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Transcript 412C
Can We Smoke, Drink, etc., in Moderation?
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Good evening. I have a couple of questions tonight. Now I have read in the Bible that we are to take all things in moderation. Now I hear that it's sinful to smoke, and I also hear that it's sinful to drink. Now I question that, because the Bible says to take all things in moderation. Now it's not what we take in that defiles our body, but it's what comes out of the body that defiles us. So therefore smoking conservatively, as a calmer to the nerves, and maybe a glass of beer or a can of beer once in awhile doesn't bother me. What I'm wondering is, taken in moderation, is that considered sinful? And if so, why, because in the Bible we are told that we are to take all things in moderation, and also that it's not what we take in that defiles the body but that which comes out? And I'll take my answer over the air.
HC: This is a good practical question. Is smoking really a sin? The Bible doesn't say anywhere, "Thou shalt not smoke." The Bible however does indicate that "If any man defile the temple of God or destroy the temple of God, him shall God destroy, because the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
Now there was a day when there was a question as to whether smoking was really destructive to our bodies. Although I can remember more than forty years ago, when I was in grammar school, that even at that time we were taught that smoking was very detrimental to our health. They didn't have a lot of evidence at that time, but they were on the right track. Subsequently, of course, doctors have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that smoking is very injurious to our health. Even smoking in moderation, on the average, will shorten our life span by a few years It will make us far more susceptible to lung cancer and to some of these other diseases that come from this.
In other words, this body that God has given us is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are to regard it as a holy vessel. Now this doesn't mean we have to become a health faddist, but it does mean that we ought to live clean lives. If we know that taking a little bit of strychnine every day is going to make us run the risk of being poisoned, then we ought not to take strychnine. And if we know that even smoking in moderation is going to on the average shorten our life span, then we ought not to smoke. Then it becomes sinful.
The real problem is that a lot of times we have a sin in our life that we like. And in an effort to justify that sin, we rationalize. We try to think of ways around it. I find that the best way to live in life is to live as close to Christ as possible. Let me give a little illustration. Maybe I've used it many times before, but let me use it anyway.
Have you ever been up in the mountains in the days when we didn't have these nice big freeways? You know, the road was just kind of carved out of the side of the mountain and was maybe only ten or twelve feet wide at the most. And on one side the mountain rose sharply up, and on the other side it went sharply down. And when you drove on these kinds of roads, what was your natural inclination? To drive just as close to the edge of the precipice as possible? "Hey, look, I'm right on the edge and I'm not falling off, am I?" Is that the way you went? Not me, not me. It was just the opposite, How close to the other side could I drive? How far away from the precipice could I drive? I want to be as safe as possible.
You see, that's the way a lot of people live who believe they are Christians. They say, "Well, you know, these things are in the world," I'm not sure where this verse is, "Do all things in moderation." I know that that's taught, and maybe there is a verse that somehow alludes to that, although I don't know what that verse really is at this point in time. But certainly we don't sin in moderation. There's nothing in the Bible that says that we sin in moderation. Sin is sin. A little bit of sin is as bad as a lot of sin. We just are to stop sinning.
The goal of the believer is not to live as close to the world as possible, but as close to Christ as possible. He's to live as far away from the world as possible. This is his joy, this is his safety. This is what he really wants. And so if you have something in your life that you're struggling with and you really don't know what to do, well, do it God's way. If you're in doubt, then the chances are it's something that is sinful and you should turn away from it.
But to turn away from sin means I've got to deny myself. It means that I've got to hurt myself. I can't have that particular luxury. I can't have that particular joy or fun, or whatever it may be. But that's what Jesus talks about, doesn't He? Except you deny yourself you cannot follow Him. The Bible says what profit is it for a man to gain the whole world if he lose his own soul? We are to leave all and follow Him. Our focal point has got to be on the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we'll have the strength, the spiritual strength, to turn away from these sins.
Now in connection with wine also, you can say, "Well, I drink a glass of beer now and then and it doesn't hurt me. And it's kind of nice to have that can of beer on a warm afternoon, a warm summer afternoon." Let me ask you, why do you need the can of beer? Would you be just as happy without it? The world thinks that it's important to have the can of beer. My, oh my, they love that can of beer. Why do they like the can of beer? Because there's alcohol in it. It helps life to become just a little bit more rosy. It takes the sharp edge off of life. And God has given that beer to unsaved man. He's given that wine and those high balls to unsaved man, in order that they might be able to face life.
But God says in Proverbs 31:4, "It is not for kings to drink wine or strong drink." Now very humbly we as born again believers can say we are of royal blood. We're a child of the King. We're reigning with Him. We don't need wine or beer or booze any longer. We don't have to take the sharp edge of life away with this. We don't have to find our joy in this. We don't have to be like the world. Our celebrations can be altogether different.
The first thing the world does when they're going to celebrate is open up a bottle of champagne, don't they? Or break out the bottle of wine, or start serving booze around. This is invariably the way the world celebrates, isn't it? And we shouldn't be surprised at it. This is the world. This is what God has given to the world as a blessing. Now they'll abuse it again and again, and then they'll be faced with drunkenness and all the terrible things that go with it. But nevertheless God has designed the grapes and designed the hops, and so on, that beer and wine and so on could be made from it.
But for believers God says, "It is not for kings to drink wine or desire strong drink." And so the next time you have a celebration or the next time it's a hot summer afternoon and everyone else is breaking out the beer or offering the drinks, say to yourself, but I am a child of the King. I belong to a different kingdom than the rest of the people of this world who are unsaved. They are under the dominion of Satan. I by God's grace, I by God's mercy am a different kingdom altogether. And that ought to be seen in my life. And this is one place where it ought to be seen. Not that I'm going to walk around "holier than thou." But because I want to be as obedient as possible to the Word of God, that is my desire.