And Solomon has written us something
here for our benefit. He said, wine is a mocker, strong
drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Now, we've had two studies. One,
the Bible and wine. Number two, the Bible and wine
in the Lord's Supper. And now, number three, the evil
of the excessive use of strong drink in light of the Scripture. Now as we begin, let us restate
for a final time the pledge that we have made all during the course
of our study. And that is that we will be ruled
by the Scripture in our study. Thus saith the Word of the Lord.
We will let go of all preconceived notion and former prejudices
and we will abandon all man-made tradition and let God speak to
us and let Him be true and every man a liar. Now having said that,
I believe that we have shown that if any person is honest
and lets the Bible speak and takes it at its face value, I
believe that we will say that three things that we learn from
the Scripture about the matter of wine and strong drink. Number one, the Bible, contrary
to a lot of people's opinion, does not teach total abstinence. That wine is approved in a three-fold
way in the Scripture. A. For sacrifice, I mean socially,
John 2, verses 1-11, Judges 9-13, Ecclesiastes 10-19, Psalms 104,
and verse 15. Secondly, the Bible approves
of it medicinally, that is, as a medicine. 1 Timothy 5.23, Proverbs
31.6 and 7, Luke 10.34. And thirdly, the Bible approves
of it and recommends it religiously, such as the wine offering in
Leviticus 23.13, Exodus 29.40, Numbers 15.5, as well as we saw it being the
element used in the supper of the Lord. Now that leads us to
our second area. If we are honest, we learn that
the Bible teaches that wine is the scriptural beverage for the
Lord's Supper, which is proved by the example of the Lord Jesus
Christ using the Jewish wine cup to institute the Supper of
the Lord in its first celebration. Matthew 26 and verse 27, Mark
14 and verse 23, Luke 22 and verse 20, and 1 Corinthians 11
and verse 1. Now, wine is the beverage in
the Lord's Supper because it is the unleavened beverage that
we might use to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let me
propose, if I might, a challenge. set out of the cabinet a small
amount of wine and a small amount of grape juice in containers,
unrefrigerated, there on the cabinet, and watch and see which
one of them begins to corrupt first and begins to show the
sign of that corruption and to spoil and build up an ugly, fuzzy
head that I don't think anyone would want to drink. Now the
Jews use fermented wine, and by the way, it'll be the grape
juice that does that first, is the point that I meant to make.
Now, the Jews used fermented wine in the Passover because
all leaven was removed out of the fermented wine, and leaven
is naturally present in the grape juice as its crutch, and is done
away with in the process of fermentation. Now, this fermented wine has
its purpose. It increases in its alcohol content,
and it inhibits the growth of bacteria, because the portions
of the peeling, and the solids and such like, settle to the
bottom in the wine vat in the process of fermentation, and
this is called in the Bible, lees. L-E-E-S, that is, the settlings
in the bottom and the wine is drained off, leaving the settlements
and leaving the corruption and the pure wine is drawn off and
this is the element of the supper of the Lord. But now, for the
third truth concerning wine that we meet with in the Scripture
and we meet with it very often, and that is this, that drunkenness
is a sin according to the Scripture. Now, while sin does not condemn
the moderate partaking of wine and actually sets it forth as
the proper beverage to be used in the supper of the Lord, at
the same time, it cautions us and checks us again and again
as to its excessive use. calling it in our text a mocker,
saying that it is raging. Proverbs 20 and verse 1. That
is, it begins to rage. It stirs up. It's a brawler as
it leads to all manner and all kind of brawling. And Scriptures,
as we read them, abound with examples of the sin and the shame
that can result from the overindulgence of wine and strong drinks. Again
and again, the Scripture brings before us the consequences of
the overindulgence of drink into drunkenness. Our text said, he
that is deceived thereby is not wise. It is a mocker, it is raging,
and whosoever allows themselves to be deceived by it is not wise. Hosea 4 and verse 11, wine and
new wine take away the heart, that is, if done to excess. Literally, they take away the
understanding They take away the reason, they take away the
judgment of the individual, and if overindulged in, will inflame. Isaiah 5 and verse 11, they will
cause one to stagger and to fall in his vomit according to Isaiah
19 and verse 14, and will cause one to err and to stumble in
their judgment with regard to spiritual matters Isaiah 28 and
verse 7. Look at some of the instances
in the Scripture of the shame and misery brought upon some
of the characters of the Bible because of their drunkenness.
