The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
July 4, 2004
In
This Issue:
Why
Social Drinking is a Sin
by
Steve Klein
My
Advantage
by
Kent Heaton
Why Social Drinking is a Sin
More and more we hear of Christians participating in social drinking. By "social drinking" I mean consuming alcoholic beverages with others at parties, cookouts, in restaurants, or while watching sports, etc. I am not sure what has led to the increased acceptance of this sin among us. Is it ignorance of what the Bible says? Lack of teaching? Worldliness? Peer pressure? Advertising influence? I don't know. But I do know that social drinking is against the law of God and that it must surely grieve His heart to see His people condoning it and participating in it.
When I say that social drinking is against the law of God, I don't mean that it is my opinion that it is against God's law. I mean that the New Testament clearly and specifically condemns it. It is therefore sin, because sin is "the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4).
Let us consider together the New Testament passage that specifically condemns social drinking, and other related sins. It is 1 Peter 4:3, which states:
"For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles -when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." (NKJV)
First, notice that the sins listed in this verse were committed in "our past lifetime" (before becoming Christians) and that they involve doing "the will of the Gentiles" as opposed to doing the will of God. The condemnation of social drinking is found in the phrase "drinking parties." But before we examine that phrase, let us look at a couple of other sins listed here.
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"Drunkenness" obviously involves drinking alcoholic beverages to the point of impairing the senses. Webster's Dictionary defines it as "having the faculties impaired by alcohol." Forty-nine of the fifty States have laws that legally define being intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol as the point at which blood alcohol levels are 0.08% or greater. Yet, that level of alcohol in the blood is often found in people who have only had a couple of drinks in a social setting. Such people are legally drunk, and there is no way they can justify their condition to God Almighty. While they may say that they are only drinking socially, the fact is that they are drunk according to the civil law which Christians must obey (1 Peter 2:13). Many New Testament passages condemn drunkenness (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:18). And 1 Corinthians 6:10 informs us that "drunkards&ldots;will not inherit the kingdom of heaven."
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"Revelry" is "a wild party or celebration" according to the dictionary. When one participates in a party where the alcohol flows freely and things are said and done that are unbecoming of Christians, he is guilty of revelry, not just social drinking. Other New Testament passages also condemn revelry (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:21).
But our main point is that 1 Peter 4:3 condemns "drinking parties" (NKJV). The original Greek word is "potos" and it literally means "drinking" in the sense of drinking alcohol. This word is found only here in the New Testament. The King James Version translates it "banquetings." Plainly put, this word describes drinking in "social situations" such as banquets or parties. There is no better or more exact word in the original language for what we call "social drinking." God could not have been any plainer.
Despite this undeniable Biblical condemnation of social drinking, many still try to justify it. Some will even claim that our Lord was a social drinker! Besides being blasphemous, such a claim has no basis in Biblical fact. While Jesus made water into wine (John 2) and "came eating and drinking" (Matthew 11:19) there is no evidence that the wine He drank or made contained alcohol (many wines in Bible times did not). And, there is considerable evidence that the wine Jesus made did not contain alcohol. Just think, He turned approximately 150 gallons of water into wine and gave it to wedding guests who had already "well drunk" (John 2:10). If these wines contained alcohol, Jesus would not just have been condoning social drinking, He would have been condoning public drunkenness! Who can believe it?!? Besides this, Matthew 11:19 clearly shows that the charge against Jesus that He was "a glutton and a winebibber" was patently false. He was neither.
My friends, God's will concerning social drinking is plain. It is sin. Some may choose to be influenced by the world, liberally minded brethren, or their own fleshly desires, but God's will is undeniable. May His will be done in our lives.
by Steve Klein
A story is told of a little girl named Sarah, who was born with a muscle missing in her foot and she had to wear a brace all the time. She came home one beautiful spring day to tell her daddy she had competed in "field day" - that's where they have lots of races and other competitive events. Because of her leg support, her daddy thought of a number of ways to encourage Sarah to keep from this getting little Sarah down. Before he could get a word out, she said, "Daddy, I won two of the races!" He couldn't believe it! He thought she must have been given a head start or some kind of physical advantage. But again, before he could say anything, she declared, "Daddy, I didn't get a head start ... My advantage was I had to try harder!"
For many of us, it is easy to let difficulties in our lives keep us from striving very hard for our goals. Our world is molded upon the premise that everything must be gained with ease and comfort. If things do not go according to our plans and the way we thought things should be, we give up and complain. The pursuit of happiness is to be gained with little cost and much less effort. Many fail to achieve anything in life because with each challenge presented before them, they try to find another way to go. Many times people give up on life because of difficulties that come upon them and they are consumed by their grief.
The attitude of Sarah is the kind of attitude expressed by God's people in overcoming whatever comes upon them. She recognized her inabilities and knew in order to compete for the prize, she would have to try harder than the others. They could offer her an easy way to win by putting her ahead of the race and giving her a greater advantage than the others. She believed that even in her condition she would try harder than ever before. It was not that she was guaranteed to win but her heart told her to try hard.
The life of Joseph in the book Genesis is a story of a young man who had everything to live for in life until one day his life became a brutal existence of slavery. From that terrible beginning, Joseph never bemoaned his station but he tried even harder to serve God. For his diligence and faith in God, he was rewarded with God's protection and blessings.
Job did not understand what happened to him in the calamity of his life. Through it all he rang forth to message of victory in believing that God had not deserted him. The book of Job is not about suffering but about faith and victory in the face of terrible odds. Job had to try harder than ever before - and he was rewarded.
Paul shares from his own life the plea he made with God to deliver him from a thorn as a messenger of Satan to buffet him. He pleads with the Lord three times to have it taken away and the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. " (II Corinthians 12:9) Paul expressed his faith in the Lord when he said, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. "
Paul was running the race with an affliction and while he pleads with the Lord to have it removed, he accepted the knowledge that it would not be taken away and he just tried harder. This helps us understand even more what Paul felt when he wrote, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." (II Timothy 4:7) He ran with an affliction of flesh and spirit and he just ran harder - that was his advantage.
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5: 1-4)
By Kent Heaton