When it comes to the issue of drinking alcoholic beverages, Christians are divided on this issue. From a certain perspective, they consider it a sin though the Bible never condemns drinking in itself, only getting drunk. So what is a Christian to do who attends a Church whose beliefs are that you should not drink, particularly when at a church sanctioned social gathering?
1Cor 8:7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol�s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?
11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. (NKJV)
What is the principle here? Paul, who knew it was perfectly ok for him to eat meat and that it was not a sin, was willing to abstain from eating meat if he thought it would cause a fellow Christian to stumble in a sin. The same principle applies to drinking any alcoholic beverages. One must ask themselves. "Is my selfish desire to drink (carnally minded) outweigh my responsibility to keep my brother or sister from stumbling?" (Spiritually minded)
Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
10 � And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors��not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.(NKJV)
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (KJV)
Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. (KJV)
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (KJV)
Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. (NKJV)
The principle here is blatantly obvious and the command is abundantly clear. Do not do anything at all that could potentially make your brother or sister stumble, become offended or made weak.
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (KJV)
You cannot serve one another if you are causing someone to stumble or become offended.
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self�control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ�s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (NKJV)
So for those of you who attend a Church that teaches against drinking, then you should abide by their beliefs and not drink in public as it can offend those who believe as their church teaches. Sure it is not a sin to drink and the Bible is actually very clear in that. However, the point is not whether it is wrong or right to drink. The point is whether or not it will cause someone to become offended or stumble or made weak if you were to drink in front of them. You should always assume it will and therefore you simply don't drink in public. That is what Paul emphasized! If it is a problem for anyone to NOT drink or abstain from drinking in public, especially at a church sanctioned social gathering then perhaps you should consider that you might have a drinking problem. Additionally, if this is such an issue for someone then perhaps one should consider finding another church though you still won't escape the Biblical principle as laid out above no matter what church you go to. So perhaps the best thing to do is to grow more spiritually mature and be at peace with all your fellow Christians by taking the same path Paul did and not do anything that can cause another to stumble! That is beng Christlike!
It really is not complicated is it? If we truly love Jesus we will obey His commandments and if we truly love our Brothers and Sisters as Christ commanded, then we will not do anything that could cause them to stumble.
God didnt say dont drink...He said dont get drunk..
God didnt say dont eat...He said dont be a glutton and boy does America suffer from that one
God didnt say dont talk but boy can we get into trouble with are words..life and death in the power of the tongue
God didnt say dont have sex...He said dont fornicate or adulterate
Its a simple balance issue, remember the Pharisees were concerned about the out side of the cup and dish but the inward parts are what matter. You could never drink or smoke or cuss and still not KNOW Him...He wants to sup with you...
I think what Walter was trying to get across here was our responsibility to not make another stumble. If we attend a church where drinking in ANY form is frowned upon (I agree, drinking is fine, getting drunk is not) we should refrain from drinking in a public setting where we might be seen by other members of our church. If we choose to have a glass of wine at home, at a friends house, or somewhere we know it won't offend anyone there, that's fine. But our first thought when taking any action should be, "Will this make another stumble in their walk with Christ?" We shouldn't stick with what WE believe and forget how anyone else feels about it.
a person could easily be offended by you eating meat, or eating certain types of meat.
If you take this to it's ultimate conclusion.. You have freedom in Christ but you cant do anything because you might offend someone.
In otherwords, someone being offended ends up limiting our freedoms in Christ. You end up with the dealing with church people who have the attitude of "if you don't walk, talk, and dress and act like me, you're not a Christian and therefore offesive"
Jesus make the point about such people who accused him of being both a glutton and a drunkard because he ate and drank with sinners. They also called John the Baptist a demon possessed man because he lived in the desert and didn't eat choice foods and didn't drink wine.(Matt 11:18-19)
I think maybe you should reconsider saying that it's not right for Christians to drink in public. That doctrine would also hinder the freedom we have in Christ.
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand for the Lord is able to make him stand"...(Rom 14:1-4)
You ask a good question. I agree there are things that could be absurd like suppose someone is offended if you wear blue or you wear jeans. i don't think those are common things and perhaps that person has some "deeper" issues. LOL
Let's consider this as I posted on my main post.
Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. (NKJV)
The principle here is blatantly obvious and the command is abundantly clear. Do not do anything at all that could potentially make your brother or sister stumble, become offended or made weak. This is the word of God after all.
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (KJV)
Now let's also look at what Paul said which goes to your question about drawing the line and concerning our "liberty in Christ".
1Cor 8:5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?
11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. NKJV
The path that Paul is speaking of is that we should never abuse or Liberty inn Christ nor allow it to become a stumbling block to others. Take the higher more mature path and think of others before yourself. Do not be concerned about "your liberty" in Christ but be more concerned about the brother or sister with perhaps a weaker conscience.
Imagine you meet a really nice godly lady on this site and you meet for dinner. During the course of conversation before ordering dinner you discover she is a strict vegetarian and is offended when someone eats meat. What will you do? What will your attitude be? Will you refrain from ordering any type of meat so as not to offend her or order anyway because of your liberty in Christ?
I think it really might just boil down to "dying to self" and uplifting the needs and concerns of others.
