IS SMOKING A SIN WORTHY OF DISFELLOWSHIPMENT?

[Stephen63]

I place smoking under this category: All things are lawful for me but all things are not profitable for me.

It is not those things that enter into a man that defiles a man....
All things unto Paul were lawful, but not all things were expedient....

Our body is a temple because God resides in it by His Spirit.
It is not what goes into our bodies that defiles us (the temple). It is what proceeds from a mans heart that defiles him (the temple).
So I do not agree that a man defiles himself by smoking a cigarette.
He is doing something that is not profitable.

Here's the scripture:
14After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16[“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”] 17When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

The context of what Jesus was talking about was FOOD!

This scripture, or any like it should not be used to excuse an addiction to something that is poisonous going into your body.

Tell the alcoholics & drug addicts that nothing that goes in them defiles them!

Go eat a handful of black widow spiders & come back & tell me how it didn't defile you.

God didn't design our lungs to inhale smoke. That's why so many people die in burning houses.

 

[Magenta]

If it was a sin then quite a few famous evangelists living in the last 50 to 150 years never made it.

Did the sacrifice of Jesus not suffice to cover smoking?

 

[OldSoldier]

Amen. Sounds pretty high and mighty, that fellow. I better not get around him, he will destroy me with all that there sinnin' and such I must do in his eyes.

 

[stonesoffire]

I will disclaim, I am a former smoker....I smoked for many years....I do not judge smokers, drinkers, fornicators, homosexuals, gluttons, strifers, mockers, gossipers, etc.

No...I do not think it reflects bad character to smoke......Personally, I think smoking reflects very poor physical and spiritual decision making ability......The health concerns alone should keep you from it and spiritually speaking if youa e in full time ministry it should not be a needful thing....this is my opinion and I do not

All that said, I do draw a line in the sand and have a ministry rule that you cannot and will not smoke, drink, fornicate, engage in homosexual sex or any form of same sex attraction with physical sex or not, be a glutton, spread discord or strife, be prideful and mocking, spread gossip, if you have been called, separated, chosen, refined, approved, validated, sent and anointed into Full time Ministry by God and the Holy Spirit.

Even if you are as spiritually mature as quicknedbyhim has shown he is about smoking, I still do not allow anyone on my leadership team, elders, teachers, worship leaders, musicians, and even certain volunteer positions[Altar/prayer team, children/student workers/office volunteers] engage in any of the above things.


There are 3 major reasons for this.

First & foremost is adhering to all of Romans 14 and not causing our weaker brothers and sisters to stumble...and not letting something they think is OK for them[smoking] to be evil spoken off by the self-righteous gang every church has...Causing baby Christians to stumble has serious implications as Jesus spoke about in Matt 18.1-10

Second,
Folks that are called, separated, chosen, refined, approved, validated, sent and anointed into Full time Ministry by God and the Holy Spirit are held to a higher scrutiny and standard. Like I said on another post....this is usually a complete non-issue for truly called people...

Lastly,
It sounds rather silly, but it keep's the scribes, lawyers and self-righteous pharisees from causing division and strife in the house. We do not have many like this, but we have a few that are as dug into their religious positions & traditions as some on this board are.

I cannot legislate their private lives and I will not. I do not make them sign a promise or vow, I treat them like the called and spiritually mature men and women of God they are. Likewise if one of the few scribes, lawyers or self-righteous pharisees bring me a social media pic of anyone drinking or smoking on the team. I do not take action, but rather re-direct the scribes, lawyers and self-righteous pharisees to handle according to Matt 18....that usually stops the witch hunts....this is almost a non-issue though, because like I said..for the truly called this is s non-issue.

That's how David Wilkerson was. There was no 3 strikes allowed. Just out.

 

[Stephen63]

If smoking was a sin ,Jesus would have said so, people's concerns are focused on the wrong things.

If abusing perscription drugs was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

If smoking marijuana was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

If eating poisonous spiders was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

If eating poop was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

I hope everyone get's the picture so I don't have to go to worse extremes.

 

[dcontroversal]

Here's the scripture:
14After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16[“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”] 17When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)20And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

The context of what Jesus was talking about was FOOD!

This scripture, or any like it should not be used to excuse an addiction to something that is poisonous going into your body.

Tell the alcoholics & drug addicts that nothing that goes in them defiles them!

Go eat a handful of black widow spiders & come back & tell me how it didn't defile you.

God didn't design our lungs to inhale smoke. That's why so many people die in burning houses.

We all knew it would not take long for a religious Pharisee(ical) lawyer to come along and begin to bind......and the word NOTHING means exactly that.....people like you close heaven up to those entering by your religious pretext and Pharisee type attitude!

 

[CaptainGoat]

All my life I've been a chain non smoker where I've just finished not having one before I go on to not having another one.
OK.. Thought I'd add that for fun!
Carry on everybody!

