My wife and I attended a church one time and soon after the sermon got started the pastor said, “If anyone smokes pot or drinks alcohol, they are going to hell”. I turned to my wife and said, “Let’s get the hell out of here!” and we did. That preacher made that up and as far as I’m concerned is a false prophet.
There are approximately 48,000 denominations in the world today. How in the world is someone to know who to believe? The pastors of these congregations are teaching different doctrine. Which of them is right?
When I became a Christian I didn’t want to get things wrong. I came to know the Lord after reading the Bible and used it to guide me from that day forward through today.
One of the first things that I discovered is that the Bible repeatedly makes it clear that it is the Holy Word of God, and that we can use it to guide our actions “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16-17).
I figured that God had given me a mind and cognitive functionality and I saw no reason that I couldn’t read the Holy Scriptures and understand what God was telling me especially when He declared that He would open my mind to understanding them. I’ve read the Bible cover to cover so many times I’ve lost count including all of the varying translations, and I have studied it daily for some 40 years plus.
I do not proclaim to be a Bible scholar, but I do have an understanding of God, His laws, and His plans for us. Unfortunately too many folks take an opposite approach. Just like their politics, (“My daddy and his daddy and his daddy were all Democrats and that is good enough for me I’m a Democrat” philosophy), some determine their spiritual belief system in similar fashion and thus their eternal destiny is passed down through the generations. The question that comes to my mind is what if my old great granddaddy was wrong?
Yikes!
So a lady wrote about one of my posts the other day and stated: “Moderation? Drink? Smoke? Gamble? Where do you draw the line? Is this advice for pastors, worship leaders or just congregation? Separate yourselves and be one approved to teach the gospel.”
So did this stuff come out of the Bible? The first miracle performed by Jesus was to turn water into wine. He drank wine with His meals. It was not grape juice and that can be verified by comparing it to the exact same word that was used in the original translation that is used to describe wine as what Noah drank when he got drunk and fell asleep naked.
Thus it would seem logical that if Jesus had a glass of wine with His meals in moderation that it is not a sin.
I didn’t mention smoking in my post, but don’t advocate it and I certainly do not think the Bible condones it because the Scripture plainly states that our body is God’s temple and we should take care of it and maintain it with that in mind. Anything harmful to our body such as smoking, gluttony, and so forth would be sinful.
The reader also mentioned gambling. Gambling is not mentioned in the Bible but there is plenty of admonitions about misusing the money with which God has blessed us. Buying a two dollar lotto ticket does not seem to fit into that category to me; however spending one’s entire paycheck in it is foolhardy and a sin.
One of my favorite verses when describing what our conduct should be can be found in Romans 6:13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
It isn’t easy to understand all of the Bible; just read II Peter 3:15-16 and you will be convinced of that:
Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction . . .
But that is not to say it is impossible. I urge you to read the Bible for yourself and study it. Ask God during prayer to open up difficult verses to your understanding. Don’t cling to some widespread belief that may or may not be accurate or taken completely out of context regardless of whether or not it comes from a pulpit or not. When I listen to sermons in church or teaching in Bible study I do so as someone who knows the Scripture. It helps me to discern. Jesus wanted us to know freedom through knowing His word. I would rather read it for myself than rely on someone else to tell me what to believe especially when it determines my relationship with my Creator.
John 8:32
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
February 15, 2016 – Click here to listen