This sermon discusses how we as Christians find vertical alignment in Christ, while reaching out to the world. This forces us to remain balanced and walk as a tight rope walker.
24 Responses to “Epitaph (Part 2) – Tight Rope Walker”
Leave a Reply
Latest on the Blog
Elemental (Part 4): “Spirit Filled / Spirit Led” (Video)
This video was recorded at Life Connection Church on February 5th, 2012 and is part 4 of a series taught by Pastor Aaron Dailey entitled ...
Elemental (Part 3): “Community of Disciples” (Video)
This sermon was recorded at Life Connection Church on January 29th, 2012 and is part 3 of a series taught by Pastor Aaron Dailey entitled ...
Elemental (Part 2): “House of Prayer” (Video)
This sermon was recorded at Life Connection Church on January 22nd, 2012 and is part 2 of a series taught by Pastor Aaron Dailey entitled ...
- Epitaph (Part 2) – Tight Rope Walker
- Cadence (Part 1)
- NonVerbal Communication
- Congregational songwriting: How has grace changed your life specifically?
© 2012 Life Connection Church. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress. Designed by 
Seven Good Reasons Christians Should Not Drink
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1
My heart aches for the family that lost their only two children in an auto accident recently. A drunk driver crossed the median and plowed into their car. The five month old and, their four year old were killed. Their children wiped out. But, there is more. This tragic scene is repeated every 33 minutes. That’s right. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration a person dies every 33 minutes in an alcohol related accident. And that’s not all. An estimated 310,000 persons were injured in crashes each year where police reported that alcohol was present. That’s an average of one person injured approximately every 2 minutes.
Consider these additional statistics from the United States Justice Department: Nearly 4 in 10 violent victimizations involve use of alcohol. Also, victim reports show, on average each year about 183,000 rapes and sexual assaults involve alcohol use by the offender, as do just over 197,000 robberies, about 661,000 aggravated assaults, and nearly 1.7 million simple assaults.
The Scripture is true! “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1. It is at the root of all kinds of problems in our country today and it has been for hundreds of years. Proverbs 23:31-32 is a powerful injunction against drinking alcoholic beverages. It says, . 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
There is clear evidence in the Scriptures that believers should not drink alcoholic beverages. In this report I list 7 Good Reasons Why Christians Should Not Drink Alcoholic Beverages. However, before we do that, we are going to look at the words translated wine, drink or drinking.
A LOOK AT THE WORDS
There are 637 references to wine, drink and drinking in the King James Version of the Bible. Most people think in today’s terms, believing that when wine is mentioned it refers to alcoholic wine. Actually, that is not necessarily true. Thirteen different words are translated “wine” in the King James Version of the Bible. The word wine has a wide range of meaning in the Bible, covering everything from grape juice, to concentrated grape syrup to alcoholic wine. To understand what the Bible has to say about drinking, we need to look at several of these words.
OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW WORDS FOR WINE
“yayin” — It is a general term for grape beverages and includes all classes of wine, non-alcoholic or alcoholic; unfermented, in the process of fermentation and fermented. (Proverbs 31:4) The context will show whether it is alcoholic wine or not. Yayin, when used properly was always diluted with water.
“shekar” — It is the word for strong drink, unmixed wine. The 1901 edition of THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA says, “Yakin, wine, is to be distinguished from Shekar, or strong drink. The former is diluted with water; the later is undiluted.” Shekar was not diluted with water.” (see Numbers 28:7)
“Tirosh” — This word refers to fresh grape juice. It is referred to often as new wine or sweet wine. (see Proverbs 3:10; Deuteronomy 7:13)
NEW TESTAMENT GREEK WORDS FOR WINE
“oinos” is the counterpart to the Old Testament word yayin. It is a general term for grape beverages and includes all classes of wine, non-alcoholic or alcoholic; fermented or unfermented. The context has to be used to determine whether the drink was intoxicating or not. (Luke 10:34; Ephesians 5:18). Oinos, when used properly was always diluted with water.
“sikera” is the counterpart to the Old Testament word shekar. It is the word for strong drink, unmixed wine. (Luke 1:15)
“gleukos” is the counterpart to the Old Testament word tirosh. Dr. Paul Dixon says “It refers to fresh wine, a new wine” or freshly squeezed grape juice.
Now, why believers should abstain from drinking…
1. DRINKING LEADS TO DRUNKENNESS
In the April 24, 1965 issue of Christianity Today, the article, on page 25 says, “People must be informed that the use of alcohol is not unlike Russian roulette: every tenth person becomes automatically hooked. the only solution is total abstinence.” These statistics are supported by the American Medical Association.
