Come Out of the World Part 1 of 4

I don't know what's gotten into me, but I'm going to do another series. I don't normally do series. It's just not my thing. But I go to prepare a topic, and it's too big for the shortened sermon. So I figure, well, I can just go a little over time. Well, it's too big for going over time. In fact, it's too big for two sermons. It has to be three sermons just to cover the topics, and I mean just to cover them adequately. I don't even mean to cover them in depth. This isn't going to be, you know, an in-depth study. There's actually more than I'm going to present to you on this topic. But the topic is come out of the world. Come out of the world. And we're going to do this in three parts, I think. So far, it's three parts. Hopefully it won't grow out of control. Today, we're going to cover should Christians get tattoos and are they forbidden? This is a hot topic right now in the church. It is so widely debated, and yet the answer is so crystal clear. And yet, there are some really good arguments on both sides. And I don't know if you've been involved in this debate at all, or you've heard this debate, but it now crosses generation lines. This is not just a millennial debate anymore. This is actually a society thing. And our society is starting to become a society of a counterculture. And I'm not going to hit the counterculture too much today. Counterculture, what is that? It means being a rebel. Back in my day, we used to call them potheads. The people that would go behind the school and smoke marijuana, they were the counterculture. They were against the culture. And they were the minority. Today, our society is pushing the counterculture to become the norm. And that doesn't mean it's okay. So, if the whole society jumps off a cliff, do you follow them? Well, it's what everybody else is doing. That's what I'll do. I tell you, we are not a herd of buffalo. If someone is driving you off of a cliff, don't jump. Revelation 18 and verse 4, in Revelation 18, it's describing a great false religion, the religion of this world. And it says in verse 4, And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, unless you receive her plagues. The consequences of what's going to happen with this world, you will share if you do not resist. So, we're going to do a three-part series on coming out of the world.

Today, we're going to talk about the heated controversy, as I said, should you get a tattoo? Is it forbidden? Or is it only some tattoos are forbidden, and other tattoos are okay? And what do you do if all of them are forbidden, and you've already got one? We're going to address that today, in part one. So, let's jump right in. In Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 28, this is the one scripture that all the controversy swirls around like a hurricane.

Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 28, You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the Lord. Now, that might be enough for some of us, but this isn't the only scripture that talks about marking your body in the Bible. So, if we take this one alone, and we walk out all confidently that tattoos are forbidden, you're going to get into some arguments that you will not be able to handle. In the King James version, it says, You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you. Print any marks upon you, I am the Lord. But is that talking about a tattoo, specifically? How do we know that this is even addressing a tattoo? And is it even the same as what we do today?

Leviticus chapter 19, in context, is talking about coming out of the world. It's talking about, you know, in part of it, it says, you know, don't cut the corners of your beard. And the Jews take it a step further than what it said, and they don't even trim their beard at all, just in case it might look like what the pagans did. But the pagans, actually, when you do the research, they would cut their beard in the shape of a pagan god. They would even shave a bald spot in the back of their head to resemble the eye of a certain god. So, I have one of those automatically.

You know, the New Living Translation says, do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos, for I am the Lord. And a lot of people are going to argue, okay, this is talking about getting a tattoo for the dead. It's not talking about, what about getting a tattoo for Jesus? You know, I love Jesus right on your arm. Get a little tramp stamp right above your waistline. I love Jesus. What's wrong with that?

