Connected and FREE

This is message five in the series
"Connected thru Colossians."

the two goals of this series are to
1. change how we live as believers
2. expand what we know for sure

Read Colossians 2.16-23 by clicking on this link

What is a Christian believer allowed to do? Since I became a Christian on July 5, 1971 (39 years ago and counting) I have not drank, consumed or imbibed in any alcoholic beverage. That is not bragging it is setting the stage for the key illustration I will use for us to understand What a Christian believer is allowed to do. Now if I were writing to a first century audience I would be talking about food offered to idols and if it was alright of a Christian to eat such food, but since I am in the 21st century I will use the question of alcoholic beverages and Christian believers. One warning, you need to be careful not to focus on the illustration and miss the message of Christan freedom and responsibility.

There are three points of view you could take on this subject.

1. A Christian believer should never, ever drink any alcoholic beverage. PERIOD! There are no exceptions to the rule. (Some who hold this point of view have even gone so far as to say that Jesus never drank any alcoholic beverage, and that the wine he made at the wedding of Cana. John 2.1-11 First the very word wine means that it contains alcohol. Second I do not think people at a wedding would have been so excited about glorified Welch's grape Juice.)
2. A Christian believer can drink alcoholic beverages but only in moderation. This says that it is a person's choice and should be done only by individuals who can do this without losing control and getting drunk. This is strictly forbidden in scripture. (Ephesians 5.18)
3. The third point of view say both one and two above are partially correct and partially incorrect.

As I was preparing this message an article came across my in box with the title "POLL: 2 of 5 Evangelical Leaders Drink Alcohol." We will reference this article again in a few moments but for now it says that this is not a settled matter, even among conservative believers.

There are a lot of people who want to tell you a set of do's and don'ts that you are to follow if you are to be a Christian. But it is not that easy. This is exactly what Paul was trying to help the believers at the Colosse church to understand.

The key to understanding this issue centers in five key words Paul wrote to the believers, "Since you died with Christ..." (Colossians 2.20) When you made personal contact with Jesus through the Cross you died, were buried and raised to new life with him. (Colossians 2.12) This means 'You are free from the Rules to serve the one who Rules.' This means you are free from the rules of man and follow Jesus. This may sound simple but it often is not. Let me use a series of questions and information to help you understand this.

Q. Does it matter what other people think? You may not realize it but Paul spoke directly to this very question. He wrote that we were not to let anyone Judge us about:

• What you eat and drink: Now remember if this were the 1st century I would be writing about food offered to idols, but since that is not a problem for believers in the 21st century we are talking about should a Christian drink alcoholic beverages. That is ironic when you see that the 1st century all Christians drank alcoholic beverages and had trouble with eating meat, and now in the 21st century almost all Christian eat meat and have trouble with alcoholic beverages. PAUL IS CLEAR this is not a matter that others are allowed to judge us about.
• Religious festivals: We do not argue about these today. Today we argue about what music is acceptable in our worship services. We are more worried about what people wear to church than we are if they are in right relationship with Jesus.
• A Sabbath day: Those who hold to this today say if you do not worship (hold your service) on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) then you are not a real believer and and following Satan. Yet, Paul says this is not how we should be judged by anyone.

Let me answer the question about what other people think with another question.

A.  Can you spot a FAKE?  Paul says that we have to make a distinction between the SHADOW of the teachings of man and the REALITY found in Christ.  Shadows are fickle things. They change in various lights and can distort the truth. They are only vague representations of the real thing. Yet Jesus is an absolute. He has set the standard and he is the one who rules our lives. Within my own religious group the shadow of man has come and gone on several occasions. At one time it was consider a sin of pride of a Christian to wear a necktie. If you wore one you were sinning and in danger of going to hell. Then everything changed and it was no longer a prideful sin to wear a tie. What changed? Well the rules of man that is what changed. It was the shadow of man instead of the reality of Christ..

Q. Does it matter what other people do? Paul warned the believers not to let anyone DISQUALIFY them for the prize. Then he warns them how this can happen. People will do the following and try and get you to to it too.

• False humility:  There are those who think because they are Christians that they are better than other people. They are puffed up with self and believe only their own exclusive group has the inside track to God. 
• Worship of angels: Today instead you can find people following a certain religious leader or being so attached to their church or denomination that they even accept it when they change the standards and go against the Word of God.
• Personal insight: These are the people who want to tell you how to live your life. They often act as if God speaks only to them and that God is telling them to tell you what to do. It does not happen that way. God does guide us all with his word and with his Holy Spirit.
• Unspiritual mind with idle notions: These people are completely out of touch with the word of God.