DRUNKENNESS IS CONDEMNED IN THE BIBLE
Isaiah 5:11– “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!”
Proverbs 23:20– “Be not among winebibbers;” The word means to drink so much that you become tipsy or drunk.
Romans 13:13 — “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting (drunken partying) and drunkenness (general drunken-ness)…”
Galatians 5:19a & 21 — “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these…drunkenness…”
Ephesians 5:18 — “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
DRUNKARDS ARE AMONG THE LIST OF THOSE WHO WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
You can’t get around it, and in fact, all godly men agree that the Bible condemns drunkenness. Drunkenness is a serious matter.
2. THE BIBLE CONDEMNS STRONG DRINK ALSO
Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
NOTE again, Isaiah 5:11 — “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!”
Proverbs 23:29-31 — “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? (30) They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.(a mixture of wine and spices) (31) Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.”
WHAT WAS “STRONG DRINK” IN BIBLE TIMES?
Distillation was not discovered until about 1500 A.D. Strong drink and unmixed wine in Bible times was from 3% to 11% alcohol. Dr. John MacArthur says “…since anybody in biblical times who drank unmixed wine (9-11% alcohol) was definitely considered a barbarian, then we don’t even need to discuss whether a Christian should drink hard liquor–that is apparent!”
CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT DRINK STRONG DRINK!
Since wine has 9 to 11% alcohol and one brand 20% alcohol, you should not drink that. Brandy contains 15 to 20% alcohol, so that’s out! Hard liquor has 40 to 50% alcohol (80 to 100 proof), and that is obviously excluded!
Someone will say, “since beer is only 4% alcohol, IT’S OK FOR A BELIEVER TO DRINK BEER, RIGHT?” The answer is NO! Here’s why…
3. IN BIBLE TIMES WHAT CHRISTIANS DRANK WS SUB-ALCOHOLIC, BASICALLY PURIFIED WATER
Remember the Hebrew word “yayin” and the Greek word “oinos” that we looked at earlier? These were the companion words for wine whether fermented or unfermented. In fact, whether fermented or not, it was MIXED WITH WATER.
Norman Geisler, former Dean of Liberty Center for Christian Scholarship, Liberty University, has written: “Many wine drinking Christians today mistakenly assume that what the New Testament meant by wine is identical to wine used today. This, however, is false. In fact, today’s wine is by Biblical definition strong drink, and hence forbidden by the Bible. What the Bible frequently meant by wine was basically purified water,” purified by adding some alcoholic wine. The Holman Bible dictionary says, wine was also used as a medicine and disinfectant.
Geisler goes on to say, “Therefore, Christians ought not to drink wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages for they are actually strong drink forbidden in Scripture. Even ancient pagans did not drink what some Christians drink today.”
All alcoholic beverages used in our culture fall under the biblical classification of STRONG DRINK and are therefore forbidden. The least ratio of water to wine mixture used in Bible times was 3 parts water to 1 wine. That produced a sub-alcoholic drink that was 2.5% to 2.75% alcohol. Normally, the ratio was even higher, up to 20 to 1. Their is NO BIBLICAL SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIANS DRINKING THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OF OUR DAY! What early believers drank was sub-alcoholic by today’s standards. Pastors and deacons were cautioned to steer around even the sub-alcoholic stuff (I Timothy 3:3 & 8).
The right choice is to abstain! What is your choice?
4. IT WILL CAUSE OTHERS TO STUMBLE
Romans 14:21 says “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to “to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
Innumerable Christians claim their “Christian Liberty” when it comes to social drinking. In order to do that, they must turn their backs on this passage of Scripture. “Sipping Saints” have given multitudes of people an excuse to drink. More than once, I have heard a believer say “there is nothing wrong with drinking in moderation. Pastor so and so even says it is OK.”
The problem is, drinking often sets off a chain reaction of influences that are like tipping over the first domino. Drinking causes some to stumble, others to be offended, and many to be weakened. Studies support my statement.
According to a survey done by the Daily Journal newspaper, October 26, 1988, one of the top five reasons teenagers drink is because their parents drink. This has proven true time and time again.
Let me take it one step further. Parents, you must remember that whatever you do in moderation your child will likely do in excess.
The Bible clearly defines drinking as an activity that is to be foregone because it causes others to stumble and makes them weak (fall into sin).
