RETURN TO ARTICLE "IS SMOKING A SIN?"
Please pray for these people who are struggling with smoking. In each case I responded with prayer, biblical counsel, and encouragement. (cpa)
Response: Jerry - Just a quick not the thank you for your response regarding quitting smoking. My wife and I recently re-dedicated our lives to Christ and one of our biggest hurdles was smoking.
I have been trying to immerse myself in Bible study and the Internet seems to have a wealth of material one can study. I was sitting here and thinking about going and getting a pack of smokes when I suddenly thought, WAIT A MINUTE and punched “Is smoking a sin?” into Goggle and your site came up first on the list.
I clicked and read the whole article, very thankful for the Bible Verses provided therein, and lost that desire to go get a pack of cigarettes.
Again thank you from here in beautiful ----------. I appreciate you and your Response and thank the Lord for folks like you that are doing the Lords work!
Response: Lorie -
Thank you. Your answer to the question "Is Smoking a Sin?" is a powerful Response. I am 47 years old. I have smoked since age 12. Tonight, I found your message online and I know in my heart that our Lord directed me to it. Your writing shows a genuine understanding and compassion for those of us who are gripped by this terrible sin. Every point that you made struck a nerve. I have made all the excuses that you mentioned, and more. I have gone through all of that anguish that you described, that only a Christian smoker can understand. I have tried on numerous occasions to quit and found that I could not. The horrible craving would always win over and I would always give in and begin smoking again. Therefore, I have justified this habit 1000 different ways. Even when it occurred to me that smoking gave the appearance of evil and that it was harming, even destroying my Response; I temporarily rationed away the guilt of that revelation by convincing myself that smoking actually "enhanced" my Response.
My reasoning was that smoking would make me appear more "average" and I would be more approachable as a Christian. I told myself that sugar and fat harm our bodies, just as badly as smoke, and that cake and sausage, and milk shakes were not sins. Your experiences and the way that you have expressed your struggle with smoking, and your journey in finally overcoming this habit through faith in the Lord touched me. When I finished your Response, I did exactly what you suggested we do; I prayed to God, and I begged Him to forgive me in my stubborn heart. I asked Him to deliver me from the grip of this awful addiction. I asked Him to take away the cravings that I fear so much, and to give me strength to break the bond of this addiction. I finally came to the understanding that I have failed in the past because I was relying on myself to be strong enough in my mind, in my will, to overcome this on my own. I had failed to acknowledge that I cannot do anything, least of all overcome a 35 year addiction with out God being directly in charge. I needed to understand that. Thanks to you, I was able to find that clarity. When I was finished praying, I found my cigarettes and I poured water on them, and threw them away with my lighter. Thank you again for taking the time to write down that experience, and for sharing it with others. May God bless you and your family.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year.
Sincerely, Response: Chuck - I fear this maybe me you are talking about. I have battled this addiction for many years. I am now 43 and still struggling with its grip on me. I am a believer. I love The Lord, His good and gracious ways. But somehow I know smoking is preventing me from rising up to be affective for His ministry. It hurts my wife and my 14 year old son who doesn't even know of my addiction. I constantly look at myself as “a loser” for God. I haven't even confessed openly my addiction to anyone other than my wife, and now this email. Many will say its no big deal. Its not like alcohol, drugs or a pornographic addiction. I fear the life style change if/when I quit. I simply have run out of excuses. I don't know where to go from here.
Thank you for getting back to me. I am literally embarrassed to make this confession. You see, I help within the youth organization at my home Church as a volunteer leader. I fear if I confess my addictions to anyone it would be the end of my serving as a youth teacher. We have an awesome program in which just this past Saturday evening 9 students gave their lives over to Jesus. We get anywhere from 75 to 100 students coming to these events. To see how students are making a decision that has eternal significance and consequences excite me beyond anything material things could ever give.
This is a follow up to his first e-mail.
