Alcohol and the Christian
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction: In August of 2017 a study was published that found that the rate of alcoholism (alcohol use disorder; alcohol abuse) rose by 49% in the first decade of the 2000’s. According to the study, one in eight American adults, or 12.7% of the US population, now meets the criterion for alcohol abuse.
Alcoholism manifests itself in someone who repeatedly turns to alcohol despite the resulting failure to perform obligations at work or school; alcoholism manifests itself in someone who repeatedly turns to alcohol despite being repeatedly placed in dangerous situations (such as driving under the influence or operating other heavy machinery); alcoholism manifests itself in someone who repeatedly turns to alcohol despite resulting legal problems (such as arrests for alcohol related conduct); or alcoholism manifests itself in someone who continually turn to alcohol despite resulting social problems (such as arguments with their spouse and violence).
So, if 12.7% of the US population is an alcoholic what this means is that out of the 300,000,000 people who make up the current population 38,100,000 of them are destroying their lives in one of those four ways. I believe it would be safe to say that alcoholism is a big and rising problem among US adults, or so I originally thought.
In 2015, 33.1% of 15-year-olds reported that they had had at least one drink in their lives. About 7.7 million peoples between the ages of 12 and 20 (20.3% of this age group) reported drinking alcohol within a month of the survey. Of those, 5.1 million people between the ages of 12 and 20 reported binge drinking within the past month, and 1.3 million reported heavy continual alcohol use within the past month. 20% of college students meet the criterion for alcoholism, and for every four college students one them reported academic consequences from drinking. 696,000 students between the ages of 18 to 24 are assaulted in some way by another student who has been drinking each year.
Overall, 88,009 people die from alcohol-related causes each year which makes alcohol the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the US.
Culturally, alcohol is a huge issue, but as Christians we want to know what the Bible has to say about alcohol, and what we really want to know is what are the best practices when it comes to the Christian and alcohol.
Drunkenness
Drunkenness
First, let’s take a look at what we know the Bible definitely describes as sin: drunkenness.
The Physical Symptoms of Drunkenness
The Physical Symptoms of Drunkenness
The physical symptoms of drunkenness that the Bible mentions are:
Staggering
Staggering
They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Wounds and Beatings
Wounds and Beatings
Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they swoon like the wounded
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
In their mothers’ bosom.
Vomiting
Vomiting
The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations
Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
The Spiritual Symptom of Drunkenness
The Spiritual Symptom of Drunkenness
A False Sense of Your Abilities
A False Sense of Your Abilities
Deadening Yourself to God
Deadening Yourself to God
For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
But they also have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.
For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
That they may follow intoxicating drink;
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute,
And wine are in their feasts;
But they do not regard the work of the Lord,
Nor consider the operation of His hands.
Isaiah
“Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
Drunkenness is a sin that characterizes unbelievers.
The question for us then is: “Okay, since drunkenness is definitely sin, what does the Bible say about how someone gets drunk?”
Biblical Warnings Against Strong Drink
Biblical Warnings Against Strong Drink
But they also have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.
Alcoholic beverages, which lead to drunkenness, cause woe, sorrow, strife, complaining, wounds without cause, and redness of eyes.
For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
To whom He said, “This is the rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
Isaiah
Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of mixed wine.
Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;
At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
“They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”
Alcoholic beverages, which leads to drunkenness, cause you to forget and act perversely
It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
Alcoholic beverages, which lead to drunkenness, enslaves you and impairs your judgment
But they also have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
Aren’t Alcoholic Beverages in the Bible?
Aren’t Alcoholic Beverages in the Bible?
Was alcohol in the Bible the same as alcohol today? Just because people practiced something in ancient times, does that mean that we ought to practice it in modern times?
Example: Dancing
Slavery
Wine in the ancient times was made and produced in order to produce life and safety rather than death and destruction. It had a much lower alcoholic content (somewhere around 2-4% vs. today which is 12-20% for wine and up to 40-70% for other distilled beverages). Wine was also typically limited and locally grown, and it was also boiled or mixed. So, if it was boiled, what would happen to the alcohol? Right! Gone! And if it was mixed, then the alcoholic content would be diluted drastically.
Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;
She has slaughtered her meat,
She has mixed her wine,
She has also furnished her table.
Proverbs 9:
Why would they do this? What was the point? Safety
No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
Why is alcohol produced today? Alcohol is produced today (in limitless supply with a much much higher alcoholic content) in order to addict you and exploit you for a profit. What is the result of that?
Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
Four Reasons Why Pastor Bryce Promotes Absolute Abstinence in Drinking Alcohol for American Christians in 2018 and Probably Beyond
Four Reasons Why Pastor Bryce Promotes Absolute Abstinence in Drinking Alcohol for American Christians in 2018 and Probably Beyond
Abstain Because of Conscience
Abstain Because of Conscience
It is absolutely wrong to act against our consciences.
I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
It is absolutely wrong to put yourself or anyone else in a position that would tempt yourself or them to do what they are uncertain of.
Drunkenness destroys and kills. Do you really want to put yourself or anyone else in a position that would tempt them to drunkenness?
As a Christian with access to clean water and an unlimited supply of other enjoyable beverages, do you really want to introduce someone to something that might kill them and leave their family abused and poor?
Abstain Because Alcohol is a Mind-altering Drug
Abstain Because Alcohol is a Mind-altering Drug
The effect of alcohol on the mind is to depress and eliminate restraints. As a Christian, alcohol can dull your mind and stupefy you from doing what you want most, which is, to see and do the will of God.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
The mature believer does not ask, “What might I be able to get away with?,” but the mature believer asks, “Is there anything that I can do or stop doing in order to improve my ability to see and do God’s will?” Alcohol definitely does not increase your ability to do God’s will.
Abstain Because Alcohol is Addictive
Abstain Because Alcohol is Addictive
Alcohol not only blurs your ability to see and do God’s will, but it can also become habitual.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
If anyone ever tempts you, “Hey, just prove you can handle yourself by holding your liquor.” You can respond, “I have nothing to prove.”
But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Don’t try to prove that you’re not weak while there are countless examples that teach us that we all are weak and in need of God’s enabling grace in our lives.
Abstain Because You Can Make a Social Statement
Abstain Because You Can Make a Social Statement
It is clear that millions of people are stumbling over alcohol in America today and ruining their lives and families and businesses and we ought to care about that. I care about that. And so I choose to oppose the consumption of alcohol as a beverage because I oppose that which might destroy your life and destroy your family. I oppose that which could earn you the label of highway killer and that which could leave you destitute and homeless. I oppose that which has the potential to haunt your family until the third and fourth generations.
Because of the continual warnings in Scripture, the culture in which we live, and the availability of clean water and other enjoyable beverages for our unlimited consumption I believe that the wisest and most logical conclusion when it comes to the Christian and alcohol is complete and total abstinence.
I pray you come to that conclusion too.