Is smoking tobacco a sin ?

[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.

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.

 

 

 

Is it correct then that eating one twinkly, smoking one cigar at a wedding, or sipping one glass of champagne at new years, is a sin from your point of view?

[disciplehelovestoo]

 

 

Every one of us should have as our main focus walking in the Spirit.  There is no question that if we do that, we won't sin.  At the same time, it is still valid to ask if a particular thing is a sin.  If someone comes in here and asks if sex outside of marriage is a sin, though this is focusing on the flesh, it is a valid question, and the answer is yes.  At the same time, you are correct in saying that if every Christian would walk in the Spirit, focus on individual sins would not be necessary.  The reason these individual sins matter is because they are symptoms that one is not walking in the Spirit.  Back to the question in the OP.  Is smoking a sin?  I would say in my opinion it is.  Would someone walking in the Spirit smoke?  I would say in my opinion no.  Others may not agree, and that is fine, but the question remains a valid one. 

Gal 5:4

(4)  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 

focus is the key; if you are focused on actions, whether it be one specifically identified as sinful by scripture such as sex outside of marriage, or one that isn't mentioned at all in scripture such as smoking - either way you are focused on the flesh - on what you judge to be right and wrong according to your own intellect, understanding and experience - and therefore you can not  be focused on God.

 

Care to address this from Shiloh?

 

By that logic, viewing pornography, spousal abuse and child molestation are not sins because there is no Scripture that says those things are not sins.  Your argument is hermeneutically unsustainable because the Bible doesn't list every possible sin that a person could commit.  Your argument is internally inconsistent.

 

 

i never said that only those actions specifically mentioned in scripture as sin, are sin, and everything else isn't; we aren't smart enough to interpret and apply the multitude of God's laws correctly in any given situation as evidenced by Mat 12:2-8.  it was not lawful from man's perspective for David to eat the shewbread which was reserved for the priests, or for the priests to do the work of killing and preparing the sacrifice on the sabbath - yet these examples are not examples of sin even though they seem to transgress the letter of those laws when interpreted as 'standalone' laws - this is clear evidence that only God can harmonize His laws and apply them correctly in any given situation, and that we must be led by Him

[disciplehelovestoo]

 

 

Every one of us should have as our main focus walking in the Spirit.  There is no question that if we do that, we won't sin.  At the same time, it is still valid to ask if a particular thing is a sin.  If someone comes in here and asks if sex outside of marriage is a sin, though this is focusing on the flesh, it is a valid question, and the answer is yes.  At the same time, you are correct in saying that if every Christian would walk in the Spirit, focus on individual sins would not be necessary.  The reason these individual sins matter is because they are symptoms that one is not walking in the Spirit.  Back to the question in the OP.  Is smoking a sin?  I would say in my opinion it is.  Would someone walking in the Spirit smoke?  I would say in my opinion no.  Others may not agree, and that is fine, but the question remains a valid one. 

Gal 5:4

(4)  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 

focus is the key; if you are focused on actions, whether it be one specifically identified as sinful by scripture such as sex outside of marriage, or one that isn't mentioned at all in scripture such as smoking - either way you are focused on the flesh - on what you judge to be right and wrong according to your own intellect, understanding and experience - and therefore you can not  be focused on God.

 

First of all, Paul was not speaking of moral laws.  He was dealing with people that were telling gentiles that they had to keep laws of separation that only applied to the Jews.  The same Paul goes in great lengths to give specific examples of sins that he states will keep us from inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven, like in 1 Corinthians 6:9,10.  He also gives a similar list he refers to as sins of the flesh in Galatians.  The scripture you gave in no wise states it is wrong to ask if something is a sin, or to list sins.  Paul does that very thing in Galatians.  My question to you is, does that mean that Paul was not focused on God when he mentions a laundry list of sins?

 

IMO you've missed Paul's point; Paul is telling them that to put any degree of faith in your own performance is to reject grace - he was speaking to jews, and the example is circumcision, but the principle clearly applies to any effort to attain right standing with God to any degree based on your performance - this is confirmed by James:

 

Jas 2:8-13

(8)  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

(9)  But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

(10)  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

(11)  For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

(12)  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

(13)  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

[disciplehelovestoo]

 

you mean IN YOUR OPINION smoking is a flesh act - you have no scripture about smoking, do you?  THIS is what is in question.  where is the scripture about smoking?  did God not foresee that this issue would come up?  did He leave this 'crucial' wrong action un-addressed in scripture by mistake?

 

somehow you don't see that your focus is on performance, and not faith in His grace - your performance - good or bad - does not get you anything with God, else all are doomed!

 

God said this:

 

Deu 14:26

(26)  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

 

are you saying that God was wrong, because drinking is always wrong?  why would smoking be different?  

 

the fear of God is cast out by revelation of His love; fear is torment - fear is the tool of the devil!  are you saying that God will punish us for smoking, and that fear of His wrath is why we shouldn't smoke?  

 

where is holiness?  it is either in your faith in Jesus, or in your own flawless, perfect performance - not both.  which qualifies you for holiness - your actions or His grace???

