Becoming Someone Different

BQ: I knew of a Christian who became involved in promiscuity and drinking, and just had a hard time assembling with the saints. He got away from frequenting bars, yet still found himself at a bar as often as at assembly.

"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation...For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication!" (II Corinthians 7:10-11)

Sometimes it can be hard to shake the image of sin from us, but to start, we have to make radical changes.  If we used to go the the bar three times a week, and got drunk every day, we can't allow ourselves to "just go to the bar once a week." The change has to be so radical that someone meeting us today would never know that we'd ever been like that at all.  

Maintaining Strong Bonds: How to Stop Satan from Dividing and Conquering

Maintaining Bonds

Philippians 2:1-7

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

BQ:  Would you kill your family members off one by one because of small differences? As a Christian family, we must never let the world drive us apart. We cannot let petty differences divide us. We must NEVER become embittered against a brother or sister in Christ, because,  “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls." (Mt 12:25)

Instead, at all times we must be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph 4:3)   Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35) Instead of looking for a reason to abandon your family, find a reason to cling to them. 

BQ:  Christians need to maintain relationships, because we're an army and a family.  Phil 2:1-2 says, "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."  How can you do that? How can you always be of the same mind or someone that perhaps you have little fondness for?

The easiest way is to realize that we all have the same commission from Jesus and the same purpose: to go and baptize people and teach them all that He commanded. That person you don't get along with because his sense of humor is weird? He is your battle buddy, and might save your skin one day. 

Apply this to romantic relationships, too. Realize that you MUST have the same mind and purpose, or you will never have complete joy, unity or spirit, encouragement of Christ, affection, compassion, or consolation of love.

BQ: Do you ever see a sister or brother in Christ and not feel like they're really someone you want to fellowship with? God says in Phil 2,  "if there is any fellowship of the Spirit...Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves."  That person that is a little rough around the edges, maybe, don't regard as not good enough yet, but rather as more important than yourself.  Do everything to serve them and help them grow. 

If you're married or going to be married, realize the same thing. You have to regard your spouse or future spouse as more important, and be willing to go the extra mile, serving them and showing sacrificial love. It's a lot easier when you both have the same focus and goal: serving Christ.  If that's true, you'll never feel conflict in being a servant, but rather joy in being a part of an effective team.

BQ: As Christians, we can't let Satan divide us. We MUST remain united. Often we take offense over the coarse actions of a brother or sister or spouse, but we need to take a step back and realize that stumbling does not mean that we have to fall. Philippians 2 says that if we want to be united in spirit, we must, "not merely look out for [our] own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."  
 

Did your spiritual family member hurt your feelings? Don't be bitter. Instead, talk to them and show them how you can look out for his or her interest. Do something kind. Show your love and grace not through mere words, but with actions. It'll reveal the character of Christ, which can do more than anything else to change a person. 

BQ: Philippians 2 tells us that, in order to remain united in spirit, romantically or not, we must, "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus: who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant.

Stick together with those who have the same goals as you. Empty yourself of selfishness and be willing to take on the attitude of a servant. It's one of the hardest things for us to do, and because of that, being a servant is one of the most memorable things, and the most inspiring to others. Lastly, don't think of servants as just those who clean up counters and do dishes. Soldiers serve their country, and are thus servants.  Be a solider in a great army, and never let anyone divide you to wreck your ability to serve God. 

Christian-esque political activism is doomed to fail.

Christian-esque political activism is doomed to fail.

BQ: Lots of Christians want to change the government of our country to one more...well, it varies. But often you'll see them posting anti-Obama rhetoric, or pro-Paul notes. Is this a good solution? 

No. In fact, trying to change America by political machinations, no matter how zealous, will never succeed. To figure out why, we'll start with Daniel 10. In this section, Daniel had a vision and had been praying and fasting for 3 weeks so that he might have more understanding. Eventually, an angel showed up to help him, and said,

"Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia." (12-13)

What we see here is that the governments of the world are backed up by unseen angelic forces. We'll see more on how we know this tomorrow. 







BQ: In Daniel 10, an angel was withstood by "the prince of Persia." Was this prince a physical one? The answer is no. Humans have never been a threat to angels, and the record is that one angel can take down any human or number of humans. Let's look at a couple of examples of the power of just one angel.
 

2 Kings 19:35 says, "Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead."

1 Chronicles 21:16 recounts an angel appearing after David sinned:

"Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces."

