Is Smoking Tobacco a Sin?
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The ultimatum was ignorant.....and Paul said that all things are lawful, but not necessarily expedient....
The 26th commandment of MEN....Thou shaltest not-est smoketh or thoueth will burneth in hell-etthhhhhhhhh.....In the book of Religion chapter 6 verse 66!!!!!
Keep in mind that much of our lives are filled with sin. Even our thoughts can become sinful so it is easy for our lifestyles to fall weak to sin.
Most things people smoke today are addicting and there is always the debate of is addiction sin due to its characteristics of a illness brought on by the sin of first choosing to put something in the body that doesn't have any health benefits. If addiction isn't a sin in itself because the individual needs help freeing themselves from it then the first choices before addiction and the choice of not getting help knowing addiction is harmful could possibly be sin.
Sin can cause harm to the body. Cancer is largely linked to modern cigarette use..
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
With anything ask yourself does this glorify God or can I use it to glorify God. If no then probably best to leave it alone.
1 Corinthians 6:12
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
Now maybe you smoke natural tobacco and are not dominated by the nicotine. It may be lawful but smoke in general can damage the lungs. So it definitely isnt helpful. If you are dominated by smoking then you are a slave to it.
2 Peter 2:19
19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
Some people spend so much of the money God stewards us to fund their addictions. To the point our addictions can become idols. I sadly know some folks who in the middle of church service they are thinking about their next cigarette right after the service. Or their next social media binge if they are not already on their technology during the service.
This isnt to pick on the smoker. We all have sins and all have lifestyles that are not treating the body right. Gluttony is killing many of us.
Philippians 3:19
19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.
Most things people smoke today are addicting and there is always the debate of is addiction sin due to its characteristics of a illness brought on by the sin of first choosing to put something in the body that doesn't have any health benefits. If addiction isn't a sin in itself because the individual needs help freeing themselves from it then the first choices before addiction and the choice of not getting help knowing addiction is harmful could possibly be sin.
Sin can cause harm to the body. Cancer is largely linked to modern cigarette use..
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
With anything ask yourself does this glorify God or can I use it to glorify God. If no then probably best to leave it alone.
1 Corinthians 6:12
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
Now maybe you smoke natural tobacco and are not dominated by the nicotine. It may be lawful but smoke in general can damage the lungs. So it definitely isnt helpful. If you are dominated by smoking then you are a slave to it.
2 Peter 2:19
19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
Some people spend so much of the money God stewards us to fund their addictions. To the point our addictions can become idols. I sadly know some folks who in the middle of church service they are thinking about their next cigarette right after the service. Or their next social media binge if they are not already on their technology during the service.
This isnt to pick on the smoker. We all have sins and all have lifestyles that are not treating the body right. Gluttony is killing many of us.
Philippians 3:19
19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.
Marijuana hasn't been medically proved to help many of the things people claim. There is medical evidence of helping cancer patients eat, small pain management, and possibly helps with epilepsy.
Everything else hasn't been researched. Marijuana can be addicting as it releases chemicals in the brain that the brain takes a liking to or relates whatever trigger to the urge to release that chemical again.
Also their is many uses for cannabis without smoking it. Alchohol was used in the new Testament but drunkenness was forbidden. If something is mind altering and you are abusing it for that purpose like taking a pain killer just to feel high then yes that is sin.
There is a good Christian organization https://learnaboutsam.org/
that is fighting the new Big Tobacco rise but instead called Big Marijuana rise of the tobacco industries taking control over the cannabis markets making still many people getting their weed from the black market. Two adult deaths have possibly been linked to edibles and a Colorado children's hospital said it has seen an uptick in the number of admissions of children who ingested marijuana-laced foods
Still not much research has been done on affects of brain cells. But from personal experience by being around pot heads in school. They never was like their old self again. And not very productive while being high.
I am, too.
Personally I consider smoking tobacco to be a sin, although I don't promote kicking folks out of church for it like some groups have (Seventh Day Adventists and Armstrongites come to mind).
I knew a guy who had AIDs and took marinol pills for appetite stimulation. Only he would hoard them until Sunday. He would take them all at once, on an empty stomach, and get high after services at home.
I think his greatest incentive regarding church services is that he bought the donuts, and got first choice before the rest of the congregation got there.
By the way, I'm not just imputing motives to him...he actually told me this. I am not sure if he was joking or not. I don't think he was, because once, from my car, he yelled to a bunch of teen girls doing a church car wash (not the same church) asking them to show him their chests. After that I never talked to him again. It was very embarrassing to be in the same vehicle and see the faces of the girls after he did that...it was obvious they realized they were being viewed like sex objects.
I am sure some people use marinol for genuine need, though, and I understand it can't usually get you high unless you do something abnormal like he did.
All good points, although I don't think "gluttony" is necessarily talking just about food in the last verse. I believe it's talking about responding excessively to the God-given desires in general, including sex or whatever, beyond excess. Man tends to take God's gifts and uses them to excess.
You view it the same way I do.
