As presbyterians are traditional mainline protestants, I was wondering if the most conservatives denominations like the PCA or the OPCA see smoking as a major sin? I'm most pentecostal-leaning and I'm asking myself some question about the fact that I'm a tobacco smoker and from an evangelical point of view it is very recommended to avoid cigarettes or other addictives substances. Personnaly I don't feel that it voids my christian testimony and my belief in Jesus Christ but in another way it may be a stumbling block to my fellows...
What do you think about that ?
I am PCUSA. I attend a conservative church in a liberal denomination. We don't exactly call it a sin, but it is frowned upon. Some people only smoke in moderation; for example on their anniversary or on some special occasion. I had a friend like that once. One cigarette a month or year does not harm your body or God's temple in the physical sense.
Technically we are all free in Christ. There are many bad habits. Some people are reckless drivers, some use tanning beds. Smoking is double edged - it is frowned upon by a large segment of society as well as the church.
What about habits which are not even recognized yet by the church? What about super-sized drinks? Is smoking really worse than obesity? What about obese pastors? Lately climbing Everest looks to be worse than smoking for your temple, if you see what I mean. Yet one would think a mountain climber would command some respect? Yet if he or she dies and leaves his family without a parent, that is a sin in my book.
From where I sit smoking may be an obvious low hanging fruit, easy to pick off, spot and judge. But there is obviously a big difference between what God calls a sin,and what we call a sin. I believe the fact that there are so many behaviors which are potentially sinful negates it from being a major sin.
Anyway, if one is a member of our church, that is one thing. No one smokes near our church. They wait for the ride home.
If one is a pastor, (Elder or Deacon also) then it is a stumbling block in my book, unless the pastor says something sometime to explain it as a work in progress or something. We all have our sins and habits which are hopefully becoming fewer in number over time. I believe publicly acknowledging them minimizes the sinfulness.
I would cite I Corinthians, the eating meat to idols section. If you love your weaker brother, respect his or her spirituality. If your brother thinks it is a sin and sees a pastor is doing it, then the brother may get the wrong idea. If the brother experiments with a cigarette based on seeing a pastor do it (thinking in may be ok, because his or her pastor is doing it), but deep down thought is was a sin all along, that is a sin. I would argue the pastor tempted the weaker brother to sin, not intentionally, but that is what happened.
So, in my book, smoking is not a sin. I would not recommend it. I would always advise against it as it would likely lead to damaging the temple (which is a sin), or possibly leading others astray, which is also a sin. What we are free to do is not always beneficial, and so on.
Doing something you
think is wrong (even if it is actually not wrong) is a sin. Leading a weaker brother into doing something he or she thought was wrong is therefore a sin committed by the pastor.
