Christian Freedom

Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea. StormRider reporting

The citizens of my quiet little community have been engaged in heated discussions about tattoos and body piercings, particularly for those of the male gender, for the past month and a bit, on our intranet message boards. Since I am an individual to whom this applies, I thought it time to comment, and provide a Biblical basis for my reasoning.

First off, I am OK with tattoos, earrings, colored hair, and other such things. Like music, I believe much is decided by personal preference. Obscenity and blatant immorality should be avoided, but barring that, I think a person can do to their body what they are personally ok with.

However, the real subject is… Christian Freedom.

Jesus says, “If you continue in My word, then are you truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does not remain forever, so if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” (John 8:31-36)

What is this truth? According to John 14:6, in which Christ says, “I am…the truth,” then Jesus is truth. Further, in 2 Timothy 2:15, Christians are admonished to handle the “word of truth”. Mark declares his gospel “the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1) and this Son is, according to John, “the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1). Therefore, Jesus is God and He is Truth. Everything He says is true, and is Truth itself. All these verses say that the more we know Jesus Christ, the more we will know truth, and that truth will set us free. Jesus will set us free.

If we need to be set free, the question arises, from what are we free? John 8 tells us that we are slaves to sin. Sin is everything and anything that goes against God or what He says. From the first instant in which the human person goes against God (sins) then this person is enslaved to sin. God set this ultimate standard, and only He is able to release us from the bondage of this standard. Thus, through Christ we are free from sin. Christ also came to set us free from something not bad, or contrary to God’s law at all. This is freedom from the Law. From the time of Moses until the time Christ came, the only way to gain favor from God was to keep a laborious law that God gave. Everything contained within was how to live a right life in the sight of God, and thus contained many things by which to live. This law cannot be kept in its entirety by anyone, and thus becomes a heavy burden. When Christ came, He not only frees us from sin, but the oppression of the Law. Consider Romans 8:1-2: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” The Law is that which God set down as His standard, in not keeping it, we sinned. Thus Christ freed us from both the law and sin.

What does this freedom mean? First this freedom means Life. Romans 6:23 informs us that, “the payment of sin is death.” The penalty for breaking God’s law is death. Thus, most prominently, Christ saves us from death. Secondly though, Christ saves us from enslavement to the Law. Not only are Christians free from the penalty of the law, we are free from the Law itself. Romans 7:6, “But now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not oldness of the letter.”

But how does this play out in life, and does this apply to controversial topics such as earrings, tattoos, and colored hair? I believe it does, intimately so. When humans were freed from the Law, we were freed from legalism, the belief that in order to be right with God, one must do or not do certain things. That meant believers adhered to strict standards and dared not deviate. Now, we have freedom to do what we want. A little interjection must be made, that this discussion and freedoms do not apply to God’s moral law. That is the law that says, “Do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc.” That law is still in place and is non-negotiable.

What I am talking about is the traditional, the ceremonial law, the list of cultural and social dos and don’ts. For example, the mandate not to eat pork, or to not wear cloth made of two different materials. Earrings, tattoos, and any other area in which moral law does not apply, is open to two things: conscience and preference. God built into each one of us a sense of right and wrong. (Every culture on the planet has some kind of morals- some definition of right and wrong actions.) Thus decisions that apply to non-moral judgments are to be made under conscience. Preference is that which we choose and like above other things. The danger in this area is that some Christians apply their preference to others and think that their preferences are “right”, as in, applies-to-everyone-right. This is simply incorrect. God may lead some people to not do things, and in their case it is wrong for them, but not wrong for others. God led Paul to remain single, and Paul said that it was good for him, and probably good for others, but certainly not for everyone.

To help apply this to the specific topics of tattoos and earrings for men, I will draw on recent discussion on the Ukarumpa message boards. Before I do, a little history. Tattoos and male piercings have been thought of as wrong, rebellious, and certainly not what a Christian should do. Now, as time brings changes, these are becoming more mainstream ideas. Also, this stigma only applies in Western cultures. In many other cultures tattoos are commonplace and the topic is not even considered; so too for earrings (including the culture of Israel during the time of Christ). So, to help Conservative Western Christians decide these controversial issues, Heather Relyea, John Herring, and Peter Holliday have some statements to make. I will respond to each, in turn.

