09/10/2014 - THE ISSUE OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

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Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.  Proverbs 20.1

Before anything else, we must decide if we believe that the Word of God is proven. If we accept that it is the voice of the Lord, we will find in it the authority to accomplish the things that it says. If we despise anything in the Scriptures, it will be counted as a sin. Considering the verse that we are studying, we will not have courage to put any alcoholic drink in our mouths, because if we do so, we will be challenging the Most High’s exhortation.

Observe that the sinful things are more attractive than the natural things. Eve lived in a complete garden, with abundance of fruits and flowers, but she stopped to pay attention to a fruit from the only tree that the Lord ordered that she should not eat. Be smart, because the demon is always working to drive you away from the divine presence and make you fall into temptation. Jesus said that the secret is to watch and pray so that we may not fall into temptation (Mk 14.38).

Man has used cereals to make a large variety of products, including alcoholic drinks. Many of these products, once industrialized, make us much harm. With the introduction of industrialized food, there has been a widespread growth of people with diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. It is not a coincidence that the growth of such diseases happens with much more frequency in countries that consume industrialized products.

This verse declares that wine is a mocker. It is common knowledge that many religious people drink since they do not know what was the “wine of the best quality” produced by Jesus. Some people, since they are led by the scornful spirit that exists in fermented drinks, do not see any reason to stop drinking and even mock those who abstain from them.

Since it is a drink with high percentage of alcohol, wine is also a brawler, for it turns its drinker out of his senses, and into the world of sensuality. Then, a person starts approving the things that he used to consider as wrong and detestable in his days of holiness, and so is separated from the Lord’s holiness. Wine also takes away intelligence, bringing with it sensuality. Clearly, this drink causes much harm, and in some cases, itis only manifested in an old age.

There are many good people that have been defeated by this product. Some say that it does not cause harm, but that it has a good and healthy substance. Well, the grape is the benefic substance, except for those who are allergic or intolerant to it. Most drugs also come from natural products. In truth, the Lord has created nothing that was not good. However, it is sin to give a wrong destination to these things.

It is no use to fight to be wise, strive to learn what is taught in science, walk prudently in the good way, if one is led astray by alcohol or by any other product that numbs the mind. The Word declares that in order for us to be wise in the last days, we must listen to advice and accept discipline (Pv 19.20).

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares