Is smoking tobacco a sin ?

[Guest shiloh357]

I am not sure we are expressing any righteous indignation in being honest about smoking, but the question was asked, "is smoking a sin?"   Some have answered yes and others answered no.  We don't mind pointing out sin until it is something we are doing personally that gets put under the spotlight.  The response is usually to deflect the issue to things like gossiping or telling white lies as if smoking can be justified, or should be addressed at all because we lie about our weight or tell stories we should not tell.

[Fez]

I am not sure we are expressing any righteous indignation in being honest about smoking, but the question was asked, "is smoking a sin?"   Some have answered yes and others answered no.  We don't mind pointing out sin until it is something we are doing personally that gets put under the spotlight.  The response is usually to deflect the issue to things like gossiping or telling white lies as if smoking can be justified, or should be addressed at all because we lie about our weight or tell stories we should not tell.

Yep wrong choice of words from me, but I agree if we are not in the spotlight we are comfortable discussing a subject, once we start talking stuff that affects us directly, we often get indignant...

 

For instance, talk to me about a short temper at times.... It's a problem I am working on.

 

I dealt with my smoking addiction two years ago, my painkiller addiction as well (both overnight through answered prayer), but when I was addicted I could justify stuff a whole lot easier than I can now. It is one reason why I will never judge a smoker or someone addicted to over the counter medication, I know what it's like to quit.

 

My decision was not to look at sin, but to look at what in my life did not glorify God, or shine as a light on the hill, and eradicate them through the power He invested in me by His Word.

 

One. By. One.

[GoldenEagle]

I am not sure we are expressing any righteous indignation in being honest about smoking, but the question was asked, "is smoking a sin?"   Some have answered yes and others answered no.  We don't mind pointing out sin until it is something we are doing personally that gets put under the spotlight.  The response is usually to deflect the issue to things like gossiping or telling white lies as if smoking can be justified, or should be addressed at all because we lie about our weight or tell stories we should not tell.

 

Smoking is not a sin. I don't smoke. But I don't view people who smoke as sinning. It's probably not wise to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. Is it allowable? Yes. Is it beneficial? No.

Adults smoking a pipe once or twice every few months isn't a sin. Or cigars. Or even cigarettes. There's a difference between them too.

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

Charles Spurgeon smoked cigars:
 

Because we get so many requests for information about Mr. Spurgeon's use of cigars, we provide the following vignettes from some early Spurgeon biographies. It is important to note that Mr. Spurgeon's love for cigars was not an addiction, and he deliberately kept it from becoming an addiction, as is clearly shown in the anecdotes related by William Williams (below).

Furthermore, we fully agree with Mr. Spurgeon that smoking cigars per se is not a sinful activity. Cigars, unlike cigarettes, are properly smoked without inhaling, minimizing the risk of lung damage. Nor does cigar smoking normally involve the kind of addictive behavior associated with cigarette use. By all accounts, Mr. Spurgeon's smoking was occasional, and never much more than a cigar a day or so—which, again, suggests that this was no addiction with him.

There are no doubt health risks associated with cigars, but this is also true of cream cheese, or coffee, or almost anything when consumed without moderation. There is no real evidence that cigars in any way hastened Mr. Spurgeon's death.

Mr. Spurgeon's smoking was a historical fact, and the cause of truth cannot be served by denying it or inventing myths that suggest he finally "repented" of this activity. The fact is that he did not regard smoking cigars as a sinful activity, and he evidently held that opinion until the end of his life.

http://www.spurgeon.org/misc/cigars.htm

 

 

It is a well-known fact that C.S. Lewis smoked a pipe and drank alcohol. There are other Christian leaders who have done this (smoking or drinking) in moderation in the past. Sorry it's not sin. It's a personal conviction or personal preference.

 

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

 

please i beg you guys in the name of God,i was only talking base on how i was brought up as a christian in my country,difference culture and difference way of life,iam not judging anybody,I just believe that tobaco is not made for a genuine born again,but now i can see that my believe is totally disagree by 90% over here,majority carry the vote,as some believers are free to drink,likewise, some believers are free to smoke,after all no were in the bible,that says drinking and smoking is a sin,I rest my case.

 

I agree with you Jerry there's probably a lot of culture that comes into play. In S. America where I grew up there was this idea that alcohol and smoking was associated with actions of the lost. So for Christians there it was a big stumbling block to some to see their fellow Christians smoking or drinking. We just need to be aware of our surroundings and the audience we are speaking to. In the U.S. perhaps it's not see the same way. Do you see brother?

[Guest LadyC]

 

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.

[Guest shiloh357]

 

I am not sure we are expressing any righteous indignation in being honest about smoking, but the question was asked, "is smoking a sin?"   Some have answered yes and others answered no.  We don't mind pointing out sin until it is something we are doing personally that gets put under the spotlight.  The response is usually to deflect the issue to things like gossiping or telling white lies as if smoking can be justified, or should be addressed at all because we lie about our weight or tell stories we should not tell.

