What Does The Bible Say About Tattoos?From series What Does The Bible Say About ....
The question as to whether or not it is 'right' to get a tattoo causes much debate. The bible only makes one explicit reference to tattoos, which is found in Leviticus:
‘Do not … put tattoo marks on yourself, I am the Lord’ (Leviticus 19:28).
It's worth reading this verse in context, starting from verse 26: 'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it … Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.' (Leviticus 19:16-28).
Other verses that are referred to in this debate include:
'The man who has doubts is condemned … everything that does not come from faith is sin' (Romans 14:23).
'So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith' (Galatians 3:24-25)
' "I have the right to do all things" you say, yet not everything is beneficial" ' (1 Corinthians 10:23).
'Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you...? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.' (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
'What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come...' (Mark 7:20-21).
'Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads' (Revelation 14:1).
'See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand' (Isaiah 49:16).
Arguments For Tattoos:
- The command in Leviticus is a specific message to a specific group of people. God wanted the Israelites to be distinct from other peoples with different religions and practices. We are no longer bound by the law because Jesus has justified us through faith. (See Galatians 3 above).
- A symbolic tattoo can be a talking point for others who don’t know God, providing an opportunity to share faith.
- God appears to have 'engraved' Himself with our names, marking His own body. (See Isaiah 49 above).
- Having a pure conscience before the Lord when considering getting a tattoo is the key thing. (See Romans 14 above). The attitude of our hearts is what makes us clean or defiled. (See Mark 7 above).
Arguments Against Tattoos:
- Our body is a temple so we shouldn't mark it with anything. (See 1 Corinthians 6 above).
- The command in Leviticus is still worth following today, for our own good. We don't need to obey the law for our salvation, but we will benefit if we do. (See 1 Corinthians 10 above).
- God has created our bodies, we are wonderfully made; by adding to His perfect creation we can only mar it.
In conclusion, the two main views:
1) The real question to ask is what your motivation is in getting a tattoo: Is it from faith? Does it glorify God? (Romans 14:23).
2) Getting a tattoo is explicitly wrong according to the bible.
What do you think?