Faith and Alcohol: Navigating Moderation, Self-Control, and Spiritual Integrity

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We're going to , on today's episode , dive into some real struggles , something that I personally have had a year's span of dealing with something called alcoholism .

Some of you might not , like my wife , have never experienced that pull of something that , like smoking or any kind of substance , where it feels like it's just pulling you and you have no control and you can't do anything to escape the grip of this thing .

Some of you may say well , I'm fine , I don't have any issues , I don't have anything pulling at me that way , and I'm really glad you said that . But just because you think you don't have any issues , should you still consume alcohol ? Should you still smoke cigarettes ?

I believe , from personal experience , from tried and true evaluations and struggles and errors and falling and over and over again , trying to find freedom in my life , there was not the element of freedom that I really wanted present in my life until I began to give everything away that was of the flesh and began to live out things for Christ .

Now that doesn't mean that I have zero struggles , that doesn't mean that everything is perfect and there's no issues , no hangups , no stumbling , no mishaps . But my life is so much better when I introduce which is one of the fruit of the spirit self-control .

So I want you to think about that as we walk through this today and stop looking at things as okay , well , is it a sin ? Now , why am I saying that ?

Because if you only look at things in the lens of is it a sin , you may actually let things that shouldn't be included in your life to actually stay when in reality , you could live a much fuller and more robust and fulfilled life , when you exclude things that maybe aren't necessarily biblically wrong or maybe aren't necessarily like socially wrong , but you could

have a better life more . I don't know about you , but I don't like drama . My household is pretty much drama-free 99% of the time . That doesn't mean like there's no fighting , there's no voice raising , things like that . We have a teenager and we have a little baby . There's voices that get raised , attitudes that get thrown around , not saying that doesn't exist .

What I'm saying is imagine if all of the stuff that is just regular life , everyday life , and I throw alcohol in the mix or I throw some other habit or issues or something that magnifies the worst qualities in someone usually is wrapped up in alcohol . Now , most people let's be clear different organizations , different denominations , different Bible teaching places .

They have different options , different viewpoints . So some of them believe that total abstinence , which is my point of view , my stance at my denomination , is total abstinence is the best route . Denomination is total abstinence is the best route , while others believe in moderation . Responsible drinking is acceptable , as with all things . What does the Bible say ?

So what does the Bible say ? I want to start off by reading a key verse in the New Testament that often shapes , and should shape , the conversation around alcohol . It is found in Ephesians 5 . Verse whoops , it's supposed to be 20 . No , that's right . Yeah , okay , I was looking at the wrong place in my notes . I jumped ahead of my notes .

All right , so yeah , ephesians 5 , verse 18 , it says Don't be drunk with notes . All right , so yeah , ephesians , chapter five , verse 18 , it says don't be drunk with wine . Pretty straightforward , because that will ruin your life . Instead , be filled with the spirit . Now , the apostle Paul here isn't saying merely tasting wine is a sin . Tasting wine is a sin .

He's warning that it , specifically against drunkenness can ruin your life . Most people , most and when I say most , understand that what I'm saying is not a blanket statement for everybody , and this is always , and there's no room for nuance . But what I'm saying is there's a major reason besides my denominational stance , of what my denomination believes .

I stand by what they say . Obviously , I'm a pastor in that denomination . I'm going to back it up , I'm going to stand next to it , but I believe that what they say is accurate and biblically true .

And what I mean by that is that if you've ever drank before and what I mean by that is that if you've ever drank before , you've ever been drunk before it lowers your so the fruit of the spirit . It twists them up and makes them into forbidden fruit , if that makes sense .

So it takes away your inhibitions , it lowers them down Like I'll give you a short , quick story when me and my wife first got married , she had never drank before .

I come from drinking , not from my parents , but just when I got out on my own underneath their roof , I started doing my own thing and the pastor that was over us , in the same denomination I'm in now , apparently had his own take on things , and I'm not saying that his take was wrong , but it was wrong for me . Now let me explain .

When I was out in the world , I was doing meth , cocaine , I was drinking , I was being of the world and drinking was a major part of that . Obviously , a lot of bad choices . Obviously a lot of bad choices , a lot of bad paths in my life , because I allowed substance to control my brain . I wasn't thinking clearly . That's the major reason why alcohol .

When someone asked me , I said that alcohol needs to be something you stay away from because it ends up luring you into a mindset that normally wouldn't be a part of the way you think . It doesn't make you think wiser . It doesn't advance you in any way spiritually . It doesn't advance you .

