Quote:
Originally Posted by Diligent
I think this is the first time I've seen someone argue that Romans 22 means we have to abstain from everything, everywhere, that might offend someone. Do you eat beef? Are you aware of how many billions of people find that offensive? -- and I'm not talking about vegetarians. Suddenly, you've turned a passage that tells us to consider the weaker brethren among us when we do things around them into a passage that puts us into bondage to any and all "dos and don'ts" religions.
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I have not ate beef in several years. There are much healthier meats that God has given.
I am not turning Romans 14:22 into a list of dos and don'ts... God has already given them in His Word. I was not the one who wrote Romans, nor am I the one who wrote Proverbs.
Either both are in agreement with each other, or God's Word is a lie. And I know God cannot lie, so they must be in agreement with each other.
That being the case, since Proverbs 23 gives a clear command to abstain, Romans 14 must agree with that.
Does it even occur that the wine Paul was speaking of was not an alcoholic wine, but the same wine that he prescribed to Timothy for his stomach's sake? That wine was not alcoholic in content. Alcohol wreaks havoc on an already infirmed stomach.
Some people cannot stand the smell of grape juice. Some get sick at the smell of it. It would be offensive to them if you were drinking it in their presence.
Paul cetainly would not have told us to drink alcohol in light of the clear command to abstain in more than one place in Proverbs. Proverbs 31 declares that it is not for kings to drink wine. Are we not kings and priests? According to the Bible software you design and sell, we are. Then it is not for us to drink wine.
Fermented wine is a poison. God's Word clearly calls it that. Alcohol is an intoxicant. It is called an intoxicant for a reason. It is toxic to the human body. God does not condone the consumption of alcohol in the life of His children... not in the least.