Tattooed Christian?

A young adult posed an interesting question to me recently.  It boiled down to this: does having a tattoo (even if it’s a “Christian” symbol) disqualify a person from serving in a church leadership position?  Talk about walking through a minefield!  Maybe my answer should have been “a cross tattoo is okay, but anything else is from the devil!”  The truth is that this simple question is actually loaded with many other questions.

Should a Christian get a tattoo?  Obviously, there are cases where getting a tattoo is wrong.  If you disobey a parent in getting a tattoo, it is wrong.  Tattoos depicting sinful or anti-Christian behavior/attitudes would be wrong.  A tattoo that dishonors your spouse (or future spouse) is wrong.  Having a tattoo that causes another (perhaps less mature) Christian to stumble in their spiritual walk is also wrong.

But what about tattoos in general?  Well, we could go round and round about following Old Testament law.  God is pretty clear in Leviticus 19:28: “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.”  A legalist would say that this clearly means Christians shouldn’t get tattoos.  A libertine would say that Christ fulfilled the Law and so we are free to get whatever tattoos we want.

A radical Christian takes the whole truth of the Bible and applies it to their life.  The Leviticus passage, in context, was aimed at God’s chosen people being separated from surrounding cultures.  So the real question becomes: in all honesty, is my motivation in getting a tattoo based on my desire to honor God?  In other words, am I doing this to elevate myself (get others to notice me, fit in with my friends, or for the “cool factor”)?  Or am I doing it as an act of faith?  When you look at it from this standpoint, you realize it is not always a clear black-or-white issue, but one of individual faith.

So, would having a tattoo disqualify someone from a church leadership position?  I don’t think it necessarily should.  A tattoo obviously doesn’t affect someone’s salvation.  Other than the instances I mentioned above that are clearly wrong, the tattoo would be one of individual conscience.  However, if someone was interviewing for a leadership position, it would be legitimate to question them on their reason for getting a tattoo (along with a long list of more important questions).  But I hardly think a tattoo on its own disqualifies someone from a leadership post.

Young Christians and Christ's Commands

I love working with Christian young adults.  Even though I’m a Gen X’er, I identify a lot with the Millennials (born roughly between 1985 and 2004) and their worldview.  Of course, I’m generalizing here.  You have to generalize when talking about an entire generation.  What I’m about to say certainly doesn't apply to all our young adults, but it does apply to many of them. 

Christian Millennials are incredible in acting out their faith.  Need someone to do some tangible mission work?  Ask a Millennial.  They take to heart Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors.  They are spiritually minded (although that’s not the same as being filled with the Spirit).  They seek to redeem the world in practical ways.  Contrary to popular belief, they will involve themselves in church (if they don’t sense phoniness there—and their phoniness detectors are highly tuned!).  Many times, they even seek some deeper truths in Scripture that many in the older generations just gloss over.

However, like any generation, they have quirks that keep them from reaching their full potential.  I’ll concentrate here on what I consider the biggest stumbling block of many Millennials who consider themselves Christian: application of the full Word in their lives.

They have an understanding of some basic Scripture, but simply aren't very familiar with most of it.  They view God’s love as big enough to ignore their sins—even sins they persist in.  It’s almost a Chinese-buffet type of Christianity, where they pick and choose what to take to heart.

Where did they get this selective Christianity?  I think they got it from us, the older generations.  For example, we tend to consider some sins abhorrent but turn a blind eye to others.  We let our love for neighbors (a good thing) stop us from privately pointing out to them actions that displease God.  The Millennials amplified what older generations were already doing, and sometimes inverted it (turning a sin into a celebration).  And yet, they still think of themselves as journeying through life with Christ.

I can't cast too big of a stone.  I mean, who really lives like Christ wants us to?  Not me, for sure.  But Christ repeatedly pointed out that we have to consider the full cost of following Him (Luke 14:27-33), which includes obeying all He commands us (John 14:15, Matt 28:20).  We can't just pick and choose.  We have to take on the whole enchilada!

Tearing Down and Building Up

I recently went on a mission trip with a group of young adults.  At the end of a hard day of work, we gathered together and talked about the day’s events.  I asked the group if they saw anything that reflected Christ in the day’s activities. 

One young lady’s insightful reply really spoke to me.  She told us that our work of tearing down an old, unsafe porch and replacing it with a new, sturdy deck and ramp reminded her of our new life as Christians.  When we repented and turned to Christ, we left our old, broken lives and Christ builds in us a new, sturdy life.

To be honest, I was floored by such deep perception in such a young lady.  And yet, I shouldn’t have been surprised at all.  Although our young Christians may not have yet matured a great deal during their short spiritual journey, they also haven’t had time to develop scales on their spiritual eyes.  You may know those scales I’m talking about.  It’s the log in the eyes that Jesus spoke about, which can build up over time even in Christians if we focus too much on worldly things (or even churchy things) and not on Christ.

The young lady’s metaphor certainly hits the mark.  I would even take it one step further.  We consistently need to allow Christ to tear down those things in our lives that come from our sinful nature, and build up those things that honor God. 

Truly Saved? (Part 2)

In the last blog post, we addressed what it means to be saved.  I ended it by saying that salvation is a gift from God and—although we don’t create our salvation—we do reflect it.  How exactly do we reflect our salvation?

I encourage you to think about salvation as more than just a one-time experience.  Yes, a Christian is someone who at some point turned from their sinful life and began to trust Jesus Christ with their life.  The five-dollar word for this change is “regeneration,” which is a fancy way of saying the person is born into a new life.

At the same time that a Christian begins this new life in Christ, Jesus justifies them before the Father.  It is as if a person in a courtroom voluntarily takes the penalty for someone found guilty by a judge.  In this case, Jesus takes the penalty for our sin and allows us to stand guiltless.

Unfortunately, many contemporary churches begin and end the salvation experience with that one-time event.  However, that’s not the end of the story.  True salvation is a lifelong transformation from our sinful nature to Christ’s holy nature.  By God’s grace, Christ grows in us and we are molded into the new creature He wants us to be.  This process is referred to as “sanctification,” which means we are set apart. 

Unlike regeneration and justification, sanctification produces visible changes in a person’s life, as they cooperate with God in maturing as a Christian.  As a Christian studies, learns, and grows, Christ will produce spiritual fruit in them.  Spiritual fruit includes changes in character (Gal 5:22-23)—changes which in turn also affect others.  As a person “set apart,” the Christian obeys Christ’s commands and walks closer with Him during life’s journey.

So, if you are a Christian, I encourage you to look at salvation as a lifelong experience and not simply as a moment in your past.  This perspective will help you encounter Christ in a much more fulfilling and productive way!