Is Wine Potentially Destructive? (Eph. 5:18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/5/2019 8:57 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  Is Wine Potentially Destructive?

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:18a

 

            Message of the verses:  “Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you” (GNBE).

 

            As mentioned in earlier SD’s we are looking mostly at what John MacArthur teaches about the drinking of wine and other alcoholic drinks.  In today’s SD we are looking at the fifth sub-section under the main section entitled “Guidelines for Christians.”

 

            MacArthur again quotes the pagan writer Mnesitherus who spoke earlier “of wine mixed with half water as causing madness and of unmixed wine’s bringing bodily collapse.  The mental, physical, and social destructiveness of alcohol is too evident to need much documentation.”

 

            We will look at some statics at this time and the first one is that over 40 percent of all violent deaths are alcohol related, and at least 50 percent of all traffic fatalities involve drinking drivers.  We can also see that there is an estimate of at least one fourth of all hospitalized psychiatric patients have a problem with alcohol.  Now these statics are probably old and as we look at society today we can see that drugs, both prescription and non prescription probably have cut into these numbers, making the alcohol problems less, but the results are the same. 

 

            John MacArthur writes “Dissipation,’ to which drunkenness inevitably leads, is from asotia, which literally means ‘that which is unable to be saved.’  It was used of a person who was hopelessly incurably sick and also was used of loose, profligate living, as in that of the prodigal son (Luke 15:13).  ‘Dissipation’ is therefore a form of self-destruction.

 

            As mentioned earlier in the chapter, the Old Testament gives many vivid accounts of the close association of heavy drinking with immorality, rebellion, incest, disobedience to parents and corrupt living of every sort.  Violence is a natural companion of strong drink (Prov. 4:17), and ‘wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler’ (20:1).

 

            “The prophet Joel cried, ‘Awake, drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine drinkers, on account of the sweet wine that is cut off from your mouth’ (Joel 1:5).  Later in his message he said, ‘They have also cast lots for My people, traded a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine that they may drink’ (3:3).  Habakkuk warned, ‘Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, who mix in your venom even to make them drunk so as to look on their nakedness!  You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.  Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness.  The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will come upon your glory’ (Hab. 2:15-16).”

 

            As believers we need not have anything to do with stories like these that were found in the OT, and are probably more prevalent in the NT.

 

            If it is true that what happened to Noah after the flood was the first time that one could get drunk, then we can say that it was sin that has caused this to happen, just like sin has caused all bad things to happen.

 

            Quotation today is from Charles Swindoll who writes “Surrender…is the key that unlocks the vault of God’s best and deepest treasures.”

 

7/5/2019 9:42 AM

Is it Habit Forming? (Eph. 5:18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/4/2019 9:29 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: Is it Habit Forming?

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:18a

 

            Message of the verse:  “Don’t get your stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger of excessive drinking)” (Philips). 

 

            We have to think about habit forming addictions as we continue looking at the drinking of wine for believers, and in this case for all people.  We can form good habit forming additions like taking the time each day to read and study the Word of God, or perhaps having a prayer time each day with the Lord.  Perhaps exercising your body each and every day is another good habit to get into.  However there are additions that people can get into that are not at all good for them, such as alcohol or drugs as both of them can even cause one to go to an early grave.

 

            Paul writes on what we could call additions in 1 Corinthians 6:12b “but I will not be mastered by anything.”  This clearly can be applied to the dangers of alcohol addiction.  MacArthur adds: “In addition to the alcohol’s direct clouding of the brain and disruption of bodily functions, the dependency itself distracts the attention and interferes with the judgment of the one who is addicted.

 

            “A Christian not only must avoid the sin but must avoid the potential for sin.  We should not allow ourselves to get under the influence or control of anyone or anything that leads us away from the things of God even to a small extent.  The safest and wisest choice for a Christian is to avoid even the potential for wrong influence.

 

            When we look at what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthian 6:12b I believe that we can take from that short passage that Paul did not want to set any bad examples that perhaps weaker believers would think were okay to follow.  Paul may be able to handle things like having a glass of wine from time to time, but he would probably not do it because a new or weaker believer my try this and then become addicted to it.  As believers we should never do anything that could cause another believer to stumble.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have a friend of mine who has stated a number of times that he at times fears doing something that could cause a young believer to fall, and I would agree with him on this point for myself.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I continue to trust that the Lord will teach me humility.

 

Scripture verse that goes along with yesterday’s quotation from Corrie Ten Boom is from John 16:33 “Theses things I have spoken to you, that in Me you have peace.  In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”   

 

7/4/2019 10:00 AM                                        

Is Wine the Best Choice (Eph. 5:18a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/3/2019 8:27 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Is Wine the Best Choice

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 5:18a

 

            Message of the verse:  “And don’t get drunk with wine, which /leads to/ reckless actions,” (HCSB).

