Cissie Graham Lynch:
00:00:00 Hey there. I hope your summer is going well. This summer, my team is continuing to do something here on Fearless to start real conversations with those in your church, your family, and your community. So we're taking another look at an episode from our “Elephant in the Room” series about how we as believers should handle the touchy subject of alcohol. So many of you reached out when I first released this episode, that you were so thankful to have this conversation because so many in the church refuse to have this conversation. So, I am thankful for all your encouragement. If you are new to this series and you have not heard it, take a listen, send it to those in your community, in your church small group to start those conversations that can be a little touchy, but we need to be having them and I hope this helps spark that conversation with an Elephant in the Room discussion.
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00:00:54 Hi, I’m Cissie Graham Lynch. Welcome to Fearless, helping you have a fearless faith in a compromising culture.
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Cissie:
00:01:15 Welcome back to another episode of Fearless where we are continuing the series “Elephant in the Room,” discussing topics the church is avoiding and ignoring, and topics that I think are too big to ignore. And recently, I was on social media and I saw John Crist, the Christian comedian, promoting his new book that’s coming out. And he was telling a story that he got done doing a comedy show at a church. And he went to dinner with some of the church staff, and he goes to the restroom, and he tells the waitress, I’m going to order a water, but I want you to bring me you know, this and this. Some … some liquor. I don’t even know my drinks that well. And he said, I’ll pay you $20, just say I’m going to order water but you bring me this. So then later—I’m not sure how the story unfolded but he’s revealing to one of the church staff that they went to dinner with of what he did, and this church staff said, “Oh, I did the same exact thing.” My first thought is like, “Wow, that waitress must have thought these were a bunch of crazy people.” But it really just kind of stirred in my heart that there’s this greater acceptance of alcohol inside the church now that a lot of people are drinking. But even still, there’s something where we feel like we have to hide it. So, we’re going to look at that on today’s episode of “Alcohol Inside the Church.” What does the Bible have to say about it? And what are some of the concerns?
And as I address this topic, this is a hard topic. This isn’t one of those really fun ones that I look forward to addressing here on Fearless, but I see there’s a great need. And I come from a background, I think, that’s pretty neutral. My mom grew up—she didn’t grow up in a Christian home—and she didn’t become a Christian until her 20s when my grandmother, Ruth Graham, led her to the Lord—but she grew up in a home kind of like the high society, going to the country clubs where alcohol was very highly accepted, and she was allowed to drink at a young age. And she always shared that, you know, she would taste it a few times here and there or go to a party, and she just never enjoyed it, that she didn’t like the taste of it, but she also saw the evidence of what it did to people’s lives—and as a reminder, just once again, my mom wasn’t a Christian at the time. She saw it a lot in her family with alcoholism, marriages destroyed, children hurt through it. So, she tried again in college, and she didn’t like it. And once she got married and she had given her life to Christ, she had decided that that was not going to be for her. It wasn’t going to be an example that she wanted to set in our household.
And however, I had a dad that did drink. I have very early memories of my dad drinking just one glass of wine every night. I never saw him abuse the alcohol. I never saw him where that affected our family. He would come home from work and have a glass of wine. But I do remember at a young age that my dad stopped drinking wine. At the time, I was too young to understand or even ask the question why. But later to learn that for him it was not worth sacrificing the ministry. It was not worth sacrificing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, I have that memory of like my mom, the thought process of like my dad, not ever seeing it abused, where I think that a lot of Christians fall into that category of maybe just a glass of wine at night or a beer at a brewery. But then, I met Corey. And Corey came from a family where alcoholism was very strong with his grandfather, with an uncle, even in his father’s life. But when they came to know Christ, it was a 180. When they gave their life over, the Lord healed them. He redeemed them from these struggles of alcohol. And then I have family members who are wonderful, godly people—some of the best Christians I know—and they drink a beer at dinner. So, where is this balance? Where do we look at it? Because I come from just kind of a neutral place. I’m not here to convict anybody. I’m not here to tell you what to do, not to drink, or drinking is okay. That’s the job of the Holy Spirit.
