By Reese Currie, Compass Distributors
A reader wrote in to ask us our opinions on smoking. After long consideration and a great deal of thinking, the only thing we can say with certainty is that smoking can lead to sin; and that smoking so frequently and almost unavoidably leads to sin that we highly recommend it be avoided completely.
To answer this question, we first need a brief definition of sin. A sin is a "transgression of the Law" according to 1 John 3:4, and the Law was defined by Christ in Matthew 7:12: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (KJV)
So a sin is by definition something that hurts other people. Most medical opinion concurs that smoking can hurt others through second-hand smoke, and a lot of people are offended by smoking, and therefore, smoking around others strongly suggests sin is taking place. Knowing that people are made uncomfortable, and possibly unhealthy, by smoke makes a person violate Matthew 7:12, and anyone who realizes this is immediately convicted of sin, because James 4:17 points out, "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
But smoking itself does not have to be a sin, because technically it could be done in total isolation, and when you aren't hurting anyone else with it, it fails to be a sin. When I say that, however, I am reminded that Paul once commented that it would be impossible to completely avoid immoral people because "then you would need to go out of the world." In the case of smoking, the only way you could really keep from sinning would be to "go out of the world," because you cannot avoid any people (potential "smoke victims") unless you did so.
I would venture that many Christians may find our position difficult to understand, but we cannot see how it can be logically supported from the Bible that smoking itself is a sin. I have read other people's articles about smoking, and while I respect that they are trying to do a good work, there are holes in their argumentation.
The main argument held by many Christians about this is that smoking is a sin against your own body. This is "proven" using 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, and 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; the implication is that smoking defiles the body, and by defiling the body you are defiling the Lord's temple, and that God will destroy those who defile His temple.
There are five things that negate this argument. First, the Bible explicitly states that only one sin is a sin against your own body, and that is the sin of sexual immorality. "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Secondly, the acceptance of this argument requires the acceptance of the doctrinal error commonly known as "fall away doctrine", the belief that sins (and not disbelief) cause one to lose salvation. This is a hideous (and yet very common) misapplication of Scripture. When you repent and truly believe in Jesus Christ, you are permanently saved at the moment of belief. Sin may grieve the Spirit within you after that, and you will suffer for continued sin in the reward judgment, but you will not lose salvation over sins. This position is explained in our article, Is Salvation Eternally Secure?.
The third problem is that the context of the Scripture is ignored. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 is speaking of the literal church, and does not use individual language, while 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is speaking figuratively of the body as a temple, and is taken in the context of fornication, which, as we have stated, is the only sin against the body. Even drunkenness, which has unquestionable health effects and is listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 as a sure sign that a person is not saved, was not considered a sin against the body, and smoking is much more akin to drunkenness than to sexual immorality.
The fourth problem is that these Scripture references have to be presented in reverse order to make any sort of coherent point with regard to smoking. This is not a sign of healthy doctrine; rather, it is a sign of twisting Scripture to tailor-make your own doctrine. Peter wrote about this error with specific reference to Paul's epistles. "...our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." (2 Peter 3:15b-16)
The fifth problem is that there is no real connection between smoking and defilement of the body in any case. Matthew 15:10-11 says, "When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, 'Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.'" In this, Jesus was saying was that what the man consumes does not defile him, so the consumption of cigarettes cannot defile a man.
There are too many subtle ways that smoking causes sin to provide an exhaustive list, but we will give you a few things to think about. We have already mentioned that it can make others uncomfortable or can even result in health problems in others.
Another issue is the emotional and economic strain it can put on relationships. Emotionally, there can be strain for others who feel that a loved one is killing themselves with cigarette smoke. Since this is not an irrational fear, if someone feels this way about you, you are sinning against them. Economically, tobacco costs so much that it causes an impact for anyone with middle-class or lower income. If health issues do take root, smoking can cause severe economic hardship for a dependent family, if the smoker has one.
But what if you are one of those lucky smokers who does not get sick from smoking? Does that mean you are not setting yourself up to sin? The problem with this idea is that no one knows if he will be one of those smokers who doesn't get sick. The avoidance of sin well in advance is the only way to safely prevent sin from occurring; otherwise the risk of sin is always there.
I also feel strongly that Christians should not voluntarily provide financial support to any organizations that do things that would be against their own personal convictions. I think all of the tobacco companies would qualify, since their ethics are questionable at best. It is alleged that tobacco companies actively covered up the health effects of smoking for years, and continue to finance fixed "studies" that supposedly disprove legitimate medical research. It is alleged (and I think proven, though I'm not sure) that they have secretly introduced chemicals to enhance the addictive nature of cigarettes. It is proven that they specifically target young children with their advertising in the Far East. Last, it is readily observed that their legal filibustering against government regulations has cost society millions of dollars.
So, unless you roll your own cigarettes with your own paper and your own home-grown tobacco, and smoke it either in total isolation or only with people of like mind, you are either sinning or putting yourself into a risky position on the brink of sin.
While researching for this article, I researched smoking itself, and found that it had begun as a false religious practice. It began with the Mayans, who were quite pagan in their religious practices, which included human sacrifice. It spread northward to the American Indians. The idea behind it was that the smoke would carry messages from the smoker to the spirit world, which is a common thread with Buddhism. Buddhists write down their prayers on pieces of paper and burn them so the smoke will carry the message to their gods. It certainly lends credence to the theory that Indians and East Asians were the first to emigrate to the Americas.
I don't offer this as argumentation, but just as information and something to think about. If you find yourself tempted to use this as argumentation, however, you should note that even church organs have a pagan history. In fact, many denominations prohibited organs and all other musical instruments in church on this basis, and some continue to today. I fail to see the logic, since King David frequently used musical instruments to honor the Lord; in fact, most of the Psalms are meant to be performed with musical instruments. But I'm digressing!
Smoking does not qualify as a sign that a person is not a Christian, if that is what they profess to be. Anyone making such an accusation against someone is certainly committing a far greater sin, that of judging others (Matthew 7:1-3). Sometimes people say that all Christians are judgmental because we condemn sin and warn of the consequences. That is not judging others; where the Bible speaks directly, God has already made His judgment on the action, and we are simply proclaiming God's judgment. We are actually trying to prevent fellow sinners from being judged, if possible, by having them accept the propitiation God has provided by repenting and believing in Christ. The final judgment of individuals will not take place until the end of the present age, and will be performed by God Himself.
Therefore, I recommend that anyone who smokes should at least bring it to the Lord in prayer and ask whether they should quit. Quitting smoking is considered quite difficult; research indicates that nicotine is the most addictive substance in the world, even more addictive than heroin! But take heart, Christian: If you find that the Spirit convicts you about smoking, you can also rely on God's help to help you overcome it. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I am sure everyone finds it difficult to repent of sins, especially those insidiously "pleasurable" ones, but you can be well assured that for every sinful thing you give up, there is a greater blessing that God will bestow upon you in the next world. (Compare Matthew 19:28-30)
Is Smoking Wrong? is Copyright © 1997 by Compass Distributors
All Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible
All other Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.), 1982