Do Not Get Drunk

Now, I want you to take your Bibles and turn in them to Ephesians 5, verse 18.

Ephesians 5:18

One of the clear advantages of expositional preaching, and how many of you know what I mean by expositional preaching?

Wave at me or smile so I can see front and lower teeth.

Okay.

Okay, there are enough of you that, yeah.

Now, probably I'll explain just for a moment.

One of the clear advantages of expositional preaching is that the preacher is committed by the work of exposition,

or explaining the Word of God, and in doing so in the order in which God has given us His Word,

that the preacher is limited from avoiding hard things or from choosing those things that would be His preference.

What it means is that God, who has revealed His Word, expects that it be explained to His people for their blessing,

for their good.

And expositional preaching means that the preacher is responsible to begin where God begins and to work through the text in such a fashion that people at the end of a sermon,

or at the end of a series, or at the end of a man's ministry can say,

He explained the Word of God.

One of the things that I have been a little struck by lately is the number of times I've had people who have visited our fellowship and have made comment to me,

your preaching is different.

And I would expect that because God uses all kinds of people in the pulpit,

that there are certain aspects to which there's a lot of different preaching out there.

In that preaching involves the person and the text.

But the thing that I found most striking, as I've heard people comment on the difference of preaching here,

whether it's Pastor Saul or me or whoever stands in the pulpit,

is that the central theme or the activity in which preaching really is engaged in is dealing with the text.

And it's the thing.

I mean, the Bible is not the launching point for me to kind of go off on some kind of little storyline,

but at the end of the day, you should walk away saying,

Yeah, we covered these verses, and here's what that means.

Now, listen to me.

Preaching really is a Spirit-enabled

heralding of what God thinks.

You got that?

It's what God has to say.

And one of the difficulties, honestly, of preaching

is that it comes wrapped in skin.

And there are many days when I go home

and I wish that there'd been less skin and more text.

I work at that.

And I'm very thankful for your prayers regarding that.

Because when it's all said and done,

the one thing that I want you to remember is,

this is what God says.

Now,

I bring that up because

if I were not committed to exposition of the Scriptures,

the first half of this

verse,

where I'd skip,

I'd just gloss over it.

But I am committed to being faithful to the text.

And I'll say that again.

I am committed to be faithful to the text.

And I've got to tell you,

honestly, as I was praying,

and I've been praying about this passage

for weeks.

I study in advance,

and I knew we were coming to this,

and I remember thinking to myself,

there's a high probability

that I'm going to make most of you in here irritated.

I mean,

there are some days that I know I managed to irritate some of you,

but I don't often think

that I'm going to irritate most of you.

And this is probably one of those days

where when it's all said and done,

there are going to be some of you

who wish I'd said something else,

and others of you wish that I hadn't said what I did.

And so it's like,

it's all right.

I mean that.

I am, who knows,

20 years from checkout,

and when that happens,

I want to hear Jesus say,

good job.

So let's look at the passage.

Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18,

Ephesians 5:18

it says,

and do not get drunk with wine.

I am going to preach this morning on drinking.

So the first point is this,

the Bible on drunkenness,

because that's what the text says.

Do you see it?

Right there it is.

Ephesians 5, 18a,

that's the way it's actually in my computer

so I can find it again.

Ephesians 5, 18a,

that means the first half of the verse,

do not get drunk with wine.

I do think it's appropriate for us to remember

that when we deal with the Scriptures,

we always are instructed to handle the context.

And so I want to say up front

that this passage is not primarily a proof text

for the abstinence of alcoholic consumption.

It is actually in the larger frame of things

a command to live a Spirit-filled Christian life.

And I got to tell you,

living a Spirit-filled Christian life

is supremely important.

It is far more important

than I think many people

who profess to know Christ today

really understand.

And so after having called believers

to live their lives for the glory of Christ

and for the sake of others,

Paul now comes to a fundamental

and blessed truth of Christian living.