Clearly, the prince withstanding the angel sent to Daniel was an angelic one, not a human one.







BQ: How else do we know that angels (including fallen ones) can be behind world governments? Well, because Satan is one of those mentioned. In Ezekiel 28:13, the king of Tyre is described as having had, "the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God."

This is a description of Satan, and shouldn't surprise us, because Satan indicated his power in this world when he told Jesus in reference to the lands spreading forth, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  (Mt 4:9)

Do you think that getting votes for Prop 28 would have changed the course of a country over which Satan was ruler?  






BQ: So what else do we know about princes of Persia and angels? Eph 3:10 mentions something important, saying, "...so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places."

Notice that the authorities and rulers do not exist on earth, but rather "in the heavenly places."  And we know from Colossians 2:14 that when Jesus died on the cross, "He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him."
 

Did Jesus disarm Pilate? The Romans? Nope. The rulers and authorities are very much in the heavenly places. Trying to get lots of signatures on a petition attempts to affect the physical nature of reality, not the spiritual, and is doomed to failure. 





BQ: Often Christians try to organize people to vote for some physical candidate, when the truth is that there are angelic forces behind world governments, and these forces can be so strong that heaven's angels even struggle with them. 

As Christians, we must realize that,  "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12)

If we try to change our country through physical means, like organizing people to vote, we will fail.  All we are influencing is the physical facade, but the spiritual foundation is what must be changed, and that starts not when we try to get people to hate Barack Obama, but when we, "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  (Mt 28:19) 

Swearing, cussing; cursing.

BQ: If a seemingly healthy Christian is prone to swearing when upset, it reveals a sickness beneath the surface. The words we say when upset are often an indicator of our deeper, truer spiritual health. 

No matter how healthy we seem on the outside,  "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil." (Mt 12:34-35)

The truth is, if "from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing...these things ought not to be this way."  (James 3:10-12)  

As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her sons.

With thanks to Rio and Miriam, about something that has been on my mind.

I have personally watched Christian friends slip into the world, committing both spiritual suicide with themselves, and spiritual murder with the things they did with others, and encouraged others to do. And those times have been the most painful of my life, bar none.  And those times have been the most painful of my life, bar none. A lot of that pain comes from the pain of knowing what I've been, and the damage I've caused in the past.

Even if you don't personally like the person that much, the pain is devastating, because there is nothing you can do.  You cannot be the conscience for someone who wants his or her conscience to be seared.  Often, these people will apply a veneer of godliness, so that they can look at their fake reality and call it real, but the poison runs deep and is killing them.

What do you do? Do you delete such a person from your life? Do you utterly abandon them?  

I have often done that. I don't think it's right. It was my selfish way of protecting myself from pain. I once encouraged my mother and sister to abandon someone who caused them great pain and tears. They refused.  Instead of letting the person simply get off easy, they were loving but also truthful.  Their efforts were met seemingly forever with rejection and cruelty.

And yet God says, "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!" (Psalms 126:5)

Who wants to sow a field with such effort that it causes them to cry? Isn't it easier to just abandon that plot and more on to easier territory? 

My sister and mom didn't. They sowed in tears. Eventually, the person they loved changed. Hard times came. Rock bottom was hit. This person was abandoned. And suddenly, the person realized that through everything she had done, despite the evil of it, two people were still compassionate. Compassionate despite the way they'd been treated. And indeed, none of the person's actions had been more than passing pleasure.  And in the end, my mother and sister reaped with joyful shouting.

Compare that with two of my own examples. Both times, I saw someone reverting back to their old friends and old ways, including drinking. Both times, I said, "That hurts me and is repulsive behavior. You're otta' my life."  And both these people, now, are fully surrounded by the world, molded into it as a part of it, horrifically deep.  Attempts by me now to say, "Hey, I care about you," have no weight behind them. Because I gave up. Instead of being loving but correcting, I threw away anything, including hope, no matter how small.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." 

Are you like that? If you persist in love, will you not remain green? Are you afraid of the pain, and willing to wilt away from hope and caring? There is only one way to bear fruit, and it is through persistence. 

Sometimes, however, when you are persistent, people will reject you. It happens. As my friend Rio once told me as a wake-up call, and this is paraphrased "Sometimes nothing you do can reach people, and you'll be consumed."  You have to know when that point is, but you can also make the conscious decision to not simply and utterly reject them.

The truth with the person struggling is that we do not know if they will be overcome, or shall overcome.  We cannot make the call with their struggles, or with their future.  We cannot condemn their hearts, but can see their difficulties. 

