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Temperance
February 1,2020

With the start of 2020 we’ve been taking a deeper look into a passage from second Peter looking at 2 Peter 1:5-8 , “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Last week, we looked at knowledge, and today we’ll consider the value of temperance in our spiritual growth.

When we think of temperance, many people reflect on simply abstaining from alcohol, and that’s because the use of the English word temperance was also tied to efforts to reduce or totally ban alcohol use, and that happened in a few countries around the world, including the in which I live, the United States. In the United States, the temperance movement spurred a now repealed constitutional amendment that prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages during the 1920s and early 1930s. People liked their alcohol and that changed. When I was in high school I learned that allegedly the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky allegedly paved the streets with an illegal tax on this bootleg liquor. Other countries also had bans. To the north there was a ban on alcohol in Canada from about 1918 to 1920 and approximately at the same time from 1919 to 1926 in Norway there was a ban on hard liquor.

Historically, alcohol was used in beverages because fresh water supplies were not guaranteed much the way they are today. When we need fresh water in developed countries we turn on the tap in our kitchen, and out comes clean, fresh water. If you live in an area that is not developed, you know that there is this struggle to get clean water. Going back hundreds of years everyone had that same struggle. Growing up as an army brat living overseas I remember touring the castle in Heidelberg, Germany, and according to legend, there was a court jester there named Perkeo. And Perkeo, besides keeping the royals entertained who guarded an incredibly huge barrel of wine. If you had a barrel of wine like this, everyone would want to be your friend because the barrel I’m thinking of holds 220,000 liters, or nearly 60,000 gallons of wine. That’s a lot of wine. And Perkeo, besides being a court jester and guardian of the wine, he was also known for being able to drink large quantities of wine. The barrel of wine that holds 220,000 liters or nearly 60,000 gallons is 7 meters high , and 7 meters is nearly 23 feet high, it’s 8 and one-half meters wide, or nearly 28 feet wide. This wine barrel is so big, there’s a dance floor on top of it. So, Perkeo the court jester, drank a lot of wine and he had access to a lot of wine, and according to legend, he died because he one time accidentally drank water by mistake. So, legend, story, or truth, here is a court jester who died when he drank water when his body was used to wine. So, historically, there is this historical reason why people drink wine and beer and different kinds of liquors because it purified the water source in the process.

The Bible cautions us in many passages of scripture why we should not be drunkards or gluttons with all of the problems that can be caused, and there are many passages just in the Book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 23:19-21,29-35
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul was the prolific writer of many books who was inspired through the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ and God the Father. Many times he wrote to the congregants in a city and at other times he wrote to a priest. In his first letter to Timothy, we can tell that Timothy had a nervous stomach, and Paul urged Timothy to take little wine for the sake of his stomach and Timothy’s other infirmities. In 1 Timothy 3:8 Paul wrote, “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;” When Paul wrote, ”…not given to much wine…” that indicates that wine drinking was common in the early church, and not viewed unfavorably. If there would have been a problem with drinking wine, Paul would have wrote about this in one of his letters, much like he addressed the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 5:1 about sexual immorality.

Because many have twisted the passage we will read from the first letter to Timothy, sadly, some priests have committed acts of sexual immorality against members of the church, including children. When Paul told Timothy to not accept an accusation against an elder unless there were two or three witnesses, Paul is talking about accusations related to the faith of the elder. Much like Jesus said in Matthew 22:21, ”Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s,” accusations of faith are addressed by the church through this standard, and those matters which would be handled by the police, any criminal accusation, are reported immediately and without delay to law enforcement. If there is a concern the elder is not holding fast to the faith once delivered, that matter is addressed by the church when established by two or three witnesses. If there is an allegation of sexual assault or rape by a priest or elder, that gets reported to law enforcement immediately without delay and until the police can detain the person, make sure nobody is in a position to be victimized. In most cases, the conduct of people, whether good or bad, is open and very easy to see.

1 Timothy 5:17-25
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

Other words used for temperance include self-control. If we exercise temperance with alcoholic beverages and food, we exercise self-control. What level of self-control should we have? Paul again, a prolific writer, gives us a great example in first Corinthians nine. This is the year 2020 and later in the year there will be the Tokyo Olympics, and the best of the best go to the Olympics. And, sometimes the difference in time between the person who gets the gold medal and the person who finishes in dead last place is maybe a few seconds or a fraction of a few seconds. It’s incredible to watch the Olympics. Paul writes about that concept in first Corinthians nine verse twenty-four. People who are star athletes have to have a lot of self-control, in their exercise routine, in the foods they eat, in their training regimen, in their sleep patterns. They are highly disciplined to get that level of physical ability. So, unlike the Olympic athletes who are running after for something that may be of benefit in this life, in the spiritual race we are running, we are running for entrance into the Kingdom of God on the spiritual side. The prize we are running for is of much greater value than a gold medal and more precious than anything that can be found on earth.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

We need to run our race of faith with self-control becoming disciplined through temperance as we grow in faith, and as we race to salvation in the Kingdom of God.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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