We are to live out our faith

through the power of the Spirit of God

who indwells us.

In fact, a central tenet or principle

of our salvation

is that we're not in our salvation

just given another set of rules

to work off of.

We are brought into personal relationship

with the Lord of glory

and with the Lord Jesus Christ in particular.

And we who have salvation

have the indwelling Spirit.

I got to tell you,

that is a whole lot better

than you may think.

It's fantastic.

Salvation makes us new.

And it places us in a divine relationship

with the triune God.

And Christian living,

and I want you to think about this with me,

Christian living,

is for the glory of God

in union with Christ

through the enabling of the Spirit.

For the glory of God

in union with Christ

through the enabling of the Spirit.

I want you to stop just for a moment

and recognize that,

listen, the Bible is very, very clear on this,

that salvation is something

that doesn't happen

in the power of the flesh.

What I mean by that

is that if you are sitting here this morning

and you know the Lord Jesus Christ

is your personal Savior,

it's not like it all happened

just because you figured it out.

Now, it is true that your mind

and your heart were engaged in that,

but the Scriptures tell us

that prior to our conversion,

we were dead in trespasses and sin.

And how do the dead come to life?

Does anybody know?

Dead people come to life

only by the power of the Spirit of God.

I love,

I love Ezekiel

and the vision in the valley of dry bones.

There's a song that goes with that,

you know,

and I'm not going to sing it this morning,

but, you know,

dim bones, dim bones,

gonna,

it's got a rock to it,

so I like that.

You know,

and here,

anyway,

let's get back to the text,

you know,

stay with the Bible,

not the other,

here,

God asked the prophet a question,

he says,

can these bones live again?

What was Ezekiel's answer?

If you do the King James,

it's thou knowest,

O Lord.

He's saying,

here's what he's saying,

it's up to you,

right?

Salvation is of the Lord.

One of the things that we're going to learn

as we work our way through the passage

is that it's not just salvation that's of the Lord,

it's also Christian living.

It's also Christian living.

You know,

as I get older,

and that's happening,

as I get older,

I am reminded more and more often

of just how absolutely dependent I am

upon the Spirit.

And when I don't rely on the Spirit,

it's not real pretty.

And what Paul is going to do

later in the passage

is he's going to encourage us,

and we're going to deal with that

next time,

he says,

but be filled with the Spirit.

So,

what we're looking at here

in the first part of this verse

is a comparison

to help us understand something.

don't be drunk with wine,

but be filled with the Spirit.

However,

I want to make this clear.

God does not intend

this little statement,

don't be drunk with wine,

to be taken merely

or exclusively

for the sake of comparison.

It is instruction as well.

Spoken to those who are believers.

In the church in Ephesus,

and by extension,

the Spirit of God

intends for this passage

to inform the lives

of believers today,

here,

now.

And the reason I say that

is because

Paul chooses

to use

the imperative

when he says,

do not be drunk with wine.

I do want you to understand

that evidently,

drunkenness

was a problem

not only in the city of Ephesus,

but it was a challenge

in the early church.

There are many illustrations of that,

and I will not go into all of them,

but just a reminder,

the fact that he says it

implies that it was something

that needed to be said.

The truth of the matter is

is that drunkenness

has been a problem

since the fall,

and it has contributed

incredible heartache

and suffering

on mankind.

I am far too well acquainted

with the effect

of drunkenness

on people,

and over the years

of life,

I have seen

what alcohol does

to families

and to individuals,

and its absolute,

horrible impact

on people's

well-being.

The Bible

always speaks

of drunkenness

as something

that's negative.

I'm not going to list

all the texts

for you this morning

because we have one

right here

in verse 18

where it says,

do not be drunk with,

it's an imperative,

it's a command,

this is not what

the believer

is to be doing.

Now, in case you're

wondering,

alcohol is a depressant.

How many of you

realize that?

Alcohol is a depressant,

and what it depresses

from the very moment

that it is taken in,

it depresses

a man's ability

to reason

and to react.