And more importantly, sometimes people have to hit utter rock bottom. They have to be at the lowest, where the sun does not shine, before they decide they don't want to be in the pit. 

God tells us that a struggle is present, and that it shall not come without weeping. For our struggles, for our help, and for the struggles of others, it is often true that much pain must be endured before we conquer. 

In Isaiah 66:8, God confirms this and says, "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons."

New birth does not come without pain and persistence, but we have to maintain the hope of beautiful things to come. We must have the attitude that we would, "could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." (Romans 9:3)

And if you're sad, hurt, and damaged, remember, "Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD." (Proverbs 16:20)  When you're feeling darkest and down in the dumps, dwell even stronger in the Word.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Bottoms up!

BQ: According to the CDC, "Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year. Further, excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years. The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006 were estimated at $223.5 billion."  

That's a pretty staggering bunch of numbers to see! When I worked in EMS, it was always my lot to get the weekend night shifts, which meant dealing with lots of carnage from alcohol. God long ago noted the same thing, using Is 5:11-13 to describe an ancient party scene:  

"Woe to those who...stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, Nor do they consider the work of His hands."  

Often people wait until night to start getting really wasted, and it's no surprise—alcohol degrades our ability to function. More important, though, is that alcohol in excess limits our connection to our Lord. If we want to be like Christ, we have to back away from drunkenness.

BQ: Isaiah mentioned an ancient scene of nighttime drunkenness, and it's pretty revealing that often drunkenness, theft, and other such degradation of the human condition occurs at night. I like how Romans 13:13 hints at this, saying, "Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy."

Often people are simply more apt to behave horribly at night. Why? Because darkness usually conceals the evil, at least in the minds of men. It's better to behave properly, as we would behave if we had an audience observing us in broad daylight! Always be upright.  

BQ: Rock Springs, WY was a hive of scum and villainy at times, at least for those of us working the late-night 911 shifts. One thing interesting about alcohol abuse is that it's often associated with sexual misconduct, too. This isn't anything new, and God noted in Habakkuk 2:15, 

"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink,

Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk

So as to look on their nakedness!"

Rock Springs featured a lot worse than that, but it was true that evil hasn't really changed. I saw a lot of rapes take place, to both men and women, that could only occur because of immersion in a really wretched culture. It's a good thing to stay away from places that feature the likes of what Habakkuk mentions, and worse. 

BQ: Peer pressure is a nasty, nasty thing, and one that we often convince ourselves that we're not susceptible to. What does God say about it? The most concise thing that I've found is Proverbs 1:10, which says, "if sinners entice you, do not consent."

It's really easy to be enticed to sin, and it's often an insidious, dark road to go down, without signposts to warn you how far you've gone. 2 Pet 1:5-7 has the entire way to counter this. Take a look at this full armor against peer pressure:

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,  and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love." 

Notice the compounding nature of what's being mentioned, and look right in the middle at what's featured: self-control. If we give in to peer pressure, we're letting others control us. To fight against peer pressure, start off with diligence, faith, and moral excellence, and build on that foundation.

BQ: I'm still getting around to posting some older BQs, so these are somewhat linear. :) Alcohol and going to the bars is incredibly prevalent and accepted in American society, but does God want it to be a part of Christian culture? That's rhetorical, but let's consider some reasons why.  

Alcohol, and especially bars, have been called a "meat market" by some. It lowers our inhibitions and puts us in contact with people who are doing the same; it destroys our judgment and can alter our lives forever. In Gen 19, Lot would never have committed incest if he had not been drunk, yet because he was wasted, he did, "and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose." 

While all sin is sin, some sins can carry more permanent physical consequences. Sexual misconduct associated with alcohol and social drinking can wreck a person for a lifetime; when accompanied with driving, it can take innocent lives as well.

BQ: We've seen that alcohol perverts judgment, but Satan's done a lot of work to make it seem like a normal part of life, even to Christians—surely hanging out a bar and drinking a bit doesn't really hurt anyone, right?   One thing that's being missed is what God says that alcohol does to your heart (that is, the core of your very being). 

