Welcome to a new and beautiful week. Grace and peace be to you in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior, who reigns forevermore. We have another question on the Infant Steps Series. It has to do with drinking alcohol. Have you noticed that most adverts or commercials on an alcoholic beverage depict people having fun and looking happy? Despite what the advert depicts and how alcohol makes one feel, we want to know whether it is right or wrong. Please take some time to ponder on and respond to the questions below.
Dear Rita,
I drink. I love alcohol although I don’t get drunk . Is taking
alcohol, even drinking responsibly, wrong? I like the texture, the different tastes and the process of mixing the drinks that I would love to be a bartender as a part time job. Is this wrong?
Temite
If you have any questions you would like to discuss on the Infant Steps Series, please drop me an email at esurunma@gmail.com or leave the question as a comment in any of my blog posts.
All posts on the Infant Steps Series will be posted on Tuesdays, 9 AM West Africa Time.
28 comments:
This is really thought provoking.... If it leads you into actions that you would most likely regret,I suggest abstinence as the best Option..
I think Alcohol consumption is wrong when It is served to a minor..But an Adult, If you are capable of Self- control..The choice is yours...
Rita..What do you think, considering the biblical point?
Alcohol is not wrong. Noone can convince me that Jesus never had wine with some alcoholic content. (I mean fermented sobo is alcoholic).
The problem is the excess. Excess alters your personality and softens your self control. That is where the sin creeps in.
So drink occasionally if you want but control it and don't be a slave to it.
Its not the alcohol that is really the problem but what it leads too per se. The bible says 'do not be intoxicated/ drunk with wine but......' So clearly its in the getting out of your senses.
But again being a christian makes you a role model of some sorts and someone might be watching you and following your lead. My take is to stay of it totally.
HI Rita, Thanks for the last post- I have a very insightful piece of article I read based on the question I asked, more of an eye opener (still looking for where I put it)
On alcohol......*Not sure.
I do remember the the bible saying something about drunks, but not about drinkers- I guess it's the same way they address kissing and petting- They say it should avoided so the main crime isnt committed.
il be back to read more comments..this is a topic am interested in
I used to work in a bar during university Drunk, puking, swearing, crying people are no joke. At all.
My Dad drinks, my Mum has one glass of wine on special occasions and has an instant headache (it's hilarious)but the point is I was raised to be responsible with alcohol and act with class and decorum when drinking it.
k since rita yabbed me that i dint used to comment with sense..lol..ok lemme drop nd say sumn.
For alcohol, i personally try to stay away from strong drinks, bcause i kno there r couple of places in the bible where it talks about strong drinks sha..will find it. But i used to think its just better to stay away rom it whether u get drunk or not, bcause a day mite come and u think u got it under control but u thought wrong and so drunkeness takes over, but without even tasting it, u become soo far from drunkeness dat its not even a thought anymore.
This is just my own way of preventing instead of pleading/praying/fasting for mercy when the wahala comes.
Ehn enkay i see u took the award from me ehn..ok o...watch ur back!lol
ok i remember, hosea 4:11 "The Lord says, "Wine, both old and new, is robbing my people of their senses!"
proverbs 23:19-21 "19 Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live. 20 Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food. 21 Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags."
and o there r more bible verses so u can look them up and i advise that u dont read it to convince urself wat u want to belive(like i do sometimes), but read it and get the truth what God is saying in these verses.
In life,everything has control.
Problem is not with alcohol-problem is what it makes you do..
All in all know your limits.
everything in moderation
Its not wrong, it just about moderation. A little bit of alcohol each day help to reduce cholestorol...
The issue of alcohol is usually a hot topic amongst christians, but i go by what the bible says.
There are only two (maybe three) groups of people that the bible admonishes NOT to drink alcohol.
1. the nazarites in the old testament and the bishops in the new testament. plus or minus a deacon, my bible says "not given to too much wine)
( i will interprete the last two as pastors)
Numbers 6:3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
1 Tim. 3:8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine...
1 Tim. 3:2-3 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach. Not given to wine...
otherwise, like everything else, you are admonished not to over-indulge. like paul says somewhere ;
"Everything is allowable to me, but to nothing will I become a slave..."
So to answer ur question, taking alchol is not wrong as long as you're not a slave to alcohol,
proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whoever is deceived by it is not wise!
I think the key to alcohol is moderation. Its not about alcohol itself, but more about the fact that it has the potential to cause you to lose control of yourself which can cause you to do thing you would not otherwise do. Again it depends on your level of self control
hmmm
okay
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's
read I Cor chapter 3 and chapter 6 also and be convicted
you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
so if for some reason u believe you can keep your temple holy be drinking alcohol or if you believe that you can radiate Christ and be distinguishable from the crowd while drinking alcohol ...
here is one thing to always remember
the gospel is not about our comfort, so just cuz u like it and the taste makes u bubbly and rolls down your tongue doesn't mean it's okay
i hope that helps
but yeah
u have to be convicted of this on your own, so read the texts that Gee gave and also the ones i added and let the Holy Spirit guide you to the right choice
I love you Temite
for real
drinking alcohol is definitely not a sin.
i dont drink alcohol,my dad doesnt either,my mum doesnt too...but i just hate hearing people talking about alcohol being a sin.
i know christians say that to prevent the after math incase u over indulge and ish but that doesnt make it right..u shouldnt say drinking alcohol is a sin just to make sure peeps dont do it its just not right!!
during the last supper...Jesus drank wine to represent his blood even during holy comminion we drink wine to represent his blood.
i just think too much of everything is bad and if u feel that u cant control it then dont do it to start with.
drinking alcohol isnt a sin...but if u know tha u cant control it then i dont advise u to drink.
o.k..i'm echoing kafo's words....
i cant say it better than she has..
