Is smoking tobacco a sin ?

[disciplehelovestoo]

 

 

 

jerry, i get that you are new here, and no offense... but please don't EVER make the accusation that a truly born again christian can never smoke. that is the equivalent of YOU judging a person's heart and relationship with God. i am a truly born again Christian, and have been for more than 40 years. and yet, i smoked for more than 30 of those years. there are a lot of born again christians with a true dedication to God here on these forums that still smoke.

many christians do. and God works on us all in HIS time. for some people, He may be working in other areas of their life before dealing with them on the smoking issue. don't put yourself in God's seat.

you are taking it personally,i never mean to offend anybody,i believe we are here to learn and to help our christian life,Apostle Paul was born out of due time,but he labour more than the rest Apostles,just food for a thought.

from my own understanding,the way of christianity over here, is 100% difference from the way we pratice it in my country,in my country there is a difference between born again and a christian,i never mean to offend your ways of christianity,i have never been to USA before,so i did not know that you guys encourage a believer to smoke,i was only talking from my experience in my country,please you guys should not be offend,iam here to learn,in other to help my christian life and my walking relationship with God,

Travelling is a part of experience,now i know better.

there is only one God, and only "one" way of Christianity. (that "way" being to learn to model our behaviour after Jesus, loving God first and others next.) i'm not offended for myself, jerry. i am rock solid in my assurance of eternal life. what i'm trying to do is exactly what you said: "i believe we are hear to learn and help our christian life". i have no reason to doubt that you are a christian, born again and looking forward to eternity with Jesus Christ. but your error is in thinking that only those who are instantly made perfect are "truly" born again. we are all a work in progress, jerry. God's not finished with any of us yet. and i can promise you this... if you have accepted Christ as your savior and strive to live your life for Him, then the blood of His sacrifice covers all the multitude of sins you commit in your life. as a child of God, you must develop that same understanding towards others... that His sacrifice covers the sins in their lives too.

this doesn't mean that we all have a license to do whatever we want. far from it! but God deals with each of us, perfecting us as He would lumps of clay. as we grow and mature in our relationship with Christ, we shed more and more of our old lives. but we will never reach that perfect sinless state on this side of heaven.

and to look at another person's sin and say they are not truly born again is absolutely a sin. unlike smoking, it is something that God repeatedly and specifically tells us we are not to do. my concern is that when condemning another person as unsaved by the grace of God, a newer believer may take your cue and apply it to their lives and begin questioning their own salvation. these people often become like the seed that falls on rocky ground, never taking solid root, and their faith withers away.... because someone told them they weren't good enough to really be saved. because they believed the lie of satan that says 'because you keep stumbling and tripping over (insert sin here) you are too filthy to be cleansed by the blood, and you're never going to make it to heaven". and many people who become convinced of that lie will give up trying.

you speak of the apostle paul. i'd like to encourage you to study the book of romans again. at least chapter 7. paul acknowledges that as humans, our spirit and our flesh are always at odds, and that the desire to be transformed by God and our human, sinful nature will be in a state of continuous struggle while we are alive. paul states unequivocally that in his heart and mind, he is a slave to God's law, but that in his flesh, he is still a slave to the law of sin.

we should always encourage people to turn away from sin... to give up smoking, excessive drinking, drugs, sexual impurity, lying, stealing, gambling, or whatever sin that person struggles with. but we, and by that i mean both you and i and everyone else here, must be careful to do it in a way that actually ENcourages them rather than DIScouraging them.

God by His great mercy brought me to this site,God doesn't make a mistake,just two months and 2days,

that the grace of God that bringeth salvation appeared to me.

my best companion,in the person of the Holy Spirit,directed me to this site,on 29th" of july 2013"

God has bless me in many ways,through you guys on this site,infact this site is a special gift and a blessing from God to us,every good and perfect gift comes from above.

I know that my statement was too bad to your liking.

I never mean to offend or to judge anybody,you guys are a blessing to me,i think i was a little bit too hash,

By saying that a genuine born again can never smoke,

Iam a good listener,always eager to learn,to the glory of God,

for many years i was a christian without Christ,but on 27th" of may 2013" A Divine being enter into me and change me.

 

i'm really, truly, not offended - i'm trying to help you - as long as you are focused on other people's wrong actions that you don't share, you give the devil the right to condemn you for your wrong actions when you need faith in God's undeserved favor the most

[firestormx]

 

I have a quick question if you don't mind. After reading your post it seems to me that you are saying that we are not allowed to say something is a sin, otherwise we are judging. Is the correct understanding of your post?

not quite; be led by God and not by your own understanding; He may lead you to inform, but never to condemn, and always with the goal to bring the other person to focus on His grace, not their poor performance

 

Thanks for the clarification. I agree with you there is a big difference between quoting the word of God on something being a sin and condemning someone for a sin.

Edited June 14, 2014 by firestormx

[Jerry1023]

Nobody is worthy to stand before God and declare him or herself Immaculate,

The bible is like two edge sword,the knowledge of the word of God will empower or enable a true child of God,

To know and to depart from evil,

every genuine born again must be conversant with the word of God,

The entire christian race is center on the word of God,

We all know what is right and what is wrong,

Rebuke them that sin before all,so that others also may fear,

1 Timothy 5:20"

How do you rebuke someone that is doing what is not right before God and man,

telling the person that what he or she is doing,is bad and he is sinning against God,

does that mean you are judging the person?

