To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.
6-Pack
Jesus was walking one day when a man came up to him asking what could he do to have eternal life. Jesus answered the man and instructed him to follow the law. The man said that he had. Then Jesus said, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; come, follow me.” The bible says that the young man was disheartened by Jesus’ words. The man had lived a life of morality, but was not willing to give up what he loved more than Jesus, his money. Many of us do not love the Lord with a whole heart because we still have one “crutch.” We live moral lives; we simply have not given everything to God. Drinking is not in and of itself against the word of God. Jesus drank wine. He was never drunk and never drank when it was against the law of the land. Being a young man who attends church, I have heard stories of plenty of my fellow “church kids” who drink, even though they are underage. Many have gotten drunk. It is against the law of God to break the law of the land and to get drunk. These kids know that. They simply do not want to stop drinking, because it holds a place in their heart above the position of God. It’s unfair to pick on people who drink. Unrepentant adulterers, homosexuals, liars, cheaters, murderers, and idolators all place what they worship ahead of God in their hearts. They may live perfectly moral lives! I know several men who lived lives of morality, but still placed certain sins above God in their hearts. It is important to live a life soley devoted to Jesus, if not you will live devoted to something else and you will die spiritually as well as physically. The key is to search your heart. What do you value over Jesus? In the resources link is a Sermon Jam based on a sermon by John Piper that theDispersion has linked to before. The bible says to hold Christ as a treasure above all things. Sometimes it can be incredibly hard to admit an idol, other time’s it can be all too easy. The key is to repent of those idols, and then to turn your back on them. If you hold alchohol up as your God, repent and stop drinking. If you hold sex up, repent and stop having sex. If you hold food up, repent and control your appetite. Seek counsel, help, and accountability as you try to fight these idols. It is a hard process, but in the end you will find a pure joy because you have allowed grace to truly impact your life.
Love this jack!! Great work once again!
I do realize the blog entry was more about idols and addictions (drugs, sex, eating, etc.) and how we often place these things above God. So I want to be clear that I understand this was not specifically about alcohol and drinking. However, since drinking was at the core of the discussion and since you mentioned “Jesus drank wine,” I feel a need to bring up a few additional points:
One thing I think Christians need to remember is that in New Testament times, the water was not very clean. Without modern sanitation, the water was often filled with bacteria, viruses, and all kinds of contaminants.
As a result, in New Testament times, people often drank wine or grape juice because it was far less likely to be contaminated. In those days, day wine was fermented (containing alcohol), but not necessarily to the degree it is today.
I have done quite a bit of research in my days on this very subject. I think we need to make clear that what “wine” was in Bible times is most likely far less alcoholic than what people buy from the liquor store today.
Hard alcoholic drinks sold in stores today are distilled. Distilled drinks are things like brandy gin, rum, tequila, vodka, and whiskey. Then there are fortified wines, which involve the distilling process….
So it’s probably a safe conclusion that the wine in Bible times was a very, very weak sample of what most people drink today.
I think this is one of the great abuses of Bible scripture. Yes, people drank “wine.” Yes, Jesus turned water into wine.
What I feel many people have done though is equate Bible wine to things like tequila, vodka, and whiskey. These sort of drinks are designed to get you drunk. It’s pretty much why they exist (don’t believe the lies they try to tell by encouraging you to drink responsibly).
Let me make clear my whole point here… Is it a sin to sip a little wine hear and there? No.
But we SHOULD consider the difference between wine today and wine back then. In Bible times also, it was drank more often out of necessity rather than for pleasure (like it is today).
Also, we MUST understand the difference between wine and hard liquor.