What Does The Bible Teach Concerning Drugs & Alcohol

By
Rev. Paul M. Reiner


The issue of drugs and alcohol is an issue that has reached giant proportions. Not only is it an important issue from the aspect of its effect on the body and the seriousness of those effects, but also from the aspect of the widespread usage of these substances. Generally when we think of drug use, we tend to confine our thoughts to that of illicit drugs. However, as we continue this study, we will see from a biblical and medical perspective that drug use will include other drugs which will compound the problem. Some statistics on the subject will help set the stage concerning the seriousness of the issue.


Alcohol
1. In any recent five-year period, there will be about 125,00 people killed in alcohol related accidents. If you were to add together the number of people killed in both the Korean War and the War in Vietnam, you would arrive at a number less than those killed in this five-year span.
2. The average life span of an alcoholic is shortened by 12 years. In fact a recent studied revealed that the number one killer of people between the ages of 16 and 24 is anything related to alcohol.
3. One-half of all homicides in the U.S. and one-fourth of all suicides are alcohol related.
4. Almost half of the yearly 5 and one-half million arrests made in America are alcohol related.

Drugs
1. Research conducted a few years ago revealed that 36% of our servicemen and women have used drugs. That is over 1/3 of our military which have used or still are using illicit drugs. Does this aid your confidence in our national defense? Other studies showed that in the Army 16%, in the Navy 22%, in the Marines 24%, and in the Air Force 9% were high for more than one day at a time. 3% of those in the Army said that they missed a week of work or longer due to drug use, and 4% of those who were up for promotion failed because of drug use.
2. The cost of drug rehabilitation in the armed forces alone is around $100,000,000.
3. In New York, it is estimated that there are 220,000 hard core heroine addicts with another 400,000 heavy drug users.
4. About 12% of high school seniors have said that they have used cocaine according to a nation-wide survey.
Pardon the pun, but these are sobering statistics. Again, if we expand our definition of drugs to include some oft used prescription drugs like vallium and lithium and then also to include some abused drugs such as caffeine and nicotine, the problem only is compounded.

WHAT ARE THE SUPPOSED BENEFITS OF THE LEGALIZATION OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL?

Basically there are three arguments given by those who desire drugs and alcohol to be made of to be kept legal. The first is the profitability from a tax perspective. The second is the ability of our government to then control the use or abuse of these substances. Finally, there is the argument that people are going to use these substances not matter whether they are legal or not so we might as well legalize them.

First, let us consider the tax advantage. This argument basically states that since there is a market for the product, tax revenues can be greatly enhanced by levying a tax (often called a sin tax) which will enable our government to fund its operation without taxing other things and reducing our general tax burden. On the surface this seems like a legitimate argument. There is, however, one great flaw to it. For every dollar that is collected in alcohol taxes, it is estimated that four dollars are spent on rehabilitation and other costs of alcoholism. Now I am not an economist, but I don't think that it is necessary to be one in order to see that when 1 dollar is received and 4 dollars spent, you do not make much of a profit. Now it may be argued that if alcohol and drugs were not legal and therefore not taxed, you would simply loose the tax revenues but would still incur the costs. However, this assumes that the problems caused by these would remain the same as when they were legal, which I believe is not true.

The second and the third arguments are somewhat related. It is suggested that since drugs and alcohol are to some, insatiable desires and can not be eliminated. They, therefore, should be controlled. If drugs were to be legalized, then agencies such as the FDA could monitor the production of drugs to make sure the users were getting "quality" drugs. It is assumed that drug producers and distributors would legally license themselves with our government and submit to government supervision of their enterprise. Think about the logic of this argument. It is a criminal offense in our country today to produce illicit drugs. Anyone caught violating these laws faces a rather severe penalty. But because there is a lot of money to be made, many are willing to take the risk. Now suppose the government legalizes drugs only requiring that the manufacturers and distributors register with the government and allow the government to supervise its industry. How many do you really believe will step forward and say I've been producing drugs for the last 10 years and here is my name? But even if some or even many did, would there still be those who illegally produced drugs? I suggest that the answer to this question is a definite yes. There are two reasons why this is so. First, because of the money motive. According to 1 Timothy 6:10, the love of money is a root of every form of evil. Whenever the government is involved in any operation, there is a necessary added expense to that operation. It will be very profitable to produce and distribute drugs illegally, even if drugs are legalized, in fact, it may be even more profitable than it is now. As long as there is money involved, there will always be someone who will disregard the law in order to acquire it.

