Leviticus 19:27-28

[christianonly81093]

This is a dumb question but:

I understand the the Law of Moses was thrown out at Calvary, but the things in the Law are still disapproved of by God, so I have this question Leviticus 19:27-28 says

27 " 'You must not cut the hair on the sides of your heads or cut the edges of your beard.28 You must not cut your body to show sadness for someone who died or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.


Does that mean that shaving your sideburns or getting a tattoo is sin? Or is this just for the Israelites? Please shed some light.

[m273p15c]

I believe this pertains to the Old Covenant only. Therefore, we are not specifically prohibited from taking part in these things.

Generally, speaking I understand that the Old Testament serves as a wealth of examples to shed light on God's nature, common pitfalls, and general learning (Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:6, 11; Romans 11:21-22). However, I do not believe any command of the Old Testament is bound upon us, because its authoritative power ceased at the cross (Romans 7:1-4; Galatians 3:19, 23-25). The only exceptions, which are not really exceptions, would be commands that are reiterated in the New Law (for example, Romans 13:8-11 - notice anything missing?), or specific applications that fall under broad commands of the New Law (consider the many specific references to variants of fornication in the OT, whereas the NT says simply not to fornicate, etc.). The power of these exceptions is not because they were originally given in the OT, but because they were commanded in the NT! Therefore, they are not technically exceptions - just duplications.

However, Christians are instructed not to do things that may take away from their influence (I Corinthians 9:19-23; Romans 2:24). Furthermore, they are not permitted to partake in things that are generally shameful (I Timothy 2:9; I Corinthians 11:13-14). Therefore, if one of these habits are commonly associated with rebellion, idolatry, or anything else that is ungodly, we should not partake. Consequently, I believe a tattoo would be wrong, not because it is explicitly condemned, but because it is commonly associated with rebellion - not Christianity. Therefore, it may hamper our ability to teach, and it may bring unnecessary and unfair shame upon our Master. That is my judgment and application of the above passages.