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Monday, July 25, 2011 10:14 + in the quotation book Matt. 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Mf. 18:3 ... and said: Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven... Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (We can say to this something like, “our righteousness is Christ and, as His disciples, we already have a righteousness higher than that of the Pharisees...”, but in these places and below in the text the Lord addresses precisely the disciples, calling them to this righteousness. From here it is clear that being a disciple is not enough. Those who are being saved must remember that Judas Iscariot was also among the disciples... Moreover, to what extent we are disciples is still a big question...(!!!) After all, it is written, "whoever does not renounce everything that he has cannot be My disciple. Please raise your hands, those who have already renounced everything that they have...in the biblical sense). Mf. 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord!” Lord!', will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Mf. 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and those who use force take it. Matthew 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (We know that, unfortunately, not all of those waiting for Him were accepted by Him...). Mf. 13:47-49 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and captured fish of all kinds... they gathered the good into vessels, but threw out the bad... they will separate the wicked from among the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 1 Cor. 6:9,10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wicked people, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Mf. 21:43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people producing its fruits... (From these passages it is clear that to enter the kingdom of heaven you need to do something... and not everyone who is called and willing will get there There is a danger of being thrown out...God forbid and deliver from this...). Mf. 19:23,24 Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven; And again I tell you: it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. 2 Tim. 4:18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom; to Him be glory forever and ever. Amen. (It is probably not in vain that Scripture speaks of evil deeds, as if in contrast to the words about the Kingdom of Heaven...). Scripture does not contain places where it would be said that the criterion for entering the Kingdom of God will be the number of demons cast out by us, or the number of people healed, or the number of those brought to repentance (although all this is important for the cause of Christ and when the soul reaches the next age it will have its own retribution...). To enter the Kingdom of God, as can be seen from Scripture, there are (and are required) other grounds (criteria)... At the same time, Scripture makes it clear to the disciples of Christ that there is a danger of not entering there... And, obviously, for this reason, Paul, being careful not to , so that “while preaching to others, oneself does not appear unworthy,” he takes some actions…. Lord our God, deliver us from every error of false knowledge, from the action of every other spirit, another gospel, another Jesus, whom the Apostles did not preach, so that we do not become victims of the cunning deception of the devil, but, relying in everything only on Your teaching, having loved “ pure verbal milk” and constantly growing from it into salvation, we could be honored to reach Your future age, where there will never be someone constantly trying to seduce and destroy us...!!! “Thus says the Lord: Stand still in your ways and consider, and ask about the ancient ways, where is the good way, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said: “No way...!!!???...” (Jer.6:16). God, how scary it is to hear their answer...! The Lord Jesus Christ, who has all power in heaven and on earth, is able to bring and will bring us to the final goal... if only, at the same time, we: - if we fulfill the will of the Heavenly Father (Matthew 7:21); - if we hold what was taught by the Apostles as they preached to us... (1 Cor 15:1,2); - if only we remain strong and unshakable in the faith and do not fall away from the hope of the gospel (Col. 1:22,23); - if only we hold fast the boldness and hope in which we boast until the end (Hebrews 3:6-8); - if only we hold fast the life we have begun to the end (Hebrews 3:14). We all want to be in His eternal Kingdom and eternally enjoy communication with Him... Isn’t that right? But, beloved of the Lord, God, with whom there is “no partiality” and who “judges each according to his works,” warns us, saying (shall we accept and dissolve His words by faith while there is still time?): - he whose righteousness is not surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, he will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven; - whoever does not turn and become like a child will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven...; - whoever does not fulfill the will of the Heavenly Father will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven; -...neither slanderers, nor thieves, nor covetous people... will inherit the Kingdom of God; - those caught in the net of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the repentant, the “evil” ones who did not use the time of grace for their transformation - will be thrown out...!!! (how many people today can say about themselves: “I am kind...?” in the sense of God’s understanding of this word...).
So, beloved of the Lord, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Source - https://svobd.ru/2010-11-13-05-05-37/2010-11-13-12-51-03/6414-4— -.html
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And do not get drunk with wine... The sin of drunkenness
From our youth this abomination devoured the works of our fathers...
