January 24, 2010

Liquortown - Walking in the Wisdom of God

Speaker: Reid S. Monaghan Series: Lust, Language and Liquortown Topic: Biblical Passage: Proverbs 23:29–23:35

Associated Essay

See also our related essay, Booze and the Bible - Walking in the Wisdom of God, regarding the teaching of Scripture and various views held by followers of Jesus in realtion to the use of alcohol. 

Introduction

  • Lust, Language, LiquorTown – JW13 – Walking in the Wisdom of God

Quick Review

  • Two weeks ago Scott led us well to discussion how we walk wisely with our bodies, with our decisions regarding sex.  Will will be foolish, selfish and walk right into disaster? Or we will choose wisdom and the path that God has kindly laid out before us.
  • Last week, we realized and looked at how the Proverbs strongly exhort us that – DEATH and LIFE are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)

What is Liquortown?

  • Story from College – Synonym for Drinking too much
  • Why this topic? Concern and Culture

A Brief History of Alcohol and the Church

  • Discovery of wine/beer – fermented beverage...a funny tale I'm sure
  • History of Brewing Beer, Making Wine
  • European Brewing took place in monasteries
  • Puritans, Mayflower – Set up the Brew house – straight away!
  • Pastors were many times blessed by their congregations and compensated with wine. We find partaking of alcohol in historical figures such as:
    • Martin Luther
    • John Calvin
    • John and Charles Wesley
    • George Whitfield
    • Jonathan Edwards
  • Abuse of hard liquor, led Arthur Guinness to found the Guinness brewing company to brew a healthy drink for people
  • Temperance Movement – led by Christian women frustrated by drunk men
  • Prohibition – 1919, Gradual and Full Repeal 1933 –  FDR has Clydesdales bringing beer to the Whitehouse
  • Post Prohibition Realities

Various Views Today

  • Prohibition – all drinking of alcohol is sinful and is prohibited for all followers of Jesus.
  • Abstention – the Scriptures do not prohibit the use of alcohol but due to the strong warnings about its abuse, the potential for addictions and the severe consequences along with alcohol, I CHOOSE to abstain and don’t touch the stuff.
  • Moderation – advocates for the moderate, wise and responsible enjoyment of alcohol, without the purpose of getting drunk and abusing a good gift from God. Laws of our country – Drinking age for a reason – all underage drinking is breaking the law and Scripture teaches us to submit to the just laws of government (Romans 13)
  • Liquortown – No limiations, just do what you want.  Get drunk, wasted, etc.

The Teachings of Scripture – Seeking Wisdom from GOD

We find some tension

Proverbs 23:29–35 (ESV) 29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. 31Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. 32 In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. 33 Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. 34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. 35“They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.”  

Jesus in John 2:1–11 (ESV) 2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Excessive Drinking of Alcohol is both Wrong and Dangerous

  • Proverbs 20:1 (ESV) Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Strong Drink - Probably Jerome was near the mark when he wrote, “Sikera in the Hebrew tongue means every kind of drink which can intoxicate, whether made from grain or from the juice of apples, or when honeycombs are boiled down into a sweet and strange drink, or the fruit of palm oppressed into liquor, and when water is coloured and thickened from boiled herbs” (EP 52.11). Thus šēār is a comprehensive term for all kinds of fermented drinks, excluding wine.[1]

  • Proverbs 23 – Who has woe, trouble, complaining, wounds, red eyes…
  • Isaiah 5:11 (ESV) 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! 12 They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.
  • Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit

What is Drunk? Fallacy of the Beard – Continuum Fallacy

Examples in the Bible 

  • Noah – Genesis 9 - Got drunk and ended up naked...pants on the ground...looking like a fool with his pants on the ground.
  • Lot – Genesis 19 - Got drunk his daughters got freaky with him
  • David2 Samuel 11 Got Uriah Sauced Up so he would go home with his wife and give David an alibi
  • 1 Corinthians 11 – Drunk at Communion

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

Consequences:

  • Fall down, stagger
  • Puke, Vomit
  • Injure yourself
  • Do things out of your mind
  • Anger
  • Fighting, brawling
  • Perversion of Justice and Devotion to God

Proverbs 31:4–5 (ESV) 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.  

Leviticus 10:9 (ESV) 9“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.

Yet it is also a GOOD gift from God...  

For enjoyment at appropriate occasions

  • Psalm 104:14–15 (ESV) 14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth 15 and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
  • Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 (ESV) 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
  • Ecclesiastes 10:19 (ESV) 19Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.
  • John 2Wedding Feast – Appropriate to Celebrate – There may be Uncle Louie or Uncle Dinesh acting crazy. 

A Sign of Blessing

  • Isaac Blessing Jacob - Genesis 27:28 (ESV) 28May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.
  • Deuteronomy 7:13 (ESV) 13He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.

Fellowship and Enjoyment with Jesus

  • Matthew 11:19 (ESV) 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
  • Mark 14:22–25 (ESV) 22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
  • Luke 22:18 (ESV) 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

Living as a Community in Relation to Cultural Issues

Shout out to the:

  • ProhibitionistREPENT of legalism and judging others for doing nothing wrong…You are speaking beyond what Scripture teaches, what Jesus practiced and will create a judgmental culture.
  • LiquortownREPENT there are certain things that simply are not moderate or God honoring practices.  Repetitive JagerBombs shots comes to mind...

Shout out to:

  • Those who abstain – you are welcome here, encouraged here, needed here.  Nobody is saying you should like beer, drink wine or anything. There is no justification by beer.  You are making a wise choice.
  • To the Moderationist – you are welcome here, but don’t judge others who choose not to partake.  Furthermore, give care to your life, be wise…not in your own eyes but in light of Scripture and Jesus call on our lives.   

It Takes a Church

  • Love enjoys life together
  • Love looks out for one another - this is a community issue
  • Love will call out one another

 


[1] Bromiley, G. W. (1988; 2002). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans.

other sermons in this series

Jan 31

2010

Wisdom found in Jesus Christ

Speaker: Reid S. Monaghan Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:18–1:25 Series: Lust, Language and Liquortown

Jan 17

2010

Language - Wisdom with the Tongue

Speaker: Reid S. Monaghan Passage: Proverbs 18:21–18:21 Series: Lust, Language and Liquortown

Jan 10

2010