Should Christians really totally abstain from alcoholic drinks? Or does God tell us we can drink in moderation?

Should Christians really totally abstain from alcoholic drinks? Or does God tell us we can drink in moderation?

In the 1800’s and early 1900’s the church in America took bold stand for tatal abstinence. People read and researched the word ‘wine:’ Bible studies showed the truth about alcohol. The result was Prohibition and its great benefits. But the Prohibition Amendment was repealed, and the church began to weaken in its conviction against alcohol. Today some pastors say, ‘What’s wrong with a six pack? Why get hung up on a little wine at a wedding?’

The Bible is the same ‘yesterday, today, and forever.’ What godly Bible teachers said in the past is still true today. Dr. Robert Teachout, a Semitic scholar who, in 1979, wrote his doctorate on the ‘Use of Wind in the Old Testament,’ stated that ‘alcohol is never approved by God in any amount for the obedient Christian.’

Dr Samuele Bacchiocchi, author of ‘Wine in the Bible,’ 1989, says that ‘drinking alcohol is a moral issue and a transgression of God’s law.’

FACTS TO KNOW:

1) The Bible does teach total abstinence from alcohol. Both the main Hebrew word for wine and the Greek word for wine can mean either fermented grape juice or intoxicating wine. The English word wine originally had two meanings also– unfermented juice or alcoholic drink.

2) In the Bible, there are verses that show God’s approval of wine is speaking of unfermented juice. And the verses which expose the evils of wine are speaking about fermented/intoxicating wine.

3) The Bible says alcoholic drink is evil. It is not just the amount one drinks that makes drinking a sin. God condemns the drink itself. (Proverbs 20:1 – KJV) ‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’

4) God does not lead us into evil; He delivers us from it. He does not teach us to practice evil in moderation. Jesus did not make, use, approve, commend, or tell us to use intoxicating wine.

5) God made man to have fellowship with Him. Alcohol goes directly to the brain, the communication center of the body. It interferes with God’s purpose for mankind.

75 BIBLICAL WARNINGS

There are more scriptures condemning the use of alcoholic beverages than can be found on lying, adultery, swearing, cheating, hypocrisy, pride, and/or blasphemy

1. Genesis 9:20-26 – (Noah became drunk; the result was immorality and family trouble.)

2. Genesis 19:30-38 (Lot was so drunk he did not know what he was doing; this led to immorality.)

3. Leviticus 10:9-11 “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you or your sons, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; it shall be a statute forever in all your generations. You shall make a distinction and recognize a difference between the holy and the common or unholy, and between the unclean and the clean;” (God commanded priests not to drink so that they could tell the difference between the holy and the unholy.)

4. Numbers 6:3 – “He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine or of strong drink, and shall drink no grape juice, or eat grapes, fresh or dried.” (The Nazarites were told to eat or drink nothing from the grape vine.)

5. Deuteronomy 21:20 – “And they shall say to the elders of his city, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” (A drunken son was stubborn and rebellious)

6. Deuteronomy 29:6 – “You have not eaten [grain] bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, that you might recognize and know [your dependence on Him Who is saying], I am the Lord your God.” (God gave NO grape juice to Israel nor did they have intoxicating drink.)

7. Deuteronomy 32:33 – “Their wine is the [furious] venom of serpents, and the pitiless poison of vipers.” (Intoxicating wine is like the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps.)

8. Judges 13:4,7,14 – “4Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 7But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. 14She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.” (Samson was to be a Nizarite for his life. His mother was told not to drink wine or strong drink.)

9. 1 Samuel 1:14-15 – “14Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you. 15But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.” (Accused, Hannah said she drank no wine)

10. 1 Samuel 25:32-38 (Nabal died after a drunken spree)

11. 2 Samuel 11:13 – “David invited him, and he ate with him and drank, so that he made him drunk; but that night he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house.” (By getting drunk, David hoped to cover his sin)

12. 2 Samuel 12:28-29 – “Now Absalom commanded his servants, Notice now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine and when I say to you, Strike Amnon, then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and brave. And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose and every man mounted his mule and fled.” (Amnon was drunk when he was killed)

13. 1 Kings 16:8-10 – “8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began his reign of two years over Israel in Tirzah. 9Elah’s servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against Elah. He was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah. 10Zimri came in and smote and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. (The king was drinking himself into drunkenness when her was assassinated.)