Alchohol taking isnt wrong, i guess it becomes wrong when u take too much. most times u re tempted to take more than u can handle.so i ll say prevention is better than ****
Alchohol taking isnt wrong, i guess it becomes wrong when u take too much. most times u re tempted to take more than u can handle.so i ll say prevention always is better.
Most times it is the abuse of certain things that make them become conroversial.
Sex is good but has been abused to the extent that it has become a norm to have it outside marriage with multiple partners...
Music is good but has been abused such that you now have 'bad' music - a lot of dirty crap is being sung to amplify sinful stuff rather than inspire the human spirit...
the list goes on.
Alcohol is not entirely a bad thing(afterall wine was served at the wedding in Cana). But it has become something that is abused and hence come out with bad results. You know the rest
I think everyone has said it all. it is what it leads to rather than taking it. Money is not bad but it is the lust of it, and the root of all evil.
If taking it will cause you to loose control of your senses it is wrong, everyone should know their limit.
Paul had a little for his medical condition, Jesus turned water into wine, paul also said we should not engage in what will cause anyone to fall from the faith. so if taking alcohol will hinder anyone I will not do it.
Modratoin is the Key word.
Thanks Everyone. This was really helpful!
I don't think it is. As it has been resounding in the comments. It's an excess of it that is wrong. But we know that anything done excessively is wrong. I like this concept of questions. Hopefully I'll have all min asnwered by the time we're done.
Rita thanks so much for this!
x!
I don't think that it is a sin as long as you do not drink with the intention of getting drunk.
Even Jesus drank wine and changed water to wine.
The Eva drink lots of Xtians call wine is simply juice and not wine, real Wine contains alcohol!
The fact is anything done in excess is a sin.
Gluttony(eating too much) is a sin but that doesn't make eating a sin, does it?
Drinking alcohol no be sin.
This question is indeed a controversial one. I will not be in a hurry to respond until I am very sure of the answer.
However, I would like to share these links on
1. Drinking Responsibly: - http://www.jesusisthelight.net/BROTHERS.htm
2. What does the Bible say about Alcohol : - http://www.jesusisthelight.net/ALCOHOL.htm
Hope you find them useful.
First, I appreciate Temite's courage and sincerity in being free enough to share her story. Now, I still have my reservations on the alcohol thing and I would not readily condemn the act so long as it's not done to excess. Even in Bible times, the patriarchs did take alcohol (else why would they portray Noah once drunk, wines in Solomon and David's times and Jesus turning water to wine. I really don't think that was fruit wine now). I believe whatever we do needs be done with extreme caution. Do things decently and in order and not to excess. That's my opinion on this.
Dear Temite,
Thank you for your sincere question. I have been asked this question so many times before and I tell you, there are so many committed Christians who are still not sure.
You see, it is very easy for us to settle a matter when it is explicitly addressed in the constitution (the Bible in this case), however, there are certain issues as this which have implied responses in the bible.
One aspect of this matter that is very clearly stated in the scripture is the subject of drunkenness. The bible clearly condemns this (Read Romans 13:13-14' I Corinthians 5:11-13, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:18, Isa 5:11).
The part of getting drunk is clear but the question remains: should Christians drink alcohol at all? Many people quote Paul's recommendation to Timothy in 1 Tim 5:23 where he says "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach sake and thine often infirmities". Note that Apostle Paul here only advises the use of wine for medicinal purpose and remember he said "a little wine". Ask yourself, are you drinking alcohol to treat an illness, an infirmity? My mother was once prescribed Guiness Stout by a doctor for an illness she had but it was measured and for a given time. If you study the life of Timothy, you will find that he always abstained but when he contaminated a disease Paul had to chip in to convince him to take even a little wine, meaning he always abstained. If you look at the lives of some great men that were separated for God's use (John, Samson etc) you will find abstinence from alcohol as a necessary ingredient. Do you want to go all the way for God and be separated unto him or you want to be "everybody else"?
Let’s look at this subject from biological standpoint. Even though you don’t get drunk, what does alcohol do for you? I once did an experiment in a biology class where we put the liver of a mammal inside an alcohol solution for about a week. We had measured the size of the liver and after a week, the liver had shrunk. Doctors, governments are today advising you against taking alcohol and smoking. The bible says “doesn’t even common sense teach us that these things are not good for us"?
My sister, you mentioned that you really love the texture and the taste and the mixing. There are so many things that we all love but what will you give up for your love for God and yourself?
It takes little sips to make a huge impact. Alcohol is known to impair or influence the performance of your mind and your brains even though you are not falling everywhere drunk. Will the Holy Spirit be needing to contend for your mind? The bible calls us to a high standard of holiness and we must be separate from the things that are ok for the people of this world.
There are many things that scriptures do not out rightly forbid us from doing but are not right for us. What standard are you using to run your Christian race? The Jesus standard? The standards of those that were given a high calling in scriptures or the general standards? You may be tempted to settle since you think you can’t overcome but I tell you, the spirit of God is there to help you but you have to make a decision today!!!
Finally, the bible declares in 1 Cor 10:23' " All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not". Choose that which is excellent. God bless you!
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PHILIP EVBOMOEN
"The Eternal God is Thy Refuge..."
Taking alcohol in itself is not wrong if you are having only a few drinks. It's as harmless as taking caffeine. Many in the Bible took alcohol. Putting too much of any substance into your body, though, is harmful.
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