The Truth About... Drinking

this is a production of the world video Bible School to God be the glory frequently people gather in an environment like this and along with dinner they serve wine to drink there, something wrong with that said is appropriate, you know, popular liquor commercials that are broadcast on television. Conclude with the words drink responsibly and alcohol commercials depict healthy, athletic people having fun and enjoying outdoor adventures. Those commercials are accurate, do they paint a true picture of what alcohol will do for you and whether it is possible to drink responsibly? I want to talk to you for a few minutes about the other side of this picture I know that alcohol has many defenders but I like what Abraham Lincoln said he said that alcohol has many defenders but no defense I want us to start by considering the evil effects of alcohol and I want to stop start with a verse from the bible proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1 the bible says that wine is a mocker, cider is a troublemaker and he who is carried away by it is not wise in the united states of america every day there are more than 700,000 people who receive treatment for alcoholism in 2002, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 41% of all deaths that occurred in traffic accidents were related to alcohol, that means that every 30 minutes someone dies in a traffic accident at cause of alcohol.

If we knew that if there was a disease that was killing so many people, the government would be vehemently warning against it and funds would be given to study it and try to find a cure, we would have telephones to raise money to find a vaccine, but instead, alcohol It is promoted and advertised at every step. In the year 2000, the alcohol industry spent 1.42 billion on advertising through television, radio, print and outdoor advertising. The resources spent on alcohol advertising are enough to feed 20 million people. , a study says that young people see approximately 20,000 commercials each year of which 2,000 are for beer and that is an average of more than five television commercials per day, do you think it has any effect?

The average age at which children start

drinking

is fifteen, seven years old. One statistic I read said: that college students spend approximately five and a half billion dollars each year on alcohol now they understand that this is more than they spend on soda milk juice tea coffee and books altogether about 18 million Americans experience problems with alcohol and 10 million are alcoholics Alcohol is involved in 50% of spousal abuse cases 38 percent of child abuse cases 65 percent of drownings 54 percent of those imprisoned for violent crimes are due to the use of alcohol, forty-nine percent of those convicted of murder or attempted murder had been

drinking

when they committed those crimes, I could go on and on with statistics like these and as powerful as these statistics are, I am not going to tell them.

Bore you with more nor do I want to spend all my time talking about excessive drinking or drunkenness or any of those things because almost everyone would agree that those things are wrong at least anyone who says they respect the Bible because the Bible does. Galatians 5:21 says so clearly that drunkenness is a work of the flesh committed by those who will not inherit the kingdom of God, it is very clear, there is no doubt about it, everyone believes that, but you see, the problem usually does not It is not what we call drunkenness, but what is called social drinking or what some people would call drinking and moderation.

Is it people drinking during a meal at places like this or people drinking at a wedding or meeting other people for the purpose of having fun and just having a few drinks? That's where the argument begins with many people we could approach. This topic from several different points of view, but what I want to do is look at the arguments that are presented by religious people who say they have respect for the Bible and I want to see some of the best efforts they make to defend what we call social drinking. , okay let's consider some of the arguments made in defense of the number one social drink, here's the first one, sometimes it says that there is no verse in the New Testament that specifically prohibits drinking in moderation, all the verses address only The drunkenness issue, what about that first?

Let me tell you this: there are many things that are not specifically condemned in Scripture but are still wrong. You know, using heroines that aren't specifically condemned, but who's going to argue that since the New Testament doesn't? If you specifically command people to abstain from heroin use, then its use should not be prohibited, but you know that many things in Scripture are prohibited in principle. Now listen to me, I don't believe, listen carefully. I don't think this is the case when it comes to drinking. don't think that drinking is prohibited just in principle, but that it is specifically prohibited now you say where the answer is in each verse that prohibits drunkenness now a person could say I don't understand you are saying that social drinking is prohibited and the verses that talk about drunkenness what are you talking about let me explain this to you in Ephesians 5:18 the King James version says this and do not get drunk with wine in which there is excess but be filled with the spirit now the phrase do not get drunk is translated from the Greek root Mithu schoo that word means according to Young's analytical concordance begin to soften according to St Bloomfield moisten or be moistened with liquor and figuratively be saturated with drink II W Bollinger says Mithu schoo means to get drunk ushering in masuo now this word Mithu reach is an inceptive herb is a word that marks the process of getting drunk so what Paul is really saying here is not to start the process of getting drunk and when a person consumes alcohol he is beginning to be softened, he is beginning to be intoxicated and that is why I say that social consumption is condemned in the verses that talk about drunkenness and in the word drunk the implication here is that people begin to be drunk when they begin to drink.

