Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin?

Scripture does not condemn the consumption of alcohol in and of itself. Therefore, a Christian may freely partake of alcoholic beverages with a clear conscious. However, as any good thing we enjoy, the usage of alcohol is easily corruptible, and we would do well to heed Paul’s warning: Not everything that is permissible is beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23). Scripture goes beyond this simple warning by placing certain restrictions upon alcohol consumption, outside of which we do not honor our own bodies and, more importantly, we do not honor God. We must remember that human flourishing lies within God-ordained boundaries in which true freedom occurs.

Categorical and Circumstantial Sin 

In Scripture, a distinction between categorical and circumstantial sins exists. Categorical sins are those behaviors and dispositions that Scripture categorically condemns for all people, most clearly evident in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21). In the case of alcohol, drunkenness is always considered in this division. It is expressly forbidden (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3). Such a divine command should suffice as justification for avoiding drunkenness, but Scripture also explains that drunken behavior leads to shame (Genesis 9:20-23), allows others to take advantage of you (1 Kings 16:9-10), can ruin you financially (Proverbs 23:21), and all in all, is not conducive to wise decision-making. 

Scripture also teaches that we should not be dominated or enslaved by any created thing, such as money (Matthew 6:24) or sex (1 Corinthians 6:12-20). Addiction to alcohol constitutes such an enslavement. More broadly, Christians are called into free life apart from slavery to sin (Romans 6:15-16; 8:2-8).

Circumstantial sins are those behaviors and dispositions that are condemnable to only some in certain occasions. Paul tells us in Romans 14:23 that “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” That is, if your conscience does not allow you to participate in a certain action, you ought to abstain. If you think something is wrong, to engage in that activity counts as sin for you.

And for those who are convinced of the liberty they have to partake of alcohol, they ought to remember that “if your brother [or sister] is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.” If drinking alcohol might cause a fellow brother or sister to stumble, you are destroying the one for whom Christ died (Romans 14:15; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:23:30), certainly an occasion of sinful behavior. Prudence and respect must be offered in those instances when not only another believer disagrees with your views on alcohol, but especially when a believer has had a history of alcohol abuse.

Christian Witness

As in all our behavioral choices, we must determine whether our decision to drink alcoholic beverages can glorify God by biblical standards and whether our decision upholds or hurts our Christian witness. In a society prone to temporary but excessive pleasures, Christians must take seriously whether to consume alcohol or not, in what manner they drink if they so choose, and how those choices demonstrate, or fail to demonstrate, the gospel of Christ.

What is an Altar Call?

What is an altar call?

The altar call began in the mid to late 1700s as a way for pastors to talk to and counsel those in the service who were considering becoming a Christian. At the end of the sermon, the pastor would ask if any in the congregation wanted to accept Jesus into their heart as Lord and Savior. After raising their hand in affirmation, often they would come down to the front and recite the sinners' prayer upon which they would be counted as a born-again believer. 

In Romans 10:9, Paul does command, "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Additionally, 1 John 1:9 states that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Does the Bible explicitly state, however, that the altar call is the proper avenue of confession? No, it does not.  This does not make it unbiblical. It simply means that this particular medium of confession is not essential to receiving the grace of Christ. 

Theology of Conversion

Because we do see invitations to receive God's gift of grace and commands to turn from our sin proclaimed by the Apostles, we know that conversion, as seen as a singular event in a person's life, is biblical. (Read the Apostle Paul's conversion account in Acts 9 for one example; consider John 3 for another.) The altar call, then, appears to create an opportunity for this conversion experience to occur.

While it is absolutely possible that a person who responds to an altar call becomes saved through the power of God, people often confuse "an external act with an inward spiritual change." That is to say, some assume that because they raised their hand, walked to the front, and recited a prayer, they have been saved. The Bible clearly rejects this thinking; no outward act can save you (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 3:1-2, Romans 4:2, Romans 11:6). This does not mean that preachers who give an altar call intend for their audience to perceive it this way, but history has shown that many people have, for whatever reason, believed that this process assures them of salvation.

