Tattoos have become very popular. More and more people are getting tattoos, including Christians. There’s hardly any difference anymore between the lifestyle of unbelievers and believers. But what does the Bible say about tattoos? Are tattoos mentioned in the Bible? Are tattoos a sin? Should a Christian get a tattoo? Are Christian tattoos or godly tattoos allowed? What is the origin of tattoos? What is the meaning of tattoos? What happens in the spiritual realm when you get a tattoo?
Your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit
Have you not known that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit in you, which you have from God? and you are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19)
While I was reading this scripture, the image of tattoos entered my mind. You might think: “What do tattoos have to do with this scripture? This scripture is about fornication and not about tattoos”. You are absolutely right! That was exactly what I thought. While I was thinking about it, a picture entered my mind of beautiful buildings that were covered in graffiti.
“That’s art”, says the vandal alias ‘the artist’, who paints drawings and/or texts on the walls. They paint on someone else’s property, but they don’t have the legal right to do that.
The vandal may like graffiti, but the owner doesn’t. The owner doesn’t appreciate it and must pay a lot of money to remove the graffiti and restore the damage to his building.
What are tattoos?
The word tattoo derives from the Haitian word ‘tatu’ and means to mark. Tattoos are marks on the body with a specific design, which are made by the insertion of pigment into punctures in the dermis layer of the skin.
Tattoos have gained popularity and have become a trend. A lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon and have decorated their bodies with tattoos.
Christians used to disapprove of tattoos. But nowadays, many Christians have jumped on the bandwagon and have decorated their body with so-called Christian tattoos or godly tattoos; cross tattoos, dove tattoos, an image of Jesus, scriptures, and religious words (hope, faith, freedom, belief, life, etc).
There is no distinction anymore, between Christians, who are the sons of God and belong to the Kingdom of God, and unbelievers, who are sons of the devil and belong to the kingdom of darkness; the world.
Are Christian tattoos allowed?
How come, that so many Christians get tattoos and participate in the trends of this world? The answer is very simple. They are carnal and still love the world. Therefore the ruler of this world; the devil, is still active in their lives. They are subjected to – and controlled by the spirits of this world. They walk after the flesh and are ruled by their senses, feelings, and emotions.
Most Christians want to do their own will and want to fulfill the lusts and desires of their flesh. Therefore these spirits of the world have free access to their lives. They still love the world and the things that are in the world.
Instead of separating themselves from the world unto God, they adopt the behavior and customs of the world. Therefore there is no difference between the lives of Christians and the lives of those, who belong to the world.
Although Christians don’t have tattoos like skulls, drakes, snakes, tigers, mandala tattoos, tribal tattoos, Maori tattoos, etc. on their bodies, but ‘Christian tattoos’; ‘Biblical tattoos or godly tattoos’, like cross tattoos, fish tattoos, dove tattoo, religious words tattoo (faith, hope, freedom, joy, life), Bible scripture tattoos, a tattoo of Jesus, Chi-Rho tattoo, religious tattoo sleeve, etc., that doesn’t change anything about the act of having an image engraved in their body. It doesn’t make it sacred, holy, and acceptable to God.
The truth is that many Christians succumb to the trends of this world. They love the world and want to live like the world. Therefore they Christianise the things of this world to make them acceptable to them. They think that putting the word ‘Christian’ in front of a tattoo will make it acceptable and approved (Read also: ‘The Christian sauce‘).
Christianizing tattoos
But putting the word ‘Christian’ in front of something and Christianizing the things of this world don’t change anything about the act.
When you Christianize the things of this world you will not make the things holy, acceptable, and approved by God. It doesn’t matter what people decide, it’s about what God decides and what God says in His Word.
You can put the word ‘Christian’ in front of every worldly activity, practice, method, and thing, but all that matters is: What does God say in His Word?
What does the Bible say about tattoos?
What does the Bible say about tattoos? The Word is very clear about tattoos because God says:
You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:28)
When the children of Israel went to Egypt, they were fruitful and increased abundantly. The children of Israel multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty in Egypt. The land was filled with them. They lived for 430 years, three generations after Joseph, in the land of Egypt. In the last years of their stay in Egypt, they lived in slavery.
They lived in a land that was full of witchcraft, magic, astrology, idolatry, pagan customs, and rituals. The land of Egypt served many gods.
The Israelites were influenced by their culture because they lived for many generations in the land of Egypt. Maybe they had adopted some cultural habits and customs, without knowing they committed idolatry or witchcraft. This is just an assumption, but if you live in a country, for so many years, for so many generations, you will automatically adopt the customs, habits, and culture of that country.
God separated His people
When God heard the cry of His people, who lived in bondage, He answered their cry and redeemed them from their slavery. God made Himself known to them and to the people of Egypt, as the One and Only True Almighty God. God separated His people unto Himself. He set them apart and brought them out of the land of Egypt.
His people had to be cleansed, sanctified, and renewed in their minds. And that was exactly what God did during their time in the wilderness.
They were not ready to enter the promised land, they had to lay down their old life first. This happened symbolically when they passed through the water, but after that, they had to bring it into practice.
They had to lay down all of their habits, customs, practices, and Egyptian culture, and renew their minds with the words that God spoke to them via Moses.
God’s people had to be sanctified and prepared for the promised land
His people had to be sanctified and prepared for the promised land. The Lord God made His will known to them because He wanted His people to get to know Him. God revealed His will and told them what pleased Him and what didn’t please Him.
God showed them, what would happen if they walked in obedience to His words and lived in His will and what the consequences would be if they decided to walk in disobedience to His words and live outside of His will.