In our culture,

that really is not

thinking biblically

at the moment,

and I don't mean that

in a negative way,

but I'm just saying

our culture has

all kinds of limitations

on the consumption

of alcohol.

Do you understand that?

I mean,

there are laws

against it

for those who are

under 21.

Should a believer

drink at all

if they're under 21,

and what's the answer?

Now, listen to me,

because some of you

are out here thinking,

yeah, right.

Romans 13 says

that we are to obey

those who God

has put in authority

over us.

So, he's the one

who has ordained

civil law.

And so,

understand this,

the issue of drunkenness,

from the very moment

you take in alcohol,

it begins to depress

your ability

to think

and react appropriately.

In fact,

as you look at the passage

in verse 18,

it says,

do not get drunk

with wine,

for that is

debauchery

or dissipation

or excess,

depending on

your translation.

the idea

in the Greek

is not simply

that drunkenness

is going to end up

in excessive behavior,

but it's really

talking about the fact

that in broad terms,

alcohol,

what it does

is it dulls

or desensitizes

your ability

to think properly

and clearly,

and the judgments

that follow

are proportionate.

one of the things

I was thinking about

this week

is that I anticipate

in a couple weeks

or so,

well,

this is November 17th,

so there's a while

to go,

but about a week

or so before

Christmas

and then right around

New Year's Day,

there will be

a flurry of articles

in the papers

and on the web

about drunken behavior

at parties.

Do you know

why they send those out?

Does anybody know?

it's because

so many people

do incredibly stupid things

at company parties

and some people actually,

well,

suffice it to say,

there are little warnings

that you could lose your job

if you act like

an absolute ignoramus.

You know,

alcohol,

remember what it is?

It's a depressant.

It depresses your ability

to think clearly

and so the attitude

you've had towards

your boss

all along.

The Christmas party,

three sheets to the wind

and it's time for you

to tell the truth.

Okay?

The Bible condemns

drunkenness.

The Bible clearly

prohibits it.

And you look at a number

of different passages

in relationship to it

and recognize

the Bible has no support

at all

for a believer

ever being drunk.

By the way,

question,

just so that you are

aware of this.

I did some research

just to kind of check

and I think,

Greg,

you can help me with this,

Officer Bernard.

I think you have to blow

.08 alcohol

to be drunk.

Is that the case?

Okay.

That's when you're

over the line.

I don't know

by personal experience,

but I understand

that it depends

on body weight

and anywhere

between two

and three beers

or two

or three little shots

and you're over the line.

And when you're

over the line

and you're caught

driving in that state,

that state referring,

not the state of Ohio,

but in that condition,

guess what the consequences are?

I don't want to ask you

to tell me from experience,

but I can tell you this,

that it doesn't go well

with you.

Our culture

is concerned.

But let's come

to a second question.

The Bible's

against drunkenness.

Let's talk about

the Bible on drinking.

Let me start

with a statement

and then support it

with the Scripture.

The Bible does not

condemn all drinking.

The Bible does not

condemn all drinking.

And I have no doubt

that hearing me say that

may irritate some of you

and cause others of you

to say,

see, I told you so.

You know,

Moody Bible Institute

this year

decided that it would

take a different stance

than it had historically

on the matter of

the drinking of

its staff members

and those who were

above the age,

et cetera.

And it caused

quite a flurry.

And I seldom

make comments

on Facebook

and I didn't make

any comments

in this case.

I'm not here

this morning

to talk about

Moody Bible Institute.

I do want you

to understand

that their premise

that it is not

something that's

prohibited in the Bible

is accurate.

There's undeniable

proof

that believers

drank alcohol

in the Old Testament

and the New Testament

and I cannot

support the

principle of

complete abstinence

from the text

itself.

There was wine

that was drunk

and I want you

to understand

that I have

heard the arguments

that the wine

that was drunk

was so watered

down that it

really would take

you drinking

several gallons

for you to become

inebriated.

