A: Do not concern yourself about whether what you do is wrong or if chewing tobacco is a sin or not. God is "not counting men's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19)." Rather, why don't you just go to your friend and tell him your concern? Subjecting yourself to chewing tobacco, especially when you are concerned about the possible sinfulness of using it, doesn't seem like an act motivated by love for your friend. "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1)." According to scripture just approach him in love and express the concern for his health that you already have. If he has helped you out in the past, I would assume he would be willing to listen to you help him out with his problem. There would not seem to be a need to go to extreme measures in order to make your point. If your friend were involved in something more serious like drug abuse or some sort of sexual sin would you engage in it to try and shake his conscience? It might work, but at what cost? You could find yourself trapped in the same sin that he is involved with and both of you are no better off.
It sounds like you are a bit scared and intimidated to speak with your friend, but if he truly is your friend he should be willing to listen to your concern.
There is a similar example from my life that may help you. A coworker of mine, who I am not as close to as you are with your friend, is struggling with quitting smoking. She also professes to be a Christian. One day the subject of her smoking came up and it fell on me to give her my opinion on the subject. The approach I took was to ask her two questions, hoping they would get her to think a bit. First, I asked her if she would ever consider lighting a cigarette while she was attending church services? Her response was "absolutely not." Therefore, I followed up with, "Then why would you smoke in the real house of God, your body?" After all, as scripture says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God (1 Corinthians 6:19)?" She paused for a moment and said she would have to think about that one. Unfortunately, she still struggles with smoking. The point I was trying to make to her and am trying to convey to you is that whether it is cigarettes, chewing tobacco or some other vice, the issue is not the habit, but whether or not the habit is consistent with who you are as a child of God?
My coworker and your friend have a dependency problem. They are dependent on cigarettes and chewing tobacco. Getting them to stop would be great, but doesn't necessarily mean that their motivation for doing so won't just be moved to some other addictive behavior.
My personal struggles were not with smoking or chewing tobacco, but with abusing alcohol. For nearly three years after I was saved I still got drunk on a consistent basis. Nobody needed to tell me it was wrong. There was not any need to have a discussion about whether or not my behavior was sinful. Having a loved one get drunk to prove a point wouldn't have worked. I knew I had a problem. Going cold turkey didn't work. Substituting sodas, fruit drinks, energy drinks and water in the place of alcoholic beverages didn't work either. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop getting drunk. There were many nights that I cried myself to sleep in fear that I was letting God down and that He was disgusted with me. But, then through a study of my identity in Christ, who I am in the eyes of God, the breakthrough I prayed for happened in my life.
The Bible says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)."Because of my faith in Jesus Christ I am a child of God. And as a child of God I am not an alcoholic or a drunk, but something totally different. What God wanted me to know and what he wants my friend, your friend and you to know is that "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11)."
I soon realized that getting drunk wasn't consistent with who I am as a child of God. Realizing that led to me avoiding those situations that caused me to drink. It is that understanding that I carry with me each and every day. The attitude I take is one that asks "is what I am presented with consistent with who I am as a child of God?" Being dependent on the Holy Spirit became a better option then being dependent on alcohol. "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)." You can substitute cigarettes, chewing tobacco or any other item or behavior deemed unhealthy and sinful and those bad habits will begin to fade away without even focusing on what those habits are. Telling somebody something is wrong often times does little to change their behavior. And even if their behavior changed it doesn't mean that their heart has changed. It is all about what is motivating people to do the things they do. As Christians, our motivation should be one of love. We should approach our lives based on the love we have received from God. It is not an act of love to abuse our bodies through dependency on things we know to be unhealthy. But, instead of focusing on the unhealthy things we do, focus on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8)." As we think about all we have in Christ we will not be thinking about all the bad things we do.
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