Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Alcohol - Part 3

Daily Word

 

Prepared By:  Suzy Naber

3 /01/2007              
 
In my previous  parts on alcohol, I have quoted that drunkenness is a sin and the bible condemns it.  In this part 3, I would like to go into a deeper and spiritual understanding and explain my "so called" belief regarding this matter. I sincerely believe that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"(II Corinthians 5:17).  The old sinful nature has gone and we are now a new creation. This new creation, as explained in my previous "daily word" has been made available to us through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Christ death, Christ paid the price for the sin of mankind. His burial enabled us to bury our old carnal sinful nature that we inherited from Adam and through Christ's resurrection, men was able to adopt in faith a resurrection of a new spiritual, Christ-like nature, a nature enabling him to conquer the flesh and live in accordance with the spirit . Paul explains this in Romans 8:5"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires". 

Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:46"The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual". The spiritual nature was made available through Christ, as in I Corinthians 10:3-4 "They all ate….. And drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."

The point I'm making is when we accept Jesus' redemptive work on the cross, the Spirit of God lives in us.  I Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" Ephesians 2:22"And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

When we live in accordance with the Spirit, we will no longer be controlled by our sinful nature, but we will be directed by the spirit of God who lives in us. In the Old Testament man was still controlled by his sinful nature. Therefore, God's Holy Spirit could not dwell in sinful man and God had to anoint a prophet to direct his people to walk in his path. God told Moses in Exodus 24:12 "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." Sinful man needed to have a written law to be instructed how to walk in the path of God. The Law of God was written on tablets of stone to edify men. However, in the New Testament being justified by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross, we became righteous and the Spirit of God dwells in us. Paul explains this in Romans 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ". We don't need tablets of stone to instruct us how to walk, but having obtained the new spiritual nature of Christ, God has written his laws on our hearts.  Romans 2:15 "…"the requirements of the law are written on their hearts" and "their consciences also bearing witness." Therefore, if you walk by the spirit you die to the law, as Paul explains in (Romans 7:6) "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code".

Why am I writing all this and what has this to do with "alcohol"? Well, I am trying to make a point here. If we are walking by the Spirit, then our conscience will direct us what is right and what is wrong. It is written in 1 Corinthians 2:15 "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment." Paul writes a very strong statement in Romans 14: 22, "so whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves."

However, if you condemn alcohol (I am not speaking about drunkenness – that is a sin) then it is better to abstain totally from it. In other words, if you stick to the written Law then 'don't break it'. Because "those who observe the law are under a curse if they don't follow the law, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." (Galatians 3:10)  But if you are spiritually strong to suppress all fleshly desires by faith, then you are justified by faith by relying on the written laws of your heart. "The righteous will live by faith." (Galatians 3:11) The written law of your heart will certainly not contradict the Law written on tablets. The only difference is if you condemn alcohol as a whole, then you have to completely abstain from it.

In Matthew 9:11, Jesus makes a very profound statement when they accused him of drinking,"But wisdom is proved right by her actions".  Amen.

Scripture to read: I Corinthians 15

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege of dwelling in us. Thank you Lord for this wonderful grace, this free gift. It has nothing to do with our righteousness and has all to do with the saving grace of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Lord, teach us to walk in the spirit and help us live for you always. Amen.

 

posted by Suzy Naber , @ 1:35 AM, , (2) comments


Add a Comment

dailyword from Jordan
March, 07, 2007 6:56 PM
Are the commands written on the stones the same as the ones written on our hearts? Whats the difference?
Reem Naber
dailyword from Jordan
March, 07, 2007 7:05 PM
God's commandments are the same, they do not change. The only difference is when you get more spiritual you don't need God's commandments on stones to tell you what is right and what is wrong. The Holy Spirit who lives in you will direct your spirit. The fact is what kind of person are you? Are you depending on the spiritual guidance of the Spirit of God within you or are you more concentrated on the guidance of the written Law. The more spiritual you get the more sensitive you become to the direction and Laws of the Holy Spirit within you.