(For more information about how one can be assured of their salvation read 1 John and listen to our sermon series entitled "So You Would Know.")

Additionally, one giving an altar call tends to work under the assumption that he can persuade the human will into trusting God and repenting of sins. This, however, downplays and even ignores the biblical view of conversion. Jesus commands his disciples (the Twelve and us today) to preach his message of grace on a daily basis (1 Peter 3:15), but we must remember that our persuading does not change a person's heart. The Holy Spirit moves a person's heart to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior (John 16:8; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16). We believe that the Spirit can move through a preacher to speak to an individual, but we want to make sure that we do not try to take the work of the Spirit into our own hands, becoming the musician rather than being the instrument. Additionally, we do not want confuse people into thinking that conversion only occurs within the context of a church service. 

The altar call has a tendency to rely upon emotional manipulation to coerce members of the audience to take part in a ritual act that in and of itself does nothing. Certainly we implement the use of emotion to speak to people's heart but not at the cost of using reason to speak to the mind nor at the cost of usurping the work of the Spirit.

Will The Parks Church ever have an altar call?

Maybe. If it can be done in a non-manipulative way, which certainly it can, there is no reason why we could not. We do have a strong commitment to see non-believers become believers, but we find Christian writer Jonathan Leeman's thoughts on the matter to be more biblically and theologically compelling:

Invite people throughout your sermon to "repent and be baptized" like Peter did in Jerusalem (Acts 2:38). But when you do, don't just stand there waiting with emotionally charged music playing, staring them down until they relent. Rather, make several suggestions about how and where to discuss the matter further. 

Ask people what they believe when they present themselves for baptism, just like Jesus made sure the disciples knew who he was (Matt. 16:13-17; also, 1 John 4:1-3). 

Make sure they understand what following Jesus entails (Matt. 16:24f; John 6:53-60). 

Explain that the fruit of their lives and persevering to the end will indicate whether or not they really believe (Matt. 7:24f; 10:22). 

You might even explain that Jesus has commanded your church to remove them from its fellowship if their life moving forward does not match their profession (Matt. 18:15-17).

You can read his full article on this topic here.

Can I Be Assured of Salvation?

It is unfortunately not uncommon for us to have friends or family members who seemingly cease to be a Christian. We tend to say that they have lost their faith and fallen back into a lifestyle of sin. If this is indeed what has happened – that an individual was saved and is no longer saved – Christians have reason to be concerned, not just for our now unbelieving friend but for ourselves as well.

Usurping God’s Saving Power

In describing the situation as such, we have taken the ability to save out of the hands of our loving Creator and Redeemer and placed it in the hands of finite human beings. For it is now we humans who decide whether we are saved or not, whether we are in God’s covenant or not, whether we belong to the people God has chosen for himself. 

And it is clear from Scripture that this ought to concern us, not only because it attempts to usurp God’s power to save, but also because we are fickle, faithless creatures. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command (Gen. 3); Moses did not heed God’s instruction (Numbers 20:2-13) and was not allowed to enter the promise land; David committed adultery and tried to hide it by murdering (2 Samuel 11); and Israel was constantly being rebuked for her idol worship (see all the prophetic books from Isaiah to Malachi).

Faithful to Save and to Hold

However, one of the most comforting promises comes to us in 2 Timothy 2:13: “if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” Paul provides us with a similar message in Romans 3:3-4a: “What if some were unfaithful? Does their unfaithfulness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar.” When God chooses to save, it is so.

Scripture speaks of the followers of Christ as being born again by the Spirit (John 3; 1 Peter 1:3, 23). They are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15) who walk in a newness of life (Romans 6:4). They still battle the effects of the sinful flesh, but they reside in the Spirit (Romans 8:1-11). Nowhere in Scripture do we see hints of the new creation becoming the old creation again. Believers are not born again and again and again, with multiple spiritual deaths along the way. And although we still find ourselves battling the sin that dwells in our bodily members (Romans 7:23), we have been placed in Christ by the Spirit for good.

Scripture states this explicitly in the Gospel of John. Jesus says,

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:37-40).

And again he says,

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand (John 10:28-29). 