Its clearly destroying the body, the temple of God. And dont even get me started on the "bu-bu-bu-but McDonalds doe"
McDonalds while its no health product, its still something that can keep you ALIVE for a day and unlike us SPOILED BRATS in the west, people in other parts of the world are MALNOURISHED.
McDonalds can keep you alive for a day, cigarettes cant. I forbid anyone from comparing those again!
In my case, it helped me cast aside the smoking addiction. Actually, he may have been telling me implicitly not to do it in public so people would know about it, as smoking was against the organization's teachings. I know that others continued to smoke after joining the organization but they did it in secret.
This particular minister also asked spouses of members not to smoke at church events. He said it was a bad example to the teens and children. I can understand his reasoning on this...it's also somewhat selfish as others are being exposed to second-hand smoke.
I know that when I smoked, I would smoke in front of other people eating their lunch at work, etcetera. I do believe that was selfish. One coworker got up and left once when I was doing that. I really don't blame him.
I smoked so much, my fingers, nose and teeth were yellow from the smoke. Three packs a day nowadays would cost about 700/month. No way I could afford that. That is double my food budget.
I have attended many SDA Sabbath services and even though I smoke was not pressured in the least to leave or was ostracized in any way. I am sure that is not true for many other churches though. Everyone is a sinner so let's exclude everyone. I am glad that you don't promote kicking folks out of church for having a smoking addiction. Most people have an addiction of one sort or another but fortunately God understands the human condition quite well because Jesus walked the earth as a human being despite encountering sinful people was moved with compassion and mercy and took pity on them.
Any guy that brings the donuts to a church service is a valuable member of the congregation.
I am liking Arby's lately, and Wendy's second. I think the quality of Arby's is really good, but I can't afford it all the time. Wendy's is the same way.
That's the best we have in short driving distance.
I'm not above eating McDonald's either.
I should say my nostrils and under the nose were slightly yellow. Hardly a positive thing.
True enough..regarding SDAs one guy on Christianchat was allowed to attend services but he was in some special status of being outside the accepted congregation. The other individual who told me this was a SDA pastor and he tells his members if they don't quit, they are subject to being disfellowshipped.
Making light of this certainly does not help a person who is really searching for the truth.
Even unbelievers know better than to smoke and ingest poisons. So if a Christian who smokes approached a non-smoking unbeliever to share the Gospel , he might even be asked "Would Jesus be smoking if He were here?" But even from a strictly economic position smoking = stupidity.
First of alll I don't smoke and never have, except weed in the 80's....Second....All things are lawful but not expedient.....Third MODERATION is the key and if it does not offend a weaker brother.....
Hoe about the flip side of the the coin and ANTI RELIGIOUS HAND CUFFS....A believing smoker that has a chance to witness to a lost smoker....and last time I checked....IT IS NOT THOSE THINGS THAT ENTER THE BODY THAT DEFILES THE MAN....but hey...carry on with man made religious rules that negate the word of God!
Anything mood altering "weeds the bad out" in society.... Now my grandmother who had cancer and could not eat took synthetic marijuana which did not have THC to get her high.... but made her hungry.... so pot with THC is not necessary...
Prohibition was a joke! My friend said once and is right; if you always want to make money and be rich, have stock in a funeral home, a prison and a bar.... Drugs and alcohol are resection proof.... ALL alcoholics and addicts will end up in either prison, rehab or dead....
I'm sure they "alcohol/ drugs" are not called "spirits" for nothing; I bet we get to choose what spirit we get to be filled with, the sudo or the Holy Spirit.... On that note I believe the plants are part of the fall.... maybe not but if the fall would have never happened we would not be harvesting them to get high/ escape....
Well, I've smoked, I've vaped. Am I really going to attribute every sense of conviction I feel about it to lies cooked up by the enemy? Serious statement.
I agree the pharmakeia angle should be considered.
I also agree that if you know something is not something the Lord prefers that you are being stubborn and at the worst rebellious. Rebellion is as the sin of ________?
I can tell you a lot of things I've seen but no one seems to want to hear that hijacking your brains reward centers to give it dopamine whenever YOU feel like it could be a sin. Sure sounds like submission to the will of the father...possibly not. I say possibly because maybe there are some allowances
At best it's poor stewardship and fleshly.
Even at times when I thoroughly enjoyed tobacco I still felt like I couldn't fully enjoy it properly, something was missing. Always felt like I was losing somehow. If you don't feel that way I don't know what to tell you...has always been inescapable for many things I don't think the Lord wants in my life.
I agree the pharmakeia angle should be considered.
I also agree that if you know something is not something the Lord prefers that you are being stubborn and at the worst rebellious. Rebellion is as the sin of ________?
I can tell you a lot of things I've seen but no one seems to want to hear that hijacking your brains reward centers to give it dopamine whenever YOU feel like it could be a sin. Sure sounds like submission to the will of the father...possibly not. I say possibly because maybe there are some allowances
At best it's poor stewardship and fleshly.
Even at times when I thoroughly enjoyed tobacco I still felt like I couldn't fully enjoy it properly, something was missing. Always felt like I was losing somehow. If you don't feel that way I don't know what to tell you...has always been inescapable for many things I don't think the Lord wants in my life.