We’ve seen smoking isn’t explicitly noted in Scripture, yet the Bible does address the foundational principles from which smoking stems and provides us with everything we need to live a godly life.
We, as followers of Jesus, know smoking tobacco products is not good for us physically, and to start a bad habit which will probably become an addiction is not Christlike. It’s a modern-day illustration based on what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Paul was speaking in general terms regarding acting within and apart from the Law, but the connection to an act that is both spiritually and physically unhealthy is apparent.
What does the Bible say about smoking tobacco? Is it a sin?
Is Smoking Mentioned in the Bible?
For good or for ill, the Bible doesn’t mention the act of smoking tobacco, cultivating the plant, drying it, or using it as a crop. But the Bible does speak of behaviors which harm humans, both physically and spiritually, and affect both their relationship with God and others.
Smoking tobacco is a behavior which stems from various beliefs, practices, and principles which inhabit and reveal a person’s heart. Even though the Bible doesn’t directly mention smoking tobacco, in the context of a person’s principles, the Bible indeed addresses these matters. Pastor Caleb Greggsen adds, “A principle is rigid in the sense that it doesn’t change according to external circumstances. But it’s also flexible, providing guidance that can be applied in all circumstances and contexts. A properly biblical principle is one that the Bible fixes for us, so it never inherently conflicts with the demands of reality, even if our application of that principle may.”
We should consider the reasons one smokes tobacco and the effects of its usage. Looking back at the opening statement, we can progress to the “why’s” of a person’s interest in, enjoyment of, and habitual use of tobacco products.
The Heart of the Matter
Smoking stems from deeper issues which are rooted in the heart. When it comes to life on earth, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart (see Jeremiah 17:9). Acting solely according to our flesh, our hearts will lead us to ruin (Psalm 14:1; Proverbs 19:3; Hebrews 3:12). Our hearts often lead to selfish pursuits and pleasures. That is why we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, because when the Spirit controls our hearts, we surrender to His will and He will lead us in Christlike behaviors.
We’ve seen smoking isn’t explicitly noted in Scripture, yet the Bible does address the foundational principles from which smoking stems and provides us with everything we need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). We can conform to the positive traits and actions spoken of in the Word and discern when something is unrighteous and sinful in the Lord’s eyes.
Not everyone who smokes a cigarette is an addict, but a person who chooses to smoke tobacco products opens the door to becoming one (much like when a person starts to drink alcohol or indulge in pornography). God has revealed Himself through creation and through His Word, and the Bible has so many principles by which we are to abide, believers have no excuse for ungodly behaviors (1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Peter 1:3).
Smoking stems from the same fundamental principles as the list included in 1 Peter 4:3, “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, debauchery, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.” Webster’s 1828 Dictionary gives us a sobering definition of debauchery, “Excess in the pleasures of the table; gluttony; intemperance. But chiefly, habitual lewdness; excessive unlawful indulgence of lust.” The principle of drunkenness also involves coming under the controlling influence of a substance. Smoking tobacco ties to these two things because generally smokers feel they must feed these habits even if they insist they can quit anytime they want to.
Can we not equate living in sensuality and passions with using tobacco products? As an exercise, insert smoking for debauchery and read it aloud. We’re not trying to be legalistic here, but when we choose a purely selfish action over a pure, Spirit-filled life, we are replacing God’s rightful position as sovereign Lord.
Issues Connected to Habitual Smoking
Financial Stewardship
The current median cost of one pack of cigarettes is just under $8.00. The World Population Review states, “According to The American Lung Association, The average daily smoker smokes 15 cigarettes a day. The price of this habit sits at a national average of $6 a day, or $2,190 per year. In New York, the average smoker would spend $8.97 per day, or $3,274.04 every year. In Missouri, the cheapest state for smokers, the average daily smoker would spend $4.58 a day, or $1672.61 per year.”
Health Stewardship
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general.” The CDC also relates, “Health problems caused by secondhand smoke in adults who do not smoke include coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, as well as adverse reproductive health effects in women, including low birth weight.”