Secondly, the imposition of laws that would control the production and distribution of drugs will actually encourage more illegal production and distribution of them. The basis of this statement is found in a principle from Romans 7:7-8. The Bible states,


Allow me to illustrate what Paul is saying. Suppose it is but a week before Christmas and you come walking into your house with a package. You are spotted by your 5 year-old son who is about ready to come out of his skin with holiday excitement. You put the package in a closet and instruct you son to stay out of that closet until after Christmas. Now as soon as you turn your back, where do think that boy is going to be, at least where do you think he will want to be. Now had you nonchalantly gone about you business he may have never had the desire to investigate the package. But as soon as the commandment was given to stay out of the closet, sin was made alive. Inherent in the nature of every single one of us is a sin nature and what motivates that sin nature to act is a law. The legislation of controls on the drug industry will not control its use and abuse, but actually aid in the illegal production and distribution of drugs.

Now the third argument is an argument that needs little rebuttal. Simply because people engage in an activity does not justify that activity and our government has no basis for legalizing and unjustifiable activity.

Let us now turn our attention to the medical aspects of drug and alcohol consumption. Before we look at the specifics, we need first to lay a biblical foundation in regards to how we should treat our bodies. This foundation is found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Here we read,


Something that we do not realize often enough is that what we do to our bodies is to be an act of worship to God. Since our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, what we do to them then is an indication of our relationship with God. The question then is what does the consumption of alcohol and the use of drugs do to our bodies. Can these activities be legitimately called acts of worship? What does the medical profession say?

Long term alcohol use has been linked to malnutrition, impotence, ulcers, brain and liver damage, and delirium. Do these things sound like worship? Likewise, prolonged use of narcotics can cause lethargy, weight loss, restlessness, irritability, tremors, loss of appetite, panic, chills, sweating, cramps, watery eyes, runny nose, nausea and muscle spasms. Certainly these are not the norms of a healthy body. Some tranquilizers have been associated with dyskinesia, which is the permanent disabling of motor coordination.

Before we go any further, it is necessary that we answer a possible objection to this line of argumentation. The above illustrations are those who habitually and heavily use those things. But what about the non-habitual and the prescribed usage of drugs or alcohol. After all, does not the Apostle Paul instruct Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach's sake? Certainly the Bible recognizes a legitimate medicinal use of alcohol, however, we must quickly note that the alcohol of Paul's day does not come even close to comparing to the alcohol of today. Secondly, he instructs Timothy to use only a little. By no means can this verse be used to justify any type of social drinking or consumption of alcohol. In fact there are many passages of Scripture that militate against the consumption of alcohol and use of drugs other than for medicinal purposes.

We want to now examine some of those biblical principles regarding the Christian and drugs and alcohol. The first principle is found in Proverbs 20:1. It is the principle of deception. The verse reads,


The Hebrew word that is translated as "mocker" is a word that indicates the loss of the ability to think correctly. The literal idea of this word is to elevate oneself above that which is real. Paul tells us in Romans that we are to think rightly about ourself but wine is something that produces what I call the "superman syndrome", the idea that you can do just about anything. It inflates our conception of our own abilities. How is it that wine corrupts out thinking? We look to our anatomy to find an answer. If it was not for our liver, one ounce of alcohol would be lethal. Our liver though, prevents the alcohol from being taken directly into our bloodstream. But our liver is only able to process so much alcohol in a given time and when it reaches its capacity, the alcohol then goes into the bloodstream, and alcohol will kill brain cells. That is why a person who is drunk behaves irrationally. Please excuse the frankness, but Ogden Nash was correct in his little line, "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker." In enticing someone to do something that they would not do in their "right mind", you can woo them with delicacies, but a faster way is to corrupt their thinking processes, which alcohol will do quite well.

Now look at the end of this verse, it reads, '...and whosoever is led astray by it is not wise." The old King James says whosoever is deceived thereof is not wise. When a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they have in effect, turned off their minds from being able to rationally understand or solve a problem. They then, are open to all kinds of deception. Satan is a deceiver, and may I say that the person who relinquishes the control of their mind through drugs and alcohol, opens themself up to the influence, if not the actual control of Satan.

One other characteristic is given of wine in this verse, that is that it arouses brawling. This certainly is a natural consequence of the mind neutralizing properties of alcohol. If the intoxicated person thinks that he is Superman and that nothing or no one can harm him, he will try to exert his dominance over those that are around him. If another who is in proximity to him is in the same condition, a brawl will ensue. Why is it that bars are the moist common places for brawls?

The second principle is the principle of control. This principle is found in 1 Corinthians 6:12. The verse reads,


What Paul is saying is that there are some things that are good, in and of themselves, but should be avoided because they can be addicting. For example, I am a sports fanatic. Sunday afternoons you will, more than likely, find me in front of he TV during the fall and winter, watching a football game. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with viewing sports on TV. However, it can control one's life to the point where things of greater importance are neglected. This is what Paul has in mind when he writes that he will not be brought under the power or control of anything apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. If anything, no matter how good it may be in its own right, exerts control over you that you can not pull yourself away from it, it is to be avoided. Ephesians 5:18 specifically relates this principle to alcohol. Paul writes there,
Now some have looked at this verse and have concluded that all that is prohibited is drunkenness, but drinking that stops short of intoxication is not prohibited. That is a false conclusion. If this verse were to be examined in the original language, you would find that the word "drunk" is not an adjective, but a verb. In fact, in the Greek, it is an inceptive verb, meaning in the process of becoming drunk. Now when does that process start? Because of the different physical makeups of individuals, it is impossible to say how much alcohol will be needed to cause a person to be out of control. Generally speaking, a blood-alcohol level of .10 is enough to declare a person to be intoxicated. No matter though when drunkenness is achieved in any person, the process begins at the same time...the very first drink. The fifth drink is no more intoxicating than the first. While the first drink may be absorbed by the liver and never cause the loss of control that the fifth drink might, it nonetheless begins the process of drunkenness.

In contrast to being controlled by alcohol, Paul writes that we are to be under the influence of the Spirit of God. This concept of the Spirit's control is necessary to understand if we want to understand the first part of the verse correctly. If in the first part of the verse we could allow for the partaking of alcohol as long as we do not lose complete control, then in this latter half we could say the same thing, that the Spirit of God is to have control in the major things of our lives, or the majority of the time, but there are little things that we can exercise our own control, or "free times" so to speak where we need not be controlled by the Spirit. Obviously, that can not be. Therefore, the control or influence in the first part of this verse begins with the very first drink.

One last passage, that to me, makes the issue very clear. It is found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.


Paul is writing to genuinely saved Corinthians, who in their unsaved lives, did all sorts of abominable works. He says that those who practice (the idea of the words that he uses indicates a habitual pattern of doing those acts, not an isolated incidence or two) these things manifest the fact that they do not know Christ as their Savior and consequently, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Having trusted Christ, these Corinthians were to put away these activities of the old life and live a life that was pleasing to God. Now let me ask you these questions. While the verse above says that Christians are not to practice adultery, would God permit say just one act of adultery, as long as the act did not become "an affair"? Obviously not. Or how about stealing? Would it be permissible, just as long as it doesn't become a habit, to take something that doesn't belong to me? Or what about idolatry? Will God allow me with His blessing not to worship in spirit and in truth just as long as I don't get into satanism? Again, the answer to these questions is an obvious no. Now notice that drunkenness is included in this list of activities of the unsaved. If God will not permit His children to participate with His blessing in any of the other activities, how can any child of God say that God allows drinking as long as the one who drinks does not become drunk? If total abstinence from these other activities is demanded by God, so it must also be in the area of the consumption of alcohol!

IS THERE HOPE AND HELP FOR THE HOOKED?

To state that it is wrong for anyone to use drugs or alcohol is easy to do, but what about the person who has become addicted to them. It is not an easy thing for them to simply give it up and walk away from their habit(s). Whether it be alcohol, illicit drugs, nicotine, caffeine, or any other substance that produces an addiction, there is no easy way, no magic wand to wave, that will immediately and effortlessly, solve the problem. As discouraging as that may sound, we are not left without hope and help. God's grace is greater than any of man's sin. And with His grace, and by His power, anyone can live a pure life, no matter how long the addiction. It does not matter that you've been to AA, or tried the 12 Steps, or you have seen a myriad of psychologists and failed in all your attempts, God's Word still works. May I suggest to you, not 12 steps, but 2 steps to recovery.

  • Step #1 Make Yourself Think Biblically
    • In all the years that I have been attending or pastoring a church, I have never seen anyone smoking a cigarette in the church building during a service. Now many can't wait for the service to conclude so that they can get outside and light up, but never have I seen anyone smoking during the service. The reason being is that it would be disrespectful and inappropriate to smoke in the "house of God". I agree with that thinking. Now the temptation to smoke does not diminish during a worship service, but the smoker controls it until they are able to get to a place where it is "acceptable" to smoke. How is it that the smoker was able to control himself or herself during the worship service? Simply by reminding themself that where they were was an inappropriate place to smoke. They thought it was wrong to smoke in church and therefore they didn't smoke. If the smoker would recognize that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and not the church building, they would not pollute their bodies either. As J. Vernon Magee once said, "The body is to be a temple, not a smokehouse." The ability to control our activity begins with how we think and if we think biblically, we will act biblically.

