On the subject of the law and grace. Part 3

Part of an investigation subtitled: : Should a follower of Christ ever get a tattoo? - an investigation for the Christian alternative.

This article was orginally released under the Adullam Limited document numbering system as Document #49. It was distributed to a few trusted friends and family for thier feed back which by and large was extreamly positive. As such I want to share this with a wider audience now.

In part one we discovered that there was a difference between the spirit and the letter of the law. In part two we discovered that there was a conflict between the followers of Christ that had the law and those that didn't. We also saw how God was shaking up the ideas of his people as to what made a person clean.

We left of as In Acts 15 the conflict arrises:

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved”

The law and me - where do I stand?

The answer came in the form of a decision later in the chapter (Acts 15). Peter speaks and says:

“So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”

So to take our token question of tattoos. Does the Holy Spirit fill tattooed people? I have found the answer to be the Holy Spirit ignores tattoos just as He ignored circumcision.

This seems to match with the time when Jesus said “it is not what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out of his mouth.” Jesus is talking about a different (higher) standard of purity. He’s talking of The Spirit of the Law and not the letter.

Peter continued his speech by saying:

“Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”
--Acts 15:10

After more discussion the prophets are mentioned and it seemed to be a fulfilment of prophecy that God call the gentiles to Himself.

So they concluded:

“Therefore I judge that we should not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled and from blood.”

They then write to the new converts that:

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:”
--Acts 15:28

Returning to our token question it seems at first that it is mere chaff in the wind and should not be a concern. According to this meeting in Acts 15 anyone that lays any additional burden of the law on you is not acting in accordance to the will of the Holy Spirit.

So let us look and be sure.

Now perhaps there are some that feel called to be separate and un-tattooed and that is a matter for their own conscience and should not be forced on others just as the freedom for body art should not be forced on them.

Paul warns us sternly:

But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
--1 Corinthians 8:9

We should consider the culture in which we live and be careful in using our freedom both real and imagined lest we cause others to stumble.

Paul spoke at length that he became all things to all men. Be sure to consider that not only your own freedom but the effect of that freedom others.

The real body art questions to ask yourself are:

• Is your freedom for body art going to hinder or aid the chances of others finding Christ?
• What will you gain spiritually?
• Who do you honour with your body art?
• Does your body art set you as separate (holy) or make you just one of the crowd?
• What are you true motives and are they of a spiritual nature or for reasons of pride such as a status symbol might bring?

There are no easy answers to these questions but if you are considering making a permanent change to yourself then you must consider them and have ready a humble answer remembering that we exist to bring glory to God.

We’ve come a long way from law unto freedom and this translation has caused many questions and some have been examined in these posts.

There are two lessons to learn from this transition.

First there is the obvious: that the old law completed in Jesus remains as a study for us to look into The Spirit of the Law and the guidance God gave his people.

The second lesson is for us directly. As leaders, Church goers and Christians with years of Christianity and doctrine behind us and generations of laws, rules, customs and the like we must be careful when we find those from a culture or sub culture different from our own. We must be careful not to place burdens on them beyond the “necessary things”.

We have a clear model for what is necessary for salvation (God’s grace and our faith in it) and what is necessary for a life pleasing to God.

• Faith
• Love (Matthew 22: 37-40)
• Mercy (Matthew 9: 13)
• Justice

Now there remains only one issue unresolved: the law was given to mark the people of God as different from all others. It is clear we are called to Holiness and Holy means set aside for a special purpose.

How are we now marked as different?

In the Fourth and Final part of these series I will look at this question.