Director of Missions

Newsletters On Alcohol and the Christian

/ Tim A. / 2 Comments

The following is from the October edition of the Barry County Southern Baptist Association’s Newsletter.  Brother Jerry Williams is our Director of Missions, and he introduces David Baker.  Read and hear these important words that Christians of the day need very greatly to heed.

A NOTE FROM YOUR DOM

I recently received a Newsletter from FBC of Belton, MO where Bro. David Baker is pastor. I would like to share with you his article entitled, “Should a Christian Drink Alcoholic Beverages?”

He writes, “Strong drink? What does the Bible actually say? The reason the issue of alcoholic drinks or beverages being appropriate for the Christian is even debated, is that most of our pastors, theologians, and other Christian leaders simply do not understand the Biblical text.

We have several problems that have led to a clear misunderstanding of the text. The first, our seminaries and Bible schools, have not required that our young pastors are adequately trained in Biblical languages. Second, many our most renowned theological commentators on the text entered into this debate with a clear bias, they were imbibing or were looking for an excuse to continue using alcohol as a beverage. As a result, they interpreted the text in error. Third, the approach of many pastors and scholars to hermeneutics have been flawed by a lack of textual and historical knowledge. Fourth, we have allowed the trends of our modern culture to affect our practical application of the text. Fifth, we greatly underestimate the power of sin.

Many pastors are guilty of accepting popular ideas about the Bible, particularly presuppositions, which upon a more objective analysis of the text, are simply not true. In my own case, after undergraduate studies in classical Greek, and nearly four years in Biblical Greek, I came to the conclusion that we must examine the text as it is, not with the intent of establishing cultural acceptance. It was my good fortune to study under one of the finest Greek scholars ever produced in Baptist life, certainly not a Biblical conservative, but a brilliant teacher. I have also been fortunate in becoming acquainted some of our current Greek and Hebrew scholars, particularly with the work of the late Stephen Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds earned his Ph.D. in Biblical and oriental languages at Princeton University where he studied under the teaching of Henry Gehman, Phillip Hitti, and Harold Bendes. He also worked in the field of Biblical archaeology under Dr. William Albright. He is known for his articles in Baker’s Dictionary of Ethics which is edited by Dr. Carl F. H. Henry. Dr. Reynolds published the most exhaustive study on this subject I have seen in 2003 called The Biblical Approach to Alcohol. This book was a project of the Lorine L. Reynolds Foundation, a foundation committed to issues of Biblical translation.

Stephen Reynolds says, “The fact is there is no evidence anywhere that Jesus ever drank a single drop of alcohol.” He goes on to examine every Biblical text with a rigorously objective hermeneutic, and draws the conclusion that the Biblical evidence overwhelmingly supports the position of total abstinence from alcohol beverages. He also notes the historic bias of many theologians on this issue, and he comments concerning his own exegesis, “I am, however, rather confident that they cannot be proved contrary to sound rules…” After years of my own study on this issue, and after carefully examining Dr. Reynolds work and conclusions, I am deeply convinced that the only consistently Biblical position on the matter of beverage alcohol, is total abstinence. This is the position that I hold without apology, and expound consistently.

Baptists have historically held to the position of total abstinence. While I am aware that there are those who deny that more ancient Baptists held to this position, my own study indicates that the earliest Baptists in North America were amazingly consistent in their opposition to the sale and use of intoxicating drink. Even without the knowledge available to us today of the Biblical languages, our forefathers saw the terrible toll of alcohol on the culture, and condemned it for practical reasons. We should at least have this much common sense. I have listened to the arguments favoring the use of alcohol patiently. I am not convinced. I believe the text, rightfully interpreted, is clear. If there are those who hold otherwise, I shall say with John Huss, “Mighty is the truth, and it will prevail.” David Baker

I too believe and practice total abstinence and am totally convinced that it is the Biblical position.

I stand with Bro. Baker and will continue to preach against the use of drinking alcoholic beverages.