 

            We have been and still are looking at Guidelines for Christians as far as drinking wine.  I have mentioned that in John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Ephesians he writes fifteen pages on “Do Not Get Drunk with Wine, which is Ephesians 5:18a.  About halfway through the commentary is where he begins the guidelines for believers about wine drinking.

 

            MacArthur beings this section by writing “Because drinking of wine is not specifically and totally forbidden in Scripture and because it is not a necessity for believers in most parts of the world today, the drinking of it is a matter of choice.  The next question is therefore, is it the best choice?”

 

            I remember listening to an interview done with candidate Donald Trump as he stated why he has never had a drink of an alcoholic beverage, and his reason was that his brother had died because of his drinking habit and he did not want to even take one drink because he was afraid that he would not be able to stop.  I believe that some people cannot stop drinking once they start and this is a good reason never to drink any alcoholic drinks.  On the other hand as mentioned in MacArthur’s quote, believers have a choice, but is it the best choice.

 

            We find in the OT Law that there were higher standards for leaders in Israel, for instance the ordinary Jew had to give certain kinds of sacrifices but leaders had to do more.  The high priests were also given higher personal standards by which to live.  Lev. 10:9 tells us “"Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die-it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations-.”  As believers we too have higher standards.

 

            Another law that was voluntary in Israel was the Nazirite vow as seen in Numbers 6:1-4 “1 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2  "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ’When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, 3  he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4 ’All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.”  When Elisabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist she was told not to drink any wine and that once her son was born he too was not to drink any wine as it seems to me that he followed this Nazirite vow all of his life.  Samson and Samuel, along with John the Baptist had this Nazirite vow for their entire lives, only three men in all of the Scripture.

 

            MacArthur adds “In Jeremiah’s day the entire clan of Rechabites had taken a vow not to drink wine, and had remained faithful to that vow.  Because of their faithfulness, the Lord had Jeremiah set them up as a standard of righteousness living, in contrast to the corrupt unfaithfulness of Judah, on whom He was about to bring judgment (Jer. 35:1-19).

 

            “God did not lower His standards for New Testament saints, who are greater, Jesus said, even than John the Baptist.  In both the Old and New Testaments drinking wine or strong drink disqualified a person from the leadership of God’s people.  Christian leaders, like those of the Old Testament, are held to specially high standards.  Overseers, or bishops, who are the same as elders and pastors, must not ‘be addicted to wine,’ which, as mentioned above, translates one word (paroinos) and literally means ‘at, or by, wine.’  A leader in the church is not even to be beside wine.  ‘Must’ (1 Tim. 3:2) is from the Greek particle dei, and carries the meaning of logical necessity rather than moral ought.  Paul is therefore saying that leaders in the church of Jesus Christ not only ought but ‘must be...not addicted to wine’ (vv. 2-3)”

 

            In closing we have mentioned that Paul told Timothy in 1 Tim. 5:23 to drink a little wine for his stomach, and we can conclude that this drinking of wine for Timothy was for medical reasons.  I mentioned earlier that my former pastor stated you must have Timothy’s stomach to drink Timothy’s wine.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am convinced by the writing of John MacArthur that there is no need for me to drink any wine or strong drink in my life, other than an occasional, and mean not at all often to have a glass of wine to aid me in my sleep.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to think, and learn about humility.

 

Today’s quotation is from Corrie Ten Boom:  “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”

 

7/3/2019 9:05 AM

Is It Necessary (Eph. 5:18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/2/2019 12:53 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Is it Necessary

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 5:18

 

            Message of the verse:  “18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;”

 

            This is the second question that will help us determine whether or not a believer today should drink wine which is as stated in the “Focus” is, “Is it Necessary?”  We mentioned in Biblical times that the water was not good and so the use of putting a paste like wine in the water made it better for the one drinking it.  Not much alcoholic content in that kind of wine.  However there were several times when Jesus speaks of wine, and even made wine at the wedding at Cana, and also wine was provided in the Lord’s Supper.  MacArthur asks “How could He have made or served that which has even the potential for making a person drunk?  When He made the wine at Cana, He first instructed the servants to fill the jars with water, as if to testify that the wine He was about to create was obviously mixed.  The wedding guests commented on the high quality of the wine (John 2:10), and because they called it oinos, it obviously was like the mild drink they were accustomed to making by adding water to boiled down syrup.

 

            So what we see here is that most of the wine drinking in Biblical times done by the Jews and believers later on did not have much alcohol in it.  I suppose then that we cannot say that drinking of wine can be talked of as Biblical, but I still believe it is a choice, and that choice is not to get drunk.  Some people just like the taste of wine, but it should not be done in the presence of a believer that has a problem with it as Paul spoke of these “grey areas” in his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians.

