Lev 19:28 — Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
This scripture is accurate. However so many times it’s not lead up to, nor followed up with the facts and the true nature of God’s forgiveness. Many aren’t even truly knowledgeable about it.
First of all, we aren’t to make any marks on our skin for the dead… meaning we aren’t to celebrate/honor/memorialize the dead by having tattoos with their images.
Nor should we mourn the dead by cutting ourselves (causing bleeding, wounds, or even physical pain). The Lord knows we suffer (in our hearts) enough for deceased loved ones as it is.
Personally, I see no reason to draw attention to ourselves by marking our skin in any way. While tattoos and piercings are very common today, sometimes they can detract from out witness. This is why Christians often cover up their tattoos while in church, and sometimes out of church. If they were not Christians before getting their skin markings the tattoos may now cause questions that are not really of primary concerns to the ministry (We all have, after all, witnesses that are looking at us, but they have no knowledge)
But since tattoos are so fashionable these days, that may not always be the case. Many will look beyond the tattoo and see the person. This is part of the message of “Love like I have loved you.. (with no judgement) John 15:12
Although we are ALWAYS holy forgiven by God, we may convey a message that after we are Christians, it’s ok to get tattoos. Clearly it’s not, but if a Christian does get a tattoo, or if someone else gets a tattoo, we shouldn’t judge them, after all, we don’t truly know the person’s heart. (Never judge by appearances (John 7:24)
As we may or may not know, tattoos cost a LOT of money, and once you get one tattoo (or piercing) it will often lead to many more. It’s not wise to apply our finances to something that will never benefit others. Nor will tattoos increase the Kingdom. Instead, it would be wiser to use your finances with care. Matthew 6:20; “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” This is the only way to save our wealth. It is a positive precept. Our wealth must be consecrated to God and used as his work demands. Wealth used for doing good is treasure laid up in heaven.
In the Old Testament, God forbides us to tattoos and piercings because the Syrian, who He instructed us to “conquer”, worshipped idolatry, practiced tattoos and piercings. Notice that in the New Testament, markings are associated with the Beast (enemy of God).
Many Christians, who get tattoos, later seem to regret their decision, this is because tattoos are part of the flesh (selfish desires). And of course, we are to bury/crucify the flesh.