Now I think the reason people struggle with this is because of what they see or maybe I should say what they don't see, if they don't see the person staggering or in a drunken stupor then they don't consider the person to be drunk. , but that is not the biblical basis on which drunkenness is determined and I believe that science and medical studies also confirm the fact that when a person starts drinking he is to some extent drunk, so how much alcohol should he drink a person to be affected? In the early 1960s, the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that there is no minimum blood alcohol concentration that can be established that will produce absolutely no effect.

Now someone might say, "Well, that's all we know, we're wiser now that we've had it." scientific advances in the last 40 years listen to this quote from the Journal of the American Medical Association from May 3, 2000 that says that although most states have established legal limits for blood alcohol content levels, Impaired driving skills can occur with any amount of alcohol in the bloodstream now listen to this there is a website monitored by the University of Oklahoma Police Department you can go to this website you can put your weight you can put what you are drinking the amount of time you are drinking the number of drinks and will approximate your blood alcohol content.

Now I took some samples for a 160 pound person, which is about what I weigh. I put five ounces of fortified dessert wine in a drink. Drinking it immediately, he said he put this person at zero point five blood alcohol content a 160 pound person one drink 12 ounces of reduced alcohol beer now notice reduced alcohol beer drinking it over a one hour period put them at zero point two blood alcohol content now says no Does it mean anything to me What is point zero two? What does that mean? Another website in the stopped drivers organization says that at point zero two there is some loss of judgment.

Relaxation. Mild body heat. Altered mood. Decreased visual functions, such as quickly following a moving vehicle. objective decrease in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time a divided attention the world admits not even considering religious people but the world admits a certain amount of drunkenness impairment loss of judgment sobriety however you want to put it with a drink now in light of that How can a Christian defend drinking alcohol in society with just one drink? You are already affected or harmed to that extent and it gets worse with each consecutive drink, which is why the Bible condemns the consumption of alcohol in society and it is in the verses that talk about drunkenness.

Well, I want to show you. another verse is first Peter chapter four and verse three because we have already spent enough of our past life doing the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness lust drunken binges drunken revelries and abominable idolatries now I want you to notice that Peter condemns drunkenness Now, the commentator Albert Barnes wrote about this verse. Listen, it's a long section we're going to discuss here. He said the idea in this passage is that it is inappropriate for Christians to meet for the purpose of drinking now, before moving on. Let's ask this, what effect does that have on the idea of ​​social drinking?

You know, another Richard Trench reference book and New Testament synonyms says that the Greek word here tells me that the drink, the banquet, the symposium, are not necessarily excessive, but they give opportunity for excess. now if that is a correct understanding of this word then the idea is that drinking parties are wrong regardless of whether we get drunk or not, let's continue with Albert Barnes' comments, this is what he has to say about the phrase drinking parties, he says the thing. prohibited by him is to gather for the purpose of drinking the idea and this passage is that it is improper for Christians to gather for the purpose of drinking wine to toast, etc., therefore, he would prohibit attendance at all those celebrations in which toast is drunk.

It is understood that it is an essential part of the festivities and of all those in which hilarity and joy are sought to be produced by the intoxicating cup and ends by saying that these are not appropriate places for Christians. Now let us consider a second argument, sometimes the People appeal to Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18 and they will say that this passage shows that alcohol is only bad when used in excess, therefore drinking in moderation would be fine, let's consider this passage, the King James Version says this and it is not get drunk with wine in which there is excess, but be full of the spirit and that is why the argument says this, the person would say that drinking alcohol in moderation is not condemned, drinking it in excess is a problem, now I think this argument is really a misunderstanding of the word excess, the word does not refer to an excessive amount of alcohol it refers to excessive behavior ungodly behavior the American standard says and do not get drunk on wine where there is a commotion instead of using the word excess it says commotion I think that conveys better the idea, the idea then is this, remember this is an inceptive verb, do not start drinking alcohol, which brings with it ungodly behavior, but rather, fill yourself with the spirit which will have the opposite effect.

