To drink...or not to drink...that is the question.

[JonC]

I have a brother in Christ who has struggled with alcohol. He has been responsible enough to avoid drinking and driving, but he has had occasions where he has drunk too much. He is a Christian and feels a calling to evangelism. He asked God to remove the temptation of alcohol, and has stated that he abstains for personal reasons. His wife believes it is a sin to drink, as does his local church. He has provided a strong testimony of his life, including his struggle with alcohol. Now he has rationalized his drinking by determining that it is not a sin. I agree with him in principle…alcohol itself is not a sin. But he has already wrestled with this issue…I worry about his testimony and his future wellbeing. What advice would you give my brother?

 

[JonC]

deleted....questioning the integrity of the eleven who chose not to respond. Maybe they just didn't have time. While I am not asking whether it is right or wrong to drink...I am asking how you would advise this brother who has severely damaged his testimony.

 

[preacher4truth]

Do you believe he is a drunkard? If so, how are we instructed in Scripture to deal with one called a brother who is a drunkard? (1Cor 5 for example)

 

[JonC]

Do you believe he is a drunkard? If so, how are we instructed in Scripture to deal with one called a brother who is a drunkard? (1Cor 5 for example)

I really don't know. If I use WOTM, then yes...he has become drunk on alcohol and therefore he is a drunkard. But alcohol does not, as far as I know, mark his life (he drinks, but while his wife and fellow church members believe he is sinning, he does not normally get drunk). He struggled in the past with alcohol and asked God to deliver him from the drug...but now finds himself enjoying the "taste" in his "Christian liberty" while his wife and breathern believe he is sinning. So I guess the answer is "yes," he is a drunkard because he submitted to and is trying to justify the sin that he struggled against in the past.

Personally I believe he is trying to justify his sin (although I don't believe drinking in itself is a sin). He wants to minister to others and if he can justify this, then he is OK with God (in his own mind). I don't know how to approach my brother. He does not care that his wife and fellow members at his church view him as sinning against God due to the liberty he has in Christ.

I don't think he is a drunkard...I'm not a WOTM kind of guy...but he does place drinking above Christ and above his testimony to his brethern and even his wife...so he does have a "drinking problem" in that sense.

 

[Winman]

I hate to tell you this, but you cannot help a person who has a drinking problem unless they want to help themselves. I speak from hard experience.

You can try, but you are just going to learn a hard lesson.

 

[righteousdude2]

Experience in the field tells me.....

I hate to tell you this, but you cannot help a person who has a drinking problem unless they want to help themselves. I speak from hard experience.

You can try, but you are just going to learn a hard lesson.

.... That this is true! Most alcoholics, Drug addicts, etc., must hit bottom before they are ready to reach out and be helped. This is why some never get help; they drink too much, but not enough to be at their recognizeable bottom.

All we can do is pray that somehow, the God of this universe, do a miracle and get hold of their soul and turn them before it is too late!

 

[annsni]

I only have a moment but honestly, drinking for most is not a sin but for some it is because it controls them. I have told people straight up that if they take one sip of alcohol, it is a sin. It's unfortunate but the truth of the matter for some who struggle with that addiction!

 

[evangelist6589]

I have a brother in Christ who has struggled with alcohol. He has been responsible enough to avoid drinking and driving, but he has had occasions where he has drunk too much. He is a Christian and feels a calling to evangelism. He asked God to remove the temptation of alcohol, and has stated that he abstains for personal reasons. His wife believes it is a sin to drink, as does his local church. He has provided a strong testimony of his life, including his struggle with alcohol. Now he has rationalized his drinking by determining that it is not a sin. I agree with him in principle…alcohol itself is not a sin. But he has already wrestled with this issue…I worry about his testimony and his future wellbeing. What advice would you give my brother?

He needs to avoid alcohol as he can't control himself. Give him a number of verses pertaining to alcohol abuse and there are plenty in the scripture. If he is also a reader I would give him a good book on the subject.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982656122/?tag=baptis04-20

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

I really don't know. If I use WOTM, then yes...he has become drunk on alcohol and therefore he is a drunkard. But alcohol does not, as far as I know, mark his life (he drinks, but while his wife and fellow church members believe he is sinning, he does not normally get drunk). He struggled in the past with alcohol and asked God to deliver him from the drug...but now finds himself enjoying the "taste" in his "Christian liberty" while his wife and breathern believe he is sinning. So I guess the answer is "yes," he is a drunkard because he submitted to and is trying to justify the sin that he struggled against in the past.

