Is Drinking a sin?

[Robert Gwin]

Hi, my name is Truman and I'm an alcoholic. (Hi, Truman!)
If you can have the odd drink and it doesn't cause you any problems, then, in my opinion, no, having a drink is not a sin.
However, if you believe it is a sin and then you drink, you do sin. In this case, it's the intent.
Alcohol seems to turn off the common sense part of my brain, so I don't drink.
Nothing I put in my body can make me unclean, it's what comes out of my heart that defiles me. - Paul, the Apostle.

No sir, drinking is not a sin. Drunkenness is however, and a certified alcoholic would definitely abstain. I have seen several post things like if you believe something is a sin, then it is a sin for you, I do not believe that to be true. God's standards are exacting, He is not partial, what is wrong for you is wrong for me as well, He does not give different rules to different individuals.

 

[soul man]

Dont see it as an attack pearl .
And yes i used to have that kind of mind . Educated , physcology and all . So yeah i know what i speak on .
Have you ever wondered why some of the most educated shrinks are some of the most depressed people themselves
and they often end up suicide . ever wonder why that is . cause the wisdom of this world , AINT the answer .
The simple childlike , TRUTH only , IS the free mind .

They have to listen to everybody else's trouble, why would they not get depressed. If you have trouble I'll talk to you but not to just listen to your trouble. Talking about your pain helps, it gets things off your chest but it is not the answer - getting things off your chest does no good. Good coucil and listening will help the hurting soul - not talking about all your trouble, everyone has trouble. My answer is; do you want help or just for everyone to listen to how bad you have it. You choose!

 

[Nancy]

Scripture also says a little wine is good for the stomach's sake.
I heard it argued that wine didn't contain alcohol back then....
Well there is only one way to make wine (that I am aware of) and that is to let the fruit "ferment" changing the chemistry of the food into alcohol.
This process is thousands of years old...
There is a fruit that grows on trees in Africa and when the animals eat it they get very drunk!! This video below will bring a chuckle to your heart watching them stumble and fall....the elephant..oh my!

LOVED the ostrich! Hahaha!

 

[marks]

God's standards are exacting, He is not partial, what is wrong for you is wrong for me as well, He does not give different rules to different individuals.

Actually, God does not want you do that which you believe to be wrong, and declares that this is in fact sin for you.

For all that is not of faith is sin.

And He gives the clear example of eating meat that was offered to an idol. If you believe it wrong to eat, and you eat, you have sinned. If you do not believe it wrong, and you eat, you have not sinned.

Much love!

 

[marks]

God does not differentiate between sin and sickness is what he said. I believe he does because he is loving and full of grace.

Of course God knows our weaknesses, others don't. And besides, God knows the real issue is whether we are only flesh, or if we have His Holy Spirit.

Much love!

 

[robert derrick]

@Heart2Soul Paul enjoined Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach's sake.

Some legalists even try to claim that the Lord Jesus did not actually turn the water into wine in John 2, so that it fits in more with their Fundamentalist preferences. To which theological liberals will reply, Well, now you guys agree with us after all with our doubts about the miracles...

"To which theological liberals will reply, Well, now you guys agree with us after all with our doubts about the miracles.."

True. I hadn't considered it that way. Once you go down the road of making Scripture not mean what it plainly says to any child, then you become like them that don't want any Scripture to mean what it plainly says.

That is why Jesus called it the sword with two-edges: it cuts them off on the left and on the right.

One great 'conservative' theologian tried to say Scripture couldn't possibly mean wine-wine, as in alcoholic wine, because such wine is made with fermentation and death, and so Jesus could not possibly mean for that to be the 1st miracle to show forth His glory:

And ye that glory would be revealed by His resurrection, which followed the cross: the place of death. He literally died as grapes for wine on the cross with His blood shedding all out. Except He die, then no resurrection to save by: Wine is resurrection after fermenting death.

And in this light I now can understand something that was always strange to me: Is 53:5 said He would be bruised, which meant crushed, which Jerem 51 confirms, to be crushed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

And so, like the grape He was crushed underfoot of the devil to be made eternal wine, and by it, jesus cruised the devil's heel.

Jesus' blood is the pure blood and wine of the grape, which wine is drank in memory of His blood shed on the cross.

Grapejuice is in fact a cheap mockery of the law-making self-righteous.

Not to mention, there was no grapejuice industry int he ancient world, which there would have need been for all that good grapejuice drinking that the people of God enjoyed.

The first real spread of grapejuice was in the 1800's in order to satisfy the Methodist holier-than-thou communion tasting.

 

[robert derrick]

Back in new Zealand a couple of dozen Tuis (local native bird) were feasting on very ripe berries on a tree behind our house. The result was hilarious... Their aim when attempting to land on branches was haywire, their flying was all over the place, and when they landed on the ground, or crashed, they struggled to get up again.
And there's a native pigeon, the Kereru, that will feast on Miro berries until it can't eat any more and then sit on a branch, and sit, and sit,... It can't move. You can walk right up to it, push it off with a stick and catch it. If it dropped to the ground it would split open and die. Waiting for those opportunities was the old Maori way of getting dinner. They were great eating.
But can we use those examples in nature to justify drinking and eating to excess for ourselves? I think that would be foolish. I personally have never been amused or entertained by drunk people leaving the local pub and fumbling for their car keys and throwing up in the car park.

My family has a long history of alcoholism. I don't drink. And for all the reasons the pastor gave. And I think the same reasons to a degree apply to smoking.

Drunkenness and gluttony is called sin by Scripture. Not eating and drinking.

They accused Jesus of being a glutton and drunkard, because He did eat and drink.