Alright, number three, let's consider another argument that is sometimes put forward in defense of social drinking. This argument would say that drinking wine has health benefits. This is sometimes used by people looking to advocate for social consumption and will refer to a study that claims that drinking a glass of wine a day is actually good for your health. First, I would say that this argument really diverts attention from the real problem when people gather to drink socially they are not doing it for the health benefits when people have a party and have an open bar the purpose is not to care about people's hearts. people and their medical conditions these arguments are just a smokescreen but anyway they refer to a study that says there is a chemical in wine called resveratrol that helps prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer.

I want to read you something from the Mayo Clinic website on this topic and stated on March 9, 2007 the American Heart Association does not recommend that you start drinking alcohol just to prevent heart disease. Alcohol can be too addictive. It increases the risk of high blood pressure too much. High triglycerides. Hepatic injury. Obesity. Certain types of cancer. Accidents and other problems. Small amounts of alcohol can cause cardiomyopathy, weakening of the heart muscle, and heart failure in some people. Here's one more quote. This is from Martha Grogan, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic. She is answering the question: does good juice have the same benefits as red wine?

She said yes. There is evidence that drinking red wine can reduce the riskof heart diseases. This benefit is likely due to a substance called resveratrol found in the skin and seeds of grapes, especially red and purple grapes. Resveratrol is also found in great juices, especially juices made from dark grapes. Purple Concord Grapes Recent studies have suggested that she says red and purple grape juices may provide the same heart-healthy benefits as red wine and goes on to say that both red wine and grape juice also contain antioxidants that have been proven to increase well-being. cholesterol and reduce the risk of clogged arteries and can help lower blood pressure, so this argument is just a smokescreen and not really worth considering.

A fourth argument that people sometimes make is that they will say that Paul told Timothy to drink wine for the sake of his stomach. let's read it it says no longer drink just water but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses first Timothy 5:23 first I'm not really sure why social drinkers go to this passage at all because this passage doesn't talk about drink alcohol at a party or drink with your friends, but talk about alcohol as medicine. Most people believe that Timothy's stomach problem was related to the water in Asia Minor, which could be very dangerous, and what Paul did.

What he is saying here is an elliptical statement, what he is saying is that you no longer drink just water, just water, but also drink some wine. Now, secondly, it is worth noting that Paul had to instruct Timothy to drink wine for the sake of his stomach. That suggests two things first. Timothy had reservations about doing so, secondly, if it was common for early Christians to do this, then Paul's encouragement would not have been necessary in the first place. You know, there's a big difference between medicine and beer. The person who wants to defend having a beer. with your friends you will not find support for it in this verse, very good, number 5, a fifth argument that is sometimes made is that people will say in biblical times that they had no way of avoiding fermentation and therefore they had to having drunk wine with alcohol, now this is how The process works: grape juice is made up of two main elements, sugar and gluten, the breakdown of gluten is what causes the growth of yeast germs and, in the presence of yeast , sugar and grape juice gradually turn into alcohol, something the ancients had actually calculated.

There are several different ways to prevent this process from occurring and WD Jeff Coats reserves the Bible and social drinking and explains these processes in detail, but I want to very briefly mention four processes: one is boiling, the water would evaporate. so that fermentation could not occur, the water was then reacted to reconstitute the juice, a second process was by using sulfur, the juice was exposed to sulfur vapors and then sealed and kept until used and that would prevent fermentation, a third process was carried out. Cooling the juice was kept at a temperature below 45 degrees Fahrenheit by placing it in airtight jars and soaking them in springs or storing them in caves where it was cool.

