Marks that Matter
1) Q – Is tattooing a sin?
a. Different ways of asking this question which prompt different types of answers
b. Is tattooing a sin?
i. Sin – 1 John 3:4, 1 John 5:17
ii. Ans – no
c. What does the Bible say about tattoos?
i. Not much – Lev. 19:28
d. Is it permissible for a Christian to get a tattoo?
i. Multi-layered answer

2) Three different approaches to answering this question
a. Legalist – rules w/o relationship – follow the law to earn righteousness
b. Liberalist/licensist – freedom w/o any biblical restraint
i. Rom. 6:18 – free from sin, but should pursue righteousness
c. Literalist – approaching a topic from God’s Word and a correct historical-grammatical
hermeneutic
3) Main rebuttal to tattoos
a. Lev. 19:28
b. Problem – the context does not allow for a blanket application to all people and for
every reason
c. Context
i. Statement made in the context of the “holiness code? (Chp. 17-26)
1. Holiness – a separation, a sanctification
2. Not universal moral law – like the ten commandments
a. 10 commandments get repeated in the NT and applied to the
church context

ii. Command is not random – it is a command of identity
1. Israel was not like the other nations and their worship and practices
were not “borrowed” from surrounding nations
2. Commands given to Israel to mark a separation
iii. Begs the question – what practices did the surrounding nations engage
in that Israel was called out of?
1. Cutting themselves in grief rituals – 1 Kings 18:28
2. Body marking – temporary or permanent
a. Honored the dead, showed devotion and dedication to a deity,
a way to signify ownership

3. IOW – marking the body was not simply an aesthetic choice, it was a
theological statement

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d. We must be careful to apply Lev. 19:28 as a strict command for tattooing
i. KJV gets the translation correct – “print any marks”
1. Print – write, inscript, engrave
2. Marks –
a. Hapax legomenon (lego – man – non) – Grk. – something said
once
b. We do not have other usages to go off of to tell us how this
word is applied and used – we can only go off immediate
context
i. Practice of surrounding nations
ii. Likely to do with grief rituals
1. IOW – you do not handle death the way
surrounding nations do
a. Why? – we serve the God of life
3. Be careful to give a word full meaning that outside of the biblically
defined and used definition

4) Truth
a. OT – identified certain practices of body markings with pagan rituals which God’s people
were to have nothing to do with
i. Primarily an issue of sanctity and identity
1. Sanctity laws – food, clothing, worship, and marks
ii. Given to OT Israel to govern the nation as they emerged in a new area with a
specific task – to be a blessing to all people and manifest who God is in those
areas
b. NT – silent on the topic
i. The word "tattoo" does not appear in the New Testament, nor does any specific
Greek term directly corresponding to modern tattoos.
ii. Interesting and worth noting – the NT doesn’t use the OT line of argument
1. Nor does the NT say

5) Paul’s principle of liberty
a. 1 Cor. 6:12 & 1 Cor. 10:23
b. Lawful – exestin – legal, allowed, within freedom
c. Expedient – beneficial, profitable, bringing together for good
d. Principle – not everything that is permissible is profitable
e. IOW – Paul presents a way of Christian life that say:
i. Not – it this allowed
ii. But – is this helpful, does this build up, does this glorify God

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6) 4 questions of wisdom you should ask – Think before you Ink
a. Motivation – Why am I doing this?
i. 1 Cor. 10:31, Prov. 16:2
1. Glory – doxa – weight, honor, worth
ii. God is not merely concerned with action – He also addresses our aim
1. Beatitudes – attitudes of being
iii. Is this driven by my identity in Christ or a identity Crisis?
b. Message – What does this communicate?
i. 2 Corn. 3:2 – you are preaching something whither you intend to or not
ii. IOW – your life is a letter read by others
iii. Good question – does this point people to Christ or Culture?
1. Argument often given – I’m getting this tattoo to help evangelize
a. Follow up – how is that going? Are you a great evangelist now?
b. Truth – if you cant evangelize with just the Word, you’re not
doing it correctly

iv. Good question – is the message clear, confusing, or compromised?
v. In the ancient world (and even in today) tattoos were used to convey
ownership, allegiance, and identity
c. Ministry – How does this affect others?
i. 1 Corn. 8:9
ii. Rom. 14:13
1. Stumbling block – an obstacle that trips
2. IOW – liberty bows to love
iii. Christian liberty is real and should not be self-centered
iv. Think – placement, image, etc…
d. Maturity – think long-term
i. Eph. 5:15
1. Circumspectly – carefully, accurately, with precision
a. Opposite of missing the mark

ii. Heb. 5:14 – full of age = maturity
iii. Maturity will ask – will I stand by this decision 10,20,30 years from now?
iv. Principle – treat something permanent