The Problem of Alcohol, Part 1

The Apostle Paul wrote these words in the book of Ephesians, the fifth chapter. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Everybody wants to know the will of the Lord, right? The Bible tells us exactly what His will is for us in different locations, but Paul says specifically in Ephesians chapter 5, this is the will of God. This is what God wants you to do. And then he says, do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul makes a contrast between those who get drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit of God. Those who get drunk with wine find themselves controlled by a substance that dictates how they live their life. And Paul says, rather than getting drunk with wine, rather than letting something from the world control you, you as believers need to be controlled by the Spirit of God.

The word used for filled is plerao, which means to be dominated by. Our lives need to be dominated by God's Spirit, a great and straight command. That one verse sets the tone for our discussion this evening, because alcohol is a major problem.

One out of seven children, fourth grade to sixth grade, are involved in heavy drinking of alcohol. If you have a parent who drinks regularly, there's a good chance, an 80 percent chance, that you will become an alcoholic when you become an adult. And so we need to understand what the Bible says concerning alcohol.

And I'll be the first to tell you that if you're a Gentile, you probably don't know what the Bible says about wine. If you're a Jew, you got a good idea. And the more I study the Bible, the more I realize that we as Gentiles have a major problem.

We think like Gentiles. To understand the Bible, and to interpret the Bible correctly, you must think like a Jew. You must understand the culture of the Jew, because that which is written needs to be interpreted by those who wrote it, because that helps us understand the mindset of what was taking place.

And so I've come to realize that when you think like a Jew, you begin to understand why it is things are written the way they are. Hopefully tonight we can get you to think a little like the Jews think, so you can understand what the Bible says when it comes to alcohol, drunkenness, and what exactly does the Bible say. Because people will say, well, you know, if you're a Christian, you shouldn't drink.

Others say, well, if you're a Christian, you can't get drunk, but you can drink socially. Others will say, well, if it offends your brother, you shouldn't drink. So what does the Bible say? Some people say, well, you know, in John chapter 2, Jesus turned water into wine, and so therefore it must be good for us as people to drink wine, because Jesus did that.

That was his first miracle. And you've got to understand something, because whenever Jesus does something in the physical, it represents what he does in the spiritual. We forget about that.

So people love to use the wedding at Cana as an argument as to why it's okay to drink socially, and yet we forget what the Bible says in John chapter 2. John chapter 2 is a picture of bringing life out of death. John chapter 2 is a picture of what God does to create anew a life. John chapter 2, in fact, if you've got your Bible, turn there with me, if you would, please.

John chapter 2, it says, and on the third day, why does John say, and on the third day? He writes some 30 to 40 years after the events have taken place. So why is it important for us to know that what takes place in Cana of Galilee happens on the third day? That's a good question, and the answer is very simple. Jesus was going to introduce to us the hour.

Seven times in the Gospel of John, he refers to the hour. His whole life was consumed with the hour. And what was that hour? It was the hour of his crucifixion.

It was the hour of his death. John, knowing about the events, emphasizes the third day because the first time he introduces the hour, he's speaking to his mother. The last time he speaks about the hour, he speaks to his father in heaven.

And so he begins by telling us it's on the third day because what's going to happen in the wedding of Cana is a demonstration of bringing life out of death. That's the whole purpose of the miracle of turning the water into wine. His mother comes to him and says, there is no more wine.

You see, you've got to understand that to a Jew, the wine represents joy. It represents celebration. That's what it is in the mind of a Jew.

That's why when you read the Bible, you read words like this over in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse number 7, drink your wine with a merry heart. Ecclesiastes 10, verse 9 says, wine makes merry. Over in Psalm 104, it says, God makes wine that makes glad the heart of man.

You see, the Jews knew that wine was that one element that represented joy and celebration. So when Mary goes to Jesus and tells them that they have no more wine, she really is saying they have no more joy. And Jesus came and did what he did that you might have joy and that you might experience an overabundance of that joy.

