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Post by Brother Ben on Aug 3, 2005 22:59:49 GMT -5
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Post by George on Aug 16, 2005 15:36:33 GMT -5
The Bible also makes it rather clear the drinking of alcoholic beverages is nothing more than sin. Let me take a short look at it.
The Word of God provides a perfect description of alcohol in Proverbs 23:29-35: "Who hath WOE? Who hath SORROW? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it BITETH LIKE A SERPENT, AND STINGETH LIKE AN ADDER. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. "
Notice the Lord says, ". . . at last it biteth like A SERPENT." Do you know what a serpent’s bite is? It is a deadly poison! Did you know that alcohol is a deadly poison? Every major organ in your body is poisoned by alcohol. According to The Birmingham News (Nov. 19, 1990), "Scientific data show alcohol is the most physically deteriorating drug there is. It causes more organic damage than any other drug. . ."
Why is it when people get drunk, they have a tendency to vomit? Because your stomach knows a deadly poison when it comes down. No wonder the bartender says, "Name your poison". When a man is drunk, he is intoxicated. Do you know what toxic is? Webster’s Dictionary defines toxic as: poisonous. A person drinking alcohol is literally intoxicating or poisoning themselves!
It was quite common in days past to refer to a person who was under the influence of alcohol as being "pickled." That is not just a saying, it is truth. When you have the dubious distinction of smelling the "breath" of a person who has been drinking you cannot mistake it. The smell you are beholding is the smell of one of the major by-products of alcohol in the body, acetylaldehyde. Now if that word sounds vaguely familiar to you it is because of the ending, "aldehyde." This substance is a direct relative of formaldehyde. That is right folks, the very same stuff they use to "pickle" laboratory specimens! And people drink this stuff willingly!
The Bible makes a clear distinction between fermented liquor and new wine or grape juice. Speaking of fermented liquor, Proverbs 23 says, "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red (speaking of fermentation), when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright (speaking of the bubbling and carbonation). At the last it BITETH like a serpent, and STINGETH like an adder." The Bible says do not even LOOK AT IT, much less drink it!
A description of new wine is found in Isaiah 65:8, "as the NEW WINE is found IN THE CLUSTER." Not in a bottle. You can not get fermented alcohol from a CLUSTER! Fermented alcohol is placed in a bottle, with yeast and allowed to decay and ferment. Genesis 40:11 gives a clear picture of new wine, "I took grapes and pressed them in Pharaoh's cup."
People say, "Jesus drank wine at the Last Supper with the apostles". The fact is, In Matthew, Mark and Luke where the account of the Last Supper is found, the word "wine" is never even mentioned. The Bible very carefully says they drank - "fruit of the vine".
What about when Jesus turned the water into wine at the marriage in Cana. If Jesus Christ turned water into fermented alcohol, he directly disobeyed Habakkuk 2:15, "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also . . ." And friend, if Jesus Christ disobeyed Habakkuk – He was a sinner! The Bible makes it very clear in 1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and other verses - that Jesus Christ was without sin!
Do you believe the Lord Jesus Christ was deceived? The Lord says in Proverbs 20:1, whosoever that drinks wine or strong drink is "deceived".
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Proverbs 20:1
God has placed a very strong warning on alcohol in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Be not deceived: NO DRUNKARDS, . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God."
Further, if our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ actually used fermented wine in the marriage at Cana it is evidence of sin in his life because of the fact the Bible says, "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red..." That is a command. I am here to tell you friends that Jesus Christ did not sin! he did not serve wine but grape juice.
Without a doubt – the Word of God condemns killer alcohol – from the casual drink to the drunkard. Do you know that the words,drunk, drunkeness and drunkard appear 88 times in the Bible? If it was acceptable to consume fermented beverages do you think God would have provided that the men who recorded His Words at the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God would have spent so much time condemning it?
Yours in Christ,
George Groce
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