Jeremiah 3.24
Christian attitude towards sobriety and drunkenness
One of the main threats to human health is the abuse of alcoholic beverages. Today, the problem of alcoholism is unresolved both in the world and in Belarus, which takes it from the number of private, local problems to the realm of state problems; the problem of alcoholism has long turned into a large-scale medical and social threat.
The Orthodox Church views alcoholism as a serious mental illness, accompanied by deep damage of a psychosomatic nature (painful conditions manifested as a result of the interaction of mental and physiological factors), the cure of which is impossible without the sufferer realizing the spiritual nature of his illness, complete and sincere repentance, and turning to the fullness of the grace of Christ. .
The Holy Scriptures do not prohibit Christians from drinking alcoholic beverages. Alcohol itself is not a sin. But addiction to wine, alcoholism, cannot be present in the life of a Christian (Eph 5:18; 1 Cor 6:12) Christians are called not to allow anything to “dominate” their body (1 Cor 6:12 ; 2nd Fri, 2:19).
The Old Testament contains both positive statements about the use of wine (Deut. 7:13; 11:14; Eccl. 10:19), and strict warnings about its abuse (Isa. 5:22), as well as examples of absolute sobriety (Judges 13 :6-7; 1 Samuel 1:11; Luke 1:14-15; Jeremiah 35).
The Nazarite vow presupposed absolute sobriety and was taken voluntarily (Num. 6:1-21); priests were required to maintain sobriety while performing their ministry (Lev. 10:8-11).
In the New Testament, the first miracle revealed by the Lord in Cana of Galilee is associated with wine. Wine was part of the Savior's last meal with his disciples and is the substance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
The letters of the apostles also mention the medicinal properties of wine (1 Tim. 5:23), point out the harmfulness of its abuse (Eph. 5:18; 1 Cor. 6:10), and also contain calls for sobriety (1 Pet. 5: 8; Rom. 14:21; 1 Tim. 3:2).
The biblical tradition of attitude towards wine was preserved by the Church in the future.
Without prohibiting the use of wine, she always spoke about the benefits of abstinence, and the Holy Fathers often set an example of absolute sobriety in their lives and called for it.
Sin does not nest in a substance (whatever it may be), but in the heart of a person: “For out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy: these defile a person...” (Matthew 15:19 ,20).
A sober person’s conscience prevents him from committing dissolute acts, and after drinking wine, the conscience becomes dull, opening the way for sinful lusts and desires
And it is not the wine that is to blame for drunkenness, but the person himself, whose heart is filled with unbelief, lack of fear of God, intemperance, licentiousness, relaxation of mental strength. Although wine is not sinful, it is extremely dangerous; through it you can easily fall into many sins, especially debauchery (Eph. 5:18). Wine acts as a means of helping passions penetrate into a soul that is not yet completely lost.
Saint John Chrysostom defines drunkenness as “... - a misfortune that is laughed at, a disease that is mocked; voluntary madness, which is worse than insanity.” And St. Basil the Great claims that “drunkenness is a voluntarily summoned demon that invades the soul through voluptuousness.”
In the Orthodox understanding, according to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, sobriety is “Christian moderation in the consumption of food and drink, as well as special, constant vigilance over oneself in protecting the soul and body from all unclean and sinful thoughts, desires and deeds.” “Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour,” the apostle warns (1 Peter 5:8). “Sobriety is guarding the mind and purity of the heart,” explain the holy fathers of St. Hesychius and Abba Evagrius: “The fear of God preserves the soul; sobriety confirms it.”
Priest Pavel Gumerov writes: “You cannot free yourself from drunkenness without completely giving up alcohol. Compromise is impossible here. This demon can only be driven out by “prayer and fasting” (that is, complete abstinence from alcohol).”
The essence of alcoholism
Today, drunkenness is one of the main reasons for the high level of mortality, morbidity, injury and crime, as well as the crisis of the family, the decline in the level of morality and culture, and the loss of respect for work.
