Is it a Sin to Use Marijuana?

Is it a sin for Christians to use marijuana? Pastor John digs into this topic this topic and gives a thoughtful and biblical perspective on using substances that effect our mind and body, including marijuana.

APJ 77: “Christians and Marijuana” (April 25, 2013)

[macumus]

I was the biggest pothead in the world, smoked more THC than anyone who will read this. I put weed first as an idol before God. Now I’ve been freed and forgiven. Now I’m a child of God

[danieljohn]

Before i was a Christian all my friends sold weed and I would smoke about $70 worth a day. It was almost the only thing I cared abt in my life. I have been free from it for times and then I fall back in times of struggle when I havnt been reading the Bible as much or struggling in other aspects of my Christian walk. Any time I mess up and get high, it feels like I cannot repent, like God isn’t there and like I am helpless and I see the world in a terrifying perspective. As soon as I smoke I feel how bad it is for me and have these revelations and feel like I will never do it again. As soon as I sober up it’s like I am numb to anything spiritual. I forget all the thoughts of regret and Godlessness while I was high and I lose motivation to go to God. It effects me the following days, blinding me to any spiritual discernment and making me cave to smoking again or other temptations 100x easier. I hate it more than anything and it is my most destructive idol. But the worldy parts of me love it more than anything. I am a musician and it always helps a lot with my music that’s another added temptation. Please pray for me that I can become free from weed for good. I believe weed has spiritual aspects to it and these effects are coming from evil spiritual things and yet it is still one of the things I am most tempted by.

[atlasshruggedu]

Well, I've been smoking it for years and at the time I really needed it. I didn't want "the white mans drugs" made in some laboratory, so I figured Cannibus was the way to go. Now however, in trying to deepen my relationship with the Lord and having more of a conviction about it, I'm asking the Lord for deliverance! This is the biggest test I've ever had because this is either going to be real or it's not. I mean, I *like doing it!* so how will God take away the very desire?...I guess time will tell. Usually people are ready to give something up. I'm not but know that I need too. Big difference. Please pray for me ;)

[dadsanddragons]

I currently have a prescription for medical marijuana. I was using it for two months before I decided to stop. First of all, it's nothing at all like being drunk. Being drunk removes your inhibitions and makes you say and do things that you never would while you were sober. It even makes you think things are okay that you would not think are okay while sober. Being drunk actually changes who you are. At least it did for me. Being high on marijuana is definitely not the same as being sober. I would never drive while using marijuana, but it does nothing at all for my inhibitions. I don't have trouble walking, talking or doing anything really. What it does do is change the way that I think and I actually found that it got me out of routine thoughts. It was like having a child's brain in the sense that old things seemed new in that I could think about them differently. I would listen to the Bible and passages would come alive for me because I would see things in them that I wouldn't normally because I was so used to them.

In fact, the only reason why I stopped is that I was worried that it would hurt my testimony if I continued. I felt very connected with God while I was using it. But there is a verse that says if you believe something is wrong and you do it anyway, to you it is sin. I never felt that it was wrong, but I wasn't sure it was right. So I stopped. I also was worried that I would come to depend on it to have a relationship with God. I'm fully convinced that this falls into the freedom and wisdom of the believer. I can get by without it, but I know a lot of people who can't and I would never tell them they have to stop using it.

[ryanscubarhino]

The real question is this, does it bring God glory?

God bless, and pray about it he will hear you and answer 🙏🏻❤️💯

[daviddesantis]

I’m trying to quit. I see how it takes so much away from my relationship with God. But it also feels like I can’t live without it. There’s so many different elements of shame. Sitting in church thinking I’m a phony and a fraud. Thinking everyone around me would think I’m a piece of trash if they knew how often I turn to it for comfort. When I try to quit my thoughts are overwhelming. The reality of my word crashes over me and when I try to give those worries to God it feels empty. Weed can be a powerful addiction especially if you use it for years and years. If anyone reads this please just say a quick prayer for me

[lionel]

As a former weed smoker and a born again Christian, I agree with Pastor John 100%.

[jameyfrey]

Yes, it is a sin. I’ve tried to get around it in a million different ways to justify it, but it’s done nothing but harm to me.

[katerinavassiliou]

I'm a Christian and I smoke :/and I'm not proud but my soul still don't belong to the devil...

[Podling_Dan]

1:19 just like to say as a pot smoker, weed has sharpened my mind, largely by helping me do introspection and work on my trauma. I have overcome a ton of health problems. All use is medical.