The Bible tells us to “count others as more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). It’s a very selfish and unloving action to subject others to secondhand smoke and possibly harm their health.
Why would a Christian who is striving to live a holy life do such harm to himself and/or others by smoking tobacco? Moses tells us in Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” before the Lord. Smoking tobacco is the opposite of our aim as Christians, for we are to value the lives God has given us. An addicted smoker looks at one’s life with contempt because it’s an arrogant and blatant disregard for the damaging effect it has. Indeed, God has all our days numbered (Psalm 139:16); we should live our lives as healthy as we can so we may do the kingdom work God has planned for us with excellence, strength, and vitality (Psalm 90:12). We are mere stewards of our bodies, for God owns us all (1 Corinthians 6:20). We owe it to our Creator to “know how to control his own body in holiness and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:4).
Addiction
We’ve touched on addiction. Addiction connotes a lack of control, and God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control (see 2 Timothy 1:7). To allow something such as an addiction to tobacco to master us means we have supplanted Christ’s rightful (and righteous) place in our hearts.
The following passages speak to addiction-relatable problems:
Proverbs 20:1, Ephesians 5:18, Matthew 26:41, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, among others.
Our Witness for Jesus Christ
All the other issues as listed above do much damage to us as Christ’s image-bearers. To engage in willful sin is akin to saying you choose the sin over the grace of God. But God is indeed merciful and gracious. He will help you quit the addiction as you surrender to Him in repentance and faith (1 John 1:9).
God’s Commands
What we have in the Scriptures are clear-cut commands and exhortations about living a holy life — one which pleases the Lord God. The Lord God has given us incredible minds, and we ought to use them well as we seek to glorify the Lord. Ephesians 5:8b-10 tells us, “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Everything in the Bible is truth, and the Bible is replete with narratives of godly, righteous people who sought to glorify the Lord. From Noah to the Apostle Paul, the Scriptures give us examples of men and women who sought God’s will so He would be glorified in and through their lives. God’s Word also supplies Christians with commands, lessons, exhortations, and behaviors which serve to mold us more and more into the image of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
We now need to ponder what God’s Word says about who we are to be as His church.
Our first and foremost command is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). Jesus said, “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). How do we obey these commands?
In order to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as Christ specifies, we must:
1. Know and surrender to Him as Lord and Savior as we repent in faith. He died to save us from our sins and this enables us to properly glorify Him as He sanctifies us by His Holy Spirit (Leviticus 20:8; Ecclesiastes 12:13; John 17:17; 1 John 1:9).
2. Read, meditate upon, and deeply study the Bible. A quick devotional read, while edifying, is not enough to train us to be more like Christ and to see His redemptive plan throughout the Bible. Journal your thoughts and questions and always pray before, during, and after you spend quality, undistracted time in His Word.
3. When the Bible gives us a specific command, take the necessary actions to obey it. As an example: Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Our whole behavior toward others will change when we follow this rule given by Jesus.
4. The Bible is God’s very Word to us, and we are to take all of it as Him speaking to us. It’s also all about Jesus Christ. We are to be conformed to His image (Romans 12:2), and as the Holy Spirit leads us from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18), we become more like our Savior.
As we regard the Bible and God’s coming judgment on humanity, it’s good to review the Word as that which gives us the foundational, wisdom-shaping values from which all life must operate (Proverbs 9:10-12).
As we consider this, we must ask ourselves if smoking tobacco falls in line with being like Christ and growing in His grace and wisdom.
If you do not use tobacco products:
1. Don’t start. Don’t let the temptation to be pulled into an addiction lead you away from following and obeying the Lord with all your heart (1 Corinthians 10:13).
2. Pray for believers you know who do. And pray with them.
If you do use tobacco products:
1. Pray for the Lord’s help to stop.
2. Ask Him to send you an accountability partner and stay accountable. Pray together.
Titus 2:12-13 is a fit and godly reminder for us as we review what the Bible has told us about living a holy life, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”
Photo credit: Unsplash/Reza Mehrad
