A question about faith...

[Jeff]

Hello everyone, as many here know my faith has been put through the test the last few months. During that time I have felt a push from God to move from catholisism to Baptist faith.

I know very little about Baptist faith, but have been trying to learn more. I have been attending church at a baptist church the last month or so and trying to see how that particular faith would fit in with my beliefs. I have befreinded a baptist pastor who I plan on meeting with in the next week to discuss some of the main differences in faith. However from what I have read so far I think I like the baptist faith so far with one exception.

I very much like to have a drink on occasion. Rarley do I do this in excess, but I like to have a beer or glass of wine when I feel the need. From what I gather, this is stricly prohibited by baptist faith and from what I gather there is no middle ground on this. Either you drink and aren't baptist, or you don't drink and you can be. Do I understand this correctly? I don't know that I am ready to give up drinking, but feel like I am ready to commit on the other ideals of the baptist faith. Any help here would be appreciated.

[quackheadbp]

Im babtist and I drink every once in a while. I also go to an Assembly of God( Penticostal) church, so what im sayin is that I dont think that God will mind if you have a drink, or what denomanation you are. And how is everything going with the baby? I pray all is well.

[ajg169]

Don't worry about baptist or catholic or whatever MAN MADE denomination you are a part of. I would like to offer a very short and simple quote that absolutely revolutionized the way i live my life.

Reject religion, glorify God.

Those four words turned my spiritual life on it's head. Pray and search the Word make your decision based on that alone. If you find that drinking prohibits your relationship with Christ, then it needs to go. But if you are under the conviction that you can have a drink now and then and still glorify God in 100% of everything that you do then enjoy it and don't get bogged down in religious legalism.

[jsherwin]

Jeff,

Been praying for you and your family. As a Baptist Preacher, I would suggest talking to your pastor friend. Talk with him open and honestly. Being a baptist is not signing on the dotted line. Some also say that dancing is prohibited. Personally and Spiritually it's the way it's honored by God. Is God honored by what we do on a daily bases?

If you need any help or want to talk please feel free to give me a call. But talk to your friend.

[dukmisr2005]

i am Baptist, but only because that is the closest "religion or denomination" to what i believe...

i believe in predestination, personal choice, once saved always saved, can not "good work" your way into heaven, faith in that Christ (God's Son who was sinless and perfect) died on the Cross and paid for all sin and through Him is the only way to heaven...

as far as having a drink from time to time, its a personal choice.. i see no harm in it as long as you dont become a drunkard and it takes the place of being more important to you than God. but also remember that every moment of your life you are a witness for God to all... as to everyone in the Bible drank wine every meal and everyday, they did not have a lot of ways to pasteurize drinks the way we do today, and the natural fermentation of wine kept bacteria down.. i myself used to have one or two on occassion until i got remarried and she does not drink and she not fond of me drinking, so i dont..

i would just study more about the Baptist faith and talk with your pastor... you may want to talk with some of the church members and deacons in that church also.. you may too want to talk with other Baptist churchs...

[DukGrl]

Your pastor friend is a great place to start. He might also know of someone who switched from Catholic to Baptist that could help be a sounding board as you think about this change. If he doesn't know of someone, I do, and they would be happy to talk with you.

[cwink]

Jeff,

I know how what your going through will test your faith. I know it did mine. What my wife and I found out about faith in this time is that your healing will come from God. It was hard to still go to church after the loss of Owen... But we found out that if we became more involved the healing came.

As far as choosing a faith, most of my family is Catholic and therefore I grew up around drinking. I used to drink quite a bit and have since slowed that down but I still drink 2 or 3 a week. When I started going to church here in MS that was sort of a big contention with my and my wife who grew up in Church of Christ. However we talked with our preacher, who does drink, and that eased my wife's concerns.

I think it is important to note that Jesus did drink, and if you keep it in moderation I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Just find you a church where you feel comfortable and try not to worry to much about what "others" think. No matter how much they want to Judge you, it not thier judgement that counts..

[gobama123]

There are books that are available at your church:
"What Baptist Believe and why they belive it"

and

"The Baptist Faith and Message"

these may answer some of your questions.
_____________

I completely quit drinking when I rejoined the Baptist Church after being married to a Presbitirian (who drink).
Best move I ever made in my life.

Sobriety is wonderful!

Very hard to live a Christian lifestyle when your mind is altered ny the effects of alcohol.

God Bless you

[Ordek Avci]

I would add in a couple things here.

First of all, switching from Catholicism to any protestant denomination is not just a change of denomination. You need to consider the differences in the major doctrines, since they are more important than where the church stands on drinking. I'd especially look at the difference in the understanding of the atonement, works vs. grace, forgiveness of sins, prayer, the Lord's Supper, baptism, etc. I would argue that you're not just switching denominations, but that you are actually switching religions.

But secondly, as it pertains to drinking, a lot of good stuff has been said. No, the Bible does not forbid it. Yes, it is full of warnings against overindulgence. But probably more important is how the Bible says you are to go about making these lifestyle decisions where the Bible does not clearly pronounce one as right and the other is wrong. Ultimately, our number one goal in life is to glorify God. And as it's already been stated, if you can drink and do that, then there's no problem. But when Paul was dealing with the issue of eating meat that had been sacrificing to idols or whether Christians should drink wine, he said that it wasn't strictly a personal issue. Romans 14 also speaks volumes to how, as Christians, we are required to take what other people think into account when we make decisions. If you are going to a church that believes drinking any alcohol is sinful, then Paul says that you are accountable to preserve unity and abstain. I would also add that you should consider how you're to live in front of the world, being above reproach and giving the world no reason to accuse you of any misconduct.

