“You shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall you use enchantment (spells or witchcraft), nor observe times (astrology). You shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall you mar the corners of your beard. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead (bloodletting, scarification, piercing, self-mutilation), nor print any marks (tattoos) upon you: for I am the Lord. Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom and the land become full of wickedness” (Lev. 19:26-29).
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:1-2). “What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Cor. 3:17).
Leviticus 19:28 is the Christian (or so-called Christian?) tattooist and tattoo-bearer’s worst nightmare. The Lord plainly, clearly, strongly, and without a doubt condemns the tattoo. The clear statement from the Word of God does not settle anything for this generation of disobedient, carnal, worldly, tolerant, non-judgmental Christians. Rather than obey God, they run miles and miles out of their way to “justify” their open disobedience to the Word of God.
A lot of Christians when confronted with Leviticus 19:28 scream, “Hey, man! That’s not for today. That’s the Old Testament. I’m under the New Testament. That was for the Jews. I’m a Gentile. That was under law. I’m under grace.”
Let’s look at this sick, perverted, wicked line of reasoning, shall we? They say:
- “That’s the Old Testament. I’m under the New Testament.” I hate to disappoint you, but the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament. What one condemns, the other does not condone, and vice versa. Christ Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament law.
- “That was for the Jews. I’m a Gentile.” So, if those commands were only for the Jews, does that mean that the Gentiles can go ahead and be homosexual? participate in bestiality? eat raw meat? practice witchcraft and astrology? cut their hair idolatrously to conform to the haircuts of the gods? perform self-mutilation? get tattoos? prostitute their own daughters?
- “That was under the law. I’m under grace.” So, does being under grace mean that we can continue in sin hoping that grace will abound? If one uses that logic, then they condone all of the above condemnations that were under the law. While they will argue all but a single point (because their own beliefs cling to it), in reality they are saying that it is okay to be homosexual; to participate in bestiality; to eat raw meat; to practice witchcraft and astrology; to cut your hair idolatrously to conform to the haircuts of the gods; to perform self-mutilation; to get tattoos; and to prostitute your own daughter.
A lot of Christians make the excuse that it is your motivation behind it that determines whether it is right or wrong. They say that if they want to praise and worship God, getting a tattoo with a Christian message is okay. Well, in that regard it also means that if I want to carve the name of Jesus into my flesh with a razor, it is okay to do as well. My motive is right, after all. C’mon. Get real. Whom are you trying to convince with your dishonesty and disobedience to God’s Word? You are merely offering up excuses to cover your sick, perverted, wicked line of reasoning. God said what He meant and meant what He said. Christians are not to get tattoos.
For the Christian who argues that there is no Scripture that speaks against this in the New Testament, I suggest you read Jude 8. The Greek word for “defile” means “to stain, to tinge, to dye with another colour.” In other words, to tattoo.