Alcohol consumption is not a sin: Pastor Paul Adefarasin of House on the Rock church

Alcohol consumption is not a sin: Pastor Paul Adefarasin of House on the Rock church

Pastor Paul Adefarasin's comment about Alchohol consumption is generating lots of comments on social media and other mainstream media since the day it was made till now.

In a recent teaching, the religious leader said plainly that the bible does not teach that Christians cannot consume alcohol as many people are made to believe, but he was quick to warn that alcohol consumption comes with some health implications that can be avoided by not drinking.

The above take on Alchohol consumption has generated lots of opinion,with those in support and the ones against the opinion of the religious leader . But what really is the truth? Does the Bible support Alchohol consumption?

Firstly ,the proponents of the campaign against Alchohol consumption is of the opinion that Alcoholic beverages should be jetisioned entirely. Simply put, any intake of Alcohol whether it intoxicate the taker or not is a sin .

In this article, With references to the Bible, you will discover why the comment made by pastor Adefarasin was right and should be followed by all Christians, and not the interpretation promoted by Extremists.

Before making references to the Bible , it must be acknowledged that peoples opinions with regards to the intake of Alcohol are influenced by various factors such as culture, health concerns, and religion(Perhaps on these premise alone,they can be excused).

There are religious extremists who are overly critical of religious injunctions. To such ones, whatever command in the Bible must be given a literal,corporal and dictectorial interpretation.

For instance, in the Bible there were religious extremists such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees who condemned Jesus Christ for engaging in some activities such as dinning with tax collectors, the manner of washing of his hand,the Sabbath and other activities mentioned in the Mosaic Law. Jesus Christ condemned them for making God's law heavy and a burden for people to fellow.

in the Bible, what is condemned is Drukennnes and not consumption of Alcohol. Nothing could be close to the truth than what The religious leader of House on theRock said. I'm not religious,but it doesnt mean that when the truth is said I won't support it.

Starting from the Bible book of psalm 104:14 & 15 where it is encapsulated thus "He is making to grow .......... ,wine to make us happy, olive oil to make us cheerful, and bread to give us strength.”—Good News Translation

The psalmist was inspired by God to painstakingly put the above Bible verse down for us so as to know the worth of Alcohol. God it's said,is the giver of every good gift. As shown in that Bible verse, Alcohol is one of those gifts made available by the maker to make us happy.in many homes, alcoholic beverages are virtually a staple taken with meals. .

Indeed, from time immemorial, men and women of God drank wine, a beverage mentioned over two hundred times in the Bible. (Genesis 27:25)

In Ecclesiastes 9:7 there is an encouragement to take wine .“Eat your food with rejoicing and drink your wine with a good heart,” Because wine contributes to a joyful spirit, it was usually served on festive occasions, such as wedding feasts (John 2 :1-11). It was at such a feast that Jesus Christ performed his first miracle.

Was it soft drink Jesus Christ turned into water ? Absolutely a big no. It was an Alchohol. Why can webe dogmatic about it? Consider the statement made by the director of the feast in that occasion after consuming the wine made by Jesus Christ. He said to the bride,every other man puts out the fine wine first, and when people are intoxicated, the inferior. You have reserved the fine wine until now.(John 2:1-11)

From the above statement, it is safe to conclude that what Jesus Christ made was an intoxicating liquor (an alcohol). So then, if Jesus Christ in his higher wisdom can turn wine into Alcohol what then is the confusion again?

Jesus Christ clearly saw the need to make that wine for the good of the wedding attendees not to intoxicate them . Anyone who drank to stupor at that event would be foolish to blame the Lord simply because he provided Alcohol for them.

Furthermore Wine was also used for medicinal purposes.—Luke 10:34; 1 Timothy 5:23. in the account of 1 Timothy for example Paul encouraged Timothy to take wine for his stomach ache . He did not task Timothy to get drunk but to drink moderately.