There are two prohibitions in this verse. It's very clear that there are two prohibitions in this verse. Number one, getting cut for the dead. There was a pagan practice that when someone died, you would cut your flesh and mark your flesh for that person. And in the same verse, and in the same context, there's a second prohibition. And it says, printing or tattooing a mark. What was the context of that to ancient Israel? Because Leviticus was written by Moses while they were traveling through the wilderness. They had just left Egypt and they were about to go into Canaan. So that's the context or the time frame of when this scripture was written. What did it mean to them so that we can interpret? What does it mean to us today? The King James and the New King James used the word mark for the second prohibited act in Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 28. What does that word mean in Hebrew? Believe it or not, it's actually two words put together. It's two Hebrew words put together with a very specific meaning. The first word of the two words is, and I can't pronounce it, Hebrew Strong's number H3793. Kind of looks like Keth-obeth or Kate-obate. I don't know what it, you know, I'm not even going to try to pronounce it. But it means, according to Brown Driver Brig, an impression, an inscription, or a mark. In other words, some kind of paint or ink. So the first word in this two word combination that is the word mark in English means ink. What does the second word mean? The second of the two words is Hebrew H7085. I have no idea how to pronounce this one. And it means an incision, an imprintment, a tattoo, or a mark. In other words, some kind of cutting that's also involved. So in other words, this means ink that's put into your body by cutting. I.e. it means exactly a tattoo. This is a prohibition on putting ink under your skin.

But what is the context?

I am astounded that this generation can marginalize anything. We can look at a clear verse that says, don't put a tattoo, and we will say it doesn't mean that. And we will argue against it. Some people say that the scripture in Leviticus 19 is only about tattoos for pagan practices, and therefore tattoos for God are okay.

I would like to read you some quotes from the comments on an article on tattoos from ucg.org, our own website, and how people comment. And some of these people, I don't know if they're in the church or not, some of these people, I do believe I know them. So I do think that they attend church with us. So this is a sermon for us. This is not a sermon where we're saying, we're better than the world. No, this is a warning to come out of the world to us.

Quote. To me, this is a quote from ucg.org right under the article of tattooing. To me, it's very clear that Leviticus is talking about superstitions in the heart that motivate certain actions. Anyone who criticizes someone with a tattoo is being a hypocrite for not following all the verses in the same chapter, which no one does today. The Bible as a whole makes it clear that God is concerned about the heart and not what's on the outside. Is that true?

Here's another quote. I feel a cringe when I hear a doctrine or a teaching that starts with, I feel. Right? I feel... Ears go off. Boop! Anyway, I feel it depends on your reason and motives. Wow. Well, then let's just go keep Christmas with the right motive. What are we doing meeting on the Sabbath? We could be at the beach having a right motive.

I feel it depends on your reasons and motives. I've been thinking about getting a tattoo for quite a while. The date I was born, again, written on my arm. The reason is because I live in a very liberal area where it can be hard to witness to people. I'm not kidding. I've had a guy get up and walk away from me mid-sentence after I mentioned Jesus like the ground can be like that hard. I don't know what that means, but that's what she said. One day, I drew the date and I turned it to Jesus. I drew the date and turned to Jesus on my arm, and surprisingly, people started to ask what happened on November the 11th. Having the date on my arm served as an icebreaker that opened the door for me to share about Jesus and my testimony. Since then, I've used henna to put the date on my arm, but I'd just like to get something more permanent eventually. The goal is not to be vain or even to do it for looks. The goal isn't to be like them or to make myself prettier. The reason is purely because it's the way to spread the gospel. Is that sound reasoning? I mean, in both the quotes that I've just read, there are some good points. But is that sound reasoning, brethren?

How about someone who repents but then calls it good? My question is, why would you repent and then call it good anyway? Okay, here it is. I actually thought long and hard about my tattoos and made great decisions on both of them. One is on my ankle and sometimes visible to others. The other is on my shoulder, which is also visible to others at times. I do get asked about them when they're visible, and I tell that the one on my ankle is a dolphin jumping out of a water, which is my favorite animal in the world. The one is on my shoulder and took a lot of thought and time. It's a red cross with a yellow glow around inside a blue cloud. This one I used as a testimony tool. You see, the red cross represents Jesus' death on the cross 2,000 years ago. The yellow glow around it represents his righteousness and how he rose from the dead, and the blue cloud on the outside represents his ascension into heaven and to sit at the right hand of God. Some tattoos can be bad, but some can be good. Is that true? Reading on.

