Tattoos and the Bible

What does the Bible say about tattoos? Is the position of the Bible permissive or negative concerning tattooing? In this text, I try to bring out how I understand the teaching of the Bible in the era of the New Covenant concerning tattoos. Test and study this writing by the word of God. I don't force anyone to believe in the same way as I do on this issue. I write on this topic, because this subject occupies the minds of many believers.

Content:

The Old and New Covenant
Do not print any marks upon you
Matter of conscience
Lev 19:28 teaching of the Old Covenant
The New Covenant and the tattoos
Health risks and the tattoos
Believers and the tattoos

The Old and New Covenant
 

Most of the commandments of the Old Covenant have been overruled. However, not all commandments of the Old Covenant have been overruled.  For example, the Old Testament's prohibition on eating blood is still valid in the New Covenant. One very important observation is that the New Covenant changed the law, but didn't remove it completely. Changing the law left the Ten Commandments in force and some other commandments, too. The high priesthood of the Lord Jesus and His atonement annulled all the laws of the temple service and offerings of the Old Covenant.

The command that you shall not print any marks upon your skin was given in the era of the Old Covenant. Is it still valid in the era of the New Covenant or not?

This is a good and important question. Generally, in the New Testament, we can find confirmation on which commands of the Old Covenant are valid in the New Covenant. This confirmation is sometimes written directly such as the prohibition against eating blood, or indirectly in such a way that we can understand it.

Do not print any marks upon you
 

Lev 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

Some people teach that this command refers grieving the dead Gentiles whom mourned the dead by cutting their skin and taking tattoos. However, this is a false teaching, because this verse has two different commands;

- Do not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead
- Do not print any marks upon you

The command "do not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead" was given so that the Jews wouldn't do as many Gentiles did. Many Gentile nations had custom of gutting very deep wounds on the face, hands and feet. The purpose of the wounds was to honor the dead. To many nations, cutting flesh was a sign of honor and an offering to appease  to idols who "ruled" the dead and the tombs.

Some Gentiles would get a tattoo in commemoration and honor of a dead person. In spite of that Lev 19:28 has two different commands, and the latter of them says that you shall not get any tattoos.

The command you shall not print any marks upon you in the Old Testament is connected to idol worship. Ancient Gentile nations had the custom of making tattoos on their skin. Those tattoos described idol worship, and the tattoos could display the image of an idol. In the Old Testament, tattoos were banned, because they were connected to idol worship.

Matter of conscience
 

Some Christians teach that getting a tattoo is a matter of conscience. The Bible doesn't teach that there are matters of conscience that everybody can obey or not obey. If there were matters of conscience, there would be things that are sin to someone and not to someone else. The Bible doesn't teach that a believer can decide in his or her conscience, what is a sin and what is not a sin, or what is the will of God and what is not the will of God. The word of God (the Bible) always determines what is the will of God and what is not the will God. A believer never decides by his or her conscience what the Bible teaches, because the Bible tells it what is right and wrong, what is the will of God and what is sin.

1 Cor 10:
28 but if any one shall say to you, this pertaineth to a sacrifice; eat not, for the sake of him who told you, and for conscience’s sake.
29 the conscience I speak of, is not your own, but his who told you. but why is my liberty judged of, by the conscience of others?

1 Cor 10 teaches us that conscience didn't mean your own conscience, but the offended conscience of another person. Verse 29 doesn't teach us that a believer has the liberty to decide in his or her conscience how to believe the Bible.  Liberty in verse 29 refers to liberty in Christ Jesus, in which a believer is freed from burdens of sins and wickedness that he or she could believe and live according to the will of God.

The Lord Jesus has set believers free from the slavery of sin. This freedom  comes true by the power of the Holy Spirit, in which believers can live from the grace of God.  This is the process of growth in the faith, where a believer learns to reject and abandon sins and live more and more profoundly by the will of God. Liberty in Christ Jesus doesn't mean that believers can live in sins or decide how to believe in God. The word of God always determines how we should believe in the Lord Jesus.

Lev 19:28 teaching of the Old Covenant

Some believers teach that Lev 19:28 was the commandment of the Old Covenant, and it is not valid anymore. As I pointed out earlier, all commands of the Old Covenant aren't annulled in the era of the New Covenant. I bring forth a few commands of Leviticus 19, which are still valid in the New Covenant:

- Lev 19:26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

- Lev 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

The New Covenant hasn't annulled the prohibition against eating blood, the prohibition against the us of enchantment, the prohibition against the observations of times (this means for Hebrew to observe times, practice soothsaying or spiritism or magic or augury or witchcraft), the prohibition against contacting familiar spirits and seeking after wizards. All those commands are still valid as prohibitions, which apply to the congregation of the New Covenant.

The New Covenant annulled a large amount of Old Covenant commands. The Ten Commandments are still valid in the New Covenant. The still valid commands of the Old Covenant are equal with the teaching of the New Covenant and are mentioned to be valid in the New Covenant.