There is yet another reason believers should not drink…
5. IT HARMS OUR BODIES WHICH ARE THE LORD’S
I Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
I Corinthians 3:16-17 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
The first effect of alcohol on the brain is to dull the capacity for self-criticism and the sense of caution. A lessening of care and anxiety follows this. The checks on irresponsibility and unreasonable behavior are also curtailed. Actions follow the impulses, which is dangerous. Reaction time become slower; coordination is disturbed; drowsiness follows.
Proverbs 23:29-33 gives clear testimony to the above description of alcohol on the brain. “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.”
How many of you reading this report had high school or college biology? I did, and it was great. There were several girls in my high school biology class and I must say that I especially enjoyed the fit some of girls had when we dissected frogs. But what was really disgusting, even for me, was the day we had to walk up to the big barrel filled with formaldehyde and reach in and pull out a cat to work on. That day there were several of the girls that left class and as I recall a guy or two. To this day, I remember the disgusting aroma of the formaldehyde used to pickle frogs and cats.
So, what does that have to do with alcohol? Dr. Robert Haas, M.D. will fill you in. He is a former president of the American College of Sports Nutrition. He said, “Beer, wine and hard liquor form toxic substances called aldehydes that can destroy the liver, kidney and brain cells. Aldehydes serve a useful function in preserving or ‘pickling’ dead animal tissue, but they serve no beneficial purpose in people. Alcohol dehydrates (robs) your body of its precious water supply, and along with the water go vital nutrients such as B Vitamins, calcium, magnesium and potassium.”
According to Good Housekeeping “Even in moderate amounts alcohol has noticeable effects on the body. Because it enters the blood stream it touches almost every organ, and its effects on feelings and behavior are well known.”
Alcohol has adverse affects on your esophagus, stomach & intestines, bloodstream, pancreas, liver, heart, bladder, kidneys, glands and your brain.
“The most drastic and noticed effect of alcohol is the brain. It depresses brain centers, progressively produces uncoordination, confusion, disorientation, stupor, anesthesia, coma, death. Alcohol kills brain cells, and brain damage is permanent” (From-Office of Highway Safety, Madison, WI)
As believers, our body belongs to the Lord. We should not knowingly do anything that would harm it. Alcohol harms the body, therefore we should not drink alcohol.
There is a further reason you should not drink…
6. ALCOHOL IS ADDICTIVE
I Corinthians 6:12 tells us that we are not to “be brought under the power” or to be controlled by anything. The only exception is the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
Alcohol is clearly a powerful substance (Proverbs 23:35). Because alcohol is addictive, we should choose not to drink alcoholic beverages.
The final reason we will consider for not drinking alcoholic beverages is…
7. BELIEVERS ARE KINGS AND PRIESTS SEPARATED UNTO GOD
“The prophets, the kings, the Nazarites, the leaders — those who were special in the plan of God were total abstainers” says Dr. Paul Dixon, and he is correct. Kings and public officials were not to drink (Proverbs 31:4-5). Further Dr. Dixon says “the priests of the Old Testament were to abstain totally.” The Aaronic priests were not to drink because they ministered in the tabernacle before the Lord (Leviticus 10:9)
The application: Believers are a “royal” or kingly priesthood (I Peter 2:9). We are the temple of God (I Peter 2:5). We are God’s special children and should choose total abstinence.
Drinking, even social drinking, cannot be legitimately supported by the Bible. Every drink that is available today, even beer, falls into the category of unmixed or strong drink. Clearly, Christians should not drink alcoholic beverages. Drinking socially is a worldly activity and in light of the fact that believers are neither to be conformed to the world (Romans 12:2) nor love the world(I John 2:15) our choice should be clear. We ARE to be SEPARATE FROM the world (II Corinthians 6:17) and LIGHT TO the world (Ephesians 5:8; Phillipians 2:15). Perhaps social drinking has enhanced the acceptability of Christians in society, but it has not advanced the cause of Christ, and it does not glorify God! Social drinking is simply a means which the devil uses to blunt our testimony for Christ and squeeze us into his mold. There are at least SEVEN GOOD REASONS A BELIEVER SHOULD NOT DRINK. One should be enough.
Should Christians smoke marijuana?
Pastoe Aaron-
Antoher home run!! I loved that message. The part about constant adjustment on the tight rope. I love that. Truth be told; I need to constantly realine my walk. I was challenged and inspired by this message. Thank you for you continuely insight into spiritual matters.
Suzee
Smoking marijuana is illegal.
Crazy worship… Every one of your points are valid. We should not get DRUNK or be taken to HEAVY DRINK. Because some people struggle with gluttony, have you stopped eating? Eating, and eating delicious food is not wrong, but it may cause some of our friends that are prone to gluttony to sin by eating more then a healthy portion. Do we stop eating in front of fat people? We need to be an example of moderation… that is the tight rope.