    There are two aspects to what we should think if we are to think biblically. The first is that we must recognize sin as sin, and not a disease. Please, do not label your activities as "behavioral disorders" or with some other fancy psychological tag. If you do you will only eliminate any chance or hope of resolving the problem. By putting a "medical" nametag to the problem you then require a medical solution to it. But the medical profession admittedly does not have the solutions to all the problems, in fact, the don't have an absolute answer to any of the problems. But when sin is called sin, then a solution to it can be found in the grace and mercy of God, no matter what the sin may be.

    A classic example of how to deal with sin is found in Psalm 32. David writes this Psalm after having been confronted by the prophet Nathan and his sin with Bathsheba has been discovered.


    David recognized that the physical things that happened to his body were the consequences of his sin and upon the confession of that sin he found the forgiveness of God. When the activities of his life were measured by the Bible, he was forced to call them sinful, not behavioral problems. And because he recognized them as sinful, he was able to find relief in God's grace. By the way, did you know that the success rate of AA is only 1 in 100 for AA believes that the activity of the alcoholic is a behavioral problem, not a sinful problem.

    What is so important about the label that we give to these problems? The answer is found in Romans 6:6-7. Paul writes,


    The key is that when a person comes to Jesus Christ and receives His salvation and forgiveness of sins, not only is the penalty of sin canceled, but also the power of sin to dominate a life is broken, the saved person is freed from the dominance of sin. Therefore it is absolutely imperative that sin be called sin.

    Not only must our thinking about sin be biblical, but also our thinking about the person and work of Jesus Christ be biblical. 1 John 3:8-9 declares the purpose of Jesus' agony on Calvary's cross.


    The purpose of Jesus dying on Calvary's cross was not only that our sins could be forgiven, but that the power of the devil be broken, as Paul indicated in Romans 6. But on top of that, the very nature of Jesus Christ (his seed) is infused into the believer the moment he is saved. For a believer to say that he must sin, that he is unable to help himself in his struggle with sin, is to say that the devil is mightier than Jesus or that Jesus failed at Calvary. God forbid! The results of that indwelling nature of Christ are chronicled in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where Paul says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, that old things have passed away, and that all things are in the process of becoming new, unless of course, Jesus is really not Lord.

  • Step #2 Make Yourself Accountable

    • If we would employ step #1, we would never again fall into the trap of life dominating sins like alcoholism and drug use. The unfortunate thing is that we won't always employ step #1 on our own. We need someone to help us keep our resolve. We need a friend. Solomon gives us some insight into this in his writing in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.


    From this passage there are three benefits to having someone who, as a friend, will hold you accountable to live righteously. The first benefit is that of a better recovery. While the words are not biblical, the idea is that two heads are better than one. Solomon says that two have a good reward for their labor, there is a more likely chance of the project being completed. Not only is completion more probable, but a better quality job is possible when two combine their resources into a joint venture. And for some reason should the one fail along the way, the other is there to pick him up.

    The second benefit of having accountability is the benefit of prevention. Solomon says that two together can stay warm. In other words there is a greater benefit of two working in harmony than two working separately. It would be wonderful and super pious to say that all that is necessary for the person who is becoming a new creature in Christ is to simply trust the Lord. Certainly that is absolutely necessary. But God gives us friends to help us do just that. God gives us friends who will combine their experience of God's grace and provision with our so that we may mutually benefit each other. It will keep us from getting off the track and going by the wayside. Or it will keep us from simply giving up when the temptation comes along, and it will, to quit.

    The third benefit is the opportunity for a greater victory. Solomon speaks of one man attacking another. If the men are of equal strength, each has a 50/50 chance of winning the battle. But if, under the same conditions, a third party is brought in to help the one, the one who has the friend will win the battle. It is always easy to pick on somebody who is smaller or weaker than yourself. There is not much that might discourage you from doing so. To battle against another of equal opposition will take a greater consideration, but to fight someone of superior strength is ridiculous for it is a guaranteed failure. 1 Peter 5:8 warns the Christian to be sober and vigilant, because our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about looking for someone to devour. Satan looks for some one, not some two.

    When the child of God applies these two principles to any life dominating sin, victory over that sin is at hand. Yes, there is great hope and great help for the hooked.