Jesus and Tattoos
So, yes, it is a sin to tattoo your body…if you live 3,500 years ago under the theocratic nation of Israel. If that’s not you, it’s an issue of conscience. You have full liberty to not get one yourself, but telling someone he’s sinning by putting ink in his skin is sheer legalism which the Apostle James rails against in James 4:11-12.
If someone still insists that tattoos are evil, then ask, “Have you ever eaten pork, bacon, or ham (Lev 11:7)? Have you ever gathered wood (Num 15:32-36) or started a fire in your fireplace on Saturday (Ex 35:3)? Have you ever worn a piece of clothing made of two kinds of material (Lev 19:19), failed to stand up when an elderly person entered the room (Lev 19:32), or dined on bat (Lev 11:19?” (My wife makes bat soup every Saturday night—it’s delicious. I’ll have you over some time). “Have you always followed the washing laws after a seminal emission?” (Lev 15:16).Then ask, “What gives you the right to pick and choose which commands of the Old Testament we have to obey and which ones we can’t?” The bottom line is this: God gave ceremonial and civil laws specifically for Israel, just like every nation has laws for its own country. Though God is our Master and King, at Mt. Sinai He was Israel’s king just like Bush is our President. Those laws given to Israel were not given to the body of Christ. We are more obligated to obey the American speed laws of the freeway than we are to obey the Old Testament law against tattoos.
At this point someone usually objects, “Then why do we obey other laws from the Old Testament?” Because some laws are universal. It’s always wrong to kill your neighbor, steal the old lady’s purse, have sex with another man’s wife, or take God’s name in vain. You don’t even have to tell people these things are wrong, because these laws are already scribed on their conscience (Rom 2:14-15). Though these laws were given to Israel, they apply to everyone in every age, not to mention that they were also given to the church through the New Testament.
I understand why someone might shudder at the thought of tattoos. After all, tattoo shops are often associated with the darker side like skeletons, drugs, the occult, and gothic apparel. But so is dancing (even though King David danced recklessly), alcohol (even though Jesus drank it at the most important meal ever eaten), music (even though Israel boasted a 4,000 voice choir and drums), and Christianity (countless people have been tortured gruesomely in the name of Christ). If someone uses a cue tip to poke out someone’s eye, does that give me the right to go around telling people they are in sin for having cue tips in their medicine cabinet?
If someone still has a problem with tattoos, sooner or later, he’s going to have to get over it, cause Christ is coming back with a big one on His thigh:
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19:16).