Great point jd. Many have drunkeness problems. I am one. I also have eating problems. I just hate the things alcohol does in ones life.
This is a great debate one that is pretty recent in church history. At life connection church we do not encourage or discourage drinking but we stand strong against drunkedness. Alcohol does not destroy lives… drunkedness does. food does not destroy lives… gluttony does. women do not destroy lives… lust does. Men have had problems with all of these things food, wine, and women but we can not preach that eliminating these things will fix the problem. We must preach balance,moderation, and truth. Jesus was opposed to sin but also was opposed to legalism. It is a fine line to walk but we need to be careful to stay right on the balance beam. Do not tip into sin and do not tip into legalism.
Crazy worship I understand your argument. Believe it or not I lived 29 years of my life and never had alcohol touch my lips and was very PROUD of it. I was also very legalistic in my theology in that I thought drinking was a sin and there is no way you can drink and not get drunk. I had all the good reasons but none where bible. John McAurthor wrote a artical almost identical to yours that i could argue with people all day on but all it did was drive people away and puff me up in my legalism even more… If someone choose not to drink under the direction of the spirit then that is great but it can not be imposed as law on others. If some one can not drink without getting drunk then it would be wise to abstain. BE WISE but not legalistic… that is what I learned.
Hey all keep up the debate on these topics… I love it! Thanks for posting your thoughts!
PA
Wow hey crazy worship
bro (assuming your a guy) if not sorry since you wont say your name
but i like to say I myself really like copy and paste by the way. And you really don’t like night clubs or drinking… do you? You must be a christian, or a closet christian. Um but I have a few comments about your post. Bro.. can I call you that? I fully agree with drunkardness is a sin man. When I was 16 a saw 2 of my good friends get smacked by a 1970 Chevy nova they flew about 15 feet in the air by the time they slammed on the ground I couldn’t recognize who they were. Until I say my friend Tylers SDSU hate. Then I broke. Once they found the driver it was a drunk guy in the middle of the day flat out drunk driving. Both Tyler and Shawn died that day, Shawn had died instantly Tyler made it to the hospital via life flight, he died the seconded they landed there. So trust me when I say i believe drunkardness is flat out sin. No Exceptions. And everyone of you scripture references says so. I don’t tell you that story so much for sarro cause I have dealt with that issue but what hits me more is I don’t know if they knew the Lord. cause at the time I didn’t know the Lord either. So anyways about your post.
John 2 1-11  1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.â€
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.â€
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.â€
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.†And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.†And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!â€
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. (not gonna lie there’s another copy and paste)
love it
So how do we explain that? Did Jesus just help influence the drunkards? Cause the the master of the feast said normally the good wine is at the start of the party until they are drunk? So why is the good wine coming out now? So Jesus made some of the best wine. I believe it was not watered down grape juice cause bro really how much would you have to drink to get drunk… a few dozen gallons?
“Jesus didn’t serve up some fresh aquafina”
I believed that stuff when I first got saved. The oh it was more grape juice, or it wasn’t as fermented. You gotta stop lying to to yourself. Cause I did and it is a lot easier to live in moderation and truth then false teachings.
So if Jesus brought the good wine then was he tempting people to sin? of course not. Sin is in front of us all the time, we have to live like Jesus and learn moderation. You can take food for instance. How many so called christians are over wait and fat even obese? FREAKIN MODERATION. If we say oh I am a christian and I DON’T DRINK, AND I AM HOLIER THEN THOW. But go slam a double cheese burger with a large fries and a monster coke, then maybe a 3 tier ice cream to top it off. Is that moderation or flat out glutnie. Look at sin as sin. Not as a religious stand point.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think Jesus drank any of his wine? I can’t answer if he did or not, But I would guess to say yeah he did. But he didn’t get drunk because he was perfect and didn’t sin. He hung with drunkards and didn’t sin. Another words he went to bars without becoming a drunkard. We have alot to learn from him. Alot that the world (and christians) put away and put him down like he wasn’t the baddest mother around.
You gotta watch who you get your teachings from because J. Mc Arthur also doesn’t believe in the gifts of the Holy spirit (mostly speaking in tongues). He also doesn’t believe in drinking (where you copied your info from) biblebb.com there is great stuff to learn from there but you have to find truth from false teachings. You gotta read Galatians 5 about the fruits of the spirit. Self control is one of those so if we are walking in the spirit we won’t satisfy the fleshly desires like drunkardness. The reason of you post is because of PA’s sermon and he said something about drinking last sunday and it took you 5 days to come up with this and it probably was on the back of your mind all day long.