I, for one, am proud of mine. I have asked God for forgiveness about getting them. Really? Why? But once I realized my story behind each one, I was able to come to terms with them. Human beings, brethren, and more specifically, you and I, because this sermon is for you and I, you and I have an innate ability to marginalize or justify just about anything. It's just part of our nature. Now, to be fair, if Leviticus 19 doesn't mean all tattoos, but only tattoos for pagan purposes, and if we interpret this verse out of context, their criticisms would actually be valid. The things that I just read would actually be valid if the context of Leviticus chapter 19 is only if you do it for pagan practices. But if the second part of that verse, verse 28, encompasses all tattoos, then it encompasses all tattoos.

In his biblical views column of the magazine Biblical Archaeology Review, the November-December 2016 edition, in an article entitled Unholy Ink, What Does the Bible Say About Tattoos? Mark Chivalis, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, examines the taboo on tattoos in the Bible. Not only does he analyze the traditional explanation of this prohibition, but he also investigates what tattoos signified to the ancient Near East peoples, including the ancient Israelites. In other words, what did it mean to them? When that prohibition was given, was it a tattoo for the dead? No markings for the dead, no tattoos for the dead. That means any other tattoo is okay, right?

So he suggests the real reason why tattoos were taboo. Leviticus chapter 19, according to him, denounces idolatry and several pagan mourning practices. And some have thought, because of the proximity of the taboo on tattoos, to the prohibition to other pagan mourning practices—not mourning as in A.M.P.M., but mourning the dead, in other words. In Leviticus, the tattooing must be about mourning, and it must be about pagan funerals. Neene. He finds no evidence in the ancient text from the Levant to Mesopotamia or Egypt. As far as we can tell, tattooing was not an ancient mourning practice in these cultures.

He went through—ancient Egypt was chock full of tattoos, gobs of tattoos. They tattooed for almost everything. The one thing they did not tattoo for was they did not tattoo for the dead. It was never used as a mourning practice. This was the culture that the Israelites just came out of when Moses wrote Leviticus. So that is the most relevant culture to draw context for this scripture. The ancient Egyptians were all about tattoos, and none of them were for the dead.

But you can go to ancient Mesopotamia, where they had lots and lots of rituals for the dead. Tattooing was not one of them. So what did they use tattooing for in that day? The same exact thing we do today. It's body art. Sometimes it denoted ownership of a slave. They would tattoo a slave. I mean, a tattoo is permanent. So if you tattoo somebody and they run away and somebody finds them, they know there's a reward if they turn you in.

So there was a tattoo for health reasons. They surmised that in ancient Egypt, they found some females, and their mummies were tattooed, but they weren't decorative. They were actually around organs and things where certain procedures were done. So the tattooing had something to do with health back in ancient Egypt as well. They have found cavemen almost fully preserved with tattoos from neck to ankles.

Just like today! That's exactly the same thing as today. It used to be something that sailors did. Now you walk through the shopping mall and you'll see somebody who's tattooed. Like they'll have a tank top on and their entire arm is covered with a tattoo.

Some people both arms and their legs are covered with tattoos. And it makes you wonder what else they went and got tattooed. It's just a normal part of the culture today. So it's actually not true. The argument that says, well, it's just tattooing for the dead that's prohibited, is actually a false argument, brethren. It's a false argument because the ancient societies did not tattoo for the dead. So when Moses wrote that down, do not get a tattoo.

They did not go, okay, we will not get a tattoo for the dead. Because nobody did that. What did they get a tattoo for? Body art. They got tramp stamps. They tattooed their slaves. They did it for medical reasons. But nowhere, anywhere in that area, not the Canaanites, not the Babylonians, not the Egyptians. They never recorded tattooing for the dead. They did record marking their bodies for the dead. They did record all kinds of other things that they did for the dead. But they did not tattoo for the dead. That shuts the door on that argument. Moses was not writing a prohibition on getting tattoos for the dead.

