Hello, and greetings, friend, welcome back to the course. So good to be studying and praying with you.
Today let’s ask ourselves this question: is it wrong (a sin) to drink alcohol, do drugs, or smoke cigarettes? In this lesson, we will consider alcohol abuse; then, we will examine drugs and smoking in future studies.
Most step groups, recovery groups, etc., assert that we should never have another alcoholic drink, that if we were to drink alcohol just one more time we would likely plunge right back into drunkenness and ruin our lives.
Many people in these groups make it their life goal never to have another drink because their anonymous group has put such a fear of alcohol in them that they are terrified of it. Their group uses this fear to keep them coming to the group and working the program, mainly as it teaches the false concepts of “recovery” and “once an addict, always an addict” and other errors.
Yet God’s Word, the truth, teaches us that drinking alcohol, itself, is not a sin; instead, drunkenness is the sin to be avoided. Scripture tells us that “wine makes the heart glad” (Psalm 104:15). It teaches us that alcohol can have medicinal benefits if taken in small quantities, as Paul told Timothy, “Stop drinking only water and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23). Indeed, Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water into wine (John 2:1-11), bringing joy to the wedding guests.
It is drunkenness, that is, over-drinking, that is prohibited in God’s Word. “Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin you, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NCV). This warning is in keeping with 1 Peter 5:8-9 that says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith.”
We are not to be drunk for the same reason that we are to be of sober mind; that is, we have an enemy, the devil, seeking to devour us and we need to be clear-headed to escape him. How often have we proved in our lives that drunkenness “ruins” us? I did, over and over! It’s as if I saw the devil as a roaring lion and threw the door wide open to him through getting drunk, inviting him into my home, treating him as a valued friend. But with friends like the devil, who needs enemies?
Question 1. What are we specifically told not to do in Ephesians 5:18 NCV?
For myself, as God was initially rescuing me from drunkenness, I determined not to drink any alcohol, at least for a time while I was maturing in the gospel. Over time I’ve been able to have a drink on a special occasion. It’s always with my wife (who has never had a problem with alcohol). We are usually out at a restaurant for our anniversary or something like that. I am mindful of the danger, and I do not have more than one drink; I am very cautious that I don’t get drunk but to keep a sober mind, watching out for the devouring lion whom I am to resist at all times.
Question 2. Instead of drunkenness, what are we told to do in Ephesians 5:18 NCV?