Is Smoking a Sin?

[searchingforGodlyanswers]

Thank God some of you do not judge others as "sinners" and realize God will be the one that points.Reps given--

Well I come from the belief that we are all sinners bought by Jesus and forgiven, but it is up to us to accept that. Like someone had on a signature something like not perfect, just forgiven.
As far as those who were talking about unworthiness and so on, I believe that we are all unworthy of HIS mercy, (we as sinners derserve to go to the lake of fire), but that none of us are worthless. Christ went through immense suffering and persecution and died, was buried, and rose again, so we are obviously worth much for HIM to do this for us, but we in of and by ourselves are not worthy of getting into heaven to be with God for He is the way. HE could have destroyed us all like in the days of Noah. I think it is something called faith and grace that science and logic cannot really even touch, and it is something that even we cannot even fathom/grasp really, the immensity of his love and lovingkindness.
This helps me feel more humble now.
Thank you all. Thank You, Lord God.

 

[dearme]

Ephesians 5:18 says, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be ye filled with the Spirit." This verse doesn't asy anything about smoking, but things harmful to your body like smoking or drinking is a sin. God says to keep our temples holy.

 

[searchingforGodlyanswers]

Ephesians 5:18 says, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be ye filled with the Spirit." This verse doesn't asy anything about smoking, but things harmful to your body like smoking or drinking is a sin. God says to keep our temples holy.

If this verse doesn't say anything about smoking but things harmful to your body like smoking is a sin, because it is harmful to one's body, then are chemotherapy, pain medications, antidepressants, antipsychotics, steroid medicine for asthma or other purposes, antibiotics, and etc. sinful too? Acetaminophen can cause liver damage like alcohol and does the Bible say to not take acetaminophen?
What about those who are terminally ill and have legal permissionto smoke an illegal substance? Just because it is legal for those who have permission, does that make it okay to be used as a medicine? If it's cancer, what's the difference between doing radiation/chemotherapy, and smoking a substance, all of which I believe can be harmful?
Could it be saying not to get drunk for a reason such as you won't remember later or you won't be as good a witness?
From a previous quote I made: I noticed the Bible says, "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities" 1 Tim. 5: 23 (NKJV).
If a little for infirmities is okay, then would it be reasonable to assume that perhaps smoking tobacco is wrong because it offers no physical health benefits or does it offer mental health benefits? Or is a little tobacco to settle one's mind wrong? What about smoking (or whatever it is terminally ill people do with it) an illegal substance that is made legal for them to do as an exception to the law?
Eating meat over time is harmful to the body. A diabetic eating sugary substances/victuals can be harmful too. But is the sin still gluttony/overeating with food? If so does it mean that a little every day, although it clogs your ateries and produces heart damage and stroke and so on, is not sinful because in the New Testament it became ok (Acts 10:12-15)? So then how can one say that Ephesians 5:18 was talking about things harmful to your body like smoking if meat is harmful but not sinful? Some people may consider smoking an unclean act, but since there is no specific verse that says it is, and what was "common or unclean" as far as food was specifically concerned is now cleansed or declared clean and we must not call common, then can't that be generalized to other items just as easily as "things harmful to your body like smoking" (taken out of the quote at top)?

 

[nb_christseeker]

its not a sin

Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.


Mar 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;



Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

 

[nb_christseeker]

Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

 

[nb_christseeker]

Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

 

[nb_christseeker]

defiling the temple of the Holy Spirit refers to fornication, not smoking or drinking.

 

[Archaleon]

Okay, I have my own perspective on this one. I just registered on the forums so I could post on this topic, because I have cut down on smoking from 1 1/2 packs a day to ~1 pack every 2 days, quit drinking, and quit caffeine. None of that makes me a better person.

It's not the nicotene, alcohol, caffeine, or drug that defiles but the things we say and do. When you say, write, or think "I can't quit" then you've smoked Negativity. That's worse than crack cocaine, because you punish yourself into accepting the false notion that the drug has power over you, who is saved from sin by the sacrifice of Christ. You *can* quit, but just like anything else, it starts with believing you can.

If you want to cut down on smoking, which I'm sure anybody who smokes does, just put the next cig out after the first 2-3 inhales. Your body only absorbs 1 mg of nicotene from each cig (which have a lot more in them) so you won't suffer withdrawals if you put em out early. If this information was posted on every no smoking sign in America, the tobacco companies would lose half their business. But thanks to non-smokers everywhere for their words of encouragement and false concern about our spiritual welfare.

In a related subject, we know that it's a sin to blame drugs or addictions, such as drinking, for one's behavior. That's shallow and ignorant of personal responsibility.

This is the same problem that happens in dieting. Some people say some types of foods are bad; they are dead wrong. You can't blame your weight on what or how much you eat. Try this for a diet: "I will stop demoralizing myself by condemning the things which go into my body." No matter how attractive you are, you aren't healthy when you FEAR snack foods, cakes, or candy: it has power over you. So what good is it to be healthy if you are still a slave to sin? Let me illustrate.

There once was a man who discovered his goose laid golden eggs. The man celebrated his newfound wealth by buying a house, a new car, and a stereo system. Then one day the man doubted, "I don't know how my goose laid gold. I should kill him and learn, otherwise I may find myself in the poorhouse again." The man strangled his goose violently. Then he cut it open with his butcher knife, looking for the gold inside the goose. Alas he cried, because he found none. Neither did he discover how the goose laid gold.

The sin is not smoking but negativism: worrying, self-loathing, self-pitying remorse. These are the things which pollute your attitude and in turn make you an addict. Feeling sorry only makes it worse. Wake up and realize only your own attitude, your goose, brings forth golden eggs.

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Now, let me say a few things about this holier-than-thou attitude going on around here. When I see stuff like this...

""Yeah its a sin, if someone else inhales your smoke and dies from cancer as a result of it, then you basically are a murderer.""

""Since everybody knows that smoking is unhealthy its a sin to do it knowingly"'

""Anything that defiles the temple of God (your body) is against the Lord. Anything that is not for the Lord is against Him. So yes, its a sin.""

...I just wanna say stuff like this.

If any smoker inhales your condemnation, worries and dies from cancer as a result of it, then you are a murderer. Since everyone knows Jesus said otherwise, it is a sin to disagree knowingly. Anything that you say against the Lord defiles the temple of God.

Because God cares about your heart more than your body. That's all I have to say.