According to the definition of Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky: “Drunkenness (alcoholism) is a derivative phenomenon of other passions, sometimes not fully known to its victim...”
Drunkenness, as well as alcoholism, is the cause of many serious sins. According to St. Tikhon of Zadonsk: “It gives rise to quarrels, fights followed by bloodshed and murder, foul language, blasphemy, blasphemy, annoyance and insults to neighbors. It teaches you to lie, flatter, rob and kidnap, so that there is something to satisfy passion. It fuels anger and rage. It leads to people wallowing in the mud like pigs in a swamp - in a word, it makes a person a beast, a verbal person dumb, so that not only the internal state, but also the external appearance of a person often changes. Therefore, Saint Chrysostom says: “The devil loves nothing more than luxury and drunkenness, since no one fulfills his evil will like drunkards.”
It has long been known in Orthodoxy that the cause of alcoholism is a spiritual disease - pride. One of its manifestations in human nature is considered to be such a quality as self-will. People with alcohol addiction are willful people. They cannot see themselves from the outside. Internally, in his soul, an alcoholic cannot stand (does not tolerate) the control of people and God. He, an alcoholic, “is and will be the master of his own destiny.” His mind is closed to the perception of other ideas, statements, knowledge.
Alcoholism itself is a person’s damage on several levels at once:
- spiritual - because it is a passion;
- psychological - since a psychological dependence on alcohol is formed - you want to have fun, and this feeds the sin of drunkenness;
- medical (biological) - since with long periods and quantities of alcohol consumption, alcohol enters the metabolism;
- social - because a person becomes a complete egoist and does not care what happens around him if there is no alcohol.
Constant consumption of alcohol leads to a serious illness - alcoholism or alcohol dependence, which is based on chronic poisoning of the body with alcohol. This chronic poisoning gradually forms mental and physical dependence on alcohol and causes pathology of internal organs, metabolic disorders, central and peripheral nervous systems, mental and personal degradation.
There are three stages of alcoholism.
The first is the stage of mental dependence. At this stage, it becomes habitual for a person to drink alcohol in order to forget about troubles and adversities, facilitate contact with others, and relax. In addition, at this stage, a person’s threshold of sensitivity to alcohol decreases, that is, in order to achieve the desired level of intoxication, he needs a dose 2-3 times larger than before. The gag reflex, which is the body’s defense mechanism during alcohol poisoning, disappears.
The second is the stage of physical dependence. Regular alcohol abuse leads to changes in the biochemical processes of the body, as a result of which the regular intake of alcohol into the body becomes necessary for its normal functioning. In the absence of alcohol entering the body, a person experiences mental disorders, headache, thirst, loss of appetite, muscle tremors, irritability, and aggression.
The third is the stage of personality degradation. A person becomes indifferent to family and friends, neglects the most basic rules of morality and ethics, and is indifferent to his behavior. His memory is deteriorating and his intelligence is decreasing.
The special danger of alcoholism is that even the Lord cannot make a person abstinent - after all, a person is endowed with free will. Therefore, only the person himself can stop drinking. A person who has embarked on the path of recovery, who wants to break with the passion of drinking wine, needs to know and remember: even if he gets rid of the disease, he will not stop being sick. And he is strictly forbidden to even touch alcohol. What is allowed to an ordinary healthy person, that is, to enjoy wine in moderation, is no longer given to him. It’s not for nothing that people who belong to the Alcoholics Anonymous group, even after they have completely stopped drinking, still call themselves alcoholics. The famous actor Dmitry Kharatyan, having quit drinking, also says to himself: “I am a non-drinking alcoholic.”
The common cause of promoting sobriety
When in the second half of the 19th century, due to the expansion of industrial production and the widespread sale of vodka, drunkenness turned into a social disaster in Russia, the Church blessed the adoption of vows of sobriety and supported the creation of sobriety societies.
The Holy Synod in 1859, by its decree, blessed the clergy with “the living example of their own lives and frequent preaching in the Church of God about the benefits of abstinence to promote the determination that has arisen in some urban and rural classes to abstain from drinking wine.”
The Church considers caring for a person’s spiritual health to be its duty and promotes sobriety in society and the prevention of alcoholism.
