So, is it a sin to drink alcohol?
To be drunk, sure. To drink, no.
End of conversation, right?
No. I wish it were that simple.
“The first answer that I would give to the question “Is it a sin to drink alcohol?” is the same answer I give to the question “Is it a sin to drink water?” And the answer is that it could be. Drinking water when you should be giving a glass to someone else in need — that is sin. Drinking water when you should be paying more reverence to the preaching of God’s word — that is a sin. Drinking water when someone just warned you that it is contaminated and might kill you — that is sin. So, drinking water can be sin.” – Piper
But if it isn’t an outright sin, is it not just a matter of conviction, and self-control then? Personally, I know that when I drink, I can handle my liquor. I get it. Bad things can happen when under the influence, but really, I just do not see that happening to me. I know myself. I know my limits.
Hm. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
Overconfidence, coupled with negligence, can lead to sad consequences. It’s happened to me. Many times. I’ve been so sure of myself that I became careless with the little things that may pose a threat. Even with alcohol.
“I’ll just have one drink.” “I’m around friends. Worst case scenario, they’ll bail me out.” “I can just blame it on the alcohol.”
I almost forgot. With topics like this, it is always necessary to establish any biases. I am speaking from the position of someone who has drank but has never really been outright drunk. So, I cannot fully relate to, nor discuss, the feelings felt when in that state. Despite this, I can say that I have seen the effects of alcohol on my thoughts, composure, and ability to resist my desires, so I can somewhat imagine what kind of person I would be if I were to go all the way to drunkenness.
But since you know what kind of person you will be, you can easily just set limits and know when to stop. Don’t you feel like you are at a point in your walk where even things like alcohol cannot override the work God is doing in you?
That sounds nice. Almost like the Spirit negates the alcohol. But no. I personally cannot say that. That would be similar to the thought process of the Corinthian Church prior to Cor 10:12, where the Corinthians had obtained a bit of self-righteousness and pride.
“They thought that they had gotten to that place in their spiritual walk were they had “arrived” in their relationship with Christ, and therefore Paul warns them in this verse that they should therefore beware because they were about to fall away from the Lord if they didn’t be careful and repent. In our lives, we Christians should never think that we are strong enough that we will never fall away from the Lord.” – Bomkamp
H – “It just happens sometimes. Like I’m fine, and then I’m not. In the moment I feel fully conscious, I know that I am not drinking to get drunk. Like I know what I am doing and making the right decisions, but fast forward to the next day I wake up with regrets. I think that is why I stopped drinking. Because by the time I’ve realised I have hit my limit, or I am being affected by it, I have already drunk enough to take me over.”
‘I might speak of men who will venture into the midst of temptation, confident in their boasted power, exclaiming with self-complacency, “Do you think I am so weak as to sin? Oh! no, I shall stand. Give me the glass; I shall never be a drunkard. Give me the song; you will not find me a midnight reveller. I can drink a little and then I can stop.” Such are presumptuous men.’ – Spurgeon
“I can take alcohol in moderation, and it does me no harm, and I can go to a prayer-meeting after my dinner and temperate glass, and I am within my Christian liberty in doing so.’ To the Christians who plead their ‘liberty’ we can only say, ‘Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.’” – Maclaren
“Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.” – Romans 14:22
Although it may seem very anti-alcohol, so far, I cannot, in good conscience, suggest to you that drinking is an outright sin. Nor can I say that any person who has a cup of wine or maybe a cocktail at a restaurant, is deceiving themselves and on the path of alcohol addiction. In the same way I know some people can go and spend time alone with the opposite sex and nothing can occur, I know there are also some who can drink, know when to stop, and avoid drunkenness.
The thing is though, people genuinely believe it is a sin. I’ve asked people about drinking and a lot of them appear to profess teetotalism. But why?
My Sunday Skl 