Smoking and Drinking: What does the Bible say?
The focus of this article is about exploring what the Bible says is and isn’t okay as a follower of Jesus. According to Paul we are allowed to do anything we want but not everything is helpful.
Paul said,
Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Cor. 6:12 (TNIV)
Let’s compare sound biblical doctrine with the Christian tradition in America and see if they line up.
Thou shalt not smoke tobacco products
If one does a word search for the word tobacco they will find 0 occurrences. So what is the answer to the question “Is it okay for a Christian to smoke?”
Paul says that everything is permissible. The question we have to ask is “Is smoking beneficial?”
Smoking cigarettes has been proven to cause cancer. Cancer is not beneficial.
What about pipe smoking? I have seen conflicting opinions on this. One person says you will die of cancer and another claims that the surgeon general says pipe smoking prolongs life.
Smoking is not prohibited by the Bible but whether or not it is beneficial is up for debate.
Thou shalt not drink alcohol
The Bible says that as followers of Christ we should not be given to drunkenness. The Bible warns against becoming drunk several times but it never says one can’t drink.
One may ask, “What is the difference? Drinking and getting drunk are the same thing right?”
That may be true for a lot of people in America but it is not true in other parts of the world.
I live in Europe and I have witnessed several times people drinking in a casual setting. They were able to have a glass of wine or beer with a meal without the temptation of getting drunk.
Not all churches in America have a problem with alcohol. I have been to Episcopalian lunches where beer was present.
Biblically, drinking is permissible. Is drinking beneficial? Guinness seems to think so. What do the health experts say? Check out this list of possible health benefits from drinking alcohol: Healthy Drinking by David J. Hanson, Ph. D.
Drinking is not prohibited by the Bible but some think there may be benefits from light drinking.
Thou shalt not eat American processed foods
Wait, what? Okay so most Christians probably don’t view this as a sin. But if drinking and smoking are issues then so are our food choices.
Last year I gained 30 pounds. Some of that was from working out. Some of that was from downing pizza like it was going out of style.
Making bad food choices increases our chances of cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Eating McDonalds fries is not prohibited by the Bible but I only think they are beneficial for the tongue.
Tradition vs Doctrine
We have Christian traditions that may not actually fall in line with the Bible. Is this bad? Should we tell people not to smoke or drink while we chomp down on a Krispy Kream Doughnut?
How do you handle semi-difficult topics such as drinking and smoking? Share in the comments…
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Jesus drank. Why else would the Pharisees say He was a drunkard?
As to smoking..hmm. I cannot think of one improvement to my life that cigarettes/cigars/pipes can add to it. I have no qualms saying that Christians who smoke still go to Heaven. Some of them just get there faster.
I wonder if the lack of comments on this post is because everyone agrees with you, or that no one wants to admit they like to have a beer with a cigar now and again… heh.
Even though it lacks comments it is one the most viewed posts on Strive. This may be because people are trying to justify certain habits. Who knows?
Thanks for your two cents on this topic.
David,
I agree with you. My dad has smoked since he was 12 (over 60 years now), and has consumed a LOT of beer over the years. He’s reaping the consequences of it now. I’ve never smoked, and I don’t drink. Not because I believe it’s sinful, it’s EXPENSIVE! And it’s not beneficial. In my job I deal with people who have been mastered by smoke and drink and it’s usually a major contributor to most of their problems (hence my involvement in their life!). Thanks for clearly stating your view.
Mine is more of a question. When the word says; “We are in
the World but not of the World”, What does it mean
I am a Christian and so is my husband but he smokes and once in a while he has a beer. He has heart trouble and vascular issues because of these things.
I was shocked to read this scripture, I don’t know how I ever
missed it but God brought it today. Thank you
Please answer my question if you would please.
The word says that there are many who will not make it to Heaven. So what is it that is going to keep us out of Heaven?
May I also ask what faith you are?
First I want to apologize for not answering this sooner.
I think the Bible is saying that when people who do not follow after God (this would be the world) they follow their own will. They want nothing to do with God.
I can guarantee that your husband won’t be separated from God because of smoking or having a beer. If that were the case then McDonalds would also keep us separated from God.
If your husband is having physical health issues because of smoking, it would be physically healthy for him to stop.
I certainly don’t know everything but I can try to answer your question to the best of my ability. I think what will keep us separated from God is the very thing that keeps us separated from Him in the first place and that is wanting to be our own God, or our own owner.
If we desire God and accept what Jesus did on the cross then we will be saved from our sins. After this has happened then we work on maturity (holiness).
My faith? I am a follower of Jesus. I “belong” to the restoration movement (Christian Church/Churches of Christ). If somebody calls Jesus their Lord they are my brother or sister in Christ.
The bible does not directly address smoking, but it also does not address oral sex. Oral sex is sodomy, and is condemned in or outside of marriage. The thing with smoking is that we have to realize that our bodies are a temple. We shouldn’t ingest or smoke anything that would do our bodies harm because then we would be defiling the temple of God. Just like scripture says: He who joins himself to a harlot becomes one with the harlot (paraphrased). If we are born again Christians filled with the holy spirit, then this should be a no brainer. Don’t smoke, simple and plain.
The paraphrase you offer is about sex, not smoking. When Paul talks about our bodies being temples the context is about sexual immorality.
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Cor 6:18-20
trying to quite smoking is hard i have been struggling with it for a while, the bible says many are the troubles of the righteous but the lord delievers him from them ALL, fight the good fight of faith, in other words dont give up trying,jesus said that we are to enter into his rest,in other words, total surrender all things to him, greater is he that is in me then he that is in the world,when the enemy says i cant jesus says i can just believe and he will help you become strong the lord is my strength,the less you know the word the harder it is to battle the enemy thats why its so important to study we are in a spritual battle for our souls thats why we are to wear the helmet of salvation the breast plate of truth and use the sword of righteousness gods word, god says my people DIE from the lack of knowledge, iam learning still and what helps me most is isaiah 41:10 when i struggle it gives me hope,get to know your god and know how much he loves you john 3:16 says he loved you so much he didnt even withhold giving his only son as a living sacrafice so you could be reckonciled back to him and how much more will he give to us when we ask with a sincere heart,its not about our feelings its about knowing what gods word says and believing it and then puting it into practice do i mess up yes we all do, for all have sinned and fall short to the glory of god but thanks be to jesus he forgives me and picks me back up, your biggest battle is not becoming weary of fighting, we are saved thru grace but because we are of a sinful NATURE (our flesh is allways battling the spirit)the bible says the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, dont give up no matter how much you mess up he will forgive if you truely mean it, there is a saying, pratice makes perfect every thing is a struggle until you learn it, read, study it! it is the one book in all the world that will show you how to truely live life it has the solutions for every thing in life and will give you life forever if you except the one who created life and inspired its writings
I pray that God will bless you in your fight to the overcoming
because God loves us all and Jesus Christ paid it all.
Don’t grow weary it is always darkest before the dawn. I too when returning to God struggeled against this besetting sin. Remember
in his rest we can do all things. The battle belongs to God and the victory is ours because the Lord already fought and overcame the world; he said so and so shall you overcome the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.
Be blessed and know that God loves you know matter what?
Your Sister in Christ, Pattie