In 1913, on the initiative of the ministers of the Orthodox Church, the first Russian Day of Sobriety was held.
By decision of the Holy Synod of March 1914, the annual celebration of the All-Russian Temperance Day was adopted - September 11 (new style).
The date was not chosen by chance - on this day Orthodox Christians celebrate the day of the Beheading of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist, during which strict fasting should be observed. In Russia on these days, all wine shops were closed and the sale of alcoholic beverages stopped. In Orthodox churches, religious processions were held and proclamations were read about the importance and significance of a sober lifestyle, and then a prayer service was held to John the Baptist. Anyone could take a vow of sobriety, which was blessed by the priest.
Currently, churches are holding events “Light a candle for the healing of those suffering from the disease of drunkenness,” and those who wish to receive recovery from the misfortune offer prayers to the “Inexhaustible Chalice” icon, which grants healing from diseases, alcoholism and drug addiction. Priests recommend spending this day in action - going to church, lighting a candle and praying for everyone suffering from the disease of drunkenness.
An important means of combating drunkenness, as with any sin, is the participation of those who suffer in church life, the Sacraments of the Church, daily personal prayer, fasting, reading the Holy Scriptures and the works of saints.
On July 25, 2014, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted the Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church for the promotion of sobriety and the prevention of alcoholism.
In this activity, the church considers it necessary to interact with public associations and individual enthusiasts in the field of alcoholism prevention, rehabilitation and readaptation of persons suffering from alcohol addiction. At the same time, cooperation is possible only with those organizations and movements whose activities do not contradict the doctrine of the Orthodox Church and current legislation.
Work to promote sobriety is carried out in the church in three directions.
The first is aimed at establishing the ideal of sobriety and a sober lifestyle in modern society, especially in the family where personality formation takes place.
Brotherhoods, societies, sobriety communities and other church organizations contribute to the revival of traditional family and spiritual and moral values, carry out educational activities, prevent alcoholism, forming a positive attitude towards sobriety as a social value, participate in the creation of a sober youth culture, influence by personal example, in including organizing “sobriety holidays” and creating “sobriety territories.”
The second direction covers work with people who regularly drink alcohol, and includes educating these people, creating motivation for them to contact a specialist, providing them with social and psychological assistance, including in the form of individual and family consultations, involvement in community life, activities of public associations, clubs (sports, military-patriotic and the like).
The third involves social, labor, psychological, medical, family rehabilitation of persons suffering from alcoholism, the creation of houses of hard work and rehabilitation centers, self- and mutual help groups, family sobriety clubs, individual counseling of persons suffering from alcoholism and their relatives
Each of these forms of work uses its own spiritual, medical, psychological and social methods. At the same time, the greatest efficiency is achieved with their reasonable combination.
The Church does not replace state medical and educational institutions, but in every possible way contributes to their activities aimed at providing assistance to people dependent on alcohol and preventing alcoholism.
The Bible teaches us that “everything that possesses” a person is sinful (cf. Rev. 22:15
The temple of God - be it our body and our soul - is holy, and contact with the unclean can desecrate it. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him: for the temple of God is holy; and this temple is you” (1 Cor. 3:16-17).
And, perhaps, the most terrible thing is what St. John Chrysostom warns us about, saying: “The main evil of drunkenness is this. that it makes Heaven inaccessible to the drunkard and does not allow him to achieve eternal blessings, so that along with shame on earth, those suffering from this illness will also face the most severe punishment in Heaven.”
The concept of the Russian Orthodox Church for the promotion of sobriety and the prevention of alcoholism. church.by
Deacon Vitaly Zubkov Orthodox view on the prevention and treatment of drunkenness and alcoholism www.k-istine.ru
All-Russian Day of Sobriety - www.calend.ru
Alexander A. Sokolovsky
Can't drink?
The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church also do not recommend drinking wine. For example, Saint Theodore from the Studite monastery, who lived in the 7th-8th centuries, in his “Creations” indicated that the one who abstains from drinking wine carries the Holy Spirit within himself, and the one who drinks only water “puts on the garments of tenderness” .