I want to have a conversation, an open discussion, about some of the problems I do see inside the church, some warning signs, and to see what Scripture has to say. But some things, as I address this—it was so important that my mom set this example—was never to be condemning when we’re talking about this because this is a sensitive subject. Everybody, even when they read the title or what this episode was going to be about, they already had their opinions—and they’re going to have strong opinions. And I’m going to have some friends that are ready to argue why they can have a drink and have all their reasonings, and then, you’re going to have some people that will give all the reasons of why you should not drink. So, I understand people came here, they might already have their opinions—and they might not have chosen to even listen to this episode because they didn’t want to hear it. But my mom always taught me never to condemn or judge. Because, once again, she grew up with a family that drank. Some of them drink heavily. I was around it. I wasn’t hidden from it. I wasn’t sheltered from it. And my mom used to read this Scripture, Romans 14:13, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” And that was just a verse that she had read to me before, that we’re not to condemn, but we’re also not to be a stumbling block.
You know, people, once again, have debated if this is a sin or not. And that’s not my purpose here today. I want to ask the question: Is drinking alcohol, whether it’s a glass of wine, whether it’s social drinking, whether it’s at a brewery, is it beneficial? Is it beneficial to you? Is it beneficial to your health? Is it beneficial to your children or to your friends around you? But most importantly, is it beneficial for the Kingdom? Is it beneficial to your walk with Jesus Christ and the example you’re supposed to set before the world? And in 1 Corinthians chapter six, verse 12, it says, “‘Everything is permissible for me,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me,’ but I will not be mastered by anything. ‘Food … for the stomach and the stomach for the food,’ but God will destroy them both.” So, as we go through this episode and as I ask the question and continue to ask, I want you to ask yourself: Is it beneficial?
And here's some of the problems that I personally see—and I needed to back up a little bit, because when I married Corey and where he came from, his background, he decided at a young age not to drink. He doesn’t even drink soda since the age of 12. So, he was very black and white in this. And when we started dating, I was not black and white on this subject. I was socially drinking some, just, you know, a glass of wine here and there, and didn’t see much of a problem with it. And so, I would kind of argue back and forth with him. And the Lord one day just laid it on my heart and said, “Cissie, there’re so many women out there who struggle with a husband with alcoholism or abuse, but I’ve given you a husband who set his life apart, and this is one area you do not have to worry about.” Right then, the Lord convicted me, and I stopped arguing. Through that, was it beneficial? That argument for me to have a glass of wine, what was the benefits to come from it? And so, as we go through this, I want to continue to ask you the question: Is it beneficial? But the problem I see here, of course, and this is not going to be the first time you’ve heard this, but it’s a stumbling block. And the Scripture I just read and this one for our children: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and … be drowned in the depths of the sea.” And there have been so many incidences that I’ve seen where alcohol has become a stumbling block, and sometimes I think we choose our passion for the drink over what’s better for those.
You know as a Christian, especially as a Graham, you know, everybody’s always kind of watching. They want to see Grahams mess up. They want to see us Grahams stumble and fall, but the same is for the Christian. The world wants to see you fail. The world wants to see you fall, because they want to see that you’re just like them.
I remember a story of a friend who’s a pastor, and he was traveling in a different state on some back roads. He had been speaking at a church, and they stop in at a diner kind of a bar, and they order a burger and fries. And he goes, “Ugh, you know what, an ice-cold beer sounds so great. I really want an ice-cold beer.” There was just something in his spirit that goes, “Ah, you know what, I better not. Even though I’m kind of here and nobody will know. Nobody will see me.” And sure enough when he finished and was walking out, somebody came up to him and goes, “Oh, pastor. We have watched you for years. You have helped us in our walk.” You know, and just praised him and thanked him. And he said the Holy Spirit says, “Who knows if he came from an alcoholic family or struggled with alcohol and he had seen me as pastor drink?” You don’t know what somebody else is struggling with. We don’t know somebody else’s addictions.
My mom used to tell this story going back to, you know, if Grahams can do it, her and my dad were dating, and they weren’t even walking with the Lord yet. My mom didn’t know the Lord, and of course, my dad was walking far from the Lord, and my dad had a beer, and somebody came up to him and says, “Hey, if Franklin Graham can do it, I can do it.” That’s not just to us Grahams. That’s anybody that’s listening. If somebody knows that you’re a Christian, “If they can do it, I can do it.” Because that was kind of like our life in the NFL. I think we were kind of put in this bubble a little bit because of where we stood.