I used to be the guy that would argue about me being able to drive . I would drive drunk all the time . I don't know how . I've had wrecks . I've totaled a vehicle before . My dad's truck ran it into a ditch . Come to find out later that past that little place I went in , was it dropped off and there was nothing but trees .

I probably would have died , but God made it to where . It was a wet night and the truck sunk instead of went forward . But I fell asleep at the wheel because I've been up for days doing drugs and I was drinking alcohol and those two things don't mix .

I just fell asleep at the wheel , hitched a ride back to town and got dropped off at a bar and started drinking again . There's nothing in my life that has been good that has come from alcohol . So I was talking about my wife .

That pastor instructed us that it was okay in the confines of our marriage , which I'm not disagreeing with our own home , the privacy of our home . You know what we do .

There is our , our , um , our business , and if we don't , if we feel it like we're not doing something against the word of God and we are keeping it between her and I , nobody else is introduced . No , there's no other , we're not having a party .

He led us to believe that it was okay , and so , because he said it was okay , we started going down stuff she'd never tried before , didn't start at beer , we started at champagne and wine , things like that .

And so we quickly realized me I was about to get off work and I started in my head thinking about of getting off early and drinking Didn't really have anything to do with my wife , it was me and I couldn't wait to get off of work so that I could start to drink with my wife .

Now , keep in mind again , this is something that has not been in my life for by that time , probably a couple of years . That has not been in my life for by that time , probably a couple of years . And once I felt that of like , I needed to drink or I was looking forward to drinking , I couldn't get it off my mind .

I realized that the loop of sinful nature was about to start again and it was going to pull me back in because I was inadvertently , unknowingly being seduced again by that lifestyle . I couldn't get it off my mind . And when I realized that , I actually came to my wife and I said hey , I think we need to , I think we need to stop this .

I can't stop thinking about it . She said I was thinking the same thing and she never had a problem with it . We hadn't touched it since . But there was something spiritually that was manipulating me physically and it was getting it to where my mind couldn't be on my regular job I actually was . I couldn't stop thinking about the alcohol .

I couldn't stop thinking about the alcohol . And so 1,000% for me . In my house we do not mess with alcohol , aside from denominational belief and aside from my papers on the wall that say I'm a pastor and ordained through a specific regime , church of God . It doesn't matter In my house , whatever they say , I don't care .

In my house we're not doing it , because I was reminded early on in my new birth in Christ that there is an alluring element to the alcohol and to that lifestyle , because alcoholism is attached to fornicating , adultery , smoking , all other substances . When I went into that , I went into even smoking cigarettes . All of that was through the doorway of alcohol .

So from what I have experienced now , obviously I can't work out your salvation with fear and trembling . That's something you got to do between you and God .

But is it possible that you won't let go of things that you should let go of because you like them , no matter what the word says , no matter what the spirit is leading you and no matter what your convictions are like ? Maybe we have numbed our convictions to fit our preference , and that's the whole point of this video today .

I want you to actually think about this . Like what are you allowing to stay in your life ? Could it be that alcohol is one of those and you should have let it go a long time ago ? So let's go on to 1 Timothy 5 , verse 23 . And here Paul is telling Timothy to do this .

He's saying wait , you just got done with this long story about how you don't touch alcohol and it shouldn't be a part of your life . And now you're saying that Paul , the same guy that just said don't be drunk with wine , is telling him to drink wine . So listen , there's a difference . So 23 says don't drink only water .

You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach , because you are sick so often . Okay , now you have to understand that in this day and time modern medicine did not exist . Today we live in a very different world .

Now , I'm not saying that some of the stuff they give us is any better , but the apostle Paul here is not saying merely tasting wine is a sin . He's warning in specifically against drunkenness . Okay , that's what Ephesians is saying . So here in 1 Timothy , this verse indicates that wine was used in biblical times for medicinal purposes .

Notice that Paul says a little wine

. The main point in these passages is that there's a difference between moderate use and abuse . There's a massive difference in allowing it to control your life , to do it for , and what is your motivation behind it ? So let me ask you this when you talk about hanging out , you talk about doing something . Say , 4th of July is coming up .

That's a big one , 4th of July coming up . You're like we're about to get drunk , we're about to do shots . Think about how you're speaking . What is your motivation behind the way you're talking like that ? If you were a Christian ? That life . That mindset , that desire to do that should be dead . It should be gone .

It should not exist anymore in your vocabulary of those types of things . So here's the thing In Christianity , what we love to do is to take Christ and mix it with flesh , and it's no longer Christ . If you put any flesh , any worldly thing that you used to do , and try to mix it in with Christ and Christianity , it is no longer Christianity .

