First, let me start off this post by saying that I was asked to blog on my opinion of Christians and drinking alcohol by my xanga friend, Charity.  She is also posting a blog on her opinion.  I usually don’t post my opinions on matters like this, but because I was specifically asked, I’m going to share. 

Second, I am not posting this to try to change anyone’s mind about being a Christian and drinking.  This is not what we would call a “heaven or hell issue;” it has nothing to do with salvation.  Nor is this a doctrinal issue.  If you differ with me on my opinion, great…you have the right to do that.  I don’t believe you are any “less” of a Christian because you disagree with me…I believe that we can be brothers and sisters in Christ and disagree with some issues that are not explicitly clear in the Bible. 

With that being said, away we go…

I want to start by saying that for any issue that I’ve ever faced in my life, I ALWAYS want to go to the Scripture to see what it teaches about that particular issue.  As a Christian, you should ALWAYS live your life by what God’s Word says.  Please know that what I am saying in this post is because I’ve come to conclusions on my own through searching the Scriptures and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We live our lives based on the teaching of GOD’S WORD and not on the rules and regulations of man.  This post is more about me personally and why I do/do not do something…which means that there is a LOT of Scripture involved here and a lot of background.  Also, I want to add that I have tried my best not to take Scripture out of context as not to butcher what the Word says.

My favorite pastor is Mark Driscoll.  He is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA.  He is an extremely biblical teacher and we have learned a lot from his teachings.   As Joshua and I were researching this subject (not just recently, but a while back also), we found one of Mark’s sermons called, “Glad Hearts, Good Wine.”  I’ll post the link to that sermon at the end of the post.

In the sermon, Mark chronicles that there are 3 major perspectives of alcohol in Christianity today:

1.  Prohibitionists

Prohibitionists wrongly teach that all alcohol is a sin and that all drinking is evil, wicked, and wrong. 

Psalm 104:14-15 says, “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.”  A lot of people would say that the Bible does not mean “wine” when it says “wine.”  But, it does.  In Numbers 6:3, it mentions “juice of grapes” as being grape juice.  When the Bible says “God” it means God.  When the Bible says “hell” it means hell.  And when the Bible says “wine” it means wine.  Be careful here because this is a dangerous thing to do…If you say that all alcohol is evil, then you are saying that something that God has made is evil and that God sinned in making it.  God is good, God is perfect, God is holy, God is not evil, and God does not create evil.  He creates things beautiful, glorious, and good and Satan perverts them into something ugly, despicable, and deadly. 
I am NOT a Prohibitionist.

2.  Abstainionists (I spelled this wrong…sorry)

Abstainionists teach that alcohol consumption is not a sin, but so many people abuse alcohol, we should never drink it.  They teach that something that is used wrongly then the thing is bad and then we should get rid of it.

Hosea 2:8 says, “And she did not know that it was I who gave her (Israel) the grain, the wine, the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.”  In this Scripture, God is telling Israel (His chosen people) that He gave them all of these things as provision and as a blessing and they used them for evil, for Baal (a false god).  In this Scripture, did God abstain from giving them things that He knew they would abuse?  No, He did not. 

If we got rid of everything that God gave us (humanity) that we abuse, then we would have to get rid of our mind because we have thought evil thoughts; our tongue because we have said things we shouldn’t; our mouths because we have eaten and drank things we shouldn’t; money because we have spent it on things we shouldn’t have; our hands because we have touched things we shouldn’t have…etc. Is the Bible a perfect book?  Yes, it is pure, it is perfect and it is all we need for faith and godliness.  Has anyone ever bent the Bible and used it for something ugly, wicked, and awful?  Yes, people have used the Bible for evil.  Therefore, do we abstain from the Bible?  No, we use it rightly.   
I am NOT an Abstainionist.

3.  Moderationist (I probably spelled this wrong, too)

Moderationists teach that alcohol consumption is not a sin, but that some people can drink and some people can’t…it depends upon conscience.  The moderationist position distinguishes between universal sins and particular sins.

Universal sins are sins that are true for everybody, everywhere, all the time, no matter what.  Some examples: murder, lying, stealing, rape, adultery…It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or where you go, those are always wrong.  That’s God’s Law.  I mean, there’s not a guy somewhere in the world that has a good case for adultery or rape…it’s always wrong, get my point?

Particular sins are sins that are not for everyone all the time.  For some people it’s a sin, for some it’s not.  Okay, I know that sounded extremely proud, but bear with me while I explain.  For some, it’s a sin to drink and for some it’s not.  It is particular to your conscience.  If your conscience tells you not to do something and you do it anyway, that is a sin.  In my opinion, drinking is a particular sin. 
I AM an Moderationist.

I think what it boils down to is that drinking is a “freedom in Christ” issue.  Has God made me free in Christ?  Absolutely, that’s the whole message of Galatians…God has made you free, so stand firm and don’t give up your freedom in Christ (for verses on freedom in Christ, read the book of Galatians).  Is it okay to give up some of my freedom because I love you and I don’t want you to stumble?  You bet it is.  Is it okay for you to come steal my freedom by making legalistic rules that take away the freedom that God has given me?  No, it is not.  The legalist can’t distinguish between those matters. 