Like you I grew up in an error in which we could smoke in designated areas in our High School. It seemed everyone smoked. I played soccer, wrestled and baseball. Yet I smoked. I even found justification in smoking when seeing Lenny Dykstrafrom the Philadelphia Phillies smoking. He was an athlete and smoked too. I have quit smoking before and started back again when I needed a crutch. In the recesses of my mind I knew in full knowledge that God was my only crutch but giving in to something I enjoyed if only that one time would sustain my anxieties for months. But as usual it didn't and the habit would start all over again.
I know my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. I have been bought with a price that is beyond human comprehension. Yet I choose tobacco because for just a temporary moment of relaxation. I know that there is a spiritual battle going on within me like never before. We have a new Pastor at our Church and his goals are for reaching the community. Perhaps God is really putting this conviction on my heart knowing greater things are yet to come and He needs me 100% instead of only 90% of the time. My mind drifts to moments that I can break away to enjoy a cigar. Not only for the temporary fix but also an excuse to sit back and relax but for a moment.
I thank you for taking the time to write me. You don't even know who I am and vice versa. May God bless you and your ministry. Maranatha,
Response: Tom - Thank you for this message of truth. I appreciate it.
I'm ashamed to say that I have been saved for over fifteen-years and have been trying to quit smoking since almost the day that I was saved but have failed. For some strange reason I can not convince myself that smoking is a sin, like lying or stealing or what have you, even though I know that it is... Jer. 17:9 is certainly true. I also know that it has muted my desire to win souls even though I do go soul winning, but of course, not as much as I should because I feel like a hypocrite. It has also frequently caused me to doubt my salvation.
I can quote from memory all the bible verses that you shared plus many others on this subject so I know that the Holy Spirit is also convicting me. In fact, God gave me 1 Cor 6:19-20 almost immediately after I was saved. By the way, for a specific verse see Is 50:11 on smoking. This sinful habit has caused me so much mental anguish over the years that it is almost indescribable.
Again thank you for being faithful to God's word. Pray that somehow through God's grace I would finally please the Lord in this matter and that most importantly he would get the glory. He has been very merciful to me.
You are doing right and are being a watchmen on the wall (Ezekiel). Continue sounding the trumpet... 2 TIm 4:2 Response: David - Thank you for this encouraging truth on smoking. Please pray God would deliver me from this awful sin - smoking does cause other people to stumble. Response: I am 23, have been smoking for a few years....My health is not good right now & last night, God guided me to your site...I was hoping to find some support & resources for me, because I'm, tired of smoking & I've tried to quit & I am lost as to where to start... (I responded with biblical counsel, cpa)
Response: Tiffany - My name is Tiffany -----. I live in a small town near ------, ----. I started smoking when I was 14 years old. I am now 24 and still smoking. A few months ago, I woke up one morning with this strange feeling that was all through my body. I could not describe the feeling at first.. it wasn't until a few hours later that I realized that it was a spiritual feeling. With that being said, I was raised to believe in god and accept Jesus as my lord and savior, but was never taught to live by His word. On that day I woke up with that spiritual feeling, I knew it was Jesus. It was the best feeling in my life.. it was like He reached down and hugged my soul. I was so at peace with everything. Many family members of mine are still skeptical, but I just live by His word as much as I can, praying fervently for everyone, everything and giving adoration to Him and thanks.
