Sunday, March 16, 1997 is Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Sunday. It is biblical to abstain from using alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and drug abuse has reached a frightening level. Recent statistics indicate 105,000 Americans die each year in alcohol related deaths. It is also estimated that 18 million Americans are either alcohol dependent or suffer from alcohol abuse. The cost of alcohol and drug abuse to families, business, and society in general is measured in terms of billions of dollars and millions of lives every year.
Listen to this quote from Good News for the Chemically Dependent and Those Who Love Them: "Alcohol is a drug. It is the most abused, most deadly, and most underestimated of all the chemicals used in our society. To feel the weight of this last statement consider this: Imagine that a 747 airliner full of passengers crashed every week and everyone aboard died. That is how many people die weekly in alcohol-related traffic accidents. Sixty percent of all violent crimes are alcohol-related. If alcohol were discovered in a laboratory today, it would be classified as a controlled substance, which means that it would only be available via a doctor’s prescription."
In the light of so much sorrow, pain and destruction it is necessary for us to see what God’s words says regarding the fleshly lusts of alcohol and other drugs. Therefore, listen to these wonderful verses in 1 Peter 2:11-12:
"11. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."
In verse 11, Peter urges his readers to "abstain from fleshly lusts." A.T. Robertson comments that the word "abstain" means "to hold back from”. Simply put, It means "don’t do it." Peter urges his readers not to engage in the lusts of the flesh. Since alcohol and drug use feeds on the desire of the flesh, anything Peter would have to say about abstaining from fleshly lusts would be applicable to alcohol and drug use. As we look at Peter’s comments in verses 11-12, we see that Peter shares four reasons why abstinence from alcohol and drug use is the biblical choice.
First, WE SHOULD ABSTAIN BECAUSE WE ARE GOD’S BELOVED CHILDREN. Listen again to verse 11: "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul." Eight times Peter reminded his followers in his epistle of God’s love for them (1 Pet. 2:11; 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:7; 3:1,8, 14-15, 17). As incredible as it sounds, because of our faith in Jesus Christ we are "accepted in the beloved" (Eph. 1:6). Our love relationship to Jesus Christ ought to be motivation enough for us to live godly lives in this godless world. Remember the words of Christ in John 14:15: "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." The difference here is an obedience out of devotion to the Lord rather than an obedience out of duty to the Lord. Jesus said, "If a man loves Me, he will keep my words." (John 14:23)
Second, verse 11 tells us WE SHOULD ABSTAIN BECAUSE WE ARE ALIENS. Peter certainly didn’t endorse the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." In essence, Peter tells us "While in this world, do what is appropriate to your spiritual heritage." Peter makes it clear in this passage that Christians are not part of this world. The two descriptive terms that he uses make this obvious. He calls us "strangers" (paroikous) and "pilgrims" (parepidemous). In his commentary on 1 Peter, Paige Patterson notes that "paroikous" refers to "residence that is not intended to be permanent," and that "parepidemous" indicates "a relationship to the people themselves."
Peter is saying that Christians live in a land that is not their own and they live among a people who are not their own. Given this reality, it makes sense that we would not fit in, nor should we. As strangers and pilgrims we should reflect the values of our homeland, the kingdom of God, not the values of the place where we are spending our sojourn. We can only abstain from fleshly lusts as we live as sojourners and pilgrims, as those who recognize that this world is not our home, and that we have a home and a citizenship in heaven.
Let me illustrate this point. When I take my children somewhere, I expect them to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the values my wife and I have taught them. We do not expect them to adopt the customs and practices of those around them. If they do not behave in an appropriate manner, they are an embarrassment to us. In the same way, we as God’s children are expected by God to conduct ourselves in a manner that properly represents Him. This certainly has application when we consider our response to alcohol and drug use. Oftentimes we hear people, especially teenagers, say that they drink and take drugs in order to fit in. The businessman often feels compelled to have drinks with another business associate. The salesman feels obligated to take his clients out drinking. But God would call us to do what is right, not advantageous. God expects us to live our lives by His standards, and His attitude toward alcohol, and other drugs is clear. God says that abstinence is the best choice. Listen to Proverbs 20:1: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise," or
Proverbs 23:31: "Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly."
