Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Titus.
“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.” Titus 2:2
There’s a big difference between sobriety and abstinence. Sobriety means that you are not drunk with alcohol, while abstinence means that you don’t partake of it at all. Alcohol usage is not condemned in the scriptures, as Jesus turned water into wine. If it were condemned, He never would have done that. Alcohol has been around for thousands of years, even in the life of Noah. Unlike a lot of things that you might find on the shelf at a store, it is a completely natural food product. Although John the Baptist completely abstained from alcohol, the Lord Jesus partook of the fruit of the Vine.
Luke 7 ³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. ³⁴ The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! ³⁵ But wisdom is justified of all her children.
People spoke evil about John the Baptist and Jesus simply because of their food intake, showing that certain people will try to find fault with you, even when you are not sinning at all. Obviously, when people are involved with things that are clearly outside the will of God, it needs to be addressed and corrected, but people can be extremely malicious, trying to find something wrong with others simply because they hate them.
During my lifetime I have known quite a few people who drank, but some of them were actually nicer than those who professed to be a Christian. The use of alcohol seems to be a magnet for the self-righteous, and what I mean by that is, that if they can’t find anything else wrong in someone’s life, they will claim that they drink too much. If they would simply examine their own lives, maybe they would realize that it is they who are living in sin, involved in fornication, and in complete rebellion against the will of God. The Christian life is not about what goes into the stomach, it is about what comes out of the heart.
Matthew 15 ¹⁷ Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Some people find fault with others for all kinds of different things, such as drinking alcohol, having caffeine, or even because they choose to eat meat!
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17
Be aware that I’m not advocating drinking at all in our discussion today. If people have never had it, then it’s probably a good thing to never have any at all. It’s kind of like remaining a bachelor. If you can keep yourself from getting married, that that is a better route to take, but whether people drink alcohol or get married, that is their own prerogative, (as long as it aligns with the teachings of scripture.) Many passages warn about not being addicted to strong drink, or consuming too much at a time which can result in becoming drunk.
“Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;” 1 Timothy 3:8
But you can be addicted to practically anything in this world. I know some people who are more addicted to a game console than others who drink! An addiction is anything that you cannot break free from for a certain period of time. This is why fasting is such a good thing because it teaches us self control. You can give up anything for a period of time, such as denying yourself sexual activities with your spouse, or other things that you might overindulge in. Some people will quickly point the finger at somebody who consumes a beer or two, but then they eat a bag of donuts every single day. The point is this, addiction can take many different forms, but if you cannot deny yourself something for a period of time, then something’s wrong.
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink,……Colossians 2:16
There are certain people who profess Christianity who are very convicted of alcohol because when they have it, they simply cannot control themselves. One time I knew a man Who had a problem with overconsumption, so he finally gave up alcohol completely. It was great to hear that, because he understood his weakness, and he did what was necessary to take care of the problem. But he did say that he had to learn to allow others to do things that he couldn’t do himself. This doesn’t mean he hung around people when they opened up a beer, he would simply go and do something else.
God gives us all things freely to enjoy, but you cannot be given or addicted to it. Moderation is stamped on a lot of the bottles that you buy from the liquor store, but moderation is a quality that needs to be exercised in every avenue of one’s life. You must set boundaries for certain things that you might enjoy a little too much.
“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5
Moderation is defined as the avoidance of excess. It’s the quality of doing something within reasonable limits, and exercising self-restraint, self control, and self discipline. Temperance is very similar because it is to be in control of yourself in everything that you do.
“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” 1 Corinthians 9:25
I don’t like to delve very far into my past life as an unbeliever, but I have first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be surrounded by people who binge drank, and partied for the sole purpose of becoming annihilated. Like some frat house party, these people would do beer bongs, and drink intentionally to excess until they threw up or passed out on the floor. But there are plenty of people who consume alcohol in the world who do not live their lives like that, and the usage of alcohol cannot be condemned from the scriptures. Drinking is not a sin, but you must not become addicted to it or consume it to the point of drunkenness. You must always exercise cautious self-control whenever you partake of it. Just remember that they called the Lord Jesus a winebibber, which is another name for a drunkard. Sometimes people who are self-righteous and malicious will use someone’s alcohol usage for the purpose of bringing them down and exalting themselves in the eyes of the public. They think that because they don’t drink that they are better than other people, which is the way that they treated Jesus. These types of people can become blinded by their own pride, because they refuse to look at their own sins and wicked lifestyles instead.
So today I just wanted to ask you, who is in the driver’s seat of your life? Who is in control of what you do, you or the world? In order to obtain eternal life we must be capable of controlling ourselves, because only then can we defeat sin completely. Moderation must be exercised in every aspect of our lives, so whatever it is that you do, just remember, that you are going to have to be your own….
…….Designated Driver
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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