Fourth filtration, the yeast was extracted from the Jews, thus stopping the process. Plutarch said that wine becomes old or weak when it is frequently filtered, thus excluding the strength of the spirit, wine does not inflame the brain or infest the mind and passions and it is much more pleasant to drink the number six, a six. , the argument that people sometimes make is that they will say Jesus. turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana of Galilee first, it is not the case that every time we see the word wine in the Bible it always refers to an alcoholic beverage, the word wine is a generic word and can refer to anyone Of the two. fermented or non-fermented grape juice, context must be used to determine which one you are referring to, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, now let's look at some examples here is an alcoholic passage in Proverbs 23 31, the Bible says do not look at the wine when it's red when it shines in the glass when it spins gently at the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper now that was clearly alcoholic now here's an example of non-alcoholic usage and I say a 1610, the Bible says in the vineyards there will be no singing or there will be shouting no merchant will tread wine in the winepresses clearly non-alcoholic here is another example Isaiah 65 8 as the new wine is found in the cluster and it is said do not destroy it for blessing is in it, so I will do it for the sake of my servants to not destroy them all now here it is still in the grapes but it is called wine now in all these passages the same Hebrew word is translated by our English word wine and the same things true in the New Testament with reference to the Greek language in the New Testament there is five different Greek terms for wine, the most commonly used is join us, it is sometimes used for fermented wine and other times for unfermented wine or grape juice, so a person should never assume that because the word wine, then you are talking about alcoholic wine.

Well, what about the argument that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding banquet and therefore endorsed social consumption? First, the person making that argument has to prove that it was alcoholic wine. he cannot do secondly, I think the context indicates quite the opposite. I want you to notice this passage in John chapter 2 and verse 10 after Jesus turned the water into wine, the governor of the party tasted him and this is what he said in verse 10. and he told him that each man at the beginning puts the good wine and when the guests have drunk well then the inferior has kept the good wine until now what is interesting to note is the phrase well drunk some translations translate this as drunk freely Thomas Summers The states freely drunk greatly suggest the idea drunk I think the way we would say it today is that they had everything they wanted until they had enough Now, if this were truly alcoholic wine, then these people would have already violated the passages that everyone would agree to prohibit drunkenness and what we would have is This, if considered truly alcoholic wine, we would have a group of people who have freely drunk alcoholic wine, they have drunk alcoholic wine until they were well, why would they have drunk alcoholic wine? wine until they had had enough and then we would have Jesus making 120 to 160 more gallons of alcoholic wine for the people who had already finished the first round.

How could the Lord prohibit drunkenness and then do that? I think it's also interesting that the governor of the party had not yet had his senses dulled, he could easily discern good wine from worse, which would be indicative of the fact that he had not been drinking alcoholic wine, so what is the point of all this? The point is that the word Oh us wine can mean alcoholic or non-alcoholic and the context of John two points to non-alcoholic wine here is a seventh argument sometimes people will argue from 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 3 that elders should not be given to wine, while in verse 8 the deacons are not to be given much wine now, of course, the argument they make is that this passage implies that the elders cannot drink wine, but that the deacons can drink a little of wine as long as it's not too much, you know.

It is argued that these two phrases not given to wine and not given to much wine give implicit consent for deacons to drink wine in moderation. We must first understand that warnings against excess can never be used as approval of the action itself, for example, the Bible says. do not let the sun go down on your wrath now this verse is of course not an approval to practice wrath before the sun goes down in 1 peter chapter 4 verses 3 and 4 again shows the fallacy of this implied consent our verse three mentions excess of wine now some people would say that it only condemns excessive wine or they might argue that this verse implies consent for wine as long as it is not excessive; in other words, drinking in moderation is fine, but the passage continues in the next verse to discuss excessive rioting now if these implied consent arguments are accurate then in this verse in the next verse the same context then we would have divine sanction for rioting and moderation certainly that is not a valid argument Ecclesiastes 7:17 says not to be too evil the American Standard Version well if we want to use this argument would that imply that it is okay to be a little evil?

James 1:21 says, therefore, put aside all filthiness and filthiness. Does that mean it's okay to have evil as long as it's not overflowing? Now let me show you. Where this argument will take you, how absurd this will be, let us assume for a moment that it is true that elders cannot drink at all, but that deacons can drink in moderation. Well, this same phrase applied to deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8. is applied to elderly women in Titus chapter 2 and verse 3, so the elderly woman could also drink in moderation if this were true, but interestingly, it does not apply to younger women, so the Younger women cannot drink furthermore in 1 Timothy. 3:11 when describing the wives of deacons, the word sober is used in the King James version, the new King James uses the word temperate, the Greek word here means to abstain from wine titus 2 2 requires that elders not approach to wine now let's put all this together and see what we get if we applied this the elders can't drink anything but the deacons can the older men can't drink but the older women can the deacons can drink but their wives can't, who would believe this?

