🛑CAN A PERSON SMOKE AND BE SAVED?

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

(Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the New International Version)[1]

GREETING

Psalm 134:1-2.¹ Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.                Life Center Service Tonight. 7 pm.

2.                Life Center Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 10 AM. Guest Psalmist: Douglas Miller. Special presentation from Better Family Life, Inc.

3.                 Please register for the International AIM Convention under “COGIC Department of Evangelism.” July 1-5, Tampa, FL.

4.               COGIC Department of Evangelism College Campus Ministry Empowerment Weekend. April 26-27, Raleigh, NC, at Upper Room COGIC, Bishop Patrick Wooden Host Pastor.

5.               COGIC Department of Evangelism Men on Fire Crusade. Monday, April 29^th 2019, 7PM at Graham Temple COGIC, 4215 Frazier Pike, Little Rock, AR, 72206, Pastor Sylvester Bush. Pastor A D Shaw Coordinator.

6.               COGIC Department of Evangelism Shelter Outreach. Tuesday, April 30, 12 Noon, Nehemiah House, 2921 Springer Blvd, Little Rock, AR.

7.               Missouri Midwest Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Holy Convocation 4^th Annual Holy Convocation July 21-26. In 2020 I will be celebrating 5 years as a jurisdictional bishop.

LESSON NOTES

I.                WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS LESSON? Some say smoking cigarettes will send you to Hell; others say that it will not. There is also the recent controversy on whether it is morally right to take medical marijuana or not. These are debates that scholars, medical doctors, theologians and others have argued over for many years. This one little lesson is not going to solve the problem. What it will do however, is take our focus off of personal opinion and place it upon the sacred text (the Word of God). All the answers we need are in the Holy Bible. 

II.             WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN SAY,“SAVED?“ We have minimized salvation to mean “dying and going to Heaven.” But, examining the text, it does not appear that this was the focus of the early saints.

A.            God did not create humans for Heaven; He created us for Earth.

Genesis 1:28. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Psalm 8:6-8 ⁶You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: ⁷all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, ⁸the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

B.            The Earth is the inheritance of the saints.

Psalm 2:8. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

Matthew 5:5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

C.            When we are “raptured,” the joy will be “ever being with the Lord,” not just going to Heaven.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. ¹⁶For the LORD himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And so we will be with the LORD forever.

D.            Heaven and Earth are going to pass away and we will reign in a new Earth.

Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

2 Peter 3:10. But the day of the LORD will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Revelation 21:1-2. ¹Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

E.             Salvation is having eternal life. Not just dying and going to Heaven.

John 17:3. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

1 John 5:12. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

F.               We are not just saved from Hell. The Devil (meaning “slanderer”) and Hell does not have half of the emphasis in the Bible that we place upon it. The wrath of the Devil is something not to be ignored. But, the real thing to fear is the wrath of God. THAT is what we are saved from! The wrath of Satan (meaning “opponent”) can never be compared to the wrath of Almighty God. 

Matthew 10:28. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

John 3:36. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them.

Romans 1:18. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

Romans 5:9. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Hebrews 10:31. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Revelation 6:16-17. ¹⁶They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?"

Revelation 20:11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

G.           It is true that john the apostle saw a large number of individuals that were saved through the Great Tribulation.

Revelation 7:9-14. ⁹After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." ¹¹All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" ¹³Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes-who are they, and where did they come from?" ¹⁴I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

H.           However, Jesus stated that overall there would not be a large number of people saved.

Matthew 7:13-14. ¹³"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I.               Peter confirms that overall a lot of people are not going to be saved. 

1 Peter 4:18 New Living Translation.[2] And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”

III.        AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS SUBJECT; REMEMBER SOME CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO BE ASCETIC. They should not be scanalized as being “ deep“ or “ relgious,“ because God has called them to special consecration. 

A.             IN THE BIBLE CONSECRATED PEOPLE WERE CALLED TO LIVE AN ASCETIC LIFESTYLE.

1.               ASCETIC DEFINED. [3] The practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

2.               VOWS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

Numbers 6:2-3. ²"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the LORD as a Nazirite, ³they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.

