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NASB | Mark 7:18 And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 7:18 And He said to them, "Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him, |
Subject: A believer who smokes? |
Bible Note: WalkingTalkingBible: You make an excellent point that there are unbelivers who feel that smoking is not good and that witnessing to them by Christians who smoke could be measurably impaired. I know a number of unbelievers who detest the use of tobacco and will not permit smoking in their homes, cars, or places of business over which they exercise some control. In many sectors of our society today smokers find themselves being treated almost as though they were modern-day lepers. Whether this is fair to the smokers I won't debate here, but suffice it to say that by and large smoking is not the way to win friends and influence people in the American culture today. It's axiomatic that smoking is addictive. How is a parent supposed to talk to his teenager about the drug epidemic when the parent has a cigarette dangling from his mouth? Or to the lost about the new life in Christ? It's sort of like a 300-pound fattie expecting the Slim-Fast Foods Company to hire him as vice-president in charge of public relations! --Hank |