Like one time, when Corey was an NFL rookie, it was the tradition for the rookie to buy all the veterans in their position a dinner. Well, of course, this dinner could be a very expensive when we’re talking about an NFL budget, and Corey and I were very frugal at the time. And of course, they would all drink, and Corey was the only one that didn’t. So, he did a set menu, and he didn’t provide the alcohol. Now, if they wanted to buy alcohol, great. We have no problem with that, but he himself wasn’t going to buy it. And do you know those guys, they never mocked him for it. They respected him for it because they knew where he stood—and he didn’t waver on that. Because the moment you start to waver, I think, is when the world will condemn you. But like, I look at some of my non-Christian friends. When I moved to Fort Myers, one of my first group of friends were not Christians, and I was the only one that didn’t drink. They were fascinated by it. They couldn’t believe it. I mean, they were fascinated that I was a virgin when I got married. They were fascinated I didn’t drink. But never once did they pressure me. They respected me for it. And I’m not here to tell those stories like patting Corey and I on the back here because, don’t be fooled, I’ve been tempted by alcohol since the day I never drank again. I—there’s been times that I’ve been in my hotel room and it’s there, and I’m like, “Nobody’ll know.” You know, Satan whispers that. “Nobody’ll know.” But if you put one step that way and Satan grabs that, there’s no telling what he would do in the future with it. He just needs one little part to put his foot in.
I also remember a story of a family friend. Their daughter had really struggled with alcohol and had become an alcoholic and went to rehab. And she had come home, and she was going to be home for the Christmas party. And she had asked, “Can we not have alcohol this year at the Christmas party? You know, since I’m out of rehab and still struggling.” And there were people in her family who would not come to the Christmas party because they weren’t going to have alcohol. And it’s like people care more about the drink than they do about the condition of a family member or friend. And so, I want to ask you that: Do you have a friend like that who’s struggling, who you know has an addiction problem, but you still have it at your parties? At your birthday parties or your children’s birthday parties? If you know people are struggling with depression and they’re drinking and they’re—all of that, is it a stumbling block in somebody’s life? Because it is serious. That is what Scripture says. That, “it is better to have a millstone wrapped around your neck and thrown into the depths of the sea”—that’s how serious it is.
One last story about being a stumbling block is we’re starting to see in our culture, just like any other subject that we’re facing, whether it’s critical race theory, LGBT, we see these issues have started in culture and they have worked their way into the church. And the same is with social drinking. Every event that you go to now has social drinking at it, whether it’s a wedding, whether it’s a party, whether it’s a—even baby showers have mimosas at them. So that has crept into the church now. That we’re seeing Bible studies at breweries. I know a couple of Bible studies that happen to be at a brewery. And my question is, “Is it really beneficial?” And people will use the argument, “Well, we’re going to where the sinner was.” But if you’re drinking with them and they have a huge issue, then that’s a problem. But I remember a friend. He had struggled with alcoholism, and he’d gone to rehab as well. Got his life straightened out and was doing well. And he had joined a Bible study. Well, guess what? This Bible study, they would drink wine. Started with one glass of wine. And sure enough, he fell right back into it. And that’s a Bible study. So, what was the purpose? What was any benefit coming from that? I just ask that question. It seems so generic sometimes. Oh, we don’t want to be a stumbling block because that’s the quickest excuse that’s thrown out there, but this is really a serious part that we should not ignore in Scripture.
Randy Alcorn defines a stumbling block as: “The stumbling block of 1 Corinthians 8 (and Romans 14) is an action, taken by a biblically informed believer, that does not in itself violate any scriptural precept or principle, but which a less knowledgeable or less mature believer might imitate, in a way that violates his conscience. … The biblical stumbling block involves a more mature believer exercising Christian liberty in a way that hurts a younger [or] less mature believer. It does so by promoting him to say ‘I guess I can go ahead and drink alcohol, watch R-rated movies, etc.’ when by doing so he will end up sinning because of being unable to handle this action that another believer might be able to handle.”
Another problem I see is we as Christians are to be set apart. I shared the story of my mom always setting the example of not being condemning, but my mom also showed me by example of how to be in the world but not of the world. OftenSatan will tell us the lie like to reach a sinner we need to join them where they are because Jesus ate with the sinners. But Jesus wasn’t joining in on some of those things that might have led them to sin. He was different. Scripture says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what [the will of God is], what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We’re supposed to be renewed of the mind. We’re not supposed to be conformed to this world, so that we may have discernment. And how often does alcohol mess with our discernment and our judgment and our capability of reasoning? And how can you be renewed of the mind with alcohol? According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, one in every 13 adults—nearly 14 million Americans—abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. Alcohol is involved in 50% of spouse abuse cases, 38% of child abuse cases, 65% of drownings. It’s involved in 54% of those in jail for violent crimes, and 49% of those convicted for murder or attempted murder had been under the influence of alcohol when committed those crimes. And that’s like when you read those statistics, it’s like why would you want to have anything to do with it? You might not have good judgment or reasoning when you’re under the influence of alcohol. And as Christians, I think we can’t do enough to protect our heart and our mind and our soul, with all the spiritual warfare we’re fighting in this world, whether it’s mentally or it’s physically, whether we’re fighting for our children’s heart and soul. Why would we want to add one more place where Satan can put his foot in and just weave his way in? Because it only starts with one drink. When somebody takes their first sip, they never dream that it would lead down the road to destruction.