Proverbs 23:33 says, "Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things." Sometimes we try to write off drinking as "not that bad," but the fact is, it utterly destroys people from the inside out; it perverts the heart first and destroys from there. I know one man who doesn't drink, but goes to the bars. I asked him why and he said (paraphrased), "Because it's easier to take women that way, and you can take whatever woman you want, especially if you're not toasted and she is." He went on to tell me, "Those type of girls are good for a "cuddle," but aren't made to be wives, alcohol ruins them."  The sad thing is, alcohol can so ruin a person that not even a well-collected scuzzbucket wants anything to do with him or her. As Christians, we need to avoid perversion of the heart, and that means we need to avoid the alcohol scene. 

BQ: We saw that alcohol causes the heart to become perverted, and that's really not uncommon knowledge. People drink and drive, killing people and/or themselves, spend away all their money, and ruin marriages and relationships, all for another drink. When you meet someone who likes alcohol, it can be a horrific struggle for him or her to overcome. Often, they're dependent on it.

God warns us to be "not given to wine," in 1 Tim 3:3, yet for someone who likes their booze, they often wake up to say, "I will seek it again." (Pro 23:35) 

BQ:  Proverbs 23:35 says those who drinking steadily say, "When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”  Without alcohol, a core part of their lives are gone. What's wrong, though, with seeking a drink?

The problem is in what they're seeking. A song says, "Savior, in my joy or sorrow, I will ever go to Thee," and this sentiment is reflected in Phil 4:11-13 and several other passages of scripture. Compare that with someone who really enjoys alcohol. When they get off work, they go to the bottle instead of the Bible. In sadness they may seek a bar instead of their Christian family. If they want to be joyful, they may head out to party or bonfire with plenrt of beer instead of going to spiritually build someone up. The entire core of the heart gains a slight perversion as Proverbs 23:33 mentions, like water with oil on top.

BQ: Ultimately, alcohol destroys lives, marriages, and the heart.  God sums up his opinion on recreational drug use (and alcohol is a potent drug) by saying, "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess 5:6) We're in an army, and the devil is prowling about. If we're hooked on booze, we're easy prey.

If you have a chance to go out to a bar, think of something which will build Christ's body up instead. If you have a chance to get wasted in your own home, call a brother or sister and do something else. Have a Bible study, go appreciate the world God has created, or do something else productive. No matter what, though, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Pet 5:8

Slipping back into bad habits.

BQ: What do you do if you're around those still captive to Satan and they're busy engaging in things that are evil? It's often tempting for us to think, "Man, I've got this. I won't stoop to that level," but what advice does God give us?

A: "A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty. (Pro 27:12) 1 Cor 15:33 says the same, "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

When we lead ourselves to believe that we're impervious to spiritual danger, we only expose ourselves as being naive. Instead of choosing bad company, choose to hang around with those who will make you stronger!




BQ:  There's a book by Dr. Seuss called, "Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now?"  It has lines like, "The time has come, the time is now, Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now?" God has a similar plea to us throughout the Bible. People always want to delay putting off worldliness, yet God always  asks that we do it soon! Why? Because,

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (James 4:13-14)

Putting off changing assumes that we'll always have time to change in the future, but we don't know which moment will be the last future moment for us. Old, dead sinner, will you please go now? 







BQ:  Sometimes people become Christians and then decide that they can indulge in some bad habits, especially if they're not "too bad," as long as they don't go back into sinning "hardcore."  How does God feel about this? 

A: "But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?" (Gal 4:9)

When we start that downhill slide, it's showing a desire to be enslaved again by Satan, so it's critical to not even step foot on that slippery slope. 






BQ: As a Christian, it's important to not return to worldliness. God's chosen people, the Israelites, repeatedly did this in the Old Testament, leading God to say such things as, "You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me." (Jer 16:12)

Often when we return to worldliness, it's a sign of our own stubbornness, which is a shame, because we could be stubborn for God as opposed to against Him. God always reminds us to avoid evil, and He explains that going back to the world after finding Him is a chancy thing to do.  "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first."  (2 Pet 2:20) When you play with fire, it's easy to get burned. The "oh duh, Lucas," solution is not to play with fire at all!





BQ:  We've looked at slipping back into worldliness, and 2 Tim 3:13 is actually very much related to this sort of topic. It says, "But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." 

At first glance, this is only talking about evil men and fakes, right? The thing is, when we claim to be Christian, yet act like the world, what exactly does that make us? Yep! Fakes. Impostors. We end up both deceiving and being deceived, instead of edifying others and being edified. God ends up describing this sort of person as one whose "silver has become dross," whose "drink diluted with water." (Is 1:22)  

We all need to be very careful to avoid being cheap imitations of the real thing! 

A look at alcohol use and social drinking.