The New Covenant and the tattoos
 

Does the New Covenant forbid tattoos? I believe that it does, and I give you these verses:

2 Pe 1:
1 ¶ Simon Peter, a servant and legate of Jesus the Messiah,—to those who have obtained equally precious faith with us, through the righteousness of our lord and Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah;—
2 may grace and peace abound to you through the recognition of our lord Jesus the Messiah,
3 as the giver to us of all things that be of the power of god, unto life and the fear of god, through the recognition of him who hath called us unto his own glory and moral excellence:
4 wherein he hath given you very great and precious promises; that by them ye might become partakers of the nature of god, while ye flee from the corruptions of the lusts that are in the world.

The New Testament shows us how we must serve and believe in God. God has given to us the Holy Spirit as the power and aid so that we can understand what the Bible teaches.

If we could serve God by tattoo, with Bible verses or with the text "the Lord Jesus" and so on, the Bible should have such a command. Tattooing was very common in the world where the apostles lived. If the will of God would have been to get "Biblical" tattoos, God would have said that you must get such tattoos. However, the New Testament does not have a command to get tattoos. For this reason, I don't believe that it is the will of God to get tattoos.

Some people have said, for example, that the Bible doesn't say anything about bicycles, so you shall not ride the bicycle. The bicycle is a harmless and useful vehicle for moving from place to place. Of course, you can do good and useful things, although they are not mentioned in the Bible, if they are not against the will of God.  You think that you show your faith by getting Bible verse tattoos. You don't show your faith by riding because it is just an ordinary activity. Riding a bicycle and getting a tattoo cannot be compared with each other when we understand the afore mentioned example, and the fact that when it is a question about how we must believe in God, it must be found in the Bible. Riding a bicycle is not a matter of faith, but just an ordinary everyday thing.

The Bible teaches us that serving God is not external, but internal issue. Believers' testimony and faith must be an internal issue by the Holy Spirit in accordance with the word of God. God said through the prophet Jeremiah that in the New Covenant, God puts His law in the inside of His people and writes His law in their hearts. Biblical faith must be written in a person's heart, not externally on his skin.

Ro 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The Bible doesn't teach that we serve God by getting tattoos, so tattooing is against the will of God.

Health risks and tattoos
 

Tattooing can also be harmful, and dangerous. Allergy to tattoo colors is possible. Many substances used for tattooing are poisonous and it is possible get diseases, and the worst of them is cancer. If the skin becomes inflamed the tattooed area, it can cuase blood-poisoning. Some researchers have stated that tetragenic substances used for tattooing can cause deformation. Some tattooing colors may contain mercury compounds, heavy metals, azo dyes and allergen products. Azo dyes are known to cause cancer.

Tattooing substances penetrate under the skin at the depth of one or two millimeters. Dermis is where tattooing color remains. It is obvious and clear that tattooing colors penetrate inside the body and can cause many kinds of problems. It is important to keep in mind that the poisonous substances used in tattoo colors remain inside the body of a person for as long as they live. This makes tattooing very dangerous. Dangerous tattooing substances can cause unpleasant diseases after many years because the body is constantly dealing with the toxins, which are used in tattooing.

Experts say that bacteria and viruses can penetrate under the broken skin during tattooing. Even if all instruments have been sterilized, there is always a possibility that bacteria and viruses may use damage during tattooing. Tattooing may cause allergic reactions, diverse inflammation diseases and blood disease.

Removing tattoos can be very problematic. Some say that by using modern technology, tattooing colors are easy to remove from the skin, especially by UV light or laser. It is not so easy, because, there are example cases where removal by laser leave to the body dangerous tattooing colors. There have been cases, where black tattoo color has penetrated into the lymph node by upon laser removal.

Some tattooing substances are very dangerous, such as mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, ferrocyanide, azo dyes, arsenic and many others. Many tattoo shops claim that they use safe substances, but it is obvious and clear that many tattoo substances are very dangerous and poisonous.

Believers and tattoos
 

Many tattooing substances are very dangerous and poisonous, which means that tattooing poses a health risk. The will of God is not that we voluntarily poison ourselves by highly poisonous substances used in tattooing.

If someone has gotten a tattoo, believing that it is right, but has understood later that it is not right and has repented, you should not accuse them. People cannot undo acts of the past and tattoo removal is often impossible. When a believer understands that tattooing is wrong, the case is closed, and we should not and have no right to accuse him or her for their past deeds, which he or she cannot' undo. In this case, repentance and a change of mind in the heart are enough. Usually, repentance rectifies situations (a change of heart leads us in practice to reject sins and live a righteous life) and leads a believer away from sins. However, there are cases where repentance cannot change situations. For example, murder and manslaughter are cases where repentance will not bring the dead back to life. The same applies to tattoos, because in most cases, you cannot remove the tattoo.

All believers makes mistakes, which is why, we should be gracious to one another and forgive, because God also forgives us when we have repented our mistakes.

Sources:

33/38 Raamattu

King James Version
Online Bible Lexicon
Strong's Lexicon

http://www.naturalnews.com/022073.html
http://www.everytattoo.com/healthrisks.shtml

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/9584.php

http://www.fda.gov/
http://hubpages.com/Tattoos-Health-Risks-and-Toxic-Effects
 

Petri Paavola from Finland