Table of Contents
How Can We Go To Heaven With Tattoos?
Lots of people have been asking whether they can get into heaven with tattoos. Thank God that salvation is not based on works but on faith.
Can people with tattoos go to heaven?
The Answer:
- Yes, you can get to heaven with tattoos by faith in The Lord Jesus Christ.
- Salvation is not based on works but on faith in Christ Jesus.
- The scriptures declare that it is the gift of God, lest any should boast.
- While tattoos may not be overtly proclaimed to be sin in The New Testament, however, they can be, not to mention, they permanently change the body that God made in a way that is not sanctioned by God in the Scriptures.
So you asked the question, Can I go to heaven if I have tattoos?" The answer to this is yes, if you are saved/born-again, ie. have true saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can also read: Is it a sin for a man to be shirtless?
Is it Sinful For Men To Be Shirtless? (Find out)
Here's a great quiz to try out!
Can A Person Make It Into Heaven With Tattoos?
- The New Testament Scriptures do not overtly forbid it.
- But the Old Testament does forbid it, particularly when it is used as a form of idol worship.
- Nevertheless, Jesus died to save us from our sins. It is God's gift to us by true saving faith, lest any should boast.
- So if getting tattoos is not of faith, it is sin, and should not be done, because even though a person is saved and osn their way to heaven, they will give an account to God for the things done in the body, whether they be good or bad.
- But getting to heaven is based on the work of Christ and our faith in Him.
Will you go to hell for having tattoos? No, you'll go to hell because you didn't receive the gift of God offered by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll go to hell for not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ with true, saving faith that comes from God.
For no one goes to The Father, but by Him!
How do you receive this true, saving faith. By humbling yourself so God can give you grace (James 4:6)
However, whether or not getting a tattoo is sinful is another topic that I go into on tattoos with Scriptures.
Bible Verses About Not Giving Up (Powerful)
Table: Denominational Views on Tattoos & Salvation
| Denomination / Tradition | General View on Tattoos | Effect on Salvation / Heaven |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | Tattoos are not intrinsically sinful; moral evaluation depends on intent, modesty, and cultural meaning. Catechism does not forbid them. | Tattoos do not determine salvation. Salvation is through God’s grace and sacraments. |
| Eastern Orthodox | Generally cautious; tattoos historically linked with pagan practices. Some clergy discourage them but do not declare them inherently sinful. | Tattoos do not bar salvation; unrepentant sin, not body art, affects eternal destiny. |
| Protestant (Evangelical) | Varies: Some see tattoos as personal freedom (Rom 14:23), others warn against worldly conformity (Lev 19:28). | Most agree tattoos themselves do not affect salvation; only rejecting Christ does. |
| Baptist | Strong emphasis on Christian liberty; tattoos may be discouraged if they hinder witness or reflect sinful lifestyles. | Tattoos do not determine heaven or hell; salvation is by faith alone in Christ. |
| Pentecostal / Charismatic | Often discourage tattoos as part of holy living and separation from worldliness, though some accept them as personal choice. | Tattoos do not decide eternal life; only relationship with Christ does. |
| Methodist | Generally open, leaving the choice to personal conviction and conscience. | Tattoos are not a salvation issue; faith in Christ is the basis for entering heaven. |
| Lutheran | Permitted; Martin Luther emphasized Christian freedom. Ethical use depends on intent and message of tattoo. | Tattoos have no effect on salvation, which is by grace through faith. |
| Seventh-day Adventist | Strongly discourage tattoos due to emphasis on body as temple of the Holy Spirit and health principles. | Tattoos do not prevent heaven if one is saved; judgment is based on faith and obedience, not tattoos. |
Please note that we do not endorse any denomination with works-based salvation as it is unbiblical and antithetical to eternal life which is the gift of God according to Scripture. Salvation is by grace through faith and not of works lest any should boast according to Ephesians 2:8-9.
Is it Sinful For Men To Be Shirtless? (Find out)
How We Get To Heaven - Addressing the Tattoo Issue
Scriptures show that true, saving faith is how we get to heaven and faith will cause us to do good works so it is not a license to sin!
Can you go to heaven with tattoos? Yes, you can if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, with true, saving faith that comes from God after you've humbled yourself after hearing the Gospel preached.
- Ephesians 2-3-9 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
- 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
- 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
- 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
- 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
- 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
- 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
- 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
What Next? Read our Bible Verses About Friendship and Brotherhood
Get More Bible Answers To Your Questions
Justification by Faith To Get To Heaven- Galatians 3
- O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
- 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
- 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
- 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
- 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
- 6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
- 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
- 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
- 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
- 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
- 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
- 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
- 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
- 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
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