Alcohol abuse is a big problem in South Africa. We are rated among the top abusers of alcohol in the world
[1]. Student and work functions are most often characterised by excessive drinking. It's however not only among non-Christians that it's a problem. Even some Christians are unable to enjoy themselves without drinking too much. Maybe this is because of a week understanding of the role of grace and obedience in the life of believers. Some Christians emphasise grace without obedience to God's word, which leads to a form of hyper-grace and antinomianism. Neglecting to emphasise the need for fruit-bearing in the lives of those who profess Christ as their Lord and Saviour, often lead to a wrong understanding of saving grace.
This is actually a contradiction to what Scripture teaches. Scripture shows that the new heart which Christ gives is an obedient heart. The Spirit that lives in the new heart makes us obedient to the law of God - "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Ez. 36:26-27). Christ came to set a people apart for God that would love and obey his law. The nature of saving grace is obedience and fruit-bearing. Paul states as much in his argument against those who thought grace is a license to sin (Rom. 6:1-4). Those who died with Christ will hate the very sin that caused His death.
Alcohol abuse is however not a new phenomenon. Throughout the history of the Bible, after the fall, we see how sinful man abuses alcohol. Examples is Noah's drunkenness in Genesis 9:20-27. After the flood, Noah plants a vineyard, makes wine, and becomes drunk. This leads to an incident where he becomes uncovered in his tent. His son Ham sees him naked and tells his brothers, who cover their father without looking at him. When Noah awakens, he curses Ham's descendants. Alcohol abuse always leads to sin, pain and death, even eternal death.
The book of Proverbs and Psalms warns us against the dangers of excessive drinking and the folly of drunkenness. Proverbs 20:1 states, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Similarly, Psalm 104:15 praises God for providing wine that "gladdens human hearts," but it also warns against excessive consumption. And Peter associates drunkenness with a paganistic lifestyle: "For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry" (1 Pet. 4:3).
In contrast with the abuse of alcohol, Daniel and his friends provide us with an example of how to use alcohol responsibly when the world's eyes are on us (Daniel 1:8-16). Daniel and his friends are taken into captivity in Babylon, where they are offered the king's food and wine. However, Daniel refuses to defile himself with the royal food and wine, choosing instead to eat vegetables and drink water. This story highlights the importance of self-control and abstaining from substances that may compromise one's principles.
The New Testament also contain warnings against drunkenness. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul advises believers not to get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, but to be filled with the Spirit. Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul lists drunkenness among the vices that will prevent people from inheriting the kingdom of God. God feels so strongly about alcohol abuse that he calls those who are washed by the blood of Christ not to associate themselves with false professors of faith:
"But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one" (1 Cor. 5:11). The church should set an example when it comes to the use of alcohol.
Similarly, Augustine had some strong words against the abuse of Alcohol. He warned against drunkenness in a sermon from Roman 7:19
[2]. Christians must take this warning very serious and set an example about the use of alcohol. Here's what Augustine had to say...
"You know that there are sober men: they are few comparatively, but there are such. You know too that there are drunkards: they abound...A drunken man who professes faith has heard, and heard with fear, amongst the other wickednesses for which the kingdom of God is shut up against those who live evilly, that drunkenness is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
…Let him take heed, watch, fight, that he be not some future time intoxicated again. That lust of drinking then rises up, solicits the mind, brings dryness on the throat, lies in ambush at the senses: wishes even, if possible, to penetrate the wall itself, to come at him who is shut in there, to draw him away captive.
It fights; fight thou against it. Oh, if it did not even exist! If by an evil habit it has grown, by good habit it will die: be thou only opposed to satisfy it, satiate it not by yielding, but by resisting kill it.
Nevertheless, as long as it exists, it is an enemy. If thou consent not to it, and art never intoxicated, it will be less and less every day. For thy subjection is its strength. For if thou shalt give way to it, and become intoxicated, thou givest it strength.
…I denounce beforehand what evil must come upon drunkards. You have no ground for saying, “I have not heard:” you have no ground for saying, “God requireth my soul of his hand, who never spake to me.”
But thou art toiling because thou hast made for thyself a mighty enemy by an evil habit. Thou hast not toiled to nourish him: toil, to conquer him. And if thou hast not strength enough against him, pray to God. Yet if it shall not conquer thee, though this very evil habit of thine may struggle with thee, if it shall not conquer thee, thou hast done what the Apostle Paul says, Ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. The lust was formed by its soliciting (Gal. 5:16) but it was not fulfilled by drinking."Let us as Christians take this warning serious. Christ loved us so much that he delivered us from the domain of darkness and sin to be a light in a dark world of substance abuse (Col. 1:13). So many marriages and lives have been destroyed through the misuse and abuse of alcohol. The lives of Christians should testify about the power of the gospel that freed us from the slavery to sin and worldliness. If we love the world and the things of the world, the love of Christ cannot be in us (1 John 2:15-16). Let us love God and our neighbour by being an example of the responsible use of alcohol.
Bibliography
[1] Cupido J, The Demand for Alcohol in South Africa during the National Lockdown, International Society of Substance Use Prevention: 23 February 2021. https://www.issup.net/knowledge-share/publications/2021-02/demand-alcohol-south-africa-during-national-lockdown.
[2] Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament, vol. 2, A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, Anterior to the Division of the East and West, Oxford; London: John Henry Parker; J. G. F. and J. Rivington; J. and F. Rivington, 1844–1845), 712–713. https://books.google.co.za/books?id=EykMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA711