First of all, I should like to name Noah in Genesis 9. And look at the shame that was
brought upon Noah's family because we find him there drunken within
his tent. We come to Genesis 19. And there
we find the case of the incest, of Lot with his two daughters,
as in a drunken stupor or state, he fathered children by his very
own daughters. As they made him drunken and
received seed, an incest was committed. I come to the book
of Esther, and I remind you of the case of Asherah. to seek
to disgrade his very own wife, to bring her out when his heart
was high upon the drink, and put her on display as to her
beauty. And thank God she refused. So
we find that in the book of Esther, chapter 1. Come to the book of
Daniel, chapter 5, and there you'll find Belshazzar committing
sacrilege with the sacred vessels of the temple of God while his
heart is in a drunken stupor. Come to 1 Samuel, chapter 25,
And verse 36, and there you'll find how a drunken knight changed
the life of Nabal forever. The Scripture said that after
that, his spirit and his heart died and became as hard as a
stone, and the Lord God killed him. We come to the son of David,
Amnon. 2 Samuel 13, verse 28 and 29,
who was slain while he was in a drunken stupor and lost his
life. Now the Bible makes it very clear
Many are the miseries of the drunkard. Loss of money, loss
of health, family, friends, soul, and much more. They that are
deceived thereby, says Solomon, are not wise. They that give
themselves up to the power of wine and strong drink, and lose
control to wine and strong drink, and abandon temperance, and abandon
moderation and self-control, are headed for a special series
of miseries according to the sacred Scripture. their minds
will become besotted and muddled, their reason banished, their
judgment is gone, their morals are gone along with it, because
this is the besotting power of strong drink. Let me say, in
spite of the possible misery of drunkenness and all that goes
with it, still the teaching of the Scripture is not one of total
abstinence. That which Scripture requires
is this, sobriety, temperance, self-control, and moderation. In other words, it's not the
use of wine, but it is the misuse of wine that is condemned in
the Scripture. It is the abuse of it. It is
not the sin itself, but the excess of it becomes the sin and brings
on a special misery. Be not drunk. Drink not to excess. is the warning and admonition
of the Scripture. Ralph Wardlow, in commenting
on this text in Proverbs 20, put it thusly, and I quote, there
is no injunction that goes further than moderation, temperance,
and such like. No injunction to abstinence. It will be found in the Scripture,
unquote. And I thought that he made a
very great point in connection with that in saying that all
the commands in the Scripture being to temperance, and the
very idea of temperance involves the idea of the use of a certain
thing. So if one is to be temperate
or moderate in the use of a thing, it implied that that thing is
lawful when used in such a fashion. So that all of the commands in
the Scripture regarding it proceed upon the assumption of it being
lawfully when used lawfully and temperate. Now let's make a point
of emphasis, and that is that a thing may become sin, yes? A thing may become sin, it may
be sin if it is abused, and yet this is no just ground to call
for its ban completely or altogether. If so, we should ban everything
about us. For in our depravity, we have
invented ways to make sin of every lawful thing that God has
given us that we might use it for our good. So we need to remember
that because a thing can be used in a sinful way, there's no reason
to ban it or to prohibit it altogether. If so, we wouldn't even have
Freon for our air conditioners for the young folks who are sniffing
it. We wouldn't even have glue to put things together, for they're
sniffing that. And so it is that a thing may
be lawful in itself and become a sin when it is used in an unlawful
way. So now let us come at it with
this question. Is a thing lawful if used in
one way and sinful if used in another way? Now that's the question
that I'd like for us to consider. Is this possible? that a thing
is lawful and without sin if used in one way, and is sinful
and unlawful if used in another way. Are there those things which
