1. Welcome! www.SunsetChurchofChrist.net
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Sunday Bible Classes 9:30 AM Worship 10:30 AM 5:30 PM Wednesday Bible Classes 7:00 PM

2. Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord
Hymns
Invitation
Red Songbook -
Supplemental

3. Substance Use 1 Corinthians 9:27 I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

4. Scriptures and Alcohol
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking
The Bible’s overall view of alcohol is that it destroys men

5. Scriptures and Alcohol
Noah’s curse (Genesis 9:21)
Lot’s incest (Genesis 19:32)
A son’s disobedience (Deuteronomy 21:20)
Nabal’s foolishness (I Samuel 25:36)
David’s attempt to hide adultery (2 Samuel 11:13)
King Elah’s assassination (1 Kings 16:9)
Madness of the nations (Jeremiah 51:7)
A servant’s wickedness (Luke 12:45)
The harlot of Babylon’s murders (Revelation 17:6)
Scriptures and Alcohol
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking
The Bible’s overall view of alcohol is that it destroys men

6. Scriptures and Alcohol
Noah’s curse (Genesis 9:21)
Lot’s incest (Genesis 19:32)
A son’s disobedience (Deuteronomy 21:20)
Nabal’s foolishness (I Samuel 25:36)
David’s attempt to hide adultery (2 Samuel 11:13)
King Elah’s assassination (1 Kings 16:9)
Madness of the nations (Jeremiah 51:7)
A servant’s wickedness (Luke 12:45)
The harlot of Babylon’s murders (Revelation 17:6)
Scriptures and Alcohol
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking
The Bible’s GENERAL view of alcohol is that it destroys men

7. Scriptures and Alcohol
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking There are many sins identified with drinking

8. Scriptures and Alcohol
The sin of drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18)
The sin of wine indulgence/excess (1 Peter 4:3)
The sin of carousing (social drinking) (Galatians 5:21)
The sin of reveling (social drinking) (2 Peter 2:13)
The sin of gathering to drink (I Peter 4:3)
The sin of witchcraft (Galatians 5:20)
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking There are many sins identified with drinking
Reveling is the Greek word thruphe (to break up or (figuratively) enfeeble, especially the mind and body by indulgence); effeminacy, i.e. luxury or debauchery:--delicately, riot.

9. Scriptures and Alcohol
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking There are many sins identified with drinking We cannot cause others to stumble

10. Scriptures and Alcohol
He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
Luke 17:1-2
Scripture paints a picture on Saints & drinking There are many sins identified with drinking We cannot cause others to stumble
1 Corinthians 8:9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

11. Scriptures and Alcohol
CONCLUSION:
There is NO POSSIBLE WAY for a Christian to have a lifestyle that includes drinking
“Drinking” : Drinking alcohol for the intent and purpose of consuming alcohol

12. Scriptures and Alcohol
Question: Why does the Bible simple not say: It is a sin to drink/touch any alcohol? Answer: Because it is not (of itself)
Here is where we need to have some discernment – a drinking lifestyle is not the same thing as using alcohol for its purpose

13. Being Spiritually Discerning
The condemnation of alcohol is intoxication - The “high” of getting drunk (Isaiah 5:11) - Intoxicated for the sake of intoxication
Isa 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!

14. Being Spiritually Discerning
The condemnation of alcohol is intoxication Drugs effect the same end - Both drugs & alcohol remove inhibitions - Both drugs & alcohol remove self-control From a biblical conduct standpoint: Alcohol and drugs are effectively the same We will use the common word “substance”

15. Being Spiritually Discerning
Alcohol of itself is not “evil” Romans 14:14a - I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; - It was NOT unclean under Mosaic Law either

16. Being Spiritually Discerning
Alcohol of itself is not “evil” As an intoxicant it even serves a purpose Proverbs 31:6 - Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to him whose life is bitter. 1 Timothy 5:23 No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

17. Being Spiritually Discerning
Alcohol of itself is not “evil” As an intoxicant it even serves a purpose
In cultures with limited medical knowledge, alcohol was (and is) used for medicinal needs
For the purpose of this lesson, we are using drunkenness and intoxication uniformly for both alcohol and drugs. The condemnation central to alcohol is intoxication, or the “high” of getting drunk. With drugs, we use words that imply that it is the same thing. Both drugs and alcohol remove inhibitions and induce a mind that lacks self-control and is susceptible to what seems to be demonic influence. Therefore, from a biblical standpoint, alcohol and drugs are effectively the same thing.