[dilly-dally-mations]

I'd just like to add to the pro marijuana use community. I don't take it as a means of escape. I'm not gonna lie, the first time I took an edible, I was a vegetable, but the next day I was wide awake and well rested. It was Sunday school, in Sunday school I was attentive and competent. I could understand the content. I have extreme adhd, and it's hard for me to retain information. It's been beneficial for me. Also, I remember my doctor telling my parents I needed adderall or ritalin to function. Praise God they didn't go thru with it. Would've destroyed my ability to cope on my own. I agree that like anything. It's a tool to be used in moderation. If you have a certain brother or sister in christ who might be offended by it, don't throw your liberty to use marijuana in their face. Be private about it, so they don't stumble in their offense.

[dishdogz]

I gotta be honest, every time I’ve smoked weed, it 100% made me me more aware of reality. That’s one thing I have to disagree with here. If you’re sober and you get high from cannabis, you’ll immediately start to notice the people looking at you, notice more sounds around you, feel the breeze, hear notes in music you never noticed. It definitely does make you more attentive.

[qlq]

As a teen and young adult, before knowing God's truth found in Christ, I smoked weed at least 3 times a day. Sometimes I would smoke 5-7 times a day. Marijuana lead me to other drugs and I even had demonic visitations because of my drug use. As soon as I came to Christ, wholeheartedly, my desires to use mind altering drugs were stripped off of me. I knew that smoking weed and drinking were contrary to what God desired for me and the Lord gave me the grace to put those practices of the flesh behind me.

Biblically, smoking weed or anything else that alters the mind is clearly labeled as "sorcery". In New Testament Greek, “sorcery” is pharmakeia, which is the source of our English word pharmacy. Sorcery is never a good thing in the Bible.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife . . . and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Sorcery will be practiced in the end times. Spiritual Babylon, representing the false religious system of the last days, will deceive “all nations” with sorcery (Revelation 18:23) before judgment falls.

The book of Revelation says that sorcerers “will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8; see also Revelation 22:15).

[qdllc]

Using marijuana for truly medicinal needs isn’t a sin. We use many drugs with side effects, and people using it for medical needs are not using it to get high.

[dattajack]

By the pastor's logic, cocaine is better than coffee because it makes you more alert and sharp.

[Mamalikesthebassdrop]

I'm an ex weed addict and God freed me from it I would smoke every second of my life if I could have. its very addictive ... every one of my old friends are still chasing weed everyday ...I call them weed tweekers. .. they can't do anything without it and they freak out when the bag gets low... Geez I would pay for weed before paying bills and wouldn't leave unless I had weed or was getting weed. That's addiction. not fun chasing it and realizing u can't get high anymore because your so dull from it :( sober 5 yrs coming up.

[blunt]

He got one thing right. He doesn't know anything about marijuana.

[Nobeyork]

ive been sober from weed about a year n half now. it was a lil hard for me to stop because i was smoking every day n night when i come home from work. i use to blow through almost an ounce a week. not alot because i work 40 hrs a week but it was still hurtin my pockets when all i smoked was high grade bud. but as i kept drawing back closer to Christ i kept feeling more n more convicted in my heart and in my head. i kept trying to block out n ignore it but i couldn't. my conscience would eat me up n i couldn't even enjoy my high if i wanted to. one day i just stopped n said this is my last time smoking. haven't smoke since then and i praise God for the holy spirit working in me and convicting me. i realize that i just smoked because i enjoyed it and it pleased me but was not pleasing God. Now i hate it...i hate the smell i hate everything about it. same thing with drinking. if its not pleasing or glorifying God then i dont want nothing to do with it. and this is for the believers who are truly born again that im talking to thay struggle with this. unbelievers dont see it as a bad thing or a sin to be fighting with of course because they are not Born again. the bible say multiple times to be sober minded. any one can argue back all day about the word sober or whatever but weed is mind altering.

[karishort]

As a drunk driver survivor, I ended up on pain pills after each surgery. 4 spinal fusions later, the pain was really intense for a long period of time. Getting off them was almost impossible and if not for weed, I may have been permanently addicted to them. I thank God that I'm not taking that man made junk any longer ...🙏

[FitchTV]

I was the farthest from God when I wasn't a pot head. Since I've smoked my connection to my Lord has grown infinite. My Asperger's always felt like a barrier but with this plant from him. He let's me see how beautiful his world is, how much he truly loves us. Marijuana isn't for everybody. But it is for me.