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Your King Has Come - Indelible Grace
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may [drink] anything, while the weak person [drinks only non-alcoholic beverages]. Let not the one who [drinks alcohol] despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who [drinks alcohol], for God has welcomed him… One person esteems one [type of beverage] as [worse] than another, while another esteems all [beverages] alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind… The one who [drinks alcohol], [drinks it] in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God… Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
I have heard it posited (and believed it myself for quite some time) that the one who is
stronger in the faith is the one who puts forth that a Christian should not drink any alcohol of any kind. It certainly sounds good on its face…that the one who talks of restricting the use of fermented beverage must be the one who is more mature and further along in his spiritual walk. However, when one looks closely at the passage quoted above (slightly altered with references to drinking instead of eating), one sees rather quickly that the weaker brother is the one whose conscience is violated if he drinks.
I am here to tell you that that weaker brother is, well…me. I know that the drinking of fermented beverages, in and of itself, is not a sin. And I have vigorously defended the biblical right of Christians to be able to freely drink (both on this blog and in other forums – such as on a deacon questionnaire I was once asked to fill out after having been nominated for that office and asked if I would agree not to drink in order to become a deacon). But, even in acknowledging the liberty a Christian has to partake of fermented drink, I still have a personal conviction for myself that I should not personally drink alcoholic beverages. Please, hear me out on this.
I don’t believe my motivation is one of fear of causing another brother to stumble, but perhaps a fear which comes from the fact that I have never had a drink…never. Maybe I am just scared that the alcohol will enhance my already outspoken personality traits…and I can tell right you now that those closest to me would not desire that in the least. Maybe I am afraid of what long-term effect the alcohol will have on me, I don’t know. Maybe it is because I have just never had any desire to drink anything with alcohol…maybe it is just fear of the unknown. Whatever the reason, I am fully convinced that, on this issue, I am the one who is weak in faith that Paul warns not to pass judgment on those who do drink. Now, just because I do not try to impose my convictions onto those who do drink (and just because I realize that there is nothing wrong with drinking for a Christian – yes, even in public), that does not ( I don’t believe) do away with the reality that I am still to be considered weak in faith concerning alcohol. Some of those I have discussed this with have told me that I am not actually the weaker brother, but I would disagree with them. I am still weak in faith on this issue…I just am following Paul’s instruction to keep that personal conviction of conscience to myself by not attempting to impose it onto others.
So, now you know my position on drinking a fermented beverage. And you know that I understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you drinking a beer at a restaurant or social gathering. What I also know is that it is perfectly fine in the sight of God for you to do that in front of me, even though I have a personal conviction against it.
The real dilemma of discernment to tackle now is…when should you not drink that beer or wine in front of someone who has the same conviction that I do? We’ll try to cover that in my next post. Trust me, my answer to that will not line up with the position most Southern Baptists have on the matter. There’s a big misunderstanding out there of what it means to not do something for the sake of another’s potential stumbling over your actions.
Stay tuned…and order me a [root] beer, will ya!
