This is a question I get from younger believers especially, and it deserves a careful, honest answer rather than a knee-jerk one in either direction. Some Christians are told flatly that tattoos are sinful, full stop; others assume the Bible has nothing to say at all. The truth is in between, and getting there requires that we read Scripture the way it’s meant to be read — in context. So let’s actually look at the verse everyone cites.
The one verse — in context
Here it is, the single passage that mentions marking the body:
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:28
Notice the crucial phrase: “cuttings in your flesh for the dead.” This command is set in a specific context — pagan mourning rites and idolatrous practices of the surrounding nations, who would cut and mark themselves in rituals for the dead and in worship of false gods. God was calling Israel to be distinct from those pagan customs. The verse isn’t addressing a modern person getting a meaningful piece of art on their arm; it’s addressing ritual self-mutilation tied to idolatry and the cult of the dead.
Just as importantly, look at the neighborhood this law lives in. The very same chapter forbids trimming the corners of your beard, wearing garments of mixed fabric, and planting two kinds of seed in one field. These were part of the ceremonial and cultural law that set Israel apart as a nation — laws Christians have understood, since the days of the apostles, to be fulfilled in Christ and no longer binding in the same way. If we’re going to pull Leviticus 19:28 out as a timeless ban on tattoos, consistency would require us to also condemn haircuts and cotton-poly blends — which no one does. (For more on how the Old and New Testaments relate, see Old Testament vs. New Testament.)
What the New Testament says — and doesn’t
Here’s the decisive point for Christians: the New Testament never repeats this prohibition. When the moral commands of the Old Testament carry forward — against idolatry, adultery, theft, murder, and the like — the New Testament restates and reinforces them. But it says nothing about tattoos. That silence matters. It means we can’t honestly claim “the Bible forbids tattoos” as a clear command for the church. To do so is to bind a conscience where God has not bound it.
So if someone tells you that getting a tattoo is automatically a sin, they are going beyond what Scripture actually teaches. This is a matter of Christian freedom — which doesn’t mean “anything goes,” but that it belongs to the realm of wisdom and conscience rather than direct command.
The principles that really matter
Just because something isn’t forbidden doesn’t mean every version of it is wise. The Bible gives us principles that should guide any decision in a gray area like this. Here’s how I’d counsel someone thinking it through.
First, your body belongs to God. As a believer, you are not your own:
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
This doesn’t automatically rule tattoos in or out, but it raises the bar of the question: does this honor the God who owns me, or dishonor Him? A tattoo of something blasphemous, vulgar, occult, or glorifying sin would clearly fail that test. A meaningful symbol of faith might even express devotion. The principle is stewardship, not a blanket ban.
Second, check your motive. Scripture gives a searching test for anything in the gray areas:
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23
If you can’t do it in good conscience, in faith, then for you it would be wrong — not because of the act itself, but because you’d be acting against your own conscience before God. So ask honestly: Why do I want this? Is it rebellion, vanity, impulse, fitting in — or something thoughtful and settled? Can I do this in faith, with a clear conscience before God?
Third, remember that God looks past the surface. Here is a truth that cuts both ways — against those who’d judge a person by their ink, and as a caution to keep our priorities straight:
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
God is far more concerned with the condition of your heart than the decoration of your skin. A person covered in tattoos may have a heart on fire for God; a person with pristine, unmarked skin may be full of pride and sin. Let’s never make a tattoo — having one or not having one — into a mark of spirituality. That misses the whole point of where God actually looks.
A few words of practical wisdom
So if you’re weighing whether to get a tattoo, let me offer some pastoral counsel. Don’t do it as rebellion or on impulse — a permanent decision deserves prayer and a clear conscience, not a moment’s whim. Consider its content — choose something that honors God or is at least innocent, never something that glorifies sin or that you’ll be ashamed of. Honor your parents’ wishes if you’re young and still under their roof — that’s its own biblical principle. Think long-term — it’s permanent; what you want at twenty you may not want at fifty. And don’t let it become a stumbling block — consider how it may affect your witness and the weaker consciences of others around you.
And if you already have tattoos — perhaps from before you knew Christ, perhaps ones you now regret — hear this clearly: they do not define you, and they certainly don’t separate you from God’s love. You are bought with a price, made new, fully accepted in Christ. God reads your heart, not your skin. So make this decision the way we’re meant to make all such decisions — prayerfully, wisely, in faith, and for the glory of God — and then extend grace to those who land differently. (For the same balanced approach to another gray area, see Can Christians Drink Alcohol?)