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SUBJECT: Drugs
QUESTION: What does the Bible have to say about taking
drugs?
ANSWER:
Important Note: The
following is in relation to mind-altering drugs and
narcotics and not prescription drugs you obtain from medical
science.
Drugs & the Christian
Today in America, the widespread abuse of drugs and
narcotics is a cancer that has devastated our nation. Drugs
are linked to virtually every evil and criminal activity
within our society. While it should be obvious that the use
of mind-bending drugs is inappropriate for serious followers
of Christ, yet there are Christians who occasionally attempt
to justify their continued use of drugs. Let us be reminded
that if any person has genuinely become a “new creature in
Christ” the Bible says that old things are supposed to pass
away... that all things should become new (2 Cor. 5:17).
Therefore, every believer should seek to put on the new
creation of Christ, and to put off the old life, including
the continued use of mind altering drugs and narcotics.
Christians should not do drugs for the following seven
reasons:
1. Drugs have a Proven Connection with Sorcery and
Witchcraft
Revelation 21:8 “But the
cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have
their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death.”
According to W.E. Vine’s expository dictionary of New
Testament Words (page 1074), the word SORCERY comes from a
Greek word, PHARMAKIA - used as a noun, it “signifies a
sorcerer,” one who uses drugs, potions, spells,
enchantments, as in Rev. 21:8.
The English word for drugs, pharmacy, comes from this same
root. Drugs and potions have traditionally been used in
witchcraft and satanic rituals to induce deeper subconscious
states which enable persons to have fellowship and
communication with demons. Realizing the satanic
relationship with drug use helps us to understand why
abusers of drugs experience such bondage and depravation. No
where in the Bible or in history have drugs been used to
bring people closer to God - they have always been used in
relation to bringing people closer to evil powers and
demonic influences.
2. Drugs have an Obvious Affiliation with the Desires of
Satan
In the daily newspaper reports, the ravages of drugs are
continually linked with the headlines of Death, Robbery and
Destruction. If this sounds familiar, it should. According
to the Bible, these happen to be the identical
characteristics of Satan.
John 10:10 “The thief
[Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they
may have it more abundantly.”
Satan is the evil inspiration behind the destructive nature
of drugs. They are his own tools which, when persons are
under their influence, accomplish his goals and fulfill his
wicked desires. Understanding the satanic relationship with
drugs, Christians should find it easy to understand why drug
use doesn’t mix with a Christian life-style.
1 Corinthians 10:21 “You
cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you
cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of
demons.”
3. Drug use will Cause Others to Stumble
According to the Bible, believers are accountable to avoid
anything which would lead our brethren astray or cause them
to stumble in their relationship with God.
Romans 14:21 “It is good
neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which
your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”
For the sake of our brethren in Christ, and for our own
protection from temptation, the Bible tells us to refrain
from anything that may even “appear” sinful. “Abstain from
every form of evil” (1 Thes. 5:22).
Those who are mature in the Lord are supposed to use their
life-styles as an example for others to follow. They deny
selfish desires and personal preferences in order to
minister to those who are less mature.
Romans 15:1-3
1 “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of
the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading
to edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is
written, The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on
Me.”
4. Christians are no Longer Their Own
The Bible says that we belong to the Lord and we are to
glorify Him with our body and with the way we live.
1 Corinthians 6:20 For
you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do
all to the glory of God.
5. We’re not to be infected by Mind Bending Stimulants
The Bible warns believers to not be intoxicated by alcohol,
and (by implication) others stimulants such as drugs1 which
distorts our thinking or alters our ability to control our
behavior. Instead, the scriptures teach that we should be
under the influence of God’s power -- that is, we should be
filled with His Spirit which gives us the “buzz” of His
power, His peace and strength.
Ephesians 5:17-18
17 “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will
of the Lord is.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation;
but be filled with the Spirit...”
6. We are warned not to Defile God’s Temple
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that
the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy
him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
Once again, we are reminded that Christians are God’s
possession, and in fact, they are the dwelling place of His
Spirit. For this reason, we must consider our bodies
something sacred -- not something to be trashed or abused.