3.                 VOWS MADE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.

JOHN THE BAPTIST (Luke 1:15). For he will be great in the sight of the LORD. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

PAUL (ACTS 18:18). Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

B.            We have to be careful on how we act, as it can affect other people.

Romans 14:13-21 International Standard Version.[4] ¹³ Therefore, let’s no longer criticize each other. Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know—and have been persuaded by the Lord Jesus—that nothing is unclean in and of itself, but it is unclean to a person who thinks it is unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is being hurt by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not destroy the person for whom the Messiah died by what you eat. ¹⁶ Do not allow what seems good to you to be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For God’s kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For the person who serves the Messiah in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. ¹⁹ Therefore, let’s keep on pursuing those things that bring peace and that lead to building up one another.

²⁰ Do not destroy God’s action for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make another person stumble because of what you eat. ²¹ The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that makes your brother stumble, upset, or weak.

IV.         ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO BE HOLY.

A.            Holy defined in the dictionary.[5] Dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. Of a person devoted to the service of God. Morally and spiritually excellent.

B.            Holy defined in the Old Testament Hebrew (qados).[6] [7] Sacred, consecrated, set apart as dedicated to God; by extension: pure, innocent, free from impurity. Devoted.

C.            Holy defined in the New Testament Greek (hagios).[8] [9] Holy (moral quality), consecrated (ceremonially) accpetable to God. Separated from sin and consecrated to God. 

D.            Additional vocabulary, from the dictionary, based on the preceding definitions.

1.              Dedicated. (Of a person) devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity.

2.              Consecrated. Having been made or declared sacred.

3.              Sacred. Connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration.

4.              Pure. Wholesome and untainted by immorality, especially that of a sexual nature.

5.                Devoted. Very loving or loyal.

6.                Innocent. Free from moral wrong; not corrupted. Sinless.

7.                Separated. Form a distinction or boundary between (people, places, or things).

E.               Here is what the Word says:

Luke 1:73-75. ⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Ephesians 4:24. and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Hebrews 12:14. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD.

Titus 2:11-12. ¹¹For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

1 Peter 1:15-16. ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

V.              IS TOBACCO AND MARIJUANA FOUND IN SCRIPTURE?

A.            History of tobacco and marijuana usage.[10] [11] [12]

1.                Cannabis plants evolved on the steppes of Central Asia, specifically in the regions that are now Mongolia and southern Siberia. The history of cannabis use goes back as far as 12,000 years, which places the plant among humanity's oldest cultivated crops. For the most part, it was widely used for medicine and spiritual purposes. For example, the Vikings and medieval Germans used cannabis for relieving pain during childbirth and for toothaches, he said.

2.              Tobacco has been growing wild in the Americas for nearly 8,000 years. The practice of smoking tobacco originated among Native Americans in eastern North America, where tobacco is native. 2,000 years ago tobacco began to be chewed and smoked during cultural or religious ceremonies and events. The first European to discover smoking was Christopher Columbus

a.              Tobacco was considered sacred to Native Americans. Native elders consider the non traditional use of tobacco (cigarettes, snuff, cigars and non sacred pipes and the addition of chemicals) to be disrespectful to its sacred, spiritual and medicinal use.

B.              GOD GAVE HUMANITY ALL PLANTS for usage.

Genesis 1:12. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 9:3. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

1.              One plant in particular in the Bible was considered a fertility aid for women.

Song of Solomon 7:13. The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my beloved.

Genesis 30:14-18. 14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." 15But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." 16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. 17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.

C.           The words tobacco and marijuana are not found in Scripture.

1.                It has been said that Cannibis is found in the Scripture.[13]

Exodus 30:22-23 ²²Then the LORD said to Moses, ²³"Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus,

Anointing oil used in the Old Testament is actually made up of cannabis, among other ingredients. In Exodus 30:22-23, the healing oil was made up of cinnamon, cassia, olive oil, myrrh, and kaneh-bosm. Bennett says that kaneh-bosm is one of the oldest names of cannabis.

a.              One thing is certain. Whether that is true or not, it is found NOWHERE in Scripture that people got high or “smoked weed.“

2.             The words “witchcraft“ and “sorcery“ are mentioned. Let us read furthers and find out what these words actually mean?

Galatians 5:19-21 King James Version. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness ²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Acts 8:9 King James Version. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

Revelation 9:21 King James Version. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Revelation 18:23 King James Version. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

Revelation 22:14-15 King James Version. ¹⁴ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

D.            Witchcraft definition (pharmakeia).[14] [15] Witchcraft, magic, the use of spells and potions of magic, often involving drugs. The use of medicine, drugs, spells or poisoning. In “Sorcery,“ the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occults powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and powers of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.

