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Consumption of alcohol or a beverage containing alcohol
is not a sin. The sin occurs when others see us they may
think if we drink of the beverage then it must be
alright. They then may imbibe when they cannot control
it. If we drink we need to have guidelines in practice
that control our intake. A little wine could be good for
the stomach and accruing physical illness.
A container of liquor
is a poison. It contains acetaldehyde, malondialdehyde
acetate or better known as sulfuric acid a derivative of
acetic acid formed in a reaction between
an acid and an alcohol
with the elimination of water. Also used in the making
of photographic film, plastic, textiles fibers, and
varnishes. The picture comes to mind of what it would be
like if while the Holy Spirit living inside looked up
and what was coming down was all this vile poison? All
of a sudden here comes this flush of acid pouring down
on the Holy Spirit of God, what are we going to tell Him
when we join Him in heaven?
Self-control that is
given us freely by the Holy Spirit can overcome any sin.
We are made in the image of our Father and His
workmanship is not a mistake. We have been born into sin
because of the fall of Adam. When we came to Christ
Jesus He removed all the evil from us and we are no
longer a slave to sin. Sin no longer has a hold on us we
do not have sin in us but our nature is to sin. Now we
have been reborn into righteousness and true holiness
because we have been grafted on to the vine. We now
belong to Jesus because He purchased us by giving His
life for us He has paid the cost of our ransom.
Remember this if you feel tempted to over indulge or
feel the need to have just one little drink that God is
faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond what you
can handle. 1 Corinthians 10:13 you can see in this
passage that that what ever you faces that pelages you
God will be there to give you the strength to resist the
temptation put before you by the evil one if you will
only call on God Put on the armor of God He is faithful
and will come to your aid to help you through your
situation. He is always there, if can’t see it is you
that has left not God. Have you ever seen a poster or
plaque about footprints about a man’s dream of walking
along a beach walking with the Lord? As he walked along
by looking down he could see his life pass before his
eyes. Seeing the high and lows that he encountered along
life’s path he could see two sets footprints in the sand
and other times there would be only one set of prints.
Turning to the Lord he said did you not tell me you
would be with me always? The Lord replied when you see
only one set of prints that is the time I held you in my
arms and the footprints you saw were mine for I was
carrying you. I love you and would never abandon you.
Saint Paul said in the book of 1st Timothy
5:23 that a little wine is good for your health. Keep in
mind that during his time the sanitation process was not
as perfected to the point it is today; therefore he may
have been referring to the befit of alcohols ability to
kill germs. Alcohol in itself is not harmful, but the
over indulgence is very harmful. Not only can it
destroy your health, but by you using it to excess you
may entice others who see you to think it is alright to
use it when they are not able to control it, therefore
your sin has then taken place by causing your brother to
sin from seeing your example. Or if we would drink to
excess our minds are not clear therefore we are more
prone to sin.
1st.Timothy 5:23
this verse is not a license to over indulge in food or
drink or cause temptation to overcome our fellow
brothers. Romans 14:20-22 states that It is a good idea
if we do not eat meat or consume wine or do anything
that may cause our brother to stumble. Even though they
are all clean. Romans 14:2 speaks about a man that has
faith may eat all things, but he who is weak eats
vegetables only. Should we by our actions cause another
to falter become dirty and sinful? Of course the
believer has the liberty to eat meat or abstain from
it. We are not to tear down the work of God in the
heart of a believer for the sake of some self
gratification. Would we give up our place in heaven for
food it doesn’t comfort your soul it just to satisfy
your appetite? We are the dwelling place of God our body
is His temple if we belong to Him. John 14:23 where
Jesus said to the one who had inquired if you love Me
you will keep My commandments My Father will then love
you. We will come in to him and make our home there with
him.
Alcohol - Alcoholic
Alcohol could be a stumbling block not only to the one
who is consuming the beverage but also to others who
cannot handle intoxicating beverages. By seeing us drink
they may feel that it is ok for them to partake in the
consumption of the intoxicating beverage too. This is
especially true if you are held in high esteem by the
observer. The best thing to do because of the damage
that can be done to others is abstinence in this respect
so that it would become a stumbling block for others. If
we feel the need to consume the beverage then we should
be very discreet about it. And not cause others to
stumble because of us.