If all your saying is true, then why did God say the following, and notice it's a statue that is forever. Notice what is said about holiness.

Leviticus 10:8-10

And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying,

Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.

 

how does this instruction to the priests invalidate God's instruction to the general population in Deu 14:26?

 

remember that God said both things to people under the law and not under grace (by their own choice) - are you under the law of Moses?  

[Guest shiloh357]

 

 

 

Every one of us should have as our main focus walking in the Spirit.  There is no question that if we do that, we won't sin.  At the same time, it is still valid to ask if a particular thing is a sin.  If someone comes in here and asks if sex outside of marriage is a sin, though this is focusing on the flesh, it is a valid question, and the answer is yes.  At the same time, you are correct in saying that if every Christian would walk in the Spirit, focus on individual sins would not be necessary.  The reason these individual sins matter is because they are symptoms that one is not walking in the Spirit.  Back to the question in the OP.  Is smoking a sin?  I would say in my opinion it is.  Would someone walking in the Spirit smoke?  I would say in my opinion no.  Others may not agree, and that is fine, but the question remains a valid one. 

Gal 5:4

(4)  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 

focus is the key; if you are focused on actions, whether it be one specifically identified as sinful by scripture such as sex outside of marriage, or one that isn't mentioned at all in scripture such as smoking - either way you are focused on the flesh - on what you judge to be right and wrong according to your own intellect, understanding and experience - and therefore you can not  be focused on God.

 

Care to address this from Shiloh?

 

By that logic, viewing pornography, spousal abuse and child molestation are not sins because there is no Scripture that says those things are not sins.  Your argument is hermeneutically unsustainable because the Bible doesn't list every possible sin that a person could commit.  Your argument is internally inconsistent.

 

 

i never said that only those actions specifically mentioned in scripture as sin, are sin, and everything else isn't; we aren't smart enough to interpret and apply the multitude of God's laws correctly in any given situation as evidenced by Mat 12:2-8.  it was not lawful from man's perspective for David to eat the shewbread which was reserved for the priests, or for the priests to do the work of killing and preparing the sacrifice on the sabbath - yet these examples are not examples of sin even though they seem to transgress the letter of those laws when interpreted as 'standalone' laws - this is clear evidence that only God can harmonize His laws and apply them correctly in any given situation, and that we must be led by Him

 

the problem  disciple is that you are internally inconsistent in how you approach the Bible.  By the very logic you have already applied previously, it's only sin if it is specifically spelled out in the Bible.  But you have to backtrack when we can point to sins not directly mentioned in the Bible.  The very approach you take to smoking can be applied to pornography or child molestation and I think you know that.   Your argument simply isn't credible.

 

So you need to get a more credible and consistent approach to hermeneutics.

[disciplehelovestoo]

 

 

 

 

Every one of us should have as our main focus walking in the Spirit.  There is no question that if we do that, we won't sin.  At the same time, it is still valid to ask if a particular thing is a sin.  If someone comes in here and asks if sex outside of marriage is a sin, though this is focusing on the flesh, it is a valid question, and the answer is yes.  At the same time, you are correct in saying that if every Christian would walk in the Spirit, focus on individual sins would not be necessary.  The reason these individual sins matter is because they are symptoms that one is not walking in the Spirit.  Back to the question in the OP.  Is smoking a sin?  I would say in my opinion it is.  Would someone walking in the Spirit smoke?  I would say in my opinion no.  Others may not agree, and that is fine, but the question remains a valid one. 

Gal 5:4

(4)  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 

focus is the key; if you are focused on actions, whether it be one specifically identified as sinful by scripture such as sex outside of marriage, or one that isn't mentioned at all in scripture such as smoking - either way you are focused on the flesh - on what you judge to be right and wrong according to your own intellect, understanding and experience - and therefore you can not  be focused on God.

 

Care to address this from Shiloh?

 

By that logic, viewing pornography, spousal abuse and child molestation are not sins because there is no Scripture that says those things are not sins.  Your argument is hermeneutically unsustainable because the Bible doesn't list every possible sin that a person could commit.  Your argument is internally inconsistent.

 

 

i never said that only those actions specifically mentioned in scripture as sin, are sin, and everything else isn't; we aren't smart enough to interpret and apply the multitude of God's laws correctly in any given situation as evidenced by Mat 12:2-8.  it was not lawful from man's perspective for David to eat the shewbread which was reserved for the priests, or for the priests to do the work of killing and preparing the sacrifice on the sabbath - yet these examples are not examples of sin even though they seem to transgress the letter of those laws when interpreted as 'standalone' laws - this is clear evidence that only God can harmonize His laws and apply them correctly in any given situation, and that we must be led by Him

 

the problem  disciple is that you are internally inconsistent in how you approach the Bible.  By the very logic you have already applied previously, it's only sin if it is specifically spelled out in the Bible.  But you have to backtrack when we can point to sins not directly mentioned in the Bible.  The very approach you take to smoking can be applied to pornography or child molestation and I think you know that.   Your argument simply isn't credible.