And so by turning the water into wine, he represents and demonstrates to us how he takes that which is murky, that which is dirty, that which is of no use to anyone else, and transforms it into that which is the best wine. In John chapter 2, it's called the good wine. Do you know what the good wine is as opposed to the bad wine? Do you know what the good wine is as opposed to the wine tithe? Do you know what the good wine is as opposed to the new wine? Probably not.

Do you know what good wine is? Good wine is this, that when they bring the grapes in, and they put it in the wine vat, and they get on it, take off their shoes or their sandals back in those days, and begin to stomp on those grapes, and all the juice then comes down through those tiny holes, and it sits there in a pool, and the workers run in from the field and drink that wine. You know that's called the good wine. Did you know that? Probably not.

And what Jesus did was turn the water into good wine, because the man who was in charge that day emphasized the fact that this was the best of wine. This was the greatest of wine, and that was saved for the very last. See, Jesus is into purification.

Jesus is into transformation. Jesus is recreating that which is worth nothing into that which is the best, and that's the purpose of His coming. That's why Jesus came to earth, to transform your wretched, sinful life into that which is honoring to God Himself.

And so the very first miracle that He would perform would be the impetus of telling people exactly why He came. He's into cleansing that which is unclean. In the very next story, in John chapter 2, is what? The cleansing of the temple.

You see, Jesus is into cleansing, and the only sign He gives them is the sign of the resurrection. And the Bible is very clear that when He says these words in verse number 19, destroy this temple in the three days I will raise it up. The Jews therefore said it took 46 years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. You see, the whole picture of the wedding at Cana was a symbol of life out of death. That's why John says, on the third day.

Because there's the emphasis on the hour for the very first time. It's what He does to transform the wine. It leads us into the cleansing of the temple, and His whole statement in John chapter 2 about how He would raise Himself up in three days.

That's what the wedding at Cana is all about. But you get these guys off the street, all their highfalutin ideas, and they come in and say, well you know, we can drink wine because Jesus turned water into wine way back when in the Cana of Galilee. Really.

And they have not one inkling, one iota of information to prove themselves correct. That's what John chapter 2 is about. We need to understand that.

So what does the Bible say? Why is this so important? Because you know, being a college pastor for for 10 years on a Christian college campus, let's put that in parentheses, that there were so many students involved in alcohol, you would not even believe it. It is the number one drug problem in America. The number one drug problem in America.

It is the number three health problem in America. There are close to 20 million alcoholics and problem drinkers in our country. Every year, drinkers are involved in over 1 million traffic accidents, resulting in close to 30,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries.

Over 50 percent of all highway deaths are alcohol-related. Alcohol is a contributing factor in 31 percent of all homicides, 36 percent of all suicides, 31 percent of non-auto accidents, and 75 percent of all crimes. And it's rampant in the homes of people who go to church.

And there's a lot of people here that did not come tonight because of this topic. They would not come knowing what we would tell them the Bible says about alcohol and that problem. We need to be able to help others We need to have enough compassion and concern to take our brothers, our sisters, our family members, and lead them in a path that will help them come to grips with what the Bible says.

Let's look, first of all, at point number one and look at the biblical instructions when it comes to the condemnation of drunkenness in the Bible. We've already read to you Ephesians chapter 5 verse number 18. Let me help you understand what Romans 13, 13 says.

It reads as follows, Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness and in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. You will note that throughout the Bible that sexuality and promiscuity are associated with drunkenness throughout the Bible. The two go hand in hand.

It's very difficult to separate both of those. One leads to the other and the other leads to the other. They both feed off of one another.

The Bible says over in the book of Galatians, the fifth chapter, verse number 19, it says, Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envies, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who habitually practice those kinds of things, those people who have drunkenness as a habit pattern of their lives, the Bible says, will not inherit the kingdom of God. The Bible also says over in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse number 9, these words, 1 Corinthians 6, verse number 9, Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you, here is Paul talking to those in Corinth, you were this kind of person, but, he says, you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God. You see, there is a solution. There is an answer to those who engage in habitual drunkenness.