Last night I prayed to our heavenly father and asked Him to help me defeat the battle of addiction. Today, I woke up and tried not to pick up that cigarette, but did anyway. I decided to look up what the bible says about smoking, ( still very new to His word) and then I spotted your article. It looked very interesting, so I opened the page and began to read. I have to state that your article really moved me and I am sharing it with my mother, who also smokes. We have decided to stop smoking together, much like you and your friend. We are just throwing our packs away and reaching out more to Him when we are weak. I just wanted to thank you for such an inspiring article and may God bless you, Cooper Abrams!!! Thanks, Response: Donna - I became a Christian in Nov 2007 and was lead by the Lord to go to a God fearing Bible preaching church and joined Easter 2008 baptized in May 2008 but still bothered by smoking,I had a lot to say that I am not going to hell cause I am saved and the Lord will take it away from me so I prayed till I was blue in the face and had loads of people praying for me. I still was being torn up thinking that this isn't a good Response and I didn't want Jesus to chew my butt out on believers judgment day I got on the Chantix medication, so speaking to a Christian man at work one day I told him that I failed and had 1 smoke and I was upset,he told me that tomorrow is another day and I wont go to hell I smell like I just came from there,would you believe that I haven't smoked since and today is day 8,when I had the urge I just remembered what that man said and I wont touch it. I thought of sharing this with you all. In Christ; Response: Fred - I read your article concerning smoking. I was saved in 1982 and I have been smoking for forty six years. . . .God has been dealing with me about these cigarettes. I am almost 62 years old and of course don't have many years left. My great hope is to be alive when the Lamb Of God comes for his bride. I believe with all my heart it will be in our generation. The stage is certainly being set up for the final seven years of human history. I have confessed to Our Father that my smoking is a sin and is destroying my lungs. I have much guilt about this because as you said, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Every time I quit and ask God to deliver me from it, I fail. The longest I have gone is some years back, 42 days then went back to smoking. I am also an alcoholic but Christ Jesus delivered me from that on Dec. 17th, 2000. I have over eight years clean and sober. I cant understand why my smoking seems to be so much more difficult to quit than was the alcohol. I know on that day in Dec. 2000, I truly hit bottom and cried out to God to please either deliver me from it or take my life. I didn't care which one He did. There was a sudden peace that came over me that I had never known. To this day, I have not wanted any alcohol. I am wondering if perhaps demons are involved with this cigarette smoking? Please pray for me if you will. May God bless your Ministry, your brother in Christ Jesus, Fred Response: Mirana - I too am a smoker and want to quit really bad. I try to use my faith in God but nothing seems to work for me. I am trying once again to quit and I really liked your story. I think it could really help me. I copied it and pasted it so I can look at it every time I feel like giving in. Thank you. Response: Viscus - Thanks a lot for all the help you have provided over the years, I would not know what to do if it wasn't for you. Response: Charles - Thank you for taking the time to write about your experiences with smoking. I had managed to nearly overcome it when I rededicated my life to the Lord about eight months ago, but I allowed it to creep in one day when the leader of my congregation didn't seem to have any scripture supporting the fact that it is sin.
For months, I've asked believers if smoking is sin looking for something in God's Word to stand on. To my surprise, no one seemed very certain. Most said they didn't think so. Some said they weren't so sure, their tone leaning toward it not being sin. Yet deep down, although I've stated my uncertainty, the Holy Spirit has been convicting me.
Tonight, after discussing scripture with my dad and my sister for a couple of hours or so while he painted her bedroom and while she was getting ready to go out, I became restless, craving a cigarette. I eventually started out the door to my sister's room and toward the stairs. A voice inside me stopped me in my tracks and I leaned against a piece of furniture. 'Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't smoke that cigarette. How can you witness and then go and smoke.' Then the other voice, 'it's not really sinning, no one has been able to give me a solid scriptural basis for that...' so I went back in my sister's room and finally punched "Is smoking sin?" into Goggle and began reading your article on the subject.
Yours was the first article I found. It reinforced the conviction inside of me, especially when you recounted your reaction to the deacon smoking, and then almost immediately after my dad began to relate how he believed smoking made the witness of believers ineffective. When he said that just after I read the same point in your article, after I experienced the same conviction from within, it became obvious what was going on.
I asked God to help me overcome smoking a few days ago. I'm convinced God has just brought three sources on the issue together as evidence and your work was a part of it. So thanks for taking the time. Blessings in Christ Jesus,