God inspired him to say, do not get tattoos. Period. Okay, now we've established the baseline. But there's all kinds of arguments now against the baseline. Are there exceptions? What about Cain? What about Cain? Didn't God tattoo him? Well, let's look at that. Genesis chapter 4 verse 15. What about Cain? People will argue. Genesis 4 and verse 15. And the Lord said to him, therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

And there's that word mark again. So in Leviticus, we see the word mark. And here in Genesis chapter 4, we see the word mark. And it's the same word in English. It's mark, but it's not the same word in Hebrew. If God tattooed Cain in Leviticus 28, Leviticus 19.28 is clearly talking about tattoos for pagan practices, right? No, the word mark is the same word in English, but it's not the same word in Hebrew.

It's actually Hebrew 2.26. It's a much simpler word. And it simply means sign or signal, a distinguishing mark. And that's all it means. It has nothing to do with ink, and it has nothing to do with cutting the skin. God did not tattoo Cain. So what is the mark? We don't know.

It was not a tattoo. You cannot use the argument of Cain to support tattoos. God didn't tattoo him. But even if he did, let's step out of reality for a second and just argue what if God did tattoo Cain? I mean, he did put some kind of mark on him. Even if he did, Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 28 prohibits you and me from doing it. It doesn't prevent God from doing it. Can God do something that if you and I did it would be sin, but if he did it would not be sin?

Yeah, absolutely he can. God can do something that to you it would be sin. Some violations are only evil when we do them. God tells us not to murder, but God sent a death angel to kill all of the firstborn in Egypt. Did God murder? It wasn't evil for our loving God to make an example out of those stubborn people whom he will resurrect in the future and give a bright, bright future and hope.

No, God had the authority. He owned them. And he made an example out of stubborn Egypt by killing all the firstborn, and that was not murder. If you and I were to have gone into Egypt and killed all the firstborn, God himself would have executed us because he told us not to do it.

We are prohibited from murder. If God takes the life out of somebody, it was his to take. That's not murder. He's the one who gave the life to begin with. He's the one who has the authority to take it away.

So even if God had tattooed Cain, which he did not do, we are prohibited from doing it. But, but, but, but, but, but, but human nature is still not convinced. I'm very well aware that if you love tattoos, you're probably not even listening right now. So I urge you to now start listening.

What about Isaiah 49? Isaiah 49 in verse 13. I'm sorry, verse 16. What if you get a tattoo for God?

What if it's not a bad tattoo, right? What if it's, you know, you're not trying to be part of the counterculture. What if it's a tattoo for God? What if, like that young lady said, and I believe she was sincere. I am not critical of her. I'm critical of what she said, but not her motive. Because she said she could paint her birthday on her arm, and she was eventually going to get that tattoo on her arm, because it opened conversation with people. What's that date for? Why is that date on your arm? And then she could start telling people about her belief in God. I believe she's sincere, just wrong.

It's just a mistake, and we all make mistakes, brethren. So I'm not casting stones at her or any of the other people I quoted, or at you. Believe me, I'm not. I'm explaining what does the Scripture say? Come out of her, my people. Come out of her, my people. Come out. That doesn't mean do what they do so you can relate to them. It means come out. Be different. Don't be like that. Be like what God wants you to be. In Isaiah 49 and verse 16, it says, See, I have inscribed you on my palms of my hand, your walls continually before me. And that does mean that he wrote something, but it means sort of like... it's not the word tattoo, but it sort of means engraved. So it could mean a tattoo. You could rightly interpret Isaiah 49 and verse 16 as tattoo. It is not the Hebrew word for tattoo. It's not what Moses wrote in Leviticus 19 and verse 28. It's more like engraving something in stone or writing something permanently. But the word picture that Isaiah is painting here, it does seem like a tattoo. It really does.

Because if you write God's name on your hand, it means you are owned by God. That's a symbol of a slave. Right? And we've seen it in many times in the Bible. It will be written on your hand and on your forehead. And those are the two places that you would write ownership on a slave. You would write it on their hand and you would write it on their forehead. And then there would be nowhere they could go that someone wouldn't know that that person is owned by somebody else. And so this is a loving reference to tattooing God's name on your hand.