In
Proverbs the twentieth chapter the 1st verse it tells us
that wine causes us to talk arrogantly, Strong drink a
to have rage and a brawler and whoever is intoxicated by
it is not very smart. It seems that every time I speak
to some young man who gets in fights and dose not under
stand why he gets in so much trouble, the trail that
leads back to how he got hurt or how he gets busted up
just about every time it is in a bar or they have been
drinking. The other cause that I have found is he will
want to prove to some one that he is a man.
Here and now, you must
understand that being a man has nothing to do wit
fighting and being arrogant. The only thing that gets
proven is you are pretty stupid or just brainless. You
can prove nothing from drinking alcohol except that you
do not have a whole lot of brains. The more you drink it
shows the less brains you will have. Alcohol will kill
brain cells just as marijuana eats away at the brain
cells. Neither can the brain handle the damage caused by
alcohol nor the liver put up with alcohol; you can
easily become poisonous from over use of the harmful
substance. A doctor once said that we could not say how
much a modest amount is. For one the amount just is a
swallow or the other, it may be a small glass. No mater
how much we use, if used in moderation we will probably
be all right.
The
big sin would be if we enticed some one who could not
handle it into drinking and they did something wrong,
then we are as guilty as they. Al this could be avoided
if you did not need a faults sense of power, or the
relaxing that we think we have, or the sensation of
intoxication.
Intoxicating actually means
poisonous and that is what it is in most cases. Proverbs
28:13-14 tells us that alcohol conceals our
transgressions only to us for they are even multiplied
to others and to God. He says we will not prosper but if
we confess to our Father God He will have compassion on
us. He who seeks his own pleasures will become a poor
man. He who loves wine will become a poor man. Ephesians
5:17-18 tells us that do not be foolish, but understand
what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk, for that
is a dissolute life.
1st Thessalonians
5:8-10 moreover we who are His let us be sober calm and
collected in spirit. Having adorned our self’s with the
breastplate and the helmet of Love and the hope of
salivation. 9 because God has not put into place
punishment for us, nevertheless, obtain salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 Who willingly gave of
His life in our behalf whether we are awake or asleep?
Therefore, we may enjoy true in union with Him.
Ask Him to come into your
life now admitting you are a sinner with the full
knowledge that Jesus is God and in control of our
destiny. God will answer your prayers if you are one of
His and you follow his path. Study Gods word James 4:3
when you do ask God and you don't the answer you want
your request is for the wrong things you want only what
will give you pleasure. This would be a selfish way
for us to be it is the things of God that are the things
are to be paramount in our minds not just selfish
things. It is true that God wants us to have the desires
of our hearts and most of the time when we obey Him we
will receive them. God’s time is the right time for us
not our time.
In
mythology Bacchus is the god of wine, Greeks was
Dionysus, the Romans Liber. Which of these imaginary
gods do you want to go to hell for? Or did you pray and
ask God to come into your heart and guide your life. Do
not accept the fate that awaits many who have not
understood what Jesus is all about. He is love because
he does not care what sin you have committed. He created
you and what master does not love his own work? God
loves us all and wants that no one would be lost. That
is why Jesus died on a pole of wood in order that you
and I may turn to Him and find eternal life in Him. So
today do not wait until you get this or that
straightened out for all of mans efforts are in vain
only through Jesus can we be saved. Come to Him now
admit you are a sinner acknowledge Him as lord and join
me in heaven with the God of all to spend eternity in
ever lasting peace free of all pain and afflictions.
It
is our duty as students of Christ to help our fellow man
in any and all of their
necessity.
We can prevent much of
the suffering that we see in all of Gods’ children
around us by sharing God’s truths. He can heal the
problem that we have no matter what it may be or how
gruesome the sin or how long the sin has lasted.
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Jim Brown |