 

            John MacArthur writes “A Christian’s witness is sometimes resented as costly, but most people are inclined to respect our abstinence when it is done out of the honest conviction and is not flaunted self-righteously or judgmentally.

 

            That is all I have on this difficult subject for today.

 

The Bible verse that goes along with our quotation from J. Hudson Taylor is from Matthew 19:26:  “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 

7/2/2019 1:12 PM

 

           

           

Guidelines for Christians (Eph. 5:18a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/1/2019 9:07 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Guidelines for Christians

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:18a

 

            Message of the verse:  “Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life” (Message).

 

            In today’s SD we begin to look at the last main point from John MacArthur’s commentary which is entitled “Guidelines for Christians.”  In this last main section we will be briefly going over different sub-sections each day until we are done.  In today’s SD we will be looking at “Is Today’s Wine the Same as That in Bible Times?”

 

            First we have to determine what kind of wine was used in both the Old Testament and New Testament times, and then look at what we have today as far as what kind of wine is being drunk.  Believer’s today justify the drinking of wine because of what the Bible says about what was being drunk in Bible Times.  I had a Pastor who said about Paul telling Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach.  He said that if you have Timothy’s stomach problems then you drink Timothy’s wine, inferring that if you don’t have his problem don’t drink the wine.

 

            MacArthur talks about the different kinds of wine in the Bible and the first is called sikera in the Greek and found in Luke 1:15.  The word is shekar in Hebrew (Pr. 20:1), and this is a strong drink.  Next is called gleukos and we get our English word glucose from it.  This is “new wine” and is sweet.  A third kind of wine, however, is the one most often referred to in both Testaments.  Hebrew word is yayin, the root word for bubbling “and this did not come from the pouring of the wine but the boiling of the fresh grape juice to reduce it to a heavy syrup, sometimes even a thick paste that made it suitable for storage without spoiling.”  People would mix the past in water to drink it, “even when the reconstituted mixture was allowed to ferment, its alcohol content was quite low.

 

            I will conclude this SD by giving a quote from MacArthur’s commentary:  “It is clear, therefore, that whether the yayin or oinos mentioned in Scripture refers to the thick syrup itself, to a mixture of water and syrup, or a mixture of water and pure wine, the wine was either nonalcoholic or only slightly alcoholic.  To ‘get drunk with mixture wine’ (oinos) would have required consuming a large quantity—as is suggested in other New Testament passages.  ‘Addicted to wine’ (1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:7) translates one Greek word (paroinos) and literally means ‘at, or beside, wine,’ and carries the idea of sitting beside the wine cup for an extended period of time.

 

            “The answer to the first question is clearly no.  The wine of Bible times was not the same as the unmixed wine of our own day.  Even the more civilized pagans of Bible times would have considered the drinking of modern wines to be barbaric and irresponsible.”

 

            I have expressed my opinion in earlier SD’s and I stress it is my opinion, that because of our Church covenant that I do not drink wine or any other product with alcohol in it, but I will not argue with people who do, as the Bible tells us not to get drunk, but does not tell us not to drink wine. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to look at wine drinking is a similar way that Paul wrote about other things that people can get upset about.  The most important thing is to live a life pleasing to the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Being humble, I believe, helps me to get along with others.

 

Today’s quotation is from missionary J. Hudson Taylor who stated “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.”

 

7/1/2019 9:37 AM

 

           

Scripture Somethimes Commends Wine (Eph. 5:18a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/30/2019 5:06 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                   Focus: Scripture Sometimes Commends Wine

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:18a

 

            Message of the verses:  “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life” (NLT).

 

            Perhaps one may think that because of all we have learned about drunkenness that it forbids the drinking of wine.  Sometimes it even commends the drinking of wine.  In the Old Testament as seen in places like Exodus 29:40 and Numbers 15:5 we see that wine is actually a part of the sacrifices given to God.  Psalm 104:15 says “And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart.”  The author of Proverbs advised giving “strong drink to him who is perishing and wine to him whose life is bitter (Pr. 31:6).  Now in speaking of God’s gracious invitation to salvation, Isaiah declared, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Come; buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Isa. 55:1).  Look at this one “De 14:26  "You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.

 

            In 1 Timothy 5:23 Paul advised Timothy to drink a little wine to help his stomach problems.  We also know that Jesus made water into wine at the wedding in Cana as seen in John 2:6-10.  My first Pastor, Pastor Burns, use to say “If you have Timothy’s stomach then you can drink Timothy’s wine.