E.             Sorcery definition (pharmakeia is used in all New Testament texts except Acts 8:9 where mageuo is used, this word is defined as).[16] [17] To PRACTICE sorcery or magic. 

F.             The usage of drugs in the Bible.[18]

Witchcraft and sorcery was the use of drugs of any kind, whether wholesome or poisonous. Since witches and sorcerers used drugs, the word pharmakeia came to designate witchcraft, enchantment, sorcery and magic. The law of Moses prescribed the death penalty for it, and the prophets denounced the Egyptians, Babylonians, and the Canaanites for practicing it; but this did not prevent the Jews from producing some famous practitioners (Acts 13:6-12; 19:11-20). Next to state worship, magic was the most dangerous competitor to true religion.

G.            Is it a sin to go to the doctor and have drugs prescribed? No

1.              Luke is called the beloved physician. If doctors were wrong or sinful; then this one definitely would not have been called “beloved” in the Bible.[19]

Colossians 4:14 King James Version. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Colossians 4:14 New Living Translation.
Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas.

Colossians 4:14 Good News Translation.
Luke, our dear doctor, and Demas send you their greetings.

Colossians 4:14 GOD'S WORD® Translation.
My dear friend Luke, the physician, and Demas greet you.

a.              Physician definition (Iatros).[20] [21] [22] Doctor, physician, to heal. A person qualified to practice medicine.

2.              The woman with the issue of blood was not condemned for going to the physicians.

Mark 5:26. And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

3.              In regard to what doctors prescribe and do not prescribe. Here is the answer from the Word:

Romans 8:14. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

F.               How shall we address the subject of cigarettes?

Romans 12:1-2 ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. ²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ¹⁶Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

1 Corinthians 6:12. "I have the right to do anything," you say-but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"-but I will not be mastered by anything.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20. ¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

2 Corinthians 6:17. Therefore, "Come out from them and be separate, says the LORD. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

F.             WILL WHAT GOES INTO YOUR MOUTH DEFILE YOU?[23]

Matthew 15:1-2. ¹Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ²"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

Mark 7:14-15. ¹⁴Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them."

This particular text is not addressing the subject of cigarette smoking. The Pharisees had adopted a practice of ceremonial washing of hands before and after eating. Priests were required to do ceremonial washing before eating sacrifices offered in the Temple (Leviticus 22:1-16). Some oral traditions had developed to supplement the Law. The Pharisees put their tradition on equal footing with the written law. Here they had taken the rule (ceremonial cleansing of hands) for priests and applied it to laity as well.

As against the tradition, and even the Levitical legislation. Jesus held that the only defilement of any importance was inward, i.e., spiritual and moral, and was evidenced by what came out of a man, not by what went into him. The words in vs. 15 are regarded as a parable, a comparison or an analogy. 

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[1] Holy Bible, New International Version. 1973, by Biblica, Inc.

[2] Holy Bible. New Living Translation. Tyndale: Carol Stream, 2004.

[3] Powered by Oxford Dictionaries · © Oxford University Press · Translation by Bing Translator

[4] https://biblehub.com/isv/romans/1.htm. (Accessed, April 22, 2019).

[5] Powered by Oxford Dictionaries · © Oxford University Press · Translation by Bing Translator.

[6] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2001.

[7] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.

[8] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2001.

[9] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.

[10] https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/31899/uncategorized/a-brief-history-of-smoking/. (Accessed, April 22, 2019).

[11] https://www.livescience.com/48337-marijuana-history-how-cannabis-travelled-world.html. (Accessed, April 22, 2019).

[12] https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/tobacco_smoking.htm. (Accessed, April 22, 2019).

[13] https://www.bing.com/search?q=exodus+30%3A22-23&form=EDGEAR&qs=PF&cvid=7d49266588ee4e0199b6ee11e06750ec&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=HCTS. (Accessed, April 23, 2019).

[14] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2001.

[15] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.

[16]Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2001.

[17] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.

[18] Buttrick, George. The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. X. New York: Abingdon, 1953.

[19] https://www.biblehub.com/colossians/4-14.htm. (Accessed, April 22, 2019).

[20] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2001.

[21] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.

[22] Powered by Oxford Dictionaries · © Oxford University Press · Translation by Bing Translator

[23] Buttrick, George. The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. VII. New York: Abingdon, 1953.