10.1 Key themes⤒🔗

 An elder must not be a drunkard. (This is the eighth qualification in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.)

• A drunkard is someone who puts himself under the control of wine (or any other kind of drink or drug).
• A drunkard wastes the good gifts that God has given him.
• A drunkard worships the thing that he is addicted to.
• Instead of being drunk (or addicted to anything), we should be filled with the Spirit.
  - We should live our lives under the control of the Spirit,
  - with the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit.
• The way to be filled with the Spirit is to fill our lives with God’s Word (especially with the gospel).

10.2 Proverbs 23:29-35←⤒🔗

^29. Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the eyes?

^30. Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine.

^31. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.

^32. Afterward it bites like a snake, and stings like a viper.

^33. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will speak perverse things.

^34. And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.

^35. You will say, 'They have struck me, but I am not harmed!  They beat me, but I did not know it! When will I awake? I will look for another drink.'

© NET Bible

10.3 – 1 Timothy 3:1-3←⤒🔗

^1. This saying is trustworthy: “If someone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work.”

^2. The overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher,

³. not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.

© NET Bible

10.4 Things that an overseer should not be←⤒🔗

From 1 Timothy 3:2 we have learned about seven things that an overseer should be. He should be above reproach, a one-woman man, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and an able teacher.

In this lesson we will begin looking at the next verse, 1 Timothy 3:3. This verse speaks about four things that an overseer should not be. He should not be:

• a drunkard;
• violent;
• contentious; or
• a lover of money.

Drunkenness, violence, contention, and the love of money are four dangerous sins. They can destroy the life of a Christian. They can even destroy a whole church. That is why it is so important that a Christian leader’s life will be free of these sins.

In this lesson we will think about the sin of drunkenness.

10.5 What is “a drunkard”?←⤒🔗

Is anyone who drinks wine or beer a “drunkard”? No. The Bible tells us that wine is a gift from God, to make people’s hearts glad (Psalm 104:15). People could buy wine and beer to feast and rejoice at God’s temple (Deuteronomy 14:26). Jesus once turned water into wine, and he enjoyed drinking wine with his friends (John 2:1-11; Matthew 11:19).

But there is a right way to enjoy wine and beer, and there is a wrong way to enjoy it. To enjoy it in the right way, you must enjoy it with thanksgiving and to God’s glory (1 Timothy 4:4). You must enjoy it in such a way that you remain in control of your thoughts, words, and actions.

A drunkard enjoys wine and beer in the wrong way. He feels that he needs it. He drinks too much of it. He puts himself under the control of wine (or another kind of drink or drug).

What if a person gets drunk only sometimes? Or what if a person gets only a little drunk? Is that really a big problem? Yes, it is. The Bible tells us of God-fearing people, such as Noah and Lot, who got drunk once and that was enough to bring shame on themselves and on God’s name (Genesis 9:20-25; Genesis 19:32-35).

Even if a person is only a little drunk, it will mean that he cannot think clearly. This is a problem, because as the people of God, we must be temperate, self-controlled, and respectable (1 Timothy 3:2).

10.6 The danger of drunkenness←⤒🔗

In Ephesians 5:18 we find this command: “do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

Drunkenness is a kind of “debauchery.” The word “debauchery” means “wasteful living.” When we get drunk, we waste the good gifts that God has given us. This is clear from Proverbs 23:29-35. In these verses we find the sad story of a drunkard’s life.

The drunkard wastes his relationships. Instead of loving others, he fights with others (verse 29). He wastes his health. He has “wounds” and “dullness of the eyes” (verse 29). He wastes his time and energy. God gave him work to do in this world. But he uses his time and energy to think about wine and to look for it (verses 30-31 and 35).

It is always wrong to waste God’s good gifts. But it is even worse when you are a leader in God’s church. Think of all the things that an elder must be and do. He must be an example to God’s sheep (1 Peter 5:3). He must see spiritual dangers and lead the church away from them (1 Timothy 4:16). He must pray for God’s people and use every opportunity to teach them (1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Timothy 4:1-2). He must endure suffering for Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). He must share his life and home with others (1 Timothy 3:2).

A drunken person cannot do these things. He does not care about the things that are happening around him. He does not care about the people around him, or about the glory of God. A drunken person cares only about himself and his drink.

When you look carefully at the man of Proverbs 23:29-35, you realise that this man worships wine. He has put his hope and his trust in it. He lives for it. That is the problem with any addiction. When you are addicted to something, then that thing is your god. It controls your life. In the end it will destroy you. As verse 32 warns us, “Afterward it bites like a snake, and stings like a viper.”

10.7 Be filled with the Spirit←⤒🔗

The first part of Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery.” But the verse also has a second part. The second part says, “But be filled with the Spirit.”

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? It means to live your whole life under the control of the Spirit. Just as a drunk person is under the control of wine, so a Spirit-filled person is under the control of the Spirit! Such a person’s life is full of the love, joy, and peace of the Spirit.

Why do people get drunk? Or why do people get addicted to other things, such as drugs, pornography, or social media? Most of the time it is because these people feel lonely, sad, or worried. They are looking for some love, happiness, or peace.

But true love, joy, and peace comes from God, through his Spirit (Galatians 5:22). God wants to give these things to everyone who believes in his Son. That is why he commands us, “Be filled with the Spirit.”

The Spirit loves to work through the Word of God. If you want to be filled with the Spirit, then fill your life with God’s Word. Especially, fill your mind with the gospel. Remember how Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in your place, how he died to save you from your sins, and how he promises to help you in every situation. Put all your trust in him. Learn from him, obey him, and pray in his name.

As you do these things, the Spirit will work in you and fill your life. There will be no place in your life for drunkenness (or for any kind of wasteful living).