🎥 Baptist Bold: Ask a Pastor
📅 Episode 12 – Saturday: Culture & Christianity
Question: “Is It a Sin to Get Tattoos?”
🎬 Intro Script:
Welcome to Baptist Bold: Ask a Pastor—where truth isn’t filtered, and the Bible has the final word. I’m Pastor Joshua Tapp from True Words Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Let’s get into today’s question…
📖 Answer:
In a culture where tattoos are everywhere—even on pastors—this question isn’t about style. It’s about Scripture.
Is it a sin to get tattoos?
Yes. And here’s why.
1. God Specifically Forbids It
📖 Leviticus 19:28 — “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.”
God didn’t stutter. Tattoos were a pagan practice of marking the body for the dead, gods, or identity. God told His people not to do it.
2. Your Body Is Not Yours
📖 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 — “Ye are not your own… glorify God in your body…”
God owns your body. You were bought with a price. That means you don’t have the right to carve into it, ink it up, or decorate it like a billboard for rebellion or regret.
3. It Identifies You with the World—Not with Christ
📖 Romans 12:2 — “Be not conformed to this world…”
Tattoos today aren’t about tribal scars—they’re about fashion, rebellion, self-expression, and fitting in with the world’s trends.
Christians are supposed to stand out—not blend in.
4. It’s a Gateway to Other Sinful Identity Issues
Where do you draw the line?
- Neck tattoos?
- Face tattoos?
- Blasphemous tattoos?
- Tattoos celebrating death, horror, pride, vanity?
If it’s okay to tattoo your body, why not pierce your face, brand your flesh, or mutilate your gender?
It all comes from the same root: me-centered rebellion.
5. Regret, Not Righteousness, Follows Tattoos
📖 Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Most tattooed people regret it later. Laser removal is booming. People cover them up, hide them in job interviews, or try to rebrand them with Christian words.
God never leads people to do something that violates His Word.
🎯 Bottom Line:
Yes, tattoos are a sin.
Not unforgivable. Not unredeemable. But still sin.
📖 Leviticus 19:28 still applies. God still hates markings.
📖 1 Corinthians 6:19 still means your body isn’t yours.
📖 Romans 12:2 still commands you to stop copying the world.
If you’re saved and tattooed—God can still use you.
But if you’re saved and planning to get tattooed—you’re in rebellion.
Obey God. Leave the ink behind.
🎬 Outro Script:
Got more questions? Drop them below and hit subscribe for daily bold Bible answers. I’m Pastor Joshua Tapp—see you next time on Baptist Bold: Ask a Pastor.
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