Published November 5, 2017 by in
Discussion Questions:
- What is your understanding about what the Bible says about
- Tattoos
- Body Modification
- Piercings
- Cosmetic alteration (surgery, botox, injections, etc)
- https://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/is-it-biblical-for-christians-to-get-tattoos.html
Related Scripture:
- Leviticus 19:28
- “And a cutting for the dead you will not make in your flesh; and writing marks you will not make on you; I am the Lord.”
- Context!
- 1 Corinthians 8:9
- “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak”
- 1 Corinthians 10:31
- “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
- 1 Timothy 2:9b-10
- “…dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”
- Leviticus 21:5
- “Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.”
- http://biblehub.com/commentaries/leviticus/21-5.htm
- Psalm 119:37
- “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”
- Proverbs 31:30
- “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”
- Galatians 5:17
- “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
- Proverbs 16:2
- “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighted by the Lord.”
- Deuteronomy 12:4
- “You must not worship the Lord your God in their way”
- Proverbs 21:5
- “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
- “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- “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.”
- Romans 14:21
- “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.”
- Romans 12:1-2
- “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
- Romans 14:1-4
- “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.”
- Romans 14:10
- “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat”
- 1 Corinthians 10:23-24
- “‘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. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
- See also Romans 6:1-4
Further Discussion:
- What can we gather from the scriptures in terms of what the Bible has to say about
- Tattoos
- Body Modification
- Scarrification, implants
- Piercings
- Makeup
- Botox
- To what extent do we account for context, both in the scriptures and in terms of culture?
- As with everything, consider:
- What are your motives?
- Will it impact your ministry?