Thursday, October 17, 2013

Why Christians should not drink


          The last time I posted a blog was right before I started my journey to receive a degree in divinity. Since I am about to graduate I find I have a little time on my hands. For my first blog in almost three years, I have chosen to share a paper I recently wrote on ‘Why Christians should not drink’. I am by no means perfect nor do I expect perfection from others and while I know I have my point of view, I know others may not agree. This is a paper meant to stir discussion and thought, not point fingers. I hope you see it as such.
 
Let us just kill the white elephant in the room. Nowhere in scripture does it say it a Christian cannot drink. In fact, biblically speaking, Christ himself drank wine. He turned water into wine at the wedding, he was accused of being a drunkard because he ate and drank wine with the poor and unwanted. At the last supper, Christ instituted communion by drinking wine. Up until prohibition, churches throughout the United States used wine in their communion service.

            So why is there a debate today about whether or not a Christian can drink alcohol? Because the abuse of alcohol around the world is a major social issue, the question should not be 'can we', it should be 'should we' drink alcohol. During the course of this paper, I believe you will agree with me that a Christian should not partake in alcoholic beverages. There are several reasons for this belief, but I will just focus on a few of them.

            First, there is no biblical definition of what it means to be drunk. What we see in scripture is simply we should not be drunk on 'mixed drinks or wine'. Drunkenness first appeared in scripture in Genesis, when we see Noah drinking too much of the spirit. Then in different parts of the Old Testament, we see several people becoming drunk. Eli suspected Hannah; the women of Samaria were accused of making their husbands drunk. Even Lot, who escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, was drunk when he lay with his daughters who bore him grandchildren. Drunkenness has been around for a long time.

            In these examples, we do not see a sufficient definition of what it means to be drunk. All we know is that whenever the alcohol begins to affect our decision making process, more than likely we are drunk. Alcohol today is not the same as it was in biblical times. It is much stronger, cheaper and more readily available. In biblical times, it was mainly available to the wealthy. Today, $5.00 is sufficient to get you tipsy. If there is, something God clearly does not want us to be and we do not know God's definition of what that means, then clearly, we should abstain from using it.

            Secondly, the flesh is weak and because of this weakness, we are susceptible to making wrong decisions, including knowing when to say when. Now one might say I know when I have had enough and I know my limits so I will never be drunk. If drinking alcohol impairs our judgment, then is it not possible that it can cloud our judgment of when we have had enough?

            Our mind is altered when the effects of alcohol begin to infiltrate our brain, more specifically the nerve cells in our brain. Alcohol interferes with the communication between all nerve cells. It slows down your ability to process information. With every drink your ability to make decisions takes longer and longer. So if you are drinking at a fairly fast pace, it is possible then to become drunk before you realize it.

            In addition, should we not care about what others are thinking of us as we drink? Some may say no and use Christ as the example. He went against conventional thinking, the norm. He brought about change because of radical opposition to the high priests and Pharisees. However, if we take a closer look at His teachings and what scripture says, we see that we should care. We see that in order to make change, we must be able to reach out to people. If we have offended people by our actions or if we show a life of little to no change, they will ignore us or dismiss what we have to say.

In his blog, [i]‘Does it matter what others think?’ John Piper says we should indeed care and not only should we care we need to realize love demands it! “Our aim in life is for "Christ to be magnified in our bodies whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:19-20). In other words, with Paul, we do care - really care - about what others think of Christ. Their salvation hangs on what they think of Christ. And our lives are to display his truth and beauty. So we must care what others think of us as representative of Christ. Love demands it.”

Now let us explore a different angle. The great commission says we are to go and make disciples. When we make ourselves available to God to be used to make disciples, it can happen at any given time or moment. How hard would it be to witness to someone with alcohol on my breath? Would that person have any desire to listen to someone who they deem as being drunk?

2 Timothy 4:2 tells us to be instant, in season and out. [ii]John Wesley, in his Explanatory notes on this passage, says that being ready in season and out, means I need to create moments of opportunity to share the Gospel message even when one does not exist. How difficult would it be for us to create these moments and people thinking we are just drunks.

Finally, Paul plainly says, do not make your brother stumble. How ignorant are we when we justify doing something that can make someone near us stumble? Do we have freedom from sin, yes, but that does not mean we have to exercise every freedom. Paul says there are many things that he can do, but that does not mean he ought to them.

In his commentary on Romans 14:13-23, John MacArthur lays the groundwork for this thought process. That while we have freedom, it does not mean we should exercise such freedom. MacArthur even goes at length to explain it is about our Christian maturity level. [iii]“But although we are permitted to enjoy that freedom, we are not commanded to do so. We are not obligated to exercise every freedom we have in Christ. In fact, the greater out love and spiritual maturity, the less important those freedoms will be to us and the more willing we will be to relinquish them for the same of best serving the Lord and others, especially other believers.”

While this really just comes down to personal conviction, I do not condemn my brothers who decided to have an occasional glass of wine. Again, clearly scripture does not advocate abstinence from drinking. Nevertheless, I believe clearly, scripture communicates the dangers strong drink can have on our lives, either with our relationship with God or with the ability to witness to unbelievers. This is why I believe it is better for believers not drink.



[i] http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/does-it-matter-what-others-think
[ii] http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=55&c=4&com=wes
[iii] MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 9-16, John F. MacArthur, 1994, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Il.

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