Smoking - Again
In the April 27, 1967 Gospel Guardian I replied to an article on smoking by brother Kenneth Hirshey. Reviews of that reply have since appeared, one by brother Hirshey in the July 13, 1967, Gospel Guardian.
In most discussions on this subject, the ones who teach that smoking, of itself, is sinful, try to minimize Mk. 7:15 and Rom. 14:14 by saying these passages are not universal in meaning or cannot be applied in a general sense or are qualified by other passages and thus, are misused, lifted out of context, and perverted by those who cite them.
In many things, people overlook the obvious. I think this is the case here. In Mk. 7:1-13, Jesus deals with a specific case, the eating with unwashen hands. In Mk. 7:14, the Lord calls all the people together and in Mk. 7:15 tells them why eating with unwashen hands is not sinful by citing a general rule; "There is NOTHING from without a man that entering into him can defile him:..." (emphasis mine). The word "nothing" means no thing, not a thing, not any thing. Did the Lord mean there is NOTHING (no thing, not a thing, not any thing) from without a man that entering into him can defile or did he mean there are some things which can? "...Do ye not perceive, that WHATSOEVER THING from without entereth into the man, it CANNOT defile him;" Mk. 7:18 (emphasis mine.)
Paul said, "...there is nothing (no thing, not a thing, not any thing) unclean of itself:.." Rom. 14:14. Did he mean all things, of themselves, are clean? "...All things indeed are pure; ..." Rom. 14:20.
What then, defiles the man? "NOT THAT which goeth into the mouth defileth a man;..." Matt. 15:11 (emphasis mine). "...That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man." Mk. 7:20. It is the violation of God's will; that which proceeds from the heart that defiles the man, Mk. 7:21-23.
Does this allow social drinking and the use of dope? Let me ask, are they unclean of themselves? Paul said, "All things indeed are pure"! What about their use in medicines? Does one defile himself when he takes alcohol or drugs into his body when prescribed? There is no violation of God's will here! However, if one drinks alcohol socially or uses drugs to get "high", he violates God's will and defiles himself. But it was not the alcohol or the drugs entering the body that defiled; it was the violating of God's will. If it were the thing entering the body that defiled, that thing would defile regardless of the circumstances under which it entered the body!
Whether it be the drinking of water in the Lord's supper, taking the Lord's supper unworthily, or eating pork under the old law; it is the violation of God's will that defiles and not the thing, of itself, entering the body. One pointed out that "all meats are now clean." This being so, meat could not defile the man. Note however, I Cor. 10:28. If one ate meat under this circumstance he would defile himself. But again, it would not be the meat that defiled, all meats are clean; it would be the violating of God's will.
Mk. 7:15 and Rom. 14:14 do not set aside any violation of God's will, but neither does a violation of God's will destroy the force of these passages. The sin is in the violation and not in the thing of itself!
Some ask questions which tend to confuse the issue such as, "Would fornication be unclean of itself?" Fornication is not the "act" of itself! It is the unlawful or sinful "act". Would the "act", of itself, be unclean? NOTHING is unclean of itself. In order for an action to defile a man, it must violate God's will.
"Nothing" includes coffee, gum, and smoke. Therefore, these of themselves, cannot defile the man by entering him. Does the action of drinking coffee, chewing gum, or smoking, of themselves, violate God's will? Where? Scriptures which deal with corrupting the church, avoiding evil, expediency, service to God, and etc. cannot be applied to smoking, of itself, until scripture is found which condemns smoking, of itself One cannot apply a passage dealing with sin to something which is assumed (not proven) to be sin.
Some would have us believe the scriptures teach it is a sin to fulfill any carnal desire. What scriptures so teach?? If this were so, one could not drink coffee, chew gum, smoke, or cohabit with his wife. If this conclusion is not true, why isn't it? Is this trying to justify one practice by others? No! It is showing the absurdity and inconsistency of such a claim. Regarding this, one asked, "Would smoking be classified as a carnal desire, or would it be spiritual? Is it of God, or of the world?" Smoking would be classified in the same category as drinking coffee, chewing gum, breathing smog, one cohabiting with his wife, and etc. Let me ask a question. Would eating a candy bar be classified as a carnal desire or spiritual? Would it be of God or of the world? The scriptures do teach that one is not to fulfill carnal desires which violate God's will. This would include the abuse of them, but this is a far cry from saying we cannot fulfill any fleshly desire.
Again, some would have us believe that the calling a thing a matter of personal judgment is claiming scriptural authority for an unscriptural practice. There is a realm of personal preference in the scriptures where in to do or not to do a thing is up to the individual, Rom. 14. Since smoking, of itself, is not condemned in the scriptures and "nothing" of itself, is unclean, smoking is in this realm. Each one of us has the right to make his own decisions in this realm, and another had better not judge him in it, (Rom. 14) It is true that many have misused this realm, but let us not start misusing it by binding where God has not bound!
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