18. Being Spiritually Discerning
Alcohol of itself is not “evil” As an intoxicant it even serves a purpose
Today western medicine no longer uses it directly*, and therefore neither would we
 *56 over the counter medicines (mostly for colds) contain alcohol

19. Being Spiritually Discerning
Alcohol of itself is not “evil” As an intoxicant it even serves a purpose
Now we have changed to pharmaceuticals, which can pose the same issues as alcohol
 *56 over the counter medicines (mostly for colds) contain alcohol

20. Christians & Substance Use
Drugs used to dull pain or aches – Opioids, muscle relaxants, etc Drugs use to render senseless or unconscious - Anesthesia Drugs used to alter moods or behaviors - Stimulants - Depressants
it is not appropriate to say “I believe in taking morphine after surgery, but look down on the man who uses an anti-depressant”. Both have an effect on the mind that is useful as well as debatable for the same reasons.

21. Christians & Substance Use
The same drugs used for intoxication are also useful for our medical treatment
it is not appropriate to say “I believe in taking morphine after surgery, but look down on the man who uses an anti-depressant”. Both have an effect on the mind that is useful as well as debatable for the same reasons.

22. Christians & Substance Use
The same drugs used for intoxication are also useful for our medical treatment This does NOT mean we ought not use them
it is not appropriate to say “I believe in taking morphine after surgery, but look down on the man who uses an anti-depressant”. Both have an effect on the mind that is useful as well as debatable for the same reasons.

23. Christians & Substance Use
The same drugs used for intoxication are also useful for our medical treatment This does NOT mean we ought not use them
So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting –
Ecclesiastes 11:10
it is not appropriate to say “I believe in taking morphine after surgery, but look down on the man who uses an anti-depressant”. Both have an effect on the mind that is useful as well as debatable for the same reasons.

24. Christians & Substance Use
The same drugs used for intoxication are also useful for our medical treatment This does NOT mean we ought not use them It means this DEMANDS Spiritual discernment

25. Christians & Substance Use
We live in a time where pain is no longer considered something we ought to live with. Many pain pills are readily available Almost all are susceptible to abuse
it is not appropriate to say “I believe in taking morphine after surgery, but look down on the man who uses an anti-depressant”. Both have an effect on the mind that is useful as well as debatable for the same reasons.

26. Christians & Substance Use
The World’s View
“Pain does not have a moral value. Drugs do not have a moral value.….. We, as physicians, should not be moralizing about pain or its treatments.” Dr. Dan Brookoff
Christians & Substance Use
The Christian Mind
I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
I Corinthians 9:27
Dr Brookoff was well known in the area of pain management. He later took his own life

27. Christians & Substance Use
Our great dilemma:
The great problem among brethren is often not alcohol but using medications (legal / illegal) to accomplish the same purpose. This is NOT a conversation about addiction, but about intoxication, which we have seen is not just worldly, but sinful for the sake of itself. We can use the term the world uses: abuse. The abuse of drugs is the use of these substances for purposes beyond their purpose. The real problem is “how can I know I am abusing substances”?
“how can I know if I am abusing substances”?

28. Christians & Substance Use
Because a doctor prescribed it or it is legal - Does not mean it is not sinful It is possible to manufacture the need for meds - Our body makes us feel pain for pleasure

29. Christians & Substance Use
THEREFORE: We need to acknowledge we may not have the ability to accurately discern our use
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ Galatians 6:1-2

30. Conclusions We CAN and SHOULD control pain
Christians have put off intoxications
- It is easy to see alcohol in this category
- It is more difficult to understand substance abuse
We CAN and SHOULD control pain
We MUST NOT use these things for intoxication
We MAY NOT be able to tell the difference

32. Slaves of Sin…..
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
John 8:34

33. Slaves to Christ! But thanks be to God that though you were
slaves of sin, you became obedient from
the heart to that form of teaching to
which you were committed
Romans 6:17

34. Slaves to Christ! “that form of teaching” is:
Hearing & Believing the Word – Romans 10:17
Confessing the Lord Jesus – Romans 10:9
Repenting of your sins – Romans 6:4
Be immersed in water to be saved – Romans 6:3
Remain faithful until Jesus returns