are lawful, which are ordained by God, even necessary for our
good if used in one way, which become sin if they are used in
another way, or used to excess? Now, drink is not the only example
of this. Let me, if I might, count a few
things lawful in themselves, if used right and lawfully. Yet, if used another way, they
may become the occasion of sin condemned by the Scripture. Now,
to one, I'd like to add these things that are lawful in themselves
and may become sin if used in another way. Food, money, conjugal
union, the civil office, parenthood, religion, and nature. Every one
of those lawful in themselves with a proper use, and yet may
become sinful if used in another way. Every one of these has a
lawful, useful, non-sinful use that they might be put to. While
at the same time, all of these can be done to sin in those that
use them in a wrong way. Now I want to ask you another
question. We must answer this. It's brought us face to face
with it in our study so that we must deal with it. And that
is the question, where do you lay the sin in drunkenness? Where do you lay the sin? In
placing the sin and the blame in drunkenness, where do you
lay the sin? By that I mean, do you say that
the sin is in the liquor itself, or is the sin in the depravity
of the individual. Now, if it is in the liquor itself,
is it in the bottle? Is it in the grape itself when
it is growing? Is the vine sinful? How about
the man that raises grapes for a living or upon his land? Is it sinful when it is juiced
in the vat? Now, is the sin in the wine or
in the depravity of the user? Now you will say to me, well,
Solomon said that it was a deceiver and a mocker, thereby the sin
must lie in the liquid. So he did. He called it a sin
and a mocker, for he said in chapter 23, it moves a ride in
the cup. It exhibits a beautiful color.
It goes down smooth, and in that it is deceitful. But let me remind
you that Solomon also referred to food as deceitful. He said that in chapter 23. And verse 3, when you sit down
where there are all kinds of dainty, exotic foods, if you're
a person given the appetite, put a knife to your throat to
hold yourself in check. Beware, he said, of deceitful
vanity, as he called those things that lay there upon the table
of the well-to-do, a deceiver. Proverbs 23. and verse 3. And what does Paul say when he
says of some, whose God is their belly? Philippians 3 and verse
19. So we see that he also referred
to food as deceitful at certain times under certain conditions. But I want to go back to the
question again that I have raised. Where do you lay the blame? Where
do you put the sin or fix the sin in the matter of drunkenness? Now, let me be very personal
about it and ask you, do you blame your son or your husband
or your family member or your loved one's drunkenness on liquor? Or do you blame it on their depravity? If you have someone, and God
forbid that it should be the case, Do you blame it on the
liquor or do you blame it upon their depravity? Do you object
and say, oh, but preacher, you just don't understand what awful
and shameful things these people do under the spell and under
the power of drink. You just don't understand what
they do when they're caught up under the spell and the power
of strong drink. But have you forgotten? What
shameful things people do under the spell and under the power
of lust, greed, covetousness, jealousy, anger, hatred, and
such like. Have you forgotten what they
do under the spell and power of these other emotions that
are possible in human individual? As we know, these things result
in rapes, they result in robberies, pugilism, and even murder. have
been done under the power of lust and anger, jealousy, hatred,
and such like. Still, I guess there are some
that are determined to blame drunkenness on the liquor instead
of on the depravity that dwells in the individual. They will
say such things as, yeah, but he has a weakness for drink.
If there were no such thing as drink, oh, I wish it were banned
from the face of the earth in the case of my loved one. What
of those who have a weakness for dope, and of gambling, and
of adultery, and embezzling, and other things? Can the family
of the gambler say, Oh, if there were only no such thing as cards
and dice, I know that my loved one would not be under this spell.
