Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin?

[standingfirminChrist]

standingfirm, your responses don't really acknowledge what people are saying. for instance:

Originally Posted by annsni
"Yet, when you look up the word "sober" in the original Greek, it is nepho, meaning "1) to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit

2) to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect

It is translated as 'sober' in 4 cases of use and as 'watch' in 2 - being used 6 times in Scripture. I do not see anything about alcohol or the abstinance of such in this use of the word. "


your response:

"last time I checked, sober was an antonym of intoxicated"


of course sober is an anonym of intoxicated IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. but annsni clearly pointed something out, about the BIBLICAL LANGUAGE. again, you make these straight comments that disregard the whole point of what someone said. i just don't get it. now you are going to respond to me with "there you go again, ignoring God's word, which says drinking is sin". go ahead...just say it.

oh, and by the way.....often times traditions pervert judgement as well, this is a perfect example.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, the word sober is the Greek word 'Nepho' Here is the translation

3525. nepho
Search for G3525 in KJVSL
nhjw nepho nay'-fo

of uncertain affinity: to abstain from wine (keep sober), i.e. (figuratively) be discreet:--be sober, watch.

seems annsni left out the part that says 'to abstain from wine'... wonder why? Oh, that's right, one who sees nothing wrong with drinking in moderation is not going to post something that clearly shows that one is wrong.

again, sober is the opposite of intoxicated.

and Alcott, it is not the sun that caused me to realize that intoxication starts from the very first drink, but rather the Son revealed it... the Son of God.

 

[dan e.]

NICE pun....no really, that was good. :laugh:

 

[annsni]

Are you ashamed of your drinking? If you gonna drink in front of your children but not in front of your pastor. If you won't drink in front of your pastor, you must be trying to hide the alcohol.

How can one be sober and vigilant, when Proverbs 31 says fermented beverage perverts the judgment?

I did drink in front of my pastor that night.

 

[npetreley]

On the contrary; if anyone who disagrees with you is prideful and arrogant, then you demonstrate your own pride and arrogance by making such a statement.

Good try, but you missed the point completely. It's not a matter of saying "I'm right and you're wrong." It's a matter of saying "I'm right because the Holy Spirit told me I'm right." Which implies that you cannot possibly disagree with me on this disputable matter and be right, because then you'd be disagreeing with the Holy Spirit.

THAT is the height of arrogance and pride. Now you've left the realm of prooftexts and scriptural support, and gone into the claim of having an exclusive (or simply better) relationship with the Holy Spirit compared to the person with whom you are arguing.

 

[dan e.]

WHOOOAAAA!!!!!!!! YOU'D BETTER BE CAREFUL, ANNSNI :applause:

standingfirm.....you may just need to accept that alcohol in your system is not a sinful thing.

food in your body is not sinful.....but can be.
words that come out of your mouth are not sinful....but can be.
thoughts in your mind are not sinful....but can be.
driving a car is not sinful.....but can be.
money in your pocket is not sinful....but can be.
traditions in the church are not sinful, but if held to a higher level than they should.....they can be.
etc., etc., etc.

your pun was still hilarious. :thumbsup:

 

[annsni]

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, the word sober is the Greek word 'Nepho' Here is the translation

3525. nepho
Search for G3525 in KJVSL
nhjw nepho nay'-fo

of uncertain affinity: to abstain from wine (keep sober), i.e. (figuratively) be discreet:--be sober, watch.

seems annsni left out the part that says 'to abstain from wine'... wonder why? Oh, that's right, one who sees nothing wrong with drinking in moderation is not going to post something that clearly shows that one is wrong.

again, sober is the opposite of intoxicated.

and Alcott, it is not the sun that caused me to realize that intoxication starts from the very first drink, but rather the Son revealed it... the Son of God.

Please show me where I left out the part that says "to abstain from wine" on the Blue Letter Bible website - here's the direct link for you: http://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/words/3/1163129374-7695.html

 

[standingfirminChrist]

npetrely,

I guess you don't think it is prideful and arrogant to disagree with God's Word?

1 Thessalonians 5:8 the word sober means to abstain from wine. How can you say that it is ok to drink whin the word says to abstain. It is prideful and arrogant to disavow that clear command.

 

[Alcott]

Are you ashamed of your drinking? If you gonna drink in front of your children but not in front of your pastor.

Are you ashamed of taking a bath? Would you do it in front of the Ladies' Missionary Society?

