This is the third and final part in a three-part series on Christians and alcohol. John Gagliardi examines the topic from a number of perspectives, both biblical and secular, and concludes that on balance, it is a wise choice for committed believers—and in particular leaders—to abstain from alcohol both privately and publicly.

It is so self-evident throughout Scripture that drunkenness is a manifest sin, that I will not cover it here. Indeed that is not the current focus. I am not suggesting that the vast majority of well-intentioned Christians who have taken up the current trend of drinking ever get drunk.

However, having said that, there are some other compelling reasons why Christians should not drink:

• Proverbs 20:1 says that whoever is deceived by wine (a mocker) and strong drink (raging) is not wise—that means the drinker voluntarily shuts himself off from godly wisdom and its many benefits, such as a long life, riches, honor, peace and the favor of the Lord (Prov. 3 and 8).
  
  
• It is not for "kings" (business people) to drink wine (Prov. 31:4), nor for "priests" or "prophets" to drink wine or strong drink (Is. 28:7; Lev. 10:8, 9; Ezek. 44:21). We are a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9) and "kings and priests" unto our God (Rev. 5:10).
  
  
• If we "seek" and "tarry long" at wine, we end up with woe, sorrow, strife, complaining, wounds without cause, redness and dimness of eyes, and "[under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect and petulant]" (Prov. 23:29-33 and Is. 5:11).
  
  
• The example of abstaining from alcohol was set by a number of godly people and groups, including John the Baptist (Luke 1:15, 16), the Rechabites (Jer. 35:5-19), the Nazirites (Num. 6:1-4, Amos 2:12), Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dan. 1:8).
  
  
• Drinking is normal, acceptable and even glamorized in the current world (it is estimated that the average person will have seen 75,000 alcohol advertisements before turning 18 years of age)—but in spite of this, we are not to be "conformed to this world," but rather "transformed by the renewing of our mind" (Rom. 12:2).
  
  
• Alcohol statistics are horrendous, no matter which way you look at them. Here are some recent examples from the US: Up to 50 percent of all hospital beds are occupied by people with alcohol-related ailments; alcohol is the leading killer of young people, claiming the lives of 10,000 between the ages of 16 and 24 annually; 50 percent of seventh graders and 90 percent of high school seniors have tried alcohol; the leading single cause of death among drivers under 24 is alcohol; 40-60 percent of all fatal automobile crashes involve alcohol—according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one person dies every 33 minutes in an alcohol-related accident; the United States Justice Department estimates that four out of every10 violent crimes involve alcohol, while each year alcohol figures in 183,000 rapes and other sexual assaults, 197,000 robberies, 661,000 aggravated assaults, and 1,700,000 simple assaults.
  
  
• Alcohol use can lead to alcoholism and addiction. In an article in Christianity Today, supported by the American Medical Association, this statement is made: "People must be informed that the use of alcohol is not unlike Russian roulette; every tenth person becomes automatically hooked, and the only solution is total abstinence." (There are some 20 million adults in America who are either alcoholics or have serious alcohol abuse problems).
  
  
• Alcohol is not good for the human body; Dr. Robert Haas, M.D., former President of the American College of Sports Nutrition, said: "Beer, wine and hard liquor form toxic substances called aldehydes that can destroy the liver, kidney and brain cells ... alcohol dehydrates (robs) your body of its precious water supply, and along with the water go vital nutrients such as B Vitamins, calcium, magnesium and potassium." The Office of Highway Safety, Madison WI said: "Alcohol ... depresses brain centers, progressively produces uncoordination, confusion, disorientation, stupor, anesthesia, coma and death. Alcohol kills brain cells, and brain damage is permanent."
  
  
• If your motive for drinking alcohol is for relaxation or the "buzz," you are drinking enough for you to be in the early stages of "drunkenness," and if you are doing it alone or hiding it from others, then beware—these are the early warning signs of a drinking problem. Check your motive for drinking and remember that the heart is "deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9), and the easiest person to fool is yourself.
  
  
• If your motive for drinking alcohol is to "fit in" with the people around you, then for a start you are "around" the wrong people, and remember that if you choose to be a friend of the world and follow its ways, you automatically become an enemy of God (James 4:4). We are called to a higher standard.
  
  
• If you find yourself justifying the "moderate" use of alcohol by Christians, then logically it is very difficult not to go down a similar path with smoking, gambling and some other things not specifically prohibited by Scripture. And what about a little bit of marijuana if it's legal where you live, prescription drugs, and ... you know where the slippery slope is heading. You open the door for a little breeze and you can't keep out the hurricane.
  
  
• There are some 75 specific Scriptures in the Bible warning us about alcohol in one way or another—more, indeed, than on the subjects of lying, adultery, cheating, hypocrisy or even blasphemy. They start with Noah in Genesis 9:20 and go through to 1 Peter 4:3-4.
  
  
• Suicide is the ultimate insult to our Creator God. Yet according to the Fifth Special Report to the US Congress on Alcohol and Health, as many as 80 percent of people who attempt suicide have been drinking at the time.
  
  
• The Prohibition era in the US is almost universally ridiculed in the media as a time of anarchy and rule by organized crime, yet during Prohibition, the death rate for alcoholism dropped by 80 percent, many alcohol wards in hospitals were closed, general crime, violent deaths, domestic brutality and child abuse rates plummeted while there was a record increase in bank savings, insurance policies and the assets of building and loan associations.

Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, puts the basic premise of this article very succinctly and powerfully:

"Is drinking alcohol wrong? I do not drink alcoholic beverages for one major reason: my conduct might cause someone else, who is weak, to stumble. The apostle Paul established a rule of conduct that I think is very good. He said he would not eat meat or drink wine or do anything else which might cause a weaker brother to stumble.

"In a country where there are at least 20,000,000 problem drinkers, and millions of others who use alcohol to excess, Christians just cannot stand by and say, 'I can drink alcoholic beverages because the Bible does not say not to.' My conduct should be governed by the law of love. If I love my brother, I will not cause him to stumble and be offended. I personally refrain from drinking alcohol for that reason.

"To take our money, our lives and our bodies, all of which belong to Jesus, and subject them to a state of intoxication, can hardly be said to glorify the Lord, or be an act of faith."

I ask myself, and I ask my brothers and sisters in Christ, to answer honestly the following questions:

1. Can I, in all clear conscience, believe that I am setting a good example for others around me, and especially children, if I drink alcohol?
   
   
2. Would I feel comfortable on that "great and terrible day of the Lord," meeting Jesus face to face, with a "glass" in my hand?

If the answer for you is the same as the answer for me—a resounding "NO!"—then I beg you to reconsider if you are a drinker. It is not a matter of passing judgment, heaven forbid that I or anyone else would dare to judge another brother or sister in Christ.

But we are in the end-times, perilous times, and we are in a life-or-death daily battle with a powerful enemy whose most powerful weapon is deceit. We cannot afford to give him any leeway or advantage.

Our armor must be impregnable and our sword sharp. That will only happen with a mind that is equally impregnable and sharp, and that is a mind free of the influence of alcohol.