Blessing or curse
They had to keep His Word. Because this was the only way to stay in His will and to walk on the path of life. If they would leave His will and become disobedient to Him, then all the plagues of Egypt would come upon them. If they would leave His will, then they wouldn’t be protected and would die.
God didn’t want any of them to perish. He wanted everyone to be saved and enter the promised land. That’s why He made His will known to them and gave them instructions and commandments for their lives.
God wanted them to love Him and renew their minds with His words and change their old way of thinking. So that they would be prepared for the promised land.
When they would have the mind of God and stay loyal to Him, then they would restrain themselves from the pagan people, who lived in the promised land.
If they would have the mind of God and stayed faithful to Him, then they wouldn’t adopt the behavior and customs of the pagan people and get involved in idolatry and fornication. But they would live in obedience to God and be blessed.
Therefore God made His nature and His will known to them by giving them all these commandments and instructions, to keep them on the path of life.
Why God forbade His people to make any tattoo marks on themselves?
Tattoos in the Bible are mentioned in the Book of Leviticus. God forbade His people to make any cuts on their body (flesh) for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on themselves, because God is the Lord. Making cuts on the body for the dead and making tattoo marks were practiced by the Egyptians and other pagan nations. Both rituals are mentioned in one sentence, in which the death is also mentioned.
But the Lord God forbade His people to make any cuts and any tattoos on their body and connect (bind) their bodies with a dead person and therefore be connected with the death.
A tattoo on the body is a practice to connect yourself with the death. Since the death rules in this world, the death wants everyone to be connected with him.
As soon as you get a tattoo and print any mark on your body, it doesn’t matter if it is a skull tattoo, a dragon tattoo, a serpent tattoo, a cross tattoo, a dove tattoo, an image of Jesus tattoo, a tribal tattoo, scriptures tattoo, a religious words tattoo, etc, as soon as you print any mark in your flesh, you bind yourself to the death.
It may not be your intention and you may have other reasons to get a tattoo.
But the truth is, that when you get a tattoo in the natural realm, then in the spiritual realm, you connect yourself; your flesh with the death. It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, it’s the truth and therefore it’s a fact. God revealed this fact, through His Word.
But because most Christians are not spiritual but carnal and live after the flesh instead of the Spirit, they are not able to see this truth. They don’t discern the spirits in the spiritual realm.
God gave His commandments to make His will known to His carnal people and to reveal the spiritual realm to His carnal people, who belonged to the generation of the old creation.
Popular tattoos represent death and hell
It is not surprising, that the most popular tattoo themes present the death, darkness, and hell. Just go to a tattoo shop, look around and you shall see images of the devil, the death, and hell, skulls, skeletons, serpents, dragons, flames, crosses, demons, etc.. And that’s not all. In some tattoo shops, you will even see blasphemies against God.
A tattoo is an act of obedience to the devil and rebellion against God.
The Lord God had separated His people and didn’t want His people to be involved with idolatry and fornication. God made this very clear through His words. He couldn’t be clearer than His Word.
What was true for His people then is still true for His people Today. When you become a new creation, and the Holy Spirit; the Spirit of God, lives inside of you, then you have been set apart from the world.
Although you live in the world, you don’t belong to this world anymore. Therefore your life should be different, then the lives of those, who belong to this world.
The Holy Spirit dwells in you. Therefore the will of God; His law, is written upon your heart. When you renew your mind with the Word of God you shall get to know Him. You shall get to know and understand His will. When you walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh, you shall understand the secret of the law, and why God has given the law to His people.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t need any help from the body
“But I want to witness and testify of Jesus. I want to show everyone what He means to me, and I do that by means of a tattoo”
Does the Holy Spirit need Christian tattoos on someone’s body to remind Him of who He is? Does the Holy Spirit need Christian tattoos on a body to testify of Jesus Christ? Have we become so insecure or are we driven so far off, that we continuously need a reminder of our position in Jesus Christ and to be a witness in this world, by getting our bodies marked with Christian tattoos?
The Holy Spirit witnesses, through us, and that is more than enough. Only the Holy Spirit will bring people to repentance, not your tattoo(s). It only testifies of your rebellion against God and His Word.
A born-again Christian lives after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
Your body belongs to God
You have been bought, with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Your body has become His possession. You have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. How can you, when you belong to God and have become His possession, tattoo your body and connect (bind) yourself with the death? How can you do something, that God forbade? You sacrifice your body to the death and practice idolatry and fornication, and that’s against the will of God.
The vandal considers himself or herself an artist, but the owner of the building considers him or her a vandal, a destroyer of someone else’s property. And that’s the same with tattoos.
You may like it, but what matters is: what does God think of it? What does Jesus think of it? What does the Word say about it?
You won’t exalt Jesus by tattooing a scripture, holy words, or an image, but you exalt Him by living after His will, and by keeping His commandments. He has given you a commission, and you will only be able to fulfill it when you lay down your own carnal life and live after His will.
He has appointed you to bring sinners to repentance and to redeem them from the power of death, by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, the cross and His blood, and to cast out demons, and to heal the sick.
You are not called to be an imitator of the world
You are not called to copy the world and be an imitator of the world and live the same life as a sinner. Unfortunately, many carnal Christians live after the flesh and are subject to the spirits of this world. They are led by them, instead of ruling over them.
The devil wants only one thing and that is to keep Christians ignorant and asleep. So that, he still has control over their lives and keeps them in bondage. Therefore it’s time to wake up!
The only mark that a born again Christian might get, are the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ, which come from the persecution of the world.
From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:17)
‘Be the salt of the earth’
