June 11, 2023
To Drink or Not To Drink
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
"Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!" ― Martin Luther
Luke 7:31-32a NIV
Jesus went on to say, "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:"
Luke 7:32b NIV
"We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry."
Luke 7:33-34 NIV
"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'"
What does God's word say about alcohol?
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NIV
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.
Ecclesiastes 10:19 NIV
A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.
Alcohol can be a good gift from our good God and Father.
Psalms 104:13-15 NIV
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.
Alcohol, for some people, can be a fun way to feast and celebrate momentous days.
Deuteronomy 14:22-26 NIV
Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.
Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.
Alcohol may have some medicinal benefits.
1 Timothy 5:23 NIV
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
"The picture is becoming clearer: Even small amounts of alcohol can have health consequences. Research published in November revealed that between 2015 and 2019, excessive alcohol use resulted in roughly 140,000 deaths per year in the United States. About 40 percent of those deaths had acute causes, like car crashes, poisonings and homicides. But the majority were caused by chronic conditions attributed to alcohol, such as liver disease, cancer and heart disease." – NY Times, Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health
"Risk starts to go up well below levels where people would think, 'Oh, that person has an alcohol problem'. Alcohol is harmful to the health starting at very low levels." - Dr. Tim Naimi, Director of the University of Victoria's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.
Whatever benefits may come from alcohol, strong warnings come also!
Proverbs 23:29-30 NIV
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
Proverbs 23:31-32 NIV
Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
Proverbs 23:33-34 NIV
Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.
Proverbs 23:35 NIV
"They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"
The Bible warns us of how dangerous and consuming alcohol can be in our lives.
1 Peter 5:8 NIV
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 5:17-18 NIV
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit
Therefore, no Christian should ever be drunk or have an ongoing problem of drunkenness.
Galatians 5:19-21 NIV
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.