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WHAT IS IN THIS POT?
By NAMANI J. NHARREL
A Missionary examines the Controversy
about Christianity
and Alcoholic Drinks from a Biblical
Perspective and its effect on Evangelism.
Table of content
Introduction
Chapter 1:
What is in this Pot?
-
Production
-
Both contain alcohol
-
Consumption
-
Abuse and Addiction
Chapter 2:
More than a Food Drink
-
Religious functions
-
Commercial Purposes
-
Ceremonies and Festivals
-
Community Development
-
The Social Connection
-
Pain Reliever
Chapter 3: The
Great Divide
-
Is it not food?
-
Is it not sinful?
-
The debate
-
The alcoholic Christians
-
The non-alcoholic Christians
Chapter 4:
Strong drinks and Evangelism
-
The liberal and indulgence
-
The moderate and conscience
-
The legalist and prohibition
-
Now what?
Chapter 5:
Let the Bible speak
-
Lets do some Bible survey
-
Availability
-
Example of those who used it
-
Exceptions
-
Effects of drinking
-
Warnings
-
What have we seen?
-
What do we say now?
-
Chapter 6:
What about drunkenness
- What is it?
-
In the bible
-
So where are we
-
Effects of drunkenness
-
Which way
Chapter
7: Christianity and strong drinks
-
and who is a Christian
-
the Christian message
-
expectations from the Christians
- Strong drink and the
kingdom lifestyle
-
Need to get charged?
- Eating to live or living to
eat
-
It is gluttony?
- To those already hooked
Acknowledgement
I sincerely want to thank all those who have
contributed in one way or the other in writing and the production of
this book. I am particularly grateful for the encouragement and the
support of Laku my wife. She prays while I write and she understands
while I steal into her time and that of the children to write. I also
appreciate the cooperation of our four lovely children, Yammune,
Seramkong, Kamduhl and Yamkwada. They all know when daddy is busy
writing. Thanks to my friends who have always asked, “What book are
you writing next?” I shall ever remain thankful to all our partners
and supporters of our mission work. Finally I thank my publishers for
for making this work available to the general public.
I remain yours in Him,
Namani J Nharrel.
Dedication
I dedicate this work to all the servants of
God working in places where strong drink is an issue. I am praying
that God will help them learn how to strike a balance so that the
issue does not become an obstacle on the way of the true seekers
after God.
INTRODUCTION
A
story (almost a joke) has it that one of the foremost ‘sins’ the first
European Missionaries preached against when they entered a Nigerian
tribe in the early 20th century was the drinking of a
locally brewed alcoholic drink called men (MENN). Their
not drinking men among other things identified those who became
Christians.
It happened that some of the native
unbelievers went to see what those white men and their kinsmen were
doing under a tree on a Sunday. They met the Christians praying. At
the end of the prayers all the believers in unison said the Amen (E-MENN).
It was intriguing to the unbelievers. Nevertheless they dispatched
quickly and joyfully bewildered, to spread the news. For all they
understood was that the Christians must have changed their minds about
drinking men. After all they heard the Christians commanding
themselves to E-menn (drink men) at the end of their
prayers.
I grew up to
see my people drink men. The Christians didn’t, the
non-Christians did. When a person became a Christian people outside
the church asked, “Has he stopped drinking”? Or when a person
began to get unserious with the Lord, the question usually asked is,
“Has he started drinking?” Incidentally drinking secretly or
openly was the first visible sign people began to notice in a
backslider.
The fact
that those early missionaries and believers associated drinking with
evil is vividly illustrated in the following anthem we were taught in
the Sunday school.
Mam mo wob Yamba
De ma ilu ma seb Mai gu
A
Munung ashin Bailbul
Mam mo wob Shuro
De ma ilu ma seb mai gu
A
munung ashin dig men
Translated: Those of you who worship God
Stand up and see your King
He
is carrying the Bible.
Those of you who worship Satan
Stand up and see your king
He is carrying a pot of wine.
So I left home with the idea that
drinking is sinful. If I saw some Christians drink I thought they
could not be serious ones.
The claim
that drinking is sinful and that those who drink are either sinners or
sinning has been preached from many evangelical pulpits. In personal
witnessing that has been the main trust of the message of some too. It
goes something like this: “Drinking is sinful, stop it and follow
Christ.” But the question that those being preached to have always
asked is, “Where is it in the Bible, that says, drinking is
a sin?” One went further to refer me to the fact that Jesus
himself turned water into ‘men’ and that Paul asked Timothy to
drink ‘men’ for the sake of his stomach. At first that sounded
blasphemous. The places he referred to have no ‘men’ but
wine in my language New Testament Bible. I admit that wine
is a foreign word and I didn’t care to know what it meant then. Now
that I know, it’s an English word whose equivalent in my language is
men, I suspect that the missionaries who translated the New
Testament into my language had their fears. Using men for wine
would have undermined their gospel or so they must have thought since
our people drank a lot of men.
The first
tribe I worked among as a missionary myself was also very wonderful at
drinking. Again the major question my colleagues and I had to grapple
with was. If taking alcoholic drink was sinful or not.
The
unbelievers said, “We have been looking and waiting for a good
alternative to our idolatrous way of life. But will you allow us to
continue in our drinking habit if we become Christians”? An incident
brings this question clearer.
My family
was to move and start a station in one section of the tribe. Family
heads from several settlements in that region learnt about our move.
They met and agreed to embrace Christianity with their families. They
even decided where the worship centre would be sited. But by the time
we actually moved in to start work the people seem to have changed
their mind. They learnt that the missionaries as individuals do not
drink wine; they therefore concluded that they (the
missionaries) are not likely to condone drinking in the church. This
was confirmed much later, when one of the natives stopped one of the
missionaries and told him, “Look if only you allow people who drink,
in your church, that building you have cannot contain all those who
are willing to join you on Sundays.” Thus what would have been a mass
movement of a section of a tribe into Christianity was stalled because
of drinking palaver.
Though I was
beginning to differentiate between Biblical absolutes and the
non-absolutes, yet I was not convinced that we needed to throw the
door of the church open just to accommodate a crowd who were not
willing to forsake what I considered an unwholesome habit that may not
help the spiritual growth of the church. Nevertheless there was a
struggle raging within me. Secretly I believed that drinking was not a
Biblical absolute in most instances. Therefore it shouldn’t be the
focus or point of emphasis of the gospel message. On the other hand
the reality of experience (doctrine is not built on experience) would
not make me say boldly and openly that drinking is not sinful.
So when new
believers come to ask if drinking is sinful or not or when they come
to report that that other new believer is still drinking the
missionary or preacher who wants to be balanced is thrown into a fix.
He is torn between being faithful to the Bible despite popular opinion
and giving a blank license for irresponsible indulgence. He is not
sure whether to trust the Holy Spirit to do his work of inner
sanctification or fear watering down the gospel if he should tell
people that taking strong drinks is not sinful. It is a dilemma.
As I write “What
is in this Pot?” I am faced by this dilemma. What will the
majority of the evangelical preachers say about it? I also fear a
misreading by a people who would have been looking for an excuse to
abuse a gift of God to man. In any case I have sworn allegiance to God
and His word.
Preachers of
the word of God must face this dilemma courageously, particularly
those working among peoples who drinking are literally their
lifestyle.
The
issue of drinking or not drinking alcoholic drink has been an obstacle
to the spread of the gospel in Nigeria since the time of the European
missionaries to date. There have been two unhealthy extreme views. At
one end most evangelical preachers list taking strong drinks top in
the company of adultery, stealing, idolatry, murder and the likes
whereas the Bible is not categorical about its sinful nature as it
does the others. Then there are those who see nothing wrong in taking
strong drinks. They indulge in it irresponsibly. When they are full
they give glory to demons in one way or the other. The non-Christian
non-drinkers like the Muslims associates’ strong drinks with
Christianity. As such some would have nothing to do with a religion
that seems to permit its adherents to take intoxicants. Especially,
when they see so-called Christians misbehaving under the influence of
strong drinks.
The purpose of this book is to explain
as balanced as possible the scriptural position on strong drink in the
context of becoming a Christian and the demands of its lifestyle
thereafter. It is hoped that this book will help both drinkers and
non-drinkers of strong drinks put it in proper perspective as it
regards to its relationship with Christianity. I pray that the
Evangelical preacher, in particular will learn to prioritize the
content of his gospel message without necessarily making the gospel
look cheap or watering it down after reading this book. Overall I
desire that this book will help people make intelligent choices or
counsel others whether to drink or not. So that no one feels guilty
for drinking or claim spiritual superiority for not drinking
consequent of whichever choice one makes. And I pray that this choice
is going to be made in the light of clear biblical position and in the
context of the totality of Biblical Christianity and the Kingdom
lifestyle, so that we do not despise nor pass judgment on one another
other.
CHAPTER ONE
WHAT
IS IN THIS POT?
What
am I?
I
am a liquid
Contained in a pot
Sought by Millions
I cheer and
gladden the hearts of many
Woes, sorrow and misery I give to more
I
flow freely
Yet bind thousands strongly
Loved and hated
An Enigma you may say
Food or poison
Whatever you think
To God and conscience you can appeal
To reveal what I am.
You are a mix of sadness and joy. A
controversial food drink made from grains or fruits. You have as many
names as the tribes that make you in Nigeria and the world over. You
are presented in pots of various shapes to your lovers in Northern
Nigeria, the Middle Belt and other places that love you. In Hausa you
are called Burkutu or giya: Your sister from the Palm
tree in the South is called ‘tombo’ (palm wine). Then your
cousins from abroad either from cereals or fruits comes bottled or
canned. They are called beer and wine respectively.
But let us
lump you together and call you strong drink.
If you don’t mind we shall from time to time called you
alcoholic drink or even use wine interchangeably. However to
know you better we must need to examine you closer, through your
production, content, consumption and misuse.
PRODUCTION
1. Beer
– Is “an alcoholic drink made form grains.” “It is an alcoholic
drink made from malt and flavoured with hops.” The hops are
plants, which give the bottled beer its bitter taste. The grains from
which the popular Burkutu and other forms of beer are made from
include: Guinea Corn (Sorghum), Millets, Maize (Corn) ‘acca’ and
sometimes rice.
The
production of the locally brewed Burkutu goes through a
process that last seven days from the soaking of the grain to
drinking. The process involves mainly the breaking of the carbohydrate
content of the grain into sugar, which is in turn acted upon by
enzymes to produce the alcohol and other content of the drink.
The
grain is soaked and softens in water. Then it is removed and provided
with other conditions of germination, namely warmth and dark cover. By
the third or fourth day majority of the grains have sprouted. The
sprouted grain is grounded either after drying or wet and later made
into paste. The paste is put in large pot to boil, cool and allowed to
ferment overnight. The boiling and fermentation processes vary from
place to place and with the nature and strength of the beer desired.
To increase its intoxicating ability parts of some special plants are
added.
On
the seventh day the beer is ready for drinking. Depending on the
brewed quantity it can last for two to three more days. With
increasing days the drinks become more soar and stronger. The expert
at it loves it that way.
2. Wine
– This is the alcoholic drink used in the Bible lands and many parts
of the world today. “And wine mentioned in the Bible is fermented
grape juice with an alcohol content. No non-fermented juice was called
wine”3.
Wine
is produced from the vine plant whose long stems grows along the
ground or fastens themselves to other erect objects by means of long
tendrils. The fruits of the vine are put in large containers called
wine presses at an elevation. The presses are connected to
lower containers by channels. The juice is expressed by squeezing the
fruits in the larger containers, which flow into the smaller lower
containers. This is later collected and put into pots or other
containers like wine skin in the Bible times.
The main action in the process here is fermentation. It is set into motion
as soon as the skin of the grape fruits is broken. “Fermentation
requires only sugar, some micro-organism and time. The sugar is in the
grape, the yeast that produces fermentation clings to the skin of the
grape and the time begins the minute the skin is broken and the two
are brought together. It can happen still with the grape on the vine.
In refrigerated liquids, the process begins within hours and can
produce noticeable alcoholic content in a very short time”4.
After the juice has been expressed,
collected and put into jars it is now strained, sieved and ready for
consumption.
BOTH ARE ALCOHOLIC.
Wine
from grapes and other fruits and beer from grains and roots both
contain alcohol at varying levels of concentration. Alcohol is defined
as “the colourless liquid present in wine, beer and other liquor that
can make one drunk” 5.
The
alcohol content of strong drinks varies with several factors. These
include the level of sugar content in the source material, the degree
to which the sugar is acted upon by microbial activities; the
atmospheric condition conducive for the microbial activities and the
addition of additives, which may have intoxicating abilities in
themselves.
The
level of alcohol or its concentration determines how strong a drink
becomes. This in turn determines the intoxicating potential of the
drink. “In Biblical times wine had a practical alcoholic content of
10-11%”. There are several bottled drinks in the Nigerian drink market
that certainly have higher alcoholic content. In some places the pure
distilled alcohol meant for other purposes are bottled and consumed
undiluted.
From
all intent and purpose the alcoholic content of strong drinks are if
not all, to a very large extent the motivation for the consumption of
wine and beer.
CONSUMPTION
In most
communities that take strong drinks, they are seen as mere food. One
has seen whole communities whose life can be described as virtually
depending on wine as ‘food’. One has heard people say that drinking is
indeed their life. Meaning they cannot do without drinking. In
communities where people live like this the burkutu is
brewed on daily basis, from one compound to the other. Instances have
been observed where a whole family goes out drinking from morning till
night (not in one place). Sometimes the very young ones are left
behind to fend for themselves, if they can.
Strong drink
is hardly served as a family meal even in places where the people
claim drinking is their way of life. Even in large families and
compounds strong drinks are hardly made for the immediate members’
consumption alone. So when people claim that beer or wine is food, it
appears that it is more of ‘communal’ food that they mean. When it is
sold and bought outside it is often ‘eaten’ in-group or individually
where people are. It is taken on the spot. Hence the existence of beer
parlours, drinking joints, bars and restaurants. Burkutu
markets are scattered in remote settlements and villages. People go to
all these places to drink and enjoy themselves. When bought and
brought home it is often to a special guest, an invalid or an old
elderly member of the family. Alcoholic drinks are also served as the
main or one of the main food items in social functions such as wedding
and festivals.
If some
people take strong drinks as food, many more take it for other
reasons. It appears the alcohol content and its intoxicating effect
are some these reasons.
This is
confirmed in the fact that those who drink heavily will feel insulted
when offered say ‘kunu’ (a form of gruel more like the
alcoholic burkutu and may even be denser than the latter
in quenching hunger and thirst) and other forms of liquid food when
they have a choice to drink burkutu. Or when fanta or
coca-cola is offered to one who drinks bottled beer. Here the aim
becomes not to fill the stomach with strong drink as food but to get
something different from it. Such thing could be the desire to get
drunk, proving ones prowess at drinking or generosity with drinks.
Some desire to get drunk in order to get even with adversaries they
have been too timid to approach in sober moments. Sometimes it is just
to feel belong to the status quo.
On
this last point, a male adult may not be considered a man in certain
cycles if he is not drinking. People have wondered aloud to the
hearing of this writer that, “How on earth can a grown up man not
drink?”
