Article One Pastor Wrote
I wanted to share with you all about what one pastor said below:
Pastor Kevin Bishop, Living Waters Fellowship, Wisconsin Rapids
One of the largest setbacks for members of the Body of Christ is the question of whether or not it is OK for Christians to engage in drinking alcohol. There are many diversities of belief in different circles of faith, however I believe the Bible is very specific with regard to this topic.
The church wants to try to justify that drinking alcohol is OK. They say that one or two drinks will not make one drunk, therefore the Bible does not condemn it. Well, let’s see what the Scriptures have to say; the Bible speaks of alcohol in many cases. For instance:
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Prov. 20:1)“Be not among winebibbers.... For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.” (Proverbs 23:20-21)
“Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” (Proverbs 23:29-35).“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!” (Isaiah 5:11).[/“Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink.” (Isaiah 5:22).
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.” (Is.28:7).
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken.” (Habakkuk 2:15).
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”[/B]In all of these verses we find wine, strong drink, and such references to alcohol to be condemned. Furthermore there is a great passage in the book of Romans 14:21 declares, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” This verse is clear in that it not only condemns all that would cause a brother to stumble but also points out alcoholism as well. When I hear the argument that you can drink as long as you do not become a drunk, I like to think of this verse. It states simply not to drink wine. Since most argue that wine is OK and the Bible says so this point needs to be made within its context.
Will an occasional drink edify the saints? I have heard before that there are those who like to drink but only do it in moderation. I have heard of those who go to bars but drink soda. I have heard of those who say, “it’s only one drink.” The phrase “wine cooler” is also popular among those that are weak in this way. In Thessalonians 5:22 there is a simple statement made. That statement was to “abstain from the appearance of evil.”
Do not let the Church be a haven of misconception. The Bible is very clear on this subject. It is rather unfortunate that this answer even needed to be written. There are reasons behind most of what I write. The reason behind this is that the Bible is a set of boundaries for protection and it has marked every alcoholic bottle and can with the skull of eternal death.
My favorite question to the occasional drinker is about Jesus. Could you see Jesus coming home from a hard day, and cracking open a can of beer and taking a drink? Are we not supposed to be doing all things to the glory of God? (I Corinthians 10:31) “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”The next time you enter the bar think on these things. The next time you enter in the store to buy some of these drinks, think on these things. Ask yourself, is it worth my soul?
I explain to any teen that I'm talking to that first of all, it's illegal and therefore, they need to follow the law. If I were to drink, I'm following the law as well. I also tell them when they hit the drinking age, it is their choice whether to drink or not - BUT I tell them some of the good reasons not to drink but let them know that it's NOT a sin to drink unless they get drunk and if they DO drink, they need to be sure they are using wisdom (thinking of the reasons not to drink - pretty much what you listed here) and do not drive even with one drink. I again reiterate that it's a liberty we have but where we have liberty, we need to use wisdom and most likely, it is best for them to just not drink. 