You have made yourself an idol and a God in your own life , to where you're not going to adhere what the word says . You're not going to follow Christ example , you're going to follow your own . Okay , that's very . I'm not saying that's like it's not sexy . You know what I mean . It's not attractive , but that's the truth .

When you start mixing in what you want and desire and label it , use the label of Christ on top of it , you have done nothing but poisoned any good that can come out of that , because you're mixing sinful nature with Christ-like attributes for what you say and then they end up not being . If there's any flesh mixed in with Christ , it's not Christ at all .

You are to do the opposite , to repent , to turn from what you were doing and go after God and if your conviction makes you feel that way and you're not letting go , you have not picked up your cross and I would even wonder if you've really accepted Christ as your Lord and your Savior , because you're wanting something of Him to benefit you , but you don't want

to give up what you enjoy . There's a massive difference in picking up your cross daily and just saying that you are saved Big difference . So let's look over in Romans 14 , 21 . It's better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble .

Now , before we dive into the alcohol part , women , you cannot get upset . Christian women , you can't point blame to men , visual men , the way we are built and designed , with you wearing leggings up your and you're blaming us for being perverts . You are responsible for what your body does .

And you wearing things that cling to you and show all your junk and you got cleavage popping out , but you got a scripture in your profile description . You're talking out of both sides of your mouth . You're wanting to claim God while dressing like a whore At the same point . Men , you are responsible for where you look .

I say this to guys that I disciple and to my close friends the first look is free . What does that mean ? Close friends ? The first look is free . What does that mean ? That means that I can't control when I'm scanning with my eyes and there's somebody in front of me but I can't control breaking my neck trying to look twice .

Okay , my wife knows I have this problem . I'm very blunt and open with her and it takes every ounce of self-discipline inside of me to not look twice , especially when it looks good . I'm just being honest .

Maybe you're the perfect Christian and you never do anything wrong , but I am a man saved by grace and mercy , and so for me to really not look again , I have to , on purpose , look in the other direction . On purpose . I have to be intentional .

The same with eating the meat and here he's talking about I believe this is one where he's talking about the meat given to idols and things like that . There's other references . I think Peter was talking about this .

What it's saying is if you're doing something that brings someone else out of a place of repentance , if you going to a bar is causing other people to be alcoholics , not going to a bar . If you're drinking and it causes other people to be alcoholics and you're not the one with the problem .

Maybe you can drink literally one glass of wine and I mean like one glass , not like one glass and you don't have a problem with it . But you have people over and you drink and they end up getting drunk . They end up sitting against their own body because that was your responsibility . You are the one being held accountable .

You're the one that will be held responsible . Paul addresses a different angle on the drinking . Paul addresses a different angle on the drinking to refrain from doing that around them . The guiding principle is love for others , show respect for their struggles and not using our freedom in a way that harms someone else's faith . So is drinking wrong ?

The Bible doesn't outright forbid every believer to not drink of all consumption . Rather , it consistently warns against the dangers of drunkenness and the potential havoc . It can be dangerous to our lives and it can wreck our lives and our communities and other people around us .

Everything that we do as a believer affects everybody around us , even when we have spiritual gifts . Paul talks about the spiritual gifts being not for us but for others . So let's look at four things . Stewardship of the body Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit .

Even moderate drinking should be approached with caution if it affects our health or mental clarity , and nine times out of ten it does . Are we honoring God with our thoughts , with our feelings , how we perceive things , and are we willing to lay things down if it is pleasing to God , or are we willing to let it go if it's not Wisdom and self-control ?

God gives us the Holy spirit to guide us . If you know you have an addictive personality or a past problem with substance abuse , then be wise and avoid alcohol altogether . So I struggle , I've gotten past substance abuse .

Some people say this is like another form of it , but uh , I've had serious struggle with with pornography and there's an app called Twitter that if it is not on my phone , um , I don't ever look at porn . You're saying , well , twitter's like a um , like a social media platform . What are you talking about ?

Well , on Twitter they actually have pornography profiles and videos and everything else that they can post on there , and it is not banned yet .

I don't know if it's going to be , but it and it's like there's just some sort of spirit on Twitter for me , and so I'll go a long time , I won't have an issue , won't even like get up against the line to get close . I'm like , okay , I think I've mastered this , I think I can have Twitter again , cause I post on Twitter every now and then .

And then I would download Twitter and then , within like a month , it's like that pool to get me again . Then I would say , okay , I'm not going to deal with this , I'll delete it . Be two months , three months , four months . I was like , okay , I can handle this , I'm I'm strong . Now I won't have this pool .

