Sunday, May 29, 2016 am
OTHERS 19
Sins of Society – 3
The Christian and Social Drinking
In
our continued study of the interaction of Christians to others, we are
in the midst of examining a few societal behaviors that we ought to
avoid as Christians. These
are behaviors that society believes to be acceptable, but from the
standpoint of a Christian, it doesn’t make it so.
These are behaviors that come will all sorts of problems that
society has to deal with.
Today we want to address the question of the Christian and alcohol.
We know that the Bible strictly condemns drunkenness.
But should a Christian drink socially?
Should Christians be drinking at
all? In this lesson I want
to present some Biblical principles to consider which will show this is
conduct we ought NOT to participate in.
The
consumption of alcohol is big business.
According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics),
in 2014, 24.7% of adults reported having engaged in binge drinking in
the past month. Nearly
7% had an Alcohol Use Disorder (16.3 million adults).
Many other statistics including underage drinking can be found at
this link.
Last year (2015), the Washington Post reported that 33 million adults
have alcohol problems (that is roughly 1 in 10).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/33-million-americans-are-problem-drinkers-or-14-percent-of-us-adults/2015/06/08/b75c4854-0af4-11e5-95fd-d580f1c5d44e_story.html
From these statistics and other sources, we see the problem of alcohol
is very real in our society.
Like gambling, there are many problems with it – health problems,
domestic violence, financial problems, societal troubles (in 2014,
alcohol misuse cost $249 Billion in the U.S.), even killing people
(drunk driving, etc. - Nearly 88,000 people die each year from alcohol
related causes.), criminal activities, etc.
And
like gambling, the industry does NOT get a pass as to their culpability.
It thrives because of the social, casual and the problem drinker.
Yet if you were to ask them, you
would think all is well and wonderful.
Commercials talk about how wonderful life is with their beer or
wine. You never see the bad
side of drinking – abused wives, car wrecks, ruined teenagers, etc.
So
what does the Bible have to say about the Christian and drinking?
As with so many topics, the Bible doesn’t say, “Don’t take a
single drink”, but there are principles for us to consider.
In this lesson we shall appeal
to wisdom – GOD’S wisdom as we determine if we should drink at all.
Proverbs 1:1-7There is not a passage of scripture that clearly
approves of it, especially in our modern culture.
But there are plenty of passages that warn against its use as we
shall see.
a.
Ephesians 5:18 – do not
be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation.
b.
Galatians 5:19-21 – it
is a work of the flesh.
c.
Romans 13:11-14 – we are
to walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness…
d.
Proverbs 20:1 – wine is
a mocker. Whoever is led
astray by it is not wise.
e.
Also 1 Peter 4:1-3 – we
have spent enough time…in which you once walked in lewdness, lusts,
drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, …
Here we merely notice we should not be caught in drunkenness.
More on this text later.
f.
Question:
At what point does one become drunk?
Is there really such a thing as “a little drunk”?
At what point is your sobriety affected?
Drunkenness is a process, not just a state one is in.
It happens gradually, and for some with very little alcohol
(there are many factors).
Also, consider that one cannot determine that level UNLESS he crosses
the line. And often, because
alcohol DOES dull the senses, the one getting drunk doesn’t admit it
until it is too late.
For the one defending drinking “responsibly” and controlling it: Why are
you drinking? Is it to relax
a little? Is it to “take off
the edge”? If so, are you
not admitting that even a little alcohol has an effect on your body?
Sometimes drugs cause drowsiness (and alcohol can be a drug, in fact, it
is classified as such). They are
prescribed realizing this is so. When sick, you take something to help
you sleep to get better – you are dulling the senses.
a.
We are to be sober
– Romans 12:3 – think soberly!
Titus 2:11-12 – we live soberly and righteously.
As Christians, we should not deliberately engage in activities
that diminish our sobriety.
1 Thessalonians 5:6 calls for us to watch AND be sober.
Watch implies the idea of being alert.
Both alertness and soberness are affected by drinking, even in
small quantities.
b.
Alcohol causes many
problems
- the Bible deals with this.
Prov. 23:29-35 describes what wine can do to someone.
This text says so much about the dangers of alcohol.
Three is a reason it is associated with the works of the flesh,
Galatians 5:21.
c.
It can be addictive
– See Proverbs 23:35 from above!
We addressed this last week with gambling - 1 Cor. 6:12 – do not be
brought under the power of anything!
Studies have shown there is a danger with one that takes the
first drink becoming compulsive (1 in 10).
d.
It can affect our
influence on others -
As Christians, we are to glorify
God and Jesus. 1
Corinthians 10:31, all that we do is to be to the glory of God. 1 Peter
4:11 – work with our ability that in all things God may be glorified.
The way we glorify God is in the choices we make and the example
we set for others. Is
consuming alcohol bringing glory to God and Jesus in any way?
PLEASE Be honest!
Is it helping your influence for good? Someone
said, “Our light does not shine well through the bottom of a bottle!”
Furthermore, will we by our influence partake in the stumbling of
others? Can it lead
struggling brethren to stumble? 1 Corinthians 8:9-13, Romans 14:20-21.
And considering the struggles of those in the world, is our influence on
them leading them further away from God?
e.
We are to be different!