But the context of Isaiah 49 is figurative. It's not literal. This is not literal instruction to tattoo your hand. It is figurative. In other words, it says one thing and means something far greater. You can't take figurative words, figurative literature, as explicit instruction. That is a violation of the context of the literature. Let me show you an example of what I mean. Just go up three verses to verse 13. It says, Sing, O heavens, be joyful, O earth. The heavens don't sing. They don't go, la la la la la. That's singing. The stars don't sing. The planets don't sing. The comets don't sing. Clouds don't sing. The heavens don't sing, brethren. It's figurative. Isaiah is known as the Shakespeare of the Bible. He wrote figuratively many, many times. This chapter is figurative. It's not explicit or literal. Let's read on. Be joyful, O earth. I don't know about you, but I've never seen dirt smile. Never seen it. I've drawn a smile in dirt, but it's never done it itself. How you doing, earth? Big grin.

It's figurative. It means something far greater than what is literally being said. Makes sense? Break out in singing, all mountains. I don't know about you, but I've been on a lot of mountains. A lot of mountains. I love mountains. I have never yet sung harmony with a mountain. All right, I'll pick up the bass mountain. You take the tenor. Here we go. Doesn't happen because it's figurative. It means something far greater. That the earth will be healed. That the universe will be glad. That Jesus Christ will return. And that inscription on your hand means that your actions you will always keep within the boundaries of what God tells you to do. It's figurative. It means something far greater than what is literally being said. So if you take Isaiah 49 literally as explicit instruction or permission to get a tattoo, you are taking it out of context. Shame on you. You are using one Scripture to contradict another, and the Bible does not contradict itself. It doesn't. Here's another figurative thing that talks about tattooing. And we know for sure it's figurative because if this was done literally, you'd be dead. Hebrews chapter 8 verse 7 through 10. Hebrews chapter 8 verses 7 through 10. This is figurative, or you're not following God anymore because you're in the grave. Here Paul is quoting Jeremiah 31 and he says, For if that first covenant, verse 7, had been faultless, there would be no place had been sought for a second, because finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, and the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and disregarded them, says the Lord. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts. There it is again. It's the same exact verbiage of Isaiah, of writing down something physically on the body. Yet in this particular case, it's on your heart. And so it's obviously figurative, because if God opened up your heart and started writing on it, guess what would happen to your heart? Go into A-fib and you'd die.

So it's figurative. It means something greater than what's literally being said. And that's the same thing with Isaiah chapter 49. Figurative speech is not explicit permission. Figurative speech is not explicit permission. That's a false argument to say, what about Isaiah 49? It's figurative. But this is not enough for human nature. If you want a tattoo, you will find a way around the explanation that I just gave you. That explanation will give you doubt. You'll go, maybe, but you will not be convinced that tattooing is wrong. So what about doing doubtful things? Let's just go down that road. What about doing doubtful things? If you do something that's doubtful, you are actually breaking your trust with God. God considers that a violation of your relationship with Him. In Romans chapter 14 and verse 23, God, through the Apostle Paul, says, but he who doubts is condemned if he eats. He takes an action that he doubts whether or not he should take, but he does it anyway. He who doubts is condemned if he eats. Because he does not eat from faith. And whatever is not from faith is sin. It is a violation. If you just doubt and you do it anyway, you're still breaking your trust with God. You're still breaking that relationship with God. The world considers tattoos to be accepted. But that doesn't mean that it's not counterculture. In other words, rebellion. Our culture today is in the state of active rebellion against God's principles. I mean, they're pulling the Ten Commandments off of courtrooms. Our culture is counterculture right now. So just because it's the norm doesn't mean it's not rebellion.

Society is becoming a counterculture, so even though they consider tattoos to be okay, they still consider it to be rebellious. Let me make the point. The world still considers tattoos to be rebellious. And what does the Bible say about that? Yes, they say it's okay, but they know it's rebellious. Do they give you permission? Do you represent them? Or do you represent something higher? Are you called to be different? Are you called to come out of her, my people, as God said? 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 11. Let's examine that. The world knows it's rebellion. They just love rebellion. So what's your responsibility to blend in with the world?