He has a weakness for it. Can those who must love the dope
addict, with all of his miseries and disgrace, Can they say, oh,
if there were only no such thing as drugs in the world, he can't
resist it. Can the parents of a prostitute
say to themselves, oh, if only there were no men in the world,
for she is so easily led astray. Can the wife of an adulterer
say, oh, if only there were no women in the world, He has such
a weakness in that area. Can the family of a robber, an
embezzler, or a conman say, oh, if there were only no such thing
as money in the world, my loved one would be leading a decent
and an upright life. He can't resist an easy buck
or a fast buck. Can the family of the arsonist
say, oh, if there were only no such things as matches and cigarette
lighters and buildings that might be burned down, You see, the
sin is not in the things, else would the moderate use of these
things be a sin even when used moderately. It is not a sin to
use wine in religious services or in the Lord's Supper. If sin
were in the wine, its use in any and every way would be a
sinful act upon the part of any individual. But moderation is
not sinful except in the case of it wound a weaker brother
when we are taking an excess in our liberty." According to
Paul, it is not required that one totally abstain, even from
the officers in the church and those that are New Testament
Christian. 1 Timothy 5.23, a little wine
for the stomach's sake. 1 Timothy 3.3, the bishop not
given to wine. 1 Timothy 3.8, the deacon not
given to much wine. Titus 2 and 3, the old ladies,
the old sisters not given too much wine. So if you have liquor,
you should really ban money. If you hate liquor and you say
it's the cause of all of this drunkenness in the world, you
should really hate money. If you think that liquor is sinful
and causes great problems, oh, you should really hate money
because Paul said it is the root of all evil. And by reason, we
ought to ban it and do away with it. But that's not the case.
The proper use and handling of it is the thing that matters
in the Scripture. Now, I want to finish up the
question, staying with it a little bit longer. Do you blame drunkenness
on the liquor that is the element in the bottle? Or do you blame
it upon human depravity? Which one is it? What do you
say? Paul said it was a mocker and a deceiver. But I remind
you, it can only be such to those that are depraved already. It
can only work its deception upon those who are depraved and are
sinful in the sight of God. Now, so let's go back again and
raise the question. Do you blame covetousness on
money or on depravity? Which one will you lay the blame
at? Say, oh, covetousness, that goes
to money, or is it our depravity? Secondly, do you blame hypocrisy
in religion upon religion or upon the depravity of the individual? Do you blame gluttony upon food
or do you blame it upon the weakness of our depraved being? Is nature,
that is creation itself, is it sinful because some worship it? Is religion to be shunned because
out of it there grows a multitude of hypocrisy. Now as you see,
I'm really pressing the issue because it seems that people
have either a misunderstanding or a double standard. When it
comes to drink, they seem to think that it is in the element
or in the liquor or in the fluid itself. While other things, they
say, are related to the heart of man and his sinfulness and
his depravity. Now perhaps having heard all
of this, Someone is ready to say, well, if drinking is not
condemned by the Scripture completely, it ought to be. If liquor is
not banned by the Scripture, it certainly ought to be. That's the attitude, I think,
of a lot of people. Sort of like the man who said
to me one time as we were discussing the Scripture, he said to me,
now wait a minute. The Bible was written a long
time ago. If God could write the Bible over now, and could
write the Bible today, I believe he'd change a lot of things the
man said unto me. It kind of reminds me of the
monk who was shown the sovereignty of God in the Scripture, and
he'd never noticed that before, and someone showed it to him
one day and rubbed his nose in it real good. You know what his
response was? Verily I think St. Paul a heretic. And this is the attitude that
a lot of people have today, that the Scripture somehow is out
of date and not updated, and if it could be written again,
it would take an altogether different route about the matter. Now,
so far we have established the fact that the sin is not in the
drink, but in the sinful, fallen nature of man who responds to
the deception and the teasing of it. Thus,
the Bible recommends not the complete, total banning of all
that is used for sinful ends, but the Bible commends the moderate,
temperate self-control and abstaining from the very appearance of evil. Now, if it is not a sin to drink
in moderation, yet it is to get drunk, and it is a proof of an
evil and a weakness that drives people to drunkenness, even as
it is to any other sin that we might see them caught up in.
