{"id":1530,"date":"2013-01-20T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2013-01-20T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1530"},"modified":"2013-01-20T09:00:50","modified_gmt":"2013-01-20T15:00:50","slug":"ill-drink-to-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1530","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;ll Drink to That"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?attachment_id=1532\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1532\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1532\" alt=\"I'll Drink to That\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ill-Drink-to-That.jpg\" width=\"216\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a>As mentioned in my previous blog I was concerned when I recently heard a radio preacher condemn drinking alcoholic beverages.\u00a0 He cited the death statistics for drunk drivers, scriptures focusing on wine being a mocker (Proverbs 20:1), alcohol being the root of our problematic society (Proverbs 23:31-32), and drinking leading to drunkenness (Isaiah 5:11).\u00a0 These are all true.\u00a0 Being drunk is bad.\u00a0 It\u2019s condemned in the Bible.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sin.\u00a0 If a person chooses not to drink alcohol, he has that freedom in Christ and impressive statistics to support his position.<\/p>\n<p>However, the speaker failed to quote\u00a0any of the vast majority of scriptures about\u00a0fermented drinks that take a positive view.\u00a0 For example, these drinks were used:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In offerings (Exodus 29: 38-41; Numbers 28:7)<\/li>\n<li>For tithe paying (Deuteronomy 18:4)<\/li>\n<li>In worship (Matthew 26:27; 1 Corinthians 11:25-26)<\/li>\n<li>In celebrations (Genesis 14:17-20)<\/li>\n<li>To gladden a person\u2019s heart (Psalms 104:14-15)<\/li>\n<li>In the Lord\u2019s Supper (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18)<\/li>\n<li>For thanksgiving and honor to God (Proverbs 3:9-10)<\/li>\n<li>As blessings (Genesis 27:28; Joel 2:19, 24; 3:18; Amos 9:13-14)<\/li>\n<li>For medicinal purposes (Proverbs 31:6; 1 Timothy 5:23)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Fortunately the speaker had the good sense not to say the wine mentioned in the Bible was not really fermented but just grape juice, and when Jesus turned the water into wine it was a \u201cwatered\u201d down wine (pun intended) and not potent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, he did try to slam dunk his thesis with my two personal favorite reasons not to do anything \u2013 abstaining from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22) and not causing someone to stumble (Romans 14:20).\u00a0 These are great scriptures people emphasize out of context when they have no other biblical backing for their point of view.<\/p>\n<p>Does he not know that from the inception of Christ\u2019s birth, Christianity has been steeped in \u201cappearances\u201d of evil by the world\u2019s standards?\u00a0\u00a0 A virgin gets pregnant giving the impression of immorality, Christ drinks wine leading some to call him a drunkard, he associates with sinners offending many, he wastes costly ointment to wash his feet that could have been sold to help the poor \u2013 the list could go on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And as far as causing someone to stumble, read all of Romans 20.\u00a0 It is the deliberate action of flaunting one\u2019s belief in someone\u2019s face that causes the offense.\u00a0 It\u2019s that \u201cin your face\u201d action that God warns against.\u00a0 A drinker could easily trip into this pit fall, but so could a non-drinker with an \u201cI\u2019m more righteous and holier than thou\u201d attitude because he chooses not to drink.\u00a0 The kingdom of God is not about meat or drink.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Christianity misses the mark when it doesn\u2019t give the freedom in Christ for people to make these decisions.\u00a0 We can\u2019t rewrite scripture to say, \u201cYou have heard it said in the Bible that wine is okay to drink within moderation and drunkenness is wrong, but verily I say unto you, that all drinking is wrong and a sin.\u201d\u00a0 That is not what the Bible says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is all this rhetoric leading up to a license for us to go \u201ctie one on\u201d for the Lord?\u00a0\u00a0 I think not.\u00a0 The point is:\u00a0 if you are a Christian who chooses not to drink alcoholic beverages, do not condemn another Christian who chooses to drink them.\u00a0 The point is:\u00a0 if you are a Christian who chooses to drink alcoholic beverages, don\u2019t condemn or flaunt it in front of Christians who choose not to drink.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is it a sin to drink wine and such?\u00a0 Not according to the Bible!\u00a0 But drunkenness and gluttony are.\u00a0 And here are some other sins to watch out for:\u00a0 judging others, condemning others, being quick to call someone a sinner, and setting up your standard as God\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I\u2019ll drink to that!\u00a0 (But I won\u2019t tell you if I\u2019m having wine or grape juice!)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As mentioned in my previous blog I was concerned when I recently heard a radio preacher condemn drinking alcoholic beverages.\u00a0 He cited the death statistics for drunk drivers, scriptures focusing on wine being a mocker (Proverbs 20:1), alcohol being the &hellip; 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