ABUSE
AND ADDICTION
“If alcoholic drink is taken for the
sake of the stomach, then it ought to be just food for the stomach and
nothing more. But a man boasted that he could drink from 6 ‘O’clock in
the morning to 2 ‘o’clock the next morning. Another man said he could
drink a carton of beer at a sitting. So in most instances this ‘food’
is taken without restraint or moderation. It becomes an abuse. Often
this abuse leads to a tragic enslavement or addiction. The author the
book, Where there is no Doctor captures the effect of this addiction:
“If
alcohol has brought much joy to man it has also brought much suffering
especially to women and children of men who drink. A little alcohol
now and then may do no harm. But too often a little leads to a lot. In
much of the world, heavy or excessive drinking is one of the
underlying causes of major health problems even for those who do not
drink. Not only can drunkenness harm the health of those who drink
(through diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver…), but it also hurt
the family and communities in many ways. Through loss of judgment when
drunk and have self respect when sober-it leads to much unhappiness,
waste and violence often affecting those who are loved most.
“How
many fathers have spent their last money on drinks when their children
were hungry? How many sicknesses result because a man spends the
little bit of extra money he earns on drinks rather than on improving
his family’s living conditions?
How
many persons hating themselves because they have hurt those they love?
Take another drink and forget?”6
More
questions. How many divorce cases there are due to uncontrolled
drinking? How many children have had no parental love, attention and
training because one or both parents were drunkards? How many lives
and property have been lost in vehicle accidents driven by drunk
drivers? How many street fights, home fights, theft, rape, murder and
a host of other crimes have been committed under the influence of
strong drinks? Certainly the abuse of alcoholic drink has led to
untold hardship, pains, loss and death.
When strong
drinks are taken solely for the alcohol sake it naturally leads to its
abuse. The unwarranted use or alcohol by those who have given
themselves to it ‘habitually’ or compulsively is addiction. It
becomes a lifestyle dependent on alcohol. Once people are hooked on
alcohol it becomes difficult to stop it. If they try to stop it, they
become miserable, sick or violent.
I
have seen people being ‘dragged’ on foot over ten kilometers by the
irresistible urge to drink. I have seen and heard of people who once
they receive their salary will not return home until they have spent
their last Naira on drinks. I have lived with a neighbour who
abandoned his family for most part of the week rotating from one
drinking spot to the other in the neighbourhood.
On
one occasion we sat dawn to analyze how much an average drinker spent
on drinks per week. The amount was staggering relative to the income
of most people in that subsistence farming community. When I looked at
the man as being an above average drinker I marveled. His cloths
barely covering his body, his family feeding poorly, his bed a flat
form of mud, his room has no fixed door and yet he was a giant at
drinking non-free drinks. I wondered. In sober moments he confided his
desperation. He wants to stop drinking if only he could get the
‘medicine to stop drinking’ he told me he would stop.
So when
chronic alcoholics try to get out of it, often they cannot help
themselves, rather they go deeper, thereby creating more problems for
themselves, their families and the whole community. In some of these
communities the people don’t know what to do with their addicts
especially in the youth category. Beside stealing goats, live fowls,
money, breaking into grain stores such youths have constituted
themselves into social menace-fighting, raping breaking all known
societal laws and orders and making nonsense of all traditional norms
and values.
Abuse and
addiction to alcoholic drink is sadly a vicious enslaving habit. The
prisoner himself is the prison warden. Only he has the key of
unlocking the prison gate to be freed from its captivity. Though he
moans, “I am chained strongly” yet when he wakes up he goes for more.
There were
such addicts in the Bible times too. They had woes, sorrows, strife,
complaints, and needless brushes, bloodshot eyes. Those who linger
over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine’. They “gazed at when
it was red, when it sparkled in the cup, when it goes down smoothly in
the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper” when drunk
their ‘eyes saw strange sights’ and their minds, “ imagined confusing
things.” In such conditions they become like one sleeping on the high
seas, lying on top of the rigging. “They hit me. You will say, but I
am not hurt. They beat me but I do not feel it. When will I wake up so
I can find another drink?” (See Proverbs 23:29 – 35).
A bad habit
is like a soft chair, easy to get into, but hard to get out of it.
People in this habit and or those around them only need to know that
“A changed life is the result of a changed heart”. The only surgeon
that does this heart transplant perfectly and permanently is the Lord
Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER TWO
MORE THAN A FOOD DRINK
There are few foods
that are so controversial and yet find acceptance and broad use than
alcoholic drinks. It has religious, social and economic significance.
Its consumption and use goes beyond being mere food
The strong ties people
have to strong drinks can better be appreciated if we look further
into the various ways it is used. Understanding these uses can help us
see those who use it with eyes of love and empathy. Those who do not
drink may disagree with the habit of drinking itself. But that is a
different thing. There is no doubt, strong drink meets deep felt needs
of its users.
Those who feel that
there are better ways of meeting these needs must first know why
alcohol is so important to its drinkers. Then they can objectively and
lovingly proffer such alternatives. The alternatives must be good and
convincing.
Shared By Both Man
And The Divine.
In African Traditional
Religion (ATR), there is hardly any religious function in which strong
drink is not served. People pour libation to ancestors and spirits or
demons in the belief that the latter are appeased or pleased. The
drinks are offered in appreciation for perceived goods done by the
ancestors and the spirits. Such good things include the arrival of
rain, a bountiful harvest of crops, the gift of children, a family
member who died at a very ripe age, the removal of devilish sickness
(epidemic) and the like. Drinks are also used to appease the ancestors
or the gods when they visit the living with calamity; result of the
latter’s disobedience.
Men on their own part
drink in their communion with the spirit world. They drink as a matter
of fulfilling religious obligations. In cases where the drink is
offered in divining a cause of a mishap that has befallen the
community all are expected to participate. Those who refuse are
suspected as culprit. For drinking proves one guilty or innocent of
any complication in the case being divined.
In some cultures the
dead are counted as members of the family. They must be fed regularly.
An incident illustrates this:
Two men who apparently
have heard the gospel of salvation preached wanted to declare their
faith formerly. They trekked some ten kilometers to invite me to their
village so that together with their families they can declare for
Christianity.
On the appointed day,
I rode together with a dear brother on bicycles to the village. On
reaching the village we were told that the two men were still on their
farms. We got a young boy who led us to the farms. Fortunately for us
the farms bordered each other.
The two men received
us happily. We retold them the message of salvation, explaining to
them how people get related to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just at the point the
two men were bowing their heads to invite Christ into their lives an
old woman suddenly appeared from nowhere.
“What?” she
shouted. “You want to become Christians? Who will be giving food to
your fathers?
The two men looked at
the woman embarrassed. They excused us, “till another time”.
On our way back, the
brother that accompanied me hold me that the fathers of the men died
long times ago. The old woman who interrupted the declaration of those
men for Christ happened to be the mother of one of them. Even if the
fathers were alive, mothers are disobeyed at a great risk of being
cursed in that culture.
The belief in life
after death is behind the practice of offering food and drinks to dead
people. Even the recent dead are sent to their final place of rest
with wine and other foods. Thereafter they are remembered yearly
depending on how rich the family the deceased left is.
Sadaka in which
prayer for the repose of the soul of the decease is made is done with
abundant supply of wine. This is mandatory for the relations of the
dead in a particular tribe. Failure to meet this obligation attracts a
penalty of fine in addition to still having to do the Sadaka.
This pagan practice is
modified and christened in several Christian denominations today.
Alcohol drinks appear
to be the only food men and the spirits share in common.
An Item Of
Commerce.
Two men were passing
through a town one of them drew the attention of the other to a new
house by the roadside.
“Look at the house we
built for this woman” he said.
“You are neither a
builder nor a relation of the woman, how and when did you build this
house?” queried his companion.
Remorsefully the first
man said, “It is the money we spend drinking from her that she used to
build her house.
The woman referred to
was in Liquor business.
The alcohol Business
is a flourishing one. As far back as 1972 it was reported that,
approximately six million gallons of wine are produced annually. About
75% enters international trade. “And the world produces about twelve
million gallons of beer annually most of which does not enter world
trade”.
Since the above
figures were given more breweries have come up the world over.
Research has broadened the scope of raw materials in the alcohol
industry. Most tropical countries for instance depended on imported
malt from the temperate countries. But now tropical crops like maize,
Guinea corn, millet and cassava are used to produce bottled beer.
The alcohol industry
certainly contributes to the gross national income of Nigeria.
Beside its
contribution to the international and national economies, the local
industry is a main income generator to the local brewers. In many
rural communities beer is the main item of trade. The women folks are
more prominent into the business. As a source of income many would not
stop the alcohol business for anything.
Working as a
church planter in such places one has heard many a woman comment, “How
will I survive economically if I stop brewing burkutu?
Indeed the business
meet the clothing, feeding and medical needs among other needs of
these women and their families. Some women do not drink but are into
the making of the drink for sale.
The business seems to
pay off quickly. It is hardly in need of customers. A people who
believe that drinking is their way of life or culture will always
demand for the drink. Those who can make it, supply it in exchange for
money.
Surprisingly the
customers always get the money to drink in one way or the other. They
literary drink up the sweat of the toils of the cropping season. The
farm produce is squandered on drink. Some people go to hire their
labour to rich persons or communities and return to drink with the
money so earned.
Looking at the rural
set up it becomes easier to understand why the liquor business
thrives. The level of initiative, creativity and industry of the
people leaves little or no options for making money. They may be in
their own worlds. But they need and do interact with the other worlds,
which do involve financial commitments.
However not everyone
in such communities is involved in the alcohol trade.
The excuse that
brewing is the only means of economic survival comes only from those
who are in it. Many missionaries have testified that the women
converts who formerly brewed burkutu and had stopped it after
their conversion survived. They lived healthier and more prosperous
than their counterparts who still made alcoholic drinks. With counsel
and determination they had their creativity and industriousness
enhanced. They were able to find other income generating avenues. When
they took the pains to reach the outside world they found markets for
their local products. Items that were before then overlooked, suddenly
had value and highly demanded.
The alcohol business
at the local level has a peculiar characteristic. Except in few cases
hardly do those involve have much to show for it, by way of improved
standard of living. The trade seems to keep both the supplier and the
customer at low levels of financial prosperity and stagnation. The
former drains the purse of the latter while the later seem to silently
curse the former so that the profit made become less beneficial and
worthless.
In Ceremonies And
Festivals.
Strong drinks are
served at occasions, wedding engagements and ceremonies, parties,
meetings; and regular festivals, religious or cultural. The drinks
serve as refreshment.
On these occasions the
celebrants provide the drinks with great concern.
On the surface the
reason for the concern might appear to be the need to satisfy the
feeding needs of the guest. But on probe, one sees that often it is
the reputation of the celebrant that is perceived to be at stake. In
the world of show off and competition people will like to seize every
opportunity to display their competence and wealth. So the main
question at the back of their mind as they supply the drinks is that
of rating: “What will the invitees say if they do not drink to their
satisfaction? They fear disgrace and shame.
Therefore, in away,
meeting the drink needs of the participant at a social function that
serves it is equated to the success of the function itself. People
will continue to stay for as long as the drink flows. Some can stay
overnight or for few more days depending on the occasion and the
availability of the drinks.
If it was, say a
wedding ceremony, people will return praising how generous the family
of the groom or bride (whichever hosted the occasion) is, with food to
feed a large crowd at a time and having people say so. This help to
boost the celebrant’s ego. It is a thing of real joy to the family so
praised. On the other hand, people will gossip about and slander hosts
who were not able to provide enough drinks for their guests.
In some cultures
strong drinks are listed as part of the dowry.
I happened to be
privilege to represent the family of a cousin marrying from such a
culture. We had bought all the items demanded from us. We were ready
to present them to the bride’s family, only to be told by a
sympathetic lady that our items weren’t complete. We hadn’t bought the
bottled wine and beer. I was hesitant about buying and presenting
these particular items. Though the cousin does not drink too, what I
couldn’t measure was his level of conviction about presenting strong
drinks to in-laws. I had to be careful with how I felt.
Strong drink is so
important in social functions such that those concerned are levied in
cash or kind to provide it. Distant relations take it upon themselves
to contribute and friends and well-wishers assist to buy or make. Its
importance is also seen in the nature of the occasion in which it is
served. They are often lively and joyful moments. The strong drinks
enhance these the more.
After drinking the
people often rise to singing and dancing; back patting and
congratulating. These are delightful and desired effects.
But alas! In many
instance the opposite of these desired effects result. After drinking,
people quarrel and fight. Unrestrained flirtation, fornication and
adultery take place. A man told me that he normally doesn’t stay late
night outside. But he is forced to attend late night wedding parties
his wife attends.
Strong drinks
definitely connect People and communities too. It makes them to
rejoice with one another. But sometimes these joys turn to sadness
depending on the tide of the cherished liquid.
Motivator For
Communal Labour.
Interdependency is a
mark of homogenous communities. To develop themselves and the
community at large members would have to deal with one another. Strong
drink is a strong binding force to reckon with in this
interdependency.
In addition to other
equally important motivations, people participate fully and actively
in any communal work where strong drink is involved.
An individual can
invite a section or a whole village to his farm and the pay for their
labour being ample quantity of wine. It is served before and or after
the farm work depending on the quantity of the drink.
A new family compound
with two to four round houses can be built up in 2-3 days. It is
possible where wine is provided and the people invited.
Farm produce can be
conveyed en mass from the farm to the house or market if wine is
provided.
Intra and inter village road networks are
constructed or repaired, public building are built with wine served as
food or refreshment for the work. In Urban centers, cultural and
tribal groupings meet to discuss ways of developing their villages
back home over strong drinks.
Though a good
motivator in making people participate in communal work, the emphasis
however, is not on the drink itself. The work is the focus. But
serving the drink is not taken for granted either. People here drink
from others with the thought that they will someday have people come
to drink from them. If they don’t go to drink from others nobody will
come to drink from them.
The Social
Connection
Man, sociologist tell
us is a social animal (I prefer a social being). He does
not like to stay alone but to associate with others. This association
with or without a necessary common agenda or focus is often desired at
his leisure time. The times that he is less busy.
As a missionary one
goes to meet his audience where they are. On one occasion I went to a
drinking spot. There I met a primary school teacher who lightheartedly
invited me to join him in ‘eating’. I politely declined the invitation
on the ground that I do not ‘eat’ that kind of food. However, wanting
to discuss further with him, I asked, “What kind of food is it that
doesn’t seem to satisfy people who eat it from morning till evening?
And why do most people prefer to eat it outside the home?”
He looked at me with a
smile and then said, “This is more than a matter of food. It is the
heart of our social life and interactions! If it were only to be a
matter of food I would just drink and go home to sleep or buy it and
take it home to my family”
Strong drink is
therefore the social magnet that attracts people of different
background to interact. It is a leveler as people forget their status,
class, position or possession and mix freely with one another.
I know of some farming
communities that the farmers are so religiously attached to their
farms. But once it is the weekly market day they take leave of the
farm to attend the market. They go with the purpose of seeing
(interacting with) people where they ‘see’ the people is the drinking
places.
When they interact and
relax over drinks they talk freely, loudly and loosely. They exchange
the latest news, gossips and boast about all there are to boast about.
They laugh off their heads silly patting one another.