14. 1 Kings 20:12-21 – (Ben-Hadad and 32 other kings were drinking when they were attacked and defeated by the Israelites.)

15. Esther 1:5-12 – (The king gave each one all the drink he wanted. He was intoxicated when he commended the queen to come and expose herself before the men)

16. Psalms 75:8 – “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup [of His wrath], and the wine foams and is red, well mixed; and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink its dregs.” (The Lord’s wrath is pictured as mixed wine poured out and drunk by the wicked.)

17. Proverbs 4:17 – “For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” (Alcoholic drink is called the wine of violence)

18. Proverbs 20:1 – “WINE IS a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs or reels because of it is not wise.”(Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging)

19. Proverbs 23:19-20 – “19Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way [of the Lord]. 20Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat,” (A wise person will not be among the drinkers of alcoholic berverages.)

20. Proverbs 23:21 – “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” (Drunkenness causes poverty.)

21. Proverbs 23:29-30 – “29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes? 30Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine. (Drinking causes woe, sorrow, fighting, babbling, and wounds without cause.)

22. Proverbs 23:31 – “Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly.” (God instructs not to look as intoxicating drinks.)

23. Proverbs 23:32 – “At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.” (Alcoholic drinks bite like a serpent, sting like and adder.)

24. Proverbs 23:33 – “[Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant].” (Alcohol causes the drinker to have strange adulterous thoughts, produces will fullness, and prevents reformation.)

25. Proverbs 23:34 – “Yes, you will be [as unsteady] as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, and [as open to disaster] as he who lies upon the top of a mast.” (Alcohol makes the drinker unstable.)

26. Proverbs 23:35 – “You will say, They struck me, but I was not hurt! They beat me [as with a hammer], but I did not feel it! When shall I awake? I will crave and seek more wine again [and escape reality].” (Alcohol makes the drinker insensitive to pain, so he does not perceive it as a warning. Alcohol is habit forming.)

27. Proverbs 31:4-5 – “4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink, 5Lest they drink and forget the law and what it decrees, and pervert the justice due any of the afflicted.” (Kings, Princes, and others who rule and judge must not drink alcohol. Alcohol perverts good judgment.)

28. Proverbs 31:6-7 – “6Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away, and wine to him in bitter distress of heart. 7Let him drink and forget his poverty and [seriously] remember his want and misery no more.” (Strong drink could be given to those about to perish or those in pain. Better anesthetics are available today.)

29. Ecclesiastes 2:3 – “3I searched in my mind how to cheer my body with wine–yet at the same time having my mind hold its course and guide me with [human] wisdom–and how to lay hold of folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.” (The king tried everything, including intoxicating drink, to see if it satisfied. IT DID NOT!)

30. Ecclesiastes 10:17 – “17Happy (fortunate and to be envied) are you, O land, when your king is a free man and of noble birth and character and when your officials feast at the proper time–for strength and not for drunkenness!” (Lands are blessed when its leaders do not drink.)

31. Isaiah 5:11-12 – “11Woe unto those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who tarry late into the night till wine inflames them! 12They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, neither do they consider the operation of His hands [in mercy and in judgment].” (Woe to those who get up early to drink and stay up late and night to get drunk.)

32. Isaiah 5:22 – “22Woe to those who are mighty heroes at drinking wine and men of strength in mixing alcoholic drinks!” (Who to ‘champion’ drinkers & ‘experts’ at mixing drinks.)

33. Isaiah 19:14 – “The Lord has mingled a spirit of perverseness, error, and confusion within her; [her leaders] have caused Egypt to stagger in all her doings, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.” (Drunken men stagger in their vomit.)

34. Isaiah 22:12-13 – “12And in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping and mourning, to the shaving off of all your hair [in humiliation] and to the girding with sackcloth. 13But instead, see the pleasure and mirth, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine, [with the idea] Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (The Israelites choose to drink; their future looks hopeless to them.)

