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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The Bible never directly mentions smoking. There are principles, however, that definitely apply to smoking. First, the Bible commands us not to allow our bodies to become "mastered" by anything. "E...
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Philip Davies
Supporter
The Bible very clear about what is sin and what is not sin. If something breaks one of God's laws then that is sin. Where there is no law, there is no sin. (Rom 5:13) It is as clear and simple as that. There is no law against smoking in the Bible, so it is not sinful to smoke. The sad truth is that human beings, because of our traditions or our culture or our overactive sense of what we feel is right, we tend to create all kinds of additional rules which are not in the Bible and we try to make other people obey them. Kind Regards Philip
James Kraft
Supporter
Maybe we should just look into the weightier matters of the law. Love and mercy. If smoking is a sin to you, don't do it. But do not hold others to your standard of righteousness. My Christian garbage man does not smell good either. Just because someone does not smell like you, dress like you, and walk like you, it does not make them a great sinner. Some of you should know God very well since you have made Him with your own hands.
James Kraft
Supporter
If I understand Paul right, he was talking about sexual sin. If you read that verse in the context it was written he was talking about going to a prostitute and joining the Lord that lives in us to a prostitute. I know Christians use this verse for many other things. I know christians that will not drink coffee or pop and relate it to that same verse. My problem is that we tend to make our own rules and make them a blanket that covers everyone. That is why Paul wrote Romans 14 and Colossian 2. I have no doubt that smoking kills some people or leaves them with bad health. I also know that there are people who smoke all there lives and live to be a 100. George Burns smoked 10 to 15 cigars a day for 75 years, and lived to be a 100. That is why I say if smoking is a sin to you, don't do it. If you have the faith to smoke do it in your own garage before the Lord. Just because you have the freedom to smoke a little you should not lead others to believe it is OK for them too. I have a friend that had a masive stroke and has been in a wheel chair for several years now. He never smoked and was careful what he ate. Someone once said, " us health nuts will feel really stupid someday lying in a hospital bed dying of nothing." We all seem to carry everything to far.
John Whittaker
Supporter
Smoking isn't a sin any more than having an occasional glass of beer or wine is a sin. Smoking is just dumb. Excesses are where the sin lies; excesses become gods. Gluttony, regular drunkenness, addictive smoking (pot or tobacco) etc.
Lynda Hickman
Supporter
While there is no particular verse that says smoking is a sin, I believe 1 Corinthians 10:31, "THEREFORE, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of GOD" comes as close as any can! I learned many years ago, that as I study His Word, when I see the word 'THEREFORE' I need to look to the previous text to see what it's 'therefore.' For the most part, in the last 10 verses of this chapter, the Apostle Paul is talking about accepting an invitation to dine with "heathen", about the possible source of the food served & how a Christian should deal with such a situation. So bearing in mind that Paul is talking about foods, we can still see some basic truths about what glorifies GOD & what does not. While all things are lawful, ALL THINGS do not edify (vs 23). We are not to seek our own, but consider the well being of others (vs 24). It is true that "the earth is the LORD's & all it's fullness", still, the things we do & say must not be controlled by our own conscience, but by & for the conscience of others. (vs 28-29) Vs 30-33 is where it gets sticky....yes, the earth is the LORD's & tobacco is a plant that grows on the earth, but can we honestly give thanks for tobacco? Will the use of any tobacco product truly give glory to GOD? Can anyone's conscience truly believe that? Or is that self indulgence which is lack of self control over the lust of the flesh? Or is it resistance to the Holy Spirit to control one's life? We must not let the good things that are acceptable to our own consciences become something that is spoken of as "evil" by others. We must never use our liberty in ways that will injure or be a stumbling block to others & that includes the use of tobacco. In these verses, Paul urged believers to "give no offense" to anyone, not seeking one's own "profit" (those things that are good), but the "profit of many." Matthew Henry said, "Christians should be very cautious of doing what may thus prejudice the consciences of others & weaken their authority with them, which is by all means to be kept up." We live as examples to those we see every day, those who are saved & those who are not. If our authority as a Christian is damaged because of our actions, how can we be examples to others? As a young Christian I was influence to believe that drinking & smoking was acceptable behavior as I watched each weekend as the pastor of my church mowed his front yard with beer in one hand & cigar in the other. Even in church he smelled like cigars, as did a great portion of the congregation who all "lit up" the minute they were out the front door. What kind of example was that to all the kids? It is estimated that each pack of cigs smoked shortens a life by 55 days, causes genetic damage, all kinds of cancer, strokes & heart disease. How can putting all kinds of poisons into the body be a glory to GOD? If the knowledge of what tobacco does to the body doesn't persuade, then consider the "hidden" costs, like the cost of life, health & homeowners's ins. The increased cost of health care, medications, even a decreased value of your home & auto (the stink!). The average national cost of a carton of cigs is about $46. And if a pack a day is the habit, that is $138 a month. That money should be going to the spread of the gospel, not to coat the lungs with tar & nicotine. Imagine giving that $138 a month into a ministry offering, how sweet is that! It is my personal "conviction" that anyone who continues to smoke in light of all of the evidence is truly lacking wisdom. How can we be to GOD the "fragrance of Christ" (2 Cor 2:15) if we stink like an ashtray?