Some see avenues for
recreation in drinking in the market. Others drink there to while away
the time, yet others go to drink to forget their miserable life. Still
some go to drink to meet old acquaintances or make new ones.
On the other hand are
those who go to public drinking places for some diabolic intentions.
Such go to settle scores with their real or imagined enemies. They
drink and start quarreling or fighting with other people. Some,
pretending to be friendly and generous with drinks have gone to the
wicked extend of poisoning others. They secretly put poison in the
drinks and then offer it to their friends.
I guess this is the
reason why well meaning people would have to taste first any drink
they offer to visitors or strangers. This is to assure that there is
nothing harmful in the drink being offered. Some of those who
perpetuate wicked acts on others do so under the pretext of being
drunk. People have been verbally or physically assaulted and some have
even been killed under this pretext.
To Escape From
Reality.
Some people use drink
as a pain reliever. Quite a number of people live under emotional
stress. In fact we should rather say that some drink as an escape
route from reality.
Many people I have
observed or interviewed were not drinking until they reached a crises
point in their life.
These crises inflicted
wounds and left pains in their hearts. To ease the pains they started
drinking.
A quiet and gentle man
has a wife that has a good dose of nagging. He is not given to too
much talking. To avoid facing his sharp-mouthed wife he resorted to
drinking till late nights. He closes from work and goes straight from
office to the beer palour. There he drinks and idle away the time
till, the bar attendant signals its time to close.
He heads for home that
late hoping the tigress has gone to sleep. Early the next morning he
slips up to work. The cycle continues.
Another man says he
drinks because it helps him to forget all the problems of life. Indeed
without drinking the man is depression personified. But after
drinking he is the most cheerful and lighthearted person one would
love to keep company with. Some people have low image of themselves.
They seem to find worth and self-esteem after they have drank.
Thereafter they talk big, arrogantly boast about and challenge others.
The pain of rejection
and ridicule is another reason why people drink. I have heard people
ask if a man is a man because he does not go out drinking with other
men. There are instances that wrong assumptions have been made against
such a men. “His wife has him in her pocket” or “She has a foot on his
head” or “He is a woman wrapper” or any or those idiomatic expressions
that says a man is influenced and controlled by his wife.
Only few men have the
heart to take this insult. So to be seen as ‘real’ men they go to
drink.
Whether drinking
actually solve the problems of those who drink for that reason remains
to be answered. Based on the following observations often than not the
problems remain unsolved.
1.
If any, the solution provided by drinking is temporary. For
example the man who wants to escape depression by drinking is back to
it after the hangover of the previous drink.
2.
In escaping from one problem, more problems of greater
magnitude are created. The man who is fed up with his wife’s nagging
becomes an irresponsible absentee father and husband. The function of
both of these God-given positions are abdicated to the wife or grown
up children.
3.
Many of such people live double life. They are irresponsible in
the home but pretend to be something else outside. Though their
irresponsibility soon becomes obvious to outsiders yet not many people
will be willing to correct such people.
4.
Their whole approach to solving life’s problem rather looks
cowardly and often leads to tragic ends.
Oh how I pray that
those who think that drinking solves life problems will see its
deceitful nature. Only the Lord Jesus Christ in the believer’s heart
provides a lasting solution to life’s problem. Only he can meet any
need purported to be met by strong drinks.
CHAPTER THREE
I was settling dawn among a
new tribe my family and I were to begin a pioneer mission work. To
acquaint myself with the people I visited them in their homes. Once
when I was passing in front of a house I saw two young ladies sitting
by a fire, on which sat a very large earthen pot.
Seeing that
the ladies were well dressed compared to the other ladies of their age
in the village, I became curious if they could be the ones brewing
what I suspected to be the local wine. So I branched off to see and
talk with them.
After we had
exchanged greetings I asked what they were doing, just to confirm and
satisfy my curiosity. From their looks I knew that they know that I
know what they were doing. Nevertheless they answered.
“Do
you drink it?” I asked them.
“Yes
we do”
“And
do you?” They chorused, both looking at me with some light and healthy
suspicion.
“I don’t
drink it,” I answered lightheartedly. Then I quickly turned on them
the next question I knew they were going to ask me,, “But why do you
drink it?”
Smart
ladies. They threw the question back at me “Why don’t you drink it?”
I evaded the
question because I knew they were driving me to a tight corner, just
as I was trying to pull their legs. For some time both of us insisted
to know each other’s reason for drinking or not drinking. Knowing they
were not going to bulge until I answered them I requested that we both
agree on another time that we could discuss and answer ourselves,
properly. They agreed.
The day of
the “great debate” came. The two ladies came and we sat in front of my
house.
“Now
you start”, I began, “Tell me why you drink this strong drink that you
were brewing”. The more amiable of the two looked at me and smiled.
Then she asked, “Is it not food? Is it not made from dawa”
(guinea corn the popular staple food in the north and most parts of
the middle belt of Nigeria)?
I expected
her to continue after what I thought were her preambles. I waited. But
after some moments she looked at me and said, “I have finished”.
IS IT
NOT FOOD?
In the above encounter I
couldn’t have answered either of the questions in the negative. That
people drink it and get satisfaction (my personal feelings
notwithstanding) from it must be food. That the wine is made from
guinea corn (which I myself eat in several other forms) is
indisputable. Thus my opponent in that ‘debate’ actually summarized
her points in two implicative rhetorical questions.
Most people will and actually have
given the same answers in one form or the other when asked why they
drink. Some have gone to ask the third question I am sure the lady
would have asked if I had given her a definite yes or no answer. That
is, “Who gave or created the “dawa”?
Until the
coming of Christianity and Islam to Nigeria, most tribes had no
problem drinking burkutu or palm wine. They saw it as food. It
was one main ‘food’ that united peoples and communities together on
the one hand and the people and the gods on the other hand. The people
were happy drinking wine together and the gods were pleased or
appeased with wine supplied by the people who revered or feared them.
Then, people drank without any sense of guilt or any externally
motivated inhibitions.
There
were of course those who didn’t drink. But those exceptions were for
functional reasons and purpose and they were temporary.
In
some communities for instance, the village priest was not expected to
drink before he went into the shrine for fear of making mistake while
performing his duties. A very recent incident, which violated this
exception to drinking, had a devastating consequence for both the
chief priest and other idol worshipers.
A community
was having it annual festival of sending away all the sicknesses with
the fading harmattan. The ceremonies in the shrines were normally held
in the evening with the offering of food and wine to the gods. The
chief Priest had earlier in the day gone to a distant market away from
the community. He surely must have forgotten, for he returned drunk.
It was time to go to the shrine. All the worshippers headed for their
different clans’ shrines. In the mist of the ceremonies swamp of bees
broke from nowhere, entered the shrines and one by one scattering all
the worshippers. This writer reliable learnt that only one shrine was
left untouched. That was because the priest in that shrine realized
what had gone amiss and he pleaded on behalf of his own clan that the
bees pass over.
Some other
exceptions, to drinking are women and non-initiates who were not
expected to drink wine made for some religious purposes. Also, there
were individuals who abstained from drinking for fear of getting
intoxicated even with a little drink and getting into trouble,
sickness or breaking the society’s laws and orders.
So outside
these and other exceptions nobody seems to feel anything wrong in
drinking wine.
Today strong
drinks serve the same purposes or are rather regarded in most
instances as it was in pre-Christian and Islamic Nigeria-namely as
food by those who drink it.
It is with
this background (that wine has ever served as food) that the drinkers
don’t seem to understand when non-drinkers say drinking is bad. What
they consider as food, “How could others feel bad about it and would
even want to make them feel guilty”. The drinkers argue.
If wine has
all the while served as food how did people began to see it
differently?
IT IS
NOT SINFUL?
Apart from few
considerations, most of the arguments against taking strong drink
today has religious connotation. So we could be right to say that
people began to feel differently about drinking in Nigeria because of
religion-namely the two relatively younger religions in the country.
Now religion
is man’s effort and way of reaching out to relate with a deity-a
supernatural being he reveres and fears. Man gets to know how to
relate better with his deity either by direct revelation from the
deity or by instructions from the intermediary between the deity and
man. Generally these revelations or instructions come in forms of “dos”
and “don’ts” which governs the relationship. Religion,
many have argued is a private affair. Man, however, would rather
prepare practicing it in a group. No wonder that in the course of
practicing his religious dos and don’t the more religiously minded
would love to see every member of the community doing it well. Though
it ought to be the prerogative of the deity to see man observes his
dos and don’t well. But too often other men
are concerned for the same reason that the deity is concerned.
However
sometime man goes a step further to police his fellow man for other
selfish or irrelevant motivations.
In the
African Traditional Religion (ATR) still in practice in many parts of
Nigeria today, taking strong drink is surely not one of the dos
and don’ts. The adherents have no problem taking wine. As in
many cultures and age’s wine or its raw material (grain or fruit) are
considered divine blessings to mankind. They are taken and offered in
appreciation to the deities credited with these blessings. Fertility
gods existed in some Bible cultures. They still do today and are
worshipped with the offering of the fruit of the harvest.
With the
advent of Christianity in Nigeria the story as regards to strong
drinks began to change. The early European Missionaries of the 19th
and 20th centuries came with their opinions as different as
the beliefs of the missions or denominations they represented. They
were divided on the things that were not Biblical absolutes. One of
such was drinking. The effect of the different teaching on alcoholic
drink is evident in the beliefs and practices of the members of the
National daughter denominations and churches today. Broadly speaking
the church in Nigeria is pitched into two camps of the drinkers and
the non-drinkers or what I want to call the alcoholic and the
non-alcoholic Christians
The
‘Alcoholic’ Christians
Christians in this camp see
nothing wrong in taking strong drinks. They see so not by way of
choosing to defend the taking of strong drinks after becoming
Christians, but rather in defense of a brought forward lifestyle they
don’t wish to forsake. Coming from the A.T.R. background and its
attitude towards wine many people find it difficult to agree with
those who say drinking is sinful or those who belief that the habit
should be stopped before or after professing the Christian faith.
However
there are instances where the new believers wanting to be true to
their new found faith have had to stop drinking after a lot of
struggle. It is a struggle, because while they were not convinced from
the inside of themselves that drinking is wrong, but because the
person who led them to the new faith has an eye on them. Some people
in the course of this struggle go underground not wanting to be caught
in the ‘sin’ of drinking thereby displeasing their mentors, while at
the same time not willing to stop drinking either. So they resort to
drinking at secret spots or far places where they are not known. Some
believers I helped lead to Christ have told me that it took them one
to two years before they stopped drinking after their conversions. And
that anytime I spoke about drinking (while they were still drinking
secretly), they felt I had seen or someone informed me on them. I have
heard Christians doubt the genuineness of a believer’s conversion
because he didn’t stop drinking after it.
But the
believers who drink are not letting themselves to be intimidated by
the non-drinking believers. Some strong proponents have argued their
case backing it up with scriptures. Very often they refer those who
frown at their drinking habits to John 2:1-11. That is, where Jesus
turned water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana in Galilee. “If
Jesus himself did that, why then say drinking wine is wrong?” they
ask. Then they go on to quote 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul asked Timothy
to “Stop drinking only water and use a little wine because of your
stomach and frequent illnesses”. Some advance their argument further
by citing what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 15 that it is not what one
eats that is sinful, but what comes from the heart that defiles a man.
A well-known
cliché of those who argue for drinking is that “Christianity is a
matter of the heart and not what one does externally. By this they
appeal that judgment as to what is wrong and right and or sinful or
not should be left to the individual’s conscience. In the consciences
of drinking Christians taking alcoholic drink is not sinful. Since the
dos and don’ts of Christianity are spelt in the Bible, then “Where is
it stated that drinking is a sin?” they rest their case.
One must
agree that they have a very strong defense. As far as those quoted
scriptures are concerned they cannot be faulted. From those scriptures
we see that drinking is obviously not a Biblical absolute. But that is
not where Christianity all begins and ends. Having observed the life
of believers who argue and stand for drinking alcoholic drinks one is
left with many wishes and questions.
I wish such
believers were truly sympathetic to being faithful to the purity of
the scripture. I wish they were truly inclined to obeying all
scriptural injunctions. If not all, at least those that point
believers to a healthy relationship with Christ and victorious
Christian life. I wish that the argument for drinking were done in the
context of our call and purpose of living the Christian life here on
earth. But alas, most of the people I have heard or seen argue for
drinking do so from the point of self justification, defense of a
habit they have become used to and ignorance of what the Christian
life envelops. On further probe one finds that most of these people
know little or nothing about the life giving and nurturing doctrines
of the Bible. In fact most are not Bible readers and do not desire to
be.
Lets grant that there are some who
read the Bible and understand its demands. They are yet questions that
beg for answers. How are they living the other aspects of their
Christian lives? How has drinking improved their growth and maturity
in Christ? How is the Lord Jesus Christ glorified in that life style
of drinking?
Talking about eating meal the apostle Paul said it should be with
giving thanks to God. In another place he admonished, “So whether you
eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God” (1
Corinthians 10:30-31). To the best of my knowledge I am yet to see
anyone who begins drinking by giving thanks to God in Christ name.
The
‘Non-Alcoholic’
Christians
There are quite a lot of Christians in the evangelical and
some Pentecostal denominations that have
put their feet down to say drinking is
sinful.
I
have listened to their arguments against drinking. They have often
argued from the points of dogma, silence of the scripture,
what we can call the reality of experience and wishful
thinking.
Many like myself have been brought up in denominations that
strongly believe that taking
alcoholic drink in any form is sinful. I remember the first time
I
took Maltina I had to ask if it wasn’t an alcoholic drink that I was
being offered. The belief then was that all bottled drinks were
alcoholic. I have also learnt of a pastor who would not even touch a
bottle of Fanta or Coke? From
this kind of background
the tendency is to say, “I
believe drinking is sin, No
question how” And it stands so in the mind of such people. They are
not ready to shift ground no matter what.
Once
the mind is made up it seems to need no facts or proof. In fact it
will frown at any attempt to demand for
such.
Two recent incidents illustrates this point-the
stubbornness
of dogma.
While writing this chapter, I discussed with a dear brother the
relationship between the gospel and strong drink. He agreed that the
transformation of the individual’s
life through faith in Christ should be emphasized more than being
legalistic on habits. He stressed that people’s understanding on some
of the issues that are not central to the gospel vary with named
factors. But
in conclusion he said, “But as for me I believe that drinking is
sinful”.
In another incident,
a
group
of missionaries were discussing about
a lady, one of them had encountered. That she
‘claimed’
to be a Christian and from one of the
hard-line
Pentecostal
denominations
that prohibits drinking for it members,
yet she was brewing burkutu. This attracted various comments
that have one meaning: “She
couldn’t
be a true Christian.” One of the missionaries then asked what is wrong
in brewing burkutu. Someone quickly retorted, “Ah,
it is a sin!”
But later some agreed that,
“Neither
brewing nor drinking burkutu is sinful, but…”
Nevertheless one of these who said it wasn’t a sin felt it wasn’t
needful or helpful to let people know so, in some media like a book.
The power of dogma is so strong that it
tends to
make us go violent in
words against those who do not practice or share our beliefs. We
criticize and judge those who do not agree with our positions. For
instance a believer thought that his mentor,
a missionary was
backsliding
when the later told him in confidence that drinking was not a sin.