 

            John MacArthur concludes this short section with the following comments:  “Like many other things, the kind of wine of which Scripture speaks (discussed below) has the potential either for evil or good.  I believe there was a time when the juice of the grape, like every other thing God created, was only good and did not have even the potential for evil.  Fermentation, a form of decay, likely was made possible by the corruption of nature at the Fall and actually began with the vast environmental change caused by the Flood and the accompanying removal of the vapor canopy over the earth that had protected it from direct sunlight.  It is not unreasonable to believe that in the millennial kingdom the process will again be reversed, when the curse is removed and nature is restored to its original state of perfect goodness.”

 

            I did mention a part of this in an earlier SD, and so that makes me happy that John MacArthur agrees with me on some things.

 

Scripture that goes along with Spiros Zodiates quotation from yesterday is from Proverbs 9:9 “Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man and he will increase in learning.”

 

6/30/2019 5:21 PM

Scripture Always Condemns Druckenness (Eph. 5:18a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2019 2:02 PM

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Scripture Always Condemns Drunkenness

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 5:18a

 

            Message of the verse:  “Don’t get your stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger of excessive drinking)” (Phillips).

 

            It is probably not any surprise to anyone who reads the Word of God to find out that getting drunk is never supported by the Bible.  If we think back to after the flood when Noah and his family got off of the ark we read that Noah got drunk and his son Ham had some kind of sexual relation with his father.  Noah actually cursed the son of Ham, Canaan 9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said, "Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.’”  It is believed that before the flood that things could not ferment, so there could never be any fermented wine or other things that make liquor, but after the flood it could happen and that is why Noah got drunk.  Perhaps he had made grape juice from grapes before the flood and did not realize that it could now make him drunk, at any rate we see what happened to Noah once he drunk wine and perverted sexual relationships happened due to wine and this still goes on today, not just homosexual but also sexual relationships between a man and a woman can happen easier once one of both are drunk. 

 

            I want to give some different verses from the Word of God to show that drunkenness the Bible is against it.

 

            The first one we will look at is what happened to Lot and his daughters after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  30 Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. 32 “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father." 33 So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father." 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day” (Gen. 19:30-38).

 

            This would not have happened without Lot being drunk is the first thing I want to say about this, and there are many other reasons that we will not get into as to why this happened.  Next I want to say that the word “incest” is a new word.  In today’s world this would be called incest, and it was just as wrong then as it is today.  However when we look back at when Adam and Eve were living on the earth the only way the human race could continue is if brothers and sisters, and then cousins could get married and have children.  The reason that this could happen then is because the gene pool was not as corrupted as it is today.

 

            In the fifth chapter of Daniel we see how the Babylonian Empire ended and it also had to do with drunkenness.  I will let you read that chapter on your own.

 

            If you scan through the book of Proverbs you will see it has much to say about the harsh realities of drunkenness.  We did look at a section in our last SD.  John MacArthur writes “Drunkenness mocks a person by making him think he is better off instead of worse off, smarter instead of more foolish, and happier instead of simply dazed.  It is a favorite tool of Satan for the very reason that it deceives while it destroys.  Surely it presents vulnerability to demons.  The drunk does not learn his lesson and is deceived over and over again.  Even when he is waylaid, beaten, and finally awakens from his drunken stupor he “will seek another drink” (23:35). 

 

            One more quote from MacArthur and we will be done with this section:  “In Ephesians 5:18, Paul was therefore not simply making a moral but also a theological contrast.  He was not only speaking of the moral and social evils of drunkenness, but of the spiritually perverted use of drunkenness as a means of worship.  Christians are not to seek religious fulfillment through such pagan means as getting drunk with wine, but are to find their spiritual fulfillment and enjoyment by being ‘filled with the Spirit.’  The believer has no need for the artificial, counterfeit, degrading, destructive, and idolatrous ways of the world.  He has God’s own Spirit indwelling him, the Spirit whose great desire is to give believers the fullest benefits and enjoyment of their high position as children of God.

 

            “The context of this passage further indicates that Paul was speaking primarily about the religious implications of drunkenness.  The frenzied, immoral, and drunken orgies of pagan ceremonies were accompanied by correspondingly corrupt liturgies.  In verses 19-20 Paul showed the kind of liturgy that pleases God: Spirit-filled believers ‘speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.’”

 

            I think that in reading over these last two quotes that we are able to see why Paul wrote this section in Ephesians.  I once was in a Sunday school class at the church we used to go to and the subject of moral issues came up.  One of the Pastors stated that it is not the job of the Church to just show people the moral high ground, as they will still end up in hell, but it is our job as believers to show people their spiritual needs, that is to realize that they are sinners, that they were born sinners, and need to repent of their sinfulness and sins and accept what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross and then to accept and believe that He did this for them and invite Him into their lives to be their Savior and also the Lord of their lives.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life:  It is, and has been my desire for many hears to have the Spirit of God fill me in order to do the things that God planned for me to do in eternity past.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire for the Lord to continue to teach me, and that the Spirit of God continues to encourage me to seek humility.