Legalism in the "church"

One thing that I have learned is that legalism kills freedom. In the church, there are always those who love to assert their personal brand of legalism as if it were no imposition at all. Personal codes of holiness. The Southern Baptist Convention is working on yet another unscriptural resolution that preaches abstinence from alcohol.

Forget the fact that the Bible says that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is LIBERTY. Forget the admonitions about not being "drunk" with wine, wherein is excess (note that is does NOT say to NOT have any). Forget that wine was used at communion and from the context, obviously contained alcohol. Forget that elders were to not be given to MUCH wine (note that it does not say ANY). I am so tired of personal holiness being pressed upon others, it isn't funny.

I have personally been through this sort of thing, even to the point of being kicked out of a fellowship I helped found. It was not over this same topic, but was over a matter of false holiness. Some other men thought that I should act the way THEY wanted me to. Fortunately, God was merciful to me and showed his grace in that situation. He warned me ahead of time, and led me to a copy of Bob Hellmann's "False Holiness Exposed" just before going through that challenge. God was dealing with me personally about that subject for a little while. Then I found the book, read it, and it confirmed all of what God was teaching me. Then, I had the practical application of the lesson in my own life. Funny how God works.

I have run across web sites that are extreme "fundy" sites. I tend to be rather fundamentalist in my theology. However, there are those that are extreme. On the topic of alcohol, the favorite scriptures used are often:

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Proverbs 20:1

"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Proverbs 23:29-32

"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!" Isaiah 5:11

"Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:" Isaiah 5:22

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!" Isaiah 28:1

"But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment." Isaiah 28:7

"Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!" Habakkuk 2:15

"No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God" 1Corinthians 6:10

"Be not drunk with wine." Ephesians 5:18

"Take heed to yourselves, lest any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that that day come upon you unawares" Luke 21:34

Did you notice something about their content? They are about drunkenness and excess. They are not about minor consumption. Just as with anything else, consumption of alcohol can be perverted, taken to excess, and abused. So can hobbies, food, sex, and working for money.

I do not support drunkenness or excess. However, I do support FREEDOM in Christ. I don't believe that alcohol is evil. What people do with it, however, may be another thing.