I don’t completely understand that question. I asked the question for more of a practical response. I appreciate the feedback from your part. At theDispersion we like to know what our readers would like us to write about. I asked that question on the Facebook group because I was wondering what people’s thoughts were on resurrecting apathetic hearts and getting them on fire for Jesus.

Peace in Christ,
Jack

Some question, therefore, which should occur and which will lead to your application to help stir up the apathetic ones …
Is it possible that Christ was warning of their being harmed in the war as “collateral casualties?” Was there a hint that they might find all their rewards diminished as those building with wood hay and stubble (as Paul put it)? Was the complaint Christ had against the Church (who he refers to as being faithful earlier) sufficient to lead to the removal of their candle from the candlestick as was threatened with at least one other Church? Was the command to “repent” for allowing the unbelievers to feel at home in the Church not addressed to the whole Church?

Had your posting dealt with these questions and showed what the text had to say about them (or conversely what other passages of Scripture might bring to bear on those issues) your posting would have been more effective – at least in my opinion. You may consider this harsh criticism. Please do not. It is intended to help you tackle the passage and produce something that deals with the problem you raised on facebook.

As an explanation of the situation in many apathetic Churches in our age your post is good. The difficulty is that it is not clear what sin Christ would condemn the Church for – whether apathy against or actual participation in the sins of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Nor do you show the relationship of the blessings the overcomers will gain and the problems in the Church.

I look forward to your response and a possible revised version of the original post. It will, I am sure, be a blessing to all of us.

1 Timothy 5:4
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

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.