Christian teaching

(rewritten)

Proverbs 23:29-35

“Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And you will say, ‘They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?’” (NLT)

Let me begin by telling you what I’m not talking about this morning. I am not talking about whether a Christian can or cannot drink alcohol in moderation. Christians can disagree about this and I have expressed myself on this before – see here.

What I’m here to do is to emphasize the line which the Scriptures draw quite clearly, which is that drunkenness is wrong. And as we will see, this certainly includes drug abuse as well.

But more than just make this point, I want us to look at why this is forbidden, to get some insight into this. Is God just not fun? What’s up with this?

First, we look at what is clear in Scripture

Drunkenness is forbidden

This is especially plain in the New Testament. Turn to 1 Peter 4:3. “The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do . . . drunkenness . . . (and) drinking parties . . ..” Peter is saying, Stop doing these things! You are believers now. You know, haven’t you already wasted enough of your time with this?” Look at v. 4. He says, your friends may be shocked that you don’t do this anymore, but, as he says in v. 2, you are to live your live after God’s will from now on.

In Ephesians 5:18 Paul says it quite simply, with 4 words, “do not get drunk . . ..”

Then he spells it out a bit in Galatians 5:19-21. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality . . . drunkenness (etc.) . . .. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Here we learn that it is a work of the flesh, a sin like sexual immorality (and the other items on this list). And if you persist in it, you will be judged; you will be rejected by Jesus on that final day.

And then, just in case it isn’t clear enough already, we also have 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. “Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral . . . nor drunkards . . . will inherit the kingdom of God.” Whatever rationalization you might want to entertain, Paul is saying, “don’t be deceived.” It is wrong and it will kill you eternally. (See also Romans 13:13)

This is why this teaching is a part of our congregational covenant. A commitment to this scriptural standard is a basic part of the Christian life and it is a part of what it means to be baptized.

Now, let’s look at three reasons why drunkenness is forbidden.

1. It will destroy you

 When you’re drunk you lose control of your mental faculties and of your behavior in general. This is the definition of drunkenness or intoxication. You also lose control when you are “high” on drugs. The result of this is that you end up hurting yourself in very serious ways. Let’s look at some Scriptural descriptions of this sad reality.

It will make a fool of you. Proverbs 23:23 talks about having “hallucinations” when you are drunk. You lose touch with reality and this shows up in your behavior. This also comes out in Proverbs 23:35. The drunk person says, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.”

You won’t even be able to walk. Proverbs 23:34 speaks of those who “stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a mast.” Isaiah 28:7 talks about people who reel, stumble and stagger.

Drunkenness also makes you stupid. Proverbs 23:33 says, “you will say crazy things.” Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler” That is, you can become arrogant, obnoxious, overconfident and even violent when you are drunk (Proverbs 23:29 mentions “fighting”).

Related to making poor decisions, this year, 10,839 people will die in drunk-driving crashes; one every 50 minutes (MADD website)

Finally, we know the story of Genesis 9 where Noah is passed out, naked in his tent from drinking too much. As Proverbs 20:1 says at the end “whoever is led astray by (wine and strong drink) is not wise.” No, you become a fool for all to see.

It will lead you to degrade yourself morally. Ephesians 5:18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.” Debauchery means unrestrained self-indulgent immoral behavior. And that make sense. Once you’re drunk and lose control, who knows what you will do, or what will be done to you?

Alcohol is a sin magnifier. It amplifies whatever sinful desires you have and takes away whatever restraint you might normally have.

Long term, it will make you poor. Proverbs 23:20-21 says simply, “Be not among one who drinks too much wine or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.”

It will bring you sorrow. This is the result of what we have seen thus far. Proverbs 23:29-30 says, “Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks.” This is talking about reaping what you have sown, from all the stupidness of your drunkenness.

It will enslave you. This reality is described in Scripture. In Proverbs 23:35 the passed out drunk says to himself, “When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?” After all the pain, all you want is more.

Isaiah 28:7 speaks of drunkards, not as those who swallow wine, but as those who are “are swallowed by wine.”

Titus 2:3 says, older women are not to be “slaves to much wine.” The language of enslavement is explicit here.

It can kill you. To the one given to drunkenness, wine may look good, it may be enticing, but really “in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper” – Proverbs 23:32. And, of course, alcohol can be literally poisonous. In the United States, roughly 50,000 cases of alcohol poisoning deaths are reported each year. (alcoholinformation. com)

2. It will destroy your relationship with others

When you don’t have control of your thinking and your behavior, you cannot love and serve others. You will lack the judgment and clarity of thought needed to do this. Rather than loving your neighbor as yourself, you will more likely be ignoring or harming others.

This is especially a problem for those that you have charge of, because drunkenness will cause you to forsake your responsibilities to them.

Proverbs 31:4-5 says, “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” There is a real theme in both the Old and New Testaments that leaders must not be those who drink too much precisely because they are responsible for many people. (Isaiah 5:22-23; 28:7; Ecclesiastes 10:16-17).

Paul tells us that church Elders are not to be “drunkards” (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7) and Deacons must not be “indulging in much wine” (1 Timothy 3:8)

This is certainly true for parents with children in the home. An estimated 6.6 million children under 18 live in households with at least one alcoholic parent (alcoholinformation.com). Just to give one indicator, alcohol is involved in half of the reported cases of domestic violence (Betty Ford center).

But even short of violence, drug and alcohol abuse brings untold pain to families. It is a sad reality when a parent loves alcohol more than their child.

You cannot both love and serve others and have a life given to drug and alcohol abuse. It is impossible.

3. It will destroy your relationship with God

When you don’t have control of your thinking and your behavior, you cannot love and serve God. You have to have clear thinking and self control to serve God and these are the very things you give up when you are drunk. Who knows what you will do? You certainly won’t be loving God will all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

And then when you’re enslaved, your god actually becomes alcohol. You live a life of idolatry, giving up everything for it and looking to it for peace.

Isaiah 5:11-12 says, “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! . . . they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.” In the context here it is a part of why the people went off into the judgment of exile. (See also Hosea 4:10-11)

Jesus said in Luke 21:34, “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness . . . and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.” This is talking about when he returns. If you are given to drunkenness you will not be ready for Jesus.

You cannot both love God and have a life given to alcohol or drug abuse. It is impossible.

An encouragement

So these are three reasons why God forbids drug and alcohol abuse. But let me say, I do not share this to condemn anyone or to make you feel guilty (unless that guilt leads you to change). The reason behind these reasons is that God loves you. And God wants what is best for you and for those you love.

And the good news is that Jesus gives us the power to overcome. You can find new life. You can learn to love others. You can come to love God fully. It may not be easy. It may be the hardest thing you will ever do. But Jesus gives us the power to overcome.

William Higgins