Quote:
Originally Posted by 2020Vision
Sin or not? Does it please God?
To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
I'm not interpreting your position for you. I'm taking you at the words I'm reading, which is something we all do. But if you think I'm misunderstanding you, I've asked to to clarify.
|
Ok, I'm back. I had an incident here at work and one of my employees is in the Med Center right now, and the paperwork and phone calls are overwhelming.
Anyway, here's my position:
I DO think smoking is a sin. Is it a sin that will send you to hell?
I'm not sure that I can say the act of smoking a cigarette will send one to hell, but I would say that any person who desires to please God, and who's heart is right before God would want to rid themselves of this filthy, destructive habit.
If there is a person who does not WANT to stop smoking, and is looking for a loophole to continue smoking, I would say they have "heart" issues, and I can definitively state that a heart issue can cause a person to be lost.
I would say this about many things that the Bible does not specifically call out as sin, so it's not just smoking. Smoking is an outward manifestation of an inward craving that is not controlled.
Now, I realize there are people who have recently been saved who may be struggling to rid themselves of the addiction, but I can also say that anyone who really wants to quit can and will quit. My father is a shining example of this. Before he was saved, he was a two pack a day smoker, and drank all of his money away. He was twice divorced, a bar room brawler, and when he met my mother, she told him she would never dream of dating him until he got saved. He was baptized in Jesus' name, received the Holy Ghost, and to this day - 47 years later - he has never touched another drop of alcohol, nor had nicotine to his lips.
Again, let me emphatically state that I believe smoking is a sin, and for the same reasons many of my worthy opponents on this thread have stated, and if a person's heart is right with God, they will WANT to quit this habit, as well as many others.
Now, to my original point, it's inconsistent to tell someone that the habit of smoking in and of itself will send them to hell, because it's destroying their body, when we don't tell them the same thing about other destructive habits.
Hopefully, that's straightforward enough for you, 2020!
Threaded Mode