I don't buy

that argument

and I'll tell

you why.

When Noah

got drunk

in Genesis

Genesis 9:21

chapter 9

verse 21

it uses

the Hebrew

word

yayin

and it's

the same

word that

is used

over

in Leviticus

Leviticus 10:9

chapter 10

verse 9.

I want you

to look at

this one.

You're in

Ephesians

but turn back

to Leviticus

Leviticus 10:9

chapter 10

verse 9.

I think

the

by the way

you go

G-E-L-N-D

how many

of you

heard me?

G-E-L-N-D

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy.

Okay I just

wanted to coach

you there a

little bit

and I got

mixed up.

Anyway

Leviticus

Leviticus 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

this is God

giving

imperatives

or commands

explicitly

to the

priests.

10

verse 9

drink no

wine or

strong drink

you or

your sons

with you.

What's the

next word?

Put your

finger on it.

Put your

finger on it.

Drink no

wine or

strong drink

you or

your sons

with you.

What's the

next word?

What is it?

When

you go

into the

tent of

meeting

lest you

die.

It shall

be a

statute

forever

throughout

your

generation.

Let me

give you

a comparison

so you

understand

this.

I read

this week

that

FBI

agents are

not allowed

to take

a single

drink

10 hours

before they

go on

duty.

Do you

have an

idea why

they would

say something

like that?

I would

imagine it

has something

to do with

blood chemistry

and the

fact that

your blood

purges itself

or your

body kind

of purges

out the

alcoholic

effect over

a certain

amount of

time.

So anyway,

any of you

here that

are FBI

agents,

you're 10

hours before

you can

step onto

the clock.

Abstinence.

The priest,

when he was

going in to

do his

priestly duty,

the imperative,

the command

of God was

don't you be

touching that

stuff at

all when

you go on

duty.

Do you

follow that?

Does that

make sense?

Nod your

head if you

can see it

in the

Bible.

I'm not

asking you

if you

agree,

I'm just

asking you

can you

see it

in the

Bible?

Okay.

Well,

it was the

same word,

it is the

same word

that is used

to refer to

the Nazarite

vows.

How many

of you

here are

familiar with

the vows

that Nazarites

took?

Nazarite

vow,

among those

different

particulars,

was that

you didn't

touch

wine,

or anything

that was

made from

grapes,

including

raisins.

Can you

imagine oatmeal

without raisins?

If you're a

Nazarite,

no raisins.

Okay,

now,

turn in your

Bible,

you don't need

to go to

Numbers

passage,

but I want

you to go

to the

Amos

text,

Amos

Amos 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Amos,

Obadiah,

you know

how it

goes,

right?

It's nice

to have

Joel and

Andrea here,

and Joel

comes right

before Amos.

Amos

Amos 2:12

chapter 2,

verse 12.

Here is what

was going on

in the nation

of Israel.

Listen,

this is

interesting.

The Israelites

didn't like

the fact

that the

Nazarites

were keeping

to their

vows and

were abstaining

from wine,

and so the

Israelites,

any time a

Nazarite would

come walking

around and

say,

hey,

we want

you to

drink.

No,

no,

I'm a

Nazarite.

Big deal.

And they

would force

the Nazarites

to drink.

What would

they ask

the Nazarites

to drink?

Guess

what?

Wine.

Verse 12,

But you

made the

Nazarites

drink wine

and commanded

the prophets

saying,

you shall not

prophesy.

The Nazarites

were being

forced to

violate their

oath of

abstinence.

Now,

look at another

passage in Amos.

Amos chapter 9,

Amos 9:14

verse 14.

And what

chapter 9 is

really talking

about,

first is the

destruction of

the nation of

Israel,

and then it's

talking about

the restoration

that is going

to come.

God is going

to bless

these people

after he

gives them

a very firm

hand in

discipline.

And there in

verse 14 it

says,

I will restore

the fortunes

of my people

Israel,

and they shall

rebuild the

ruined cities

and inhabit

them.