Then there are those who argue
from the silence of the
Bible on the sinful nature of
drinking. While the Bible is not categorical whether
drinking is sinful or not, the opponents of drinking are so sure it
did say so. Such people look at the issue from the
viewpoints
of
drunkenness
and its consequences, which
are often negative, displeasing and harmful.
Now we must say it clearly that drunkenness is sin. Because the Bible
expressly says so (Galatians.
5:21, Ephesians.
5:18).
We must also admit that the negative effects of drinking on the
drinker,
close relations and the
society
at large should be a cause for concern to every right thinking person.
The havoc the misuse of strong drink has done is enough to denounce
drinking. But
not enough to say drinking is sin because the Bible has not said so.
By the way my approach in determining what is sinful in the Bible is
by looking
at what I have called Biblical absolutes. This is when the Bible
says
do or don’ts in any of their varied synonyms in the
global context of Biblical Christianity.
Outside
these absolutes, the other teachings, I feel should be left to the
individual to determine its rightness or wrongness in the context of
the Christian life as he grows and matures in his relationship with
God and the demands or expectations from that relationship.
Related
to the argument from silence is the argument from the point of
reality of experience. As
far as the relationship between Christianity and strong drinks is
concerned,
certain real occurrences are
observed. Based on these apparently natural tendencies many people
have questioned or even concluded that drinking is a sin. The
realities seen include:
1.
That forsaking drinking habit is one of the first visible signs
noticed in new believers who formerly drank.
2.
That resorting to drinking is one of the first visible
signs noticed
in backsliding Christians who formerly
didn’t
drink.
3.
That drinking is one of the main, discernable factors hindering many
people from becoming
Christians.
4.
That drinking is one of the main, discernable factors hindering many
Christians from growing into maturity in Christ
5.
That those who were formerly drinkers
testify that drinking is indeed a bad and ruining habit after becoming
Christians.
6.
That drinking Christians are rarely known to be serious people in the
things of God.
7.
That drinking generally is associated (today) with the
non-Christians
and idol worshippers.
8.
That in sober moments, even unbelieving
drinkers
do confess and lament the wrecking drinking is doing in their lives.
9.
Those addicts
to drinks who wish to stop the habits are known to be helpless.
10.
That even in secular
circles like the government offices strong drinks are not served in
serious meetings or discussions.
In the light of these, we wish we could agree that drinking is sinful.
But we don’t have the freedom to say what the Bible has not said. As
unacceptable to the normal Christian message and growth some of those
observations are, they could equally
be counter
productive when we take rigid stand to draw a conclusions.
The last argument
I
have heard many preachers fall back to,
is to say that the wine of the Bible is not the same as Burkutu
or palm wine of today. They say
because it was from fruit it was not alcoholic. So they believe that
it is the drinking of the strong drinks we have today
that is sinful
and not the wine of the Bible. These
are merely wishful thinking.
It is true that wine is made from grape and other fruits,
which are different from the grains we have today. But
the issue at stake as we have seen in
chapter one is the alcoholic content of the drink. Alcohol is a
chemical substance that can be extracted from different raw materials.
We
have also seen that all fermented drinks are alcoholic. “No non
fermented drink
was called wine” in the Bible.
Now we must ask the non-alcoholic
Christians. Understandably they are jealous for the purity of the
Christian faith. They are zealous as to see that nothing is permitted
to adulterate it. But which is central to the message of the
Good news–seeing
Christ transform a life or seeing a man abstain from what he perceive
as a food, and that the food could
be harmful and is ruining him is not withstanding.
I want to think that there is lack of
love
from those who do not drink when they condemn
those who drink. If it is the drink that is wrong no good reason is
often given for it. If
it is the drinker that is wrong the approach is often repulsive.
Sometimes
amounting
to rude assault. For instance to tell, say a fifty year old man who
has drank all his life, to stop drinking in order to follow
Christ
is assault.
Or to tell the same man who is a young believer that his conversion is
not genuine
because
he is yet to stop drinking seems to me unfair (in making this
statement this
writer
equally confesses being guilty of such
denunciations).
For after so many years in the faith many of us are still
struggling
with some definite sins in our lives.
I think we must commend the ‘alcoholic’
Christians for their large hearts. They seem to have stronger points
in this debate yet they do not denounce non-drinkers.
At
worst what they have done is to tease the latter for missing on the
goodies of life. But the opponent seems
insensitively in -tolerant
and vocal in their opposition and condemnations.
This debate wouldn’t have been necessary if only we read our Bible
objectively. We may excuse the unbelievers who see nothing wrong in
drinking. It is indeed their life. But if some one sees that,
that
kind of life is not helping them and would love them change through
becoming
Christians, then attaching the habit will not help much.
To the opposing alcoholic and
non-alcoholic
Christians I think there are
fundamental problems on both sides. The former who quotes scriptures
to back their stand on strong drink are more of reluctant
opportunists. They
want to hide under the Bible to live loose lives while really not
willing to live in obedience to the demands of the totality of the
Christian lifestyle. On the other hand the
non-drinkers
seem to be more of legalists. They
want to equate
Christianity with abstaining from particular singular habit. Both
sides are missing on a point. That
is,
the central message of the Christian
gospel. It is neither of food and drink nor of keeping the law on
foods. But it is of Truth and Grace, which
comes through faith in
Christ alone. This alone librates.
The most important question we must be asking ourselves at this
juncture is what does it take to please God in a holy and righteous
living.
It is however sad that
the enemy manipulates both ends of the debate to his advantage. Come
to think of it, that the subject of this manipulation is one of the
things God created and said that they were good. CS Lewis describes
well how the enemy does this:
I feel a strong desire
to tell you- and I expect you to tell-which of this two errors is the
worse. This is the devil getting at us. He always sends errors into
the world in pairs-pairs of opposites. And he always spends a lot of
time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on
your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the
opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on
the goal and go straight through between both errors. We have no other
concern than that with either of them.”
CHAPTER FOUR
STRONG DRINK IN EVANGELISM
The Evangelicals’
position with regards to salvation is that it is by grace through
faith in Jesus Christ alone. This is the scriptural position too.
The Evangelical
Churches, “Believes in the importance of faith in Christ, holy living,
Bible study and prayer, rather than in religious ceremonies”1.
All Christians are commanded, “To spread the Good News about Jesus
Christ in order to win people to Christ, that they may have eternal
life”2
Spreading the Good
News about the Lord Jesus Christ, that is Evangelism is defined as
“The Zealous proclamation of the Good News about Jesus Christ, urging
men and women to repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus as
their only Saviour and to make him the Lord of their life”3
How do we go about
Evangelism? In his excellent book, Bible Guidelines, Derek Prime
answers this question:
“We are to see
ourselves as workers together with God, understanding what is his work
in bringing a person to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and what is our
part. As we present the Gospel to all to whom God gives us the
opportunity, we are to look expectantly for such evidence of the Holy
Spirit activity in their lives as the Bible leads us to expect”4
He went on to outline
the following important considerations for effective evangelism.
1.
Essential truth should influence our thinking and acting when
endeavouring to lead others to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
2.
We must be clear as to what God alone can do and what we
therefore cannot do.
3.
We must be clear as to what God required of us by way of
preparation for the work.
4.
We must be clear as to what God requires of us by way of
cooperation in this work.
5.
We need to be clear as to the essential facts of the gospel,
which must be made known before any response should be anticipated.
6.
We need to adhere to the principles, which are always to govern
our presentation of the gospel.
Presenting the Gospel
of Salvation entails that under the leadership of the Holy Spirit we
should invite or urge people to come to a living and solid
relationship with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is after
we ourselves must have learnt the truth the Gospel contains and has
experienced this warm and blissful relationship.
But the sad situation
is that most of us are going about our evangelism the wrong way. In
the words of John Allen:
“Most of us learn how
to share our faith in a pretty haphazard way. We pick up bits of good
advice and helpful arguments from sermons and books we read. We learn
by painful experience in chatting to friends and neighbours what to
say and what not to say. We find out more from watching other people
in action and coping their good ideas. But there isn’t much structure
and system”. 5
As evangelists, I find
that our lack of structure and system is evidence in two ways. The
point of emphasis – often majoring on minor issues and the universal
package we dole out to all that we meet.
In putting too much
emphasis on non-essentials of the gospel we mislead the unbelievers.
All that they see is that these non-essentials are all that the gospel
is about. Namely equating the gospel with the stoppage of certain
habits. The message goes like this: God is not happy with your ways of
life. He wants you to stop sinning in order to follow Jesus Christ. On
the surface this statement cannot be faulted. However it is not the
beginning and the end of the gospel. Neither does it completely
summarize the content of the Gospel.
The true Gospel is
concerned with the fact that lost man need to return home to reconcile
with his maker. The story however starts with this merciful and
gracious Father reaching out in love to lost man. His love is
expressed in the person of Jesus Christ and the supreme sacrifice made
for the our sin that separates us from God. In understanding the
significance of the death of Christ and we establish a relationship
with him we find our way to God.
The whole gospel calls
for a proper understanding and having a true knowledge of the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ and all that he stands for. It is after this
that we can expect a meaning full decision for or against accepting
Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
When Christ is in then
sin is out. Even then, reality and the Scripture show that the
symptoms of sinful man do not leave men automatically. Every honest
believer must admit going through struggles with some sinful habits
after conversation.
We are making a case
that people need to understand and be convinced as to why they should
leave one way to turn to another. Anything short of making people
understand the person of Jesus Christ is misleading. At best we can be
seen to be only involved in what John Allen, quoting Jim Petersen said
is the “Gospel of the Christian contract” He says:
“Possibly the most
common weakness in our contemporary approach to evangelism is our
tendency to focus our message on the Christian contract how to
transact a relationship with God rather than on the person of Jesus
Christ. We become so intent on helping someone understand how to put
his faith in Christ that we overlook the very real probability that he
is almost devoid in his knowledge of Jesus Christ… we tend to become
more interested in responses than in understanding. We try to elicit
agreement, and once it is achieved we seek to extract a positive
response we call this making a decision”6. This is the
forced contract.
When it comes to alcohol and the gospel
presentation we again ask which is essential? Is it having a true
knowledge and accepting a living Lord and Saviour or Forsaking a food
habit in order to please God? What is the relationship between the
gospel of salvation and strong drink? Christian preachers, by their
words and actions have varying positions.
The Liberals and Indulgence
Preachers in this
group place no sanction on the consumption of alcohol. They seem to
hold the philosophy of tolerance and mutual respect for the ideas and
the feelings of their audience. They see nothing wrong in drinking.
Therefore they do not condemn taking strong drinks when they preach.
Most liberal preacher
actually participates in the drinking himself or herself. When
questioned why he drinks, he falls back to the arguments for drinking
we saw in chapter three.
The work of such
liberal (with regards to drinking) missionaries and preachers in
Nigeria has produced alcoholic Christians and church
denominations that are themselves liberal on drinking. Christians in
the areas or regions these denominations dominate drink as a way of
life. Drinks are taken and served freely in an outside church
functions. Church leaders participate actively.
A young man backs
lidded and started drinking. He left his former church and started
attending another. This other church doesn’t seem to mind its members
drinking. Soon the young man was made the song leader in his new
church.
One Sunday while
leading the songs he sang out of tune with the congregation. The
Pastor noticed it and realized that apart from the stench of alcohol
coming out from the man’s mouth, that the man was also not
coordinated. He skillfully took over the leading of the song. He
understood where the song leader had been before the service.
When it comes to
evangelism, the liberal preachers and missionaries seem to get quick
acceptance with their message. Their message doesn’t seem to demand
much from their audiences. Drinking for example. Whatever message is
presented is a different issue altogether.
One only needs to observe that in reality
where preachers are liberal about strong drink, nominal Christians
result and a marriage of Christian and pagan ideas and practice hold
sway. In such places those who are truly converted to Christianity do
show little sign of growth and maturity. Christianity itself is less
vibrant in its true sense, except for Sunday to Sunday gatherings in
places designated for worship outside the church buildings the act of
faith is less visible and particularly on the other six days.
Believers who have
left or have been converted from churchianity to real
Christianity have by their own testimony and new life style shown the
above observations to be true. So true that one is tempted to call
those ‘Churches’ they come from as sects or Pseudo-churches. The is
not because they permit their members to drink. But looking at their
general beliefs and practices, they are radically deviated from those
of Biblical Christianity.
Nonetheless, it is
obvious that the liberal preachers in one way or the other promote and
encourage over indulgence with strong drinks. Subsequently abuses and
addictions result with consequent drunkenness and other related sins
prominent in the areas they work. A preacher of one of these liberal
churches was himself stabbed in the stomach in a fight after drinking.
A church worked on a farm and drank there after. Then the
members rose to dance. They sang taunting, abusive and ridiculing
songs as the pagans do.
Certainly there are
many concerns about the liberals’ attitude towards strong drinks in
their evangelism and church planting drives. First, the true gospel is
soaked in drinks, and comes out smeared, stenched and distorted.
People accept it either ignorantly or deliberately. Deliberately
because it appeals to their love for indulgence and makes no attempt
to prick their conscience and touch their way of life. They
consequently get lost in religion called Christianity and go to hell.
Secondly the whole
concept of Christianity, its implication and demands on the life of an
individual or group of people is blurred. Outsiders who watch to see a
different lifestyle from the so-called Christians are confused.
Because they see no changes that authentic Christianity claims for its
adherent they conclude, “If that is Christianity then it is not worth
it.” For all they care to know, a Christian is a Christian. They
wouldn’t know if there are Christians by practice and those by name.
An elderly Moslem man
was so vexed by the behaviours of members of a local ‘church’.
He said, “If I were still an idol worshipper I will fight some of this
church people. They claim to be Christians yet they drink and do all
that the idol worshippers do”. This leads us to the third concern.
The lifestyle of the
Christian converts from the work of such liberal preachers does not
measure up to the standard of New Testament Christianity. There is
little or nothing to say that they help to build up one another
spiritually. Talk less of preaching the gospel in words and actions to
unbelievers.
At the risk of
sounding critical, I make bold to say that many of the liberals go out
with the message of indulgence.
We are then forced to
conclude that theirs couldn’t be the same transforming gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
How sad is it that
Jesus’ Strong words to the legalistic teachers of the law and the
Pharisees are become true of such liberal preachers too.
Woe
to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You travel
over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one,
you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are “Mathew 23:15”
These teachers and
preachers may need to teach and preach that people should “live as
free men but do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil, live as
servants of God (1 Peter 2:16).
As far as food is
concerned Paul advise that “Do not by your eating destroy your
brother. For the kingdom of God is not of a matter of eating and
drinking but of righteousness peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit.
Because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God
approved by men…
“Do not destroy the
work of God for the sake of good. All food is clean but it is wrong
for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is
betters not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will
cause your brothers to fall” (Romans 14: 15, 17-21).
The moderate and the conscience
In principle we can
say preachers are divided more or less in two camps – for or against
drinking. But in practice there are preachers who take a middle
ground.
They do not speak
against or for it. However their none-speaking speaks much of where
they stand. They do not restrict people drinking and when pushed to
take a stand, they argue for moral restraint. They leave people to
their consciences as judges over the issue.