Just as one who breaks the vows of marriage must not blame marriage,
they must blame their depravity. Or one who steals, instead of
earning it, must not blame it on money, but upon their depravity. Now, the Scripture, therefore,
warned man to avoid drunkenness. Our text saying it again, wine
is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise. That is, he said, that wine as
it moves in the cup has a beguiling ability and a beguiling tendency
upon those that are deceived by it. How does it do that? It
doesn't give the latter in first. Later, it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder. But at the beginning, it looks
beautiful. It appears fair. It promises
pleasure that it cannot deliver. This is described more fully
in Proverbs 23 and verse 31. When it gives its color in the
cup, when it moves itself aright, as some versions render it when
it sparkles and goes down smoothly, Proverbs chapter 23 and verse
31. It gives an eye, as we find in
the NASV version of the Scripture, puts it an enticing look, an
enticing appearance, appearing pleasant and desirable by that
sparkling color that it has there as it lays in the cup and moves
itself around. It appears inviting. It appears
inviting like a woman Solomon describes in chapter 7 who is
playing the harlet. Enticing the young man as it
were along, as she gives her sights of herself that he responds
to. And this is how Solomon said
that it is a temptress, that it is a deceiver. It mocks as
it moves itself aright in the cup. Oh, we have to think what
a lust is in the power of the eye. The lust of the eye, as
the scripture calls it. How has the evil eye let in so
much sin in the life of every individual? How has the eye been
the door by which so much sin and temptation has entered into
our individual life, which was a pleasant, desirable appearance
at first? At first Eve saw the tree, that
it was pleasant to the eye and desirable for food. We read that
in Genesis 3 and verse 6. The lust of the eye. The tree
appeared beautiful under her eye, but when she ate it, it
led to her fall and that of all mankind. I think about Achan
as he stood there in the door of a tent and he looked upon
the wedges of gold and he took them and it caused the defeat
of Israel at Ai. And finally, the death of Achan. Joshua chapter 7 and verse 21,
and when asked about it, he said, I saw, I took. And so the eye
saw, and the eye let sin and covetousness into the heart.
We all know the story of David and Bathsheba. Half from his
rooftop, he looked upon her as she bathed herself there. And
all of us know the rest. 2 Samuel 11 and verse 2. We read the account in Genesis
39 of Potiphar's wife who cast her eyes upon Joseph in all of
his handsomeness, and it led her to seek to draw him into
a great sin against God and against their marriage. So the eye is
the occasion of letting in many sins. One of the avenues of temptation
that strong drink uses is the eye. It looks smooth. It looks
clear. It presents a look in the cup
or the glass that makes it desirable. It looks so fair and inviting. It invites itself by the pleasant
appearance that it puts off there as it is in the cup. Now, if
you don't believe that, let's compare what Solomon has written
with the ads and the commercials that we use or see used to entice
people today to become drinker. We see these ads and commercials
on TV. We don't see staggering drunks
vomiting on themselves or broken homes or crashes and mayhem on
the highway. Why, when we see these ads, we
see beautiful waterfalls. We see the sand of the beach
and the blue sky and the water. We see young people having fun
in the sun and pretty girls in bikinis and frosted bottles Sweating
brew as drop by drop goes down with a close-up of the camera.
Happy time. People of distinction. Now the
impression is given that drink ensures a good time and is necessary
for friends to have fun and to have a good time. What we aren't
shown, however, and this is how it is a mocker and how it is
raging and how it deceives. What we aren't shown in any of
this is the multitude of thousands of highway deaths every year
in our nation. We're not shown the broken homes
and the little children that are the result of it. We're not
shown the lost jobs and the ruined career and the ruined health.
