Alcohol and Christianity question

[josh_ga]

Ok so years ago before I was of age to drink I started drinking alcohol "which clearly was a sin because I was underage I understand that and I was drinking heavy." I ended up staying sober for almost 4 years and not drinking anything.

As of recent now being of age "23" I thought to myself.
I'm a responsible adult. I am going to try and have a beer or so.

My entire life I have been taught you are not a good christian if you drink or that it is just bad.
Clearly I know now after my own research moderation is the key. Drunkenness is a sin.

Here's where Im at and I would like some input/advice.

I recently tried to have a beer and then I had another.
For some reason although I was just having one I felt wrong and guilty.
So at that point I was like Im already sinning I might as well drink more. So I had a few more. "Only because I felt I was already doing wrong by having one"

Basically long story short. I would like to have a beer or two
"Because I legitimately enjoy the taste of beer and all the craft options" but even if I have one or two and do it normal and not get drunk or anything I feel like im doing something wrong and that it is hindering my personal relationship with him.

I just cant tell if its me overthinking and feeling guilty because I think its wrong because of how Ive been taught my whole life or if its a real conviction.
Sometimes I feel its more a conviction also because it seems I have been lead to several verses pertaining to my situation


Whatever is not of faith is sin

Romans 14:23
But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

"So my question to this is, if I feel guilty and like im doing something wrong" Im sinning and would that send me to hell"
? (Because I would be living in sin, knowingly or something"


Also I worry I wouldnt be a good witness "Although I would be responsible and not drink around alcoholics, or the church etc and I would do in comfort of home or not around certain people" I feel like im doing something wrong.

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run the race marked out for us,





I feel like a lot of scriptures have pointed to me not drinking but I guess I just dont see the problem if im doing it normal.

I just want to honor God but I also like the taste of beer and I dont want to do anything wrong...
Like I said if I have one or two, I feel like im doing something wrong which brings me back to romans 14:23


I also think im getting convicted because I see a lot of my favorite pastors etc that dont drink and it makes me see how on fire they are and it makes me think, is it because they dont have alcohol in their lives etc


Currently I dont drink and have refrained until I get all of this stuff figured out. Maybe I will continue to not drink at all, but before I do decide to have a another beer or glass or wine I would like some info..

Please serious answers only, not just throwing answers and quick opinions.
Also because I have promoted being sober for so long, if people see me drinking I dont want them getting the wrong message.


I like the idea of having a beer, I genuinely enjoy beer and the taste but I just always feel Im doing something wrong and Im not living to my full potential or something.

I feel I have been directed to the verse several times where it talks about, whoever doesnt have faith to do is sinning.
And the verses circulating around that.
I feel maybe its wrong and if I did drink I would go to hell for disobeying/

 

[Helen]

You know that you have already posted this on the Ethics Forum Board.

It is against the rules to multi post threads.

 

[josh_ga]

You know that you have already posted this on the Ethics Forum Board.

It is against the rules to multi post threads.

Must of been an accident, sorry. I just joined today.

 

[Helen]

Must of been an accident, sorry. I just joined today.

Welcome to the Site.

 

[liafailrock]

Drinking is a sin if you think it is. That's because you believe (even if erroneously) that it is wrong so by doing that you are subjecting yourself to rebellion as if you are breaking a commandment, and as quoted in Romans, "whatever is not of faith is sin."

Now, that said, drinking is NOT a sin. So how can you cure yourself of that guilt? The Word of God. If you read and believe it, the guilt will be gone and now you are acting on faith. Faith involves obedience, and obedience to the Law of God. In other words, if you are going to judge yourself by any criteria, in order for it to be correct it has to be based in the Word of God. God gave us many Laws in the OT. Now keeping them does not save anyone, but we are saved to do good works and the Law, while it does not save, is a benchmark of righteous behavior that should naturally emanate from a person who has the Spirit. So what does the Law say? I can find a verses that actually tells Israelites to drink alcohol. It does not endorse drunkenness, but it does permit a merry heart. So, now that we are no longer under the Law (i.e. to save us), what would the Spirit say? God would not negate His commands, but the Spirit would only ask you to practice restraint. That's the same that the Law requires. It's a fine line that defines drunkenness, so the legal limit is as good as any, e.g. 0.08. Given that, most people can safely drink 2 or 3 (not a biblical command) but a restraint to keep within the legal limit. Now, if you like beer, put no more than 3 out on the table. This way no counting required. Allow yourself to have them guilt-free (and take your time). But if you "crave" any more, then yes, you have a restraint problem and should not drink.

