Permit me to state some facts before I begin my rant.
- I am a lifelong teetotaler. My only experiences with alcohol have been medicinal or accidental. I have never purposely taken a drink. I was raised that way and I have no desire to live any other way.
- I am not a prohibitionist. I believe that efforts to classify wine in the Bible as grape juice border on the silly. People drank alcoholic beverages and the Bible does not call that sin.
- There are warnings in the Bible about choosing what is wise, about avoiding the consequences of alcohol abuse, and strict prohibitions against drunkenness.
- My attitude toward alcohol is formed in passages such as 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14-15 where Paul tells us to walk under the Lordship of Christ and make decisions individually about what is best. Absent a strict prohibition on alcohol, I will not make one.
- Paul also warns us (and this side is often forgotten by those who clink their glasses loudly, proclaiming their freedom in Christ to drink) not to use our freedom in a way that harms others or leads them into sin.
So, having said all of that, here’s my rant.
I hate alcohol. In my nearly 4 decades of ministry I’ve seen too many families torn apart, marriages disintegrate, children hurt, and untold damage caused because of the exercise of this “freedom in Christ” to drink. Sure, many people can have a glass of wine or revel in the hipness of their craft beers and walk away. But many others take a drink and find themselves caught in the tentacles of a life-stealing monster from which they cannot escape.
I have been dealing with the detritus of a family torn apart by a man who grew up not drinking, went to a family reunion, and was told by his CHRISTIAN in-laws that there was nothing wrong with alcohol. He was half ridiculed for his upbringing and he decided, “why not?” His life hit the skids that day because he couldn’t handle it. He is an alcoholic and his life and family are swirling the bowl, all because some believers convinced him that alcohol was a gift from God.
Yeah, I know. It wasn’t the alcohol, it was his lack of self-control. It was his abuse. I get it. But if he’d never taken that drink, he wouldn’t be an alcoholic now!
I minister in villages in southern Senegal and it is hard to find a man there who is sober enough to have a conversation with sometimes! I was there with Bart Barber one time, and I remarked that spending much time in the Casamance might turn even the most passionate moderationist into a hardened prohibitionist. When you see what alcohol does to these men, it is hard to be neutral.
I can hear it right now.
- But, alcohol is a gift of God, meant to bless us.
- It isn’t the alcohol, it is the abuse of it.
- The Bible doesn’t command us not to drink.
Please note, I didn’t say anyone was sinning by consuming a glass now and then. Let me be clear what I am saying.
I hate the stuff. I don’t understand the passion some of you guys have for it. I only see the families destroyed, the lives lost, the devastation, detritus, and destruction wrought in the lives of the people I minister to by this stuff. I don’t see the joy of it.
So, you don’t have to justify to me why you use it, but I would say a few things.
1. Be careful about trumpeting your love of alcohol.
Some seem to make the acceptance of alcohol a crusade. I was called a sinner yesterday because I posted something similar to this (a little less forceful, actually). Because I expressed my disdain for alcohol I needed to repent of my sin.
I understand the desire to confront those who twist Scripture to impose non-biblical prohibitions. But the passion that some people have for alcohol baffles me and I think it is unhealthy. If you enjoy alcohol in moderation, that is your business, but offending others and potentially leading someone who cannot handle it to take up drinking seems unwise.
2. Remember the OTHER SIDE of freedom in Christ.
Yes, we are free in Christ in areas where the Bible gives neither command nor prohibition. Paul made it clear, though, that while he’d eat a good steak even if it had been sacrificed to an idol, he wasn’t going to post it on Instagram to annoy the Judaizers.
Those who are free in Christ can follow their conscience under the Lordship of Christ, but they cannot act in a way that is unloving. Paul says that he is willing to neither eat or drink if that will cause someone else to sin. Our freedom is limited by the good of others.
I am not talking about yielding to prohibitionists with their extra-biblical rules, I am talking about being careful about how your actions affect others.
3. While you celebrate this “gift of God” don’t forget the works of Satan.
I will admit, I’m baffled by the “gift of God” talk. I see the verses, but that’s a struggle for me. I just can’t drink alcohol and consider it a gift of God. You do you, that’s not me. But the old appellation “demon rum” has been well evidenced during my four decades of ministry.