Personally I believe he is trying to justify his sin (although I don't believe drinking in itself is a sin). He wants to minister to others and if he can justify this, then he is OK with God (in his own mind). I don't know how to approach my brother. He does not care that his wife and fellow members at his church view him as sinning against God due to the liberty he has in Christ.

I don't think he is a drunkard...I'm not a WOTM kind of guy...but he does place drinking above Christ and above his testimony to his brethern and even his wife...so he does have a "drinking problem" in that sense.

To put drinking above Christ tells me he is not a Christian.

 

[blackbird]

I only have a moment but honestly, drinking for most is not a sin but for some it is because it controls them. I have told people straight up that if they take one sip of alcohol, it is a sin. It's unfortunate but the truth of the matter for some who struggle with that addiction!

As long as I never take that "sip"----it can never control me and I will never know what its like to be in that struggling prison of intoxication!

 

[HAMel]

One thing he needs a sponsor. Someone he can call when the urge is over-powering. Someone who will talk him down vise talk down to him.

Quite obviously, we are not all from the same mold and the real sin here is claiming He's Sinning. It's beyond his control and yes, I agree that until he is ready to cave in on himself there isn't much one can do.

From an alcoholic I once met he told me there is no sound in the world quite like that of a whiskey bottle when it touches a shot glass. To an alcoholic that is. That in itself is amazing. A powerful force to recon with indeed.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

One thing he needs a sponsor. Someone he can call when the urge is over-powering. Someone who will talk him down vise talk down to him.

Quite obviously, we are not all from the same mold and the real sin here is claiming He's Sinning. It's beyond his control and yes, I agree that until he is ready to cave in on himself there isn't much one can do.

From an alcoholic I once met he told me there is no sound in the world quite like that of a whiskey bottle when it touches a shot glass. To an alcoholic that is. That in itself is amazing. A powerful force to recon with indeed.

I like the sound of beer bottles and glasses clinking together and I like the taste, rich flavor of the malt, the smell of a lager....ah, yes I do ...just as I love the taste and smell of a capachino (sic) ....so so what? That doesn't make a person a drunk anymore than walking into a garage makes one an automobile. Its the character of the person not the device that makes the person.

 

[HAMel]

Its the character of the person not the device that makes the person.
We should agree to disagree on this point as I heard it said that some people are addicted to chocolate. How might that reflect negatively on their character?

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Its the character of the person not the device that makes the person.
We should agree to disagree on this point as I heard it said that some people are addicted to chocolate. How might that reflect negatively on their character?

Because being addicted is a fallacy. The only addiction is in the mind.

 

[HAMel]

Because being addicted is a fallacy. The only addiction is in the mind.

...denial perhaps? Some think "denial" is a river, don't you know...:laugh:

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Because being addicted is a fallacy. The only addiction is in the mind.

Careful, a lot of people get paid very well to keep the myth alive.

 

[HAMel]

Careful, a lot of people get paid very well to keep the myth alive.

Yep..., like in, "It's not really that cold in Korea, is it"?

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Because being addicted is a fallacy. The only addiction is in the mind.

...denial perhaps? Some think "denial" is a river, don't you know...:laugh:

Lol. .....yea well, used to go to the hospital ta visit these idiots .....and you would see them all yellow with jaundice and liver out ta here and just in the final throws.....and to the man (and woman) it was the same old story......."but you don't understand, I'm NOT AN ALCHOLIC! " :BangHead::BangHead:

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Oh and ya come back the next week and that guys dead & there is some other fool in the same condition saying "BUT YA DONT UNDERSTAND, IM NOT AN ALCHOLIC ".....just freaking incredible!!!!!

 

[annsni]

As long as I never take that "sip"----it can never control me and I will never know what its like to be in that struggling prison of intoxication!

Yet many can take that sip - or many sips over their lifetime - and never be controlled or intoxicated.