Drunk on Something

For years I heard some passionate debates about whether or not Jesus made intoxicating wine. I think the real issue isn’t really a curiosity on the alcoholic content but rather if this situation would create a loophole for his followers to imbibe. Some want to find an excuse to indulge their physical desire. It isn’t just this passage however that gets twisted.

The effects of alcohol, and other such drugs, have a biblical purpose to be used to provide relief of physical suffering and for medicinal purposes (Proverbs 31:6, 1^st Timothy 5:23). Folks however want to have the effect without the purpose. The use is a justification rather than a legitimate reason. But God’s people are not to be controlled by a substance but rather by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:8).

It’s sad because in the debate we often lose that principle. I’ve seen some of the most adamant teetotalers that take pain medicine like it’s going out of style. We somehow seem more comfortable with misuse that comes from a pharmacy rather than a liquor store. It is estimated that there are over 8.6 million prescription medicine abusers. The medical purpose has been overtaken by the physical desire. It not always the substance that makes something bad, it is how it is used and if it controls me.

That should make us think about some other physical things in our lives. Do we use food for the nourishment of our bodies or in gluttonous abandon? Is the caffeine in our coffee a nicety or a necessity? Are our sexual desires in accordance with God’s purpose or with the lust of the flesh?

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

1^st Corinthians 6:12-13

Instead of trying to find the right amount we should be trying to find the right purpose. Instead of trying to find an exception to the rule, we should search for way to be more Godly. Are our bodies used for personal pleasure or the glorification of God?

The desire of our physical bodies should never be used to justify putting our eternal soul in jeopardy!

Comments

Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Mighty Gulf

It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding. To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two. Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God? In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

Why Does A Lion Tamer Use a Chair?

Ok, I know you have seen the image. A lion tamer enters in the cage of the beast and forces it to obey his commands using a whip, a gun and a chair. Now you can see how the whip and gun could come in handy but you might be wondering why a chair would intimidate an animal as powerful as a lion? Clyde Beatty taming a lion with a chair It's not that the lion is afraid of the chair -- it's that the lion is confused by the chair. Cats are single-minded, and the points of the chair's four legs bobbing around confuse the lion enough that it loses its train of thought. Casually put, the chair distracts the lion from wanting to claw the lion tamer's face off. The powerful creature could destroy the chair in moment’s notice but instead it is distracted into submission. It’s not too much different than how Satan controls us today. By the power of God we could overcome anything that he would use to subdue us. We can overcome the evil one (1 st John 2:13-14). ...

Ecclesiastes 12:10

Search This Blog