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Commentary on "Freedom From Addictions"
Day 2: Sunday, March 6, 2011 - Alcoholic Beverages
Overview
The author discusses the association of alcoholic beverages in the western world with various occasions and events, and says that alcohol consumption is not only acceptable, but really has become a "necessity" in certain circumstances. But, they say, there is another side to alcohol that the consumers can't see, a side that those who are selling it don't want their customers to see.
Observations
The author references Prov. 23:29-35 when he discusses the image of "beautiful wine biting like a snake and poisoning like a viper." The author goes on to say this: "Â…alcohol's chemical makeup is treated by the human body not as food but as a toxic substance." While it is true that alcohol is a drug and is grossly misused and abused, it takes this Proverb out of context to suggest that alcohol, wine in this case, is a toxic substance. Alcohol can be toxic if a person "overdoses". It cannot be substantiated, Scripturally speaking, however, that it is a toxic substance. If it could, then it would make other texts, such as Prov. 31:6 and 1 Tim. 5:23 nonsensical. These texts suggest the consumption of wine for the treatment of physical ailments.
Addictions are the soul's cry to Jesus and are seeking to numb real pain. When we cite texts like Prov. 23:29-35 to keep people from drinking alcohol, we totally miss the point of the text itself, but most importantly, of the Gospel message.
Jesus did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people live. (Ephesians 2:1-5) Without the new birth experience by the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot have abundant life, only counterfeits of life. Counterfeits of life make us think we are experiencing true life. Eventually, a person who is caught in the trap of alcohol addiction can come to see that it can never satisfy his or her longing. Many times only through the experience of pain do we see our need for Christ. Many people abstain from alcohol as a lifestyle, but this does not make them set apart to the Lord, sanctified. When we realize our need for Christ, we are filled to the brim with His power, and the need for substances to satiate and subdue our pains begins to diminish and go away. This is the process of sanctification.
Instead, mercy becomes a way of life, and we experience a love relationship with the One who created us. We no longer obey Him to be righteous or "good", but begin learning how to obey because He has pronounced us righteous and we live out of gratitude for what He has done.
Some people who are born again don't drink any alcohol as a choice for various reasons, not the least of which is because of destructive patterns in their family line and the tendency to fall into those patterns. Other believers choose to responsibly drink alcohol.
Alcohol will always be available. The abundant life will produce responsibility.
We are aware of the seriousness of alcoholism. It is estimated to be affecting 17.6 million adults in the U.S., according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Summary
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Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 11
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 11