Alcoholic Beverages - 6/10/07
One of the most common habits in society today is the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In nearly every
area of the United States and in most countries around the world alcohol can be purchased easily from bars to
convenience stores. Most diners wouldn't consider eating at a restaurant that didn't have a cocktail bar before
dinner and a wine list while eating. Advertising alone of beer, wine and liquor is a gigantic business.
So, the question is, what about the Christian in a society where drinking is considered the "norm"? This is our
consideration this morning.
1) Alcoholic Beverages Have Been Consumed For Thousands Of Years
a) Noah - Genesis 9 - caused him to act in a way out of character
2) The Bible Warns About Alcoholic Beverages
a) Drunkenness is a work of the flesh - Galatians 5: 19 - 21
b) More condemnations and warnings -1 Corinthians 5:11; 6: 9 - 10; Proverbs 20: 1; 23: 29 - 35
c) Everyone knows that alcohol has been a major source of grief and sorrow for countless families
and the destroyer of influence and lives since nearly the beginning of recorded history. We could
talk for hours about all the evil that has come as a result of drinking.
1) estimates are as high as 1/4th of all divorces and thousands of lives each years are lost
3) "But I Don't Get Drunk, I Just Have An Occasional Drink"
a) My question this morning is, why? There are countless others beverage choices.
b) Alcohol is harmful to the system
1. It's a drug - what people believe is a stimulant that creates an ebullient feeling is really a deadening
of the senses that is in reality a depressant. 1 in 9 who take a first drink become an alcoholic.
( In high school I knew a lady in the town where I grew up who was always kind and seemed in control.
I later found out she died of liver damage from alcoholism. You would have never suspected it.
Not every alcoholic is lying in a gutter)
2. Do you really know your limit?
a. A Christian should always be in total control - Philipians 2: 12 -16 -and be as lights
b. A Christain should be a person of influence - Romans 14: 13 - 21
c. What about drinking that does not lead to apparent drunkenness? Can you distinguish between the two?
Modern alcoholic beverages have an extremely high concentration of alcohol.
d. The level of alcoholic intake to be considered too impaired to drive is much less than you think.
e. Are you really sure you are in complete control of your senses? Might appear sober but not in complete
control
f. Should Christians engage in an activity so insidious to society?
3. Alcohol abuse is the number one drug problem in this country.
a. what appears to be a stimulant is actually a depressant, and that leads to more depression than can
lead to more drinking, and so on...
b. I Corinthians 10: 31 - 33
4. Can lead to all sorts of evil activities - Romans 13: 12 - 14; I Peter 4: 3 - 4
5. Many justify the use of wine because of health benefits - can also be derived from simple grape juice
4) " What About Wine In The Bible?"
a) The word wine (oinos) in the Bible is a generic term for both fermented and unfermented grape juice
b) Ancients were actually interested in the sweet taste. A sweet taste was very hard to come by. The wine
in most cases was an unfermented product that sometimes was so thick it could be scraped from the side
of a container, almost like a jelly. The fermentation process only takes place in a certain temperature
enviornment. In fact, grape juice would many times be stored in earthen pots and placed in the cooler ground
to inhibit the fermentation process.
c) John 2: 1 - 12 - the miracle of Jesus of water to wine. The liquid here could have been very sweet
tasting grape juice or a very weak alcoholic product for water purification. Does anyone think that Jesus would
produce a product that would cause people to act inappropriately?
d) Jesus was wrongly accused of many things, such as gluttony and excessive drinking. Would He have had that
type of influence on others? Of course not!
5) The Question We Should Ask Is, Does It Glorify God?