It's absolute nonsense, but that's Where these arguments will take you when you try to defend social drinking number eight, let's consider another argument that people sometimes use, they will go to Luke chapter 7 verses 33 and 34 and say in that context that Jesus was accused of being a wine drinker now they will say this accusation would not have been made if he were not a person who drank alcoholic wine let's read the passage for John the Baptist came neither ate bread nor drank wine and you say that the Son of Man has a demon he has been eating and drinking and you say look glutton and wine drinker friend of tax collectors and sinners now the accusation is that they would not have accused him of being a wine drinker or a drunk if he had not been drinking alcohol wine I would ask why they did not say that John had a demon.

Where was the evidence of that? There weren't any. It was a lie. The point is that they were jumping to conclusions that are not justified by the evidence. There's really no argument here. Number 9 sometimes. It is argued in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 16 that we should not hinder the freedom of others, let's look at the passage and then discuss it it says so let no one judge you in food or drink or with respect to a festival or new moon or Sabbath now it is argued that no We have the right to judge another person regarding what they eat or drink, but you know that this passage is about questions of freedom, questions of opinion, not questions where the Lord has ordained good or evil, these were questions related to the old law and there were some who were trying to tie food and drink into matters of the law of Moses.

The point of this passage is that no one bind you what God has not done. The old law had been nailed to the cross and therefore we are not responsible for it. The food and drink problems here relate to food and drink that had been considered ceremonially clean or impure. It has nothing to do with matters that are sinful, such as drinking alcohol socially. Number 10, sometimes people cite famous preachers in defense of social consumption and it has been argued that the well-known Woods preacher recognized that Jesus only declared the fruit of the vine on the Lord's table and therefore it could be used fermented or non-fermented and he says I have read it in his questions. and answers, but first I would say that this guy in Woods is not the authority that the Bible is, but secondly I want to read you something else that a guy in Woods wrote, obviously, any old man, deacon, preacher, Bible school teacher or another person in the church cannot set the proper example of the Christian life who devotes himself to the use in any degree of that which has been the occasion of so much sorrow, pain and ruin in the world temperance in the use of harmful things is abstinence total;

There is no such thing as appropriate moderate use of drugs, alcohol and other harmful substances. Well, what if I haven't persuaded you? What if you're not convinced that the Bible prohibits the social consumption of alcohol? So there is still something else that I want you to consider and that is your influence when a person who professes to be a Christian drinks alcoholic beverages he is doing something that even the world sees as an adult vice and it greatly damages his influence he is doing something that even the world understands that It is wrong, I think he is also doing something that will cause young Christians to stumble, and certainly to new converts.

I want to read you a passage from 1 Corinthians, eight verses 10 to 13.apostle Paul is discussing meat offered to idols now I think the context is different because he is discussing something that is not in and of itself wrong, but of course, those who defend the social consumption of alcohol do not believe it is wrong , they believe that it is not a sinful Sara Lee nest, but listen to what Paul says, because if someone sees you, who have knowledge, eating in a temple of idols, will they not see you? the conscience of one who is weak, encourage yourself to eat those things offered to idols and because of your knowledge the weak brother for whom Christ died will perish, but when you thus sinned against the brothers and hurt their weak conscience you sin against Christ, therefore, if the food makes my brother stumble I will never eat meat so as not to make my brother stumble now Paul is saying that someone can see me doing it and it may cause him to sin and in view of that I will never do it Matthew 5:16 says let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven, you know that it is going to be much more difficult to do it, in fact, I would say it is going to be impossible to do it if you have a beer in your hand several times.

Years ago I heard a preacher talk about a man in Florida. The man's name was Wilson Thomas Sr. Thomas had had a hard day at work and had stopped by to have a drink and relax before heading home to his little Randall. Well, he had had a few drinks and took a bottle home, but when he was almost home. A little boy on a bicycle appeared on the street in front of him and Mr. Thomas swerved to avoid him and perhaps would have if his senses hadn't been dulled by the alcohol. Anyway, he hit the boy and killed him.

Panicking, he kept going and rushed home several hours later, when police came to arrest him, they found. He was in his attic crying and drinking and it was only then that he discovered that the child he had killed was his own son. Randall, wine is a mocker, strong drink is a troublemaker and he who gets carried away by it wrong path you are not wise