1 Thessalonians 4.11. That you also aspire to lead a quiet life. Let me tell you what a tattoo is not. A tattoo is not subtle. A tattoo is not quiet. There are still some employers who require their employees to cover their tattoos to the point where I remember we would go to this one chicken restaurant. Fried chicken. Love fried chicken. Mashed potatoes. Fried okra.

And this one guy was covered in tattoos. The middle of Texas summer. It's August. Doesn't matter. He has to wear one of those under armor shirts. Those really thick under his uniform. All the way down to his wrists to cover those tattoos. Because tattoos are not subtle. They're not quiet. They scream. And employers don't like that. And Paul says here, aspire to lead a quiet life. And mind your own business. And everybody who wants a tattoo is telling me, yeah, mind your own business. I am minding my business. I'll get to that in just a minute. What my business is. Mind your own business and work with your own hands as we commanded you.

Verse 12. That you may walk properly towards those who are outside. You are not supposed to walk as they walk. You were supposed to walk differently. So what do you do if you've already got tattoos? We'll get to that. It's pretty simple, really.

Walk properly towards those who are outside that you may lack nothing. In other words, if you just blend into the world, you are lacking. You are no longer a representative of God. Colossians 4 and verse 5. Very similar scripture. Colossians 4 and verse 5. Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside. What wisdom? The wisdom of this age, the wisdom of the world, then go get a tattoo. That's not what he's saying. Who provides wisdom? Who's the source of wisdom? Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, brethren. That's wisdom. Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside. Yeah, okay. They accept tattoos as being okay. Because counterculture is okay to them. Rebellion is okay to them. That's not okay.

Getting a tattoo for God. Let's address that.

You know, you can't do it if it's a doubtful thing. There's definitely a prohibition on tattoos because it had nothing to do with tattoos for the dead. Yes, it's in context of the pagan world, but it wasn't in context of just a pagan burial practice. The pagans back then used tattoos for everything. And that's what the prohibition was on. Tattoos for everything. So why is it wrong to get a tattoo with your favorite Scripture? You know, a millennial scene. Why is that wrong? Because God said, don't do it! Deuteronomy 12, verse 29. You're representing somebody other than yourself.

And there are boundaries. There is a line. There are rules. Deuteronomy 12, 29. When the Lord your God cuts you off before you, the nations which you go to dispossess, they were not supposed to be part of this world. They were supposed to be separate from the world. And eventually, the world was supposed to come to them. It wasn't a rejection of people. It was a rejection of immorality. It was a rejection of doing anything that is counter to what God taught. They were actually supposed to go to the whole world with God standards. And in this Scripture, it makes it very clear. When you displace them and dwell in the land, verse 30, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their God, saying, how did these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, and every abomination to the Lord which He hates, they have done to their gods, for they burn even their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. And then verse 32 is the critical statement. Here is how you determine whether or not something is right or wrong, whether or not you should do it or not do it. Verse 32, whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. Hey, that's pretty clear. You are not to add to it, and you are not to take away from it. You are not to reason among yourselves. Well, I don't think it meant that. You were to carefully examine whether or not it means what it seems to mean. And when you draw the same conclusion that I just drew, you have to say, I cannot add to it or take away from it. It's a prohibition on tattoos. I won't do it. What's the big deal? Consider the long-term impact. Long-term impact. When this trend, and it is just a trend of body art, goes out of fashion, your tattoos will become an eyesore. Then what are you going to do? Proverbs chapter 22 and verse 3. I'm going to read this from the New Living Translation.

Proverbs 22 and verse 3. A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. In other words, you look down the road and you say, you know what? There's a potential problem if I do this. I'm going to take a precaution and not do that.

