Zach Nielson (Fb|Twitter) recently posted an excellent series about alcohol. Each one is worth reading and I encourage you to click on the links to each of Zach’s posts:
Part 1
In the next few days I want to interact with what Pastor [James] MacDonald presents here. I care little about resurrecting a tired debate about alcohol and Christians, but I think there are deeper issues in this message that I would like to address.
In his message he gives six reasons why he believes that total abstinence from alcohol should be the norm for all Christians. His six reasons are:
1. Because drunkenness is a sin and not a disease.
2. Because alcohol impairs wisdom.
3. Because alcohol is an unnecessary drug.
4. Because alcohol is destructive.
5. Because alcohol is addictive.
6. Because wisdom calls me to set it aside.
Part 2
Highlight:
Consider The Lord’s Supper and the example of Jesus. Should we assume the only time that Jesus and his disciples drank alcohol was in a very unique and sacred moment when Jesus ushered in the New Covenant and they never before nor never after participated in alcohol? Was this just a ceremonial one time event? I should think not.
If you want to make the case (like Pastor MacDonald) that alcohol is never fit for those in prominent positions of leadership then the disciples who where given the responsibility to usher in a whole new epoch in Christian history would certainly have had to observe total abstinence. Obviously, this seems to have not been the case.
Part 3
Highlight:
The problem with the statement, “Alcohol is destructive” is that is fails to make careful distinctions. What would you think if I said, “Sex is destructive”? I hope you would pause and think about that for a second. It seems that sex taken out of it’s God-ordained context is very destructive, but sex in the right context is very beautiful and affirming.
Part 4
Highlight:
[MacDonald's Reason #] 5. Because Alcohol Is Addictive
Yes, and so is sex, eating, exercise, and a whole host of other things. Just because alcohol (or anything else) may be addictive for one Christian, doesn’t mean that alcohol should be abstained from for all believers. Should we abstain from sex because it has even more addictive power than alcohol?
Part 5
Highlight:
How many times in the Gospels did Jesus and his disciples offend religious people? If you are a person who is offended by all consumption of alcohol by fellow Christians, are you also offended when you read in the Bible that Jesus turned water into wine, drank wine at the Last Supper, and that he clearly spent much time with those who consumed alcohol (Luke 7:34)?
Part 6
Highlight:
Our churches should not be divided on these types of issues. When it comes to this message, I fear that Pastor MacDonald has contributed to an ethos at his church that is unhelpful and unbiblical. We should be communicating freedom on extra-biblical matters and not give such a strong word on one side or another. Most Christians are spring loaded towards legalism and we should not add fuel to that fire. In the end, these posts are probably less about alcohol and more about healthy ecclesiology.
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Go read the posts in their entirety and interact with the ideas either at Zach’s blog or in the comments section below. This is a conversation worth having and long overdue.