Still Saved or Not Yet Saved

Although these words are meant to be words of comfort – our salvation is secure in Christ – we are still left wondering what happened to our friend or family member who seemingly lost their faith. Biblically, perhaps against what our experience and intuition tells us, we must say that either that person has not in fact lost their faith, in which case they are like a tree with some dead and rotting branches that will make a recovery, or they were never truly born again in the first place. Like the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20), the seed was planted and perhaps began to grow, but the actual moment of regeneration, the coming into bloom (to continue the floral metaphor), had not occurred. This judgment, of course, is not ours to make but God’s alone (Matthew 7:1-2; Romans 2:3).

Can I keep on sinning?

It is easy to proclaim that one cannot lose salvation, that God’s faithfulness triumphs our unfaithfulness, and proceed to live in a lifestyle of sin. This is a common objection to this doctrine — that it encourages sinful behavior. But we uphold the words of Paul: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). And with John we profess, “Whoever makes a practice of sin is of the devil… No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9-8). A life that is characterized by living against the expressed will of God, in which there is not a battle against sin, has not experienced the redeeming grace of God.

A tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6:43-45). As we securely rest in the salvation won for us on the cross, taking comfort in the fact that Jesus does not lose one of his own, let us make our lives living sacrifices in response to his goodness and grace.

What is the Meaning of Jesus' Baptism?

Other than the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, very few stories or teachings are present in all four Gospels. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist stands apart as one of the few passages shared among all the Gospels in one form or another (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29-34), highlighting its major significance. Several questions should be answered after realizing the significance of this event:

• Why was Jesus baptized?  

• What did his baptism accomplish?

• What does baptism mean for me? 

Why was Jesus baptized?

Within the Jewish tradition, baptism occurred for varying reasons. Some historical evidence defines baptism as a ceremony necessary for a gentile to convert to Judaism. The Bible reports that John the Baptist used baptism as an outward sign of a repentant heart. But Jesus, being already a Jew and perfect and sinless, had no need to convert or repent and subsequently be baptized – or so one might think. Jesus answers the “why” question for us in Matthew 3:15: “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’”

By submitting himself to be baptized, Jesus publicly announced the beginning of his ministry – a ministry which would ultimately bring righteousness to his followers through his death on the cross. This is the sense in which Jesus’ baptism “fulfill[ed] all righteousness.”

What did his baptism accomplish?

Some might view this question as a rewording of the first, but it is quite different. The reasoning to be baptized was to announce his ministry, but the act itself proved to be even more significant. Jesus’ baptism so pleased the heart of the Father that the Father used this as an opportunity to reveal to the world who this seemingly simple, solitary figure from Galilee truly was. He was no simple carpenter’s son but was the Son of God. This baptism testified to the identity of Jesus as the Christ, God's anointed one.

What does baptism mean for me?

As followers of Christ, you participate in water baptism just as Jesus did. In being immersed in water, you proclaim to the world your true identity now found in Jesus, just as Jesus proclaimed to the world who he was. This is an initiatory act. Certainly someone could step into the baptismal waters without being a true follower of Jesus, but this would not constitute a baptism. The reason to be baptized is to have union with Christ and his atoning work while proclaiming to everyone that God has given you a new heart and a new life. Faith and your adoption into the family of God is presupposed. 

Additionally, just as John’s baptism of Jesus ultimately pointed to Jesus’ death and resurrection, so your baptism points to his death and resurrection. Paul tells us in Romans 6:1-11 that baptism represents how Jesus descended into the grave with our sin and rose to new life. And we get to participate in this!  And not just in this symbolic experience, but in reality!

So even though Jesus commands that Christians should be baptized (Matt. 28:19), you should rejoice at this opportunity rather than see it as a duty. In baptism you have the privilege of obeying Christ, participating in a representation of his death and resurrection, and proclaiming to all that God saved you!

What are the Gifts of the Spirit?

Evidence of the Spirit

Any person who belongs to Christ, who has saving faith in him, has the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). Indeed, it is the Spirit who opened his or her heart to accept the atoning work of Christ and who now dwells in every believer (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). 