Next part of the verse. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. So what are the consequences? Now, granted, a tattoo can be surgically removed, but that's expensive and painful. So here's a list of future problems with tattoos from a UCG article, What Does the Bible Say About Getting Tattoos? Quote, Many who get tattoos come to regret them. So try to imagine and consider all the reasons you might later regret a tattoo. Some common ones are health problems. Yes, the needle goes into your skin, which breaks blood. If that needle is not cleaned, you can get all sorts of diseases transferred blood to blood. HIV has been transferred through tattoos. You can have a damaged reputation. Objections by employers. I'm back in the article now. Objections by employers, making it more difficult to get the desired job or to get a promotion. Objections by someone you hope to date or even marry. Let me step out of the article for a second. I read another article that stated they did a study on whether or not boys like girls with tattoos. Whether or not boys like girls with tattoos or not, do you know what boys think of girls with tattoos? Let me tell you what, they don't think you're a pretty princess. It's not a beauty mark to them. It means you are a tramp to them. And they may like that, but it doesn't mean they like you. And that's the problem with that. And a lot of girls are rushing to get tattoos, thinking, oh, it's a beauty mark! When in reality, it's a tramp mark. As far as a boy is concerned, and that was just a survey of what the boys thought. It wasn't whether or not they liked him or not. It was what they thought about it. And believe you me, you do not want to be thought of in that way, because they will not love your heart. That's only lusting after your exterior, with no regard for who you are as a person. So don't be fooled.

So objections by someone you hope to date or even marry. Back into the article. Having a tattoo of someone with whom you're in a relationship, and later you are no longer in a relationship. You get Betty tattooed on your arm, and you marry Sue.

Whoops!

A change in your values. It seems important now, but later it might be unimportant, or even conflict with your new values. Think it through, in other words. Getting tattooed because of peer pressure. And before long, those peers are no longer around. Guess what is? Your tattoo.

What was stylish at one time, like a particular design of tattoo, is no longer in style. You can change your clothes. You can change your hair. You can't really change your tattoo! Oh, you could burn it off if you got the money. You can't change it. You can tattoo over some of them.

And the last one, and this one I find funny, is getting old with sagging skin. What a reality! The butterfly becomes a moth, you know?

Ooh, grandma, what's that?

Will I still like the tattoo at age 60? What will it look like then?

You know?

So what about the argument? Oh, don't judge me.

You're such a hypocrite. Okay, okay, let's address that. Don't judge me. Don't judge me.

You've got your own sense. You know what? You're right.

You are absolutely right. I'm not judging you. I'm warning you.

It's my job. I don't have to be perfect to warn you. I'm overweight.

Right? I'm gonna judge you for what you put on your body, and look what's on my body.

Wow. And there's quite a bit of it. There's a lot of me to love.

Some will say you're overweight, and that's a misuse of the temple of God.

No one is without sin. Someone say you drink too much coffee, or you drink coffee at all.

My personal faults do not justify your mistakes.

Your personal faults do not justify my mistakes.

You answer to God by yourself.

I'm not your judge. I'm your friend.

Second Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 12. What is the crux of that actual argument?

What's the crux of saying, don't judge me? You do this. First Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 12. The apostle Paul addresses this to the church in Corinth. He says, verse 12, for we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. Paul says, I'm not comparing myself with those other ministers. That's not what I'm doing. He goes on to say, but they measure themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. What's another way of saying are not wise? He's saying they're really dumb. And he's being polite about it, which is unusual for Paul. That's really dumb. That's a dumb thing to do. If you want to be smart, you want to be clever, if you want to be skilled, never say, don't judge me. You can agree or disagree, but don't start comparing yourselves among yourselves. Because let me tell you what, there is no human being on the world that sets your standard. Your standard is set by God. And if you compare yourselves to other people, you're going to have a really low standard. And you can pretty much do whatever you want to do, which seems good to human nature, but not to God. So the argument that your sins are just as bad as mine so I can get a tattoo is foolishness. You were admitting that God said don't do something, and instead you're not looking for His word for guidance. You're excusing yourself by other people's faults. Luke chapter 16 and verse 14. Luke 16 and verse 14.

