Not Addicted
Series: 1 TimothyPastor Ed Riddick - Sunday, April 1st, 2007
Download MP3
Right-click download link to save audio file to your computer.
Powerpoint PDF: Not Addicted
Just click on it to open, or right click to save to your computer.
(strongly recommend for listening along with sermon MP3)
Searching the Internet for stuff can really be aggravating. You might get what you’re looking for, or you might not. But you know you’ll get at least 1 million extraneous items. Believe it or not, search used to be worse. It was tough to find much of anything until the mid-90s.
Then, around the year 2000, Google came along. This search engine was really a great achievement. People have long wondered how they do it.
Well, Google has lifted the curtains. It’s not a bank of powerful computers. Nor is it a handful of clever algorithms. Amazingly, Google does it with a large flock of pigeons. The company calls its search technology PigeonRank. Pigeons can find the smallest differences between things, including Web pages. When you enter a search term, they instantly find the page you want. Google explains this on its site. And, by the way, happy April Fool’s Day.
Portion of American adults who don’t drink alcohol: 33%
Alcohol is involved in fifteen thousand homicides and suicides annually, twenty thousand accidental deaths, plus one-half of all auto accidents and the additional twenty-five thousand deaths they cause. Even 40 percent of the pedestrians who are killed have been drinking.
70+ million social drinkers in US
If there’s an alcoholic parent in the family, there’s a 50 percent chance one of the children will become an alcoholic. If there are two alcoholic parents, it’s an 85 percent chance.
A member of A A once sent columnist Ann Landers the following:
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank “medicinally” and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
Forgive me, for I have killed.
I have used swords and shotguns, handguns and grenades. I have shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned. I have crushed skulls with golf clubs and hammers and baseball bats. I have slaughtered men and women, drug dealers and crime bosses, soldiers and secret agents, mad scientists and aliens, zombies and the pizza guy. I have killed hundreds, even thousands-so many that I lost count long ago. I have taken up machine guns, plasma rifles, and chainsaws. I have learned to aim for the head.
I have killed with XBox and GameCube, Playstation and PC. I have killed with joystick, mouse, and keyboard. I have killed for hours at a time, on screens big and small; on laptops and high-resolution monitors. I have killed in my basement, in my living room, at the local arcade, at a neighbor’s house, with a co-worker’s teenage son. I have killed late into the night, until three or four in the morning-because my adrenaline was surging, because my kids were safely in bed, because I was simply on a roll. Because I was winning and they were dying….
Every weeknight I play, most nights later than the one before. And every night, I slink up the stairs and ease my weary frame into bed, trying not to disturb my wife, who went to sleep hours before. My body is spent, yet I cannot sleep. The bedroom is silent, yet I can still hear those ominous refrains. I close my eyes, yet I can still picture the endless corridors, each one leading to yet another door or outcropping, another blind corner, another enemy, another target….
Come Saturday morning, I’m at the computer again. That’s when I hear it, the muted thud of feet on the stairs, and there, standing to my right, eyes fixed on the screen, is my little boy. I tell him to go back upstairs, but he doesn’t budge. In his mind, there is a cartoon on the computer, the likes of which he’s never seen before. He somehow knows that this is forbidden fruit-that he must possess its secrets, or at least observe them. I call for my wife, asking her to please come get her son. Later on, this boy-who has never operated a joystick in his life-asks me a question that I never saw coming: “Daddy, can I watch you play the bad game?” Forgive me, for I have killed.
1 Timothy 3:2-3 “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, “not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” ESV
3:3 “. . . no drunkard. . .” NOT ADDICTED TO WINE (me paroinon)
The general qualification here would be like the one above under temperance, namely, self-control. Not addicted to anything harmful or debilitating or worldly. Freedom from enslavements should be so highly prized that no bondage is yielded to.
“Not addicted to wine” or “not given to drunkenness” (NIV; Gr. me
paroinon, v. 3) means not a brawler, playboy, slave of drink, or
drunkard (cf. Titus 1:7; 1 Cor. 11:21). Paul evidently used “wine”
to represent any enslaving beverage. We are probably correct in
extending its meaning to include any enslaving substance (drugs,
etc.).
The larger issue of the Christian’s drinking of wine and other
intoxicating beverages has been the subject of extensive teaching.
Most scholars have concluded that moderation rather than
abstinence is what God commanded (cf. 5:23).
Introduction:
~ Honest answers to honest questions.
No spoofing and no dodging.
Do you want to know what the Bible teaches about alcohol?
Only addressed 2-3 times in my ministry. First was bad.
But this is an issue addressed in Scripture.
My personal experience with alcohol is limited
But I’ve watched a strapping young high school ball play…funeral
Have counseled battered women beaten by drunk husbands who personality changes when he drinks
Seen them go to Alanon - helping one drinking like a little child.