Perhaps alcohol can be a gift of God to make the heart merry, but I’ve got Jesus to do that, and a family, and friends. I’ve got grandkids who make my heart merry – I don’t need booze. I have the NEW YORK YANKEES! Who needs alcohol when you can watch Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Gleybar Torres launch home runs. Come to think of it, Bart Barber may want to take up alcohol this October! Even if the Yankees lose, alcohol isn’t going to soften the blow. I don’t need it and I don’t want it.
But I have seen the path of destruction Hurricane Ethyl leaves as it blows through families. When you get to the heart of family problems in your church, if you dig deep enough, you will often find alcohol (or pills, perhaps) at the center. This “gift” has become a tool of Satan.
Be careful about how you clink your glasses, my friends.
Here’s my bottom line. I am not telling you what to do, I’m just saying I loathe the stuff. It smells gross. I can’t see a single benefit I would gain in my life from it. And I’ve seen a LOT of damage in the world where I minister from it. So, you live under the Lordship of Christ and give account to him, but I’d ask you to watch how you exercise your freedom.
You know…the least of these.
I suspect I’ve annoyed both the Bible and Brewski crowd AND the Jesus turned water into Welches bunch.
My work here is done.
Dave, my position is similar to yours and for similar reasons. I choose not to drink for several reasons, but I don’t carry it as a crusade for those who do. Like many, I’ve seen the negative results of alcohol in my own family and in others, and in my life it just wouldn’t’ be beneficial. A problem occurs, however, when it becomes a tool to badger others who don’t hold to your position. I see that in the other posting you made. I’ve seen it in other posts on that same forum – primarily among fellow ministers – which is disheartening. Some of it borders on glorification of alcohol in my opinion, and I believe that’s a potentially dangerous road. I see the same thing with positions in the theological realm – almost shaming those for not being reformed enough or enough this or enough that. I enjoy the dialogue on various topics, but when it comes to that with all of the pictures of alcohol and cigars – count me out. I appreciate your position and willingness to voice it.
That is what I’ve seen – a glorification of alcohol. I believe it is a reaction to prohibitionist teachings we’ve grown up with that made alcohol an evil, so people flaunt their freedom. We generally do not do well when we do theology or practice in a reactionary way.
Again, I don’t care what a person drinks in private so much as what they promote in public.
I agree with that last statement wholeheartedly. I told a Sunday School class I was teaching once that every time I see someone holding up a beverage on social media it’s always alcohol. I said “nobody ever takes a selfie holding up a Sprite”. It got a big laugh and a few weeks lady someone texted me a picture of them drinking a Sprite to be funny, but it’s true. Our society has taken to glorifying alcohol, and the church need not follow that lead.
For the record, JD Hall stole this post and published it without permission. i would never give permission for an article to be posted on that clickbait darkness-serving site.
He then concocted a lie about me withdrawing the post here because of negative reaction. That, like most of what JD says, is not true. The post was published and never withdrawn.
JD lies.
What he did was dishonest, unethical, amoral. Pretty much SOP for P&P.
From my perspective:
“We believe abstaining from the recreational use of dangerous drugs (alcohol, marijuana, opioids, etc.) is both safe and wise. Drugs should only be used for strictly medicinal purposes, and even then, with great caution.
(Proverbs 20:1; Proverbs 22:3; Proverbs 23:29-35; Mark 12:30; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8; 1 Peter 5:8)”
1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 NKJV
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
David R. Brumbelow
This is also my position. It is different from the way it is pigeonholed sometimes—it is not, strictly speaking, a firm prohibition. Rather, it is a recognition of a uniform standard that applies to all intoxicants. These are not playthings. They are blessings and gifts from God when used purposefully and not recreationally.
I don’t actually share that position, but I think the admonition to be wary, to be careful, and such is well taken. I’ve watched plenty of folks devoured by that which they sipped.
Dave:
I share your desire to refrain from any consumption of alcoholic drinks as a beverage and I also avoid foods prepared using alcohol if I am aware it is in the food.
My wife and I are often chided by those to whom we explain that we have never touched a drink of alcohol. I just told my brother-in-law today that every doctor I consult always asks if I have ever smoked tobacco products or consumed alcohol. That tells me that both those actions must have an unfavorable affect on one’s health. My wife tells the story of a physician, who, when told she has never consumed alcohol, said “are you serious, not even during social occasions. What do you do for entertainment?” To which my wife replied, “I go to church.”