In evangelism the
moderates do not make any strong case out of drinking. They neither
condemn the habits nor encourage it.
However, one wishes
that such a stand is a principled one. That drinking or not drinking
doesn’t make a difference in one’s relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. As it stands most preachers in this category view the issue
more on passive ground than on a strong conviction. Hardly does one
hear such preaches say, “Drinking or not drinking is not an issue in
salvation or the Christian’s daily work with God, for instance.
Because they are not
firm on their stand, believers from such preachers’ work are as
divided on drinking too. There are church denominations not reputed
for condemning drinking but whose members drink openly. And this, not
attracting any frown or form of any sanction from the leadership.
Understandably people are more comfortable in these churches as far as
drinking is concern.
But some of these
churches have not been spared by the hardliners. They have been
described with quite a few adjectives – cold, lifeless, dull or even
death churches. The standard used to get these description among
others is the fact that some members are known to drink openly.
Nevertheless it must
be observed here that even when people approach a near Bible position
on an issue, they get into problem when done in ignorance. The enemy
of God capitalizes on their ignorance to distort the outcome.
For instance it is
true that the Bible neither restrict the consumption of any food. But
because people do not know how to balance between food and duty to God
the devil has craftily magnified the importance of food over duty.
So even in churches
where they seem to be Biblical on its approach to drinking -that of
moderation, the devil is greatly doing havoc with drinks. Here you
find the less serious Christians are the drinkers. They constitute a
log in the wheel of progress of any local church. The leadership may
not be drinking but the drinkers may not be agreeing with them on
issue of true spirituality.
The Legalist and
Prohibition.
The legalist in our
context is against drinking completely. They view it as sin. They see
those drinking as sinners or sinning.
As a rule the legalist
preachers strict adherence to the law. Whatever is a do or don’t must
be observed to the letters, else, the defaulter faces a stiff penalty.
The legalist hardly tampers mercy with justice so to speak.
Here the law says,
according to the legalist, drinking is a sin. It stands and no
question. If you ask for explanation you only irritate and you are
seen to be questioning God.
Normally if people
live by legalism they respond with rage to people who break the law or
question it. In the mind of the legalist, the law is more important
than people. Who break or question it. They are quick to point
accusing fingers and recommend that the due penalty be served the law
breaks.
So the legalist
preacher in his evangelism preaches against drinking and condemns
those who drink it as candidates of hell.
The blanket
prohibition and condemnation of drinking has not helped the cause of
evangelism much. It has hindered people from hearing the message of
the good news. All people hear is Jesus versus drinking.
Even if we grant that
drinking is a sin, the approach in Evangelism by those in this
category leaves much room for concern. If one goes out to evangelize
and start by lashing out at the sinners in their natural habitat is
asking for trouble. Listing the visible manifestations of sin and
asking people to stop them as conditions for becoming Christian is
less than the full gospel. If it is, then, we have no message to the
moralist who does none of those visible sins.
Sticking to sinful
behaviours and ‘accepting’ Christ is not what is being advocated here.
The issue is that, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
came by Christ Jesus”. (Romans 3:23 – 24).
The sinful nature of
man cannot be adequate addressed from the viewpoint of specific sinful
manifestations or symptoms. Man is by nature a sinner.
Addressing a specific
sin in a life of a man I believe is in the realm of those already in
the Christian family. While correcting or rebuking or restoring a
fallen brother there is need to be specific. “Recognizing when another
Christian slips into a style of life that violates a clear biblical
commands and prohibitions is not legalistic. The one who’s been caught
by sin needs our concern and correction (Galatians 6:1 – 2) it is not
legalistic to give it”
But dealing with
unbelievers we need to watch out that legalism does not define our
approach to Evangelism.
One is not a sinner
because he does some specific sinful acts. Rather he acts so because
he is a sinner. It is this that needs our attention in Evangelism.
Until the sinful heart of man is addressed properly we cannot expect a
change. At best we can only succeed in policing people to stop a
sinful habit. Normally people resist being told to stop what they have
not purposed in their heart to stop.
I am reminded of an
encounter with an old man. In the company of some members of the
Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NYSC) we went for a weekend
outreach to an interior village. While going from house to house some
of us accosted this old man on his way to drink.
The old man possibly
out of politeness listened patiently to all that we had to say. Then
of a sudden he quipped, “Count me out of anything that will stop me
from drinking”. And he went his way. One of us had made the mistake of
mentioning drinking as a sin and the need for the old man to stop it
in order to become a Christian.
Churches and converts
that result from the work of legalistic preachers are also strong
about it members and other peoples’ drinking. They not only monitor
them but also mate stern disciplinary actions on those caught or
confess to drinking. Some churches will not baptize a believer if he
still drinks, some believers are excommunicated on that ground too. A
marriage may not be solemnized in the church if (usually) the groom
still drinks. The church may not name a child if one of the parents
drink s and church may not perform a funeral service if the decease
drank before his death.
The arguments against
drinking as pointed earlier always lack direct scriptural basis. But
the legalist is vehement that drinking is sinful. Often his stand is
due to his background rather than from a logical and factual point of
view.
Writing in a different
context A.W. Tozer describes how people can be obstinately dogmatic in
supporting an unscriptural view. He says,
“The propensity to
accept any current religion emphasis as the correct and only spiritual
view runs deep in our nature, for it is simply the old love for status
quo common to all peoples in every field of human thought. Those we
respect hand an idea to us. We check the references, find the whole
thing mentally comfortable and proceed at once to identify with
orthodoxy. After that we judge people by whether or not they subscribe
to it naturally we resist any suggestion that perhaps the idea may
need a bit of editing to bring it into line with the scriptures and
the historical faith of Christians”
Though the legalist is
non-compromising in his stand yet he is willing to edit the scripture
to make it agree with his hard line posture. For instance when it is
pointed to him that some key Biblical figures, God used, drank wine;
he is quick to point out that what they drank was juice or that the
wine were not intoxicating. Thus he puts words or ideas the writers
did not have in mind while writing the Bible.
In disputable matters
and evangelism the legalists have not really helped matters in several
ways. Particularly the issue of drinking.
1.
The drinking unbelievers see the good news in terms of God
verses strong drink. This is evident that some people can claim to be
Christian, forsakes drinking and yet remains deep in some real sinful
behaviours.
2.
The concept of sin is narrowed dawn to some few sinful habits.
3.
Hypocrites or eye service Christians are produced. As long as
they can avoid being caught in popular ‘Sins’ they wouldn’t mind
engaging in ‘little’ ones. For example it becomes a news if a renowned
Christians is seen drinking. But nobody care if the same christian is
known to make more than necessary profit in his business or maltreats
his house helps at home, or uses foul language on a small child.
4.
Real seekers after truth are scarred from getting near to the
church people who don’t sin by drinking.
5.
An unnecessary dichotomy has been created among Christians.
6.
And the devil has effectively used an unbalanced attitude
towards what God has created to hinder the spread and progress of the
gospel.
Again Paul has admonitions for those so
legalistic about any food. “Therefore let us stop passing judgment an
one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block
or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is fully in the Lord I
am convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if any one regards
something as unclean, then for him it is unclean… so whatever you
believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is
the man who does not condemn himself for what he approve Romans 14:13
– 14,22.
Now what?
What do we tell people
about drinking in our Evangelism. Is it sinful or not sinful? Or
should we just keep quiet about it?
This book is not
advocating for any of the extreme positions on the issue. It is not
even for passive moderation. The concern here is that the full gospel
be told people in a way that they can truly and fully understand it
demands. That because they understand they can make intelligent
choices to accept or reject Christ. They will accept and relate with
him on the basis of his finished work of grace on the cross and obtain
God’s mercy. Or they may reject him at their own peril.
The concern here is
that the gospel is not Christ plus or minus drink, but he alone as
God’s love to man. That through his death and resurrection man is
reconciled to God in a relationship once gone sour because of sin. We
are concerned that the gospel is not about food but it is about
righteousness that comes through Christ alone. So we are concerned
that, we do no harm to the cause of the gospel either with our
permissiveness or rigidity on disputable matters that are not central
to the gospel. Doing so may make unbelievers see the gospel in terms
of a loose moral or strict policeman.
Though neither for nor
against drinking we think it is not the issue in effective evangelism.
We think the Holy Spirit should be trusted and be permitted to
continue his work of convincing and convicting men of sin and
converting them from it. He alone knows how best to do it. Our part is
to faithfully declare the word clearly simply, in all its purity and
impressive beauty.
The Holy Spirit in an
individual’s life can effectively restrain or dictate the way a life
is run. He does it for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the
spiritual growth and benefit of that life.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Bible is the best
Judge on disputable matters in Christian doctrine. It spells out
clearly expectations, responsibilities and duties of a Christian. It
tells how to relate to the material, human and the divine worlds.
The Bible guides and
directs man how best to fulfill his purpose here on earth. So when we
discuss issues that Christians are not all agreed upon we should
appeal to the scripture for settlement. We should lay down our arms
and dialogue with the Bible as our impartial umpire. We should come to
the Bible with an open mind and objectively look at the issue from its
viewpoint. We should come with all the readiness and willingness to
accept, abide and walk from that point alone. We should be ready to
put aside what we think the Bible is saying and take what it has said.
We should be willing to do away with our personal biases, the opinion
of our respected leaders and teachers for the explicit teachings of
the Bible.
What if the Bible is
not explicit on a particular issue? Someone may ask. Again, the Bible
is the only reliable way to answer for itself. It makes explicit what
it has stated implicit is one part. The fact that it is a focused book
means that all its strands tie up neatly at a point. It should
therefore be taken as a whole whose parts shade more lights on one
another. We cannot therefore take one unclear part in isolation and
build a doctrine on it.
For instance in our
context we can not say don’t drink based on a scriptural passage that
highlights the evil of drink and stop there. Neither should we say
drink it doesn’t matter because we have not seen a clear biblical
commands to that effect. We should rather view drinking in the context
of the Christian faith and purpose – namely that we live in this word
to glorify God in all that we do, eat and drink.
Authentic Christianity
leaves no room for interpreting scripture to fit a pre-made mind. We
make our mind after we have heard the Bible speak finally on an issue
and not before it. For the danger of making up ones mind before
opening the Bible is that one is not likely to see or her well what
the Bible is saying especially when it is not saying what we want to
hear.
What ever the Bible
says about drinking should be taken as the final verdict. And that
should close the case for the good of Evangelism and Christian living
in general.
LETS DO SOME BIBLE
SURVEY.
Basically,
the Bible talks of wine and other fermented drinks (Judges 13:4;
Leviticus 10:9; Numbers 6:3; Deuteronomy 14:26; Judges 14:4; Isaiah
28:7; Luke 1:15. Through in this book we use strong drinks to cover
all intoxicating drinks. However in the Bible, “Strong drinks refer to
fermented beverages not made from the grapes but from the barley and
was more akin to beer”.
The New International
Version of the Bible mentions beer in several places ( Proverbs 20:1;
Isaiah 28:7; Micah 2:11)
Alcoholic drinks in
Bible times were intoxicating drinks. Wine was, “usually diluted with
water for general consumption 2.
New wine is wine from the most recent harvest
(Genesis 27: 28; Deuteronomy 7:13; 2 Kings 18:32) New wine was also
intoxicating (Hosea 9:2; Joel 1:5) New wine also referred to freshly
pressed grape juice (Isaiah 65:8 Micah 6:8) The new wine was not
unfermented grape juice (for fermentation sets in quickly) but wine
made from the first dripping of juice before the wine press was
trodden. As such it would be particularly potent. (Act 2:15”) 3
Newly squeezed juice though may have some
alcoholic content are not described as wine (Genesis 40:11; Numbers
6:3; Isaiah 65:8).
There were also mixed
wines (Proverbs 9:2) probably mixed with spices to make it stronger
and tastier. This may explain why people went to sample drinks
(Proverbs 23:2).
Availability –
The grape form which wine was produced is a commercial crop. It was
produced and traded by royal house” (Esther 1:1-9, Nehemiah 5:18). It
was exchanged for goods (2 Chronicles 2:10-15).
Wine was often
presented in earthen pots jars John 2:10-15 7 and wineskins (Mark 2:22
Harvest was a time of
Joy (Isaiah 16:10) people sang and danced (Judges 21:3-21 Jeremiah
48:33).
The abundance of wine
was a sign of Devine blessing (Genesis 28:27; Deuteronomy 7:13; Psalm
104:3; Ecclesiastes 7:13). The Canaanites capped the harvest by
worshipping their idols and indulging in sexual rites Judges 9:27. The
Israelites used it in worshipping the true God in the feast of the
tabernacle (Deuteronomy 28:39)
Wine and bread
represented the basic elements in the Jewish daily meal (Judge’s
19:19, Lamentation 2:12, 1 Samuel 10:3, 16:20; Ruth 2:4, I Chronicles
12:40 Nehemiah 2:1-5,8; Esther 1:7, Luke 7:33-34)
Wine was offered to
God in show of gratitude (I Samuel 1:14) and in daily worship
(Leviticus 23:13, Numbers 28:14). Wine was used to administer
anesthetic drugs (Mathew 27:34); to treat wounds (Luke 10:34) and to
purity drinking water (1 Timothy 5:23).
It was used as an
element in the Lord’s Supper (Mathew 26:27 – 29 Mark 14:23 – 33).
Wine was served at
feasts and celebrations (I Chronicles 12:39 – 40; John 2:1 – 11; Job
1:13, 18)
Jesus used wine to
illustrate his teachings.
It had symbolic uses
(Proverbs 4:17; I Corinthians 11:23 – 36).
EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO USED WINE.
1.
A priest of God gave it in show of hospitality to a friend of
God (Genesis 14:18).
2.
Another man offered it to a man after God’s heart (2 Samuel
16:1-2)
3.
A father prayed and blessed his children to have abundant of
it. (Genesis 27:28, 37).
4.
A Godly leader blessed his people, praying for its abundance
for them (Deuteronomy 33:28).
5.
A prophet of God determined not to defile himself with that
served from a pagan king’s table (Daniel 1:5-8)
6.
A nomadic family abstained from it in keeping to their
disciplined lifestyle and a promise made to their late father.
7.
A righteous and blameless man drank wine got drink and
indecently exposed his body (Genesis 9:21).
8.
Another righteous man got drugged by his two desperate
daughters and he had sex with them. (Genesis 19: 32 – 34).
9.
A king wanted to humiliate his wife by asking her to display
her body before his guests. after drinking (Esther 1:10).
10.
A queen used it to manipulate her husband to get what she
wanted Esther 5:6; 7:2
11.
Some people drank and got up to praise their gods.
12.
Those who abused strong drinks brought curses on themselves and
their nations. Psalm 104:15; Isaiah 5:11; 28:7; Ecclesiastes 10:19
EXCEPTIONS
1.
Religious Leaders were not supposed to drink on duty Leviticus
10:8,9; I Timothy 3:8; Titus 2:3
2.
Those who were consecrated to the Lord for his service were to
abstain from drinking Numbers 10:3; Luke 1:5.
3.
A class of individuals known as the Nazarenes was under vows
not to drink (Judges. 13:4,7,14).
4.
Kings and those who took far-reaching decisions that affect the
lives of others were advised not to drink. So that they do not pervert
justice (Proverbs 31:4).
