Ordinarily this is a very touching and controversial subject to Christians and across every spectrum of human society many are misled or meant to believe what the human mind interprets according to the scripture some of the skewed logic of encouraging this vice are:
1. Beer is a proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
2. Alcohol might be mans worst enemy but the Bible tells us to love your enemy
But the Bible says in Proverbs 20:1 “’Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler, and whoever staggers because of them is not wise.’ Choosing to drink alcohol is asking for trouble. It’s simply not wise. And as we all know, there are often very negative consequences to living unwisely.”
Indulgence to beer, wine, whiskey and other beverages which contain alcohol, and therefore make one drunk, is a very old practice. The first time drinking is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis, chapter 9. Noah, a righteous man, became drunk and lay naked in his tent. This good man had his sense of right and wrong dulled by the evil effects of drinking
In Genesis 19, we read of another righteous man, Lot, who was overcome by the evil effects of alcohol. While drunk, he had sexual relations with his own daughters! Again, a good man lost his sense of right and wrong when under the influence of alcohol.
Brief description of alcohol in the bible.
• There are two kinds of wine - new (fresh squeezed) and old (alcoholic).
• God forbids and warns against the distribution of old wine, unless it is only for medicinal purposes.
• Jesus never drank old wine - He always drank it new, fresh from the grape.
• Drinking wine and strong drink “in moderation” is impossible for a Christian, just like committing adultery in moderation is impossible!
• Drinking beer is the same as drinking wine in God’s eyes.
• The Christian who seeks to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit MUST abstain (stay totally away) from intoxicating “spirits”.
• There is a CURE for addition to alcohol - becoming a slave to nothing and nobody outside of Jesus Christ through His perfect word!
• Therefore, the only way out of addition to alcohol is found in repentance, and surrender to Christ on a daily basis, seeking to be filled with the Spirit as you study, and live by the perfect words of the living God - the Bible!
The Results of Drinking
1. If you drink New Wine - It refreshes, and makes a person’s heart and health good (Ps 104:15, "And wine that maketh glad the heart of man"). Grape juice is good for digestion, variation (variety is the spice of life), supply of vitamins, natural sugar and extra energy intake.
2. If you drink Old Wine and Strong Drink:
a. It numbs the brain making the person “think” that things are great. It is Satan’s counterfeit of new wine, and of the joy of the Lord that comes from enjoying natural foods.
Liquor and self-centeredness go hand-in-hand. Drinking has the habit of becoming more important than even the welfare of your own children (Joel 3:3) - people will end up selling almost anything in order to get a drink!
"And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink." (Joel 3:3)
Liquor and religion go hand-in-hand (Isaiah 28:7,8; Deut 32:31-38) - almost all the world’s religions use either drugs or alcoholic drink to enhance their “spirituality” in the worship of their god.
Drinking in moderation is possible, but rarely maintained, and always ends in disaster! Just as with anything, it IS possible to do something, and it not hurt you (1Cor 6:12). But that is not the way to tell if you should do it or not! We have to do what is RIGHT by God's standards, and not what we can get away with!
For a Christian to try and use anything other than Christ to cope with problems, is like a married man running to a harlot to help him cope with his life's problems! It is just as wicked in God's eyes!
How can one overcome addiction and attraction to alcohol
1. Accept the fact that no one is born an alcoholic, but rather we are all born sinners, and therefore sin - some by drinking, and others by thieving, etc. Without the salvation that Christ purchased on His cross, there is no victory available over drink or any other sin in your life!
To conclude this topic ,I say the choice is yours are you moderate in all you do?
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