BQ: I've been studying drinking alcohol in the Bible and how it's viewed. So right off the bat, does God ever condone drinking alcohol?

The answer is, "yes." 1 Tim 5:23 points out that it was used for medicinal purposes back in the day, saying, "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities."  

Notice that even here, where alcohol was approved, that only a "little wine" was called for. Tomorrow: how about a lot?



BQ: So what if we want to have a LOT of alcohol to liven things up? What does God say about that? (Hint: humanity has a big problem with this, so there're a lot of passages dealing with it, and I won't spend 15 pages on this one topic!)

A: First a brief look at the Old Testament: Isa 5:22; 28:7 "Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink." "But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way."

"No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court." (Eze 44:21; if you're familiar with types and anti-types and who priests are today, this should be noteworthy.)
 

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine." (Pro 23:29-30)

Meanwhile, in the New Testament, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21, and many other places say things like, "drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Drunkenness, we can see, has never been something of which God has approved, and the practice of it prevents us from being a part of the Kingdom. 




BQ: Today we'll look at how the Bible makes comparisons between being sober and being drunk. 

"Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." (1 Thess 5:6-8)

"Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy." (Rom 13:13)

In the above passages, God makes clear the divide between being drunk and being sober. If we're drunk, we can't even put our spiritual armor on. If we want to be children of light, we can't indulge in drunkenness.




BQ:  Yesterday we saw that God made a comparison between those who are drunk and those who aren't. Why is it important to have the spiritual armor on all the time, and what other comparison does God make? 

A: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Pet 5:8) God also warns us, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit." (Eph 5:18)

If you're out getting drunk with your friends, you spiritual armor is off, and Satan is more than capable of seeing the opportunity to lay you low. Not only that, God says that drunkenness is opposed to the Spirit. We can be filled with either alcohol or the Holy Spirit, but not both. Which would you choose? Do you keep your armor on?




BQ: In looking at drinking, we have to look at social drinking, especially, as it's brought up quite a few times in the Bible. As Christians, we've seen that we need to be watchful for ourselves, since Satan is roaring around, and we need to wear our armor, but there's more—we need to avoid drunkenness so that we can help others. 
 

1 Pet 4:3 shows some of the problems associated with alcohol: "For 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." 

For a long time, humans have enjoyed social drinking, and there are almost always piles of problems that go with that. In my own high school we had people dying and getting pregnant from a little "loosening up." While it can be tempting to go out partying every now and then, God warns us to, " nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak."  (Rom 14:21)

If social drinking is something you've really enjoyed, realize that it's time to put it in the past and move on to the things of light! 




BQ: Yesterday we saw that drinking is something that we need to keep in the past, that it leads to bad things, and quite importantly, that it reduces a Christian's influence for Christ. Today I've been looking at how shepherds in the assemblies are told to be above reproach so that they can be more effective leaders, and I thought it was very interesting that they and their wives are told:

"Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not near to wine, not greedy for money;  Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things." (1 Tim 3:8;11) 

It is interesting to note that the original Greek uses wording in 1 Tim that includes "nephalion" and "me paroinos." While I'm not using this as a topic for a word study, these words mean "not near [as in associated with] wine," and "abstinent from wine." Being associated with wine could be something like being an evangelist and having pictures of yourself on facebook at a bar with a alcohol in your hand. Even if you didn't get drunk, it inhibits your ability to be above reproach, which decreases your ability to reach people spiritually. 



BQ: Yesterday we saw that spiritual leaders need to avoid being associated with alcohol use, but why exactly, is that?

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  (1 Pet 1:13) Here the words "nephontes" and "teleios" are employed, which combined mean to be "completely sober." 

If we choose to be completely sober, we'll  always be ready for action, we'll always be fully equipped with our armor, and we'll be filled with the Spirit, who aids us in battle. If we choose not to be sober, the opposite is true. 




BQ: For a last look at drunkenness, we'll consider that it can be tempting to say that we're going out drinking in order to have an opportunity to evangelize. What does God say about this?

 1 Cor 15:33-34 "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame."

God, knowing how we are, addresses this very situation. Choosing to involve ourselves in drinking to "win" people merely loses ourselves and is a continuation of sin. It's hard to win people when we start fitting the mold of Isaiah 19:14, "As a drunken man staggers in his vomit." 

Instead of being like that, let's aim to "be blameless; sober minded; not near to wine." (1 Tim 3:2) It's better to be out winning souls than winning beer pong!