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Getting Drunk. Is It a Big Deal?


I feel the need to write a little something about the subject of getting drunk.

I was probably seventeen the first time I got drunk. I drank three or four beers at a friends house. It was quite a memorable experience. I'm not going to describe the experience, mainly because I don't want to glorify the act. I went on to get drunk many more times in high school and college. I never really thought it was a big deal.

Is it a big deal?

When I first began to drink, I was spiritually confused. I honestly thought that I was a Christian because I attended church and had Christian parents. It wasn't until 1997, at age 27, that I surrendered my life to Christ and was spiritually reborn. That's when I became a Christian! Every true Christian has been born again. And if you've been born again, You KNOW IT!

I could go on here to list about fifty bible verses that deal with the subject of getting drunk, but the fact is, if you are not a true believer, you don't really care what the bible says.

Here's what I'm saying. There are a lot of people out there that are just as spiritually confused as I was before my conversion. There are people that have a faith that isn't true, saving faith, because there has never been a time when they came to a point of surrender, realizing their utter hopeless state of sinfulness, and then cried out to God for mercy. This is the state of repentance that comes when someone decides to give up control of their own life and hand full control to God, choosing to follow after Jesus and forsaking all else.

Sound too extreme?

According to the bible, being a follower of Christ, is an all or nothing transaction. Look at this passage where someone asks Jesus what is needed to have eternal life. Jesus rattles off some of the ten commandments, and the guys says he kept them all his whole life. Here's where the story gets interesting...

Luke 18:22-26

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?"

Do we ever hear invitations like this? "Sell everything you have and give to the poor?" What kind of invitation is that? It's one that requires TOTAL surrender and commitment. This guy didn't qualify because he wanted to hold on to his worldly possessions. The people who heard Jesus say this couldn't believe what they heard. They even asked, "Who then CAN be saved?". A very good question. What was the answer?

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

What does any of this have to do with getting drunk?

One who is born of the Spirit of God has new desires that cause him/her to want to please the God that delivered them from eternal punishment that was to come. But gratitude is only a part of it. A born-again believer loves the Word of God and has a desire to obey it out of sheer love and devotion to the Creator of the all that is seen and unseen. In that precious book, is contained this verse among many others similar to it:

Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

It's really simple. I love God, God issued a command. I obey.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 10, 2008 at 6:09 PM

    Thank you for sharing this.
    I pray that many have an opportunity to read what you have written, and that God uses it to touch their hearts.

    ReplyDelete

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