Do not be conformed to this world, be transformed
– Romans 12:1-2, a recurring theme in scripture is how we are to be
different. If we used to
drink and do such things, we have changed.
Notice again, 1 Peter 4:4 after dealing with drinking in various forms
(we will address this in a few minutes).
The world will see you differently now.
f.
Does it pass the “good” test? 1 Thessalonians
5:21-22, “Test all things, hold
fast to what is good. Abstain
from every form of evil.”
Where in this would you put drinking, even socially?
Would you place that single drink as closer to the works of the flesh or
the fruit of the Sprit?
(Galatians 5:19-23)
Thought: For those seeking
to justify social drinking – will you ever hear them turn to 1 Peter
1:15, “be holy for I am holy” and use that to justify their drinking?
OR Matthew 5:13-16 – we are salt and light – I drink so that I can let
my light shine for Jesus.
a.
Some might argue that
while drunkenness is wrong, an occasional drink or social drinking is
fine.
This is where the challenge lies.
As we noted earlier, there is no passage in the Bible that says
“you shall not drink alcohol in your home at night” or “Don’t drink
champagne at a wedding.”
But what about the principles we have addressed thus far?
They do not just relate to drunkenness.
b.
1 Peter 4:1-3
– “drinking parties” is typically viewed as social drinking.
KJV, “Banqueting”.
While some define this as a party where unrestrained indulgence
of alcohol takes place (but isn’t that what “revelries” is about?),
others see it as, “a social gathering at which wine was served, drinking
party” (πότος, BDAG).
c.
What does wisdom say?
Consider all the
principles we have discussed.
Is drinking, even a little, a wise and virtuous decision?
Will it affect my alertness and soberness at all?
Will I be contributing to an industry that does great damage to
society? Will my drinking,
even a little, affect my influence on others?
Am I in danger of being addicted to it? (If you drink, to answer
this question – quit and see how much you struggle.)
Friends, be wise!!!!!
d.
Again, it is
questionable behavior
– at best, there is doubt about this subject!
Romans 14:22-23
a.
The Bible is filled with
warnings of the dangers of drinking and what it leads to, especially
excess.
b.
The Bible addresses the
subject of wine in both the Old and New Testaments.
In some cases, it seems that it is acceptable behavior.
But one thing we must realize is that the culture back then was
different than today. We
emphasize context in our studies.
A part of context is understanding the culture which helps us
determine how to apply certain passages.
Drinking back then was NOT the industry we see today.
1) Their choices of beverage were limited.
2) The alcohol content was not as it is today (natural and even
enhanced fermentation could yield small percentages.
3) The quality of water was bad in many places and required
treatment (we treat our water today).
The wine would help purify it, but at the same time it diluted
the alcohol content to near zero.
4) To our knowledge, it was not marketed as a recreational drug
as it is today. It was not
the highly lucrative industry we see promoting social gatherings.
In fact, any passage dealing with social gatherings speaks
NEGATIVELY of its consumption.
These are just some of the differences.
Also, the Greek word for wine (οἶνος, oinos), while often had reference
to the fermented product of the grape, could describe the grape in its
various states including unfermented (cf. Isaiah 16:10 LXX, Matthew
9:17, etc.). There are other
words in both Hebrew and Greek.
c.
Jesus and wine – Jesus was described as a winebibber (and John because he didn’t eat or
drink had a demon) – Matthew 11:19.
In John 2:1-10, at a wedding feast, Jesus made wine.
In fact, it was His first miracle (vs. 11).
It is argued that Jesus made and drank wine and thus it must be
acceptable.
i.
That Jesus drank
something and made “wine” of some sort on that occasion cannot be
denied.
ii.
HOWEVER, I struggle with
the concept that Jesus as a bartender or creating something that would
cause drunkenness, even on a festive occasion as a wedding.
The text says the people had already “well drunk” (vs. 10, 3).
iii.
As to Matthew 11:19 –
look at the context – they are exaggerations of extremes intended to
accuse Jesus. They were
false charges – both against John AND Jesus
iv.
Also, as noted, an
understanding of wine back then should be considered.
Oinos – a word that can mean any product of the grape.
It does NOT have to be fermented!
d.
Timothy was told to
drink a little wine for his stomach’s sake – Based upon 1 Timothy 5:23.
Is that the same social drinking, or even the occasional beer?
You know better!!!
Notice: 1) It was medicinal; 2) It was a “little” wine;
3) Timothy had to be told to do it.
In other words, he abstained until told he needed medicine!
e.
Note: There are a couple
of other passages along with these, (qualifications of elders and
deacons, etc.), but these too cannot be conclusively used to justify the
consumption of alcohol today.
And thus we can see that
drinking alcoholic beverages is something that ought to be avoided by
Christians today.
Today there are
other options and choices.
There is NOTHING good provided by alcohol that cannot be achieved
without it. It is simply not
needed and unwise!
This lesson could also apply to the use of drugs.
We have societies that are legalizing marijuana now.
How long before other recreational drugs are legalized?
I do not want to support this industry at all!
May
we resolve to surrender to God in every aspect of our lives, realizing
that others are watching! Is
temporal pleasures worth risking the souls of your brethren, your sphere
of influence and perhaps even your own soul? Think about it!