I will call out anyone who lies, including those who claim to represent God and the Bible...but speak and teach contrarily.... and just want all to know the truth about drinking, moderation, etc., and sobriety. I chose to remain sober -- but the Bible doesn't condemn drinking in moderation -- but drunkenness. Personally, the less I drink, the better I feel.
The Bible doesn't say anything about smoking because they didn't have the habit back then -- but the principle is: Would you pollute your neighbor's air supply? I refuse to input my own personal feelings about that subject, and a few of my close friends still have the habit -- and I love them anyway. Never hate the sinner -- hate the sin. Yet, that smoke has powerful drugs in it that can hook you and it costs a lot of money these days. I will leave that dog lie for now.... and we all have bad habits that we ought to quit, I guess. I just don't care to breath it in my own lungs, as I also use oxygen to help me sleep at night with my SLEEP APNEA and COPD challenges.
I just want to be hooked on 'Love for the Lord.'
Excessive Use Of Alcohol?
Q. In Paul’s short letter to Titus, he mentions 4 times that the people should be sober (Titus 1:8, 2:2, 2:6, 2:12). But in his letter to Timothy, Paul mentions that it is okay to drink a little wine (1 Timothy 5:23). Did the people of Crete have a problem with drinking alcohol in excess? Are born-again Christians considered backslid if they drink alcohol in excess?
A. As far as I know the people of Crete were no more inclined toward the excessive use of alcohol than anyone else.
Of the four verses you cite only Titus 2:2 refers specifically to the use of alcoholic beverages. The Greek word in that verse can mean anything from totally abstaining to restricting oneself to moderate use only. In Titus 1:8, 2:6, 2:12 Paul used a different Greek word which means to be sober minded, of sound mind, or discrete. Additionally, in Titus 1:8 Paul was referring to prospective elders, in Titus 2:6 his topic was young men, and in Titus 2:12 he was addressing believers in general.
While the Bible doesn’t prohibit the use of alcohol in moderation, Paul did speak clearly against habitual drunkenness (1 Cor. 5:11).
A. As far as I know the people of Crete were no more inclined toward the excessive use of alcohol than anyone else.
Of the four verses you cite only Titus 2:2 refers specifically to the use of alcoholic beverages. The Greek word in that verse can mean anything from totally abstaining to restricting oneself to moderate use only. In Titus 1:8, 2:6, 2:12 Paul used a different Greek word which means to be sober minded, of sound mind, or discrete. Additionally, in Titus 1:8 Paul was referring to prospective elders, in Titus 2:6 his topic was young men, and in Titus 2:12 he was addressing believers in general.
While the Bible doesn’t prohibit the use of alcohol in moderation, Paul did speak clearly against habitual drunkenness (1 Cor. 5:11).
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