Bro. Jerry-DOM

Let me end by asking this question as a matter to provoke some serious thought.  There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of testimonies of former drunks, and alcoholics and social drinkers who upon coming to faith in Jesus Christ immediately turn away from alcoholic beverages; it puzzles me greatly and makes me wonder seriously why some Christians and Christian preachers want to say “It is okay to drink beverage alcohol”.  How can you do that?  How is it right when those who have come out of it have given it up, and see the evils of it?

If you can stand in the pulpit and tell people “God doesn’t hold you guilty for drinking alcoholic beverages”, and someone in your congregation ends up an alcoholic or a drunk, and they kill someone while driving drunk; are you guiltless?

-Tim A. Blankenship

Letter From a Director of Missions

/ Tim A. / 1 Comment

The following is the monthly letter our Barry County Southern Baptist Associational Director of Missions, Jerry L. Williams, wrote for the Monthly Newsletter. I pray you will hear his heart.

“Look not thou upon the wine when it is read, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” (Proverbs 23:31-32)

“I do not believe that our Lord contradicts Himself in His Word, do you?

‘I also believe that when His word states, “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright…” that that is referring to when the wine is fermenting.’

‘I am sharing this because it seems that today there are some ministers in SBC and MBC that believes it is alright to drink alcoholic beverages. I never thought that we would hae to deal with this issue in Southern Baptist life, but I guess I was wrong.

Now I know that there are some in our churches that probably drink and think nothing of it, but that doesn’t make it right and I feel that they are wrong in doing it. Look at what he alcohol industry has done to the lives of so many; deaths, ruined families, homes, marrigaes and on and on I could write.

The Acts 29 and Emerging Church movement claims to be “theologically conservative and culturally liberal.” Alcohol, Acts 29 and the Missouri Baptist Convention…, below is an excerpt from the St. Louis Post Dispatch:’

“As Tolliver (MBC Interim Executive Director) was speaking, another group of pastors gathered at a lake house a couple of miles away, drinking Red stripe and Fat Tire beer, watching football and talking shop: the influence of music in their worship services, their inner-city social justice efforts, the challenge of having so many new babies in their congregations.”

“The young men are part of Acts 29, a network of more than 100 emerging churches across the country that have a conservative theology but a more liberal take on some aspects of the culture than do traditional Southern Baptists. The group’s focus is on starting more new churches. The Journey in south St. Louis is one such church, and there are others in the State — St. Charles, Eureka, Hannibal, Columbia and Ozark.

Our MBC Executive Board met last Dec. 10, 2007 in part to discuss their concerns about alcohol use and alcohol-based evangelism strategies within the greater Missouori Baptist family. They concluded by taking significant action on the issue.

In an historic move members of the board voted by a nearly 3-1 margin to cut off state convention Cooperative Program support to Acts 29 Network churches/church plants in Missouri. The vote does not impact MBC churches who, on their own are assisting Acts 29 churches.

The controversy over Acts 29 began when one church, the Journey, started holding regular discussion sessions in a bar where some participants drank alcohol. The “Theology at the Bottle Works” (the name of the bar).

I agree with Roger Moran when he stated, ‘One of the most dangerous and deceptive movements to infiltrate the ranks of Southern Baptist life has been the Emerging/Emergent Church Movement”.

I will be bringing a message this month at our worker’s conference dealing with this issue. May we as Barry County Southern Baptist stand firm on our doctrine, the Word of God, and the teaching of abstinence when it comes to the use of alcohol beverages.

My we send our number of messengers to this years MBC in October and stand with our State Executive Board Members and what they did in Dec. 2007. Let’s go and vote with them to hold the line on this movement within our convention.”

Bro. Jerry

The Barry County Southern Baptist Association has sent a letter to the Executive Board of the MBC voicing the approval of their December 2007 actions.  We do fully support this action of the Board, and will continue to do so.

-by Tim A. Blankenship