EFFECT OF DRINKING
1.
It brought Joy Judges 9:13
2.
It suppressed pain and banished misery in forgetfulness
Proverbs 31:6
3.
It made people loose conscious control of their movement Isaiah
28:7 Psalm 60:1.
4.
People mocked and brawled after drinking Proverbs 20:1
5.
It impoverished (Proverbs 21:17).
6.
It led to woes, sorrows, strife, complaints, needless bruises,
blood shoot eyes, bodily and emotional injuries to self and others
(Proverbs 23:29 – 31).
7.
It led to self deception Ecclesiastes 2:3, 11; 10:17
8.
People who got drunk hardly got serious with God (Isaiah
22:12-13) as it dulled their senses and turned their attention towards
self-indulgent and enjoyment without God consciousness.
9.
It destroyed and brought backwardness to a whole tribe Isaiah
28:1
10.
Some of these who got drunk got into pervasive sexual
practices, which persisted in Israel despite prophetic condemnations.
Amos 6:4 –7; Jeremiah 16:5 – 11.
11.
It makes one look irresponsible Proverbs 31:4
12.
It made people unwary of dangers nearby 2 Samuel 13:28
13.
Others were manipulated to do what they would otherwise not do
without drinking Genesis 19:32 – 35.
14.
In Act 2:13 and I Samuel 1:15 it was implied that people drink
and sprawled into senseless stupor and babbling
15.
People drink and go into licensors living Revelation 18:3
WARNINGS
The Bible pronounces
great sorrow grief and misery on alcoholics.
“Woe to those who rise
early in the morning to run after their drink, who stay late at night
till they are inflamed with wine. They have hands and lyres at their
banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regards
for the deeds of the Lord, no respects for the work of his hand…
Woe to those who are
heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks Isaiah 5:11,22.
A lifestyle
characterized by drunkenness and an “unrestrained wild, noisy
festivities attracts God’s condemnation” Amos 4:1-3; 6:6 – 7
Those who are indulged
in drinking wine lost their moral sensitivity I Samuel 28:36 and are
therefore considered as unwise Proverbs 20:1.
The Bible in several
places and contexts forbids (Leviticus 10:9) or speaks belittlingly of
(Isaiah 27:3) on the use of strong drink.
WHAT HAVE WE SEEN?
We have
taken a broad but certainly not exhaustive survey of what the Bible
has to say on alcoholic drink. It is hoped that we can see in the
light of its revelation where we stand, our preaching on the issue and
what our attitude should now be. Like any mirror, you do not help
matters by denying or destroying the mirror if you do not like what
you saw in its. Neither do you gain any credit if the face you saw is
what you had always wanted your face to look like. You can see only
what you present to the mirror.
Let us here summarize
what we have seen in the Bible. We saw that:
1.
Wine and or the crops from which it was produced were
considered a divine blessing. Lack of wine or poor yield of the grape
was seen as a curse and a form of punishment from God for the people’s
disobedience to him.
2.
Wine was part of normal daily meals in homes and on Joyful and
festive occasions.
3.
It was considered a luxury food but sometime a dangerous one.
4.
There is o direct Biblical command to drink or not to drink
except to a specific group of individuals for a time and for a
purpose.
5.
There were specific individuals who were told to abstain from
drinking for a purpose.
6.
Nobody was ever commended for drinking or not drinking.
7.
Moderation seems the Bibles position with regards to drink in
particular and food in general.
8.
Abuse or over indulgent in strong drink was frowned upon and
condemned.
9.
Abuse or over indulgent led to unwholesome conduct, unnecessary
pain and sorrow and misery to users and those close to them.
10.
Those who abused strong drinks neither pleased God, did his
will nor showed any genuine interest and respect for the things of
God.
11.
More of the negative effects of drinking are highlighted than
the positive ones.
12.
Certain people used the intoxicating ability to take undue
advantages over others.
13.
Under its influenced people had inflicted bodily and emotional
injuries on themselves and those close to them.
14.
God was certainly not happy with those whose lifestyles were
characterized by drunkenness and wild and noisy parties.
15.
Misuse of strong drinks brought God’s curse and condemnations
on individuals and tribes.
16.
The Christian is warned against the excess use of alcohol.
17.
Drunkenness is prohibited
18.
In context the Bible has many warnings prohibitions and
denigrate the use of alcohol.
19.
For the sake of their commission and their missions God’s
servants were prohibited from taking it for a time for its influence
and implication on true worship and service offered to God in the
spirit.
20.
The Christian is to be filled with the Holy Spirit instead of
being controlled by alcoholic drink.
21.
Considerate and mature Christians are admonished to abstain
from drinking for the sake of the weak in the faith.
As far as food or
drink is concerned the Bible as a rule does not lay emphasis on the
food as it does on the person eating. It is concerned with the heart
and the attitude. It certainly abhors and condemns both the abuse and
making laws about food. It appeals however to the conscience of the
individual in the light of his calling to faith, holy living and to
God’s glory.
WHAT DO WE SAY NOW?
Here my dear reader, I
am sure is expecting a definite ‘Policy’ statement. Two questions must
be uppermost in your mind at this point. Should I as a Christian drink
or not drink? Is it sinful or not?
In appealing to the
Bible we had agreed (I think) that it should speak to settle and
answer both questions of drink and its sinfulness. And together we
agree with its verdicts.
But are we really
concerned with the verdict? I think we should. Because it will affects
two vital areas of our Christian life.
One, the verdict will
affect our approach to Evangelism in places where alcoholic drink is
‘food’. And the way we view those who drink or don’t drink. And two,
it will affect our consecration to holy Christian living.
Whether a Christian
should drink or not, may I with due respect throw this question back
to the reader.
We were also asking
the Bible if drinking is a sin or not when we agreed to let it speak
in our brief survey and the observations we made I believe the
question was adequately answered. I can understand if some think I am
being evasive. If there is an uneasiness tilting towards a feeling of
disappointment.
There are those who
would wish I summarized in few words what the Bible has said.
Something like, “It is a sin for a Christian to drink or “It is not a
sin for a Christian to drink”. While I understand with their
expectation I equally suspect a wrong motivation for wanting a summery
statement from this author. I suspect a desire to stay away from
objectivity in order to avoid responsibility.
It is easy for people
to shift blames to others. They want to quote others in this case, a
Christian author who has written to encourage drinking alcohol or
condemned drinking it. I see this tendency coming mare from fellow
Christians who have made laws concerning food. Well, in playing into
the hands of such believers let me also quote another author.
“I wish the Bible did
teach that drinking is a sin, but it doesn’t. It contains numerous
warnings against the abuse of alcohol, but nowhere does it say it is a
sin. And we are not free to make the Bible say what it doesn’t say
just to make our decision easier”
He gives a profound
principle of Bible application. “Don’t bend and twist the meaning of
the Biblical text to avoid an unpleasant conclusion” then he went on
to say:
“If we convolute the
meaning of a text to avoid a conclusion that we find unpleasant, we
might as well give up the doctrine of inerrancy if we reject the clear
meaning for an interpretation that is more palatable”.
We render such a
doctrine irrelevant. Indeed Christians in my position have a very
strong reason to want to make drinking a sin. What after seeing the
ruins it has brought to individuals close to me. After seeing the
backwardness it has brought to a whole tribe? After seeing how a whole
region is colonized economically and politically by its neighbors.
While the sons and daughters who provide the bulk of manpower in the
civil service were busy drinking those of lesser intelligent and
academic attainments took over the political power and wielded it to
their own economic and structural developmental advantages. As a
missionary I should be happy if drinking was definitely a sin. The
challenge posed by the issue of drinking in my work is enormous and
often to the point of despair and discouragement.
In spite of all my
wishes, the Bible does not say drinking is a sin. “Don’ts for the
sake of food destroy what God has done. All foods may be eaten, but it
is wrong to eat anything that will cause someone else to fall into
sin” (Romans 14: 19, 20)
“But food does not
bring us near to God. We are no worse if we do not eat and no better
if we do. Be careful however that the exercise of your freedom does
not become a stumbling block to the weak”.
“When you sin against
your brother in this way and wound their weak conscience you sin
against Christ. Therefore if what I eat causes my brothers to fall
into sin I will never eat meat so that I will not cause him to fall 1
Corinthians 8:8-9, 12-3.
“Jesus called the
crowd to him and said, ‘Listen and understand’. What goes into a man’s
mouth does not make him unclean. But what comes out of his mouth. That
is what makes him unclean… Don’t you see that whatever enters the
mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things
that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man
unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery
sexual immorality, theft, false testimony slander. These are what make
a man unclean; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him
unclean” Mathew 15: 10-11, 17 –20.
These are what make a
man unclean. As if that is not enough, the Bible is not only silent
about drinking being a sin or not, it records of great Bible figures
who drank. Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11) and that he
actually drank (Mathew 11:19) I sometimes wish that such places are
edited out of the Bible. But, “It does scripture no honor to invent
ways to make offensive events palatable to us when scripture itself
records them and makes no effort to scrutinize them”
We must however
examine the argument for or against drinking in the light of the
Bible’s call to freedom in Christ, to holiness, to righteous living,
to building up one another in faith, to a befitting witness to the
expansion of his kingdom in the hearts of men and to living for the
glory and honor of God in whatever we eat, drink or do. And when we
stand on an issue with a clear conscience before God and man who is
there to condemn if we drink or not?
“Let us therefore make
every effort to what leads to peace and to mutual edification” Romans
14:19.
“So then
we must always aim at those things that brings peace and
CHAPTER SIX
WHAT IS IT?
Drunkenness is a state
of being intoxicated after consuming (in this context) an alcoholic
beverage such as wine, beer or distilled liquor.
“When an alcoholic
beverage is ingested, the alcohol is rapidly absorbed in the stomach
and intestine because it does not undergo any digestive processes. It
is distributed to the rest of the body through the blood, and has a
pronounced depressant action on the brain. Under the influence of
alcohol, the drinker is less alert, less able to discern objects in
the environment, slower in reacting to stimuli and generally –prone to
sleep”
People get drunk when
they come under the influence of alcohol. It is brought about by
excessive habitual consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Whatever a man does
under this state is dictated and controlled by the effect of the
alcohol.
In drunkenness, the
drinker’s will power and intellect is over come by the alcohol
ingested. The sense is dulled to sound judgment. Drunkenness renders
one “Insensible and imperceptive, a social nuisance, an economic ruin
and a moral and spiritual reprobate. This is caused through its power
to deceive conveying a false sense of clear perception, intelligence
and power”2.
The power of alcohol
to deceive is so great that, “It has come to symbolize human folly and
the deceitfulness of false gods. Hence it characterizes also general,
moral and spiritual practices of habitual injustice and idolatry”
Drunkenness results into “False consciousness, false values and
practices sponsored by other gods”.
Drunken people are
often characterized by careless and senseless disposition, a state in
which they cannot use the senses unsteady movement on their feet,
vomiting, loss of mental control, addiction and often of necessity
poverty or wretchedness.
IN BIBLE TIMES
In the Bible times,
people drank and got intoxicated. Their drunkenness led to immorality
and other behaviours that displeased God.
Noah after the flood
got drunk and indecently exposed his body (Genesis 9: 20 –27) Lot got
into incestuous relationship with his daughters after he got drunk
Genesis 19:30 – 38.
The drunk rich people
perpetuated injustice (Amos 2:8); they took undue advantage to see the
exposed body of the drunken (Habakkuk 2:8). Drunkenness marked the
hopeless and rebellious children (Deuteronomy 21:20-21), It dulled
their minds (Hosea 4:11) and made them irresponsible (Proverb 31:4).
The Bible condemns
drunkenness. It has no commendation for drunkards. Instead it portrays
them as being foolish or mad (Jeremiah 51:7)
Drunkenness is
portrayed as a companion to sorrow (Ezekiel 23:33); a threat to
missing out on being occupied for God (Luke 21:34). It is one of the
sinful behaviours, the Christian is commanded not to live in Romans
13:13. It is one of the fruit of the flesh or acts of the sinful
nature which except if repented from, those who live in it will not
inherit the kingdom of God Galatians 5:21. God’s servants are
commanded not to get drunk I Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7. Living in
drunkenness is a pagan and ungodly lifestyle.
The Bible does not
encourage drunkenness. It calls it sin. It describes those who live in
drunkenness as being wicked, shameless, immoral, irresponsible and
dirty people; greedy poor and wretched; meddlers in others affair; and
irresponsible truants (Deuteronomy 21:20-21; Isaiah 19:14; Luke 7:34;
Proverbs 23:21; Psalms 69:12; Mathew 24:49)
The sin of drunkenness
is so grave that God calls for repentance from it (Joel 1:5) a very
stiff punishment is recommended in the fellowship of believers against
the Christian living in drunkenness. The Bible calls for a
disassociation from such a fellow (1 Corinthians 5:11) It went on to
say that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians
6:10).
SO WHERE ARE WE?
It is
clearly seen that drunkenness from the excessive use of alcohol is a
sin. “ Sin is a transgression of God’s law (John 3:4) by thought,
word, deed or omission. It is wickedness, evil, iniquity. Every
departure from God’s small, known or unknown, intended or accidental.
On the others hand only what is at variance with God’s law is sin”3
Here the Law is about
drunkenness. Besides condemning it as habit, the Bible expressly says,
“Do not get drunk on
wine which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the spirit
Ephesians 5:18. (New International Version)
“Do not get drunk with
wine which will only ruin you, instead, be filled with the spirit”
(Good News Bible).
“Do not,”
makes, the statement in this an absolute command. It is
non-conditional, non negotiable and non optional. It is a command that
demands only obedience.
How is drunkenness a
sin? It is a sin because it is defiance of God’s command “Do not be
drunk”. It leads to other sinful or evil acts that ruins ones life and
makes God unhappy. The Bible does not mince word in condemning
drunkenness and drunkards. Drunkenness does not in anyway encourage,
promote, enhance or lead to a life that glorifies God.
Some have asked what
if I drink and do not get drunk? Or even get drunk but do nothing
sinful?
In answering the first
question we need again to ask what should guide us in choosing to
drink or not to drink in the first place. We have seen that, motive,
the consciousness of the Christian’s mission and purpose on earth and
his sensitivity to the feeling of others are among the factors that
need to be considered.
People say, “I just
drink a little”. But how much little is little? Just one calabash? And
another? And another? Then a little pot? And a bigger pot? As it stand
its been observed practically that people rarely stop at the little
they started with. They soon get hooked and addicted. The little,
often leads to a lot and ultimately to drunkenness.
Now is it possible to be drunk without
sinning? Drunkenness is not used in the scripture in the sense of
qualifying other sins; though it may lead to them.
It is a sin in itself.
There shouldn’t be any debate about this.
However if we grant
that the word drunkenness qualifies or rather is the root of other
sins we wouldn’t be saying anything different. The issue is that of
control, who or what is in control of the mind, the will, the
intellect and the emotion in the drunken state. One is a slave to who
or whatever controls him.
The Bible compares wine and the Holy Spirit in
their controlling ability (Ephesians 5:18). Both take control or
charge of whoever they possess. The man filled with wine acts under
the directives of the alcohol that has taken control of his senses or
the mind. He does exactly what he is prompted to do. So is the
Christian filled with the Holy Spirit. He walks and works under the
prompting of the Holy Spirit. He does not choose to do as he pleases.
