Sermon Tone Analysis

The Radically Normal Christian:

Part VII: Drinking to the Glory of God

October 30, 2011

PRAYER

SCRIPTURE READING: Deut.

7:11-13 (Michel Jevons)

KNOWN FOR NOT DRINKING?

When I finish this book, I know the most CONTROVERSIAL CHAPTER will be “Drinking to the glory of God.” I’ve already experienced some of the controversy around drinking and the church.

~* The COMMUNION INCIDENT.

Q WHY should I BROACH this subject?

Isn’t it better to leave it alone?

Wouldn’t I sell more books and get a better PUBLISHER?

After a lot of BACK and FORTH, I have come to believe that this will be one of the MOST IMPORTANT chapters in the book, for two big reasons.

1.

This is one of the things that make us the WEIRDEST to non-Christians.

~* BILL KIESELHORST story.

JOHN MACARTHUR wrote a post about how drinking is becoming more acceptable in some churches.1

Knowing how much I disagree with him on many things, I was expecting a rant, but it wasn’t bad.

I agreed with his basic point: DRINKING is not what the church should be KNOWN FOR.

I completely agree.

But, neither should we be known for not-drinking.

~* And NOT DRINKING is what we are KNOWN for.

2. Almost no one TEACHES us how to DRINK or NOT drink to God’s GLORY.

It is my observation that most Christians drink but most churches PRETEND CHRISTIANS DON’T DRINK.

There is an old joke that says there are three groups that DON’T ACKNOWLEDGE another:

~* JEWS don’t acknowledge Jesus Christ.

~* PROTESTANTS don’t acknowledge the Pope.

~* And BAPTISTS don’t acknowledge each other in the liquor store.

And if we PRETEND Christians don’t drink, how can we TEACH them to drink to God’s glory, as the Bible says:

1 Corinthians 10:31 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

~* We need to also teach how to NOT DRINK to God’s glory, without JUDGMENT and WEIRDNESS.

Instead, we have created this AREA where GOD and the CHURCH are NOT WELCOME into, and that is never a good thing.

If people don’t see a DIRECT CONNECTION between what happens SATURDAY NIGHT and SUNDAY MORNING, it is no surprise when bad stuff happens on Saturday night.

~* So that is why I am willing to BRAVE the CONTROVERSY to talk about this topic.

N~/R~/RNX

Let’s take a look at drinking through the N~/R~/RNX LENS:

It is normal to DRINK and get PLASTERED.

Everyone agrees that HARMING others because of your drinking is bad, but other than that, drinks away.

Peter described it well:

1 Peter 4:3-4 NIV 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.

On the other hand it is RADICAL to go to the opposite extreme: ABSTAIN from all drink.

It’s TOO DANGEROUS, it’s not worth it, we should be MORE HOLY, and of course, we don’t want to make a “WEAKER BROTHER STUMBLE.”

But it is RADICALLY NORMAL to view alcohol as a BLESSING when used to God’s glory but a CURSE when misused.

~* Even if you DON’T DRINK, you still need to hear this in order to build a Biblical view of alcohol.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS

Let’s look at what the BIBLE actually SAYS about alcohol:

I looked up EVERY PLACE that BEER, WINE, and STRONG DRINK occurs in the Bible (215x).

If we want to accurately represent what the Bible says, that seems like a good place to start.

Q How do you think the BIBLE VIEWS ALCOHOL, on a scale of 1-5, 1 being very negative and 5 very positive?

~* The Bible soundly CONDEMNS DRUNKENNESS, but is OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE about ALCOHOL itself.

In fact of all the times it talks about alcohol itself, not when it is MISUSED or being used as a ANALOGY of something else, only 3% of the time is it treated as a bad thing.

Here is what it says:

1. God CREATED wine!

It GLADDENS our hearts (Ps 104:15).2

2. God LIKES wine!

We think of ANIMAL SACRIFICES, but God also required a sacrifice of WINE (22x).3

3.

And it is exceedingly obvious that JESUS DRANK wine.

4. Wine is a BLESSING of God, a DEMONSTRATION of HIS love and RICH PROVISION (25x).

Not only is the Promised Land called a land of MILK and HONEY, it is also described a land of bread and wine:

NIV Deuteronomy 7:13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers.

He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land-- your grain, new wine and oil-- the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.

You’ve probably heard the quote “Beer is a sure sign that God loves us and want us to be happy.”

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN didn’t say that, but here is what he said:

Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.4

This is one of the most BIBLICALLY ACCURATE things he said!

5.

When God TAKES AWAY WINE, it is a sign they are under JUDGMENT (13x).

Haggai 1:11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.

I know there is some joke in there about DRY SCHOOLS being under judgment, but I can’t find it.

6. Wine is a SYMBOL of JOY and God’s RICH BLESSING – which adds a new dimension to COMMUNION!

The ANCIENT RABBIS had a saying, “Without wine there can be no joy.”

At the PASSOVER celebration, the cups are supposed to be filled to the brim, symbolizing fullness of joy.

7. MISUSE of the alcohol is CONDEMNED.

DRUNKENNESS is soundly condemned.

Interestingly, while wine is a symbol of God’s blessing, DRUNKENNESS is a SYMBOL of his JUDGMENT.

That fitting when you think of the guy praying to porcelain god.

Galatians 5:19-21 NIV The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

~* It’s on God’s DIRTY DOZEN!

As CHRISTIANS become MORE FREE with drinking I’ve watched us MINIMIZE the SIN of getting drunk.

It’s not CUTE, it isn’t “NAUGHTY,” it isn’t FREEDOM.

It is SIN, every TIME.

~* Not “GOING to HELL” sin (nothing is), but a REPENT and STRIVE not to do it again sin.

A GOOD THING MISUSED

Some argue that since DRINKING can lead to DRUNKENNESS it would be best to NOT DRINK at all.

However “SEXUAL IMMORALITY” is also on the list but no one argues we should stop all sex!

One ATHEIST FRIEND of mine posted a list of supposed Biblical CONTRADICTIONS because the Bible approved of alcohol but condemns drunkenness.

That seems rather OBVIOUS to me:

~* ALCOHOL GOOD, MISUSED BAD – that works for a lot of things.

The DEVIL loves nothing more that to take something that was MEANT to be a BLESSING and make it a CURSE; and DRUNKENNESS makes DRINK a CURSE.

~* SHORT TERM: WORDS or ACTIONS we regret, DUI’s.

Even ONE TIME can get us into big trouble if we are unlucky.

~* LONG TERM: A life of DRUNKENNESS destroys LIVES and FAMILIES in unimaginable ways.

God doesn’t call it sin because he DOESN’T WANT us to have a GOOD TIME, but because he wants to SAVE us from a WORLD of PAIN:

~* Appx.

14 MILLION Americans (1 in 13 adults) ABUSE alcohol.

~* Alcohol is the THIRD leading CAUSE of preventable DEATH

~* Drunk drivers are responsible for 50% of HIGHWAY FATALITIES

~* Alcohol is a factor in nearly HALF of America’s MURDERS, SUICIDES, and ACCIDENTAL deaths

These facts make it very HARD for many Christians to see wine as a BLESSING, for indeed it is a CURSE to them.

~* Many people, including those in our church, choose not to drink because of its painful association.