Someone online asks, 'Do you Christians have any particular taboos?' You cannot immediately answer. Perhaps you also wonder whether becoming a believer means giving up the songs and shows you enjoy. Can Christians eat blood? Work in direct sales? Is scrolling short videos a sin? This article makes one thing clear: the Bible does not give Christians a list of taboos; it gives us four questions. It explains those questions, then works through real examples so that you can learn to discern for yourself.
Speaker: Pastor Bond
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
Someone online asked, “Do you Christians have any particular taboos?”
One person answered, “Christians don't have a special list of taboos, but we should stay away from idolatry, lying, greed and hurting others.” The reply came back: “OK. I remember a neighbour when I was little was a Christian, and she wasn't allowed to swear and things like that.”
The exchange is typical. The person asking wants a list; the person answering cannot produce one. What remains in the questioner's mind is still a few disconnected impressions such as “not allowed to swear”.
Often the person wondering most is you: once I believe, will I have to stop listening to the music and watching the programmes I enjoy?
We have not hidden it. The Bible gives clear commands, as the next section explains, but it does not provide a list of taboos whose avoidance automatically makes us holy.
In Colossians, Paul specifically confronts people keen to draw up such lists:
“If you died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, ‘Don't handle, nor taste, nor touch’?” (Colossians 2:20–21)
He follows with a piercing verdict:
“These things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, humility, and severity to the body; but aren't of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:23)
Human regulations can look spiritual while failing to restrain the human heart. That is Paul's judgement, not modern permissiveness.
A list has two further side effects. Anything absent from it is treated as harmless: if it does not forbid eight hours of short videos, we scroll with a clear conscience. Anything on it becomes something merely to avoid: we refrain from watching that show while still loving the things it celebrates.
Christian faith therefore gives us freedom and discernment, rather than a list:
“Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don't be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)
There certainly are clear prohibitions: idolatry, adultery, stealing, lying, greed, drunkenness, bitterness and harming others. These are not ambiguous.
But notice their character. They are forbidden because they really do hurt people, both others and ourselves, rather than because God wants to invent rules to display his authority. “Don't put your hand in boiling water” is a statement about reality, rather than a taboo.
The harder questions lie in the broad territory beyond such explicit commands: music, films and television, games, social platforms, career choices, spending habits and whether to eat particular foods. For this broad territory, Scripture provides tools for discernment rather than an answer sheet.
This is how Paul himself reasons. Four statements give us four questions.
Question one: will this gain control over me?
“All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
This is intensely practical. The test asks who is in charge, rather than merely whether something is good or bad. Can you stop when you choose? If you cannot, whether the activity is in itself a “sin” is no longer the decisive point: it has already occupied a place in your life that does not belong to it.
Question two: does this build people up?
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
The question moves from “May I?” to “Is it worthwhile?” Many activities break no rule but produce no growth either. Our time is limited.
Question three: am I acting with an uneasy conscience?
“But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn't of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
This is often overlooked, yet it matters enormously. In matters Scripture does not forbid, where people may legitimately differ—the passage in Paul concerns food—the same action is sinful for someone whose conscience is troubled, while it is not sinful for someone whose conscience is clear. If others can do something but you feel uneasy, refrain. The activity is not wrong in itself, but acting against your doubts is itself an expression of unbelief.
Remember the limit: a clear conscience cannot make something God explicitly forbids legitimate. Conscience itself must be calibrated by Scripture.
Question four: can I do this to the glory of God?
“Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
This raises the question from minimum boundaries to the direction of life. Instead of “Will I lose marks for this?”, we ask, “Does living this way reflect someone who belongs to him?”
“Can I listen to the songs and watch the shows I enjoy?”
Yes. Coming to faith does not confiscate your taste. God created beauty, stories and music. Appreciating them is part of being human.
They still need to pass through a filter. Does this show make me greedier, colder or more prone to anger (question two)? Am I using it to escape real life, unable to stop watching episode after episode (question one)? Paul gives a positive direction:
“Whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report … think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Notice that he tells us what to think about, rather than providing a viewing blacklist. The focus is what you feed your heart, rather than whether you have crossed a line.
