Is it a Sin to get a Tattoo? | Faith Questions

Is getting a tattoo a sin? Cyle, Cody, and Ryan tackle one of the church's most debated questions on this episode of Faith Questions. From Leviticus 19:28 to Paul's letters on Christian freedom, they dig into what the Old and New Testaments actually say — and what it means to live that out today. Cody shares his personal framework for making thoughtful decisions about tattoos, Ryan opens up about his own ink, and the guys land on a nuanced, grace-filled conclusion: it's not about what you can do, but what honors God and points others to Christ. If you've ever wondered whether body art and faith can coexist, this episode is for you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Faith Questions here on the Huddlecast. I'm Kyle. And I'm Cody. I'm Ryan. And we're tackling the tough questions. The things that you want to know that maybe we wouldn't do a sermon on, but we just kind of want to hit them. And so we're tackling some tough ones from things like do dogs go to heaven? And now today we're tackling a bigger one.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Well, we know that all dogs go to heaven.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Well, no. We already did that one. So what does the Bible say about tattoos? Now, I'm sitting next to two tattooed individuals. So yeah. I don't don't have a tattoo. Just want to say that, you know, loud and clear. That we know of. Congratulations. There is no tattoo. My dog has a tattoo. So, you know, yeah. This has been a hot button issue in the church in my lifetime. You know, I'm 46, but this has been a when I was a kid, if you were uh got a tattoo and you're a Christian, you were a horrible heathen sinner on your path to hell. That was kind of the way it was viewed in the church I grew up in.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

And so um, you know, that's just the world's changed a lot in 46 years. The church view on tattoos has changed a lot um over the years. But let's talk about tattoos. Uh and when it comes down to it, some of that reasoning behind why that view of tattoos was there is because the Bible does say quite a bit about tattoos in the Old Testament, prohibiting tattoos, marks on your body. And so I think that's where that comes from. Um, so we do want to reference that and talk about that. We also have the New Testament, which is not the Old Testament, which changes things. So, Cody, as our our most tattooed uh person on staff, um yeah. Tell us about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

I think I probably, I mean, I think you would agree with this. I probably have a unique take on this for somebody who has as many tattoos as I have. I think that tattoos should always be approached with great caution. I think that if for us as followers of Christ, for us to tattoo uh or to be tattooed, we should have a great deal of thought that goes into whether or not it's right for us, right? What might be okay for me might not be good for somebody else, right? You also got to think about is it financially, is it a wise choice, right? Like, because tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos are normally not good. So a lot of cheap tattoos. There's been a lot of cheap tattoos, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Should be some regrets, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