 

[marks]

One great 'conservative' theologian tried to say Scripture couldn't possibly mean wine-wine, as in alcoholic wine, because such wine is made with fermentation and death, and so Jesus could not possibly mean for that to be the 1st miracle to show forth His glory:

The fact the wine was alcoholic is attested to by the master of the feast, who praised the groom for keeping the best wine for later, and not just pulling out the cheap stuff after everyone was drunk.

Much love!

 

[robert derrick]

No sir, drinking is not a sin. Drunkenness is however, and a certified alcoholic would definitely abstain. I have seen several post things like if you believe something is a sin, then it is a sin for you, I do not believe that to be true. God's standards are exacting, He is not partial, what is wrong for you is wrong for me as well, He does not give different rules to different individuals.

Not quite agree. Yes, if it is God's rule, then it is rule for all, but if one's conscience is weak about something, then they should not partake, because it would not be of faith.

We of liberty ought not be forcing our liberty upon the weak of conscience.

There is the faith of Jesus we all are called to obey, and their is our personal faith, which we each work out between ourselves and the Lord.

The problem all to often is when we try to make our own faith a rule and law for all. That is when we become a lawgiver and judge of other men's liberty by our own conscience. (James 4:12) (1 Cor 10:29)

They of weak conscience ought not be judging our liberty thereby. Especially not them that make a whole life of weak-conscienced zero-tolerance policies to be shackled by, called 'holiness' living.

 

[Heart2Soul]

LOVED the ostrich! Hahaha!

Yeah he was flat out and passed out...lol.

 

[marks]

The fact the wine was alcoholic is attested to by the master of the feast, who praised the groom for keeping the best wine for later, and not just pulling out the cheap stuff after everyone was drunk.

Much love!

It just occurs to me . . . Jesus was making wine for a crowd of whom the master of the feast alluded that they were a bit inebriated, perhaps?

It seems like he was saying, as it to say . . . this is when they'd be bringing out the cheap stuff . . . look at everybody!

Much love!

 

[farouk]

Yeah he was flat out and passed out...lol.

@Heart2Soul To extend the metaphor, some ppl can make themselves look very odd if they strain to read things into the Word of God which are really not there, and all because they want to impose some extra rule on other ppl...

 

[Heart2Soul]

@Heart2Soul To extend the metaphor, some ppl can make themselves look very odd if they strain to read things into the Word of God which are really not there, and all because they want to impose some extra rule on other ppl...

This problem will exist until Jesus returns and we will all see the whole truth.

 

[farouk]

This problem will exist until Jesus returns and we will all see the whole truth.

@Heart2Soul Meanwhile, trying to avoid legalism is a good idea for the testimony...

 

[Heart2Soul]

@Heart2Soul Meanwhile, trying to avoid legalism is a good idea for the testimony...

I avoid it like the plague!

 

[robert derrick]

@Heart2Soul Meanwhile, trying to avoid legalism is a good idea for the testimony...

Legalism in the context of this thread is obviously making up law, where no law is, and thus judging transgression, where no transgression is.

Condemning the guiltless by one's own rule. (Matthew 12:7)

I think most people who do that don't even realizing they are. They just think something is a sin and say so, without really trying to judge others or force others into compliance.

The only real problem is when believers take their legalism so seriously, that they do judge the salvation of others by it, and so have no company with them they say to be open sinners, because they say what sin is.

One man said to me: "A preacher is supposed to tell people what sin is!"

That sounds good and strong, but not true. God's preacher is supposed to tell people what God says sin is. And if God says something is sin, He will say so plainly and clearly without any need of explanation nor exploration of Scripture to make it seem so.

 

[Brakelite]

Drunkenness and gluttony is called sin by Scripture. Not eating and drinking.

They accused Jesus of being a glutton and drunkard, because He did eat and drink.

But we're not talking about eating and drinking. We're talking about alcohol and whether it adversely affects the human minds to such an extent that it gives no glory to God and destroys out testimony. That's the bottom line. As I said earlier in this conversation to which you replied with a run of personal abuse, the smallest amount of alcohol destroys brain cells. Permanently. That's not my opinion. That's science. Alcohol is a poison. Now you decide if it's sin or not to willingly poison oneself for the sake of pleasure.

 

[farouk]

But we're not talking about eating and drinking. We're talking about alcohol and whether it adversely affects the human minds to such an extent that it gives no glory to God and destroys out testimony. That's the bottom line. As I said earlier in this conversation to which you replied with a run of personal abuse, the smallest amount of alcohol destroys brain cells. Permanently. That's not my opinion. That's science. Alcohol is a poison. Now you decide if it's sin or not to willingly poison oneself for the sake of pleasure.

Spurgeon smoked.

I don't think this "proves" something; similarly with moderate wine drinking, etc.

 

[Brakelite]

Spurgeon smoked.

So everybody keeps telling me. I am sure though if I did a little research, I could find several theologians who didn't smoke. I will not do that though, because it will prove no more than you have done. All it proves is God is gracious. That's it. He spoke through a donkey once, that doesn't mean we should all behave like donkeys... Although there are some who would it seems disagree with me on that.

Even moderate wine drinking destroys brain cells. And they do not grow back. And any suggestion that Jesus, the glorious Son of the Almighty God drank any alcoholic beverage this deliberately destroying His own holy mind, is ludicrous.

 

[farouk]

So everybody keeps telling me. I am sure though if I did a little research, I could find several theologians who didn't smoke. I will not do that though, because it will prove no more than you have done. All it proves is God is gracious. That's it. He spoke through a donkey once, that doesn't mean we should all behave like donkeys... Although there are some who would it seems disagree with me on that.

Even moderate wine drinking destroys brain cells. And they do not grow back. And any suggestion that Jesus, the glorious Son of the Almighty God drank any alcoholic beverage this deliberately destroying His own holy mind, is ludicrous.

At Cana, the Lord Jesus turned the water into wine.