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INTRODUCTION

Throughout church history, Pentecostal congregations have always expected their pastors and members to abstain from alcohol. Compliance with this expectation is virtually universal, with the exception of a few members from other cultural backgrounds where they believe moderate alcohol consumption is acceptable. This commitment was motivated by the desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to please God and to bear a good witness to the lost. However, this almost universal abstinence which has long prevailed among the members of our churches is no longer present. This constitutional standard for our accredited members nevertheless remains in force and remains very clear. All accreditation holders are expected to refrain from using psychotropic substances, which includes alcohol in all its forms. What are the causes and consequences of consumption ? What does the Bible say about it ? What does the ecclesiastical constitution ? The answers to this question will constitute the backbone of our work. But first let’s define the terms Christians and alcohol.

 

 I-DEFINITION

 

1.The Christian

 A Christian is anyone who has confessed with their mouth that Jesus is their Lord and Savior ; this is the one who is a member of a church. In other words, a Christian is a person who believes in the Lord Jesus and walks with Him.

 

2.Alcohol

 Alcohol is a liquid containing essentially ethanol, obtained by the distillation of fermented juices often containing glucose. This is any drink that can contain up to 50% alcohol these days. It includes wine, beer and many other drinks. In Hebrew (tirosh) and even in Greek (oinos), the same words often translate alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine. The alcoholic drink is referred to in Luke 1 :15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor intoxicating liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb ; Soft wine is used in the New Testament in Acts 2 :13 But others scoffed, and said, They are full of sweet wine. When we talk about sweet wine, it is non-alcoholic, non-fermented wine. But as it was not the grape season, the mockers were referring to a less strong liquor. The public health code defines non-alcoholic drinks as those that contain less than 1.2% alcohol. If that’s all it takes, let’s see for ourselves.

 

 II-DEVELOPMENT

 

 1.Causes of alcohol consumption

 

 a-Anguish, mental burdens and sadness

 Proverbs 31 :6-7 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine (the alcoholic one) to him who has bitterness in his soul ; Let him drink and forget his poverty, and not remember more of his sentences (conviction to the death penalty). Worries caused by everyday life problems plunge many people into alcohol abuse. In fact, men think they have the solution through alcohol. But reality tells us otherwise. Those who drink all day long to forget their worries (in the same problems) always find themselves when they are lucid. Some people in the present century are wealthy but still sad just like poor people. So they indulge in taking narcotics, particularly alcohol. Others find that it is a necessity to interface between two situations (a change of scenery or to relax) as is the case when returning from work. If the world finds its strength in alcohol, we must find our strength in the Lord, are we facing a death sentence as in the case cited above.

 

2-The consequences of drinking alcohol

 

A -Liver cirrhosis

There is a dose-dependent effect between alcohol consumption and cirrhosis. It begins with the destruction of liver cells. They are replaced by fibrous tissue which is quickly affected during the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Which increases the risk of contraction. We can come to accuse the devil of being responsible for this evil when we went to buy it ourselves. Some will say that other foods are also harmful. The good thing is that they do not act in the same way on the body. What alcohol can lead us to do, these foods will not do.

 

 b- Effects on the brain

 Proverbs 20 :1 Wine is mockery, strong drink is riotous. Alcohol has harmful effects on the brain such as attention disorder (blurred vision where some say that the earth turns or that they see people 2 to 2, 3 to 3) source of numerous accidents, concentration problems (inability to control oneself), memory problems (forgetting what was said or heard). Chronic alcohol poisoning can lead to syndrome of Korsakoff, characterized by massive and irreversible memory impairment. Brain cells are permanently destroyed by a state of intoxication. Alcohol, even when consumed in small quantities, still destroys brain cells. It can cause stroke. In our country, several accidents are due to the consumption of alcohol, especially the most serious ones. Some young people of the world use alcohol to achieve their goals, unhealthy ends, our young sisters must be careful ; Genesis 19 :30-38 Lot left Zoar for the high ground, and settled on the mountain, with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. The eldest said to the youngest : Our father is old ; and there is no man in the country to come to us, according to the custom of all countries. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and sleep with him, that we may preserve our father’s race.