So there, I mean, so when we when you answer a question like, are tattoos bad? A lot of times people will boil boil that answer down to a sound bite. Uh for a lot of Christians who have tattoos, the justification is that uh Leviticus 19, the the only verse that we know that implicitly mentions tattoos is Leviticus 19, 28, which says, Don't tattoo your bodies for the dead. So there's other verses that talk about um markings or or how we're supposed to go about you know for ceremonial burying burials, etc. But that's the one that people go to, that's an old testament law. We we do follow scripture, right? And what we believe is that Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it. But that means that a new law was put into place. And we don't follow, I mean, all the old testament laws that exist, right? We we eat pork now, right? We have we have a luau. So it what how do we pick and choose? And when we when we look at that, I think it's important for us to break down exactly why that scripture is important and also why tattoos should be something that we're cautious to get as followers of Christ. Um, the criteria that I use is uh it should never be something that could bring offense to someone, right? Like I I should I shouldn't if it that if somebody takes offense to me having a tattoo because it's a a tattoo, right, then that's that's different. But I should never do something that intentionally would cause cause offense to someone. So that means anything that's lewd or inappropriate or wording or or verbiage that uh is explicit, it should all be avoided, right? Anything that's provocative or uh deals with, you know, what I would say, you know, deals with things of an occult or arcane nature. We should we should avoid at all costs. Uh but when it comes down to it, it really we we the lens that we go through is does this hinder my witness? Like is this going to hinder my witness? And or is this going to be a tool, right, that can be used uh to make connection? And uh also you other questions. It it's gonna be on your body forever. So you Kyle had a rule for me that I should think about it and pray about it for at least a year before I got scripture, uh, before I got anything on my body. And I have followed that rule. Yeah, and I've f but but as my wife's counselor, I've followed that rule for every tattoo I've gotten, everything that I've I've I've gone about getting. I've thoughtfully considered what I want to do, how I want to do it, and I've taken the time to pray through it and consider it long before I decide to actually go get something done.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah, yeah. I mean, the Bible talks other places in Leviticus. The Bible's pretty clear in the New Testament that we're not supposed to do anything that's outwardly adorning our body that would draw attention to ourselves, which ta tattoos by nature are outward adornments that do draw attention to yourself. So that kind of that's where people push back against tattoos, and the church is pushed back up against tattoos. Um, it's it's more than just a modesty thing, it's just a it's a it's a thing about boasting and drawing you know attention when we're our attention is supposed to go to Christ. So that's where the church is pushed back with in the Old Testament and New Testament on this over generations. And then you have conversations where like Paul is talking to people about these big issues, and he's like, listen, we have we as Christians have freedom in Christ not to fight about these things, but to go to the Lord. That's kind of what my feedback was for Cody. Like, if you you need to take time and take this to the Lord, and you know, if this is something that you feel God tells you not to do, don't do it, because then you're going against that. And so I think that's why you've set some guidelines up in your own life about that. I wish more people would take more time to consider. Is this honoring to the Lord? Is this something that's for me to draw attention to me, or is this really about you know finding ways to make Christ known in the world? And so I think that that's the the danger of it. I don't like needles, so I'll you know, I'm yeah, it's kind of why I don't want to go sit and get poke butt a bunch of needles. So um, but I think that's where we have this freedom in Christ that comes along. And so when you think about it, you know, recognize that the that the freedom, just because you have the freedom to do something doesn't mean that you should do it. Doesn't mean it's wise, doesn't mean it's financially it's a good decision, doesn't mean that it it's gonna make sense to the people that you're gonna show it to and it's gonna make them you know want them to do m know more about Christ. It and so I think that's a personal decision. And Ryan, you've got a tattoo you shared of Margaret Thatcher.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

So I I don't want to talk about that one, I will talk about my other one. Um, I got a I got a moto tattoo, so like it's kind of like right of passage, right? There there you'd be hard pressed to find find a Marine that that doesn't have a a Marine Corps tattoo.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

And uh on top of my Marine Corps tattoo is my America tattoo with the eagle and the flag and statue of liberty.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

So yeah, you know, so yeah, yeah. I love this, I love this author's um research and just this question that says, in summary, getting a tattoo is not in itself sinful, it is permissible within the freedom a Christian has in Christ. Yet biblical principles should guide a person's decisions to get one. When you apply in these principles, prayer for wisdom is essential. If you if any lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it'll be given to you. James 1.5. I think that's a really good um way to summarize kind of our conversations we've had over the time. You know, if it's is it something that you can do? Yes. You know, all things are are are permissible, but are not all things are beneficial. And if it's not beneficial, don't do it. If it's not gonna bring you closer to Christ or others closer to Christ or give you opportunities to share Christ, then then what do you it's really just about you and your pride and drawing attention to yourself, which is not what we're called to do. It's about pointing back to Christ. And so if we're living the main quest life and we're trying to make Jesus known in the world and know him personally, then we need to make sure we filter everything, even the what we do to adorn our bodies, filtered through is does this honor God and does this bring people closer to God? So we hope this helps you. Um as a church, we are not against tattoos, we're not pro-tattoos, we're just like it's one of those things, it's a personal decision that you make with Christ for your own self. You don't have to ask other people to do it or don't have to shame people for doing it, but you can honor the Lord with how you live, how you love, and how you serve. Thanks.