“Is scrolling short videos a sin?”
Begin with the first question: can you stop when you choose? Most people asking this already have some sense of the answer; otherwise they would not ask.
But do not stop there. Consider what you are taking in (question two), and whether it displaces your responsibilities: the people you should spend time with, the things you should do, and the sleep you need.
Your next practical step need not wait until you have classified it as “sin”. Address its control directly: set a time limit, move the app off your home screen, or leave your phone in another room before bed. Regain control first, then address the rest.
“Can Christians eat blood?”
There are two readings of this issue, both held by people who take Scripture seriously.
One appeals to Acts. Among the requirements the Jerusalem Council gave Gentile believers was to “abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood” (Acts 15:29).
The other appeals to Jesus' words. Mark records him teaching that what enters a person from outside cannot defile them, then adds an explanatory comment that he thereby made all foods clean (Mark 7:18–19). On this reading, the dietary requirements of the Council were a contextual arrangement enabling Jewish and Gentile believers to share the same table.
⚠️ Be clear about the limit: this reading concerns diet only. The same passage's prohibition of sexual immorality is not a contextual arrangement. It applies at all times.
The practical counsel is: if you have doubts, do not eat (question three). If your conscience is clear, do not judge those who abstain. This is not worth a church quarrel.
“Can Christians work in direct sales?”
It is hard to rule on an entire occupation at once, but first clarify three questions.
Does the income come mainly from selling genuinely useful products, or mainly from recruiting new people? In the latter structure, those joining later are destined to be the ones who lose out.
Will I need to make claims about products that I do not really believe myself in order to meet my targets?
Will I treat the trust of family and friends as a resource to use? Once they begin avoiding your calls, the account is already running at a loss.
Only if it passes all three questions might this be an ordinary, legitimate job. If it fails even one, reconsider, however attractive the income.
There is another issue, separate from faith but equally important: in mainland China, direct selling is subject to licensing and eligibility requirements under the Regulations on Direct Selling Administration. Multilevel recruitment with “team-based remuneration” is unlawful. First check whether the company is licensed, whether you personally are eligible, and whether its actual payment structure complies with the rules. Passing the three questions above does not establish legality.
“Christians aren't allowed to swear?”
That neighbour was partly right. Scripture explicitly requires us to put away “shameful speaking out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). This is clear. Yet it also asks about what lies deeper: contempt, humiliation, curses and gossip behind someone's back. Someone whose words are never vulgar yet always cut to the heart has a greater problem. Restrain your speech, and examine your heart as well.
One final point is needed, lest this article be read as “anything goes”.
Paul puts two guardrails around freedom.
First: freedom is not a licence for self-indulgence.
“For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don't use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.” (Galatians 5:13)
Second: do not use your freedom to make others stumble.
“But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Corinthians 8:9)
Something may be harmless for you, yet a newly believing brother with a sensitive conscience may stumble when he sees it. For his sake, refrain for now. The mark of maturity is not “I dare to do anything”, but “I can refrain for someone else's sake”.
Next time someone asks what taboos Christians have, you can answer:
We do not have a list of taboos; we have a Lord. So instead of simply asking “Is this allowed?”, we ask, “Will it tie me down? Will it hurt people? Can I do it with a clear conscience?”
That answer sounds less convenient than a list. But a list governs only the items written on it. People who learn to ask good questions can go further.
The four questions are not all-sufficient either. Some matters still require us to study Scripture, establish the facts—as with the direct-selling regulations—or talk face to face with a mature brother or sister.
Today you can take two small steps. Apply the first question to something you have recently struggled to stop: can you stop when you choose? Then choose one concrete action to regain control, even something as small as “my phone stays out of the bedroom tonight”.
Let us pray together:
Lord, I admit that sometimes I wish you would give me a list, because it would be easier: I could follow it without really giving you my heart. Thank you for giving me freedom. Please also give me the discernment that this freedom calls for. Help me see what is gaining control over me, and give me strength to return that control to you. Keep me from making brothers and sisters around me stumble through my freedom. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.
Further reading:
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