Saint Basil the Great, canonized by the Orthodox Church in the 4th century, believed that alcoholic drinks themselves lead to more, not quenching thirst, but making a person insatiable and exciting him to drink even more.
There were, however, rarely, outright prohibitions. For example, the 18th-century Russian saint Tikhon of Zadonsk once forbade seminarians at the Voronezh Seminary from drinking wine. As the bishop of the local diocese, he issued a decree by which he forbade seminarians from drinking “strong wine and other intoxicating drinks,” since all this leads to “drunken passion.” And future priests caught drinking, even if they did not drink to the point of drunkenness, were subject to a fine.
St. Theophan the Recluse called for abstaining from the sin of drunkenness if it is not you who are susceptible to it, but the person next to you. He called for abstaining from drunkenness for the sake of saving a fellow man.
Archbishop Nikon of Vologda wrote in 1906 that sobriety is a virtue and an adornment of prophets. And calling to her, he pointed out that they did not drink holy wine. For example, the Forerunner of the Lord, John, did not use it. The archangel who appeared to his future father Simeon said, foretelling the birth of his son, that his greatness would lie in the virtue of abstinence and therefore would be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The archbishop pointed out that the virtue of abstinence is high, and intemperance is vile, since it opens the door through which other vices enter a person.
In the Orthodox Church there was even a movement of teetotalers, who were called abstinents, and in 1912, the future new martyr of Kiev Metropolitan Vladimir Bogoyavlensky made a report “Is the Bible against us, abstinents,” in which he called abstinence the only means of curing the Russian people from drunkenness.
Possible, but not always
And finally, at the Last Supper, Christ gives the apostles bread and a cup of wine, establishing the Sacrament of the Eucharist in His church, and says to them: “This cup is the new covenant in My Blood; Do this whenever you drink, in remembrance of Me,” is written in the First Epistle to the inhabitants of Corinth by St. Pavel.
Moreover, the Savior specifies that if anyone eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, “he will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.”
This means the most important thing - the prohibition to drink wine leads to a prohibition for the followers of the Savior to accept His Gifts - the Body and Blood of Christ, and therefore contradicts the very teaching of the Savior, and therefore is impossible in Christianity.
Therefore, Christians can drink wine, but in very moderate quantities. St. John Chrysostom pointed out that it is immoderation that is vicious, and not the wine itself. “Wine is a gift from God,” he said, “but drunkenness is the invention of Satan.”
Can I drink?
It seems that, realizing the harm that alcohol brings to people, the church should have banned its use. But please note that all the Holy Fathers recommend not drinking wine, point out its harm, but do not prohibit the laity from using it.
So you can drink?
Not so simple. Firstly, when it comes to allowing the consumption of alcohol in some cases, we are talking specifically about grape wine. We are not talking about other drinks that go back to paganism, be it palm wine, beer or moonshine - all these are “axes” and it is better not to touch them. Drinking wine has deep roots, and goes back to the tradition of disinfecting water with it in the Middle East and using it as a medicine for intestinal infections.
Even the famous ap. Paul advises his friend Timothy not to drink only water, but to add wine to it little by little “for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
By the way, the Jews did not have strong wine. The strongest wine was made from raisins and its strength was 16-17 degrees.
The Old Testament was not against drinking wine either, which said: “give... He will drink wine with a sorrowful soul and... will not remember... about suffering.” Secondly, wine in the Old Testament is a symbol of joy. Psalm 103 says that “wine makes glad the heart of man.”
This tradition is adopted by the New Testament, where wine is a symbol of spiritual joy, and the grapevine is a symbol of Christ. In the Gospel of St. John the Savior says: “I am the true vine and my Father is the worker...”.
It is not for nothing that Christ’s first miracle was the transformation of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. The owner runs out of wine, so as not to spoil the fun, the Savior turns water into wine and the guests are amazed and ask the owner - why did he first give them worse wine, and save the best for last?
The newlyweds are blessed with wine during the wedding sacrament: the newlyweds drink a sip of consecrated wine as a sign of God blessing their union.