Claudia Waid
Supporter
Smoking is a "Sin against your Health." I used to smoke myself. I quit 16 years ago finally realizing that it was a Sin not the kind of sin that will keep you out of heaven but a Sin against your Health and Body Where Christ Jesus' Spirit lives. I had been a smoker off and on all my life beginning as a teenager & I wanted to quit and The Good Lord knew it. Each time I lit up a cigaret I felt so guilty, but my flesh on that addiction to that cigarette let me press on and smoke it anyway. Until one day as I lit it and began to take a drag & smoke that cigarette, I heard in my Spirit... (as I had the cigarette to my lips and as I was inhaling & looking at the red ball of Fire at the end of the cigarette) say "You Were Not Created To Breath Fire." I put that cigarette out so quick and was enlightened to that Truth! "God is a consuming fire" is written came to my mind. If you were to want to consume fire, what measures would you take? Get some water, naturallynaturally, and for another one, you could get Rid of Oxygen/Breath. Without breath, fire will be snuffed out right? We were created in God's Image. Just pray & Ask Father God to give you or your loved one the strength to quit In Jesus' Holy Precious Name! Amen :) Do your Best and Father God will do the Rest! :) May this Truth set you or your loved one from the bondage of smoking too! :)
rob casey
Supporter
Smoking various substances existed in romantic times and before. So why does the bible not mention this at all? Does it not simply go under the category of everything in moderation? Do not let it control you. Do not let ot master you. If you start feeling like you need a cigarette cut back until you again have control of it. If you become a heavy smoker you are committing a sin.
Kelly Noble
Supporter
Sin is anything we do in our heart or outwardly(which obviously originated in our heart) that puts a block up in our relationship with God. The bible is very clear that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. With this said, I feel that anything bringing harm to that "Temple" is sin, including smoking, because of health and other HARM. However, it doesn't stop with smoking. We are to care for our bodies just as carefully as one would a church building. Each may have personal convictions about how far to go concerning eating, drinking, etc. But two things are clear: 1. Our bodies are the temple 2. We have no freedom to do things that may cause another believer to stumble. Hope this helps!
Jay Saunders
Supporter
Smoking is sinful but it may not send you to hell. You see if the Lord convicts you of smoking then you should stop smoking. It is a sin to choose death over life because one of the names of the Lord is the Prince of Life. So shouldn't a smoker choose long life over a shorter life? Choose a healthy life style over a unhealthy life style. Are we not to practice all forms of self-control? The lord desires us all to have long life. "Beloved above all things I desire for you to prosper be in good health even as thy soul prospers." 3 John 1:2 Is it the example that you desire your children, grandchildren or friends to emulate? Christians are to lead by example so that you do not cause a weaker brother to stumble or fall. Smoking occasionally may not be sin but is not an addiction to anything sin? If you say smoking tobacco is exceptable then why not marihuana too. Where do you draw the line in the sand and say enough is enough? Obesity is just as sinful because it leads down the same path as smoking anything deaseses and a shorter life span. Choose life in Jesus name! Amen! Acts 3:15
Bud Zack
Supporter
I must disagree with the statement that smoking is a (minor) sin that will not keep one out of heaven. If a person lived a sinless life (hypothetical) except for the "sin" of smoking, that person would be hell bound, without the propitiation of Christ. In that sense, before a Holy God, it would be as lethal as any other sin. However, there are other factors to consider. For example, people with mental disorders such as mania, paranoia, anxiety, and more, find that nicotine actually reduces their stress levels. The natural body's chemicals in these conditions can actually be more destructive than nicotine. My mother had 18" of her colon removed because of cancer. The surgeon told her the cancer was most likely stress related. If cigarettes (thus nicotine) reduced her chemical releases that caused her cancer, wouldn't that mean that her not smoking would be the sin? For me it comes down to C.H. Spurgeon. He did enjoy his cigars. However, a cigar manufacturer actually put a sketch of Charlie on their packages to sell more product. When he saw this, he quit smoking, as he didn't want to encourage others to the habit. Sin, no. Ideal for representing our faith? Again no.