It is the Spirit of God who's able to wash us and cleanse us and put us aright again. The other day, my daughter was talking to me about the testimony of my father and what he went through when he was young. And she said to me, I remember, Daddy, that when I was talking to Grandpa, because my grandpa used to smoke, he used to smoke habitually, packs a day, until one day his son, that's me, Lance, said to him when I was very young, Daddy, when I grow up, I'm going to smoke just like you.

Do you know that one comment cured him instantly? He was done. He never picked up a cigarette again. That's amazing.

That's amazing. That doesn't say smokers are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. But the point being, if someone who's an habitual smoker can stop because of a testimony of a son, what more can the Spirit of God do to those who habitually drink? What more can He do to stop you from engaging in sinful behavior? The Spirit of God can change the heart of a man.

That's why we spoke about John chapter 2. You can read about it over in 1 Thessalonians 5, 6, and 7. But the Bible speaks against drunkenness. That is the fact that the biblical instruction is that drunkenness is disallowed. You can't do it.

The Bible speaks against it. How is it defined? Well, it is a point at which alcohol takes over any part of your faculties. Whenever you yield control of your senses to alcohol, you have become a drunk.

It was Martin Lloyd-Jones who pastored for 40 years at Westminster Chapel in London. Before that, he was a brilliant physician. These are the words he wrote.

He said, drink is not a stimulus. It is a depressant. It depresses first and foremost the highest centers of all in the brain.

They are the very first to be influenced and affected by drink. They control everything that gives a man self-control, wisdom, understanding, discrimination, judgment, balance, the power to assess everything. In other words, everything that makes a man behave at his very best and highest, the better a man's control, the better man he is.

But drink is something which immediately gets rid of control. That indeed is the first thing it does. Drinking causes you not to be in control, but out of control.

And that's why Paul said, and be not drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be controlled, be dominated by the Spirit of Almighty God, because that's what every man, what every woman needs to be. Next, how is it described? Proverbs 20, verse number one, wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived by it is not wise. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging.

You must understand that the Jews referred to wine in two categories, wine and strong drink, wine and strong drink. Wine was sweet, wine was pleasant, and wine for the most part was a drink that was non-intoxicating. Strong drink was that which would lead you to drunkenness.

And Proverbs says, wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived by them is not a wise person. Don't be deceived. Don't think that you can just get by and do a little bit here, a little bit there, and not let it affect your life or not let it affect your family life.

The Bible says over in the book of Proverbs, the 23rd chapter, the 29th verse, who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly, at the last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things and your mind will utter perverse things, and you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea or like one who lies down on the top of a mass.

In other words, you'll be out of complete control of your body. They struck me, but I did not become ill. They beat me, but I did not know it.

When shall I wake? And I will seek another drink. My friends, that is the classic illustration of the alcoholic. And the Bible is so clear about that kind of individual and what they look like.

That's how it's described in the Bible. But you need to understand that the Bible denounces it. Over in Isaiah chapter 28, verse number 1, it talks about the judgment against Ephraim, and it says, Woe to the proud crown, the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is at the head of the fertile valley of those who are overcome with wine.

Down in verse number 7, And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are confused by wine.

They stagger from strong drink. They reel while having visions. They totter when rendering judgment.

Ephraim was judged because those who would lead, the priest and the prophet, would find themselves engaged in strong drink, and they couldn't make wise decisions, and it would lead the people of God into severe judgment because they were not being led by proper, proper leaders. And that helps us understand the position of leadership, doesn't it, whether it's in the home or in the church, and what God thinks of those who lead His people the wrong way because they decide to be controlled by some other substance other than the Spirit of God. And while we might just be talking about alcohol this evening, there are many other things that can control a man's mind and control a man's thoughts, and those things are just as much condemned by God as alcohol is.

