Many people make excuses to do things to live their lives as they desire. They make excuses not to conform to God. They say well this is how it was when the Bible was written, or that was made unnecessary by Jesus Christ going to the cross and then raising from the dead on the third day. These excuses say one thing. These people are not truly seeking to have a relationship with God. They are just the religious lukewarm who Christ has vomited out of the Body of Christ long ago and aren’t worthy of being even listened to.

Why make such a harsh statement? Well let us turn to the Word of God.

Romans 12:1-2 NKJV – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

A key command given in these verses:

“Do not be conformed to this world.”

Conformed – G4964 – suschématizó – conform to, fashion yourself according to. Conform to the same pattern.

Let us turn to a main example of this. The placing of tattoos upon your body once you have accepted being a child of God through Jesus Christ.

And here it comes. The railing and complaining.

Let us just use the verses given above and apply this to what can be seen in the world about us. Has there not been TV shows that have a contest between the best tattoo artists within the world that place their artwork onto their fellow human beings? The answer is yes.

Then this is definite proof that tattoos are something that those of the world seek after. Then per just the verses above those that profess to being a follower of Christ should avoid placing this artwork upon their bodies.

However, we shall dig even deeper into the Word of God, plus at the end of this I will share a dream I was given from God in the mid-1980s. But let us get to the first part:

In three separate places within the Gospels Jesus Christ teaches this about the law and prophets:

Matthew 22:34-40 NKJV – But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 5:17-19 NKJV – “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 16:13-17 NKJV – “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

It makes it very clear that the commandments taught in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus are still in effect. The ONLY exception is those about making sacrifices, because Jesus Christ going to the cross ended only these commands.

With that said this means this law is still in effect:

Leviticus 19:28 NKJV – You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.

Recently I heard of a lady making comments that if this law was still in effect, then those laws surrounding it were in effect as will. My answer to that is. Yes, they are. Now why make this statement?

Ephesians 6:10-12 NKJV – Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

When people place tattoos upon them, especially Christian imagery, which is in defiance of this commandment:

Exodus 20:4-6 NKJV – “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Those that do this surrender to the evil spirits that have been given dominion over the world at this time. We are in a spiritual warfare, which includes how we live our daily lives including how we dress. How we cut our hair. Where we live as well as our choice of personal transport.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT – Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Once again this conformity to the world applies to how people dress. How they desire to live and what as well as how they get about if they seek to own a vehicle. This is why this is taught in 1 Timothy 6:

1 Timothy 6:6-8 NKJV – Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Now as promised the dream:

It was about a year or so after I was born again. It was another of what is called a vivid dream. I have many of them, most I am not able to shared, but this one was.

I found myself inside of a store, but the racks and shelves were ransacked. I was in chains and in a line. In front of me and behind were others, they all wore a grey jumper. I looked down and found myself to be wearing the same.

Several half-naked people that were mostly tattooed and pierced were directing us. One stood on the top of the shelves shouting and laughing as he lashed out with a whip. As it snapped, I heard him say:

“Where is your God now? Why doesn’t He come and get you?” He said things like this repeatedly as he herded the line toward the back of the store. Soon after a twelve-year-old boy, tattooed like the others, came running down one of the hallways made by the shelves. He stopped, as he laughed and held up by the hair the head of a woman and all those that were herding those in chains roared with laughter.

Once we reached our goal, I saw a line of cots set against the back wall and we those chained together were placed into these cots. After a time one by one the cots to my left were emptied, then it was my time. They made me get up and walk through a door at the back of the store. All went black.

Revelation 20:4 NKJV – And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Like I stated, I had this dream in the mid-1980s. In this time there were tattoos, but they were not as extreme in the number of people having them or the number of tattoos upon their bodies. The very fact that tattoos have exploded in numbers and even entered into the religious communities speaks volumes.

Please note that I did say within Christianity. For those that are true to Christ choose to follow His commands and teachings and so are without tattoos. The only exception to this is those that got tattoos before their salvation and due to the fact that they cannot afford to get them removed.

With this we see that our need to be separate from the world is not just an act of obedience, but also shows that by doing so we wear the armor of God within the spiritual warfare that has been ongoing since Satan and his fellow angels were cast out of heaven.

Those that conform to the world, like getting tattoos. Refusing to wear this armor as an act of defiance against God Himself through Jesus Christ and in fact are in open rebellion against their Savior by getting tattoos. A permanent marking upon their skin in defiance against their Creator.

Why say this?

Because their own personal wants and desires are more important than following the commands and teachings found with the Word of God.