‼️WHEN WILL THE WEAK BECOME STRONG? | STILL ON THIS TATTOO ISSUE
This question has been disturbing me deeply.
Because honestly…
WHO MADE THEM WEAK?
The Bible never designed a believer to remain weak after 20 years of salvation.
Yet in Africa, we have believers who have prayed, fasted, attended church, shouted “fire!”, slept on cold floors, and still…
They are terrified of tattoos.
Confused about grace.
Unsure of their salvation.
Afraid of culture.
Suspicious of freedom.
Something is fundamentally wrong.
THE BIBLE EXPECTS GROWTH , NOT PERPETUAL WEAKNESS
Paul rebukes this clearly:
“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles…”
(Hebrews 5:12)
Meaning: time should produce strength.
But in African Christianity, time often produces fear.
Twenty years born again…
and still weak in conscience.
Still shaken by non-essential matters.
Still unable to discern liberty from license.
That is not spirituality but religious immaturity.
APOSTLE PAUL’S CONCEPT OF “THE WEAK” WAS NEVER A COMPLIMENT
Romans 14 talks about the weak in faith but notice something:
Paul never glorified weakness.
He EXPECTED growth.
“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.”
(Romans 14:1)
Weakness was a stage, not a destination.
But African Christianity has institutionalized weakness.
We keep emphasizing the weak…
protecting the weak…
centering the weak…
Meanwhile, we are the ones who MADE THEM WEAK
with fear-based teaching, cultural taboos, and shallow doctrine.
WHY DOES A BELIEVER IN AFRICA THINK A TATTOO IS A SIN?
If we’re being really honest,
It’s not because of deep biblical study,
It’s not because of Christology,
It’s not because of New Covenant theology,
It’s because of culture.
Traditional African thinking says:
“Good children don’t do this.”
“Decent people don’t look like that.”
“That thing is for bad people.”
And instead of SUBMITTING culture to Christ,
we baptized culture and called it doctrine.
Jesus warned about this:
“You make the word of God of no effect through your tradition.”
(Mark 7:13)
This is our problem.
We are more African than Christian.
More cultural than scriptural.
More traditional than spiritual.
Lets ask ourselves for a second,
COULD THIS CONVERSATION BE HOLY SPIRIT-INSPIRED?
What if this whole tattoo conversation was not rebellion… but provocation?
What if the Holy Spirit intentionally allowed it
to FORCE the church to think?
Because every time the Spirit moves,
He offends religion.
Jesus healed on the Sabbath deliberately.
Peter ate with Gentiles publicly.
Paul confronted circumcision head-on.
Why?
So that truth could be clarified and religion smashed.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
(2 Corinthians 3:17)
Yet we are uncomfortable with liberty.
We prefer rules because rules make control easy.
WE ARE TOO BUSY POLICING SIN AND TOO LAZY TEACHING TRUTH
This is painful, but true.
We have focused so much on:
“DON’T DO THIS”
“DON’T DO THAT”
That we have neglected:
“THIS IS WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST.”
Paul didn’t say:
“Stop sinning so much.”
He said:
“Reckon yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God.”
(Romans 6:11)
Identity precedes behavior.
Truth produces holiness not fear.
The goal of the gospel is not to create careful sinners.
The goal is to raise mature sons.
“Till we all come… unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:13)
If after decades of Christianity,
we are still weak, fearful, confused, and threatened by freedom…
Then we must ask honestly:
WHAT HAVE WE REALLY BEEN TAUGHT?
Because Christianity was never meant to make us small.
It was meant to make us FREE, STRONG, AND ACCURATE.
Selah
I appreciate your tone and your concern.
First, thank you for acknowledging “ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL.”
That alone settles the sin question. If something is lawful, then it is not sin.
And that has been my primary assignment from the beginning, to rescue people from the dogma that tattoo = hell.
Now, let’s go step by step.
1. On BABY CHRISTIANS and CONSIDERATION (1 Corinthians 8)
You are absolutely right.
Scripture teaches us to consider the weak. I agree 100%.
But let me say this carefully:
weakness is not sustained by truth; weakness is sustained by silence and fear.
Paul did not say, “Do not teach truth because someone may misunderstand.”
He said, “Do not use your liberty to destroy another.”
Teaching accurately is not the same as encouraging abuse.
If we never teach truth because someone may take it to an extreme, then:
• we shouldn’t teach prosperity because some will become greedy,
• we shouldn’t teach grace because some will abuse it,
• we shouldn’t teach faith because some will become arrogant.
Truth is not the problem. Lack of discipleship is.
2. On Hebrews 5 and MATURITY
Hebrews 5 rebukes believers for remaining babies.
It does not command leaders to freeze doctrine at baby level.
If after 10–20 years we are still avoiding basic doctrinal clarity because of “babies,” then we have failed both the babies and the mature.
Babies are meant to grow, not to be permanently sheltered from truth.
3. On “Is this message NECESSARY?”
Was circumcision a necessary topic in Paul’s time?
Yes, because it was wrongly tied to salvation.
Tattoo is not necessary for salvation, but correct doctrine is necessary when something is wrongly labeled as sin.
The moment people begin to say:
“This thing can take you to hell”
it has become a doctrinal issue, and doctrine must be addressed.
4. On EXTREMES and MISUSE
The lady who tattooed Ezekiel 8 on her chest is not proof that the doctrine is wrong.
She is proof that discipleship is missing.
Paul already addressed this:
“Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid.” (Romans 6:1–2)
He didn’t cancel grace because people abused it.
He taught responsibility alongside liberty.
5. “All things are lawful but not all things are helpful”
Exactly.
And notice: Paul did not say “All things are sinful but tolerated.”
He said LAWFUL.
Helpfulness is contextual, personal, and Spirit-led , not legislated by fear.
What is not helpful for one believer may be neutral for another.
That’s why Romans 14 exists.
So let me state my position plainly:
• Tattoo is NOT SIN
• Tattoo is NOT a command
• Tattoo is NOT a gospel tool
• Tattoo is a matter of liberty and wisdom
• The Holy Spirit, not social fear, regulates liberty
My concern is not encouraging tattoo.
My concern is rescuing the Church from confusing culture, preference, and sin.
When we label what God did not label, we train people in bondage, not holiness.
Truth produces maturity.
Fear only produces compliance.
That’s my heart.