Mr. Holliday, a teacher and administrator says, “I choose to do with my body what I believe is right and honorable for me and for me alone. If others choose to do something else by their choice then that is their business. I defend my position because my choice and my direction in life are my business, however, I will not condone an action that I would not personally take to gain the approval of someone else. I would be a hypocrite if I said that something was ok when I wouldn’t do it myself. (Or couldn’t even contemplate the thought of doing it even when I have the choice to.) That is not to condemn the other person; it is just to say what I believe is right for me, that I wouldn’t do it…everyone thinks my rules have to apply to us all. I am happy for you to beg to differ with me for now. It is all right. I might grow up someday. Whether you are covered with tats or your have ear, nose, brow, whatever pierced doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I consider it sin for me not to love others with the love of Christ.”

I agree. What is one person’s conviction is right for them, and no other (unless the convictions are the same). I am not so sure about “I would be a hypocrite if I said that something was ok when I wouldn’t do it myself.” I believe one person can live by a standard, but say that this standard is not universal, and say that it is ok for someone to live contrary to that standard. This is actually what Paul did in his comments about marriage. And, everyone is wrong to assume that Mr. Holliday’s personal beliefs apply to them, they don’t; and God commands us to love others.

Mr. Herring was a youth pastor and is deeply involved with teens.

He says, “The reason beyond tattoos and piercings I wanted to discuss was this word that keeps getting thrown around in Christian circles–OFFENSIVE. Why is it that all of us (me included) get offended so easily? If it is not earrings or tattoos, its drums played in church or too many hymns. How can we control the height and color of someone’s hair, or body odor so that it is not so offensive? I had a difficult time coming to the understanding that I could not save anyone in my youth group. It didn’t matter how many times I beat them over the head with Scripture or told them the dangers of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I became so much more effective when I genuinely became their friend and loved them. Sometimes I could only pray when I saw they were headed for trouble. But I had to earn the right to tell them what they were doing wrong. They had to know that I loved them with all my heart and I was concerned for them. Teenagers can see through fake concern, in fact, they will test you over and over to see if you will stick with them.”

I agree. Many Christians, in this discussion will quote I Corinthians 8:9 “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak,” or “is offended” as the King James Version of Romans 14:21 says. If someone does something, and a not-so-knowledgeable Christian does the same thing, but it is wrong for him, this is the stumbling block. Many Christians, however, use this to defend their preferences and condemn others for exercising freedom. But the difference is many Christians know better and would not do the whatever-it-is but quote the verse and say, “You have caused me to stumble and be offended,” and demand the other person stop. This is just plain wrong and corrupt reading of Scripture. This is not a policy to live by, nor is it to be used against Christians doing things you yourself are convicted against. This verse applies to warn mature Christians to be careful, and for immature Christians to be watchful of older brothers, but not copy blindly.

The second part of Herring’s statement has to do with being culturally current. Most teenagers today (I know, I am one) will ignore someone in a shirt and tie, but would pay attention to someone dressed like themselves. To reach out to others means you step out of your comfort zone to be like them in such a way that you do not cause yourself to be outside of their group. This is why translators live like the people in their village, why undercover cops act like criminals, and why John Herring dresses and acts like teens- it is so they can connect and be accepted as part of the group to maximize contact and effectiveness. Paul said, “To those who are without the law [I became] as those without the law.” (I Corinthians 10:19-23) To reach some, we must be like them. Therefore, to cling to rules would set you apart and put all power of reaching beyond hope, but to relax dress and rules puts you within reach.

Finally, considering the culture and relational aspect of things, and summing up is Heather Relyea. She grew up as a teen in Ukarumpa, and in a village as part of a translation team; and observed many cultural things rather closely, both in Papua New Guinea and America.