And other thing you said a lot of christians say they can drink moderation and then they become drunkards. Well first of all we can’t judge so called christians. We can only judge there fruits of a true Christian. Matthew 7 so if there life doesn’t reflect the fruits of walking with Christ then we got to see that. But do we separate the sheep from the goats no (matt 7) only God will do that. Just because someone has something right go on in there life and they thank God and say yeah hey I am a christian, doesn’t make them one. Same chapter even Christ said they will say we eat and drank with you. But he will say depart from me. So we gotta watch putting all so called christians in one boat.
Bro if it is a conviction of yours then so be it. I used to be like that when I first Got saved because that was what I was taught and I didn’t know any better. But When I see the same people not have any moderation just extremes I really questioned it and see it in a whole new light. I believe if someone was a flat out drunkard and he comes to christ he shouldn’t just try moderation he would have to separate from it to grow then in time he could move back to moderation if he even wants too, you know but if he never does then he can’t turn his conviction into condemning others for so.
I do like these blogs and debates cause it will bring clarity to some hopefully all. And we can push forward to bigger and better things of the Lord.
Later man
Tim,
You are a little raw, and you need to use spell check. I know… I have a spelling problem as well… but there are tools for that. Love you man. I loved your points (after I pieced them together).
maybe spell check but a grammar check would be better. I awlawys wondered what all those red and green lines were. I tried to right click and take off underline but it never worked… lol but you pieced it together, that is what matters. Take pride in that cause not many can straighten out my messy writing, not even my wife… wait do you have any help for that? (notice I left I miss spelled word in there for you) lol I probably got the wrong there too
PA it was all i could do not to weep up there holding that cross. One of if not the most powerful sermon i have ever heard.
Addictive behavior is the problem here. Those of us who easily become addicted cannot walk the tight rope. We have to distance ourselves as far from the problem as be can or else we fall. It seems like your church is a very close knit family. To satisfy Tim (whatever his last name is since he doesn’t give it here) with my copy and pastes, here is a quote from an Indiana University document regarding addictions.
http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/hints/addictiveb.html
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS AND THE ADDICTIVE PROCESS
Any activity, substance, object, or behavior that has become the major focus of a person’s life to the exclusion of other activities, or that has begun to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially is considered an addictive behavior. A person can become addicted, dependent, or compulsively obsessed with anything. Some researchers imply that there are similarities between physical addiction to various chemicals, such as alcohol and heroin, and psychological dependence to activities such as compulsive gambling, sex, work, running, shopping, or eating disorders. It is thought that these behavior activities may produce beta-endorphins in the brain, which makes the person feel “high.” Some experts suggest that if a person continues to engage in the activity to achieve this feeling of well-being and euphoria, he/she may get into an addictive cycle. In so doing, he/she becomes physically addicted to his/her own brain chemicals, thus leading to continuation of the behavior even though it may have negative health or social consequences. Others feel that these are just bad habits.
Most physical addictions to substances such as alcohol, heroin, or barbiturates also have a psychological component. For example, an alcoholic who has not used alcohol for years may still crave a drink. Thus some researchers feel that we need to look at both physical and psychological dependencies upon a variety of substances, activities, and behaviors as an addictive process and as addictive behaviors. They suggest that all of these behaviors have a host of commonalities that make them more similar to than different from each other and that they should not be divided into separate diseases, categories, or problems.
Common Characteristics Among Addictive Behaviors
There are many common characteristics among the various addictive behaviors:
1. The person becomes obsessed (constantly thinks of) the object, activity, or substance.
2. They will seek it out, or engage in the behaivor even though it is causing harm (physical problems, poor work or study performance, problems with friends, family, fellow workers).
3. The person will compulsively engage in the activity, that is, do the activity over and over even if he/she does not want to and find it difficult to stop.
4. Upon cessation of the activity, withdrawal symptoms often occur. These can include irritability, craving, restlessness or depression.
5. The person does not appear to have control as to when, how long, or how much he or she will continue the behavior (loss of control). (They drink 6 beers when they only wanted one, buy 8 pairs of shoes when they only needed a belt, ate the whole box of cookies, etc).
6. He/she often denies problems resulting from his/her engagement in the behavior, even though others can see the negative effects.
7. Person hides the behavior after family or close friends have mentioned their concern. (hides food under beds, alcohol bottles in closets, doesn’t show spouse credit card bills, etc).
