We ve been thinking about the list of sins in Gal. 5:19-21. Two sins on that list we ve yet to discuss are drunkenness and reveling. Okay, so it s not hard to know what drunkenness means. And you probably know that reveling means wild parties. But do you fully understand these concepts and the implications of these instructions? In 1 Pet. 4:3-4 the Bible says, For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: This passage mentions revelings, but adds banquetings . What is banquetings? Put simply, it means a drinking party. So a person might not get drunk, yet be present at situations where drinking is going on, and that by itself can be wrong. That s right, even if you don t get drunk, there s some parties you shouldn t attend. Obviously, drunkenness is a sin. But from these scriptures we learn that even circumstances associated with drunkenness can be wrong. Prov. 20:1 fitly counsels us, Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Don t let the lure of the party life deceive you. There s just too much at stake. |
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| In previous studies we ve talked about the idea of being angry in a righteous way. But we ve also studied from scripture how anger can be a sin. Is it possible to have a godly kind of anger? Let s see what the Bible says. First, it s obvious from previous studies that we cannot allow ourselves to express our anger in acts of wrath. And it s obvious we can t let selfishness be part of what motivates us. But the Bible does make room for a godly kind of anger. In 2 Cor. 7:11 Paul talks about the fruit of repentance. He speaks of the indignation it creates. Indignation is anger, godly anger, against sin. So we can, in fact SHOULD, have a kind of godly anger directed towards the sins we have committed. In Mt. 5:22 Jesus warns us not to be angry without a cause. This seems to imply it is acceptable to have a degree of anger with just cause. In Eph. 4:26 the Bible tells us to be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your wrath. It seems like there is room for anger only when we control that anger and don t allow it to linger. Sin should always make us angry. Selfish ambition can never be a part of godly anger. Can you search your heart and separate between the two? It s difficult to examine ourselves sometimes. But we have to be careful here. We might attempt to hide foolish anger under the guise of godliness. While righteous anger is possible, caution is definitely in order. |
Question For This Study
When God told Abraham he d have a son by Sarah, Abraham laughed. Gen. 17:16-17 Was this laughter a sign of doubt or disbelief?Answer to the Last Question
The last question was more a matter of suggestons than a specifc right or wrong answer. The man called Diotrephese in 3 Jn. :9 is a good example of the characteristics we discussed.