This is what she has to say, “Interesting that PNG culture not only allows, but encourages and finds beautiful facial tattoos on women, as well as (traditionally) nose piercings and ear piercings that are even more extreme than the average western piercings. There’s a song that says “What if God were one of us…. just a stranger on the bus, tryin’ to make his way home…?” If the Lord walked among us in human form today, would He come as a seminary professor or Bible Translator? I don’t know, but He may just as likely choose to have several piercings and tattoos. He’d relate to a lot of people that way, for sure! Obviously there is a balance that has to be struck but our outreach has to target the crowd that we’re trying to reach. That doesn’t mean a mission trip to a red-light district means that you’d have the same actions as those around you. There’s a balance of relating to with being a part of a culture. There is a marked difference between comfort zone/preference and godliness. Just ’cause something is out of my comfort zone, doesn’t mean that it is a salvation or sin issue. Someone can be a Christian and God-seeker, without being the epitome of mainstream western Christian culture. To me, that’s refreshing!

As far as I can see God is in the business of putting us OUT of our comfort zone. How would any of us come to him otherwise? How would we grow??? Not that we want to offend people needlessly, but I’ve found since I got to University that often not being a ‘stumbling block’ can be over-used in a spiritually manipulative way. People at school have used the stumbling block issue on things that weren’t core to the faith, just so that they didn’t have to think about or deal with those that thought differently from them. Sort of an “I disagree with what you’re saying, therefore you’re being a stumbling block to me and you’re wrong to do that so you should stop.” I do not think that that is probably the correct usage of that verse. We are beseeched to ‘bear with one another in love,’ but there is a difference between that and taking issue with every ‘stumbling block’ that is not in our preference/comfort zone.

Our culture doesn’t always dictate what’s right and wrong–often, cultures are wrong; we have to ask the Lord to help us see people’s hearts, particularly when dealing with differences like these. However, we have to look at the heart–most of the people at my university are Godly, wonderful people who truly want to know and serve the Lord. I may disagree with them on issues, but for me, they are still my brothers and sisters in Christ. My disagreements with them shouldn’t negate the fact that I am still required by Christ to live as ‘one body’ with them. As far as I gather from all of my interactions and Bible classes at school, the people at my university believe in the same Jesus Christ I do, and trust him in the same way for their salvation. [This] is not a thing that should divide the Body of Christ, they are my family in Christ–our differences do not change that. I think this applies to tattooing and piercing. Just because someone plays a musical instrument or has a tattoo or piercing doesn’t mean his/her soul is sold to the devil! On the contrary–they may be completely sold out for Jesus! Those ‘superficial’ things don’t have anything to do with the heart, unless they are somehow a manifestation of a bad attitude or wrong heart-position but who would we be to say that?

Simply because someone is different on the outside, doesn’t mean that he or she is not a valuable, equally effective, member of Christ’s body. It’s hard to not let cultural background or preference get in the way of our thinking of other Christians, but the Lord does look at the heart. It’s good to remember that when we look at others or ourselves. If Christ is preached, and others are being reached–Praise God on that!”

Too much of a good thing is not so good, like pizza and Coke at a party. And a tattoo that is body shaped is a little extreme, but not sinful or wrong. These verses and others provide a strong case for creative license. The Bible doesn’t give guidelines on hair style, or on color. But the Bible gives guidelines on living, and most apply to relationships with other people. If someone has a major issue with earrings, and you wear it to annoy them, then that is wrong. Or for a recent example, eyebrow rings on women in Papua New Guinea culture signify homosexuality. A volunteer just came and was asked to remove her ring for the duration of her stay. Not because it was wrong, but because in this culture at this time, it was not helping her minister to those around her. Just like everything, we Christians should be culturally aware, and “When in Rome…” but we are also able to exercise our free will and creativity.

Christian freedom is not an “Open Season” license, but a state in which we can make decisions about life that do not jeopardize our moral standing with God. Christians, and others, are still accountable to God for everything we do, but we live as forgiven sinners, and do not carry a threat of judgment for personal choice.

Christ said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Legalism gets in the way of living, and I believe that the more we worry about keeping the little rules that don’t matter, the more that hinders our Christian life and our effective witness as Christians. Christ lived with sinners, ate at the reject table, hung out with prostitutes, cheats and liars, then hung out on a cross to pay for the sins He forgave. He remained perfect, yet met sinners where they were. If Christ did, so should we. That is Christian freedom.