A third issue is I see as the culture, we’ve gravitated to every social event has alcohol. And now, culture has permeated into our church and into our Bible studies. I’ve kind of already touched on that, but my question is, “Why?” I was just talking to a colleague and they said a father went on a church retreat—a new church they’ve joined; they love it—and all weekend it was drinking at the men’s church retreat. And, how is that separate from the world? And what is beneficial of that when, once again, you don’t know who is struggling with it? And I’m amazed—maybe because I have a husband, like I said, that things for him are very black and white that has led to many arguments in our marriage over the years. We don’t always see eye to eye on stuff like that, but one thing I’m very thankful for is that he’s very confident in the decisions he makes. Because it blows my mind how many men and women who cave into peer pressure as adults, like they’re still in high school or middle school—yes, I wasn’t strong kind of in my decision making when I was younger—but as adults, shouldn’t we have our confidence in the Lord of who we are and not feel the peer pressure of social drinking? I always hear excuses especially I think a lot of people sometimes feel like they have to give me an excuse because I don’t drink. They have to give me an excuse of why they do drink even though I don’t ask because I don’t care what their excuse is. There’s no like judgment in me, but I do think it’s funny they have to open up and tell me why they do drink. And I’ve heard some crazy excuses: “Well, if they drink in moderation, then they won’t become an alcoholic.” And I’m like, “Well, I used to be addicted to pills when I was in high school, so, should I just have a few pills so I don’t get a full addiction?” That excuse always kills me.
But anyways, over the past few years, there’s just been this rapidly growing expectation in our culture that moms who are in the thick of mothering, who have had a really rough day raising their children, have to have a glass of wine at night. “Oh, I’ve had a rough day. I’ve finally put the kids to bed. I can have my me time and my glass of wine and unwind.” And the dangers of that goes back to what I just said is you never realize if you take that one sip, that one glass of wine turns into something more. It was actually on the “Today” show I watched a few years ago, and it was of a mother who just started with one glass of wine after she had put her kids to bed, and it had led her to be an alcoholic years later, and that she almost lost her family and destroyed her family. I kid you not, when you click on it now to view it on the “Today” show’s website, it's an advertisement for alcohol right before the alcoholic tells her story. And it’s not funny, but that’s just the world we in—billions of dollars go into advertising. Of course, these commercials tell us to drink responsibly, but they never tell the true storyand the whole story of years down the road.
A study in 2018 prior to the pandemic revealed that 32% of moms reported they were engaged in binge drinking, and those numbers only climbed over the pandemic. At the height of the pandemic, it was reported that drinking for women had increased 323%. I mean, I know the men listening here probably don’t go to Pinterest boards very often, but there are entire Pinterest boards out there that are just moms and wine, and it’s like they’re teaching us to survive motherhood, we have to have a glass of wine.
I went on a trip years ago with some Christian women leaders, and some of their staff—and they write women’s Bible studies—and I was shocked because on this trip many of them had had a rough day, and they left the dinner early because they wanted to go back to the room and have a glass of wine to relax and help them feel better on their rough day. And I’m like, “We’re here kind of on this like Bible retreat with Christian women, and they think that that is going to help them with their bad day.” And I’m like, “What are we doing here? Why are we studying the Bible? Like God should be enough to fill us and the Holy Spirit to fill us.” So, I was just shocked by that, of how common that was.
