Alcohol

[Stephanie1984]

Hi everyone.. What's your thoughts on having a drink? Is it a sin? Just our Sunday service was about alcohol and we should not drink any at all cause 1 can lead to ruining your life., I know the bible says good and bad about it and maybe good was just about grape juice with no alcohol content but we just don't know. I never get drink but I enjoy a couple of low alcohol drinks at the weekend., am I doing wrong? I used to get drink before I got saved and know that was wrong cause I got hangovers and did stupid things., should I give it up completely? I know what not to drink and not to get drunk now.. Have a wedding next week too and was thinking I probably shouldn't drink anything at all at it now., any good advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Stephanie1984]

*drunk is what I was meant to say

 

[crosstweed]

If it was something you struggled with before you got saved, by all means avoid it.

I personally am a teetotaler, for various reasons. For a lot of people, one drink ain't gonna turn you into an alcoholic. For some people, it's a snare that can ruin their lives.

I'm a teetotaler because:
- The Bible says not to do anything that could be a snare to other. Doing something you enjoy that could lead another sibling in Christ astray is a sin. It's not loving. It's selfish. That's what Paul said about it. He went so far as to even say that (since the discussion was meat being offered to idols and whether Christians should eat it) if it was going to cause a brother in Christ to stumble and violate their conscience, he would eat no meat while the world stood. (See 1 Corinthians chapter 8.)
- I have a family history of alcoholism. My grandfather was a very serious alcoholic because he depended on it for some kind of relief, however poor, from his WWII PTSD.
- It's the way I was raised.
- If you don't touch the stuff, you ain't gonna ever have a problem with it.
- I think that the Bible urges us on the side of caution in all things. Is it what Christ would want me to do? Is this going to help me and other people make it to heaven? Is what I'm doing selfish? Those are some hard, pointed questions that help clarify where a problem is and what to do about it.

 

[Tinuviel]

Drunkenness is what the Bible condemns, not drinking "in moderation"...as a matter of fact, in the Gospels when Jesus does his first miracle at the wedding feast (when he turned the water into wine) The same Greek word is used for "good wine" as Paul uses later to tell people to abstain from drunkenness, which rather puts the idea on it only being grape juice out of the question. Christ made wine--real wine, and not grape juice--which seems to be condoning it. There seem to be other references that prove the "wine vs. grape juice" thing as well, but I agree with crosstweed...there are a lot of reasons why NOT to drink or why it COULD be bad. So, if the bible forbids drinking I've never seen it, but there are reasons why it might not be a good idea for some people.

 

[resurrection33]

Hi everyone.. What's your thoughts on having a drink? Is it a sin? Just our Sunday service was about alcohol and we should not drink any at all cause 1 can lead to ruining your life., I know the bible says good and bad about it and maybe good was just about grape juice with no alcohol content but we just don't know. I never get drink but I enjoy a couple of low alcohol drinks at the weekend., am I doing wrong? I used to get drink before I got saved and know that was wrong cause I got hangovers and did stupid things., should I give it up completely? I know what not to drink and not to get drunk now.. Have a wedding next week too and was thinking I probably shouldn't drink anything at all at it now., any good advice would be greatly appreciated

I gave up drinking a number of years ago. I don't consider it a sin unless you drink to get high.

 

[wwjd_kilden]

The wedding at Cana has already been mentioned. notice:

When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom [SUP]10 [/SUP]and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

... it would seem that alcohol was involved.
The bible also mentions giving wine to those who are grieving (or something of the sorts), seems pointless if it is alcohol free, otherwise you could just as well give them water, or orange juice.

but, as said, moderation is the key. If someone is tempted to drink to much, that person should avoid it altogether

 

[Magenta]

.
If you got hangovers and did stupid things as a result of drinking alcohol, it does rather sound like you did not know when to stop, or were incapable of stopping against your better judgement. Now it is never my place to tell someone that they are for sure an alcoholic, but allow me to say that an inability to stop once you have started, and not knowing where you are going to end up (also known as doing stupid things), is a sure sign of being an alcoholic. There are two sure signs of alcoholism; one I just mentioned, and the other one is called the phenomena of craving. That essentially addresses the fact that once you start drinking, you release the addiction all over again. For instance, you might think having a little drink to celebrate at a wedding is harmless, but then that one drink will eventually lead to others, even if is a week or a month later. Pretty soon the times in between drinks are less and less until you are right back where you ended off before you quit, having hangovers and doing stupid things. It does not improve from there for alcoholics, if you continue. Almost without exception, it will get worse. For some people that happens alarmingly quickly, which is why recovered alcoholics and addicts say that one is too many and a thousand never enough. If you do not have either of those two symptoms, meaning, you are quite capable of drinking in moderation, you know when to stop, and can, without it setting you up to want to drink again, then it may be safe for you to have one or two drinks at a wedding. If you are not sure, I would err on the side of caution, as one person has already suggested

 

[Stephanie1984]

I never had a problem it's just what we all did when we where younger.. I have 2 kids now so I don't do the heavy drinking and night clubbing.. We call it binge drinking in the uk.. I can enjoy a couple and leave it at that..

 

[Stephanie1984]

Glad I have the site to ask my questions.. Thanks folks.. Much appreciate you all replying.. X

 

[Magenta]

You are welcome! Binge drinking here would probably be described as not drinking very often, but when you do, it is almost always to excess. Not everyone who drinks, does so to excess, though. Some people can even smoke occasionally and not seem to get addicted to it, at least, they smoke so little, it seems they are not addicted. In truth, they may have just as hard a time trying to quit as the one, two, or three packs a day person. It is good to know, though, and I mean for yourself, that you do not have a problem Have fun at the wedding!

