Tobacco Lust
Gospel Tract and Bible Society

Is it wrong to use tobacco? Does the Bible say it is sin? These are frequently asked questions by users of tobacco in its various forms when seriously approached. No, the Bible does not specifically mention the tobacco lust. But it does give directions by which the human race, men and women, are to govern their principles in life.

Let us look at a few Scripture passages and see how they apply: God warns to . . . abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” I Peter 2:11. “For we are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” I Cor. 6:20. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” I Cor. 3:17. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” Gal. 6:7, 8.

Is smoking, chewing, or snuffing tobacco food for the body? Can you ask our heavenly Father for it as nourishment for the body: “Give us this day our daily bread” Matt. 6:11? It is sinful because of the ungodly waste of material blessings God has intended for us to enjoy and to share with others. The multimillions of dollars annually spent for tobacco in its various forms is a tremendous amount to formulate into ashes, smoke, wrecked homes, wrecked nerves, broken hearts, and deaths.

It has been proven that cigarettes irritate the throat, hinder digestion, cause lung cancer, ulcers of the stomach, cause nervous conditions, affect the heart, and shorten life.

The Lord says through the prophet Isaiah: “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isa 55:2.

Many tobacco users will buy the “weed” at the expense of depriving their children of the needful things of life-food and clothing and even homes. Can you say it is a clean habit, pure, harmless, and inoffensive to others? Does it belong to a holy people separated from the sins of the world by the cross of Christ? Or is it an unnatural, carnal habit? It is sin because it is a lust of the flesh, which the Bible condemns. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5.

Can a person use it to glorify God? “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I Cor. 10:31. Would our Lord have used tobacco? We unanimously say, He would not! “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners . . .” Heb. 7:26.

In the face of these questions and Holy Scripture passages and logical reasoning, will you allow God to speak to you in quietness, withholding your own will, and put all selfish reasoning and self-justification aside and lay this filthy thing before the all seeing eyes of a Holy God for His disposal? and say like young Samuel: “. . . Speak; for thy servant heareth”? I Sam. 3:10.

There is no need of continuing in the use of tobacco even if you have been using it for a long, long time. Others have quit using it by the grace of God. Jesus said: “. . . with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27. They became completely freed from it through prayer and self-denial; saying “No” to the temptation and filling the heart and mind with spiritual things and thoughts. One man who was a heavy smoker said: “When I was fully resigned to quit smoking, I placed a small Testament into my shirt pocket where I formerly kept cigarettes, and when I stopped work to talk with someone or the like, the habit of getting a cigarette out was changed to taking the Testament and reading a verse or two.”

“Quench not the Spirit.” I Thess. 5:19. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov. 14:12. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” II Cor. 7:1. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Rom. 8:13. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I John 3:3.

The above article, “Tobacco Lust” is written by Gospel Tract and Bible Society. The article was excerpted from a pamphlet published by the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite.

The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”