‼️ ABOUT PASTOR KINGSLEY OKONKWO’S TATTOO (What the Bible ACTUALLY Teaches)
A few days ago, during Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo’s 50th birthday celebration, a video surfaced online.
In it, he got a tattoo (John 3:16)
Expectedly, the internet caught fire.
Some clapped.
Some condemned.
Some rejoiced.
Some called it compromise.
So let’s talk about it
Not with emotions,
Not with tribal loyalty,
Nor with Pentecostal reflexes,
But with SCRIPTURE, CONTEXT, and CHRIST.
If you read this with an open heart, you will be blessed.
FIRST, LET’S STATE THE OBVIOUS
The Bible DOES mention tattoos…
Leviticus 19:28 says:
“You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.”
This is the verse most people quote.
Often loudly & finally without reading anything else.
But the real question is not “Does the Bible mention tattoos?”
The real question is:
WHO WAS THIS COMMAND GIVEN TO,
WHY WAS IT GIVEN,
AND ARE WE STILL UNDER THAT COVENANT?
CONTEXT IS NOT OPTIONAL IN BIBLE INTERPRETATION
Leviticus 19 is part of the Mosaic Law, given to Israel, under the Old Covenant.
The same chapter forbids:
• Mixing fabrics
• Cutting the edges of your beard
• Eating certain foods
• Agricultural laws we don’t observe today
So we must ask honestly:
Why do we suddenly become literalists ONLY when it comes to tattoos?
Because if Leviticus 19:28 is binding, then Leviticus 19:27 is also binding.
And most of us have violated that this morning with our haircut.
SO WHAT EXACTLY WAS GOD ADDRESSING IN LEVITICUS?
The phrase “for the dead” is crucial.
In ancient pagan cultures, tattoos and body cuts were:
• Rituals to communicate with the dead
• Marks of allegiance to pagan gods
• Signs of mourning mixed with idol worship
God was not reacting to ink.
He was confronting IDOLATRY.
The issue was WHO OWNS YOU, not WHAT IS ON YOU.
NOW ENTER CHRIST
This is where many believers freeze.
Because Christianity is not Judaism with better music.
Jesus did not come to PATCH the Law.
He came to FULFILL IT.
Romans 10:4 says:
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Galatians 3:24–25:
“The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ… but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
So the New Testament believer does not relate to God through external regulations, but through internal transformation.
THE NEW TESTAMENT FOCUS SHIFTS THE QUESTION
Paul never asked:
“Do you have ink on your skin?”
Paul asked:
“Does Christ rule your heart?”
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says:
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit… therefore glorify God in your body.”
Notice something important.
Paul did NOT define how that glorification must look externally.
He defined WHO OWNS THE BODY.
Ownership precedes expression.
SO… CAN A BELIEVER HAVE A TATTOO?
Here’s the honest theological answer:
THE NEW TESTAMENT DOES NOT FORBID IT.
But it also does not command it.
Which means tattoos fall under CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, not SIN.
Romans 14 becomes the governing chapter here.
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5)
And verse 23 says something sobering:
“Whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Meaning:
• If YOU are convinced before God that you should not do it , don’t.
• If someone else, with a clear conscience, does it unto the Lord , don’t crucify them.
ALSO MOTIVE STILL MATTERS
This is where balance comes in.
A tattoo done:
• To glorify violence
• To promote lust
• To honor demons
• To rebel against godly authority
That’s a heart issue, not an ink issue.
But a tattoo that literally carries SCRIPTURE, without rebellion, without provocation, without fleshly agenda?
That must be judged carefully, not emotionally.
John Piper once said (paraphrased):
“The New Testament does not give us a list of forbidden external acts. It gives us a transformed heart that learns discernment.”
ABOUT PASTOR KINGSLEY SPECIFICALLY
This is not a man known for carnality.
This is not a man known for compromise.
This is not a man known for chasing trends.
So honesty demands we ask:
Is this really about holiness…
or about our discomfort when faith doesn’t look like our tradition?
Jesus Himself was accused of breaking religious norms while perfectly obeying God.
CONCLUSIVELY, I’D SAY THIS…
Holiness is not ink-free skin.
Holiness is Christ-filled lives.
The greatest danger in the Church today is not tattoos.
It is UNTRANSFORMED HEARTS THAT LOVE JUDGING MORE THAN TRUTH.
Matthew 23:24:
“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.”
We must stop majoring in minors
and missing the weightier matters of the Kingdom.
Grace has room for discernment.
Truth has room for liberty.
And love has room for differences.
If Christ is really Lord,
then we should be worried whether he’s pleased not whether we like or dislike
If you read this with humility, you’ll grow.
If you read it with anger, you’ll resist it.
But Scripture stands.
Selah.
Penned by a burdened one,
Apostle Lawrence Ngano