The word defile means to “pollute, foul or corrupt.”
7. Addictions Are Not Pleasing To God
An addiction is anything we cannot free ourselves from,
which overrules our freedom to choose, whether physically or
psychological. As Christians, we are given power over habits
and behavior - they should not have power over us.
1 Corinthians 6:12 “All
things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful.
All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought
under the power of any.”
Jesus Can Set You Free!
If you are addicted to drugs, ask Christ to give you power
to overcome them, and He will. Don’t seek to justify your
addiction, but keep reaching toward full and complete
freedom. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, even to those who believe
in His name:” (John 1:12). Seek the anointed prayers of
church leaders and other Christians -- God promises to honor
their prayer of faith to help you (James 5:15).
Be encouraged. God will never condemn the person who keeps
reaching out to Him -- who keeps trying to grow and make
progress in Him. If you sin, ask Him to forgive you (1 John
1:9), then get up and keep moving on and growing closer to
Him. And be assured, the closer you draw to Him, the further
He will withdraw you from the old life of sin and bondage to
drugs!
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DRUGS AND THE BIBLE
The Bible mentions four powerful drugs, three that are
stronger than LSD. They are wormwood, hemlock, gall and
myrrh. None are ever used to induce visions of the Bible
God. No prophet of God ever used drugs to speak or listen to
God in the Scriptures. Anything that takes away the
conscious control of our minds or feelings is a sin against
our souls. No one has a right to put himself at the mercy of
a chemical that opens the door of the mind to the spirit
world outside of Christ's loving protection. No true
disciple of Jesus uses drugs. The use of drugs to put us
into contact with the spirit world is something that God
hates with a holy anger because it brings such deep
spiritual damage to the souls He has entrusted to us. It is
worth a note to see that Jesus was offered a drug mixture
only once in His life - and He refused it.
It is silly to say, "God made pot (or some other chemical),
so it is holy." God made poisonous toadstools and spiders
too, but no one has started a movement to eat these. We are
not to eat or drink anything that will confuse our minds or
bring spiritual darkness to our hearts. Drugs that break the
mind free from conscious control by the will, open the
dimensional door to the occult world. Over this blank mind
bridge, Satan and his dark spirits can invade the cities of
our souls. The Bible specifically warns us here. It
absolutely forbids the use of drugs in this way. In
Revelation 18:23 a special word is used. It is sorceries.
The word is in Greek "pharmakeia". It is the word we make
use of in the English word pharmacy or druggist today. It
means "to make religious trips by the use of drugs." God
says this will fool all the nations in the last days. God
warns that no man who uses drugs or sells them to others for
a trip will be in the Kingdom (Revelation 21:8). Beware that
you do not get fooled by the tricks of the devil.
Many false Christs are coming (Matthew 24:3-5). Only the
Jesus of the Bible is the real one. He has told us how He
would show Himself to us, and it is never by drugs. Jesus
said: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My
father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our
home with him. He who does not love Me, does not keep My
words; and the world which does not love Me, does not keepMy
words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the
Father's who sent me" (John 14:23,24).
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Are drug dealers sinning by selling drugs?
Perhaps we could ask, Are they doing good by selling drugs?
Are they making society better by selling drugs? I think you
can see where I'm going with this one. If they are not doing
good by selling drugs (and I don't know anyone who says they
are), what they are doing must be bad, and whatever is bad
is sin-related (either cause, effect, or otherwise). By the
way, the word "pharmacist" comes from the Greek word "pharmaceus",
which referred to those who were "sorcerers" using
spell-inducing potions. Clearly our modern pharmacists are
not religious sorcerers. But drug-dealers? The drugs they
sell are often hallucinogenic. I don't want to make too much
of this, but it is an interesting connection. Galatians 5:20
and Revelation 18:23 state that "pharmakeia" is "witchcraft"
or "sorcery." Revelation 21:8 and 22:15 state that these
"sorcerers" will not be in the New Jerusalem. 1 Corinthians
3:17 is more to the point: if anyone destroys God's temple,
he will be destroyed. Street drugs clearly destroy the
capacity of humans to think clearly, and many lives have
literally been destroyed by such drugs.
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