And then all of a sudden , I put Twitter on my phone again and all of a sudden it's like it pulls me right back again , trying to get me again . So this last time I was like I don't understand how it's connected to Twitter , but it doesn't matter . Here's what I would try to do . I would say that I was strong enough , my self-discipline was good .

Now I had it figured out . And then I would invite the very thing that was the window or doorway into what I did not want . And so if the Holy Spirit has given me the wisdom to understand that it is from that app that I end up messing up , then I should not ever want to download that app again .

The same goes with anything in our lives that we know is not good and healthy for us . We should not want to continue to rub up against it and be next to it and invite it back in because we think we're strong again . It is unwise to allow sinful nature to be next to our self-control , because that flesh will win every time .

So number three is concern for others . In Romans 14 , 21 , we read that our choice might affect others . If you know of a friend that has a history of alcohol abuse , or having a drink in front of them might cause them to stumble . Exercising love and empathy sometimes means that you have to not do what's good for you so that other people can benefit .

You have to lay what you desire to do . You have to lay what is maybe not an issue for you to decide to keep it away from them for the benefit of them . It's not all about you . Conviction versus condemnation . Some believers feel personally convicted not to drink at all . Others may feel the freedom to drink occasionally without getting drunk .

Okay , that's fine . But we should respect individual convictions without condemning each other . The key is prayerfully seeking God's direction in our lives .

So here's something that I've learned Most of the time , it is better for me to subtract something in my life for the betterment and the future health of me , my mind and my body and my family , even if it's not something that I'm like overtly convicted about , like it's not so in my face that I'm convicted about it , but I know that it does a lot of damage

. It's best for me just to stay away and I believe this is the same with alcohol Just because you may be able to control yourself . There may be one day where something hits you hard and what's your first response ?

It's on every TV show , it's on every movie , it's in everything we see is the first thing people do when they get upset or get in a situation or they celebrate or whatever . What do they do ? They drink , and one turns to two , two turns to three and three turns to nine . All of a sudden , you're doing something stupid and getting in trouble .

Or you're texting on your phone and you're getting in trouble because you allowed something that is a doorway to so many obvious sinful nature patterns back in your life .

You are receiving them , you're welcoming them in and saying , oh , I'm strong enough , I'm not calling you out , but I'm saying this is human nature , I have done this and I have to set parameters in my life for the safety and the sanctification of my mind and my heart , so that I remain faithful to what I know is true and faithful to what I know is right ,

and faithful to what I know is right . God wants us to live a life of freedom and he desires for us to remain free . And we can't remain free if we're constantly inviting the thing that puts chains on us back into our lives and say here , sit down . We can't be next to each other , but just kind of sit here in this chair over here .

I just want to see you from afar . We're not going to participate together , but just be in the same room with me . And how many of you know , if you sit in the same room with your sin long enough , you'll end up talking to it and entertaining it again . That's the human condition .

So I hope that today is maybe if you drink , maybe you drink a little bit , or maybe you have a problem , or maybe you know somebody that has a problem . I hope that this encourages you and helps you realize that , first of all , everybody has a problem with something . It could be food .

My goodness , here in America we have a serious problem with overconsumption . It could be pornography , it could be alcoholism , it could be drugs . All of these are underneath the umbrella of substances , could be drugs . All of these are underneath the umbrella of substances

. What is it that you are allowing to control your life and that is robbing you of the freedom God desires for all of us to live in ? I'm sure all of us can . I don't have a problem with overeating on food , but I have a problem with looking when I shouldn't . I have a problem with not necessarily speaking the kindest sometimes .

I'm a human being and I have to rein myself back in and put that self-control , put my spirit and my mind back in check so that I remain blameless before God and I won't be a stumbling block to somebody else . And we are here to help and encourage and strengthen and lead and guide and disciple other people from the direction of Jesus Christ .

We get discipled from Jesus and we replicate that in other believers . Take up your cross and die daily . Kill your flesh and you will have a more fulfilled and more sustainable life . Your marriage will be stronger , your relationships will be stronger . Your relationship with God will be stronger . It will be more .

You can focus more because you don't have that wall between you and God . You'll be able to focus more because you won't have when you lay this stuff at Jesus' feet . You won't have that partition between you and your spouse anymore , you and your kids or your parents .

Like God desires for us to be free , so I hope that you also make the choice today to live . Begin to live free . I love you and I'm praying for you . Don't forget , if you're listening on the podcast , make sure you , if you would , it'd be awesome if you would subscribe , download and give a five-star rating , as well as go to the YouTube channel .

Subscribe on there , give a thumbs up . We love you , praying for you and you can be free .