And so, when we’re talking about this elephant in the room, why is the church itself, why are pastors not engaging in this conversation when this is a growing problem? Because I don’t have like a statistic, this is kind of my heart on issue is I think one generation was so legalistic.And maybe they were raised that way like, “Drinking’s a sin. Drinking’s a sin. We can’t drink.” And now my generation is growing up thinking, “Well, drinking is not a sin. I have the liberty to do so, the freedom to do so.” And it’s almost become prideful with them. Like, “It’s not a sin and I’m allowed to do it.” So, for some of them that didn’t maybe grow up with alcohol in the family, they never saw all the dangers of alcoholism to where people that I know who’ve given their life to Christ maybe at a later age, it’s a 180 in their life because they saw the ugliness of it. They saw the hurt. They saw the damage. Just this summer with one of our staff members up at Samaritan's Purse he said, you know, he didn’t become a Christian until his late 30s. And he says, “I was not an alcoholic, but I was a lousy drunk. When I gave my life to Christ, it was a 180 that day. Why would I want anything to do with that?”
So, I don’t really have a statistic to go with that, but I see it as people-in-my-age category that didn’t grow up with it around their home now they feel they have the liberty to do so. But once again, go back to that Bible verse. Is it beneficial? What is the damage it’s doing? When we look at our children one day, what if something one day happened to your child with alcohol? If they were in a wreck or they became an alcoholic, would you ever be able to forgive yourself, that it was around you?
Once again, why is the church not talking about this big elephant in the room? Over half of the U.S. population drinks, with some studies showing up to 67%, meaning that churches run the risk of offending, alienating a significant portion of their members by talking about alcohol, abstinence, or sensitivity. Three in 10 adults in the U.S. say they drink too much. So, this kind of goes back to a running theme in this series of “Elephant in the Room” is why are pastors not talking about it? Well, they don’t want to offend people. These topics can offend. Well, when we are talking about sin, if that’s sin that you drink too much, or if that’s the sin that you’ve been a stumbling block, or maybe the Holy Spirit has been whispering in your heart not to drink but you’re doing it anyways, whatever the reason is, people don’t want to offend. Pastors don’t want to offend. They don’t want to touch on sensitive topics that might hurt people or bother people at home. And once again, I would remind you, that’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict. If they’re having that conviction, that’s coming from the Holy Spirit if you’re just teaching that in truth and in grace.
Research is showing that church leaders and congregations are struggling mightily with addiction, which means we often have a situation of kind of the blind leading the blind. And I’ve seen this personally. We all know of church leaders who have fallen. Some of you have maybe been a part of a church or somebody, a church pastor that has been very influential in your life, and you’ve been disappointed by them, and they’ve fallen, whether that was with alcohol or drugs or sexual sin, whatever it might be. And I’ve seen that. One pastor I love dearly—I just saw a shift in his life. I saw things changing. I saw things he was started to post on Instagram. And I even told my husband like, “Something’s weird there.” Even with some of his theology, there was just little changes that were happening. And then, he started posting pictures of alcohol like being at a bar with his family, and I just knew right then and there he wasn’t living his life for the Lord. Something happened. And sure enough, it was like the following week he had lost his church and had fallen. So when we look at some of these greater sins, I think maybe pastors—because we know they’re dealing with many addictions—they’re not addressing it because they have their own problem in their own life.
And then, there’s been a history in the church in the U.S. to talk about alcohol consumption where it’s a sin. It’s kind of like what I mentioned earlier. It’s that older generation that, “This is a sin,” and the next generation is kind of raising up and saying, “No, it's not.” I was even at a church one time, the pastor takes up a beer and opens it up and drinks a sip, from the pulpit—which we have to remind is holy ground—and he was trying to prove a point. But once again, what was the point? And was it beneficial? I think we are focused on the idea of what we are free to do rather than what we are freed from, and I think people who have a greater understanding of that, who maybe came to know the Lord later in life, who God really redeemed them and freed them from an addiction.
I know God has freed me from an addiction in the past. I’ve shared about it, that I had an eating disorder. I was addicted to pills. And I don’t put myself in any place where I might be tempted with that again. God healed me. He healed me that time. But I’m still prone to that. I know I have an addictive personality. So, I don’t put a scale in my room or my house. I haven’t owned a scale to weigh myself since I was 20 years old, because I don’t want to be tempted to do that every single day and that becomes obsessive. Because I think some people whether it’s with an addiction—and I’m not going to go far down the road with an addiction—but even with alcohol, sometimes they want like, “Lord, heal me from that. Take that desire away.” And sometimes God doesn’t take that desire away from us. My dad will tell you to this day he still craves a cigarette. He has not had a cigarette since he was like 24 years old, but he will still crave a cigarette. And he will still crave an ice-cold beer, and he hasn’t drank in years. Because sometimes that temptation, it never goes away, but we’re to deny ourselves. It’s not about “me, me, me.” We are to deny ourselves and take up God’s—take up the cross and to follow Him. And that has to maybe for some of us be a daily thing. When we wake up, we die to ourselves. We surrender that to God. We surrender that to the cross.