 

[Dan57]

Imo, nothing wrong with having a beer, but if you drink to get loaded, that's a sin. The bible condemns drunkenness: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess" (Ephesians 5:18). But we know Jesus drank wine, and Paul said; "Use a little wine for thy stomach's sake" (1 Timothy 5:23). The key word there is "a little". People pop pills for anxiety, sleeplessness, stress, etc. To me, that's worse than having a beer or glass of wine to calm your nerves and unwind. I would say that for example sake, its better not to drink around alcoholics, but on a hot day, there's nothing better than a frosty mug of beer.

 

[mjrhealth]

but if you drink to get loaded, that's a sin

Its not so much teh getting drunk that is a sin, it is what you might do, when you are drunk that is where the sin is, as it opens you up to things that you may not be ware of and your thinking has being diminished and you mind defenseless, which is why so many do things when drunk they wont do when they are sober. I have had friends boast about how drunk they got, but cannot remember a thing they did, I cant see the logic in that, but it is peer pressure that drives us.

 

[aspen]

Ok so years ago before I was of age to drink I started drinking alcohol "which clearly was a sin because I was underage I understand that and I was drinking heavy." I ended up staying sober for almost 4 years and not drinking anything.

As of recent now being of age "23" I thought to myself.
I'm a responsible adult. I am going to try and have a beer or so.

My entire life I have been taught you are not a good christian if you drink or that it is just bad.
Clearly I know now after my own research moderation is the key. Drunkenness is a sin.

Here's where Im at and I would like some input/advice.

I recently tried to have a beer and then I had another.
For some reason although I was just having one I felt wrong and guilty.
So at that point I was like Im already sinning I might as well drink more. So I had a few more. "Only because I felt I was already doing wrong by having one"

Basically long story short. I would like to have a beer or two
"Because I legitimately enjoy the taste of beer and all the craft options" but even if I have one or two and do it normal and not get drunk or anything I feel like im doing something wrong and that it is hindering my personal relationship with him.

I just cant tell if its me overthinking and feeling guilty because I think its wrong because of how Ive been taught my whole life or if its a real conviction.
Sometimes I feel its more a conviction also because it seems I have been lead to several verses pertaining to my situation


Whatever is not of faith is sin

Romans 14:23
But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

"So my question to this is, if I feel guilty and like im doing something wrong" Im sinning and would that send me to hell"
? (Because I would be living in sin, knowingly or something"


Also I worry I wouldnt be a good witness "Although I would be responsible and not drink around alcoholics, or the church etc and I would do in comfort of home or not around certain people" I feel like im doing something wrong.

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run the race marked out for us,





I feel like a lot of scriptures have pointed to me not drinking but I guess I just dont see the problem if im doing it normal.

I just want to honor God but I also like the taste of beer and I dont want to do anything wrong...
Like I said if I have one or two, I feel like im doing something wrong which brings me back to romans 14:23


I also think im getting convicted because I see a lot of my favorite pastors etc that dont drink and it makes me see how on fire they are and it makes me think, is it because they dont have alcohol in their lives etc


Currently I dont drink and have refrained until I get all of this stuff figured out. Maybe I will continue to not drink at all, but before I do decide to have a another beer or glass or wine I would like some info..

Please serious answers only, not just throwing answers and quick opinions.
Also because I have promoted being sober for so long, if people see me drinking I dont want them getting the wrong message.