 

Smoking is not a sin. I don't smoke. But I don't view people who smoke as sinning. It's probably not wise to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. Is it allowable? Yes. Is it beneficial? No.

Adults smoking a pipe once or twice every few months isn't a sin. Or cigars. Or even cigarettes. There's a difference between them too.

God bless,

GE

 

Smoking is a poor stewardship of the body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And that kind of activity is a sin, whether you make room for it or not.

[Guest shiloh357]

Charles Spurgeon smoked cigars:

 

Because we get so many requests for information about Mr. Spurgeon's use of cigars, we provide the following vignettes from some early Spurgeon biographies. It is important to note that Mr. Spurgeon's love for cigars was not an addiction, and he deliberately kept it from becoming an addiction, as is clearly shown in the anecdotes related by William Williams (below).

Furthermore, we fully agree with Mr. Spurgeon that smoking cigars per se is not a sinful activity. Cigars, unlike cigarettes, are properly smoked without inhaling, minimizing the risk of lung damage. Nor does cigar smoking normally involve the kind of addictive behavior associated with cigarette use. By all accounts, Mr. Spurgeon's smoking was occasional, and never much more than a cigar a day or so—which, again, suggests that this was no addiction with him.

There are no doubt health risks associated with cigars, but this is also true of cream cheese, or coffee, or almost anything when consumed without moderation. There is no real evidence that cigars in any way hastened Mr. Spurgeon's death.

Mr. Spurgeon's smoking was a historical fact, and the cause of truth cannot be served by denying it or inventing myths that suggest he finally "repented" of this activity. The fact is that he did not regard smoking cigars as a sinful activity, and he evidently held that opinion until the end of his life.

http://www.spurgeon.org/misc/cigars.htm

 

 

It is a well-known fact that C.S. Lewis smoked a pipe and drank alcohol. There are other Christian leaders who have done this (smoking or drinking) in moderation in the past. Sorry it's not sin. It's a personal conviction or personal preference.

 

God bless,

GE

So what??    That doesn't make it less sinful just because you can find some preachers that engage in it.  That is not how we determine what is or is not sinful

[GoldenEagle]

Smoking is a poor stewardship of the body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And that kind of activity is a sin, whether you make room for it or not.

 

 

So what??    That doesn't make it less sinful just because you can find some preachers that engage in it.  That is not how we determine what is or is not sinful

 

 

 

I would agree that smoking is poor stewardship. Smoking, generally speaking, isn't a sin. Sorry Shiloh we'll have to agree to disagree brother. Being a slave to an addiction (idoletry) is a sin. So chain smoking I'd consider sin for example. In moderation smoking is not a sin just as drinking alcohol in moderation is not a sin.

 

But you are right Shiloh. We do not determine what is sinful by how other preachers engage or don't engage in something. So here's Scripture then. So far you've only presented opinions brother. Show me in Scripture how smoking is a sin passage by passage please. Then we can study it together. Otherwise this is a personal conviction/preference and you are in essence promoting a personal conviction/preference as a sin. Perhaps for you and your conscience it is a sin? If so you shouldn't do it.

 

Here's my previous Scriptural backing that smoking is permissable but is not beneficial. Smoking is certainly not helpful and it certainly doesn't build up. We shouldn't be slaves (addicted ie chain smoker example) to anything but to God and His Word. Wouldn't you agree?

1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.

1 Corinthians 10:23-24

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

 

God bless,

GE

[Guest]

 

please i beg you guys in the name of God,i was only talking base on how i was brought up as a christian in my country,difference culture and difference way of life,iam not judging anybody,I just believe that tobaco is not made for a genuine born again,but now i can see that my believe is totally disagree by 90% over here,majority carry the vote,as some believers are free to drink,likewise, some believers are free to smoke,after all no were in the bible,that says drinking and smoking is a sin,I rest my case.

 

 

Just wanted to clear up a couple of points, Jerry. (I'm not jumping on you.)

 

Typically, believers here in the US are not "encouraged" to smoke, drink to excess, or any of that. It can be a sensitive subject because there are some believers (and in some case whole churches of these) who will judge, condemn, or otherwise treat someone who is smoking, drinking, (or any other behavior they consider inappropriate) like, well, something you scrape off you shoe. All this not long after they are saved -- so its no wonder some don't ever want to go to church again! I wouldn't either if I were treated like that.

 

Fact is drinking alcohol is not condemned in Scripture -- but getting drunk certainly is. 

 

Smoking is not condemned by name in Scripture -- but even worldly science agrees its not good for our bodies that God has given us.

 

Fact is it took many years for me to grow to a point in my walk with Jesus that I could leave the smoking behind. It can be really difficult for some to give up while others seem to be set free over night -- but the Lord deals differently with each of us as we walk with him. Its not easy for someone who has never smoked to understand how hard it is to give up for some of us. Smoking is just one sin of the many we can struggle with after salvation, because some bring more "baggage" from their old lives with them. (Sorry, but that's the only way I can think of to describe it.)

 

Hope this helps.