8. Many individuals with addictive behaviors report a blackout for the time they were engaging in the behavior (don’t remember how much or what they bought, how much the lost gambeling, how many miles they ran on a sore foot, what they did at the party when drinking)
9.Depression is common in individuals with addictive behaviors. That is why it is important to make an appointment with a physician to find out what is going on.
10. Individuals with addictive behaviors often have low self esteem, feel anxious if the do not have control over their environment, and come from psychologically or physically abusive families.
What Causes Addictive Behaviors
There is no consensus as to the etiology (cause), prevention, and treatment of addictive disorders. A United States government publication, “Theories on Drug Abuse: Selected Contemporary Perspectives,” came up with no less than forty-three theories of chemical addiction and at least fifteen methods of treatment!
As an example of this confusion, many people consider addictive behaviors such as gambling and alcoholism as “diseases,” but others consider them to be behaviors learned in response to the complex interplay between heredity and environmental factors. Still others argue for a genetic cause. Some reserchers point out that, unlike most common diseases such as tuberculosis, which has a definite cause (a microbe) and a definite treatment model to which everyone agrees, there is no conclusive cause or definite treatment method to which everyone agrees for most of the addictive behaviors.
This lack of agreement among experts causes problems with prevention and treatment approaches for many addictive behaviors. Professionals debate whether total abstinence or controlled and moderate use of a substance (such as alochol) or activity (such as gambling) is effective. Others debate whether or not a medication is a desirable treatment method. In the area of addiction to food or exercise, of course, few advocate total abstinence as a solution.
Though the theories for the causes of addictive behaviors and their treatment are numerous, various types of therapy can help a person who has an addictive behavior.
If you think you, or a family member, might be addicted to a substance, activity, object, or behavior, please talk to your family physician, clergy person, counselor, or seek out a support group for the problem. Do it today!
I myself am addicted to church. I love being in the presence of Gods people. I haven’t been a regular in any church lately. I did visit your church one time in October and felt very welcome. I just wouldn’t want to put in the position of being offered a drink and having to refuse.
Is it ok to look at pornography if im not lusting after the person I’m looking at? I don’t now of where in the bible it says that nudity is a sin.
Walking the fine line could be to be able to look at nude people and not lust after them.
Can I stick a knife to someones throat as long as I don’t kill them?
Can I have other gods as long as I don’t put them ahead of our God?
I need a witness here!!
(where is the spellcheck button josh?)
Is cussing OK as long as I’m not using the name of God in vain? Help me out tightrope walkers.
Crazy, I’m starting to sense that you’re not really interested in the heart of the issue but rather enjoy hypotheticals for argument sake. I hope I’m wrong, and assuming I am, I’ll answer the latest round of questions and see if we can’t steer this back to what God’s heart is.
First off, we don’t offer members drinks. You said you felt welcome but didn’t want to be put in the position of turning down a drink. We don’t have Coronas in our cafe.
Of course looking at pornography is not ok for many reasons. Lust being one that is impossible for one to avoid here, diverting your eyes and finding enjoyment in sin, the actors sin and your own idolatry. You’ve dishonored your wife, and if you’re not married you’ve stoked passions that aren’t meant to be woken yet, you’re partaking in an orgy (how is consuming other persons sex through your eyes not participatory?). All of that scriptural, all of that dealing with your heart, all of that showing where our worship should point, where sex is intended and not.
Other gods? That’s silly. Worship of any person, thing, or god other than the triune God, Father, Spirit and Son, is idolatry.
Cussing is interesting, cause scripture doesn’t define what a cuss word is, that’s totally contextual to culture. But scripture gives us pretty clear guidelines of how our tongue is meant to give blessing and speak of love not curse. Your sin prompts your tongue Job says. Psalms “keep your tongue from evil”. James 3 is also clear on taming the tongue. Proverbs talks of a “tongue that brings healing is the tree of life”, is cussing bringing healing?
You seem to be implying that a tightrope walker(us) seeks the edge of sin and taunts it. I think you’ve missed the point. Our desire is to walk the narrow path as demonstrated by Jesus, not be pulled to the extremes of the world or religion. We are to be aligned first with God vertically on the tightrope. Jesus’ harshest critics came from the church so in my heart I’m finding some measure of comfort that we are getting hit from that side, but my joy rests in Christ knowing that our desire at Life Connection is to honor him. Our deepest desire is to honor Christ and reach the lost by God’s grace.
We are by no means perfect, but God continues to sanctify us and has forever put his kingdom in our hearts. So we go about the business of his Kingdom calling sin sin, exposing it to the light, but also not calling things that God didn’t call sin, sin.