35. Isaiah 24:9 – “9No more will they drink wine with a song; strong drink will be bitter to those who drink it.” (Drinkers cannot escape the consequences when God judges.)

36. Isaiah 28:1 – “ 1WOE TO [Samaria] the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim [the ten tribes], and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome and smitten down with wine!” (God pronounces woe on the drunkards of Ephraim.)

37. Isaiah 28:3 – “3With [alien] feet [Samaria] the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden down.” (Proud drunkards shall be trodden down.)

38. Isaiah 28:7 – “7But even these reel from wine and stagger from strong drink: the priest and the prophet reel from strong drink; they are confused from wine, they stagger and are gone astray through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble when pronouncing judgment.” (Priests and prophets stagger and reel from beer and wine, err in vision, and stumble in judgment.)

39. Isaiah 28:8 – “8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, so that there is no place that is clean.” (Drinkers’ tables are covered with vomit and filth.)

40. Isaiah 56:9-12 – “9All you beasts of the field, come to devour, all you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest. 10[Israel’s] watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, they love to slumber.11Yes, the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. And such are the shepherds who cannot understand; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his own gain, from every quarter [one and all]. 12Come, say they, We will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink! And tomorrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.” (Drinkers seek their own gain and expect tomorrow to be just like today.)

41. Jeremiah 35:2-14 – (The Rechabites drank no grape juice or intoxicating win and were blessed.)

42. Ezekiel 44:21 – “21Neither shall any priest drink wine when he enters the inner court.” (Again God instructed the priests not to drink wine.)

43. Daniel 1:5-17 – “ (Daniel refused the king’s intoxicating wine and was blessed for it along with his abstaining friends.)

44. Daniel 5:1 – “1BELSHAZZAR THE king [descendant of Nebuchadnezzar] made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and he drank his wine in the presence of the thousand.” (Belshazzar, ruler of Babylon; led his people in drinking.)

45. Daniel 5:2-3 – “2Belshazzar, while he was tasting the wine, commanded that the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple [out of the sacred area–the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] which was in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3Then they brought in the gold and silver vessels which had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.” (The king, along with his nobles, wives, and concubines, drank form the goblets which had been taken from God’s temple.)

46. Daniel 5:4 – “They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.” (Drinking wine was combined with praising false gods.)

47. Daniel 5:23 – “23And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of His house have been brought before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in Whose hand your breath is and Whose are all your ways you have not honored and glorified [but have dishonored and disgraced].” (God sent word to Belshazzar that punishment would be swift for the evil he had committed.)

48. Hosea 4:11 – “Harlotry and wine and new wine take away the heart and the mind and the spiritual understanding.” (Intoxicating wine takes away intelligence.)

49. Hosea 7:5 – “On the [special] day of our king the princes made themselves and him sick with the heat of wine; [the king] stretched out his hand with scoffers and lawless men.” (God reproves princes for drinking.)

50. Joel 1:5 – “5Awake, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the [fresh] sweet juice [of the grape], for it is cut off and removed from your mouth.” (Drunkards awake to see God’s judgment.)

51. Joel 3:3 – “3And they have cast lots for My people, and have given a boy for a harlot and have sold a girl for juice [of the grape] and have drunk it.” (The enemy is judged for selling girls for wine.)

52. Amos 2:8 – “8And they lay themselves down beside every [pagan] altar upon clothes they have taken in pledge [for indebtedness], and in the house of their God [in daring contempt of Him] they frivolously drink the wine which has been exacted from those [unjustly] fined.” (Unrighteous acts of Israel included the drinking of win which had been taken for the payment of fines.)

53. Amos 2:12 – “12But you gave the dedicated ones [the Nazirites] wine to drink and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.” (Israel is condemned for forcing Nazarites to drink wine.)

54. Micah 2:11 – “11If a man walking in a spirit [of vanity] and in falsehood should lie and say, I will prophesy to you of wine and strong drink, O Israel, he would even be the acceptable prophet of this people!” (Israelites are eager to follow false teachers who prophesy plenty of intoxicating drinks.)