But we need to understand the ramifications for our life, that we need to realize that if we're going to be the leaders in our churches and leaders in our families, that we need to lead the way God wants us to lead with a pure and holy heart. That's some of the biblical instruction. How about the practical implication? Let me give you three of them.

Number one, drunkenness destroys. If you go back to Genesis chapter 9, you realize that Noah became drunk, and in his nakedness, he acted shamelessly. In Genesis chapter 19, Lot became drunk and committed incest with both of his daughters.

In 1 Samuel 25, Nabal became drunk, and at a crucial time, God took his life. In 1 Kings 18, Elah became drunk and was murdered by Zimri. In 1 Kings 20, Ben hadad and all of his allied kings became drunk, and all of them died except for him.

In Daniel chapter 5, Belshazzar became drunk and had his kingdom taken from him. 1 Corinthians 11 tells us that the Corinthians got drunk at the Lord's table, and some of them died as a result. Let me tell you something about drunkenness.

It destroys people's lives. In the illustrations in the Bible of those who were either killed or acted shamelessly or did things that they regret doing happened because they were drunk. Not only does drunkenness destroy, but drunkenness disqualifies men from leading in the church.

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1 that the elder is not to be given to wine. It's interesting to note that later on in 1 Timothy 3, it says that the deacon is not to be given to much wine. So people tend to translate that, well, if the elder is not to be given to wine, then the deacon is not to be given to much wine that the deacon could take a snort every once in a while.

That's not how you interpret it. You need to understand when God gives the qualifications for leaders in the church, He says they got to be above reproach. They got to be blameless.

That's the overarching characteristic. He also says they must be temperate. The word for temperate means non-intoxicated.

So not to be given to wine means something other than being intoxicated. That's important to understand. When He says not given to much wine, the word that's used there is the word that says don't stand near it.

In other words, don't even get close to it. Don't even associate with those who do it. Why? Because the ramifications of it are great.

And so we realize that to lead in the church of Jesus Christ, God is concerned about those living a lifestyle that not only doesn't provide a stumbling block, but will never at any time cause them to make bad judgments because of the things they intake, such as wine. But it goes further than that, and more about that in a second, but drunkenness also discredits our life. Remember over in 1 Peter chapter 4, it reads this way in verse number 3, for the time already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles.

Peter says, you know, time has passed. Time is gone. You've already lived according to the lust of the flesh.

He says this, having pursued a course of sensuality, lust, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries, and in all this they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you. Peter says, you know, the times of living like the Gentiles, the time of your carousing, the time of your party attending, the time of your drunkenness, the time of your promiscuity, all those things are done. And you know what? Because they're done, those who observe you wonder why you don't do it anymore and malign you because you don't.

When was the last time somebody maligned you because you did not take a drink? You hear the old saying all the time, well, you know, they offered me a drink. I didn't want to offend them. No, folks, wait a minute.

To offend someone means you cause them to sin. By saying no to alcohol, it's not causing the person who offered it to you to sin. We get the whole offense thing all blown out of proportion in the church.

And you've got to realize that because you said no, it's not going to do anything to the other person. They might get a little mad at you. But let me tell you something.

If everybody on your block decided to stop using deodorant, would you stop using deodorant? I mean, that's your rationale, right? They told me I had to stop using deodorant. So because I didn't want to offend them, I smell bad like everybody else smells bad. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Peter says they malign you because you don't do what you used to do and what they do. And we've got to ask ourselves, what is it people are maligning me for? Are they maligning me because I've got a bad attitude? Are they maligning me because I'm a gossip? Or do they malign me because I have set my heart on obeying the Word of God and following it and acting like God wants me to act, and those who see me are upset because I don't do what they used to do? You see, we need to understand that to be involved in those things begins to discredit our life. To be drunk and to hang around with people who are drunk discredits our life.

But we've got to ask ourselves those questions. Does drinking ruin my testimony? 1 Corinthians 10 says, whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. The unsaved must know your lifestyle is different.

What's best for you? What's best for your family? Based on what the Word of the Lord says this evening. Let's pray.