They shall

plant vineyards

and drink

their wine.

Same word

that we found

previously in

reference to

Nazarites being

forced to

drink.

It is evident

that John the

Baptist in the

New Testament

took a

Nazarite vow,

and the reason

we know that,

if you are there

in Amos,

you go forward

to the book

of Luke,

and in Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

we read a very

interesting statement.

Luke chapter

Luke 1:15

1,

verse 15,

it says,

For he will be

great before the

Lord,

and he must not

drink wine or

strong drink,

and he will be

filled with the

Spirit even from

his mother's

womb.

Talk about

Jesus.

I'm talking about

John the

Baptist.

On the other

side of it,

we understand that

when Jesus came

to the wedding

feast at Cana,

do you know

what he did?

He turned

ordinary

agua purificada

into

oinos.

Let me do that

in English.

He turned

water into

wine.

Okay?

It is clear

that if a

Nazarite vow

was to complete

abstinence,

that the same

stipulation,

I want you to

understand this

and follow and

track with me,

it would have

been very easy

for the Holy

Spirit to be

just as clear

saying,

y'all,

you all,

all of you,

if you are a

believer,

are not to

drink wine,

period,

just like a

Nazarite.

My point is,

God could have

made it undeniably

clear regarding

this subject.

Okay?

So now,

let's come to

the last point.

Let's do a

little bit of

review here,

and I trust

that you'll

bear with me

if I go over

a couple minutes

things.

First point is,

drunkenness is

what?

Prohibited.

God doesn't

want believers

to be drunk

with wine.

Ever.

Drinking,

we're not

talking about

being inebriated,

we're not

talking about

being under

the influence,

drinking is

not prohibited

in Scripture.

Let's talk

about the Bible

now on

Christian living.

Scripture

clearly prohibits

drunkenness,

Scripture does

not prohibit

all drinking,

but that brings

us back to

set our

question in

the larger

context of

Paul's

instruction to

the Ephesian

church.

And so,

go back in

your Bible,

if you will,

and we're

going to keep

referencing this

to instruct

or inform

our thinking.

Okay,

let me read

for you

Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

beginning there

in verse 15

and through

to verse 17,

it says this,

Look carefully

then how you

walk,

not as unwise

but as wise,

making the

best use

of the time

because the

days are evil.

Therefore,

do not be

foolish,

but understand

what the will

of the Lord

is.

Being wise

and making

the most

of our

brief time

in this

darkened

world

calls for

us to

think

carefully

about

several

things.

For one,

what is

God's will

for wise

living in

this dark

world?

It says

be wise,

well,

what does

that mean?

Immediately

following that

statement,

Paul makes

this strong

statement,

and I

would broaden

the context

to encourage

you to realize

this,

that my

liberty as a

believer

is not a

cause for

others to

stumble.

Look in

your Bible

at Romans

Romans 14:13–23

chapter 14

verse 13

through 23.

Go back a

little bit

to Romans

Romans 14:13–23

chapter 14

verse 13

through 23.

3.

Therefore,

let us not

pass judgment

on one

another any

longer,

but rather

decide never

to put a

stumbling block

or hindrance

in the way

of a

brother.

other.

I have a

responsibility

as a

believer to

other believers

in particular

that I am

not to cause

them to stumble

in any

manner,

fashion,

or form.

Now,

you may be

surprised at

this,

but there

are far

more than

you think

in our

fellowship

that at

one time

or another

have struggled

very seriously

with the

matter of

alcohol.

Would it

be right

for me

to engage

in doing

something that

would harm

them and

cause them

to stumble?

And what's

the answer

from this

passage?

Help me

out.

What's the

answer from

this passage?

No.

No.

Do I have

a right of

saying,

well,

that's their

problem?

No.

I do want

you to

understand

that

that I

think it's

not merely

or only

the matter

of my

effect upon

my fellow

believer that

struggles with

the consumption

of alcohol,

but it's

also my

effect on

unbelievers

that know

of my walk

and life

and pay

attention to

my testimony.