These can all be dangerious and sometimes hard to spot. Once again let me answer the question with another question.

A. Who is in CHARGE? Paul is clear, the HEAD (Jesus) is in charge of the BODY (church). When faced with the questions and problems above we need to remember Jesus is in charge. We GROW as God causes us to GROW.

Let me put this all together with a real world illustration about religious leaders and the consumption of alcohol. The Christian Post reported on its online site on Friday June 25, 2010 ""Forty percent of evangelical leaders said they "socially drink alcohol," according to a new monthly poll." The article was extensive and covered both sides of the issue. Right in the middle of the article was the follow quote from a denominational group:

"[W]hile we understand one cannot defend [abstinence from alcohol] biblically, we have chosen to raise the standard for leadership in our movement,..."

Now that sounds great until you break it down and see what he is saying. First he admits that the Bible does not say it is wrong to drink alcohol. They cannot defend it biblically...BUT....they have a higher standard than God! That just blows me away. They require all their leaders & ministers to abstain from alcohol. That would work fine with me because I have not had a drink of an alcoholic beverage in 39 years, but what about the person that could drink it. Aren't they replacing the standards of God with the standards of men? It is no different than saying you have to go to church on Saturday or you cannot wear a tie. This is the changing shadow of the rules of men and is not the reality of Jesus and his holy word. Let me ask it differently. Are there any standards higher than God's? Who is in charge? The standards of men or the word of God?

Paul knew how difficult it is to resist the pressure so he sets up a series of choices a Christian believer can go through to help them make the right choice. The choice that says 'You are free from the Rules to serve the one who Rules!

Here are the choices you have to make:

1. You have to choose CHRIST or the PRINCIPLES of this world: Did you die with Christ to this sinful world? Than you do not have to follow the unscriptural standards of men.
2. You have to choose CHRIST or the NEGATIVE rules: Paul said that we are not bound by, Do Not Handle! Do Not Taste! Do Not Touch! These human commands and teaching will perish. They are like the shadow that changes everywhere you go and is not clearly a representation of the real thing.
3. You have to choose CHRIST or human regulations: These human regulations have the appearance of wisdom but go against the teachings of God. Human regulations are self-imposed worship that seem to serve God but only point to the shadow. Human regulations of false humility, that require the harsh treatment of the body. Human regulations that lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. You will not avoid sinning by following the regulations of men. They will more than likely cause you to sin. 

The choice here is clear, follow Christ or the human rules and shadows. Jesus was speaking about this when he gave us two choices for our life. (Matthew 7.13-14) We can choose the WIDE gate and path that leads to destruction, or we can choose the NARROW gate and path that leads to eternal life. The wide gate is often the path marked by human standards and shadows that do not point toward God and eternity.

What makes you a Christian? Is it the rules and regulations of do not handle, taste, or touch/ Wear this not that, go to church on this day not the other? These are all the marks of the wide path of superficial shadow human standards.

What makes you a Christian? Is it the blood of Jesus? Is it the touching of the cross and my personal commitment to Christ Jesus as my savior and lord? This is the narrow path of holy living. It is about a personal relationship with Jesus. Now relationships are not built on rules but on love and responsibility.

The wide path says you are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages because this is the higher standards of man. It says get drunk who cares, I can do anything I want. Do anything you want is open blatant sinning. Following the strict rules of men is religious reverse sinning.

The narrow path says I can drink in moderation or not at all, both choices are based on my relationship with Christ.

Now I need to make sure that no one takes what I have written here wrong. There are in the New Testament some strict standards and some very clear do not's. The difference is that some are the ones that God has determined we all must not do. These are listed in 1 Corinthians 6.9-19, Galatians 5.19-21, Ephesians 5.5, Revelation 21.8.

The narrow path means you are following Jesus. The wide path means you have chosen the principles of the world, the negative rules and human regulations. What is a Christian allowed to do? Follow Christ and obey the Word of God. It is the narrow path, but it is the best way to go. 

I have the freedom to say I have not drank alcohol beverages for the last 39 years. That same freedom allows others to drink in moderation and be on the same narrow path. We are CONNECTED and FREE!

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Connected & FREE

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