Daily Archive

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19:28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.

There are people who have a misunderstanding about tattoos. They see in Leviticus where God clearly tells the children of Israel not to get tattoos. Some believers read this today and think it’s meant for every born-again believer.

Let’s look at this scripture in context. In Leviticus, God is calling the Hebrew people to be different or set apart from the people surrounding them (Exodus 19:6). In that day, the people surrounding the children of Israel, were in a religion where tattoos and cutting themselves was a way they paid homage to their god or got their god’s attention. God didn’t want the Israelites looking like or acting like them, which is why He said no tattoos.

This command was for that time, for the children of Israel, under the law. Most of us are not children of Israel and we’re no longer under the law. Through Jesus, our outward appearance doesn’t matter. God desires that our hearts are for Him (Matthew 15:8). Looking holy and being holy are two separate things. God only wants our hearts.

Under grace, we’re to be led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14). If He gives you permission to get a tattoo, get one. If He tells you to remove or cover up a tattoo, do that. Once again, our outward appearance doesn’t matter. God only wants our hearts.