I've got to

tell you

something.

I've lived

long enough

where I live

that everybody

in my

neighborhood

knows that

I'm a

Baptist

pastor.

I was

incognito

for the

first six

or eight

months.

And during

that time,

I worked

very,

very hard

to be

the

neighbor

exceptional.

You know,

I mean,

people needed

their lawns

raised,

I helped

them.

People needed

to snowball

or run,

I helped

them.

And it

was after

the fact

that they

discovered

this

exceptionally

friendly and

helpful guy

was actually

a Baptist

pastor.

And I

got to

tell you,

my

neighborhood

is probably

a lot

like your

neighborhood

in that

the people,

we have a

really interesting

mix of the

dark world

that we live

in,

okay?

I remember

when my

neighbor a

couple weeks

ago came

home from

a football

game and

he was so

drunk that

he couldn't

get out of

his car.

I actually

remember two

weeks prior to

that where

he told me,

yeah,

we're getting

married.

You know why

he was laughing?

Because they'd

been living

together for a

year.

I mean,

it was like

he was a

little embarrassed.

Remember,

I'm a Baptist

pastor.

He was a

little embarrassed

to tell me

that we're

finally going

to get

married.

And I

have been

over to

their homes

and,

you know,

the courtesy

is to say,

well,

here,

have one.

Oh,

you're a

pastor.

Sorry.

It's not like

I went,

no.

EpiPen.

You know.

Listen to me.

They assume.

They assume.

This is what I

ought to do

because I

profess that

Jesus is my

Lord.

I've never

once heard

from anybody's

lips

that you have

harmed the

testimony of

Christ by your

unwillingness to

imbibe.

Never.

And folks,

I worked for

three years in

the armpit of

the world in

international

harvester.

Well,

I am

sensitive,

and when I

think about

what Bible

encourages me

to think about

in relationship

to Christian

living,

I think it's

appropriate for

me to recognize

that I have to

be sensitive

to the

community he

put me in.

several

illustrations of

that.

One would be

in the passage

in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 35:1–14

chapter 35

verse 1

through 14.

How many of

you are familiar

with the

Rachabites?

Wave your hand

at me if you

are Rachabite

identifiers.

The Rachabites,

I'm going to

tell the story.

Jeremiah,

and by the way,

he did not have

a very enthusiastic

or he didn't

have the kind

of pastoral

ministry that

anybody would

want.

Do you know

what it was?

He was going

around telling

people that

God was tired

of their sin

and he was

going to give

them a lick

and they

wouldn't forget.

He was called

the weeping

prophet.

Anyway,

God tells

Jeremiah,

bring in the

Rachabites.

This is a

tribe or a

clan of one

of the tribes

of Israel,

and their

father.

Now listen

to this

because we

have young

people today

who have

problems following

their parents'

instructions after

they're 18.

When I'm out

of the house,

I'm doing

what I want.

Hear that?

The Rachabites

had their,

I don't know,

their great,

great,

great,

just add

greats on

top of that

because it

was 240

years prior

to the day

that Jeremiah

calls the

Rachabites

into a room

and he

asks them

to sit

down and

then he

walks out

and he

puts little

jars of

wine in

front of

them.

Wine.

Oinos.

Yayin.

Clunk,

clunk,

clunk.

And this

is the

prophet,

the pastor,

says,

drink it.

And they

said,

no.

Our

father,

Rachab,

told us

not to

do this

and we're

not.

240

years,

this

particular

group,

community,

family,

followed

their

father's

mandate.

The reason

I bring

that to

you is

that we

find in

scripture,

remember,

were there

other people

in Israel

at this

time that

drank wine

and did

not receive

God's

thunderous

curse?

No.

They could

do it.

Jeremiah

says,

hey,

you guys

drink this.

They said,

no,

no,

no.