Crazy I’m praying for you, and I really mean that. Get plugged into a church somewhere, here or wherever God places you.
Crazy worship,
I am sure that this stuff is hard to grasp when you do not know the heart of the people you are talking to and you have no face to face relationship with the people in this house. When you are are addicted to something it is very wise to stay away until the addiction is broken. Like I said in a earlier post I would never encourage someone to drink nor would i tell them it is a sin. Because you are hearing it through your filter and you do not know me nor do you attend the church then it sounds dangerous to you and if you knew my background you would understand that I understand your point more then you know. We believe in discipleship and we live it out in the church. Moderation is something that is lived out through accountability and discipleship and being willing to be told if you are going to far by people who love you and care for you.
As to your questions in regards to pornography, threatening someones life, worshipping other gods, and cussing. It seems to me that you are trying to catch us in a trap of questions more then you are trying to find balance. I do not know if you are for sure but I am getting the sence… I can not say weather or not you are but if these are serious questions then I would love to sit down and talk with you some time and try and discuss some things that can not be put into a blog spot nor can I mention it all in a 1 hour sermon.
What I would like to do is get to know you and that way you could know my heart and maybe I can get to understand what you are trying to communicate. What you do not understand is what religious back ground I have come from and that my doctrine is very reformed and very conservative but our methods of outreach are very relational and very much based around discipleship. So it is hard for us to show you our heart over the internet but hopefully you can see that we are not trying to bring people into sin… Scripture shows us that sin is in us and that the evil desires are constantley being tempted but the only way to have victory over sin is through the spirit and not by adding laws.
We will not tollerate sin but we will not call things sin that scripture does not say is sin. Balance is our heart and we would love to show you that through our lives, relationship, and community.
First of all I’m I’m trying to understand what is really meant here by tightrope walkers. The bible does say that drunkedness is a sin but no mention that drinking is sinful. This is what I am sensing here. What is the definition of drunkedness?
There is also not a clear mention of nudity as being sin. So this rules out looking at pornography as being sinful unless you are desiring the person you are looking at. Right?
or Wrong? Don’t be fooled by wordly things that tempt you into sin. Better to stay on the side of rightousness. You can fall from the tightrope.
KYLE, Jesus walked in rightousness. That was his narrow path. There was no sin in his life. That was his tightrope.
Why even tread near sin. If you say a little is ok but more is not ok then why would you even want to go there? I would want to steer as clear and as far away as possible.
The bible does tell us that we should avoid the appearance of evil “abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
I’m not trying to trap anyone from my questionds. I’m trying to learn your heart. My brothers don’t let yourselves be tempted by walking that tightrope. From the tightrope you are tempted.
I have some a direct question for all of you that have responded. DO YOU DRINK ALCOHOL?
Quoting you, “The bible does say that drunkedness is a sin but no mention that drinking is sinful. This is what I am sensing here.”
You don’t need to sense it, you just need to read scripture. Yes.
“What is the definition of drunkedness?”
First of all we have governmental law that states what drunkenness is, so we must follow that. But more importantly if you are in a state whereby your spirit, abiding in Christ, is no longer in complete control of your body and mind, then you’ve had too much. That’s a higher calling than the governmental law, but both are in order.
Bro, again you’re missing the point. I just tried explaining that the tight rope is the narrow path of righteousness. Just as you said. I don’t know if you’re having trouble with the illustration cause you seem to be caught up on the “tight rope”. If you are, then forget that illustration and just stick with the narrow path. On both sides of that path you have pharisees and sagisees. I don’t want to be either of those people, I want to be like Christ on the narrow path (or tightrope), in full balance. You say, “from the tightrope you are tempted” of course we are. Jesus was tempted every day, the fact that there is temptation cannot imply sin because Jesus was tempted continuously. He even went to the desert knowing he was going to be tempted. To try and isolate yourself from all temptation is to miss the root of sin because you are identifying sin with outside influences when it’s really in your heart. The tight rope is not the edge of sin, it’s the center of Christ, which as you acknowledge is narrow.
I don’t feel trapped at all because I’m just leaning on scripture. I haven’t created any position here. Jesus drank alcohol, scripture does only say drunkenness is sin. If drinking alcohol was sin, then Christ was a sinner and we’re all screwed. Last time you pasted some chemistry lesson on how weak or strong alcohol was. Unfortunately that matters not a bit, because scripture speaks of drunkenness, people did get drunk off the amount of alcohol that was served. If any amount was sin, scripture would state that. So scripture (and Jesus life) makes a clear distinction between any amount of consumption of alcohol and too much consumption of alcohol.