I like the idea of having a beer, I genuinely enjoy beer and the taste but I just always feel Im doing something wrong and Im not living to my full potential or something.

I feel I have been directed to the verse several times where it talks about, whoever doesnt have faith to do is sinning.
And the verses circulating around that.
I feel maybe its wrong and if I did drink I would go to hell for disobeying/

Alcohol can get away from you and cause health problems. It can also interfere with your relationships - God and neighbor. That being said, you think too much. It is not going to kill you to drink a beer, but be responsible.

In my case, I wish I never touched it.

 

[Helen]

Ha! We now have two identical thread!!! The Mods should blend them together!!

Christianity and alcohol.

 

[Josho]

I don't drink, my dad used to be an alcoholic and it made a mess of his old life, and then he got saved at 36, and alcoholism immediately left him, the smoking ended pretty quickly too, his stomach ulcers were healed, he was healed from partial deafness, he was a new man, he could no longer stand alcohol after he was saved. He is now 66 and hasn't had a drink in 30 years praise Jesus.

So ye I don't drink, because as a "responsible adult" hahahaha, well more to the point as a living temple of the Holy Spirit, I know what alcohol can do the mind, it makes people do stuff that they end up regretting later, and i don't want any part in that, and i just don't see the Jesus in drinking alcohol, and i don't see how it glorifies him who lives in me or purifies my temple, when Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me" and they ate the bread and drank the wine, I believe that was a very different kind of wine they drank, I believe it was "the good wine" that Jesus and the 12 drank at the last supper, the wine that does not mess with people's minds, I believe it was non-alcoholic, because Jesus was pure, he was crystal clean free from sin, and we gotta go to the Cross, what Jesus did on the cross and what communion at the Last Supper is meant to symbolize, you got the bread which is a representation of Jesus, Jesus the bread of life, the one who came down to heaven to give life to the world by dying on the cross, and the wine is the representation of the blood he shed on the cross to wash our sins away and make us white as snow, it was the cleansing blood that allowed us to be righteous through Jesus that we may live an eternal life. Now if that blood was the pure blood, if it was the cleansing blood, if it was the blood to wash us white as sin, which it was, so looking at that, I believe the wine at the last supper would have been pure fruit from the vine, pure grape from the vine, clean wine from the vine, untouched by alcohol.

 

[bbyrd009]

well, since you said that i gotta say that there is a place for alcohol in the Bible, there is even a festival where the ppl are told to buy whatever they like, even hard alcohol; and "wine" is a pretty pervasive symbology in the Bible, too. Dunno about the Last Supper being "unfermented" in that context, tbh, sounds like wishful thinking? i'm a virtual teetotaler.

 

[Josho]

Ah well, I must be the oddball in this topic, but i just can't see alcohol being a Jesus thing, you got many Bible verses warning against drunkenness, and there is that verse about the wine that's red in Proverbs, I believe the Bible does not contradict itself, no matter how many people think it does.

But my main reasons is the ones I listed before, Jesus was clean, he was without sin and Jesus's blood was pure, it was a cleansing blood that washed us white as snow, so my belief is the wine would have been pure grape untouched by alcohol, it would have been clean, at both the wedding feast where the water was turned into wine and the last supper, and of course there was my dad's testimony, he was set free from alcoholism when he got saved, also in the greatest revivals, beer sales dropped for pubs and bars, and the people who were getting saved were throwing their alcohol out, so I believe alcohol cannot be a good thing, because it can lead to a mess, it can wreck marriages, it can cause people to do silly things that they regret later, drunken wild parties is a recipe for regret and disaster.

So I say it's best to stay away from the perverse drink of alcohol, and that's my view on alcohol and Christianity, the 2 don't mix. It's not uncommon to find Christians drinking alcohol and then all of a sudden their language turns blue, and they start saying things that Christians shouldn't be saying...... and it can get worse than that.