Is there not a difference in you coming to my house and saying, “I can’t pay my rent, can I borrow some money?” and I give it to you because I love you AND you breaking into my house and stealing my stuff to sell it to pay your rent?  The difference is that in the first scenario, you allowed me to love you and give you grace and in the other scenario, you stole.  When God makes you free in Christ, you should be gracious and give away your freedom because you love people, but if they steal it from you…that is completely different and unacceptable. 

In Charity’s blog, she spoke of a friend that was having a bachelorette party and asked that the attendees of the party NOT order drinks because she thought it might be offensive to some of the other people there and the girls did order drinks anyway (especially for the one who said that she didn’t drink!!)…To me, in my opinion, this is also unacceptable and falls along the lines of doing something to make your brother stumble. 

I Corinthians 8:9-13 says, “But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?  And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”  (also see Romans 14)

In my opinion, what the girl’s friends did was “wounding the conscience” of they’re friend getting married.  Not only that, but they took away her freedom in Christ.  Just as I have the freedom to drink, she has the freedom not to drink.

Just as this is an issue of conscience and freedom, it is an issue of authority.  Romans 13:1 says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”  In our country, if you are under the age of 21, you cannot consume or purchase alcohol.  Pretty cut and dry.  If my husband asked me not to drink because it bothers him, I wouldn’t…I would submit to his authority (as he is my authority) and not drink. 

 I think I should mention that this submission to authority means that you are also to submit to your church leaders and the regulations that they set before you.  This means that if you signed a church covenant (or was baptized into a church covenant…I’m not sure how that works) stating that you will not buy or consume alcohol for any reason, then DON’T DO IT.  To me, this means in public or in private.  Either way, you are violating your church covenant and you are not submitting to authority which, in essence, is disobedience.  In the same way if that covenant says that you should not be excessively angry or backbite (gossip, I think), then you are just as guilty of violating that covenant as you would be if you were to drink. 

I choose to drink in public because I believe that I have that freedom.  If someone (specifically believers) feels that I am “ruining my testimony” by doing that, then they may want to check their own testimony…I know my testimony and I know what I’ve been through before God brought me to Himself.  To be a witness to the lost is more than not drinking in public…your ENTIRE lifestyle is involved.  You must be living for Christ in all areas of your life…meaning that you shouldn’t gossip or lie or steal, etc. 

For a believer who feels that drinking in public is wrong, it is an opportunity to talk with them about what freedom in Christ really means (through Scripture).  For an unbeliever who thinks that I am not a Christian because I drink in public, it is an opportunity to share with them what Scripture really says (and to mention that I am a Christian whether I am in public or not).  We need to make sure we are the same Christian in private that we are in public.

I think that the bigger issue is that of drunkenness.  The Bible does speak of drunknness and that it is a sin.  What God commands Christians regarding alcohol is to avoid drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18). The Bible condemns drunkenness and its effects (Proverbs 23:29-35). Christians are also commanded to not allow their bodies to be “mastered” by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Peter 2:19).  Being consumed by anything or controlled by anything other than the Holy Spirit is a sin…that includes drunkenness, fits of rage, lust, envy, etc…Ephesians 5:18 does not say that you should not drink wine, but that being drunk with wine is a sin.  It also says be filled (continuous overflowing) with the Spirit…meaning let the Holy Spirit control you.

Basically, what I’m saying is that I drink and I do it in public.  I have never had anyone tell me that I’m not a Christian because I do and I’ve never had anyone tell me that it has “ruined my testimony.”  Joshua and I get into spiritual conversations all the time with people everywhere we go…whether we’re drinking or not.  I don’t think I’m a “bad Christian” and I will continue to abide by God and His Word as the Holy Spirit leads me. 

I like what Mark Driscoll says, “Legalist morality and rules and regulations are not going to be good for God’s people.  That the Bible, the Holy Spirit, prayer, and conscience are more than enough to guide you through controversial matters of life and doctrine.” 

Let the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and your conscience guide you.

For Mark Driscoll’s sermon, “Good Wine, Glad Hearts,” go to:

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/proverbs/good-wine-glad-hearts 

This week is National Banned Book week.  The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most banned books in American schools and libraries (although, I got this copy from the public library).  My mom said that she was required to read it in high school.  I think it's important to be well-rounded, even as a Christian and I'm super pro-first amendment, so I made a list of banned books that I want to read before I die:

The Catcher in the Rye
by JD Salinger

The Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier

The Color Purple
by Alice Walker

Olive's Ocean
by Kevin Henkes

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain

Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley

Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes

1984
by George Orwell

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou

Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel

The Giver
by Lois Lowry
I've read this book a ton of times, it's just really good enough to read over and over again.

Of Mice & Men
by John Steinbeck
I've also read this, but it was a long time ago.

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume
I've also read this, but it was a long time ago.

Below is a link to see a list of some of the most challenged/banned books of all time...I think you'll be surprised by some of the titles/authors you see:
List of Books/Authors