He is a slave and does as directed by the Holy Spirit.
God is also jealous
for the mind of the believer .He does not want the mind that should be
controlled by his Spirit being controlled and ruled by alcohol or any
food for that matter
Those who are
controlled by the spirit will please God. It is doubtful if the same
persons can please God under the control of alcohol.
The one that controls
the Christian is actually his owner and master. Drunkenness is listed
in the acts of the sinful nature that controls a man. Those who are
controlled by such cannot please God (Romans 8:8). The Christian
however is not controlled by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit of
God. “And if any one does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not
belong to Christ”. But “The spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God’s Children” (Romans 8:16).
Now many people have
problem in defining what is sinful. They see only the outward and
physical manifestations of sin. But we defined sin above as “Any
thought, words, deeds motive etc that is at variance with the word of
God. James 4:17 says, any one who knows the good he ought to do and
doesn’t do it, sins.
I suppose there are
many goods – towards family members, wives, neighbours, selves, and
God that drunken Christians know and ought to do; but are not able
because they are always drunk. They are enslaved to something they
were so sure they could control. By now they know that they are wrong.
The way out is to do something before they go wrong.
EFFECT OF
DRUNKENNESS.
If we see drunkenness
as the root of other sins, it should be a matter of great concern to
the serious Christian. The experiences of drunken Characters in the
Bible and our contemporaries tells us that drunkenness always leads to
acts or behaviours that are scripturaly and morally unsound. Even
non-Christians testify this is so. Here we can list some of these
unsound behaviours and acts produced by the drunken state. They are
the same today as they were in the Bible times.
Generally these effect
results from the lost of sound judgment and discernment. The alcohol
controlling the mind gives a false sense of reality about the world
around the drunkard. He sees himself on top of the word with his false
perception to both the material and the spiritual world and with his
dead conscience he does everything contrary to the rule. He cannot
therefore meet the Christian moral and spiritual responsibilities and
expectations. The drunkard:
1.
Displays indecent behaviour Genesis 9:20-23
2.
He into sexual perversions such as incest (Genesis 19:30-38)
rape, beastialism, homosexuality, lesbianism.
3.
Uses Physical and or verbal violence against family members,
neighbours and other innocent people.
4.
Wanton oppression and injustice (Amos 2:8) People see
themselves as creators of others with the right to do with them as
they please.
5.
Wanton destruction of life and property
6.
Disgraceful and shameful bodily exposure (Habakkuk 2:8)
7.
Insubordination and rebellion (Deuteronomy 21:20-21)
8.
Irresponsible behaviours (Proverbs 31:4)
9.
Cause sorrow and misery to others
10.
They end up poor and wretched. These in turn give birth to more
sins.
These effects are
serious on the drunkard, his human and physical environment. But more
serious is the effect on his relationship and communion with God.
The writer of
Ecclesiastes after examining and explaining what life is all about, he
summed up the purpose of man on earth: “… fear God and Keep his
commandments. For this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
“He has showed you O!
Man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly
and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)
“To fear the Lord is
to hate evil. (Proverb 8: 13). This includes all the sins that are
caused by drunkenness. To relate well with God and do what he expect
of us we must face him in viewing sin the way he sees it and have an
awful reverence for his person or name. We must exhibit reverence and
wonder and to see that fulfilling our whole duty an earth involves the
lifestyle we live.
“So for us, the fear
of the Lord should do two thing. First, produce in us the same
attitude towards sin that God has, which is to hate it. Second, to
give us a deep respect for and understand of the power of God and the
total sufficiency of God to meet man’s need’’4
Which way?
The way out of
drunkenness as in any other sin is repentance. It takes a close and
objective look at one’s way of life. Realizing it as the wrong way;
one stops and says to himself I am on the wrong way to where I am
supposed to go. Repentance tells God I am sorry that I have left your
way and chose to follow mine. Now that I see that I made the wrong
choice, I want to came back to your own way on your own terms.” With a
genuine remorse and determination on the one repenting changes his
mind against his former way and turn to the way of God. Here, “The
concept is that of a complete alteration of the basic motivation and
direction of one’s life, and is often equivalent to conversion”.
5
Repentance is also
defined as a “Genuine sorrow towards God on account of sin and an
extreme dislike of sin, followed by the actual forsaking of it and
humble surrender to the will and service of God” 6.
In repenting we will
do well to name our sin by name. “You wont learn to reverse
self-destructive patterns if you can’t identify them by name”. 7
The joy of repenting
is in the fact that it is the Lord Himself calling us to it
He is the one
promising to forgive. He will forgive and restore the good
relationship that the life of drunkenness has destroyed.
The pleasure that alcohol offers is but for a
moment. At the end it leads to self-destructive habit that ultimately
destroy our happiness, our relationship and even our very lives. The
ruin it brings is devastating, to soul and body. But the forgiveness,
the healing and the restoration the Lord offers is graciously
complete.
Though the scars of
the wounds the alcohol inflicted may remain there is however a divine
assurance that the pains will not remain.
The Lord Jesus Christ
died for drunkards. He loves them. He wants them to enjoy life
abundantly. Let not the evil one cheat you from receiving this free
and eternal gift of life. Let not what God himself has created for
your pleasure be the hindrance to attaining to a blessed relationship
with him.
To the believer who is caught in this deadly
sin, he needs to in addition to repentance remember.
1. Not
to allow any part of his body to be used for sin to be master over him
Romans 6:12 – 14
2. To
offer his body as a living sacrifice and not to conform to the
standards of this world Romans 12:1,2
3.
That his body is a holy dwelling place of the Holy Spirit I
Corinthians 6: 19 – 20
4.
There is an absolute command to the believer not to get drunk
Ephesians 5:18
5. We
ought to hate sin the way God hates it.
We do recognize that
drunkards are in strong chains. But the grace of God through Jesus
Christ is much stronger. It can set the captive free.
“Jesus died to pay
Sin’s debt, Forgiveness to bestow; but all who try to make excuse His
grace will never know”. 8
CHAPTER SEVEN
So far this book has
been concerned with the strong drink and how its affects Evangelism
and Christian living.
Christianity is a way
of life in its own class. It lays and makes absolute claims and
demands on the life of anyone, who hear and answers its call.
Christianity points
to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the ‘author’ and the
‘finisher’ of faith of those who accept to follow him on his own
terms, Christianity is therefore following and practicing the
teachings and living the life of Christ after a conscious surrender of
ones life and all to Him.
This total surrender
is the beginning of the Christian life. It starts with realizing the
need for the forgiveness of ones evil against God. This evil – sin is
the only obstacle standing in the way of relating well with him.
Christianity makes a
bold claim that true forgiveness can be obtained only in Jesus Christ.
The one who offered his own life to please God so that he will forgive
men?
How sad, that many
people including some preachers are ignorant of how the Christian life
begins. J.C Ryle writes on this:
“So too, how little
most people know of the main design of Christianity, though they live
in a Christian land. They fancy they are to go to church to learn
their duty and hear morality enforced, and for no other purpose. They
forget that the heathen philosophers could have told them as much as
this.
They forget that such
men as Plato and Seneca gave instructions, which ought to put to shame
the Christian liar, the Christian drunkard and the Christian thief.
They have yet to learn that the leading mark of Christianity is the
remedy it provides for sin. This is the glory and excellence of the
gospel”1
On how to obtain this
forgiveness Ryle writes further:
“That way is simply to
trust in the Lord – Jesus Christ as your Saviour. It is to cast your
soul, with all its sins unreservedly on Christ – to cease completely
from any dependence on your own works or doings either in whole or in
parts, - and to rest on no other work but Christ’s work, no other
righteousness but Christ righteousness, not other merit but Christ
merit as your ground of hope” 2.
This ‘ground of hope’ is the death and the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He died and arose from the
grave that we may live and enjoy life fully.
This is what Christianity offers. For it is
all about, “A relationship which people enjoy with Jesus Christ who
was once crucified but subsequently rose to a new life” 3
“For this Jesus who died on the cross and rose again three days after
holds the key to what life was meant to be what it could be” 4
However, we must agree with M B Green when he
observes in His book, Man Alive that:
“Anybody in thoughtful mood will admit that
there are various things which spoil this life, things which stop us
living life to the full and limit our satisfaction. Christianity
claims that the resurrection of Jesus makes a real difference to these
frustrations.” 5 So Christianity anchored on faith in the
resurrection of Christ, provides the way out. For without the living
Christ there is no hope for humanity.
And Who Is A Christian?
A Christian is the one who has found hope in
Christ. He is, “A person who believes in Jesus Christ as his personal
savior from sin, eternal death and the devil; one who knows that he
has eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour
from Sin, eternal death and the devil; one who knows that he has
eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ who died for him and rose
again” 6.
The Christian is therefore the one who has
come to his senses to see the ugliness of sins, the havoc it wrecks
and the shame it brings. He becomes desperate only to another
realization that he cannot help himself out of the mess he has found
himself. He bemoans and groans the pain and the weight of sin. But
there comes a time he admits a raging conflict within himself and
sincerely agree that he cannot handle it himself .In the words or
Paul, such a man cries,
‘What an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me
from this body that is taking me to death”. Romans 7:24. Happy is the
man who discovers what the great apostle discovered, that is, Freedom
from sin and eternal death. Sensible and wise people in the ages past
to date have found that salvation is in Christ alone. They accepted
this fact appropriated it in their lives and they lived happily. For
the secret to the power of living the real life that is enjoyable is
to be properly related to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
People get properly related to God only when
they have a change of mind and will to live the why God designs it to
be. And this begins after the person has gone through the “born again
experience.”
Becoming a Christian is only the beginning of
a wonderful new life. God rarely takes people the moment they become
Christians to heaven. He has a purpose for each and every one who come
to relate with him through the Lord Jesus Christ.
But we can never find or fulfill that
wonderful and God glorifying purpose unless, one is growing as a
Christian after conversion.
Conversion is the experience of moving from
darkness to light, from death to life. Salvation brings
transformation, which is a process. It begins at conversion and
continues daily until you are fully transformed into the image of
Jesus Christ
In nature growth takes place under
favorable factors. So the Christian must go for all that makes, for a
healthy Christian growth to maturity. He must maintain the discipline
required to grow.
The Christian Message
The Christian message is that God came down to
man, full of love, truth, grace and glory. That he came to reconcile
man with himself and to demonstrate how to live life the way he
designed and purposed it to be. It is a message of hope and freedom to
life in Christ Jesus. When one becomes a Christian he sees Christ more
than being a historical or religious figure. To such a person, Christ
becomes an ever-present reality. He becomes to the Christian what
Michael Green says,
“But to us the greatest thing is that he is
still with us though we can not see him he shares our very lives. He
talks with us and we with him everyday. He came by his Holy Spirit to
take up residence in our own personalities. He is no past hero to us.
He is our living God. Our aim becomes to allow him to take control and
transform our characters and to help us in introducing others to God”
9
Christianity brings a message of change. It
brings a fresh and new perspective to life and all that it entails.
Above all the message is about a change of ownership.
The one who surrenders his life to Christ has
by that act or declaration signed off from being owned by Satan to
being the sole property of Jesus Christ. His allegiance changes to
Christ too. Then under the control of Christ you will begin to acquire
new ideals, many of your taste will alter completely not from
conscious effort of your will, but because of the change within you.
Some of the things you once did you will stop doing. Some of the
things you once shunned you will do. For many this change will come
suddenly, for others it will be a slow transformation of outlook, and
way of life as you gradually assume the likeness of Christ” 10.
The Christian message therefore brings a
change in Character, a new vitality in life, a new attitude to things,
a new sense of forgiveness and its accompanying joy. It gives us a new
habit in place of those self ruining ones, it given us Joy, a new
focus a fulfilled and a happy relationship with God and man. Above all
the Christian message shifts our attention from self-centeredness to
Christ centered life.
With a complete change of priorities in life,
the new Christian begins to live a new life. “The ordinary things in
life takes a new look when undertaken with Christ as companion” Christ
becomes the domineering power and the driving motivation in all that
the Christian is and does in life.
The evidence of this new life is seen in
having a new sense of forgiveness, a desire to please God, new
attitude to other people, new love for other Christians, new power
over evil, new Joy and confidence new experience of prayer. In short
the Christian enters a new dimension of life because:
“Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new
being; the old is gone, the new has come. All this is done by God, who
through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us
the task of making others his friends also. Our message is that God
was making the whole human race his friends, through Christ. God did
not keep on account of their sins, and he has given us the message
which tells how he makes us his friends” 2 Corinthians 5: 17 –19. In
other words the quality of our worship and service to God done in
Obedience and faith to his word is the true test of our commitment to
Christ. For those willing to live this life, there is a divine backing
and resources to depend on. The Father designed it, the Son came to
demonstrate it practically and the Holy Spirit gives the enabling
power to live the God life, here and now.
Expectations from the Christian.
If Christianity is a commitment to relate with
Christ, then whether the Christian knows it or not he has taken the
strongest oath on earth at his initiation into the Christian family.
He makes a pledge to be faithful, loyal and devoted to God and the
body of Christ.
He promised to abide by the code of conduct
and ethics of the new kingdom he is joining. He also binds himself
with the most solemn obligation to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with
his body, soul and spirit. He says, “I shall no longer live for
myself, but for the one who gave his life in death that I may live”
And like Paul he says, “I am dead… in order that I might live for God,
I have been put to death with Christ on his cross, so that it is no
longer I who live, but it is Christ who live by faith in the son of
God who loved me and gave his life for me” (Galatians 2: 10,20 GNB).
The one who makes such a declaration goes with
courage and against the tide to honor Christ in his feeding habit and
other actions.
Living like Jesus did. The one desire of the
Christian becomes to live as Christ lived. He begins to see that God
wants him to manifest His (God’s) character and nature. Knowing that
Jesus has done it before, the Christian desires to copy him. For
“Jesus has not only redeemed us through his death but also shown us
through his life on earth, how God intend man to live. He is not only
our Saviour, but also our forerunner (Hebrews 6:20) He has given us an
example to live at all times and in all situations in perfect
obedience to God” The Obedient Christian will do all that is expected
to recognize and fulfill God’s purpose in this life. He will seek to
serve and worship God in true holiness and humility. He will love God
and his people instead of living to satisfy his carnal desires, he
will lead him to do the will of God moment by moment. He will hardly
want to go his way to do his own thing. Thus will he live a successful
Christian life as he learns to be like Christ.
A wise Christian will also desire to grow in
prayer, in knowing God’s mind through His word, in his Obedience to
the will of God and in his willingness to introduce others to Christ.
It is expected that the Christian will aim at
going deeper in his relationship with God. “That life in the spirit
that is denoted by the term deeper life is far wider and richer than
mere victory over sin, however vital that victory maybe. It also
includes the thought of the indwelling of Christ, acute God
consciousness, rapturous worship, separation from the world, the
Joyous surrender of everything to God, internal union with the
Trinity, the Practice of the presence of God, the communion of saints
and prayer without ceasing”. These expectations from the Christian are
not mere wishes or optional. They are the very essence of Christian
living and the evidence of vital and vibrant Christianity.
