~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: Do you think that I will get into heaven, even though I've been saved for 15 years, and I still smoke? Or did I really not get saved?Answer: It is a fact that a habit such as smoking is very difficult to break. When a person who is addicted to tobacco makes a decision to accept Christ as Savior, he/she usually senses that the habit is not appropriate for one who claims that Christ is Lord of their lives. If you have been smoking for any length of time, it is understood that upon attempting to quit, the craving for another cigarette is stronger than you ever imagined.
I do not doubt that you really got saved if you confessed your sins and repented, as the Scriptures declare, and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. The simple fact that this is a concern of yours should indeed be a matter of serious consideration. When you accepted Jesus to be the Lord of your life, He requires that He be loved with all of your might, your mind, your soul and body. (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30) Jesus must be number one in everything you do. As Lord, He should be the ruler of your life. He takes second place to nobody or no-thing. The Word of God makes a strong statement concerning lordship when it says, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) Smoking is a harmful and enslaving habit without one good trait in its favor. It only soothes the craving it has artificially created. If Christ is to be the Lord of our life, anything else that would enslave us must be severed.
We do not have the space to go into this subject very deeply as it is a very in-depth study. Allow me to point out the fact that even people who do not claim to be Christians have recently begun to cry out concerning the hazards of smoking. The medical field has taken great strides to conclusively prove that the use of tobacco products is the cause of many serious diseases.
Suffice it to say that this habit must be broken and that it must be broken at once. I believe that we must be compassionate toward those who are bound by this terrible vice. It is not easy, and there are many methods provided even in the secular world to assist in this. However, our help comes from above. It is God's will that you overcome this habit, and you can expect victory with the help of Christ! He will strengthen you during that critical period of breaking the habit. Ask other believers to stand with you in faith. God can and will deliver! Amen.
Additional Resources
- Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave by Edward T. Welch
- Just One More: When Desires Don't Take No for an Answer by Edward T. Welch
- The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson
- Transforming Habits: Spiritual Guidance Through the Sermon on the Mount by Stephen W. Robbins
- Trapped: Mercy for Adictions by Nancy Alcorn
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This page was last updated August 14, 2010.
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