 1 Corinthians 6:9-11  Galatians 5:19-21  Romans 13:11-14

 Social drinking?  Drinking in moderation in the privacy of your home?

 When we think of wine today, we think of the alcoholic kind. › Wine – Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1828  1. The expressed juice of grapes, esp. when fermented;  Words translated “wine” can mean either fermented or unfermented grape juice. › Fermentation - The anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol by yeast.

 Old Testament › Yayin – 132 verses › Tirosh – 38 verses › Shekhar – 20 verses  New Testament › Oinos – 29 verses › Gleukos – 1 verse

 It’s an impediment to godly living

 Genesis 9:20-27 › Cf. Genesis 6:9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.  Genesis 19:30-36 › Cf. 2 Peter 2:7-8  1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Six Stages Of Alcohol Intoxication The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication can have a number of effects on a person, particularly on the brain, as it is very sensitive to alcohol. Treatment for alcoholism is sometimes necessary for people addicted to this substance. Alcohol has nearly immediate effects on the body. The reason for this is that it requires no digestion, unlike other foods. The higher the blood alcohol content is in the body, the greater the effects of alcohol. We see these varying degrees of intoxication below:

Six Stages Of Alcohol Intoxication  Euphoria › Difficulty concentrating Talkative Lowered inhibitions Brighter color in the face Fine motor skills are lacking  Excitement › Senses are dulled Poor coordination Drowsy Beginnings of erratic behavior Slow reaction time Impaired judgment

Six Stages Of Alcohol Intoxication  Confusion › Exaggerated emotions Difficulty walking Blurred vision Slurred speech Pain is dulled  Stupor › Cannot stand or walk Vomiting Unconsciousness is possible Decreased response to stimuli Apathetic

Six Stages Of Alcohol Intoxication  Coma › Unconscious Low body temperature Possible death Shallow breathing Slow pulse  Death › Death as a result of respiratory arrest intoxication/

 It’s an impediment to godly living  It ruins your influence.

 What the world needs to see: › Philippians 4:4-8 › 1 Peter 1:3-9  Cf. Acts 26:29  What alcohol says: › I’m worldly. › I’ve got something I need to forget. › I support an evil industry.

 It’s an impediment to godly living  It ruins your influence.  It is a stumbling block.

Mark 9:42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. › Every alcoholic gets his start with that first drink. › Intoxication starts with that first sip.

 It’s an impediment to godly living  It ruins your influence.  It is a stumbling block.  It is sinful.

1 Peter 4:1-5 Banqueting (KJV) or drinking parties (NKJV, NASV) is translated from a Greek word (potos) that means literally “a drinking” (Thayer, Strong’s #4224) or “an assembling together for the purpose of drinking” (Barnes). Whether it be cocktail hour, the office Christmas party or a private bash with the bottle, God draws a line on alcohol prior to “a drinking.” Revelries derives from a Greek word (kwmos) which means “a nocturnal and riotous procession of half-drunken and frolicsome fellows” (Thayer, 2970). This is the drinking party at the next level; the alcohol flows more freely and the resulting behavior grows more chaotic and uninhibited. It has reached the point that the drinkers are now “half-drunk.” They could get worse, but they are very evidently under the influence of a mind-altering drug, exhibiting a thick tongue, giddiness and impairment of equilibrium, vision and judgment.

Drunkenness comes to English from a Greek word (oinoflugia) meaning “to bubble up, overflow, drunkenness, wine-bibbing” (Thayer, 3632). It is used in 1 Peter 4:3 to refer to complete drunkenness, total intoxication. There is absolutely no way to cross the line into drunkenness without passing through a drinking and half-drunkenness. The line, however, was drawn prior to complete inebriation; it was drawn back before “a drinking” ever made drunkenness possible. Jeff Smith, “Where Do You Draw The Line On Drinking Alcohol?”

 John 2:1-11 › Jesus made 120 – 180 gallons of “wine.” › Would Jesus enable drunkenness?  Matthew 9:42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

“ Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, “ cf. 1 Timothy 3:2-3a A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine,

“First, when Solomon said, “Do not be overly wicked” (Ecclesiastes 7:17—NKJV [“overwicked”—NIV; “overmuch wicked”— ASV]), did he mean to imply that a person can, with God’s approval, be moderately wicked? When Peter noted that pagans do not understand why Christians do not engage in the “same excess of riot” (1 Peter 4:4), did he mean moderate rioting was appropriate?” Elders, Deacons, Timothy, and Wine by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

“In other words, language can forthrightly condemn an excessive indulgence or great amount of an action without implying that the action is permissible in a lesser amount or to a lesser degree. One cannot assume that what is unlawful in excess is lawful in smaller amounts. We can refer to a person’s frequent involvement in a certain activity (e.g., adultery) without intending to leave the impression that a more moderate participation in the action would be proper.”

“Albert Barnes addressed this point succinctly: It is not affirmed that it would be proper for the deacon, any more than the bishop, to indulge in the use of wine in small quantities, but it is affirmed that a man who is much given to the use of wine ought not, on any consideration, to be a deacon (1977, p. 148).

The inconsistency of this viewpoint becomes exceedingly apparent when one compares Paul’s instructions to different Christians:  Elders (1 Timothy 3:2-3)— abstain (nephalios); don’t even be near it (me paroinon)  Deacons (1 Timothy 3:8)— drink moderately (me oino pollo)  Wives (1 Timothy 3:11)— abstain (nephalious)  Aged men (Titus 2:2)— abstain (nephalious)  Aged women (Titus 2:3)— drink moderately (me oino pollo) In view of these inconsistencies, “much wine” must be a loose form of speech intended to express complete restraint in the use of wine. Elders, Deacons, Timothy, and Wine by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

 Proverbs 23:29-35 v Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.

 Believe › John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”  Repent › Luke 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

 Confess › Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.  Be Baptized › Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

 Be Faithful › Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. › 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.