Drugs and Drinking

Proverbs 25:28 “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

How many of us struggle with self control?

I think many of us can attest to that, and if your hands aren’t raised it must be nice being perfect. Now, how many of us struggle with doings things that we know aren’t good? Have you ever wondered why we do the things we know we shouldn’t do?

For those of us who are believers in Christ, we feel the convictions from the Holy Spirit in our hearts telling us that we need to control ourselves and that we need to stay away from the things of this world because they no longer fit us. As Christians, we are called to a life of holiness and righteousness, as it says so in Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

But when we let our guard down, we will be exactly what the proverb says, a city broken into and left without walls. If we let the world into our hearts, we will become just like the world. Instead of being imitators of God we’ll become imitators of the world. We’ll be glorifiers of self, slanderers, hateful and immoral people.

And so in our first session, Ronel talked about anger, laziness, and entitlement, and its fair to say that, a lack of self control leads to all three of those things. But that’s not where it stops. Unchecked anger, laziness, and entitlement have the potential to lead into the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol and other substances.

Now some of you may think, “Oh there’s nothing wrong with drugs and alcohol, so many people do it and they’re perfectly fine” but are they really? The reason why people do these things is because there is a deep longing within their hearts for satisfaction, peace, and contentment. There is not a single person in this world who is fully satisfied with who or what they are or even with what they have. Everyone of this world is looking for the next big experience. And that is dangerous because it can lead to a very dark path. It may start off with something so simple as a sleepover at a friends house and sneaking drugs or alcohol inside. Or it may be a friend at school introducing you to something. Or it could even be someone at church showing you something.

Now if these things are all around us and if everyone is doing it, why is it bad? Is it really that bad if I have one shot? Is it bad if I smoke just once a week? If it’s not harming anyone else then what’s the big deal?

Let’s start by asking a few questions. First question, is it necessary? The answer is no, you do not need alcohol or drugs. As Christians, our satisfaction and contentment comes from the grace of God. He provides for our every need and He gets us through this painful life. If you’ve been dealt with a hardship or trial, the things of this world will not help you at all. As someone who’s been on that side personally, I can tell you it doesn’t satisfy one bit and makes you feel worse than how you started. You may momentarily forget about your pain but it will only come back the next day. If you’re doing it for the experience, then understand this, that experience is momentary and fleeting. It doesn’t last and it will only leave you wanting more which will eventually lead to addiction. And there goes your self control and now you’re dependent on something of this world to give you joy.

For Christians, we have been called to a higher standard of living than the rest of the world. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” If the Old Testament saints, were instructed to stay away from alcohol, weren’t allowed to even be beside alcohol, how much more should the body of Christ stay away. The reason why we should stay away is because it leads to destructive sin.

And that leads us to our second question, is it potentially destructive? The answer is yes. A simple search would show you, 15% of robberies are linked to alcohol use, 37% of sexual assault cases were commited by offenders who were under the influence of alcohol, and about 40% of convicted murderers had used alcohol either before or during the crime. In 2019 alone, more than 70,000 Americans died from drug abuse. After hearing this, as Christian why would you possibly want to involve yourself in these things that have the potential for so much destruction and sin. Ephesians 5:15-21 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

This passage tells us clearly, to not get drunk with wine. We must look at how we present ourselves in this world. We need to be living a spirit filled life and edifying one another with praises to God and encouraging each other to walk with God. But we can’t do this if we are filled by the world. Self control is vital to living a spirit filled life for abstinence from the world will result in your life bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Without self control we cannot uplift our brothers and sisters in Christ, which brings me to the next question, does this offend other Christians?

The answer to this is also yes. Many Christians drink in moderation and therefore aren’t necessarily harming themselves, but they can be harming those around them unintentionally. A Christian who is able to drink in moderation might cause a weaker Christian to try drinking and become addicted. We cannot be certain in our own ability to control ourselves and we definitely cannot be certain that our example won’t cause others to go beyond moderation. Romans 14:21 says “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” Our own freedom in Christ should not be cherished above the welfare of even one other believer. In just the verses before it Romans 14:19 “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” If our examples are hurting other fellow believers then we must be mindful of our actions and build each other up for God’s glory and our own good. We must leave the things that are hurting our fellow brothers and sisters. But not only can these things harm your brothers and sisters but they can also harm your own testimony.

When our lifestyle and lack of self control is harming those around us, it is also harming our testimonies because clearly, our lives are not being reflective of the likeness of Christ. Not only that, but now we are losing witnesses to our transformed lives. If no one can witness to our born again life, then how can we possibly be truly saved? And if we show a lack of concern for our fellow brothers and sisters, then how are we showing the world the love of Christ? Therefore our lives must be reflective of Christ. We cannot allow ourselves nor afford to be conformed to this world because we have been called to be saints and ambassadors for the living God. We cannot be saints if we are living unholy and unrighteous lives. If we are still being filled by the world whether it be through alcohol, drugs, sex, or anything other than the Spirit, how then can we possibly be saints and ambassadors for God? Our testimony is most effective if the world sees Christ in us. Romans 14:7-8 “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Everything that a Christian is and has is the Lord’s thats why 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” If we want to reach unbelievers, we cannot become an obstacle in someone’s walk with God.

Now after going through all these questions we need to ask ourselves, if what we are doing is right. Drinking, drugs, and all these worldly things have major consequences. All of our choices have consequences—some good, some bad. One of the problems with drugs and alcohol is how those substances cloud our judgment—they make us more vulnerable to unwise, risky, or rash decisions that can horribly hurt us and hurt other people. These substances inhibit our ability to exercise self-control, and they can damage our relationships with other people.

If our actions lead to such destructive results, we need to stop and go to the Father in prayer and repent and ask God to change our lives, to give us discipline and self control. Now there’s still the question of is it a sin to drink alcohol? And I’ll end with this little bit here,

A man once said to a Pastor, “I have a beer with the boys sometimes. Is that wrong?” The Pastor replied “What do you think about it?” “Well, I don’t think it’s wrong, but it bothers me.” the man said. Then the Pastor asked, “Do you like being bothered?”. The man said, “No, I don’t”. And the Pastor said “You know how to stop being bothered don’t you?” The man knew the obvious answer and said, “Yes. Stop drinking.”

Romans 14:23 “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” John MacArthur in his commentary on Ephesians said this, “Even if we believe that something is not sinful in itself, if we cannot do it with a completely free conscience, we sin because we do it against our conscience. Going against our conscience will push us into self-condemnation and self-imposed guilt. Conscience is a God-given alarm to guard against sin, and whenever we go against it we weaken it and make it less sensitive and less reliable, thereby training ourselves to reject it. To continually go against conscience is to cause it to become silent. And when that happens, we lose a very powerful agent God has given to lead us.

So the final question that we must ask ourselves is this, Whatever it is that I’m doing, can I do it before others and before God in total faith and confidence that it is right?

I’ll finish off with this verse from Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”