My mother and five siblings were torn apart by an alcoholic father who abandoned his family when I was just a toddler and as a result we lived in deep poverty for many years, starting in the early 1930’s, a time of severe nationwide depression. That experienced led to me vowing at that an early age never to touch a drop of alcohol.
While I realize that a case can be made for consuming alcohol in the Bible I tend to lean on Proverbs 20:1 as a caution to anyone who may consider imbibing. That verse says, “Wine is a mocker. strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”(KJV)
I further point out to those with whom I am discussing the matter that a synonym for unwise is foolish, and about the worst thing Jesus ever called a person was a fool.
As you pointed out, the foolish thing is taking that first drink.
I love alcohol!
The history of alcohol is filled with ingenuity and it always amazes me to see how we take basic grains/fruits and turn them into a useful product and help support farmers. (Bourbon and beer, I’m looking at you here.)
I hate when people abuse it, just like when they abuse food and get fat, abuse entertainment and fall in love with the world/neglect others, abuse driving and kill bystanders/other drivers, abuse guns and kill innocents, abuse their positions of authority and cause irreparable damage to the people in their care.
The argument that alcohol is wrong from the mere statistical risk doesn’t hold water.
That said, I agree with David’s convictions and want to be around teetotalers. I pastor at a church where I work with imbibers and teetotalers. I’m better for it.
Classic. “I hate alcohol so I don’t want to hear why you don’t. ” yeah color me annoyed. And I do drink occasionally with no apology.
The only defensive response on the thread. Glorification by believers, which Dave addressed, is a sad and dangerous position.
I, too, am a teetotaler, mostly through sheer lack of interest. I grew up in a home where there was alcohol, but it was rarely brought out. Most of what I really enjoy requires thinking, and I’ve never seen any indication that alcohol enhances thinking – just the opposite, in fact.
But, theologically, I am a moderationist. To be more precise, I see the Bible as teaching a cautious moderation. Alcohol, while a gift of God, capable of making the heart ‘merry’, isn’t innocuous. The stuff is downright dangerous. I also take instruction from an offhand comment by C. S. Lewis (by no means a teetotaler) in his essay “First and Second things”, that alcohol is only pleasurable ‘in the earlier levels of intoxication’. If, then, the ‘merriment’ to be gotten from alcohol is only to be found in limited consumption, then going beyond that level is to go beyond what God has given.
Good word Dave. Our church doesn’t forbid alcohol consumption for its members, but over the past three weeks alone I’ve told FOUR people “man, you need to just stop drinking–like no more beer/wine/liquor. Not even a drop. Like, forever!” They can’t control themselves. Your position is more stoutly in the abstinence corner, but may we never sneer or mock our “weaker brothers” on this subject. There is much wisdom in what you have said, and I’d think anyone with more than 15 minutes pastoral experience in domestic situations could disagree.
Amen, Joel.
I’m a firm believer in the idea that making both sides angry means you’re probably in the right place. Bravo. 😀
I’ve enjoyed alcohol in moderation (as in like 1-2 drinks a month and pre/post my time in Fort Worth). I don’t hold your position, but I respect it; and your 2nd point is something I never really thought about, but now that I do I think you’re spot on.
Finally, as a Cubs fan, aren’t you impressed that I DON’T often drink??
My daughters youth pastor served beer to the adults who met in his home. There were often high school students there also. He told me that he wanted the teens to see alcohol used responsibly , as a lot of their parents were abusing alcohol. Fifteen years out his method seems to have worked. A lot of Pastors came out of that group and no alcoholics that I know of.. Forbidden fruit is a huge temptation . Best to nip it was n the bud.
I see the argument not to create forbidden fruit.
Gotta say though That’s an interesting approach.
If you tell someone it is forbidden fruit, yes. But if you teach them and help them forge it as their own conviction, then you have something.
Or to watch your calories:
nip it in the bud light
Very good post, Dave.
I think you generally strike the right balance.
I am a non drinking moderationist – but I do object when straight up or “essential” prohibitionists distort scripture and espouse silly grape juice arguments in their quest.
I also object when Christian drinkers revel and – like you said – “glory” in their freedom and often at least somewhat mock (of totally mock) those other Christians who don’t have that freedom or simply choose not to drink.