In the end, drinking is an incredibly minor issue. There are scores of other issues that I would consider first before joining a church. If the church's view of drinking is that big of a deal, then your priorities are probably not in the right order.

And for what it's worth, I enjoy a cold beer or a glass of wine myself. I lived out in CO for a number of years around vineyards and microbreweries and both the church's and the society-at-large's attitude towards drinking were very different than they are down South. So while I was out in CO, I felt free to enjoy a drink as often as I pleased. But when I was living in MS, I did not feel that freedom. Also, I grew up in a family where almost every one was an alcoholic. I am the only believer in my whole family. Early on in my spiritual life, I would not have considered anyone who drank as mature in the faith. That was wrong of me, but I find that my story is very common in the South and that played into my decision not to drink when I was in college and living in MS. And, finally, though I would love to have a drink now, I have in the past and am now currently under a covenant not to drink with the mission agency I worked with and now the school I attend. Did I really want a cold Blue Moon Friday night as I was watching the baseball game? Heck yes. But in the end, there are a lot of other, more important things in this world than me getting what I want.

[skywalker]

All I can say is WOW!

[Gordon]

I would hope that your preacher friend would walk you through the bible in order to show you what God has said about wine.

Many people find contradictions in the bible, but where God seems to be contradiciting himself, He is actually speaking about two different subjects. God cannot contradict himself. Wine has always been an example of this. The most widely known instance being that Jesus turned the water into wine (my father's personal favorite) - yet God says kings and princes should not drink wine in Proverbs, but it is for the weak and dying. We are strong in the Lord, and we have eternal life.

Jesus is God and it the Prince of Peace and the King of kings, so wine is not for him, but he made water into wine. Jesus also gave the apostles wine at the last supper to drink in remembrance of Him. This confuses many Christians, but was it alcholic wine or not? Isiaih says that "wine is in the cluster" - but a cluster of grapes is not alchoholic. So the context that the word wine was used will dictate if it is alchoholic or not.

There are too many references in the bible of the Christian being sober and watchful. We drink to loosen up and not be as vigiliant. We drink alchohol for us, for our own interests, to feed our own fleshly desire to feel better. No one can drink alcholhol for Jesus.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Our brands will not get us into heaven - all Baptist churches are not the same. Carefully mind the scriptures and you will not fail.

Gordon

[landscaper]

The "drinking" question is one that will probably never be resolved, even among the most Godly of us, on this earth, so I'm not really going throw my hat in the ring on that part of your questioning. Whether it's drinking, or cursing, or gambling, or gossip,.......... it is sin that is prohibited in any Christian church, but, unfortunately, you will find no denomination, congregation, pastor, or individual that is sinless. So, let's not pick a sin or two to strictly prohibit, but support one another as we work toward eliminating as much sin as possible from our lives and strive to be more Christ-like. By the way, I'm Baptist.

What I really want to say to you,though, is PLEASE don't choose a denomination, or church, or pastor, or whatever because it seems to suit you best, or because you like it best, or because you think you can conform to it best. For that matter PLEASE don't choose. Rather, allow God to show you where He would have you be to learn and grow and ultimately serve.

And, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't make a choice based on things you will or will not be "allowed" to do. As you grow as a Christian God will dictate that! Not the doctrine of a denomination or a preacher!

[Gordon]

I think you are right, landscaper, and that is an excellent post. The question that I think many are trying to answer is if drinking is prohibited by the Baptist church. And as you have pointed out, we should strive to make perfect the work that is started in us, and remove the presence of sin as much as is possible, but if you don't see drinking as sin, you will not work to remove it from your life. (by "you" I mean "men," not you specifically)

I think most are trying to help Jeff see that drinking is indeed a sin and to finally come to your excellent point, that we should strive to remove sin from our walk


Gordon

[mossyisland]

The "drinking" question is one that will probably never be resolved, even among the most Godly of us, on this earth, so I'm not really going throw my hat in the ring on that part of your questioning. Whether it's drinking, or cursing, or gambling, or gossip,.......... it is sin that is prohibited in any Christian church, but, unfortunately, you will find no denomination, congregation, pastor, or individual that is sinless. So, let's not pick a sin or two to strictly prohibit, but support one another as we work toward eliminating as much sin as possible from our lives and strive to be more Christ-like. By the way, I'm Baptist.

What I really want to say to you,though, is PLEASE don't choose a denomination, or church, or pastor, or whatever because it seems to suit you best, or because you like it best, or because you think you can conform to it best. For that matter PLEASE don't choose. Rather, allow God to show you where He would have you be to learn and grow and ultimately serve.

And, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't make a choice based on things you will or will not be "allowed" to do. As you grow as a Christian God will dictate that! Not the doctrine of a denomination or a preacher!

This man knows what he is talking about. Good choice of words. I don't think anyone could have put it better.

[tru grit]

i am Baptist, but only because that is the closest "religion or denomination" to what i believe...

i believe in predestination, personal choice, once saved always saved, can not "good work" your way into heaven, faith in that Christ (God's Son who was sinless and perfect) died on the Cross and paid for all sin and through Him is the only way to heaven...

Sounds like your more along the lines of a Presbyterian.