55. Nahum 1:10 – “10For [the Ninevites] are as bundles of thorn branches [for fuel], and even while drowned in their drunken [carousing] they shall be consumed like stubble fully dry [in the day of the Lord’s wrath].” (The drunkards of Nineveh will be destroyed by God.)

56. Habakkuk 2:5 – “5Moreover, wine and wealth are treacherous; the proud man [the Chaldean invader] is restless and cannot stay at home. His appetite is large like that of Sheol and [his greed] is like death and cannot be satisfied; he gathers to himself all nations and collects all people as if he owned them.” (A man is betrayed by wine.)

57. Habakkuk 2:15 – “15Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink, who pours out your bottle to them and adds to it your poisonous and blighting wrath and also makes them drunk, that you may look on their stripped condition and pour out foul shame [on their glory]!” (Woe to him that gives his neighbor drink.)

58. Habakkuk 2:16 – “16You [yourself] will be filled with shame and contempt instead of glory. Drink also and be like an uncircumcised [heathen]! The cup [of wrath] in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you [O destroyer], and foul shame shall be upon your own glory!” (Drinking leads to shame.)

59. Matthew 24:48-51 – “48But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, My master is delayed and is going to be gone a long time, 49And begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware, 51And will punish him [cut him up by scourging] and put him with the pretenders (hypocrites); there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” (A drinking servant is unprepared for his Lord’s return.)

60. Luke 1:15 – “15For he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord. And he must drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit even in and from his mother’s womb.” (John the Baptist drank neither grape juice nor wine.)

61. Luke 12:45 – “45But if that servant says in his heart, My master is late in coming, and begins to strike the menservants and the maids and to eat and drink and get drunk,” (Christ warned against drunkenness.)

62. Luke 21:34 – “34But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life, and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose;” (Drunkenness will cause a person not to be ready for the Lord’s return.)

63. Romans 13:13 – “13Let us live and conduct ourselves honorably and becomingly as in the [open light of] day, not in reveling (carousing) and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery (sensuality and licentiousness), not in quarreling and jealousy.” (Do not walk in drunkenness or immorality.)

64. Romans 14:21 – “21The right thing is to eat no meat or drink no wine [at all], or [do anything else] if it makes your brother stumble or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him.” (Do not do anything that will hurt your testimony as a believer.)

65. 1 Corinthians 5:11 – “11But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God], or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering], or is a drunkard or a swindler or a robber. [No] you must not so much as eat with such a person.” (If a Christian brother is a drinker, do not associate with him.)

66. 1 Corinthians 6:10 – “10Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.” (Drunkards will not inherit the Kingdome of God.)

67. Galatians 5:21 – “21Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Acts of the sinful nature, such as drunkenness, will prohibit a person from inheriting the Kingdom of God.)

68. Ephesians 5:18 – “18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.” (In contrast to being drunk with wine, the believer is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.)

69. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 – “6Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect).” (Christians are to be alert and self-controlled, belonging to the day. Drunkards belong to the night and darkness.) – SIDE NOTE: Lady Gaga has a new album/song: “Marry the Night”

70. 1 Timothy 3:2-3 – “2Now a bishop (superintendent, overseer) must give no grounds for accusation but must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, circumspect and temperate and self-controlled; [he must be] sensible and well behaved and dignified and lead an orderly (disciplined) life; [he must be] hospitable [showing love for and being a friend to the believers, especially strangers or foreigners, and be] a capable and qualified teacher, 3Not given to wine, not combative but gentle and considerate, not quarrelsome but forbearing and peaceable, and not a lover of money [insatiable for wealth and ready to obtain it by questionable means].” (Bishops/Elders are to be temperate, sober, and not near any wine.)

71. 1 Timothy 3:8 – “In like manner the deacons [must be] worthy of respect, not shifty and double-talkers but sincere in what they say, not given to much wine, not greedy for base gain [craving wealth and resorting to ignoble and dishonest methods of getting it].” (Deacons are to be worthy of respect and not drinkers.)

72. 1 Timothy 3:11 – “[The] women likewise must be worthy of respect and serious, not gossipers, but temperate and self-controlled, [thoroughly] trustworthy in all things.” (Deacons’ wives are to be temperate and sober.)

