Is it a sin for Christians to get a tattoo?

Theology
23

I think that it depends on the motive for getting a tattoo. Is a person able to follow God’s principle in 1 Corinthians 10:31 or not (“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”) in getting a tattoo? If we can say that we are getting one to honor God after sensing his leadership to get one through prayer, then I say it’s following Scripture.

Personally, I think that tattoos are ugly, but that’s just me, I guess. But the principles of the need to love each other in spite of our differences, as in Romans 14, must prevail.

24

Ah, here comes the Maserati metaphor and the “New Covenant means no conviction” crowd. Let’s get into it.

@Bobbyq, your son’s quip is clever, no doubt. But salvation isn’t a car show and the Christian life isn’t just about polished appearances. You said you wouldn’t tattoo yourself not because of Leviticus, but because you’re under grace. That’s fine. But grace doesn’t mean anything goes. It means the bar got raised, not lowered. Jesus didn’t say, “You’ve heard it said… but now it’s chill.” He said, “You’ve heard it said… but I tell you” and then cranked the volume on holiness.

The problem isn’t that the Pharisees are still in church. The problem is that antinomianism is being mistaken for freedom. The Pharisees added to God’s law. Today, folks are erasing it in the name of “new covenant vibes.” Both are ditches on either side of the narrow road.

As for @Bruce_Leiter, yes, 1 Corinthians 10:31 absolutely applies. But Paul wasn’t talking about using prayer as a permission slip to baptize personal preference. God doesn’t rubber-stamp everything we slap a “prayed about it” sticker on. The question isn’t just “Can I glorify God in it?” but “Is this wise, edifying, and consistent with the holiness He calls me to?” That’s where Romans 12:1–2 and 1 Peter 1:15–16 kick in.

You mention Romans 14, which is a great chapter… for secondary issues. But that text doesn’t teach us to abandon discernment. It teaches us to bear with the weak in faith, not to flatten all convictions into “you do you.” And let’s not pretend tattooing has no cultural freight. It’s never just neutral art. It’s messaging… identity… permanence. Ask the next Gen-Z convert what their ink means. You’ll hear stories, not silence.

And if you say, “God led me to get it,” you’d better be ready to back that up with fruit, not feelings. Because the Holy Spirit doesn’t contradict Himself… and He’s never led anyone into a trend that compromises the call to be set apart.

This isn’t about legalism. It’s about Lordship.

—Sincere Seeker. Stay grounded. Stay sharp. Stay in the Word.

25

@SincereSeeker, you’re right in saying that we must always seek holiness, but Paul’s principles in Romans 14 deal with people’s applications of the Bible’s teachings like the clean and unclean foods.

While it’s clear that Jesus and Paul say that all foods are clean, some Christians influenced by the OT avoid unclean foods, while others realize that the new covenant has changed the external form of the old covenant.

They must accept and love each other is spite of their different applications of God’s Word, just as we must on the forum.

I agree with you about tattoos personally, but I accept the fact that other Christians may interpret the givens of Scripture differently on such a disputable matter that isn’t clearly shown in the Bible.

26

First of all, you miss the whole point of Jesus speaking to the crowd on the Sermon on the Mount. He was speaking to people who thought they were justified by their “keeping” the law and were God’s Chosen people. Therefore He took the Law and drove it so far out of sight that no flesh could be justified. If you don’t believe me, then look at how He closes out this teaching by saying “therefore be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. He was saying keeping the Law perfectly is impossible and I, Jesus, am your only hope. I understand you making this point as plenty of so-called biblical scholars get it wrong as well. Think about this before you immediately reject what I’m saying. This interpretation lines up with His consistent teaching through His ministry ie “the stones will cry out”, His rebuking of the so-called righteous, the people who didn’t think they needed a Savior, etc.

If I think I can trust in my own righteousness, He’ll let me and find me wanting. That’s religion. No thanks. “Depart from Me, I never knew you”. Read Galatians. They thought a different Gospel was the way to salvation too.

27

@Bobbyq, can you imagine that Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount involve his goals for us Christians to strive for in the strength of his resurrection?

Look at Colossians 3:1-17. In verse 1, Paul bases his many commandments in that chapter on the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Do you think Jesus’ teachings and Paul’s commands can be given to us to make spiritual progress through the power of Jesus’ gift of the new birth?

Col 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Col 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Col 3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
Col 3:7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
Col 3:8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Col 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Col 3:11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Col 3:12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
Col 3:13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Col 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Col 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Aren’t Paul’s other commandments like his in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 for us as Christians as God’s goals for our Christian lives?

1Th 5:16 Rejoice always,
1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing,
1Th 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

So, it is with Jesus’ commands in the Sermon on the Mount.

28

Of course. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are to continue to become more and more like Christ. Unfortunately, the Church has taken the Sermon on the Mount and made a new law that if we only grit our teeth and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps we can do it and live up to the new “law”. Completely misunderstand the purpose of what he was saying. These people were resting on their own righteousness and thought they ere just fine as they were keeping the letter of the law but not the spirit. So Jesus drove it so far out of sight that they were left with, we gotta have a Savior. And there He was.

29

What church are you talking about, @Bobbyq? You over-generalize too much. My church doesn’t act that way. Neither do any of the other churches in which I have been involved. I invite you to come join my present church (chapel-pointe.org). :slightly_smiling_face:

Seriously, though, why are you so angry at the “church”? What have they done to hurt you, I wonder? Why are you generalizing?

30

Not angry at all. I’m happy at my church but thanks for the offer.

Just not crazy about false teaching. Have a great life.

31

Yes, @Bobbyq, sad to say, the church will always have false teachers. God will judge them when Jesus returns.

33

I’ve been thinking lately about getting a small cross tattoo, as a personal reminder that I need a Savior every day. It’s not about my strength. It’s about His.

34

I do not seek tattoos or outward marks. My desire is to bear the weight of chains on my shoulders, the cross on my back, to be beaten, spit on, kicked, and cast aside, even when those who once knew me turn away as if they do not. I will embrace this more deeply than any mark on the skin. I am ready.

35

i see them as something that people with identity issues get for themselves. makes them feel cool. to me its vanity. its also vanity however when i shape my eyebrows by plucking them. i feel i cannot live without doing that, as id look bad without doing so. so i think most of us are guilty of this general sin, whatever our personal limits are. i dont know really anyone who doesnt have some type of vanity issue to mask the truth about themselves. very very very common sin. sin nonetheless. so i try not to judge people for having tattoos though i am glad i never went to that extent to cover my true self up. im glad i ended up rejecting plastic surgery when i thought i wanted it. but i understand the hurt feelings that lead to choosing such vain expenditures. very deep topic. one person’s tattoo is another’s earrings, both are sin.

36

The simple short answer is no. It’s not a sin.

1 Like
37

… but a similarily simple short answer is: Is it righteousness?

K