Prov 23:20-21
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:
and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
I’ve been reflecting lately on the hypocrisy that many Evangelicals have toward alchohol consumption compared to overindulgence in eating. Manmade doctrine in many evangelical circles condemns any and all alchohol consumption while virtually ignoring or revelling in the sin of gluttony. The Scriptures link drunkenness and gluttony together as virtually identical sins.
What is sad about this issue is that those who preach complete abstinence are missing the whole point of the Scriptures concerning these things. They complete ignore Paul in Collosians 2:
20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
21(Touch not; taste not; handle not;
22Which all are to perish with the using; ) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
They turn alchohol into something that ought not to be touched where the Scriptures would only condemn its wanton overindulgence.
At the same time, however, about 30-40% (or more) of the American Church are gluttons reflecting the general population. It’s virtually a maxim of Churches to say that “…we sure know how to eat in this Church….” I’ve heard that statement from Independents, Presbyterians, and Baptists – all from the pastors of the Churches.
Like most things these days, everything is turned on its head. The majority of “Evangelicals” get bent out of shape if man consumes alchohol in moderation (something that God has given to man to bless him) but then revel in a sin that God has equated with drunkeness.
The blindspot on this issue is simply baffling.
I was taking a Bible study at my church’s mid-week fellowship meeting last week and when the subject of total abstinence came up a raised this point, and highlighted the fact that it was the gluttony of the Sodomites which led to their homosexuality (Eze. 16).
Daniel Ritchie
http://reformedcovenanter.wordpress.com
At a church I attended sometime ago a woman was asked to give her testimony (lasted 25 minutes) on how she gave up drinking. She had become an alcoholic and got away from it without a 12 Step Program and without going to a counselor. I had compassion for this woman but I couldn’t help thinking that she gave up one addiction for another as she was very overweight. This was the beginning of the end for me at this church.
Russ
http://reformed-renegade.blogspot.com/