The bible does not say that getting a COVID vaccination is a sin
The bible is used as ammo to say that getting a COVID vaccination is a spiritual issue and shows a lack of faith in God. This couldn’t be further from the truth. This topic is usually phrased similarly to one of the following:
“Your should not defile the body which is temple of the holy spirit,”
or “You do not have faith in God to protect you,”
or “This is a government ploy to control your religion,”
or “The vax is the Mark of the Beast mentioned in the bible and you will be damned to hell fire.”
Let’s unpack these one at a time from the scripture, starting with the concept of defiling the temple of the holy spirit.
This concept comes from 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (NKJV) “16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
The reasoning is “your physical body is the temple of God” (true), and “the temple (body) is holy if you have his spirit” (true), and “if you defile the temple of God you will be destroyed” (true but destroyed only after a lifetime of deliberately choosing to defile the temple — a subject for another day), so the conclusion is “putting a foreign substance in your body, like a COVID shot, is defiling the temple and those that do it will be destroyed” (false).
We know this is false because Christ, who said the above, also explains what “defiling the temple” means:
“14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” Mark 7:14–16 (NKJV)
The context was a group calling out his disciples as being defiled, saying “your disciples didn’t wash their hands before eating so they are defiled when they eat”. This is a physical act that the Pharisees had given a spiritual weight that was not true — and Christ was saying that washing hands, whether it was just washing for cleanliness or washing for a religiously ceremonial reason, was still a physical act that doesn’t defile. If you don’t wash your hands you can reap the physical consequences such as getting sick, making your food taste bad, or just being gross to those around you…he didn’t say any of that is untrue nor was it the issue here, but he did say that it doesn’t defile a man. It’s just a physical act with potential physical repercussions that had been (incorrectly) ascribed spiritual weight.
Defiles is defined here as “…the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man”. What defiles a man is on a spiritual level, not the physical. Jesus went on explain this more when he got in private with his disciples.
17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” Mark 7:14–23 (NKJV)
So in this context, when they didn’t wash their hands, whatever dirt was there would go through the body and be pooped out…that’s what eliminated means…pooping. The physical body has a way of cleaning itself out from physical things that may enter via our bodies by elimination through the digestive system. But what spiritually defiles is what comes from within the heart. Things that defile are matters of what’s inside…evil intents and thoughts, lust, hate, pride…when these things are in the heart they will be eventually spoken or acted out.
Words will come out of the mouth driven by what’s in the heart and cause spiritual problems “…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” Math 12:34. Now this is what defiled means…on a spiritual level the words and actions that come out show us what’s really taking place in our heart. What’s on the inside and in the heart that is contrary to God’s ways, what is of the flesh and bad impulses and drives, if harbored, will come out and be said and acted out.
So if you find yourself angry and shouting and someone, then there is work to be done…inside you. You are harboring disdain, hate, hurt, injustice, or something else that runs contrary to God’s thinking and how it comes out with the words and yelling is just the indicator of the inside. And what’s inside that comes out is what’s contrary to God and is what defiles the body, the temple. Not what enters the body from the outside and goes through the system.
False religion always points away from working on the inside and turns the attention to things done on the outside as a proof of being godly or not. This is what the Pharisees did by saying the disciples were defiled by not washing their hands. They focused on the outside with unwashed, dirty hands but ignored what was going on inside. Inside who? Themselves. And this very encounter and words showed what was in their own hearts that they were actually the defiled ones. This is what Christ said to them:
“…‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men — the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” Mark 7:6–8 (NKJV)
This substitution of ignoring what’s going on inside and focusing on just the outside is not just a slight miss, it’s a total miss of what God intended and Christ said to them. This substitution of outside focus instead of inside change also is a miss for the understanding of what Christ said about defiling the temple. Does this mean if you get angry you are doomed because you have defiled the temple?
No. I’ve gotten angry many times and still can here and there, especially when I’m behind a Prius driving 20mph under the speed limit in the fast lane :) I still have work to do on the inside to unpack my frustration, anger, and things that go against how God’s nature inside me should react. And that has taken me a long time to get rid of much frustration and anger and will still take me a long time to rebuild from the inside out. God is very patient and merciful with this as he knows that we are made of flesh — this is the essence of overcoming-it takes a lifetime. And he will bring us there if we address where true defilement happens and not substitute it for something just external.
SIDE NOTE: here’s what’s really bad about religions that mainly focus on outward observance and rituals like the Pharisees — it takes the spotlight off doing this hard work on the inside where defilement actually happens so it will never be addressed. That will cause the person to be doomed eventually because defilement is not seen and fixed at all (like the Pharisees), not because the person messed up time and time again but is working on it from the inside out to overcome. We think that someone blatantly doing wrong is the worst (it’s not a good thing for sure), but shifting away from how defilement happens (internal) to saying it’s something external actually keeps you from addressing where true spiritual defilement takes place (inside your heart). Christ reserved his harshest rebuke for this type of religion, and was compassionate on those that sinned but were seeking how to rework from the inside out even though they failed many times. Take heart if this is you!
This brings us right back to the question of “is getting the COVID vaccine defiling the temple of God?” The short answer is no.
As I was walking into the room to get my COVID shot all of this was swirling around in my brain. There has been so much debate in the Christian community on the spiritual implications of the vaccine that I paused to wonder if I was doing the right thing.
I prayed and asked God to guide me if I’m doing something wrong, and that I’m going to do my part in this new, risky COVID world, and asked that he would heal me if this was somehow a mistake. And I stepped out in faith. It has worked out for me but I know of others that it hasn’t gone so well and they have side effects — some bad — and I have empathy for them because that could easily have been me. And this is the point — this is a physical decision that could have physical side effects (like all medicines have side effects), but it is not a spiritual decision. And that is the risk for you to weigh —it’s a matter of determining the risk of getting COVID or not, or getting it less severe, or passing it onto someone who is in a high risk category of dying, or getting some side effects (or possibly none).
To summarize this:
- Getting the COVID shot is a physical issue with potential physical side-effects (or little to no side-effects for most).
- This is your decision to make on the risk of getting COVID or not or getting it less severe or not, but is not a spiritual sin or violation of the bible.
- Defiling the temple (your body) has to do with internal things like harboring anger, lust, pride and they come out with our words and actions, it’s not about physical things that enter the body from the outside and pass through.
- Anyone that puts the COVID vaccine on spiritual terms and classifies a brother as sinning and marks them as a second class believer or a sinner does not represent God and his Word correct. Ironically this person is actually doing something that violates the temple of God (think about the definition). You do not have to listen to them.
The shot is a physical risk-mitigation decision— I won’t tell you to do it one way or the other — that’s not my place as I’m not offering medical advice — that’s your decision to determine on the physical level. Just don’t put it as a spiritual violation.
Next time in part 2, let’s walk through the other issues that people bring up like lack of faith, control, and the Mark of the Beast.
Until then, may you find your peace and strength in God.
Doc