73. Titus 1:7-8 – “7For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; 8But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;” (An overseer is to be disciplined.)

74. Titus 2:2-3 – “2Urge the older men to be temperate, venerable (serious), sensible, self-controlled, and sound in the faith, in the love, and in the steadfastness and patience [of Christ]. 3Bid the older women similarly to be reverent and devout in their deportment as becomes those engaged in sacred service, not slanderers or slaves to drink. They are to give good counsel and be teachers of what is right and noble,” (The older men and older women of the church are to be temperate and not addicted to wine.)

75. 1 Peter 4:3-4 – “3For the time that is past already suffices for doing what the Gentiles like to do–living [as you have done] in shameless, insolent wantonness, in lustful desires, drunkenness, reveling, drinking bouts and abominable, lawless idolatries. 4They are astonished and think it very queer that you do not now run hand in hand with them in the same excesses of dissipation, and they abuse [you].” (The past life of drunkenness and carousing has no place in the Christian’s life.)

GREAT BLOG on the topic by Pastor Mark Spitsbergenhttp://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abidingplace.org%2Ffeatures%2Falcohol-in-the-church.html&h=aAQGudx3CAQGVlvzDbZqS2ubryV_Ivub-ThzqO2Vzt-es1Q

Wine is a mockery, strong drink is raging: And whosoever is deceived by it is not wise.
http://www.abidingplace.org/features/alcohol-in-the-church.html#intro

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STATEMENT ON ALCOHOL IN THE CHURCH
Friday, April 16, 2010
By Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne

Understanding the nature of human beings – the attraction of the forbidden fruit – people are going to drink – We cannot force anyone to do anything – however:

We would strongly warn and recommend against the use of wine and alcohol by those who are followers of Jesus, believe the Bible and believe in keeping themselves pure for the coming of the Lord.

Because of these things

1. In drinking alcohol it”s about intoxication – and that means coming under the influence and control of another “Spirit” other than the Holy Spirit.

2. Wine and Alcohol has destroyed hundreds of millions of lives over the years – broken homes, shattered dreams, premature deaths, broken hearts, wounded souls.

3. We as children of God should abstain from all appearance of evil. Remember we don’t need the wine of the world when we have been given the new wine of the Spirit to drink by Jesus.

4. If we are trying to lead someone to Christ then how do we win them to the Lord and introduce them to the Holy Spirit and the other spirit at the same time.

5. What if we caused them to fall, lose their soul, and go to hell, and to a lost eternity?

6. It’s the thin edge of the wedge because it opens up a door – a foothold for the enemy to take over and get control of our lives. People may start of having what they might call “a little for their stomach”s sake”, but before long they are needing a designated driver or being arrested for DUI.

7. Just in the ministry alone Adonica and I have seen the devastation in the lives of ministries and marriages of wonderful precious men & women of God – that had powerful anointing reduced to nothing but a crust of bread – all because of alcohol – it is the saddest thing – makes you weep – Oh how the mighty have fallen – it seemed fine when they were successful it did not show, but when they hit hard times they ended up turning to alcohol to relieve the problem, instead of turning to Jesus.

8. I asked many why they drank – they said the pressure was so great that they tried to get relief and then the enemy hooked them and took them into a dark hole – a hole they could not get out of. As with anything addictive, initially, people always believe they are the ones in control until they try to let it go or stop and finally they have to acknowledge that the substance has control of them.

9. Each one will have to follow their conscience the voice of their heart in this matter – our recommendation from 30 years in the ministry and dealing with this problem in the church – don’t touch it. This is not about rules and regulations. This is not about being religious. It is about being free it is about your eternity. You are the slave to the one to whom you yield -the one you give place to and submit to. The devil is looking for any opportunity he can find to take you out. He is looking for the chinks in your armor. Why allow a weakness of flesh or mind to be the crack in your door that gives him place.

10. Please read the online book written by a friend, theologian and scientist – on the subject of alcohol in the church – from a biblical, theological, historical and scientific view, (Link Above)

PS. I am not posting this to bring condemnation on anyone but to help those that are facing a battle!