Kathy Akers
Supporter
My opinion is that when the Bible doesn’t mention smoking as a sin I believe smoking can be a sin to a certain person. What I mean is that smoking may not be a sin for one person, but another may feel convicted for doing so. If you feel that God doesn’t approve of you smoking, but you smoke, it can be a sin for you. As with other things not specifically mentioned in the Bible as right or wrong. My point is that we need to pray first & listen for what The Holy Spirit says. God bless each one of you.
Ben Jones
Supporter
1 Cor 3:16 & 17 "Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple." Hmm, if we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and if smoking destroys this temple, than smoking is a sin.
Justin Hale
Supporter
“And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; and they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18). This is what WE do, presuming that we have any faith whatsoever. Briefly put, we confront and bust up collective 'mentalities' backed by spiritual evil that make people grumble and complain instead of grateful. We invent or popularize 'new' languages that unite people in peace or ethical business across tribal lines, (like English, among many others). Like Moses in the desert, we find ways to end 'plagues' by going to GOD for help, (the 'serpent on the staff' remains the symbol for modern medicine to this day). We can ingest toxins known to kill, but in ways that demonstrate their 'natural purpose' as GOD originally created them. Finally we can 'empower' the sick by making them 'authorized instructors' in response to GOD 'choosing' them to carry a disorder of mind or body, making them 'ambassadors' of this illness until they are given divine wisdom to intuit, manifest, or invent a 'cure' both for themselves and for others, (that is what the 'laying on of hands' actually means). GOD can do any of this in a single instant of time, or take generations to unfold it all depending on our degree of faith. But if we are 'true worshipers' and 'born again' Christians, WE are already doing this, ALL of us. Nicotine happens to be the deadliest naturally occurring substance known to man. There are almost untraceable amounts of it in tobacco plants. Yet, dry the leaves and soak them in water and you have a cocktail that can kill you almost instantly. The plant itself uses the substance to kill or anesthetize insects. Is this a 'death-bearing substance,' (Mark 16:18, Gr. koine: 'thanasimos')? Absolutely. Are we commanded to 'ingest it without harm?' Absolutely. So if YOU aren't doing it in some way, others of your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are going to have to bear a bigger burden themselves, unless we want to face the consequences of disobedience. The question is: 'How do we actually do this?' All I can do is give you two personal illustrations, because that is all I have. I was a 'preemie' baby by about a month and was born with serious breathing and digestion problems, including allergies to even my own mother's breast milk. I spent a month in an incubator. Today, by GOD's grace, I don't have a trace of any of these health problems. One of my Jewish doctors even came to Christ because of it. So if this were you, would you be open to 'smoking?' Yet GOD asked me one day to buy a pack of smokes and go to a popular bar. I smoked two cigarettes while drinking one shot of nice whiskey. Then I walked out. I did this three days in a row. On the third day a strong male hand grabbed me rather forcefully on my way out. He told me that he wasn't 'hitting on me' but needed to speak with me about something. I didn't know him but I agreed to sit at a booth and chat. He said he watched me for three nights in a row do the one thing he always wished he could somehow do himself. Instead he closes out the bar each night. I told him about Jesus and he truly listened. The Holy Spirit also had me become a 'cigar aficionado' which is an expert on cigars, cigar making, including tobacco cultivation, leaf rolling, humidification and aging, and the art of smoking itself. However, like a sommelier or vintner, drinking up your finest products is silly. So they drink very little, but enjoy it immensely when they do. Likewise, an actual 'aficionado' smokes very little. This practice took me inside worlds where illicit drug dealers typically make their choice between growing tobacco and poisoning our children more directly with narcotic substances that grow equally well in the same conditions. Guess which one makes more sense?
M Marr
Supporter
The spirit of God's commandment in loving one's self is to care for yourself and to protect it from harm. The LORD did not specifically say, "Thou shall not smoke"; however, He did say your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit & not to defile it. Inhaling smoke and nicotine harms the body. Humorously, it has been said that If God wanted humans to smoke, He would have given us chimneys. When we repent of our sin, asking God to free us from its bondage, God is able & willing to set you free and He has done this for many --and INSTANTLY.
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