So they made their father drink wine that night ; and the eldest went to sleep with her father : he noticed neither when she lay down nor when she rose. The next day the elder said to the younger, Behold, last night I slept with my father ; let us make him drink wine again this night, and go and sleep with him, that we may preserve our father’s race. They made their father drink wine again that night ; and the youngest went to sleep with him : he noticed neither when she lay down nor when she got up. Lot’s two daughters became pregnant by their father. The eldest bore a son, and called his name Moab : he is the father of the Moabites to this day. The youngest also bore a son, whom she named Ben Ammi : he is the father of the Ammonites to this day. In a city in our country, a drunk man greeted a police officer one morning and asked him if there was a problem. He replied in the negative. Then he pushed the policeman who fell to the ground. And he said to him : boss, is there no problem now ? let’s see how far alcohol can take us.

 

 c-Dependence

When dependence sets in, the drinker’s health deteriorates both physically and psychologically. Relationships with loved ones are disrupted and professional life may also be affected. Most often, the man who loves alcohol ends up in adultery. Proverbs 23 :29-35 teaches us more about alcohol dependence in these words : <<For whom the ah ? For whom are the alas ? Who are the quarrels for ? Who are the complaints for ? For whom are injuries without cause (accidents) ? Who are the red eyes for ? For those who linger with wine, for those who seek out mixed wines. Don’t look at the wine because it is a beautiful red, it shines in the cup and flows easily. It ends up biting like a snake and stinging like an asp. Your eyes will be on courtesans (foreign women), and your heart will speak in a perverse way (There are people, what they could not say when they are lucid, they will say when they are drunk). You will become like a man lying in the middle of the sea, like a man lying on the top of a mast : I was hit…I was not hurt ! I was beaten…I didn’t know anything about it ! When will I wake up ?... I want more ! Dependence leads to impoverishment. A man who cannot achieve great things, after giving up alcohol can realize some of his projects.

 

 3-what the bible says about alcohol

 

1.The wedding of Canaan

 In making a positive assessment of John the Baptist and his ministry, Jesus makes some unflattering comments to the crowd of listeners ; Luke7 :31-34 To whom then shall I compare the men of this generation, and to whom are like -they ? They are like children sitting in the market place, who, speaking to one another, say : We played the flute for you, and you did not dance ; we sang laments to you, and you did not cry. For John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and you say, He is an eater and a drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. He compares them to children who play at weddings or funerals and who complain when others do not rejoice or lament as the situation would require. Jesus points out that they were criticizing John the Baptist for his austere Nazirite lifestyle at the same time as they were criticizing him for his social habits of eating and drinking with all kinds of people. They slandered each other, calling one a demon and the other a drunkard. John 2 :6-10 Now there were six stone vessels there, intended for the purification of the Jews, each containing two or three measures. Jesus said to them : Fill these vessels with water. And they filled them to the brim. Draw now, he said to them, and take some to the person in charge of the meal. And they wore it. When the person in charge of the meal had tasted the water changed into wine, - not knowing where this wine came from, while the servants, who had drawn the water, knew it well – he called the bridegroom, and he said : Every man serves good wine first, then the less good wine after one has become drunk (it was a proverb) ; you have kept the good wine until now. According to the researcher Pliny, the best wine was the one that contained the smallest trace of fermentation or mold. If the context and the fact that Jesus changed the water into wine at the wedding in Canaan makes it difficult to conclude that Jesus was abstinent, it is equally unwise to deduce from these incidents that they justify the consumption of alcohol . They do, however, illustrate the challenge we face when we seek direct ethical direction from biblical references to alcohol. Jesus came so that men would have fulfilled lives. He was eager to participate in the wedding and make it even more joyful. But we cannot conceive that He, who came to fulfill righteousness, would have changed 470 liters of water into alcoholic wine, which would undoubtedly have destroyed homes, ruined lives and brought infinite misery, after people had drunk enough.

 

 b-The institution of the Holy supper

Mark 14 :22-25 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread ; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it unto them, saying, Take, this is my body. He then took a cup ; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is shed for many. Truly I tell you, I will never drink the fruit of the vine again until that day when I drink it again in the kingdom of God.” We may wonder if in heaven we will drink alcohol and be intoxicated by it. No ! We will be lucid. The most controversial use of the word wine in the New Testament concerns the elements used by our Lord in his institution of the Last Supper. Marc adds the words “fruit of the vine”, which means freshly squeezed grape juice, therefore not fermented. The Passover festival took place six months after the harvest, hence the allegation that the cup that our lord used must have been fermented, and therefore alcoholic. What is wrong. However, several means were known to prevent fermentation and, therefore, this argument is worthless. In addition, the grapes could be kept for almost an entire year if they were hung in caves providing ideal cooling rooms. So in Jesus’ time, it was easy to get fresh grapes. Our Lord took food that was common among people, bread and the fruit of the vine, and sanctified them using them as symbols of his life and death spread to all humanity.