 

[Depleted]

Hi everyone.. What's your thoughts on having a drink? Is it a sin? Just our Sunday service was about alcohol and we should not drink any at all cause 1 can lead to ruining your life., I know the bible says good and bad about it and maybe good was just about grape juice with no alcohol content but we just don't know. I never get drink but I enjoy a couple of low alcohol drinks at the weekend., am I doing wrong? I used to get drink before I got saved and know that was wrong cause I got hangovers and did stupid things., should I give it up completely? I know what not to drink and not to get drunk now.. Have a wedding next week too and was thinking I probably shouldn't drink anything at all at it now., any good advice would be greatly appreciated

Since you have a firm grasp of what constitutes an ability to drink, my recommendation is to find a new church that doesn't waste a whole sermon trying to convince everyone not to touch alcohol. Especially given one of Jesus' last acts before being crucified was to drink some wine.

Alcoholism runs rampant in my family. Just like I didn't get Dad's musical ability, I also didn't get whatever it is he has to make him an alcoholic. I see the problem, but I don't have it. I do empathize with folks who do, (three out of four brothers do have the problem), but I'm not changing my entire life for their approval either. Nor will I drink in front of them. (I tried it, got drunk when I was young, but the truth is it tastes terrible, so I simply don't drink it anymore. I'd be really annoyed if some pastor spent a whole sermon on this junk too though.)

 

[Stephanie1984]

Hi Lynn.. I love the church I'm in so couldn't leave it.. That's the 1st time I've heard our paster preach on the subject.. Just don't want to be doing the wrong thing by drinking a little now and again.. Quite hard when I don't have many Christian friends and they all enjoy their wine etc.. I don't go out much at all though except weddings or friends asking me round to their house. I don't touch strong drink or table wine.. I have a low percent drink I enjoy (prob because it's full of sugar lol)

 

[Chuckt]

Hi everyone.. What's your thoughts on having a drink? Is it a sin? Just our Sunday service was about alcohol and we should not drink any at all cause 1 can lead to ruining your life., I know the bible says good and bad about it and maybe good was just about grape juice with no alcohol content but we just don't know. I never get drink but I enjoy a couple of low alcohol drinks at the weekend., am I doing wrong? I used to get drink before I got saved and know that was wrong cause I got hangovers and did stupid things., should I give it up completely? I know what not to drink and not to get drunk now.. Have a wedding next week too and was thinking I probably shouldn't drink anything at all at it now., any good advice would be greatly appreciated

Write a list with ten good things about alcohol.
Write a list with about ten bad things about alcohol.

I can't think of many good things about alcohol so my list of good things is empty.

 

[Tinuviel]

Write a list with ten good things about alcohol.
Write a list with about ten bad things about alcohol.

I can't think of many good things about alcohol so my list of good things is empty.

we weren't discussing the pros and cons, we were discussing if it is sinful...there are a lot of things that God gives us purely for enjoyment that aren't bad in moderation.

 

[Utah]

A beer now and then is not a sin.

 

[kaylagrl]

If it was something you struggled with before you got saved, by all means avoid it.

I personally am a teetotaler, for various reasons. For a lot of people, one drink ain't gonna turn you into an alcoholic. For some people, it's a snare that can ruin their lives.

I'm a teetotaler because:
- The Bible says not to do anything that could be a snare to other. Doing something you enjoy that could lead another sibling in Christ astray is a sin. It's not loving. It's selfish. That's what Paul said about it. He went so far as to even say that (since the discussion was meat being offered to idols and whether Christians should eat it) if it was going to cause a brother in Christ to stumble and violate their conscience, he would eat no meat while the world stood. (See 1 Corinthians chapter 8.)
- I have a family history of alcoholism. My grandfather was a very serious alcoholic because he depended on it for some kind of relief, however poor, from his WWII PTSD.
- It's the way I was raised.
- If you don't touch the stuff, you ain't gonna ever have a problem with it.
- I think that the Bible urges us on the side of caution in all things. Is it what Christ would want me to do? Is this going to help me and other people make it to heaven? Is what I'm doing selfish? Those are some hard, pointed questions that help clarify where a problem is and what to do about it.

Totally agree with your entire post. I lost my uncle to alcoholism. He was caught from the first drink. I've never had a drink in my life. Just a dangerous road I think. Its something that isn't a need so why take the chance that you have a problem with it?

 

[kaylagrl]

we weren't discussing the pros and cons, we were discussing if it is sinful...there are a lot of things that God gives us purely for enjoyment that aren't bad in moderation.

The problem with that is an alcoholic doesn't know they have the addiction till they take the first drink. You may be able to take it moderation but someone else may not be able to.

 

[santuzza]

Not a sin to have a drink every now and again. As many others have stated, it's getting drunk that's the sin.

 

[BeyondET]

about only one Good thing I can list sry
1.its not good for me I know that much, to their own though I'm no ones boss, it's enough trying to keep myself straight lol...
to what I think about it, I've had friends die to Acohol which had profound affect on I feel now about it,, but not saying I dont have one here n there.

The bad list of just ten,probably wouldn't be the tip of the ice burg.

 

[Joidevivre]

Since I turned 60, I have had a small glass of wine with my dinners every day. I love how it enhances the food, and I've even read that it could be good for my heart.

I just don't like to drink water or milk with meals. Not into ice tea, etc. Wine just makes sense. And, no, I've never been drunk.