We're not shown the barroom brawls and the riots and the police
calls. and all of that. The picture
is not so pleasant when we look at the finished product of the
brewer's art when we violate that which is laid down for us
in the Scripture. Notice that Solomon carries us
beyond the lust of the eye. He carries us to the end of the
matter. And this we have in Proverbs
23 and verse 29. Woe, sorrow, contention, baffling,
Wounds, redness of eyes. And we look at it, verse 32,
at the first it bites like a serpent, at the last rather, correction,
it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Solomon asked
this question. Who is it that has woes and sorrows
and misery? Who has wounds and bleary bloodshot
eyes? Who loses a proper sense of danger
and risks their life? Answer? They that tarry long
at the wine, who go to seek mixed wine, and seek it again every
new day. Who is it that adds the sin of
adultery to their sin of drunkenness? Whose lips utter perverse, vulgar
things? These are always two sins that
seem to accompany drinking. That is, thine eyes shall behold
strange women and vulgar Profanity always seems to accompany those
who fall under the power of drink. One must consider the end of
the matter, therefore. At the last it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder. Its effect is nothing like the
promise that it made. It not only conducts into further
sin, but it conducts into countless miseries, one upon the top of
the other. Now there are two sorts of evil
that the drunkard always reaps, and this cannot be escaped. First
of all, there are those temporal miseries that are vested upon
the drunkard, such as a guilty conscience, that is, until it's
seared over, until it no longer cares or hears, which gives no
peace, this disturbed conscience. The loss of mental alertness,
the domestic strife in the home, the ruining of credit, reputation,
and health. The killing of all talents, the
deadening of the human spirit, the breaking down of self-control
breaks the resistance until the power of craving, finally, the
power and craving of drink enslaves and it becomes the master of
the land. Need I tell you of the ruins
and the misery people have visited upon themselves? The lost careers,
the fall from power of elected individuals, the broken homes,
and families? How many celebrities, quote unquote,
have fallen under the power of drink and ruined themselves by
the power thereof? But there's another misery that's
even worse. Not only the temporal, but there
are the spiritual or the miseries of the soul that may be visited
upon the drunkard, for drunkenness can lead to the loss of the soul. Drunkenness can actually lead
to the loss of the soul. It's worse ravaged, or not in
the body and not in the life, but are in the soul. For such,
along with other sins, shut out of the kingdom of God. For Paul
said, no drunkard shall enter there. For once drink gets the
mastery, it tends to ruin and to death. One described it thusly,
the indulgence of it is utterly incompatible with spiritual life,
if destructive to the principles of spirituality." Ralph Wardlaw
said that. And the Scriptures duly warn
us of the danger and warn us of the crafty wiles of strong
drink. It looks inviting, but it deceives,
it enslaves, it mocks, and it costs. So, we must warn the person
who feels a careless security of the same sort that gripped
Peter The person who says much like Peter, oh, this will never
happen to me. Lord, all others may deny you,
yet Lord, not I. I am so steadfast in my morals
and in my faith. This applies not just to drink,
but to many other things as well. How many thought, for example,
that they could master money if they had it and made a lot
of it, and found out that it came to be their master and literally
control them? How many thought that they could
be good stewards of a piece of land or a country house who have
by such forsaken the house of God? How many thought they could
be close friends with people that are ungodly and worldly
without being drawn under? And yet, it's had an awful effect
upon them to drag them under in their association. Would we
not agree, and I think we ought to think about this, that there
is often such a very fine line between moderation and excess. And I would challenge you in
some things to show me the line between moderation and excess. And for that reason, I think
sometimes it's so dangerous for us to walk as close to the line
as we dare and as we think possible. But our society, I believe, has
made a very bad mistake. in that it has forgotten about
these laws of God that clearly and distinctly the Scripture
speak to us. So when have I crossed the line
of moderation, someone will ask? Well, when they begin to love
it, to feel like they must have it, to crave it, to feel like
they cannot do without it. When they must have it to begin
the day, or to end the day, or in between. When they must have
it to relax, or have it to sleep, or have it to work up an appetite,
Then I fear that there has come a mastery that only the mercy
of God will be able to deliver from." Oh, I know there are people
everywhere who say, I know my limit. I know when to stop. I
can hold my liquor. But these people are oftentimes
treading upon thin ice. For contrary to this campaign
of advertising, there are so many who do not know when to
say when and thus are pulled under like in a whirlpool. by
the power and the deceit of this and are made the slave. It is
a foolish person, I believe, who searches for that area that
lies between moderation and excess so that they can get as close
to the line and still be legal as it is possible to do. Our
society, God forbid, but it is true, promotes drunkenness for
it glorifies drinking. Our society glorifies drinking. Not at a table, not a little
glass occasionally with our meal. No, it glorifies drinking rather
than a refreshing thing. It is thought that it is needed
at every special event. The first thing thought of when
going fishing or when going on a picnic or the park or a ball
game or a barbecue on the beach, the first thing thought of is
the booze. Who got the booze? Can't go fishing.
