do you think drugs and driniking lead to more then one sin?

Answer 1

Drugs: There are various definitions of the word “drugs.” In the sense being discussed here, drugs are nonfood, mood-altering substances that are not deemed medically necessary but that are used in an effort to escape from the problems of life, to get a dreamy feeling, or a sense of well-being or of elation.

Does the Bible actually forbid the use of drugs for pleasure?

It does not name such substances as heroin, cocaine, LSD, PCP (angel dust), marijuana, and tobacco. But it does provide needed guidelines so that we can know what to do and what to avoid in order to please God. Similarly, the Bible does not say that it is wrong to use a gun to kill someone, but it does forbid murder.

Luke 10:25-27: “‘By doing what shall I inherit everlasting life?’ . . . ‘“You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole strength and with your whole mind,” and, “your neighbor as yourself.”’” (Is a person really loving God with his whole soul and his whole mind if he makes a practice of things that needlessly shorten his life and cause his mind to be blurred? Is he showing love for his neighbor if he steals from others to support his drug habit?)

2 Cor. 7:1: “Since we have these promises [of having Jehovah as our God and our Father], beloved ones, let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God’s fear.” (But can we expect to have God’s approval if we deliberately do things that defile our bodies?)

Titus 2:11, 12: “The undeserved kindness of God which brings salvation to all sorts of men has been manifested, instructing us to repudiate ungodliness and worldly desires and to live with soundness of mind [“be self-restrained,” JB; ‘to live self-controlled lives,’ TEV] and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things.” (Is the use of drugs that impair one’s judgment or that cause a person to lose self-control in harmony with that counsel?)

Gal. 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are . . . practice of spiritism, . . . revelries, and things like these. . . . Those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (The literal meaning of the Greek word phar·ma·ki′a, here rendered “practice of spiritism,” is “druggery.” An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E. Vine, in commenting on this Greek word, says: “In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.” [London, 1940, Vol. IV, pp. 51, 52] Similarly today, many who use drugs are involved in spiritistic practices or associate with those who are, because a blank mind or one that experiences hallucinations is easy prey to the demons. Compare Luke 11:24-26.)

Titus 3:1: “Be in subjection and be obedient to governments and authorities as rulers.” (In many locations, possession or use of certain drugs is a violation of the law.)

Since some of the drugs may help a person to feel good, are they really so harmful?

2 Tim. 3:1-5: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be . . . lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God . . . From these turn away.” (Clearly the Bible warns against craving pleasure to such an extent that we put it ahead of applying the righteous principles of God’s Word and having his approval.)

Some NARCOTICS bring relief from pain and can produce a feeling of contentment, but they are also addictive and can result in death from overdose. Sniffing some SOLVENTS can produce a feeling of excitement, but it can also result in slurred speech, distortion of vision, loss of muscular control, in addition to irreversible damage to the brain, liver, and kidneys. HALLUCINOGENS cause a “high” feeling and seem to dispel fatigue, but they also cause distortions in perception of distance, impair logical thinking, can cause irreversible personality changes, and produce suicidal or homicidal inclinations.

DRUNKENNESS: The condition of being intoxicated because of excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. A drunkard is a person who habitually overindulges in strong drink to the point of drunkenness.

Intoxicating drinks in ancient Biblical lands included wine made from grapes (De 32:14) and alcoholic beverages prepared from other fruits such as the pomegranate (Ca 8:2) or from grains. (Isa 1:22) Moderate use of wine and other strong drinks is acceptable to Jehovah, who provides “wine that makes the heart of mortal man rejoice.”—Ps 104:14, 15.
Condemned in the Bible. Use of strong drink to the point of drunkenness is strongly censured in the Bible. The wise writer of Proverbs paints a vivid and scientifically accurate picture of the effects of drinking alcoholic beverages to excess. He warns: “Who has woe? Who has uneasiness? Who has contentions? Who has concern? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has dullness of eyes? Those staying a long time with the wine, those coming in to search out mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it exhibits a red color, when it gives off its sparkle in the cup [when the wine looks unduly attractive, sparkling], when it goes with a slickness [when it slides down the throat too easily]. At its end it bites just like a serpent, and it secretes poison just like a viper [it can make one sick physically (for example, causing cirrhosis of the liver) and mentally (producing delirium tremens), and it can actually kill]. Your own eyes will see strange things [the alcohol acts on the control centers of the brain, repressing them; attitudes normally repressed come to the fore; hallucinations appear; gaps in memory are filled by the individual’s telling fantastic experiences in a most plausible way; the person exhibits uninhibited behavior], and your own heart will speak perverse things [thoughts and desires normally suppressed will be expressed].”—Pr 23:29-33; Ho 4:11; Mt 15:18, 19.

The drunkard’s personal experience is described as the writer continues: “And you will certainly become like one lying down in the heart of the sea [experiencing the confusion of one drowning, finally passing into unconsciousness], even like one lying down at the top of a mast [as the rocking of the ship is greatest at this point, the drunkard’s life is in danger from accident, stroke, a fight, and so forth]. ‘They have struck me, but I did not become sick; they have smitten me, but I did not know it [says the drunkard, as if talking to himself; he was insensible to what was actually going on and to the punishment that the experience has inflicted on him]. When shall I wake up? I shall seek it yet some more [he must now sleep off the effects of overindulgence, but he is enslaved by the drink and looks forward to drinking more when he is able].’” He will come to poverty, by spending excessive amounts for liquor and also by becoming unreliable and rendering himself unable to work.—Pr 23:20, 21, 34, 35.
Prohibited in the Christian Congregation. The drunkard is prone to boisterousness or rough, unrestrained noisiness and to ridiculous actions, bringing reproach. (Pr 20:1; Ps 107:27; Isa 19:14) Consequently, the practice of drunkenness is not to be tolerated in the Christian congregation. God’s attitude toward drunkenness was revealed in his Law to Israel. A son who was stubborn and rebellious, who was a glutton and a drunkard, was to be stoned to death. (De 21:18-21) Similarly, the Bible commands that unrepentant or habitual drunkards are to be expelled from the Christian congregation. (1Co 5:11-13) “The works of the flesh” include “drunken bouts, revelries,” which things the nations in general practice. A Christian, having been cleansed from such practices but thereafter returning to them and proving unrepentant, would be prevented from entering God’s Kingdom. (1Co 6:9-11) He is to cease spending his time working out the will of the nations by engaging in their excesses with wine and their drinking matches. (1Pe 4:3) He must devote himself to producing the fruits of God’s spirit.—Ga 5:19-24.

Moderation and soundness of mind are therefore among the requirements for Christian overseers (1Ti 3:1-3; Tit 1:7); ministerial servants (1Ti 3:8); aged men and women (Tit 2:2, 3); young men and women (Tit 2:4-8); children (especially those of overseers).—Tit 1:6. In discussing the Lord’s Evening Meal, the apostle Paul reproved the Corinthian Christians for certain abuses. There were those who brought their own food and drink to the congregation’s meeting place. Though overindulging in food and drink, they refused to share of their abundance and thus shamed their needy brothers. Hence, when it came time for the observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal, some were not in a fit condition to partake because of excesses, while others were hungry. That is why Paul said: “One is hungry but another is intoxicated.”—1Co 11:20-22.

As shown in the Law, it is not fitting to indulge in alcoholic beverages just before engaging in religious service. The priests of Israel were commanded that they must drink no wine or intoxicating liquor while engaging in their official duties, lest they should die.—Le 10:8-11.