Counseled those who regret what they did bec/ of lowered inhibitions
Counseling those addicted who desperately wanted out
Visited detox centers and talked with young and old about drinking
And I’ve listened to wonderful stories of liberation
Great need for objectivity and honesty. Do not construe what is said as an excuse to drink.
I. Not Addicted - The issue is control (Who Controls Your Life)
1. Not addicted to much wine
1 Timothy 3:2-3 “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, “not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” ESV
2. Don’t be drunk with wine but be controlled by the HS.
Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” ESV The Law of LordshipRomans 6:16-18 “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, “and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” ESV
3. I must learn to drawn boundaries
1 Peter 4:3-5 “The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. “With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; “but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” ESV
II. God’s Warns About the Dangers of Alcohol
A. Can lead to impulsive, abusive behavior
Proverbs 4:17 “For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” ESV
Proverbs 23:29-35 “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? “Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. “Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. “In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. “Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. “You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. “”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.”" ESV
B. Can lower our inhibitions and moral standards and clouds our thinking
Genesis 19:32-38 “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” “So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. “The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” “So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. “Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. “The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. “The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.” ESV Genesis 9:20-29: Lev 19:9-11; Prov 31:3-7; Ecclesiastes 10:17-18
C. Can dull our spiritual interests and lead us away from God
Isaiah 5:11-12, 22 “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! 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…Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,” ESV
Isaiah 22:13; Philippians 3:19
D. Marriages and families can be destroyed
Habakkuk 2:4-5 “”Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. “”Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”" ESV
E. Even national security can be affected
Daniel 5:1-2, 23 “King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. “Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them…but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.” ESV
Historian, Arnold Toynbee said about alcohol and national security,
“Alcohol was a major force in the destruction of 19 civilizations.”
Isaiah 28:1
III. God condemns drunkenness
Romans 13:13-14 “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” ESV
1 Corinthians 6:9 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,” ESV
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” ESV
IV. The Bible Teaches Moderation
John 2:1-11 “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. “Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” “And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” “His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” “Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. “Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. “And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. “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 “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.” “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” ESV 120-180 gallons of wine.
Psalm 104:14-15 “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth “and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.” ESV
The Law of Liberty - Perfect Balance
Luke 7:33-34 “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” ESV
Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” ESV
Joel 2:24; 3:18; Jeremiah 31:12; Joel 2:19 : Amos 9:13-14
Several neutral, almost casual references to alcoholic beverages.
Genesis 14:18 refers to Melchizedek as offering wine to Abram;
Nehemiah 2:1 refers to the king drinking wine (Nehemiah was required to taste it first to make sure it was not poisoned);
Esther 5:6; 7:1-2 speaks of wine that Esther the godly Jewess drank
Job 1:13 refers to righteous Job’s family drinking wine;
Daniel 10:3 speaks of drinking wine as a blessing
Some of Jesus’ parables are about wine, wineskins, vineyards
John 15 speaks of God the Father as the vinedresser!.
1 Tim 5:23 Paul tells Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach
The same Greek and Hebrew terms that were used to speak of the abuses of wine are used in these passages. One cannot argue, therefore, that alcoholic beverages are in themselves proscribed, while grape juice is permitted.
Psalm 4:7 compares joy in the Lord to the abundance of wine;
Ps 104:14-15 God is creator of wine that “makes a man’s heart glad”
SofS 1:2, 4; 4:10; 7:9 Love is compared to wine repeatedly in the
The lack of wine is viewed as a judgment from God (Jer 48:33; Lam 2:12; Hos 2:9; Joel 1:10; Hag 2:16); and, conversely, its provision is viewed as a blessing from the Lord (Gen 27:28; Deut 7:13; 11:14; Joel 2:19, 24; 3:18; Amos 9:13-14). Cf. also Isa 55:1; Jer 31:12; Zech 9:17.
Indeed, there was even the Passover tradition that went beyond the biblical teaching: by the time of the first century, every adult was obliged to have four glasses of wine during the Passover celebration. Jesus and his disciples did this in the Last Supper.6 The fact that the wine of the Passover was a symbol the Lord used for his blood and for the new covenant implicitly shows that our Lord’s view of wine was quite different from that of many modern Christians.
What is truly remarkable here are the many positive statements made about wine and alcoholic beverages in the Bible.7 Wine is so often connected with the blessings of God that we are hard-pressed to figure out why so many modern Christians view drink as the worst of all evils. Why, if one didn’t know better, he might think that God actually wanted us to enjoy life! Unfortunately, the only Bible most of our pagan friends will read is the one written on our lives and spoken from our lips. The Bible they know is a book of ‘Thou shalt nots,’ and the God they know is a cosmic killjoy.
Nehemiah 8:10 “Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”" ESV