As Christians, we are freed from the power of sin and are now slaves of righteousness. As servants of Christ, we should seek to honor God in every part of our lives. This includes the way we dress and our personal appearance. It’s important to understand how a biblical worldview affects the way we present ourselves to the world.
Tattoos are one of the ways we can send a message to the people around us without saying anything. Because outward appearance is a big part of how we communicate with those around us, it’s important to understand what the Bible says about tattoos!
Understanding Biblical Law
There’s only one verse in the Bible that specifically mentions tattoos. Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.”
This verse is part of the Old Testament law (also known as the Levitical law)—the set of instructions and guidelines that God gave to the Israelites about everything from the construction of the tabernacle (the tent where they kept the Ark of the Covenant) to what kind of fabrics they could use to make their clothes to punishments for various sins.
Old Testament law is often divided into three categories: moral, civil, and ceremonial.
The Moral Law
Moral laws are God’s unchanging rules of moral right and wrong. The best example of the moral law is the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments forbid stealing, lying, adultery, murder, covetousness, using God’s name improperly, dishonoring parents, and idolatry.
While God’s moral law wasn’t officially written down until the days of Moses, it has existed since the beginning of the world, eternal and unchanging. Paul and the other apostles testified to this, as did Jesus himself.
The moral law is important for three reasons. First, it helps us understand God’s character and shows us that we cannot meet God’s standard of righteousness through our own efforts. Second, the moral law helps to restrain sin. Third, the moral law helps us understand how we can live a life that is pleasing to God.
Christians are still called to follow God’s moral law, although we will not bear the punishment for failing to do so perfectly!
Read more about the moral law:
The Civil Law
Civil laws set a standard of behavior with the intent of protecting the people who live under them. Think of the rules that govern how we drive our cars, like speed limits and stop signs. Civil law is usually based on some kind of moral law. For example, traffic laws exist because people agree that human lives matter and deserve protection. Different cultures and times often have different civil laws, and the civil laws of ancient Israel don’t apply to us today. Israel’s civil laws deal with things like how judges should behave, treatment of slaves and servants, and how the Israelites should go to war.
Read more about the civil law:
The Ceremonial Law
Ceremonial laws are the laws that govern the small concerns of day-to-day life—food, clothing, worship, and more. The purpose of the ceremonial law was to set Israel apart from the pagan nations that surrounded it, to show the world that God’s chosen people were different. Many of the ceremonial laws also existed to protect the Israelites from sickness, like forbidding them to eat pork or shellfish, which often carried parasites.
Once Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, the ceremonial law was no longer necessary. God never intended the ceremonial law to last forever. Instead, the “set-apartness” that Israel experienced by living under the ceremonial law acted as a picture of the perfect holiness that God’s people would experience one day through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For this reason, Christians no longer need to follow the ceremonial law—and Paul had some harsh words for those who tried to teach new Christians that they did need to obey it!
Read more about the ceremonial law:
But What About Tattoos?
Leviticus 19:28 is part of the ceremonial law. During the time of Moses, members of the pagan nations around Israel often cut or marked their skin at funerals. The pagans believed this ritual would please their gods and show respect for the dead. Tattoos usually indicated loyalty to a particular pagan god—definitely not something the people of Israel wanted to communicate to the nations around them!
But as Christians today, we’re not living under the ceremonial law—so how do we navigate the issue of tattoos?
It’s important for us to remember that once we have received Christ’s redemption, our bodies are no longer our own to do whatever we want with.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says this: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
When you are in Christ, your body becomes the dwelling place for God’s Holy Spirit! Your goal should be to glorify God in your body. You can do this by taking good care of it through how you feed it and what you do with it, and by grooming and dressing it in a way that honors the Lord.
So while getting a tattoo isn’t a sin, it’s still important to think through it carefully and biblically.
3 Tips When Thinking About Tattoos
Here are some practical tips to help you navigate the issue of tattoos.
Examine your motivations
What is it about the idea of a tattoo that appeals to you? Is it because your friends are doing it? Is it because you like the look of it? Are you just trying to fit in? Or is it important to you to have a physical reminder of a message or something else?
Oftentimes, the desire to make drastic changes to your physical appearance is rooted in an identity crisis. Your identity doesn’t lie in the way you look, whether or not you fit in, or how popular you are. If you are a Christian, your identity is that of a beloved child of God! Don’t allow Satan to distract you from the glorious inheritance you have in Christ Jesus by telling you that your identity lies elsewhere. Basing your identity on anything other than who you are in Christ will only lead to disappointment.
Consider the implications
God didn’t want the Israelites tattooing themselves because of what tattoos represented in their time and culture. Like anything else about your physical appearance, tattoos communicate something about you and your character to the people around you.
It’s also important to consider the fact that tattoos are a permanent alteration to your body (unless you get an expensive removal treatment). If you were to get one, would you continue to like it for the rest of your life?
Talk to your parents about it
Your parents were your age once, and they’ve probably already thought about all the things that you’re working through now. Ask their advice and really listen to them. They have a lot of wisdom to share with you on topics like this, and they’re motivated by love and concern for you!
A Final Thought
1 Corinthians 15:48 says this: “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
Paul is saying that the sinful image of Adam (the man of dust) that is stamped on our hearts will be replaced by the holy and righteous image of Jesus Christ (the man of heaven). In other words, Jesus Christ has placed his own “spiritual tattoo” on you. The amazing thing about this verse is that Paul is taking the old interpretation of tattoos (showing loyalty to a false god) and applying it in a whole new way. Jesus Christ has stamped his image on you by filling you with the Holy Spirit. This “spiritual tattoo” should tell the people around you that your loyalty belongs to your God—and that’s more important and meaningful than any tattoo you could ever have.