Can't go to a barbecue. Can't go to the beach without
it. The first thing after work is, how about a good drink? A
nice stiff cold one. When we arrive at home, how about
a drink? When we get up in the morning, when friends come, how
about a drink? Break it out. And our society
is promoting that kind of an image and it's making us a nation
out of control, a nation of drunks. Now, what hypocrisy have we seen
from the breweries? You know, the breweries got under
a lot of heat because there were thousands and thousands of people
killed by drunk drivers on the streets. So they began to advertise.
At the end of their commercials, they began to say things like,
know when to say when. Drink responsibly. Use a designated
driver. Friends don't let friends drink
and drive. My personal opinion is the breweries
couldn't care less about all of those things. It is only a
matter of slick public relation garbage for the heat that they
have been taking for the carnage of their customers up on the
highway. But our society does something
else about strong drink that I think we ought to think about,
and that is I want to refute the false notion that psychology
has conned us into believing. have conned us into believing
that drunkenness is an inherited disease." Now that's becoming
pretty entrenched in our society. We got so many drunks until the
psychologists are now saying, well, we found a part of the
brain that leads to that, and we believe that it is now an
inherited disease. Some say that it is why children
of drunks are so often drunks. And we say, hogwash. And then
they say to us, well, why are so many children of drunks then
drunks? I want to give you the answer.
The children of so many drunks are drunks for the same reason
that so many children of divorced people are divorced. Now, are
you going to tell me that divorce is an inherited disease? Are
you going to say that we've found a part of the brain now that
shows us that divorce is an inherited disease? Well, why are so many
children of drunks drunks in our day? Because their parents
did it in front of them and taught them by word and example to do
these things while they were in the home. How come so many
drunk children are drunks in return? I believe the proper
term now is alcoholic or alcohol abuser or is it problem drinker?
Well, anyway, why do they call them problem drinkers, I never
understood, because they don't have any problem drinking. And
I don't know why we refer to them as problem drinkers in our
day. Why are these people like they are? I answer, for the same
reason they do other things that they do at home. And because
they're depraved, and because they're taught it by word and
example, and because they're depraved, and because they saw
their parents do it, and because they're depraved. That's why
they take up these habits. is not a sickness. Drunkenness
is not a disease. According to the Scripture, it
is a sin according to God's Word. The Scripture treats it as a
sin, a manifestation of depravity, something that is to be repented
of. You don't repent of having a
sickness or having a disease, but you repent of sin. And drunkenness
is a sin according to the Scripture. A sin that is to be repented
of. And when they are saved, they
are delivered from the power of drink. Just like they're delivered
from the power of other sins that had enslaved them before
the Lord Jesus Christ came to their life. 1 Corinthians 6,
verses 10 and 11. Several kinds of sin are mentioned
there. Paul says, you used to be these,
but you don't do them anymore because you're delivered. You're
washed. You're cleansed. You're justified. by the Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Let me say this. Drunkards do
not need to check into charter. They need to come to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Drunkards don't need to go check
into charter, where there they'll teach them how it was somebody
else's fault. That's not your fault. It's probably
Mama's fault. She probably did it to you. No,
they need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And they don't
need psychological counseling to teach them how to blame their
sin on parents or society or government. They just need to
be honest and say, depravity has brought me down into this
state. Now, drunks need the Lord Jesus
Christ. They need the gospel. And this
is the only sure cure and remedy. He will change them. He will
deliver them from the power of this, as He will the power of
other sins in those that He saves. Others who do not come through
Christ and find deliverance are at the mercy of their sinful
willpower, whether or not they can be delivered and stay delivered.
Yes, the scriptures are very clear upon this matter. Wine
is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise. God willing, I would like to
try to preach tonight on the nature and essence of sin, not
necessarily connected with this, but it'll go with it and be a
good finishing touch for our study. And I hope you'll try
to come at 630. All right, would you stand please
to your feet for a word of final and dismissal prayer?