 

 c-a little wine for the good of your stomach

 “Don’t just keep drinking water ; but make use of a little wine, because of your stomach and your frequent indispositions’’, 1Timothy 5 :23. The word used in the original Greek text is oinos, and can mean both alcoholic and non-alcoholic grape juice. The soothing properties of grape juice for relieving stomach upset were once well known in Palestine. This is why Paul advised Timothy to drink grape juice. Athenäus (280 after JESUS CHRIST) informs us that there was a wine for stomach problems. He prescribes the following : “we will take unfermented wine (gleukos), either mixed with water or heated and which is very good for the stomach. Many medical findings have confirmed that alcohol prolongs stomach problems. We can therefore conclude that Paul was not encouraging Timothy to drink alcohol.

 

 d-The Christian’s attitude toward alcohol

 In 1 Timothy 3 :2-3 and 8, it is noted that the bishop must be blameless, sober, nor given to wine, which translated, literally means that he must be abstinent, have self-control, and must not not stand near the wine. Paul goes on to recommend the same thing to male and female deacons. If the Christian is invited to abstain from alcohol, he cannot afford to open liquor stores as a lucrative activity. In his letter to Titus, 1 :7, the bishop is further exhorted not to be given to wine, the elders to abstain from it, and the women not to be given to wine ; Title 2 :3. If we take into account everything the Bible says about alcohol, we will recognize that God disapproves even of drinking in moderation, in order to preserve the people from destructive influences. If alcohol is forbidden for the bishop, deacons and elders, it is indeed forbidden for every Christian. Indeed the Bible says that we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood ; 1 Peter 2 :9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood , a holy nation, a people acquired, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his admirable light. In the Old Testament, drunkenness and all its consequences were always considered something repugnant. Divine displeasure is frequently related to Intoxicating drinks and their consequences, and it was explicitly proclaimed by the prophets ; ISAIAH 5 :11-13 Woe to those who early in the morning Run after intoxicating drinks, And who long before night Are heated by wine ! The harp and the lute, the tambourine, the flute and the wine, liven up their feasts ; But they pay no attention to the work of the LORD, nor see the work of his hands. Therefore my people will suddenly be taken captive ; His nobility will die of hunger, And his multitude will be parched with thirst. In the New Testament, Paul several times denounces drunkenness as a work of the flesh and contrasts it with being filled with the Holy Spirit. This can prevent people from entering the kingdom of God ; Ephesians 5 :18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery ; but be filled with the Spirit. So we understand from the scripture that while drinking alcohol was not clearly forbidden as wrong, it contains many warnings about its dangers and harmfulness. The primary purpose of Paul’s writings to the Ephesians was to emphasize that the spirit of alcoholism and the Holy Spirit are two different facets, therefore incompatible (some prophesy under the influence of alcohol ; how dangerous it is ! ). The Christian must be rooted in a strong commitment to the ills of society which result from alcohol abuse. We must continue to be at the forefront of helping alcoholics find deliverance and hope through the message of the gospel and the loving help of God’s people. Not only do those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit avoid contributing to the degradation of the world, but they are filled with God-honoring wisdom, a spirit of sacrifice motivated by love, and a determination to bring hope in the world. « So whether you eat or drink, and whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. Do not be a stumbling block to the Greeks, or to the Jews, or to the church of God, just as I also please myself in everything and everyone, seeking not my own advantage, but that of the majority. , so that they may be saved>> 1corinthians 10 :30-33 If this is the case for every Christian, then he must be taught to better understand the scriptures and flee from heresies.

 

E-What the AD/BF constitution says

The constitution of the AD of Burkina Faso in its article 226 condemns acts in the field of Christian ethics including alcoholism, consumption of alcoholic beverages, consumption of drugs in all its different forms (Ephesians 5 :18). Every good citizen respects the constitution of his country. We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. It is good for us to submit to its constitution because it is for our good.

 

CONCLUSION

 

 After reflection on the theme : “the Christian and the consumption of alcohol”, it appears that from a medical point of view, alcohol is harmful to human health. There are multiple moral and physical consequences. The Bible, for its part, never ceases to show the danger and displeasure of God in the face of alcohol. Since the Christian must be in the image of the Lord and be an instrument for the salvation of souls, it is proper for him to abstain from intoxicating drinks ; whether he is responsible at the church or not. To do this, it must be taught to avoid scriptural deviations.

 

God bless you !

 

Evangelist SIDIANE Jean Alexandre alias GODWILL Chosen Joshua.