What’s Wrong With A Christian Who Smokes?
Text (1Cor. 3:16-17)
(A) Would Jesus Smoke? Honestly can you imagine Jesus inhaling a cigarette? Can you picture the Lord blowing smoke in your face? NO! Jesus is our example of what a Christian should be.
(ILL) My great-grandmother used to say, "If God had wanted us to smoke, He would have put a smoke stack on top of our heads"
(B) My Body Is The Temple Of The Holy Ghost
(1) READ (1Cor. 3:16-17), To defile: is defined as to corrupt, spoil, ruin, waste, or destroy.
(ILL. I recently visited a lady who was propped in bed by several pillows. I wondered as I watched her fight for her every breath if she now thought back on the first time she had tried smoking.
(C) Smoking Is Injurious To Health
(1)A few years ago I read where there are 130,000 deaths due to cancer each year. 170,000 deaths by heart disease, and 50,000 deaths by lung disease. All of these are directly attributed to smoking.
Notice they did not mention stroke, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema.
(2) This is where cigarettes came by the name, "coffin Nails".
(3) One brand in California, sold 25,000 packs without advertising-- the brand name ’Death’
(4) There are estimates that over a billion packs are sold to minors yearly.
(ILL.) A tobacco company sent packs of cigarettes to high school boys a few years ago with the following message. "We are sending you a pack of our finest and hope you will use them to your satisfaction and want more".
One boy wrote back, "Received your cigarettes, mixed the entire pack with a quart of water and sprayed the roses, it killed all the bugs, Good Poison!"
(D) Smoking, Chewing and Dip Are Called Habits
(1) The Word Habit, remove the -H- you got Abit something you steer a horse with. Remove the -A- you have Bit what happens when a bug gets hold of you.
Remove the -B- you got It, except It really has you.
Remove the -A- you got T, which stands for temptation. If you remove this then you can beat the Habit!
(2) (Hebrews 12:1), "Lay aside every weight, and the sin that doeth so easily besit us.
(3) Romans 6:13) "Neither yield ye your members as insturments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourself unto God."
(E) The Tobacco Industry:
(1) A business in excess of 10 billion dollars a year.
What a waste! At the Judgment seat of Christ, wouldn’t that money being spent on tobacco, be comparable to wood hay and stubble?
(F) Smoking Weakens The Christian Testimony
(1) What would you think of as pastor who after preaching sit down behind the pulpit and lit up a pipe or a cigarette?
(2) Would you be impressed with a Christian worker who while trying to lead a soul to Christ, suddenly interrupted the conversation by lighting up, taking a drag, blowing smoke, spreading ashes on the floor or the Bible? NO!, you wouldn’t be impressed.
(3) (ILL.) When D.L. Moody was asked if smoking would keep you out of Heaven, he replied. "I don’t know, but I believe you will have to travel a long way for a light."
(4) Your smoking may not keep you out of Heaven, but Is it possible it may keep someone else from serving God? The answer is YES!