But it's a way to reach the world. No, it is not. You do not honor God by dishonoring Him. It's not an icebreaker. It's not a way to reach the world to be just like them. That's not right. Luke chapter 16 verse 14. New Living Translation. The Pharisees, who clearly love their money, heard all of this and scoffed at Him. And then He said to them, you like to appear righteous in public. But God knows your hearts. What the world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

How do you know what God thinks is detestable? It's not group thinking. You can't just get in a group and start saying, well, I feel, yeah, well, I think, and come to some common conclusion and think you're right. God says that's detestable. How do you know if it's detestable to Him when the world says it's most honorable?

You don't ask your friends. You don't get a majority opinion, so you can feel good about it. You ask God. His word will tell you His opinion. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Gotta wrap this up, and we're almost done, so that's good. Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 28 explicitly says no tattoos. And in context of that day and age, tattoos were done for all kinds of reasons.

They weren't ever done for a pagan burial ritual that we have found. There's no evidence of that.

But they were done for beauty marks, for slavery ownership, for health, and for all kinds of other reasons, just like today, just like today. And there's a direct explicit prohibition on tattoos.

That's God's opinion. The bottom line. This is the bottom line. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 and 20.

1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19, Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, or which is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

It's my body. I can do with it what I want. No.

For you were bought at a price, therefore glorified God in your body and in spirit, which are gods.

How do you do that by His word? Not your opinion, not groupthink.

Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20.

Galatians 2 and verse 20.

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live.

It's not about you.

When you choose to walk, the Christian walk, your walk is not about you anymore.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith. It says in New King James, in the Son of God, and the King James says, of the Son of God, which is more accurate, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Brethren, I'm not judging you.

Notice this warning in Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 1. I'm going to read it from the NIV. Proverbs 29 and verse 1. Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy.

I'm not judging you. I'm loving you.

I'm not trying to make you feel like you're a fool.

I'm trying to show you that there's a line that God has drawn for you. There's a boundary that He expects you not to cross.

Notice what God told Ezekiel. We're going to cut into the middle of this passage for time's sake. Ezekiel chapter 33 and verse 6. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away for his iniquity.

Yes, the person died because of his own sin.

But, it says, his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

So you, Son of Man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore, you shall hear a word from my mouth. One word from the mouth of God.

You shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me.

And that is what I'm doing. I am not judging you.

Yet, of course, I have my own problems.

Whoopee-doo! I'm not your standard. Jesus Christ is your standard. The Word of God is your standard. And it is my job to warn you.

No tramp stamps. No body art.

God says you are His temple. It's His Word. Don't do it.

So I'm not judging you. I'm warning you of danger of getting a tattoo.

So what's the solution? What if you already have one?

Well, tattoos are permanent. Repent.

Repent.

Okay? Repent of doing all evil, all things that you've done wrong. There's not really anything you can do about it. You're a sailor, you know? You go and you get mom with a big heart and an arrow through it on your arm. That's not coming off.

You probably can't afford it and your car payment, so don't worry about it.

Your responsibility is the same as every other sin. Repent.

And then don't turn around and justify it and call it good.

You go, yeah, I've made my mistakes, and leave it there.

You don't really need to worry about it if you've got a tattoo.

There's not much you can do about it at this point.

But don't do further damage by promoting tattoos.

Just don't worry about the one you already have. And if you don't have one, don't get one.

God's not opposed to self-expression. We're going to get into this later in the series. God is not opposed to self-expression. He loves self-expression. He doesn't want us to all be frumpy and depressed and walk around all...

You know, there's a word dressed shame-facedly. So we think that we need to be ashamed of ourselves. It doesn't mean that. We'll get into that later.

Self-expression is awesome. God made all kinds of variety, and He made you just the way you are. But He made boundaries. He put up borders.

And we stay within those borders. We can express ourselves any way we want.

Don't say I'm judging you to warn you not to go outside the line.

He does set limits and boundaries.

The things that this world honors, like tattoos, are detestable to Him.

You belong to Him. You are an ambassador for Jesus Christ.

Live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

And keep tattoos off of your body.