[firestormx]

Nobody is worthy to stand before God and declare him or herself Immaculate,

The bible is like two edge sword,the knowledge of the word of God will empower or enable a true child of God,

To know and to depart from evil,

every genuine born again must be conversant with the word of God,

The entire christian race is center on the word of God,

We all know what is right and what is wrong,

Rebuke them that sin before all,so that others also may fear,

1 Timothy 5:20"

How do you rebuke someone that is doing what is not right before God and man,

telling the person that what he or she is doing,is bad and he is sinning against God,

does that mean you are judging the person?

In Love. remembering the love and grace shown to you by God when you were in sin. God never condemns us of our wrong but he does convict us that we might repent. Jesus has to be the focus not the sin. You clearly demonstrate in the Word of God that it is God that says it is wrong and not you that is saying it. Then you remind them of God's love and Grace. That God is willing to forgive us if we repent. The purpose of Rebuking should be to bring them back into proper fellowship with God first and then other believers. It is a good opportunity to demonstrate the Love of God. Jesus rebuked many during his ministry, look to Jesus to see how it's done.

God bless you

Firestormx

Joseph

[Enoc]

Heath and the body as a temple is one thing, but being a slave to anything goes beyond heath.

 

So with that said, smoking can be a sin if its a habit, but if its not a habit then its not.

 

It's an individual by individual assessment. 

 

Any habit which is out of ones control is a sin.

[Guest shiloh357]

Heath and the body as a temple is one thing, but being a slave to anything goes beyond heath.

 

So with that said, smoking can be a sin if its a habit, but if its not a habit then its not.

 

It's an individual by individual assessment. 

 

Any habit which is out of ones control is a sin.

anything we do that is destructive to our bodies like eating junk food, getting obese, smoking, etc. is sinful even if it is not a "habit" per se. It doesn't have to be a habit to be destructive.

[Fez]

"We are not punished for our sins, we are punished by them".

[disciplehelovestoo]

Nobody is worthy to stand before God and declare him or herself Immaculate,

The bible is like two edge sword,the knowledge of the word of God will empower or enable a true child of God,

To know and to depart from evil,

every genuine born again must be conversant with the word of God,

The entire christian race is center on the word of God,

We all know what is right and what is wrong,

Rebuke them that sin before all,so that others also may fear,

1 Timothy 5:20"

How do you rebuke someone that is doing what is not right before God and man,

telling the person that what he or she is doing,is bad and he is sinning against God,

does that mean you are judging the person?

1Ti 5:19-20

(19)  Don't listen to any charge against a church leader, unless at least two or three people bring the same charges.

(20)  But if any of the leaders should keep on sinning, they must be corrected in front of the whole group, as a warning to everyone else.

 

sometimes it's good to look at other translations.  the context of 1Ti 5:20 is elders of the church (those who have accepted the responsibility to be leaders) who are willfully doing wrong things (as defined by scripture) even though they know those things are wrong; as leaders their willful disobedience would encourage others in the flock to do likewise, therefore they are to be rebuked openly in front of the other elders (not in front of everyone).  this does not mean that we are to rebuke anyone who commits any wrong action (in our opinion) in front of everyone; nor does it mean that we are to judge what actions are wrong (other people's actions) that are not explicitly identified in scripture.

 

do you see the difference?

Edited June 14, 2014 by disciplehelovestoo

[disciplehelovestoo]

i believe that the correct interpretation of any scripture must harmonize with scripture as a whole.

 

1Co 3:1-23

(1)  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

(2)  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

(3)  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

(4)  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

(5)  Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

(6)  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

(7)  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

(8)  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

(9)  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

(10)  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

(11)  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

(12)  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

(13)  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

(14)  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

(15)  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

(16)  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

(17)  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

(18)  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

(19)  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

(20)  And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

(21)  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

(22)  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

(23)  And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

 

the context here is not what goes into the physical body of one person, but what diversity of doctrines are allowed into the spiritual body of Christ; the church.

 

(14)  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

(15)  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

(16)  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

(17)  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

 

Paul is speaking to the diverse doctrines he had heard about in the Corinthian church; one from Appollos, one from Paul.  when Paul said 'if any man's work...', he is speaking of any man's doctrine in context of the example of the church being like a building; he then says 'know ye not that  ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' - Paul hasn't changed the subject; he hasn't switched from teaching on doctrinal divisions among the Corinthians to physical habits  - personally i think Paul is reminding them that God resides inside them and knows if they are promoting a doctrine out of pride, but scripture isn't clear about that - but i do think it's clear that this isn't referring to what goes into a man's physical mouth.  which brings me to another scripture:

 

Mar 7:14-23

(14)  And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

(15)  There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

(16)  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

(17)  And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

(18)  And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

(19)  Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

(20)  And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

(21)  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

(22)  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

(23)  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

 

it seems to me that if 1Cor 3:16 is interpreted to mean what goes into a man's physical mouth, that it conflicts with what the Master said in Mar 7:15 and Mat 15:17.

 

we all drive cars, and it's a convenience; we could become like the Amish; but when you're driving down the road, you're breathing a mix of gasoline and diesel exhaust (as every car circulates some outside air to the interior), so saying that smoking is a sin because the fumes are destructive also condemns anyone who rides or drives on the highway (or rides a bike or walks).  

[disciplehelovestoo]

1Co 6:18-20

(18)  Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

(19)  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

(20)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

 

the context here is fornication, not what physically goes into a man's mouth.

 

again, the context in both is about spiritual defilement; whether of wrong doctrine or the lust of fornication; not what physically goes into a man's mouth