 

[standingfirminChrist]

annsni,

if you quoted them and they left it out, then you left it out too.

I have checked several commentaries that clearly say the same. Sober means to abstain from alcohol.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

Are you ashamed of taking a bath? Would you do it in front of the Ladies' Missionary Society?

Don't be an idiot, Alcott.

 

[dan e.]

alcott....i'd be lying if i said i didn't laugh at that. good point though :laugh:


standingfirm.....you didn't answer!!! :tongue3:

oh goodness.....standingfirm, we are obviously not going to convince each other. lets move on. here is a question for you. i understand you believe it to be wrong to even consume an alcoholic beverage. you understand that i don't (although i don't really drink, occasional listerine in the morning). you seem to be pretty set in that view of yours.....can you, or do you, fellowship with believers who drink? i'm not talking about drunkenness....i think you know that, i'm talking about someone who can have a drink and not be stupid about it.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

Since the Bible says be not among winebibbers (wine drinkers), no, I would not hang around such company. I will witness Christ to them when the Spirit leads, but I will not hang around them.

Wherefore come out from amongst them and be ye separate, and I will receive you, saith the Lord.

Dan,

as to the question asked by alcott...

The Word of God commands me not to answer a fool according to his folly...

 

[npetreley]

npetrely,

I guess you don't think it is prideful and arrogant to disagree with God's Word?

1 Thessalonians 5:8 the word sober means to abstain from wine. How can you say that it is ok to drink whin the word says to abstain. It is prideful and arrogant to disavow that clear command.

Our original dispute centered around differing interpretations of God's word. It's when you started claiming that your interpretation had to be the right one because the Holy Spirit told you so that I called you arrogant and prideful. If you maintain that you have the exclusive right of interpretation through the Holy Spirit, there's no point in arguing about God's Word with you, since you cannot possibly entertain the notion that you might be wrong. After all, for you to admit you were wrong would be to say you didn't really get your interpretation from the Holy Spirit, and that wouldn't do.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

I won't entertain the false notion of me being wrong in this matter since the Greek clearly states that sober means 'to abstain from wine'.

If I said I was wrong, I would be calling God's Word a lie. Not going to do that. God's Word is truth.

 

[dan e.]

good point. i will take to heart your convictions standingfirm.....i'm not a drinker anyways, so we can hang out. however, i'm not going to be foolish enough to believe that because a fellow disciple of Jesus has a beer, or a glass of wine means that they are deliberately disobeying, because as mentioned above....we disagree with each others interpretations. i admitted you being wiser, more experienced, but i don't confuse wisdom with stubborn fundamentalism that has nothing to do with the fundamentals; rather it has to do with condemning others who may not feel the convictions you do. sound harsh? good. This issue is more serious than we think. There are seriously people who would never open an ear to what you may have to say because you wouldn't get passed the idea that they may have a glass of an alcoholic beverage in their hand. get over it. your traditions are meaningful to you....and therefore should be meaningful to all believers, but not required of us to follow.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

if the Greek says 'abstain from wine', it is for all Believers to follow, dan. God is not a respector of persons.

 

[annsni]

You know what I was thinking about last night? Scripture is not written to confuse or to confound. It is so strong and powerful - and IMO, clear - that it makes wise the simple. If my children were to read the verses such as Jesus making water into wine - or if a new believer were to read it, do you think they would understand that wine is not wine? That God made it confusing? That what God said - wine making the heart glad, the 'best' wine, strong drink, etc. are really meaning Welch's?? That they would see the verse "Have a little wine for your stomach, Timothy" that they're thinking juice?

 

[webdog]

annsi, you may as well give up. If the Pharisees weren't convinced by Jesus' life, the Pharisees on this board won't be convinced by Scripture.

 

[standingfirminChrist]

Apparently the Pharisees on the Board won't be convinced by the clear definition of nepho in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, which is translated to abstain from alcohol.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. At the time it was written, they spoke in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Aramaic. That which was inspired by God was understood then. They knew that God commanded abstinence.

 

[dan e.]

standingfirm......this is why i disagree with your interpretation. i'm not so sure that nepho means "to abstain from alcohol" as you say. you are taking words that tell us to be sober, or calm and collected in spirit, as my research suggests. this does not mean "abstain from alcohol", rather it means not to be drunk. okay.....here's my pun........don't confuse the SON with the SUN! :applause: good, eh?