Our

great,

great,

great,

great,

whatever,

grandfather

said,

don't do

it and

we're

not.

Here's

what God

said.

You guys

are an

illustration

of a

people that

are willing

to submit.

And by

the way,

when all

the rest

of the

people in

Israel are

being butchered

and mistreated,

you guys

are going

to miraculously

survive and

there will

never lack

for a man

to stand

in my

presence

from this

small group

of people.

Let's

look at

another

point,

passage.

Acts chapter

Acts 15 · chapter mention

15.

And here's

the point

that I'm

making,

is that we

find in

Scripture that

while wine

was generally

something was

accepted,

there are

illustrations of

communities that

chose to not

engage in it,

and we

understand that

there are

times,

we find in

Scripture,

where communities

chose to not

do certain

things so that

they didn't

compromise the

effectiveness of

their testimony.

Let's look

now,

if we would,

at Acts chapter

Acts 15 · chapter mention

15.

Acts chapter

Acts 15:20

15,

verse 20.

Now,

this is the

church in

Jerusalem.

I'm getting

hot,

so bear

with me.

The church

in Jerusalem

was meeting

to discuss

the matter

of Gentiles

being brought

into the

church.

And by the

way,

the Jews

wanted the

Gentiles to

keep all

of the Old

Testament law,

circumcision,

the whole

nine yards,

Sabbath worship,

etc.

And they

said,

no.

But we

are going

to ask you

to do

four things.

Look at

the verse

in verse

20.

We should

write to

them to

abstain from

the things

polluted by

idols,

from sexual

immorality,

and from the

thing that has

been strangled,

and from

blood.

Of that

list,

three of

the four

are then

reversed.

And we

know that

they're reversed

because in

1 Corinthians,

let me double

check my

text,

in 1 Corinthians

8,

remember that

lengthy discussion

about the

matter of

meat offered

to idols?

Paul says,

hey,

you can go

for it.

Here,

it says,

three of the

four things

that are on

that four

list,

that list of

four things,

are really

reflective of

the fact that

the early

church had

its genesis,

or its

starting point,

in the

Jewish community,

and in the

Jewish community,

these things

were just

too much

to stomach.

And so,

the early

church says,

you Gentiles,

don't be

involved in

immorality,

that's a

permanent

no-no.

But the

other things

that we

want you

to kind

of decide

you're not

going to

do,

is you're

not going

to give

offense to

your Jewish

brethren.

You're not

going to

hurt them.

And so,

we have an

illustration

of believers

choosing to

submit to

the well-being

of the

community in

which they

were placed.

And I

think that

abstaining

helps a

Christian's

testimony in

our day.

I really

do.

I really

do.

That brings

me to one

more point.

Our fellowship

has a set

of standards

of service

for those

who are

called as

models and

humbly serve

as leaders

in our

fellowship.

Very

interesting what

it says in

Proverbs

Proverbs 31:4

chapter 31

verse 4.

It says,

listen,

it is not

for kings

and those

who rule,

King

Lemuel,

it is not

for kings

to drink

and be

engaged in

strong drink.

And the

reason that

it is given

there is

that

those who

engage in

it lose

some of

their ability

to make

wise judgments.

I was

not here,

some of you

are thinking

I've been

here forever,

but I was

not here

when this

church had

its first

meeting,

nor was I

here when

the Constitutional

Committee

formed and

went through

and actually

did something

that at

that time

was atypical.

Characteristic

back in the

60s,

50s,

was that

all churches

had a church

covenant.

How many of you

remember a church

that had a church

covenant?

Furthermore,

we will forswear

that blah,

blah,

blah,

you know,

and you generally

went on about

a whole page

and I know

some churches

have it written

in the Constitution

that you must

recite the

church covenant

at least once

a month.

I have a

pastor friend

that lost

his job

because he

didn't do it.

This church

has never

had a church

covenant

that I know

of,

but it has

standards of

service,

and the

standards of

service

indicate

that those

who serve