T he title of this article will likely have piqued        Christ, and make no provision for
         the interest of a variety of readers. This pe-   the flesh to gratify its desires” (Rom
         rusal is intended to stimulate thought and       13:12-14 ESV).
spiritual exercise in the minds and hearts of those
who are genuinely searching for Scriptural guidance           For the believers in Corinth,
in this critical area of modern living.                   drunkenness was one of the charac-
                                                          teristics of their former unrighteous
    There are many young people fueled by curiosity       days, and linked by Paul with other
and intense peer pressure to “try a few beers” with       vile behaviors and sinful excesses.
their friends - the rationale being that “there’s noth-   “Do not be deceived: neither the
ing wrong with it as long as you don’t get drunk.”        sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor
Many young couples starting out in family life are        adulterers, nor men who practice
facing the pressure to enjoy some wine and cham-          homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the
pagne with their fine dining as part of a sophisticat-    greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
ed, upwardly-mobile lifestyle. It makes them fit in       nor swindlers will inherit the king-
more easily with their circle of social contacts. It is   dom of God. And such were some of
my earnest prayer that the Lord will use this article     you. But you were washed, you were
to cause some to step back and look seriously at the      sanctified, you were justified in the
Scriptural teaching relative to this subject – and        name of the Lord Jesus Christ and
that, as a result, lives, testimonies, families, and as-  by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:9-
semblies may be preserved from the devastation and        11 ESV).
destruction caused by alcohol and alcohol-related
tragedies.                                                    Drunkenness renders a person
                                                          unfit for the fellowship of a local as-
    We need to recognize that there are a couple of       sembly (1 Cor 5:11). It is also identi-
critically-important things that the Scripture teaches    fied in Galatians 5:21 as one of the
very, very clearly.                                       “works of the flesh.”

Drunkenness is Sin                                        Danger and Damage

    First, the Scriptures state clearly, categorically,       The second thing the Scriptures
and indisputably that drunkenness is sin! Paul iden-      clearly teach is that alcoholic drinks
tifies drunkenness as one of the “works of darkness”      pose a sinister and subtle danger –
and “lusts of the flesh,” linking it with such things as  promising pleasure but in the end
orgies, sexual immorality, and rioting. “Let us walk      delivering disaster. “Do not look at
properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunk-      wine when it is red, when it sparkles
enness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not      in the cup and goes down smoothly.
in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus     In the end it bites like a serpent and