Regularly dealing pastorally with families wrecked by abuse informs my view here.
I am a biblical moderationist and practicing teetotaler. I don’t believe the bible teaches abstentionism. I don’t have a particular problem with people drinking.
That being said, I have never seen anything good come from imbibing. I have never seen anyone become a better, happier person because they started drinking. I have never seen anyone come to faith because of alcohol, I have never seen anyone become a better parent, spouse, friend or colleague because they drink.
In short, if you weigh the sum total of human misery caused by alcohol against the slight buzz people get from drinking moderately, the scales don’t balance.
Bill, I affirm your comments. Dave, I agree with you on this issue. I heard Danny Akin speak on this topic some years ago. He declared, “If you keep alcohol in your home, you’re stupid.” He holds a strong position on alcohol because his wife’s parents were alcoholics.
I think “stupid” may be perhaps a bit of hyperbole.
Yeah, stupid isn’t a term I would use. I will say that I’m a fan of using alcoholic beverages in cooking.
Close to 10 years ago I had this conversation with a few younger men in the ministry who were advocating for the church to get over its “tea-toataler” attitude. I certainly understand the conversation and agree with Dave that trying to argue the bible says no to drinking is impossible; it’s no to drunkenness. However, when I posed the question of what I believed would take place (and has) with the legalization of marijuana and how would they deal with that among the congregation and staff they were adamant that pot could not be used without becoming stoned. In other words, they didn’t believe pot-users could practice moderation, but they believed those who drank beverage-alcohol could. We are now living in the Post Pot Prohibition world, and potentially other “substances” pretty soon.
All that to say this: Whenever we are consuming anything that has the potential for mind-alteration, we should be very leery of commending it, in moderation or not. Addictions in my church’s zip code are off the charts and we see the heartbreak of families due to addiction on a daily basis. Just Say No!
This article brings up good points discussing the social problems that drinking can lead to, but it is the spiritual I’d like to see discussed more as well.
Drinking culture also brings with it a complacency, and the church’s increasing adoption of it (the culture, not just alcohol qua alcohol) is a further sign of her lukewarmness (Rev. 3:16). When we could be ministering to lost souls or in prayer groups praying for revival, we’re instead socializing at backyard cookouts or tailgates while imbibing. Instead of studying the Bible during the free time we’re blessed with, we’d rather drink wine and sit in front of the TV. We find our rest not in the Lord Jesus Christ, but in the comfortable social environment casual drinking provides. The attitude of those promoting a loosened drinking culture often are condemning themselves. Jesus called the sick, not those who think they are well. At least a drunk might know how bad of a sinner he is, but someone proud of how well he can handle his casual drinking while still being a good Christian is someone who misses a central point of the gospel message.
R. C Sproul has one of the most fair sermons on the subject I’ve ever listened to.
Google : the tyranny of the weaker brother.
I really fair take on a very volatile topic
Adrian Rogers also had a sermon on alcohol:
http://gulfcoastpastor.blogspot.com/2016/02/adrian-rogers-on-alcohol-drinking-wine.html
David R. Brumbelow
David, I looked at Rogers link you posted, it looks more like a personal opinion or preference than it does biblical exegesis.
But I do respect his right to his opinions
I think more attention needs to be paid first of all to the many times Scripture speaks positively of wine–it’s about as prevalent as warnings against drunkenness–and also to what over-indulging generally means. As a rule, it’s a self-medication of the pain of life, and railing against alcohol doesn’t solve that problem. What does is a good look at why the person is self-medicating.
To draw a picture, young people in Russia are starting to drink a lot more wine and beer (vs. vodka) than their elders, and what they’re finding is that drunkenness and alcoholism seem to be a lot less prevalent as a result. In other words, they’re learning to drink like the peoples around the Mediterranean–as an expression of joy and community, instead of covering the pains of life. We might find great avenues for ministry if we learn the same.
Great article. I agree with your stance on it, and I think it is a point well made. As someone who lost a lot of friends to giving up on legalism and rules, I would also like to read the article about the danger of the opposite side of trying to add man-made rules and teach them as coming from God. My quiet time this morning included Matt 15:9. NLT puts Christ’s rubuke well. “Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. Equally as dangerous, although not as immediately obvious in its destruction as alcoholism. Anyways, good word.