Besides confession, a believer's life bears witness to this inner transformation. The fruit of the Spirit -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22) -- gives the clearest evidence that the Spirit dwells in someone. Love towards God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and all others especially marks true believers (1 Corinthians 13; 1 John). 

Natural and Charismatic Gifts

In addition, God has chosen to bestow certain gifts upon believers according to his good pleasure and perfect will. These gifts include wisdom, knowledge, faith, teaching, and other natural gifts which the Holy Spirit spiritually empowers in believers. These gifts also include charismatic expressions such as healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28; Romans 12:3-8). Scripture indicates that these gifts will cease when Christ comes again (1 Corinthians 13:8-10), but in the meantime these manifestations of the Spirit are present and active in the church, although the charismatic gifts have occurred less frequently throughout church history. 

Clearing Misunderstandings

The charismatic gifts have been misunderstood and abused, so it is important to remember these points:

• Gifts without love are worthless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

• Gifts are given for the common good and building up the church (1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:12).

• Gifts are given to empower believers to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 14).

• Not every gift is given to every believer, even speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:11, 29-30; Romans 12:3-8).

• In the setting of a worship service, all expressions of the Spirit ought to be orderly and not disruptive (1 Corinthians 14:13-32).

• It is not imperative to speak in tongues in order to be saved. 

• Prophecy does not consist only in predicting the future but primarily in proclaiming the word of God for a particular context. In the OT, prophecy overwhelmingly consists of calling the people of God to repentance and worship of the true God. In the NT, prophecy is also given for this end (e.g., 1 Corinthians 14:24-25). 

• We are to test the spirits of those with supposed manifestations of the Spirit (1 John 4:1-6).

• There are no new revelations; that is, true prophecy bears witness to the revelation of God in Christ and his Word and adds nothing new to that revelation. Anything that contradicts the Word of God is not from him. 

• Divine healing occurs according to the will of God, not our level of faith or spirituality. 

It is equally important not to quench the moving of the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) nor ignore the gifts he has given us (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6-7). We ought to pray for the Spirit to constantly be filling us and leading us, and we can expect his gifts to allow us to witness and build up the church. 

What is the Gospel?

The gospel is the heart of the Christian message. Literally, “gospel” means “good news.” But good news about what? It’s the good news that God did for us what we could not do for ourselves - He saved us. Here’s how God saved us:

The Beginning of Sin

In the Old Testament, we sense that things are not as they should be. God created a good world; everything was in order as it should have been, ruled by the Sovereign Lord. But our first parents (Adam and Eve) rebelled against God and brought sin and death and corruption into the world by their disobedience. They could no longer stay in communion with God, and their relationship with one another would suffer as well. This is the state all humans find themselves in: They are spiritually dead, unable to do anything to restore their relationship with God, and injustice, fighting, and suffering still marks this world. Humans are characterized by sin. 

A Story of Covenants

God would be completely just in punishing all of humanity with eternal damnation because of their rebellion. But God is gracious and made a covenant with Abraham that through his offspring, people would be brought back to a right relationship with him and one another. Their sin would be forgiven, and they would be made righteous. Justice demands, however, that punishment still be granted. This gave way to the sacrificial system, in which priests acted as mediators between the people and God, killing an unblemished animal as a substitute for the people to atone for their sins. 

Continuing throughout the Old Testament, we see the history of Abraham's offspring, Israel, God's chosen people. God again made a covenant and through Moses gave Israel his law to bind them together and to him. But following in the footsteps of Adam and Eve, they too rebelled and required a king to be their sovereign. God simply would not do. After one failed king, David rose to the challenge to faithfully lead God's people. As a consequence, God covenanted with him that one of his sons would sit on the throne forever. 

The kings that followed, however, led God's people into further sin and rebellion. God, out of his steadfast love, gave his word to prophets who urged the people to return to God or incur his wrath. Failing to listen, God allowed foreign kingdoms to take his people into exile, but again in love, kept them in existence and eventually allowed a remnant to return to their homeland. 