And of course, the Scriptures have so much warning of drinking too much. And a lot of people say, “Well, that’s just drinking if you drink in excess”—and maybe we need two or three episodes of talking about alcoholism, because we could go into a lot of these in detail—but Proverbs 20 says, “Wine is a mocker, [a] strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray [of these] is not wise.” Romans 14 says, “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” 1 Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” That’s to be sober minded, to be watchful, and if we’re under the influence of anything, that’s when Satan creeps in. That’s when we make bad judgments, whether you just get into a fist fight at a bar or whether you are married and you flirt with somebody that’s not your wife or your spouse because you drank a little too much. I’ve seen it all. And you don’t need to give Satan one inch, one tiny sliver of a door being opened to work his way into your life. We should be doing everything to protect it.
And as I get ready to close out this episode, I want to ask you a few questions, because we’ve addressed a big elephant today, and there’s a lot to take in. And I hope and I pray that you’ve had an open mind and open ear just to hear some of my concerns. Maybe some of this has touched you personally. Maybe the Holy Spirit is impressing things on your heart just to do a self-evaluation. But as we close and you ask the question, “What can I do?” I want to ask you to do a self-examination on your own life. Are you drinking too much? Are you binging at night? Has it started with a glass of wine and it’s turned into be more? Are you setting yourself apart from the world? Do you know people in your life who struggle with this or struggle with other addictions? Maybe they suffer with anxiety and depression, and you’re drinking around them, and they’re drinking around you at your own home—but that becomes a stumbling block. I want to encourage you maybe if you find yourself in that way, try putting it down for a little bit and spend that time asking the Lord to give you the power to fight it, if that’s where you find your own life. As Christians, I can’t say it enough to be set apart from the world. And that means in everything that we do. I’ve been trying to tell that to my kids at such a young age: Whether you eat or drink, we are to give everything glory to the Lord. And they don’t quite understand how you can do that with eating and drinking. But it’s with our language. How are we speaking in front of people? Do we have a foul mouth and foul language? How are we dressing? What are we watching on Netflix? Just do a self-evaluation of all your life. This isn’t just about drinking. But we’re to be set apart from the world in all aspects of our life.
And I also want to encourage you, lastly, if the Holy Spirit is impressing on your heart to give up drinking, I encourage you to be obedient in that because He’s impressing that for some reason, whether that’s protecting your marriage, protecting you, protecting your children, you know, 20 years from now. It’s something you can’t see short term. I’ve had friends tell me before that they feel like they shouldn’t drink anymore, that God has laid that on their heart. And sadly, I haven’t seen them be obedient to that. They can’t give it up. And that’s the scariest part of all: If the Holy Spirit is impressing that, you better listen because God is trying to protect you from something. He knows so much better, and because He loves you and He cares for you.
And God has called us to live a life of discipline. And that’s hard. I struggle. I think each of us might struggle with that every day. I struggle with that in other areas in my life, being self-disciplined. And if this is a hard subject for you, to pray that the Lord will give you the discipline in your life to set your life apart. Because He calls us to live a holy life, a life that brings Him honor, a life that brings Him glory. He doesn’t call us to a life of alcoholism. He calls us to a life to glorify Him and His kingdom. It’s just like the beginning of this series. It all flows together. We’re to live a life of evangelism and a life of discipleship. Is alcohol beneficial to those objectives in our lives as Christians?
Phew. Once again, it’s a hard subject. Thank you for joining me. If you’ve made it this far, I’m so grateful you’ve joined me on today’s episode as we have tackled this elephant that I have seen growing inside the church as we have accepted social drinking. And as we continue to discuss these different elephants that are inside the church, the common thread of it all is: Are we living a life that’s obedient to God’s calling on our life? And that obedience is lifelong. It is lifelong discipline. Keeping our eyes focused on the cross, of who God has called us to be so that we can live a fearless faith in this forever compromising culture.
MUSIC TRANSITION
Cissie:
00:33:50 Thank you for joining me here on Fearless. As always, I encourage you to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Also, if you’ve missed any old episodes and would like to get caught up, you can check them out on CissieGrahamLynch.com.
CLOSING MUSIC
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