 

So you need to get a more credible and consistent approach to hermeneutics.

 

you have completely missed my point - i never said that only what is mentioned in the Bible as sin IS sin; i said that what is not clearly defined as sin in the Bible falls under Rom 14:21-23 - i said we aren't smart enough to apply the multitude of God's laws correctly in any given situation - we must be led by God using the scripture to confirm His leading, not as the marvelous gift of 10,000 or so rules we must obey without any mistake to qualify us to approach God based on our own performance; as soon as we start to assemble a list of sins to avoid we forsake His leading in preference to our own intellect, understanding and experience.  

[Guest shiloh357]

you have completely missed my point - i never said that only what is mentioned in the Bible as sin IS sin; i said that what is not clearly defined as sin in the Bible falls under Rom 14:21-23 -

 

and again, by that logic, child molestation and pornography fall under Rom. 14:21-23.   Sorry but that is just absurd.   Frankly, you are essentially saying that what isn't defined as a sin is not sinful, but just an issue of conscience.   So again, I would point out that you are incapable of consistent application of Scripture.

 

i said we aren't smart enough to apply the multitude of God's laws correctly in any given situation - we must be led by God using the scripture to confirm His leading, not as the marvelous gift of 10,000 or so rules we must obey without any mistake to qualify us to approach God based on our own performance; as soon as we start to assemble a list of sins to avoid we forsake His leading in preference to our own intellect, understanding and experience.

 

Again, God's laws provide us with a behavioral paradigm regarding what is sinful and what is not.   Smoking is poor stewardship of the body, and detracts from God's glory. And anything that is destructive to God's creation that abuses what He has made and detracts from His glory is a sin given that our purpose is to glorify Him.  Whatever hinders that is sin.  And that includes smoking even if you can't make room for that reality.

[disciplehelovestoo]

 

you have completely missed my point - i never said that only what is mentioned in the Bible as sin IS sin; i said that what is not clearly defined as sin in the Bible falls under Rom 14:21-23 -

 

and again, by that logic, child molestation and pornography fall under Rom. 14:21-23.   Sorry but that is just absurd.   Frankly, you are essentially saying that what isn't defined as a sin is not sinful, but just an issue of conscience.   So again, I would point out that you are incapable of consistent application of Scripture.

 

i said we aren't smart enough to apply the multitude of God's laws correctly in any given situation - we must be led by God using the scripture to confirm His leading, not as the marvelous gift of 10,000 or so rules we must obey without any mistake to qualify us to approach God based on our own performance; as soon as we start to assemble a list of sins to avoid we forsake His leading in preference to our own intellect, understanding and experience.

 

Again, God's laws provide us with a behavioral paradigm regarding what is sinful and what is not.   Smoking is poor stewardship of the body, and detracts from God's glory. And anything that is destructive to God's creation that abuses what He has made and detracts from His glory is a sin given that our purpose is to glorify Him.  Whatever hinders that is sin.  And that includes smoking even if you can't make room for that reality.

 

 

 

are you saying that sex outside of marriage between a man and woman (not children) is not addressed anywhere in the Bible?

 

if 'God's laws provide us with a behavioral paradigm regarding what is sinful and what is not' then how did people tell what was sin and what was not before those laws were given?  why didn't God give Adam these laws? or Noah?  

[Guest shiloh357]

 

are you saying that sex outside of marriage between a man and woman (not children) is not addressed anywhere in the Bible?

 

No, I am saying that pornography isn't defined as sin in the Bible per your standard of logic and reasoning.  Neither is child molestation.   We have enough light about what God says about sexual purity in the Bible to address those issues.  They don't need to spelled out for us.  Your very question proves my point about smoking.  We have enough light about what the Bible says about the stewardship of our bodies   That smoking doesn't need to be "defined" specifically as a sin in order to understand that it is a sin.

 

if 'God's laws provide us with a behavioral paradigm regarding what is sinful and what is not' then how did people tell what was sin and what was not before those laws were given?  why didn't God give Adam these laws? or Noah? 

 

The obvious answer is that God DID provide a standard of conduct and a knowledge of sin. Prior to the giving of the Mosaic law.   Cain and Abel knew the difference between an acceptable and unacceptable sacrifice.   That mankind was completely sinful in the days of Noah and that Noah found grace in God's eyes demonstrates that there was a standard by which Noah lived that the others didn't live by.   Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean animals and knew what a proper sacrifice to God looked like.

 

Abraham knew the difference between what was righteous and unrighteous when it came to asking God about how many righteous people would it take to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.   So there was a standard in operation given what we know about life prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law.

[GoldenEagle]

Wow this discussion is still going on...

Seems to me if it's a stumbling block to those weak in the faith it should be avoided. Is it sin? For those who view it as sin it is as such. Do we have a right to smoke? Sure, but it is not beneficial or edifying. Our right shouldn't be a stumbling block to those who are weak.
 

1 Cor. 8 (ESV)
Food Offered to Idols

8 Now concerningfood offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. ² If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

 

⁴ Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁵ For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

 

⁷ However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸ Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹ But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹ And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹² Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

 

God bless,

GE