 Hi, this is Pastor David Rosales. I'm the pastor of Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley in California. I recently was asked if it's a sin for a Christian to drink alcohol for recreational use. This is one of the topics that provokes heated arguments amongst Christians. The practice of drinking, when argued for by those who believe it permissible, is usually presented under the liberties that believers enjoy within the sphere of God's grace. The argument usually centers on the premise that it is intoxication that is forbidden, but drinking in and of itself is not. So if someone enjoys wine or beer, then it's permitted as long as one does not get drunk. Those who believe it to be something that is wrong are usually labeled legalists who are imposing their strict moral values on other people and do not understand the grace that has been given to us and has given us liberties that includes social drinking. Those who do not believe in recreational drinking will often look at those who exercise such liberty as carnal because they drink and appear to have the values of the world uncaring of alcohol's dangers and certainly oblivious to how others view them and the detriment to their witness such behavior is. It is instructive to note that in the book of Ephesians Paul said in chapter 5 verses 14 through 17, awake you who sleep arise from the dead and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is. Notice he told them to walk carefully, redeem the time, do not be unwise, understand God's will. Immediately after writing these words he went on to say and do not be drunk with wine which is dissipation but be filled with the Spirit. All of these commands hinged on their understanding the times that they were living in. They were living in days where the entire atmosphere was in hostile opposition to Christianity because the days are evil believers are instructed to live Christ honoring lives. Earlier in his letter Paul told them to put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness and this is the kind of life that they were designed for. We need to remember that our lifestyles reveal the sincerity as well as the maturity of our faith in Jesus as well as the depth of our love for him and our devotion to him. This love for Jesus is evidenced by the consistency of our works as well as our words. The new way of life that evidences our walk with the Lord is not something we create for ourselves it is in reality a supernaturally empowered life made possible by the Spirit of God. In order to be able to live lives that bring glory to God we need a spirit with this in mind Paul commands believers to not be drunk with wine. He contrasts the Spirit filled life with drunkenness. Why? Because he's contrasting the spiritual life with a carnal flesh centered life. We need to remember that the ancient Greeks were idolaters who worshiped a variety of nature gods and one of the gods that was worshiped was given the name Bacchus. He was especially known as a God of wine and ecstasy. When his devotees worshiped they would drink and they would get drunk. After drinking their priests would begin to prophesy under the influence of their God. As they were drunk they would give their oracles. The worshipers would engage in excesses of every kind including sexual orgies. They believed that drinking was an appropriate way to worship the God who invented wine. Because they were changed in terms of their behavior after drinking they believed that he was the one influencing them. Whatever they did while drunk would be blamed on his influence in their lives and this is what Paul is speaking of when he speaks of dissipation which is no self-control. So that brings us to the obvious question. What about alcohol? Again there are Christians who have no problem drinking and argue in its favor. Some are alcohol evangelists. They even attempt to argue people into their position and sadly those who argue in favor of grace very often are more concerned with their wants and forget what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 12 when he wrote, all things are lawful for me but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of any. For those who enjoy your liberty and drink these questions might help you as you consider the pros and cons of being a sipping saint. Is it costly? Is it something I should spend my money on? Is it habit-forming? If I become addicted how will it affect my life or the life of my family? Can I make poor decisions while under its influence? Can my life and those I love be affected by it? Will it offend other Christians? Do I have to defend my drinking to others? Will it harm my Christian testimony? Can I share the gospel effectively while drinking? Is it right? Has it improved my testimony and made me more like Jesus? At this time there were over 16 million alcoholics in the United States, 76 million Americans who do not drink, who do not drink have an immediate family member who is an alcoholic. Between 10 and 15% of all Americans are alcoholics. It is the number one drug problem in the in the United States. In the last 50 years more Americans have died due to alcohol than the deaths of World War I and World War II combined. 25 to 40% of all hospital beds every day in America have people in them with a problem related to alcohol. 50% of all traffic fatalities related to alcohol. 65 a day. 20% of all freezing deaths, 25% of choking deaths, 50% of all falling deaths, 52% of those who die in a fire is related to alcohol. 60% of all suicides, 64% of all murders, 69% of drownings, 72% of robberies and assaults related to alcohol. 60% of all rapes, 80% of all criminal court cases in the United States related to alcohol. Up to 50% of teen driving deaths related to alcohol. Interestingly in the United States alcoholism is classified a disease. If it's a disease why are there breweries and distilleries? Why are there liquor stores and bars licensed to sell it? Why do you have to be a certain age to get it? Why do you pay taxes on it? One website said that Americans spend approximately $57 billion on alcohol yearly. If there were labs making and selling hepatitis or meningitis they would be closed down. 77% of all high school students in America claim to have used alcohol or are using alcohol. 44% of all 8th graders have used or are presently using alcohol. 6.6 million American children under 8 live in a home with at least one alcoholic parent. In the United States there are 500,000 children between 9 and 12 that are already alcohol dependent. 11,000 under age young people try alcohol for the first time every day in the United States. If you believe you have liberty to drink and still walk in the spirit please don't evangelize. Some seem bent on changing other people's minds and attitudes concerning social drinking and seem more concerned about preaching drinking than preaching the gospel. I was an alcohol abuser for several years and when I got saved I began to seek and to serve the Lord and to learn how to walk in his spirit. I saw what alcohol did to me and to those I knew who were also abusers of alcohol. Why would I return to the vomit that the blood of Jesus washed me from? Like the Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 4 3 we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles when we want in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. The reality is that according to Revelation 1.6 we were created by God to serve Him as kings and princes. Craving intoxicants is not for a king, it clouds judgment. It also reveals a weakness of character. Simply put Christians are not to yield to this kind of control over them just because it is legal to drink, doesn't make it morally right or spiritually wise to do so. Someone said no one starts out to be an alcoholic. Everyone begins with a defensive attitude saying I'm just a social drinker and there's nothing wrong with it. No one says it is my ambition that someday I want to lose my job, my health, my self-respect, my marriage and my family. Someday I want to be dependent on alcohol to get through my day if this is the destination at which several millions of people have arrived. Why do you suppose that is? It's because alcohol is promoted and elevated as a normal or sophisticated activity in life is also expensive, addictive and enslaving. Someone else said you may be able to handle it, but what about your children who are influenced and introduced to your use of alcohol by the example you show? What if they're not able to handle it? The simple fact is the church needs God's power to be effective. Seeing that the pressure to conform to the world is constant, we need his power constantly. The argument seems to be how much alcohol can we consume and still be solid believers. The real answer is how can I overcome the temptation to compromise my walk with Jesus? Be filled with God's Holy Spirit. The Spirit needs to anoint, to fill, be poured out, to baptize us, that we might be transformed. We need to be filled with the person of the Spirit who has his own will, thoughts and direction. The fact is there was a move of the Holy Spirit when I got saved and we need him to move again. Paul is saying don't be intoxicated by the influences of this world. You have great potential, cultivate it, be continually filled with the presence of the one who is all wise, all-knowing, who will guide you in everything. That's what you were constructed for. Thank you for watching. If you have any questions or topics that you would like for me to speak about, please leave them in the comments of this video. I look forward to hearing from you and don't forget to share this post. This is David Rosales, pastor of Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley, California.