A New Covenant

Throughout this history, the biblical authors hint at a solution to the problem of sin and death. God's Anointed One - the Messiah or Christ - would save his people from sin. He would be the spotless sacrifice, the perfect priest, the sovereign king, the authoritative prophet. He would be the suffering servant, rejected by his own people. He would be the living water and the root that sustained his chosen ones. Most importantly, this coming figure would be God himself. The previous revelation had only foreshadowed the new covenant to come, but the Jews were left wondering how and when this new covenant would come about. 

The gospel is the climax to this narrative. In short, it is this:

The Gospel

God came to earth as Jesus, the Anointed One, fulfilling all that the law and prophets had said concerning him, inaugurating his kingdom. He lived perfectly that he might substitute himself for us, taking our punishment on the cross and triumphing over death by his resurrection. Not only did he win our justification, making us righteous, but he completely defeated the power sin had become, liberating us from its oppression. Though we had been enemies of God, he gave us life as a consequence of his gracious love, not based on any meritorious works that we might attempt in order to garner God's favor. Through Christ, we have been redeemed and reconciled to God, adopted into his family. Given the righteousness of Christ, we become members of the kingdom of God, free to do the work of the kingdom in restoring all of creation unto God.

What is the Church?

On the cross, Jesus Christ became sin in humanity's place, although he had never known sin, in order that individuals might overcome death with the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). His vicarious death forgives and rids people of sin in order to have a right relationship with the Father. They are justified, redeemed, reconciled, and adopted. This is the church: the communion of saints gathered to worship God and witness in the world to his glory. 

But when God saves an individual, he does not reconcile that person to himself alone. He reconciles a people to himself and to each other. As adopted children of God, they become brothers and sisters to one another. God creates a new community, a family, in Christ. 

Organism: One Body

Although consisting of individuals, the church is best recognized as a single entity or organism -- the Body (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31) and Bride (John 3:29; Revelation 19:7) of Christ -- diverse in its members, but unified in "one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:5-6). Without this spiritual unity, the church cannot exist. In the Spirit, who applies the saving work of Christ to our lives, God unites people of all ethnicities, races, classes, genders, personalities, and abilities to himself and to one another, establishing this new family by and in his love (Galatians 3:28). 

Institution: Structured Body

While the church is not a building or hierarchy, it is incorrect to assume that spiritual unity can occur without some form of institutional or external unity as well, although the Spirit does indeed bear witness to our salvation internally (Romans 8:16). When Christ instituted his church, he intentionally built it upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles (i.e. Scripture, the Word of God), himself being the cornerstone of that foundation (Ephesians 2:20). A church that is not subject to the Word is not the Christian church, for it is not subject to Jesus Christ. The Spirit unites us in Christ primarily by his Word. 

Moreover, by his good pleasure, the Spirit is present to us in the sacraments, baptism and communion (also called the Lord's Supper or Eucharist), structural elements of the church which Scripture identifies in Jesus' express command for the church (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:14-23). Additionally, Scripture teaches that the Spirit calls and enables certain members of the church to serve in offices or leadership positions, such as teacher, elder, or deacon (Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 3:1-13) who shepherd the church according to the Word of God until Jesus returns. With the Spirit accompanying these institutional aspects of the church, God spiritually unifies his people. 

Pearl: Gathered

In the church, God has initiated his kingdom here on earth. In that sense, it is like a pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46), something good and beautiful in itself, not simply a means to some end. With Christ as the head of this Body and the groom of this Bride, we relate to God most intimately as we worship him, individually and corporately, internally and externally. 

Leaven: Scattered

But this kingdom is not yet complete. The church is tasked with the mission of witnessing to the world that Christ has come to save and establish his kingdom. The church accomplishes this mission in two ways. One, it stands against culture as a new, familial community, a witness to the coming kingdom, inviting others to this intimate relationship with our Creator and Father. Two, it engages culture as redeemed persons enter into their daily lives having been transformed by the work of Christ, living in the knowledge that he is indeed Lord over all aspects of life. In this sense, the church is like a light to the world and salt to the earth (Matthew 5:13-16), a force set on restoring the world.