Proverbs 23:29-35: “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. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
1 John 2:15-16: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
Indulgence in alcohol is quite clearly a favoured pursuit of the world and a precursor to many of the vilest and most shameful sins committed by men, (and women!).
However, the ‘New Wine’ Conference, the ungodly ecumenical nature of which we began to expose last week, is actively encouraging those in attendance to go for a boozy lunch during the conference!
Indeed, on the New Wine Conference’s own website they have said a “typical day” at the conference includes a trip to the pub!
Under that heading of ‘A Typical Day’, on their website it reads: “With the two morning sessions over, you can pick up lunch in one of the cafes on site, or head into Sligo and try one of the many cafes, restaurants or pubs.”
What a dreadful witness for these so-called Christians to be giving to the world at large. Indeed, what a dreadful witness for the leaders of this conference, which include lead organiser Rev David McClay (pictured, below) to be encouraging their followers and supporters to engage in such activity.
As our first Bible passage shows, the consequences of such self-indulgence are grave – there is woe, sorrow, contentions, babbling, wounds without cause and redness of eyes.
Alcohol causes misery, folly, arguments and injury, leaving an individual insensitive to the world around them and lowering their inhibitions.
Yet the ‘New Wine’ Conference is encouraging attendees to make their way to the pub in the middle of the day at a conference where they are supposed to be exalting Christ.
Instead they are encouraging attendees to go into the world to fulfil the lust of the flesh and of the eyes, which is “not of the father, but of the world”.
This conduct is at complete variance with the orders laid down by God to “be not conformed to this world”, which loves and glamorises alcohol, an addictive drug. Instead, if we are Christians, we ought to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” which comes from Christ.
Romans 12:1-3 says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Note that our bodies are to be a living sacrifice, not tanked up with a poisonous drug which corrodes our organs, debauches our behaviour and, if you are a Christian, ultimately ruins our testimony.
Believers are also instructed “to think soberly”. How can we think soberly if we are not sober?
A great many evil things are recounted in the Bible by individuals who have allowed their blood to get up as a result of alcohol consumption.
King Ahasuerus allowed himself to be carried away with booze and tried to make a show of his beautiful wife, Vashti, in front of the many dignitaries present at his grand feast.
Esther 1:10-12 says: “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.”
The heart of the king was “merry with wine” and he wanted to make an exhibition of his wife. She refused, not impressed with the drunken exhibition her husband wanted to make of her which would have caused other men to lust after her. At this point, the man who was “merry with wine” suddenly changed his mood to anger, such is the inconstancy of the person filling themselves with alcohol.
The consumption of alcohol corrupts and, as we have said before, leaves people insensitive. Look at the vile behaviour of the two daughters of Lot, who plied their father with alcohol and then committed grave sin with him.
Genesis 19:31-38: “And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.”
Not only was the corruption in the action itself bad enough, but this was compounded by such evil actions, made possible by alcohol, leading to the creation of two nations who would be at enmity with God’s people in the centuries to come.
The consequences of such drunken depravity lasted so much longer than one night, or two nights, in this instance, God’s people were suffering as a result for centuries afterwards.
However, such warnings from Scripture appear to matter little to the organisers of this New Wine Conference as they encourage their followers to be part of the world.
Hosea 4:11: “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.”
Proverbs 21:17: “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”
Jude 1:23: “…hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”
protestantrevival.wordpress.com 
Interestingly…. this is the second time I will have tried to boast my counterbalanced comment to the article, and likely will be deleted – (Protestantrevival don’t seem to be able to tolerate any opinion other than their own!)
This article is absolute nonsense – Jesus would have us meet the people where the people are.
Who are we to preach to the converted on our shiny pulpits, in our centrally heated churches with all our privileges….
….whilst there are others in environments many “Christians” would shun, dismiss, disrespect and cast judgment upon from our pedestals sitting oh so high!
We do not live in my any means a perfect world, we are a broken people, in a world ever more digitised.
So my suspicion is that true evangelism leaves the writers of this article nervous and disconcerted. I suspect they are left uneasy by doing outreach work in any less than a pleasingly comfortable environment!
Perhaps they themselves have forgotten the commission given to us, but like all hellfire and brimstone types they take much of the bible and twist it to their own agendas, spreading a vile taste of segregation, division and hatred in the publication of such.
I fail to see anything of Christ in this article, I see nothing encouraging, uplifting or enriching, and certainly do NOT hear Christ’s voice through this article.
Here’s a reminder of the good stuff and possibly one of the most important verses in the bible, a verse that you’ll
not see mentioned in this article.
Matthew 28:18-20
28:18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This means – meet them in the pubs – meet them in the clubs – go into the world of him – speak his love – speak his voice – be the best of him to all we may encounter.
Gods love is for ALL!!
LikeLike
Hi Jonny,
Thanks for getting in touch and apologies for the slow reply, we had prepared a response a few months ago but had then forgotten about it. Here it is anyway.
A quick look at our facebook page or this page will show that we allow a great deal of opinions contrary to our own to be expressed, showing a far more generous spirit than the vast majority of those who comment and showing your accusation to be totally and perhaps wilfully inaccurate and misrepresentative.
We’re afraid your adjective to describe the article more closely describes your comment of man-made dogma.
“Meeting them in the pubs and clubs” is far from a scriptural precept. I’m not sure when Jesus went into the dens of iniquity to evangelise in the Bible. This is nothing more than the religious equivalent of having your cake and eating it (and perhaps washing it down with a pint).
Of course, the converted need to be preached to for the purposes of edification and sanctification, ie building them up in their most holy faith.
You seem to make a virtue of entering dens of iniquity and mock a distaste for mingling seed with worldliness. Remember that friendship with the world is enmity with God.
Any true Christian should be uncomfortable with such environments as they are environments given over to the sinful desires of man.
Evangelism can and should be done outside nightclubs and bars, but when you step over that door you also cross the line that separates a true Christian from the world.
This is nothing whatsoever about sitting on a pedestal, this is about the simple Biblical principle of separation. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 makes that abundantly clear, though we know you have consciously chosen to reject it.
And if you think true evangelism is sitting down for a beer beside someone in a nightclub, then we frankly despair. Presence in those places denotes acceptance of them.
It’s an interesting passage you choose there as Jesus says therein: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”.
Jesus said he came not to destroy the law and the prophets so that means he would have encouraged separation. Look at the separation of Daniel and his friends when they would not eat the king’s meat. Perhaps they should have just eaten that meat to show the Babylonians that they were ‘one of the lads’?
You may draw back from the “hellfire and brimstone” but if that is not taught then you cease to teach the full counsel of God. One of the chief problems with today’s church is a refusal to preach hell, instead replacing the true message of the Bible with a fluffy, love only message. God is a God of judgment and vengeance as well as a God of love and mercy.
The message of brokenness over sin and a need for true repentance is being replaced with a soppy, shallow “commitment” to Jesus, as if we are doing God a favour by choosing to call ourselves “Christian”.
The true Christ and the message of His Word is, in our opinion and with God as our help, relaid in the articles on this page. The manufactured Christ of much of the easy-believist movement is not reflected, and we praise God that is the case.
You demonstrate this by saying it has to be uplifting, it doesn’t have to be uplifting in of itself, would you describe Jesus’ actions of overturning the tables in the temple and creating a whip uplifting in of itself? The action may not be uplifting, but true believers ought to be uplifted when they see action taken to defend true religion, unstained from the depravity of the world.
LikeLike