There are 613 laws in the Old Testament.
As Christians, we don’t follow most of them, other than the ones that are truly sin, today.
There are many civil, moral, and ceremonial laws – many laws that applied to the Jews in the Old testament, but make no sense for us to follow today.
But let’s talk about tattoos.
“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:26-28
Besides the obvious fact that this verse is referring to making cuts on your body “for the dead,” there is an interesting verse here about eating blood.
Eating a medium or medium-rare steak equals eating blood.
Verse 28 is typically quoted as a stand-alone verse about tattoos, but when we back up a couple verses, we see one of many laws that we don’t follow today.
Why?
Because we’re not under the law. We’re under the spirit. We don’t follow all of the “weird” laws, but this one, supposedly about getting tattoos in general, is one we follow?
In Romans, Paul explains how we live under grace, and under the Spirit, not under the law.
Our bodies are temporary until we go to be with the Lord, and have a new body. Why would God be against us using our body to glorify Him?
Tattoos are a great conversation starter, and they definitely don’t give off the message that we, as Christians, think we’re holier that someone else. Plus, there are plenty of people covered in tattoos. Why would we want them to feel like they’re living in sin all their life? We wouldn’t. It’s ridiculous.
It’s possible that Jesus will have tattoos when He returns (See Revelation 19:16), but I’m not here to argue that. (By the way, it’s funny that this concept offends people, especially highly conservative people. What’s the big deal if Jesus has a tattoo? If that’s not what Revelation means, then that’s fine too.)
What I am here to argue is that there is nothing wrong with Christians getting tattoos. I would be careful what you decide to get on your body, since it’s permanent, but tattoos can actually be a great conversation starter. They also level the playing field for many. And they can look really awesome.
I have several tattoos, and they all glorify God. I think He’s ok with that.
Go get tattooed for Jesus. If that’s your thing. If not, no big deal.