On a topic like "Alcohol" it's best to listen to the right voices and resist the wrong voices, if your consciences says no, then it's best not to drink, if you are tempted, it's best not to drink, if you feel the Holy Spirit is saying no, definitely don't do it, but I encourage you all to take a deep look into this topic in the Bible, and ask the Holy Spirit personally what does he think, because it's an important moral topic, knowing the right truth, could save you from sinning little or sinning big or something that you might regret later.

Like anything else don't just let the world's culture influence you, but let the Living Word influence you.

 

[brakelite]

I grew up drinking from age 12. My forbears going back several generations were alcoholics, both male and female. My parents were not, but my grandfather was and died form it. Second generational danger for me. I was on that path by the time I was 18. 6 pints every night after work, then home to smoke weed and go out again for more drinking. When Jesus turned my life upside down at 24, every last desire for either vanished.
If you are being convicted to give it a miss, obey that voice. It may not be sin, but the Lord is telling you "I have something better for you". The sin may come in ignoring that voice, going your own way doing what is right in your own eyes, and God giving you over to a habit that will require serious damage control later. Best to do as He says, now. God bless bro.

And @Josho, well said.

 

[BreadOfLife]

I don't drink, my dad used to be an alcoholic and it made a mess of his old life, and then he got saved at 36, and alcoholism immediately left him, the smoking ended pretty quickly too, his stomach ulcers were healed, he was healed from partial deafness, he was a new man, he could no longer stand alcohol after he was saved. He is now 66 and hasn't had a drink in 30 years praise Jesus.

So ye I don't drink, because as a "responsible adult" hahahaha, well more to the point as a living temple of the Holy Spirit, I know what alcohol can do the mind, it makes people do stuff that they end up regretting later, and i don't want any part in that, and i just don't see the Jesus in drinking alcohol, and i don't see how it glorifies him who lives in me or purifies my temple, when Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me" and they ate the bread and drank the wine, I believe that was a very different kind of wine they drank, I believe it was "the good wine" that Jesus and the 12 drank at the last supper, the wine that does not mess with people's minds, I believe it was non-alcoholic, because Jesus was pure, he was crystal clean free from sin, and we gotta go to the Cross, what Jesus did on the cross and what communion at the Last Supper is meant to symbolize, you got the bread which is a representation of Jesus, Jesus the bread of life, the one who came down to heaven to give life to the world by dying on the cross, and the wine is the representation of the blood he shed on the cross to wash our sins away and make us white as snow, it was the cleansing blood that allowed us to be righteous through Jesus that we may live an eternal life. Now if that blood was the pure blood, if it was the cleansing blood, if it was the blood to wash us white as sin, which it was, so looking at that, I believe the wine at the last supper would have been pure fruit from the vine, pure grape from the vine, clean wine from the vine, untouched by alcohol.

Actually - Jesus Himself told us that he drank alcohol.

Matt. 11:19
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her deeds."

Jesus wouldn't have accused the Pharisees of accusing HIM of being a "drunkard" if He hadn't imbibed.

The rest here are correct in saying that outright drunkenness is the sin - not in celebration. Drunkenness also opens you up to much more sin, as mjrhealth pointed out.

Another thing to consider is that Jesus MADE alcohol at the Wedding at Cana.
The Chief steward points out that it is alcohol when he says to Jesus:
John 2:10
“Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

Sober people who have been drinking good grape juice all day long will know right away if bad grape juice is served after.
People who are "buzzed" on wine my not care if cheaper wine is served later.

Finally, as to the science of un-refrigerated grape juice that sits out for 3 days during a wedding feast in the desert - it ferments and/or spoils. In fact, grape juice starts to ferment the moment the grape is crushed. The science behind halting the fermentation process was invented by the Welch's juice company in the 20th century.

Jesus MADE alcohol.
Jesus DRANK alcohol in moderation.
Jesus didn't sin.

 

[Taken]

Ok so years ago before I was of age to drink I started drinking alcohol "which clearly was a sin because I was underage."

Why do you think that was "clearly a sin"?

God Bless,
Taken