…. the christian & alcohol ephesians 5:18 a needed reality check!
TRANSCRIPT
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The Christian & Alcohol
Ephesians 5:18
A Needed Reality Check!
• Drinking is associated with violent crime.
A Needed Reality Check!
A Needed Reality Check!
• Drinking affects the home and personal life.• Correlation to domestic violence• Correlation to the break-up of
families • Correlation to risky sexual
behavior & unintended pregnancies• Lack of productivity or loss of job• A factor in many diseases and
deaths
A Needed Reality Check!• 10,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are related
to drinking and driving.• Alcohol is directly connected to violent crime.• Alcohol has a negative effect on the home and
personal life.• Alcohol has a net negative effect on health.
• Don’t let your reality check bounce!
Wine and Strong Drink
• In the Bible, “wine" is used of the liquid product of the grape -- both fermented & unfermented. (Isaiah 16:10; 65:8; Mark 2:22)• Even when fermented, many wines contained low levels
of alcohol.
• The context helps us decide the meaning of “wine” in a given passage.
Wine and Strong Drink • “Strong drink” is “an intoxicant, that is,
intensely alcoholic liquor” (Strong’s Dictionary)
• Its use is condemned or limited everywhere in the O.T. except as an offering or medicinally. (Lev. 10:9; Num 6:3; 28:7; Deut. 14:26; 29:6; Judges 13:4-14; 1 Samuel 1:15; Psa. 69:12; Pro. 20:1; 31:4-6; Isaiah 5:11, 22; 4:9; 28:7; 56:12; Micah 2:11)
• Ancient wine or strong drink contained less than 10% alcohol.
Wine and Strong Drink. “Strong drink” compared to modern drink.• Ancient strong drink was no more than 10% alcohol.
• “Strong drink denotes any inebriating drink with about 7–10 percent alcoholic content” (Waltke, NICOT, 2005)
• Modern wine has an alcohol content of 8% - 15%• Some wines have as high as 22% (e.g. Zinfandels).
• Popular beers are usually in the 4% to 6% range• A few are considerably higher.
• Hard liquors have 40-50% alcohol• Bourbon can have nearly 80% alcohol!
Virtually every sort of alcoholic beverage sold today would qualify as “strong drink” in Bible times.
Drinking Prohibited in 1 Peter 4:3 Three alcohol related sins:• Drunkenness (oinophlugia) • Revelries (komos).• Drinking parties (potos)• Also translated "banquetings," (KJV), and
“carousing.” • Literally "a drinking" without reference to amount.
(cf. Matt. 10:42 "give to drink…a cup of cold water"). • R. C. Trench says, "not necessarily excessive,"
(Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 211).
Peter is urging us not to go back to a worldly lifestyle! (Hosea 4:11; 2 Peter 2:20)
Drinking Leads to Other Sins• Drunkenness & intoxication
(Ephesians 5:15-18; Galatians 5:21)• Even righteous people can be ensnared
(2 Peter 2:8; Genesis 19:30-36; 9:21)• Loss of self control (2 Peter 1:6; Titus 1:8;
Proverbs 23:29-35; Hosea 3:11)• When does impairment in spiritual
skills occur? Praying? Parenting? Decision making?
Defenders of Drinking say…• Jesus made wine (John 2:1-11)
• Did it contain alcohol? If so, how much?
• Timothy was told to take wine (1 Timothy 5:23)• How much? What was the purpose?
• Only an excess is prohibited (Titus 2:3; 1:7)• Prohibiting a lot does not necessarily permit a little! (James
1:21; 1 Peter 4:4)
• It’s ok as long as it doesn’t cause others to stumble (Romans 14:21)• It is good not to drink wine if it causes stumbling.
•Wine is a food created by God for man to enjoy. (1 Timothy 4:1-5; Col. 2:16-23)• We should respect God’s limits.
The Christian & AlcoholThen He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” (Luke 17:1-2)