I consume alcohol irregularly, when by God’s grace, not inappropriate. Does this impact your life? Since it was in caps, it seems important to you.
Are you consuming alcohol irregularly to glorify Christ? Do we use govermental laws to know when we have reached the point of drunkeness? Do you feel the effects of alcohol when drinking? (do you get a buzz?) I do ponder on these questions. I am just trying to understand peoples jusification for using alcohol. Especially Christians.
I’m not trying to make you feel trapped Kyle, just trying to understand the position that you have taken, and you have taken a position. You position is that it is OK to drink alcohol whether regularly or irregularly.
Like Aaron said in his post, if we have problmes with a particular area we should stear clear. If we have a problem with pornography, we should not induldge. I have a drinking problem. I have to steer completely away. I wish I was strong enough but I’m not. I am saved by grace. I’m not taking that grace for granted and give the Devil a foot in the door. You can have your Budweiser or whatever drink you desire, I pray it won’t trap you. I’ll stick with the New Wine.
Well said Kyle. Crazy, In reading your most recent comment it is clear that you are having an extremely difficult time moving past the drinking. You are mixing out right sin with things that are a-moral (things that are neither right or wrong). It is clear by what you have said that you are trying to convince us that alcohol is the sin. You keep saying that it is not but you can’t move passed it… If I don’t drink will you get plugged in to the local body?
My prayer is my life would glorify Christ. You ponder my justification? Easy, I’m justified only by Christ. You are a bit patronizing when you say you ponder questions of my walk with Christ. If you were concerned you’d probably come to church and introduce yourself and seek relationship. Get plugged in and see how I walk. If you really are concerned then introduce yourself to me this Sunday and we can talk. I’m the tight rope walking, rock music playing, justified by Christ, guitar player.
I would love to visit again but I’m in Georgia right now. I’m trying to find employment in AZ. If I can I will definetly come back. Not trying to rile people up here, just trying to pick brains and hearts. I don’t ponder your walk with Christ. Not me to judge. I just wouldn’t want to be misinformed or have other misinformed. You folks seem to have a firm grip on bible passages. It’s alot of interpretation involved too. Many have taken interpretations out of context too. We must keep all this in prespective. Many cults have been formed in the name of Christ and religion. ie David Karresch and Rev Jim Jones. I don’t recall your music in paticular other than it loud. Each has their own musical interpretaion too.
Your church is the only one I felt had a annointed service from the 6 or 7 churches I visited in arizona. It just seems that things are taken to the extreme.
Thanks
Mike Carlson
Savannah, Georgia
CrazyWorship7@excite.com
Peace Out
I’m sorry Kyle. I would love to come but i’m in Savannah. I’m looking for employment in Arizona and hope to be there soon. Your church and your pastor were the most annointed I’ve been to out of the 6-7 I visited in my 3 months there. Please don’t take offense. I’m only picking the brains and hearts of the people that blog here. Good discussion though. Sounds like that you are firmly grounded in the bible and have a good knowledge of the bible. I wish I had a better understanding of God’s word. I love being able to come here and listen to the sermons. I don’t always get a chance to attend regularly. The pastor is great and is very funny. Good word and good message. In whatever you do, glorify Christ and be the vessel he uses on earth to move the Holy Spirit.
I would like to know if there is a statement of faith, and if there are requirements to join the church.
Thanks for all you do in the Name of Jesus. Drop me a line
Mike Carlson
Savannah, GA
CrazyWorship7@excite.com
To address the situation about nudity & porn:
Are they sins or aren’t they? Well, this might further muddy the waters of unclarity: Which one is a sin & which one isn’t?
What is the sin in which people indulge these days when lookin’ at porn? Where are the porn stars goin’ wrong? Is it the nudity? Or is it the reason behind the nudity?
I personally don’t think of it in a legalistic manner: “They’re naked; thus, they have sinned already!” It’s not the what, but the why: “It’s that they’re naked for a bad reason.” Porn is intended for lustful reasons; not to mention it’s to draw us to the world’s definition of “the look” & not appreciate that we’re all different & beautiful in the eyes of God. Thus, porn is wrong. Anything lewd is condemned in Scripture.
But nudity in & of itself is never condemned in Scripture. The model is to steer clear of nudity if & only if either the model or the audience were susceptible to sin thereof. Scripture says nothing against the simple nude shared between a model & audience to whom it’s no big deal.
I’ll say more when I know more….