YHWH spoke to Aaron, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations." - Leviticus 10:8-9
Most would agree that it is a sin to get drunk, but is it a sin to drink an alcoholic beverage?
For an Old Testament priest, it was the violation of a direct prohibition from God and punishable by death, but the current question for us is, "Is it a sin for a Christian?"
Certainly, for some the answer is, "Yes," because their conscience says that to do so would be wrong. Yet, for others, the answer would be, "No," because in personal, spiritual freedom they neither see nor sense any prohibition. What I understand is that every believer is a "priest" before God and a "temple" of the Holy Spirit, also that we all hold sacred things in trust (like God's Word). In other words, I am not convinced it is a sin for a Christian to imbibe, but I am convinced that it could be a bad idea. Then again, any activity that could offend another brother or sister in Christ might also be seen as "a bad idea." Perhaps, we are just too easily offended.
No matter the activity, Paul said, "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful." So the question is not, "Can I?," but rather (in the light of all of my relationships), "Why should I?"
In almost everything that touches our everyday life on earth, God is pleased when we're pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our maker's praise without anxiety. - A. W. Tozer
Comments