Have You Gotten Your Lent Tattoo Yet?

“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:13-15).

Emergent Church Members Get Tattoos of Jesus’ Death for Lent

I must say this one has me a bit baffled (see link above)…for an opinion, that is. But what about you?

I have no personal distaste for tattoos or suspicion of those who have them, even though I don’t personally have any “ink.” Many of the most devout followers of Christ that I know have some sort of body art, although most of those graphics appeared during a former way of life that was marked by rebellion and making corresponding social statements (ironically, having a tattoo used to be very counter-cultural, but with their rise in prominence it may now be more radical NOT to have a tattoo). But that isn’t the debate here. The question: Is this a viable medium for communicating one’s faith or just another trend in the contemporary Christian community’s efforts to mimic the world’s methods of communicating what we believe (the Christian culture is usually quite late to this kind of dance)? In other words, are we just blending in and thus watering down our faith or is this one more way in which followers of Jesus can engage and redeem our culture? Since I have no definitive opinion about the initiative described in the article (believing this may be more about motives than methods), I’ll let you ponder these questions.

The point I’d like to make is a theological, not necessarily a practical or spiritual, one. What do we do with many of these Levitical laws? A section of this article addresses the dilemma:

“According to Leviticus 19:28, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.”

When asked how he and his fellow parishioners reconcile this verse with their planned art exhibit, Seay told CP that the context of the verse is important, noting that verse 27 states that a man should not cut the hair on the sides of his head or the edge of his beard.

“The problem was not with tattoos, but with the fact that getting a tattoo or cutting your hair/beard was a symbol that identified you with the worshipof pagan gods,” said Seay.”

Although I would probably not promote this kind of expression, Mr. Seay does have a point. There are many Old Covenant laws we aren’t held to today (animal sacrifice being a big one) and this particular book of the Bible is replete with such rules, as are other writings in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible which is often call the “Torah” or “The Law”). Now we have correctly kept some (earlier in Leviticus 19 we see a partial restatement of the 10 Commandments found originally in Exodus 20), conveniently kept some of them we like (take tithing, for instance), and banished others. Seay makes reference to the rule against clipping our hair and beard that we certainly don’t practice today (Leviticus 19:27). My favorite is 19:32 which tells us to “rise is the presence of the aged,” yet I see no one standing when I enter a room!

So how do we determine which of these are rules to be adopted today or just principles that help us understand God, His character, and His ways? Clearly there doesn’t seem, at least to me, to be any real consistency in many circles as to how we conclude which of these “laws” remain and which are no longer in effect in the New Covenant.

So I’d like to share my opinion. It may ruffle some feathers or it may cause some reflection – but here it is:

• First – did Jesus affirm such practices explicitly?
• Second – did Jesus affirm these laws implicitly? (The implication must not be forced).
• Third – did the writers of the New Testament affirm these rules either explicitly or implicitly (again, a clear reference) and thereby confirming or elaborating on the teaching of Christ and the New Covenant?

If not, in an extremely generalistic sense, I would suggest that these Old Covenant practices are lessons and principles to help us understand Father God and be guidelines for living. They are not meant to be practiced as “rules,” but, in some cases (like the dietary laws) can be employed as positive observances, object lessons, and spiritual/physical helps. But they are not to replace the sufficiency of Christ – who is He is, what He has done, and what He taught.

So what’s my recommendation? If you feel led by God and are pure in motive, go get a tattoo for the glory of God. But don’t expect me to be standing in line…I do have an aversion to needles. Nevertheless, this side of Calvary we are not bound by the law but have the freedom of grace. As long as it is for His glory, it reflects the precepts of the New Covenant framed by Christ Himself, and is not a compromise that bows down to our culture, then go for it! But leave me to my old-fashioned ways of caring for the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is my body.

If you are of a theological mindset, the link below might be of interest to you. As related to this post, pay particular attention to the section “Law/Gospel.” – New Covenant Theology – Theopedia, an encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity

Crying in the Wilderness and Pointing to Jesus

“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ “ Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.  He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:23-27). 

John the Baptist is described like an ancient version of Jeremiah Johnson. A rather strange fellow to the folks of that day he came from the wilderness dressed in a camel hair, coat eating locusts and honey, and baptizing converts in the river Jordon (Matthew 3:4). John was a prophet with a simple yet profound message – the Lord is here! With all of his quirks, John had but one mission – “to make straight the way of the Lord. And this Lord was, he said, greater than he and all of the Old Testament prophets combined. John was pointing people to Jesus. 

To better understand John’s message and ministry, let’s look at the passage from Isaiah that he was quoting: 

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.  A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”  A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever“ (40:1-8). 

This passage prophetically tells us that when John was pointing to Jesus he was telling the people these things: 

• A Comforter is coming (v. 1). Jesus claimed in John 14:16 that he was a Comforter and promised to send another (the Holy Spirit). 
• Forgiveness of sins would come through the Messiah (v. 2). Luke chronicles, “The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7:49). 
• The entire creation would be affected by His coming (v. 3-4). Paul explains, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21). 
• All mankind will see the glory of God in Jesus (v. 5). The gospel of John proclaims “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). 
• We are to call upon this Lord in acknowledgement of His might (v. 6-7). Paul tells us that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). 
• Jesus’ words are eternal life (v. 8). Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63).

What a message and what a mission did John have! And so do we. But don’t we often, despite the life-giving truth of our calling, feel like John –  as if we are crying out in the midst of a wilderness. We should feel that way because we are! This world is filled with those that are “separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Yet we are to go on pointing people to Jesus. It may cost us much (it cost John his head – Matthew 14:10) but we gain so much more. 

I don’t know what your wilderness is. It may be the spiritual desolation of your co-workers. It may be the dry souls of your family. It may be the barren hopelessness of your neighbors. It may be the cyber jungle of blogging. No matter what your wilderness is, I beg you to keep crying out and pointing people to Jesus. Why? Because, as the John the Baptist explains, Jesus is worthy (John 1:27). For He is our Comforter, the forgiver of our sins, His words are eternal life, and all mankind, including His creation, will eventually acknowledge that He is the Lord of the universe. And the wilderness He has called you to desperately needs Him.