on the circumcision issue. In fact, it’s addressed many more times than the issue of tattooing. Not only were the men to be circumcised, but the infant boys, the slaves, and any prospective sons-in-law were all supposed to undergo the procedure. But in the NT it is made clear that circumcision- that mark of belonging- was no longer a requirement. Paul even said that he wished those who made an issue of such things would go the whole way and cut off their genitalia!

I can’t help but see the tattoo issue the same way. And you could look at it a couple of ways; first, Paul’s stance on circumcision was “come as you are.” If you’re circumcised, that’s fine. If you’re not circumcised, that’s fine too. Neither is superior to the other. Applied to tattoos, if you have one when you become a believer, it doesn’t disqualify you in any way from any of the benefits of belonging to the Family of God. If you don’t have one then… Maybe you should not get one? By the same token, maybe you should not have your son circumcised, since the NT says not to submit to circumcision… but in the U.S. most people still do.

On the other hand, if one way is as good as the other when it comes to circumcision, then perhaps it’s the same with tattoos. Maybe being tattooed is nothing and being untattooed is nothing. Maybe it’s the heart that counts, just as with the circumcision issue. Maybe God sees the inward- HUH! Radical idea!- and isn’t so concerned with the outside. Maybe “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, for on this hang all the law and the prophets” means that if an act doesn’t show contempt for God or your neighbor then it’s not worth squabbling over… since squabbling among neighbors isn’t very… loving…

Maybe if I were to scrawl my adoration for my Savior on my body, He would see the heart full of love that compelled me to do it, rather than smack me down for not obeying one Old Testament law outside of context…

Maybe, if my mom saw my good intentions in the picture I drew for her on furniture in red permanent marker when I was three, our Heavenly Father could even appreciate the beauty of body art that was intended to show love for Him and witness to others.

I’m just thinking out loud, so to speak.

I’ve contemplated getting a tattoo, kind of as a personal reminder of my relationship with Christ, kind of as a modern-day approach to Deuteronomy 11:18: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” I haven’t gotten a tattoo yet, because I haven’t really pursued the issue with God, and since I belong to Him body and soul, I want to be sure not to proceed without His permission. However, I have a total of seven holes in my ears, all of which I got without ever considering that it might be prohibited. Now that I realize that it is quite possible that ear piercing would fall under this OT prohibition, I still feel no conviction NOT to wear earrings. Nobody has EVER questioned my Christianity because of my earrings. Just makes me wonder.

Someday I am going to stand before my Heavenly Father and answer for many things. If I had a tattoo, it would be low on my list of concerns; I’m just saying. Somehow I have a hard time picturing this scenario:

“YES,” Jesus says, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. BUT you got a TATTOO of a CROSS on your arm… Sorry, kid.”

I could be wrong, but I think God’s priorities are a little higher than that.

By: ARex

ARex — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:30:48 +0000

What if your tattoo, exalts God and is a statement that you are His and love Him alone? What if your tattoo could cost you your life because it is communicating you are a Christian? Just wondering what that communicates. My son has 2 tattoos, I would have preferred for him to have none, one is a wheel in a wheel and it says in Hebrew Elohim alone is God (Elohim, old testament name for the trinity) and the other says in Greek “Servant of all”. He is passionate for Jesus, is in his last year of Bible college, he is actively engaged in ministry with a heart for the homeless and outcast. He felt, with these tattoos, he wanted to make an undeniable statement in his believes. while I would have preferred he didn’t do it, I don’t necessarily believe he is in rebellion against the Lord, supporting darkness or outside of the Lord’s will. These tattoos could some day cost him his life as he wants to go on the mission field. So, I ask again, what if your tattoo, exalts God and is a statement that you are His and love Him alone?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:03:43 +0000

The whole OT has been made obsolete thanks to Jesus (cf. Heb. 8:13, Col. 2:14). We are to follow the NT and the NT only by rule of spiritual law. The OT serves its purpose as a schoolmaster (cf. Gal. 3:19-25), one that we are no longer under. But it does teach us history and truths about God and how He deals with His people. It gives us prophecy to prove Jesus is the Messiah. It’s still very useful for the Christian today, but not as a rule of law.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:33:35 +0000

I have to disagree with the thought that tattoos and piercings are ok but the idea behind my reason is from the New Testament. The reason being that even though we are no longer under the law our bodies are still a temple of the Holy Spirit. In placing a tattoo on your body you are in this case defacing a perfect temple God created for administering His Holy Spirit. The same would go for piercing’s or any other ornamentation. God didn’t create Adam and Eve with a tattoo did he? He didn’t pierce Eve’s ears and adorn them with gold rings. He made us perfect in His image. I have been writing a book on this and this is part of one of the chapters about abortion. It seems it would apply here as well.

“1 Corinthians 6:19

19: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

I’m very curious and cautious of what words really mean especially when it comes to the Bible. I looked up the definition of “temple” on Webster’s dictionary online.

One definition was “sacred precinct”. To be sure about the exact meaning of the word “precinctâ€ I looked up the definition.

â€œ1: a part of a territory with definite bounds or functions often established for administrative purposes.â€

From a biblical view, a human body is a sacred territory with definite bounds or functions established for administrative purposes. What is being administrated? The Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit.

Someone who performs an abortion is in an essence destroying a sacred defined territory (a human body), which God created to administer his Holy Spirit!”

If we tattoo and deface our bodies (piercings, etc) we are in an essence defacing a temple of God’s Holy Spirit.

Paul also warns about how special our bodies are. He goes on to talk about destroying the temple that is a person’s body. Defacing it may not be as bad but it sure seems that God places quite a value on our bodies.

“1 Corinthians 3:16-18

16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

Remember God still loves us all no matter what we have done.

By: Bryan Widstrand

Bryan Widstrand — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:35:36 +0000

Sorry, the name was a type, it’s Widstrand. Feel free to email me for a conversation at Bwidstrand@gmail.com . I would love to hear from you or anyone here.