 

[Seekingfamily]

I want those that talk about putting poison in their bodies, being harmful to please explain...I know it says drink, but is it not still putting it in the body? [h=3]Mark 16:18[/h]They will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

 

[FranC]

~You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to NoNameMcgee again.~

Done. (from you)

 

[NoNameMcgee]

Done. (from you)

thanks!

^_^

 

[Infusion]

Tobacco is not bad for you its the 101 poisons they add to it. The lord made the plants and saw that it was all good. If you add poison to it yes its going to kill you. Ok organic tobacco is a little bad for you but not nearly as bad a caffeine. But ciggs kill more people in this nation than anything. Ciggs should be illegal and Christians that judge people obviously missed the entire point of the Bible.

 

[dcontroversal]

If abusing perscription drugs was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

If smoking marijuana was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

If eating poisonous spiders was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

If eating poop was a sin, Jesus would have said so.

I hope everyone get's the picture so I don't have to go to worse extremes.

The epitome of religion......found right here in this post......to the core!

 

[FranC]

Tobacco is not bad for you its the 101 poisons they add to it. The lord made the plants and saw that it was all good. If you add poison to it yes its going to kill you.

I'm not sure about this...

But I hear that they purposefully put the nicotine in the mix to make persons become addicted to it.

 

[posthuman]

If it was a sin then quite a few famous evangelists living in the last 50 to 150 years never made it

yes, and if i might give an example:

I demur altogether and most positively to the statement that to smoke tobacco is in itself a sin. It may become so, as any other indifferent action may, but as an action it is no sin.

Together with hundreds of thousands of my fellow-Christians I have smoked, and, with them, I am under the condemnation of living in habitual sin, if certain accusers are to be believed. As I would not knowingly live even in the smallest violation of the law of God, and sin in the transgression of the law, I will not own to sin when I am not conscious of it.

There is growing up in society a Pharisaic system which adds to the commands of God the precepts of men; to that system I will not yield for an hour. The preservation of my liberty may bring upon me the upbraidings of many good men, and the sneers of the self-righteous; but I shall endure both with serenity so long as I feel clear in my conscience before God.


​

- Charles Spurgeon
​

((perhaps you've heard of him))

 

[Infusion]

I'm not sure about this...

But I hear that they purposefully put the nicotine in the mix to make persons become addicted to it.

Yea that doesnt count because they add multiples too much. People who smoke would not touch organic tobacco. I mean cocoa leaf is harmless til its processed into crack. Crack is tons of chemicals like ciggs. You cant blame the base chemical thats not really harmful. Either way judging is the message Christ said over and over and over the one thing he just kept saying and saying,,,, his message. So how Christians judge people so much instead of try to show them where to get power is kinda nuts to me.

 

[dcontroversal]

I'm not sure about this...

But I hear that they purposefully put the nicotine in the mix to make persons become addicted to it.

Native American Indians who smoked tobacco naturally grown had NO lung ailments until White Europeans brought the diseases....and it is a well known fact that tobacco companies put chemicals in and certain additives which make cigs highly addictive.....

 

[Infusion]

And he kinda has a point tho. If the Lord never said it was a sin but he made it. I mean who are we to add our own sins that we think are wrong. This is not a religion based on our own logic and its not based on judgement.

 

[FranC]

We all knew it would not take long for a religious Pharisee(ical) lawyer to come along and begin to bind......and the word NOTHING means exactly that.....people like you close heaven up to those entering by your religious pretext and Pharisee type attitude!

Dcon,

I can understand some of your beliefs even if I don't agree with them....
However, how could you NOT understand what Stephen63 is getting at???

The verse could be taken to make ANYTHING be acceptable to the human body.
Not everything is good for us.
Jesus could not make a long list of things that should be avoided for FUTURE USE.

This makes common sense.
So IF Jesus didn't mention it, it's OK to do?

So what He DID mention, you give no importance to....
And what He DIDN'T mention, you give importance to...

How do you figure that???

 

[FranC]

Native American Indians who smoked tobacco naturally grown had NO lung ailments until White Europeans brought the diseases....and it is a well known fact that tobacco companies put chemicals in and certain additives which make cigs highly addictive.....

Thanks for confirming.

This is what I thought.

It was discovered back in the 80's, I think, when all the suits were going on and it was discovered that tabacco companies did this on purpose.

What humans can do to themselves...

 

[stonesoffire]

Meggido was speaking of those in ministry. Not those who are under ministry. There should be a difference for positions in the Kingdom...and maturity should be accomplished before entering a position.

Those who are captured by a spirit...condemnation will not release one. And nicotine does have a spirit attached. I know this for a fact by an experience I had while sitting in church going through the worship music.

I heard footsteps behind me, and this "person" went by me with a strong smell of tobacco. I thought it was a person I knew who smoked, but when I looked up...no one there.