Moderation in both drinking and eating is a fundamental requirement of God. (Proverbs 23:20; 1 Timothy 3:2, 3, 8) The lack of self-control brings God's disapproval. Evidently, the same law that apply to over drinking also apply to overeating. A glutton is displeasing to God the same way a drunkard is displeasing to him. It will be absolutely lame and going beyond what God commanded to stop eating simply because God mentioned overeating . Same way it will be bad to condemn Alcohol simply because one can get intoxicated by it.

We have the right to choose to drink alcohol or not to choose to drink. We have the right to drink and get intoxicated and not to. It depends on how we use our freedom.

Commonly misquoted Bible portions Relating to Alcohol.

There is nothing wrong with having an opinion. What is wrong is indoctrinating others with same opinion blindly.

To buttress the point that Alcohol consumption is wrong, the following Bible portions are often misquoted:

1) Proverbs 20:1 here it is mentioned that Wine is a ridiculer, intoxicating liquor is boisterous, and everyone going astray by it is not wise. The point that stands out here is 'everyone going astray by wine is not wise. Simply put, anyone who choose to get intoxicated by Alchohol is not wise, is a foolish person.

There are many Bible portions like the one mentioned above, where the harmful effect of a particular conduct or thing was brought to foe

For example the Bible portions that said, money is the root of all evil ( 1 Timothy 6:9 & 10) does it mean that one should ditch money entirely? Or one should not make efforts to pursue money? No. It only warn us of the love of money. Love of money has caused lots of pain to many.

Similarly, love of Alcohol is injurious. Over drinking has lots of health risks and can make one senseless and even poor. That is simply the health implication mentioned by pastor Paul Adeferasin.

2) 1 Petter 4:3 and 1 Corinthians 6:9 & 10 . The combined effects of these two Bible portions are that Drunkenness and similar conducts will not inherit God's Kingdom .it a pegan conduct to be drunk

Here too, it will be going beyond normal reasoning to state that those two Bible portions condemned Alchohol. What was condemned there was drunkenness not Alchohol. Just like what was condemned along side drunkenness in Corinthians 6:9 & 10 was Fornication and adultery (sex outside marriage and premarital sex) not sex on it own.

Steaming from the above point, it will be wrong to contend that because Alcohol breeds intoxication then it should not be consumed entirely . If that is the case ,we can conclude that because, having male and female sexual organs stirs up sexual feelings then we should cut it off . Or because God condemned over feeding and gluttony we should run away from food when we see it . No ! No! That will be going to the extreme,that will be seeking only for the interest of the one who can't control his/her level of Alcohol intake alone;not minding the feelings of the ones who can control how they take it, the one who drinks modestly or the one who uses it for medicinal purpose.

It is also canvansed that like Tobbaco consumption, Alcohol is not supported in the. Bible even when there is nothing in the Bible to show for it expressly. What is wrong with this angle of thought is , Tobbaco unlike Alchohol consumption defiles the body. There's no moderation with regards to Tobacco intake .

The Bible in 2Corinthians 7:1 warned us to cleanse ourselves of every difilement of the flesh, perfecting Holiness in God's eyes. Tobbaco spoils the body, Alcohol does not. It only spoils the body when there is much consumption of it.It just a matter of choice and nothing more pretentious.

Clearly, Tobbaco and Alchohol consumption are not on the same bracket.

Conclusively, we should have self control with regards to Alcohol intake, we should drink moderately, we should use our power of choice to asertain whether consuming Alcohol is okay for us or not. If you think consuming a bottle will intoxicate you and you wish to train yourself by staying away completely from Alchohol, then it your choice, not because the Bible forbids you to.

On the other hand, if anyone knows how to control his/her body without getting intoxicated,then let the person go ahead and drink.

As a Caveat, I don't suffer from the hero syndrome. If I do, you could say that I'm following a religiously leader blindly. I don't worship with House of Rock church. I'm only stating the facts as it's in the Bible.