Strong drink and the kingdom lifestyle
Christianity demands a very unique lifestyle
from that offered by other religions and philosophies. This lifestyle
differentiates the Christians from those who are not.
A lifestyle is supposed to be a discipline one
practices in order to achieve a certain goal in life. Institutions and
organizations have their lifestyles expected of the individuals in
them. An individual coming into such an institution or group must have
prepared to adapt to it if he does not, he will find it difficult to
fit into the group.
The goal of the Christian is to be come like
Christ. He wants to reach a point where the glory of God becomes his
preoccupation. Now how we feed, how we dress, our sleeping and
resting habits among others greatly influences our lifestyles. People
in varying occupations and callings respond differently to these
factors that affect one’s lifestyle. For example the athletic
‘watches’ his weight as regards to dieting, the farmer watches his
sleeping time, a soldiers goes only for those things that keeps him
physically fit and at an alert. He is conscious of how he dresses or
not?
Now as Christians, no one should deprive us of
our personal freedom to decide on disputable matters. When we make up
our mind no one should make us feel guilty about whatever decision we
made.
Nevertheless, the Christian freedom has it
limits. He is limited by the demands and the disciplines of the
kingdom lifestyle. He is bound to consider exercising his freedom to
enhance his spiritual growth, to build up fellow believers, to be a
faithful representative of Christ on earth and to glorify God. Regards
to eating food offered to idols, the Corinthian Christians had a
consoling statement. “Everything is permissible for me”
“Yes” Paul agreed, and went further to balance
their statement, “Not everything is beneficial. Everything is
permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything” 1
Corinthians 8:
The Christian who is faced with choice to
drink or not to drink should ask himself, “Are these perfectly
legitimate things going to rob me of my freedom by bringing me into
new bondage by gripping me in a habit I cant break it? “ 13
what will the exercise of my freedom have on people who are looking to
me for moral, spiritual and ethical examples? Would my drinking or not
drinking make unbelievers see Christ through me and be drawn to him?
On if my drinking will commend Christ to
unbelievers, there is a general feeling among non-Christians that true
Christians are not supposed. I think it is easier to abstain than to
explain that Christianity is not against alcohol. I would rather take
the time and energy to be used in this explanation to preach the
gospel of salvation to such an inquirer.
People often ask, “Would I be allowed to
continue my drinking after I accept Christ? My response to such people
has been: in accepting Christ you are agreeing to enter into a living
relationship with the person of Christ. By accepting him you yield the
total control of your life to him. If after you enter into that
relationship, he directs you to continue drinking, who am I to say
otherwise? After this, I usually ask the inquirer my own question.
“Supposing you become a Christian and the Lord says stop drinking,
because of the harm he sees drinking will cause you; will you obey? I
guess the ‘harm’ that the Lord will want to protect such a one from
will include falling into the sin of drunkenness. This is because.
“Many people seem to have a built in
weakness towards alcohol abuse. The only way to avoid that abuse or
addiction is to completely stay away from any king of alcoholic drink
if a person does not drink alcohol at all; they are certainly not
going to be on alcohol abuser. The effect of alcohol abuse or
addiction in the world is unfathomable. There are countless broken
homes, broken health, poverty and other problems that are direct
result of alcohol abuse. The alcohol industry is making a huge profit
on the suffering of many innocent people. Therefore one should not
encourage the industry that is creating so much suffering by even
buying anything from them”.
“One of the strongest reasons against drinking
alcohol is the concern about offending a weaker brother (Romans 14).
Paul specifically state, it is better not to eat meat or dink wine or
to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall (Romans
14:21) To jeopardize one’s Christian testimony and ministry for the
small pleasure that comes from alcohol is too big a risk. Combining
all these arguments, many feel that the safest position for the
Christian is to abstain completely from alcoholic consumption” 14
Need To Get Charged?
I once visited my neighbor’s house in the
evening. I met the man cooking while the wife sat down watching. It
was a very unusual domestic scene in his culture, I was curious,
because the man hardly stays at home. Being younger than myself I
commended him and also commented in a light mood that, if he continues
to stay this long at home helping his wife; his would be a happy
home.
The wife who I later learnt was having a
painful boil in her armpit, raised her neck teased him with her tongue
outside. She then turned to me and said, “Will drinking allow him to
stay at home?” we all laughed.
Then the man as if agreeing that his wife was
making a point began to tell me of another woman who nearly broke her
eye. She was returning to her home late and drunk. She fell and hit
her face on a stone.
After he was finished with the story I said,
you can now see what drinking is doing to you people why don’t you
take ‘kunu’ if you are hungry? His face changed and began to stare at
me like a small boy who didn’t know what he was saying.
‘Kunu?’ he later re echoed and asked shaking
his head. But that will not ‘charge’ (to get intoxicated and have good
feeling of delight) me, he said and went back to his cooking.
The neighbour professes to be a Christian. He
summarized in a word why many Christians drink alcohol. They have a
need to be charged. That is to say they want to get intoxicated and
have a feeling of being on top of the world.
“It comes to this really” asked Michael Green,
“Where do you reckon to get your stimuli – Christ or drugs, alcohol
and cigarettes” 15
It seems many Christians are trying to find
escape routes from the realities of our time. There is so much tension
of modern living that people are trying to diffuse or run away from.
But the Christian are looking in the wrong place. Getting stimulated
in order to forget life’s problem over is a wrong solution.
The kingdom lifestyle demands a clear mind in
order to face he who is the true reality on a daily basis. Until
Christians learn to get ‘charged’ or ‘high’ on Jesus they will
continue to miss what life is all about. Only by sustaining the right
relationship with Christ, living by the power of God and experiencing
the fruit of the spirit can satisfy and keep one delighted in life.
Eating to live or living to eat
If the Christian drinks for the sake of the
stomach, then I think his attitude should be that of moderation. The
Bible calls it temperance. As in eating any other food, the Christian
should be able to control the eating.
Nobody has the night to dictate what food
another Christian should eat. Since “Food is the ultimate appetite,
since it is necessary for survival. So we eat to live, but when we
begin to live to eat, food no longer satisfies. Instead in consumes
us, and millions of people feel powerless to control their appetite
for food. When your body is deprived of necessary nutrient, you
naturally crave those foods, which will keep you healthy and your
immune system functioning. If you eat to satisfy those natural
cravings you will stay healthy and free. But when you turn to food to
relieve anxiety or satisfy a lust for sweets, salts etc you will lose
control and the result will negatively affect your health” 16
I have seen many Christians whose physical and
spiritual health has been destroyed by alcohol.
The Christian who sees strong drink as food
need to ask himself, “Who is in control, me or the food I take?”
There are many professing Christians who are
enslaved by alcohol. By so allowing drink to control their lives they
unwittingly switch from Jesus to alcohol as their master but the
kingdom’s lifestyle demands that absolute control of the citizen’s
life be control by Jesus Christ. He should be Lord at all times or not
at all.
Is it gluttony?
If alcohol is taken as food, then allowing it
to control the ‘eater’ has a name. It is gluttony – “ The habit or
practice of eating too much.”
Gluttony I believe is a lifestyle unbefitting
of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Even in daily life no one
seems to be comfortable having a glutton around. The “One given
habitually to greedy and veracious eating and drinking” is a social
misfit. I have asked several parents and adults how they will feel
seeing their children and wards going to eat from one house to the
other so frequently and regularly. None felt comfortable with the
question. None wants a gluttonous child, because it is disgraceful.
But the same adults don’t see themselves as gluttons and their
drinking from morning to might as gluttony. For them glutton seem to
be only in eating the regular heavy foods like rice, tuwo yams,
plantain served at official family meal times.
In the screw tape Letters’ C.S Lewis puts
words in the mouth of a senior devil, lecturing a junior devil about
gluttony. The senior devil said:
“The contemptuous way in which you spoke of
gluttony as a means of catching souls in your last letter, only shows
your ignorance. One of the great achievements of the last hundred
years has been to deaden the human conscience on that subject, so that
by now you will hardly find a sermon preached or a conscience troubled
about it… this has largely been affected by concentrating all our
effort on gluttony of delicacy, not gluttony of excess” 17.
On the category of the humans that fall easy
victims of the devils use of gluttony to catch souls, the senior devil
has this to say:
“Males are best turned into gluttons with the
help of their vanity… what begins as vanity can then be gradually
turned into a habit. But however you approach it, the great thing is
to bring him into the state in which the denial of any one indulgence
– it matters not which, Champaign or tea. Or cigarette put him out.
For then his charity, justice and obedience are all at your mercy…
keep him wondering what pride or lack of faith has delivered him into
your hand, when a simple inquiry into what he has been eating or
drinking in the last twenty four hours would show him whence your
ammunition comes and thus enable him by a very little abstinence to
imperil your lines of communication” 18.
There are Christians who are controlled by
their stomach. They hardly see glutton as greed and greed as sin. They
are so self centered that they will their appetites and desires before
the Lord’s will. Of such people the Apostle Paul lamented and shed
tears.
“I have told you this many times before and
now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives makes them
enemies of Christ death on the cross.
They are going to end up in hell because their
god is their bodily desires…” Philippians 3:18 – 19 GNB
The NIV translates bodily desires as? “Their
god is their stomach”
Eating food is necessary. But we are asked to
eat or drink in conformity to the disciplines of the kingdom
lifestyle. For we are citizens of heaven and we eagerly wait for our
savior, the Lord Jesus Christ to come from heaven. (Philippians 3:20)
What should please the Lord we are waiting for should be our main
preoccupation. “We should please Christ and act as his responsible
agents in society”.
To those already hooked
For the Christians who have, “Pushed beyond
the will of God’s boundary”, to abuse drinks, and find that they
didn’t like the result, there is hope of for them. They can be
restored. As a rule, the person abusing the alcohol must accept that
he is in a sin that heed to be repented of.
The devil must have suggested that depending
on alcohol for living is a means of finding self worth and esteem. It
is a full lie meant to fool you. Asking you to satisfy your appetite
through drink is a ploy to fuddle your mind so that you cannot
understand and do the will of God. But you are far more above living
only to eat. You have a better and nobler purpose in life than to
impulsively continue to chase after food that turns you into an
irresponsible person.
It is frightening to know that most of the
things that takes us outside God’s will have demonic connections.
Because it is their business to make us disobey God.
However, the liberator from demonic and
self-imposed bondages is around. He can set you free if you are
willing. Confess and repent of your sin of abusing what God has
created and meant it to be taken with thanks to Him.
If as a Christian you are hocked on alcohol
and you want to be set free, may I suggest the prayer Neil T Anderson
suggest to victims of substance abuse?
“ Lord I confess that I have misused
substances (alcohol, tobacco, food, prescription or street drugs) for
the purpose of pleasure, to escape from reality or to cope with
difficulty situations resulting in the abuse of my body, the harmful
programming of my mind and the quenching of the Holy Spirit. I ask
your forgiveness and renounce any satanic connection or influence in
my life through my misuse of chemicals or food. I cast my anxiety onto
Christ who loves me, and I commit myself to no longer yield to
substance abuse, but to the Holy Spirit. I ask you heavenly father to
fill me with your Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen.” 19
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free
indeed. John 6:36.
REFERENCES
Chapter one
1. The complete Christian dictionary
2. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship of the
U.SA. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospel copyright 1992
3. David O’Brien: Today’s Handbook for Solving
Bible Difficulties page 367
4. The complete Christian dictionary
5. David O’Brien Today’s Handbook for Solving
Bible Difficulties. Page 367.
6 David Werner et al: Where There Is No Doctor –A
village health care hand book for Africa
Chapter two
1.R.B Bunnet general geography in diagram
copyright 1973 Long Man Group London England page 232
Chapter three
1. C S Lewis Mere Christianity. Macmillan
publishing co Inc 1960 27th printing 1978
Chapter 4
1. The Complete Christian dictionary
2. Ibid
3. Ibid
4. Derek Prime: Bible guidelines- Finding out
God’s plan, spiritual direction and personal guidance from the bible.
Christian focus publication TI Tain Ross-shine reprinted 1997
5. John Allen: Rescue Shop Ten Workshop To Give
Christians The Skills They Need To Recover People For Jesus Exeter The
Paternoster Press
6. Ibid
7. David O’Brien :Today’s Handbook for Solving
Bible Difficulties
8. A.W. Tozer: This World: Play Ground Or Battle
Ground Published under permission by Evangel publication publishing
arm of evangel bookshop RR1-4 Nasarawa road Kaduna p .o box 3953
Kaduna
Chapter 5
1. Dictionary of Jesus.
2. N.I.V. exhaustive concordance –Hebrew to
English dictionary and index
3. The new concise bible dictionary intervarsity
press pg 581
4. David O’Brien
Chapter 6
1. Encyclopedias Britannica inc. copyright 2002
2. Harpers bible dictionary1985
3. The complete bible dictionary
4 Joy Dawson- intimate friendships with God.
Chosen book cc1986 Fleming h Revel Company. Old Tappan. New jersey
pg20
5. The new concise bible dictionary
6. The complete Christian dictionary
7. Reverting self-destructive patterns. A product
of the chapel of the air cc Multimoh press 10209 s e divisions
Portland oregon97266 box 30 Wheaton illionois60189-6030.
8. From our daily bread quoted by Joy Dawson
9. David O’Brien page369
10. A W. Tozer: this world playground or
battleground
Chapter 7
The cc dictionary
2. JC Ryle: Forgiveness and the cross of Christ.
Worldwide Ministries, 1998. Sound books publishing Cheshire England.
Page 11-12
3. Ibid page 16- 17
4. M B. Green: Man Alive pg14
5. ibid pg17
6. ibid
7. Jamie Buckingham: Power for living cc 1993
revised 1999. Arthur s demos foundation pg65
8ibid page 66.
9 M B. Green –Man Alive page 24
10. Billy Graham: the Jesus generation cc1971
page 152 –153
11. Zac Poonen –living as Jesus lived published
in Nigeria by focus Christian publishers FCS book center, 6 Noad
Avenue P O. Box 1413 Jos page 5
12. AW Tozer the world play ground or battle
ground page 42
13. M B Green: new life new lifestyle
14. Joseph A. Ilori (editor): Manual for teachers
of Christian Religious Knowledge in Junior Secondary schools. Cc 2002
International Institute for Christian studies Jos Nigeria. Page 150
15. M B Green: new life new lifestyle page 108
16. Neil t Anderson- the bondage breakerpg135
–136
17. C S Lewis: the Screwtape letters-letters from
a senior to a junior devil. Fontana books sixth impression 1959 page
86
18. ibid page 89
19. Neil T Anderson: The Bondage Breaker. Harvest
house publishers Eugene, Oregon, 97402, USA cc 1993 page 205
About the Author
Namani J. Nharrel (BSc. Agriculture) is a
missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) –an indigenous Cross
Cultural Nigerian Mission Agency.
Nharrel with Laku his wife works as pioneer
church planters. They have four children Yammune, Seramkong Kamduhl
and Yamkwada. They come from Lapan in Gombe State of Nigeria.
Nharrel has written and published four books:
Frankly Speaking Dear Lord,
Reasonable Madness,
This Over Familiar God and
An Eye for God
He has also written several other
books that are yet to be published.
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