Third, WE SHOULD ABSTAIN BECAUSE WE ARE SOLDIERS INVOLVED IN A SPIRITUAL BATTLE. Notice verse 11 says, "...to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul." It is easy for us to see how the pursuit of fleshly lusts can destroy our body physically--just ask the alcoholic dying of liver disease; the sexually immoral person with AIDS or one of the 350,000 people on this earth who contracted a sexually transmitted disease in the last 24 hours. But Peter reminds us as well that fleshly lusts also "war against the soul." Our real battle is not with people around us but with passions within us. Dwight L. Moody once said that the person he had the most problem with was Dwight L. Moody. The word "war" carries with it the idea of "a military campaign--not simply one battle. It is a constant warfare and, thus, we must always be on guard."
A young Christian once described his Christian struggle like this: "Sometimes I feel like I have two dogs fighting inside me. One is fighting to get me to sin, and the other is fighting to keep me from sinning." When this young Christian was asked, "Which one wins?” he responded, "The one I feed the most." This story is a graphic description of what is happening in every Christian at all times, regardless of how long he or she has been a believer. There is a constant battle between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The two cannot coexist. One or the other will win out.
Peter describes this contest between flesh and spirit as a "war" (strateuo). He tells us that fleshly lusts carry out a military campaign of destruction, and the spoil is the domination of the soul. To give in to the lusts of the flesh creates a conflict within us that can be devastating. Our very souls can feel like ravaged battlefields, upon which the struggle for our spiritual vitality and independence has been fought and lost. With frantic desire alcohol and other drugs join in this battle against our souls. For every Christian who has experienced the pain of guilt from having said or done the wrong thing because of the influence of alcohol or drugs, or who has ruined a marriage or led another person to destroy his/her life because of his/her example of drug and alcohol there is a constant warfare. All of this could be avoided if we would but abstain from ever even starting with alcohol and drugs.
Fourth, WE SHOULD ABSTAIN FOR WE ARE WITNESSES TO THE LOST WORLD AROUND US. Listen, again to verse 12: "Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." We have all met people who put down others in order to make themselves look or feel better. They seem to treat it as their life’s calling to destroy anything that appears to be better than they are. In Peter’s day, Christians were ridiculed and persecuted as well. They were called atheists because they refused to acknowledge any God except the true God. They were labeled as cannibals because they spoke of partaking of the body of Jesus as they ate the Lord’s Supper. In short, Christians became the scourge of the Roman Empire. However, in 112 A.D. Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, began his own inquiry of the Christian faith. He wrote the following report to the Roman Emperor Trajan, "They (Christians) met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity, binding themselves to a solemn oath, not for purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust...to eat in common a harmless meal." Under the closest scrutiny, the early church was vindicated of many vicious lies about them.
Just as God’s people were vindicated upon closer examination in a previous century, so we too will be vindicated on the day of "visitation" (episkopes). Jesus used the same word to refer to His presence in Jerusalem (Luke 19:44). He said that he had visited the Jews and they should have acknowledged Him and responded properly, but they didn’t. The result of their failure to acknowledge Him would be destruction. Although the day of visitation is a reference to the lost person’s ultimate meeting with God, I believe the idea here is that the lost might be persuaded to become Christians by the observation of the conduct of other Christians, and that they would glorify God when they meet Him instead of cowering before His holy judgment.
Those that are under God’s gracious visitation immediately change their opinion of good people, glorifying God and commending those whom before they viewed as evil-doers. Peter tells his readers that God will visit again, but this visit will be acknowledged by the "Gentiles," a euphemism for unbelievers. It will be on this day when the books will be opened and our works will be judged, and the Lord Jesus himself will commend his faithful followers with this statement, "Well done, good and faithful servant"
(Matt. 25:21). Then, all those who slandered us and criticized us and belittled us will bow before the God of heaven and earth and acknowledge that our way, God’s way, was right.
Thus, there is much at stake in the decisions we make about our conduct. Often times we do not even understand all that is at stake, but the issue regarding alcohol and other drugs is clear. We can either give in to fleshly lusts and disgrace our heritage, afflict our souls, and shame our God, or we can abstain from every lust, including the use of alcohol and other drugs, and enjoy a life of fulfillment, happiness, and the approval of God.
To me there is no question. We need to abstain from fleshly lusts that wage war with the soul. If you have not yielded to God in this area of our life, you need to do so. If God doesn’t have full control of your life, you must surrender to Him. If Satan has you bound, come to Jesus--He will set you free. The way to cure addiction is always the same: repent and believe. Put your trust in Him. You can be cleansed and freed from the bondage of fleshly desires and experience God’s forgiveness and liberating power in your life today.
