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Alright, so today is actually the last sermon topic in a series that I started several weeks ago called Get Right or Get Out, and if you've been following along, you know that we are going over, and if you would, keep something in Proverbs 23, but go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, just kind of as a way of review here, but what we've been talking about with a title like that, Get Right or Get Out, we've been talking about are the sins that the Bible lists that would actually get you kicked out of the local church, and to some, this is a revelation in and of itself that the Bible actually teaches some people to be kicked out of church, but nothing could be clearer in the scripture, in fact, if we look there in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, beginning in verse 9, it reads, I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators, yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, but were with the covetous, or extortioners, or with the idolaters, for then you must needs go out of the world. So, he's saying, look, you shouldn't be keeping company with any of these people, but then he goes on and clarifies and says, but not, we're not speaking of those that are of this world, otherwise you'd have to leave the world. If we were to, if that was the standard that God held us to, to not company or have fellowship with fornicators, or covetous, or extortion, or all these things that it lists, you know, with anyone that falls into these categories, you know, we wouldn't be able to go to the grocery store. We wouldn't be able to go talk to the clerk, I mean, because the world is full of all these people, and such were some of us in times past. He goes on and clarifies in verse 11 and says, but now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one know not to eat. And of course, if you know the context of 1 Corinthians chapter 5, he's dealing with a man that was, it was said that he was actually, you know, fornicating with his father's wife, I believe it was his stepmother, okay, or maybe it was a divorce situation, I don't know all the details. What he was saying is, you need to put such, you need to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. So the Bible's real clear here that there are very specific sins that are listed here in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 that if we are found guilty of, that we are to exercise church discipline to actually be put out of the local church. And you know, and people will say, well that's really harsh, you know, that seems kind of, you know, and it is harsh, and there's a purpose behind it, it's supposed to be harsh. We'll see here what the purpose of it all is at the end, but we're kind of wrapping this up, this whole series this morning. You know, we've already talked about these specific sins, such as fornication, covetousness, extortion, idolatry, we've even talked about, you know, being a railer, so on and so forth. We also, so we're concluding today with the topic of being a drunkard, or drunkenness. You know, and this is probably one of the two sins that's listed here that are probably going to be more commonly found in a local church. You say, why are you preaching on this, is anybody guilty of it? Not that I know of, okay. But here's the thing, as a church grows, you can mark it down that there's going to be people that are involved in things that would probably surprise you. You know, the people that walk in a church on Sunday, and you know, and we can't just assume that everybody here isn't involved in some kind of sin, there's probably people that are involved in sin, you know, at any time. That's one thing that Pastor Anderson has reiterated time and time again to those that would preach, is that look, you need to preach on all manner of sin because I guarantee you there's somebody out there that's involved in it. You know, so we need, because no one's perfect, you know. I'm not perfect, you're not perfect, so we need to be able to preach on these things because there just might be that, you know, this sermon could actually maybe bring us back from having to experience this kind of discipline. You know, maybe we're starting to, you know, flirt with these sins, you know, and now we're not going to have, you know, the preaching should warn us and cause us to take heed and you know, might spare us the, you know, the punishment that's involved here. Now people again, they'll say, well that seems kind of harsh, that seems kind of, you know, how could you say that, how, you know, God is love, so on and so forth, and there's churches that they wouldn't even touch this passage with a 10-foot pole. And you know, to the critics I would say, well, you should consider the Old Testament punishment for drunkenness. Go over to Deuteronomy chapter 21, Deuteronomy chapter 21. Now here's a controversial passage that people like to throw in our face. You know, the people, the critics of the Bible, the critics of Christianity, the atheists of this world that like to say, oh, you know, the Bible teaches that you should kill children. That's what they say. God commanded you, and this is what they're referring to, but let's read the context and see what it's really saying here. It says in Deuteronomy chapter 21 verse 18, if a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, do you know your son will always be your son no matter how old they get? You can't just read son and instantly think child, okay? You know, I'm still somebody's son even though I'm 39 years old today. You know, I didn't stop being a son just because I became an adult. This passage is referring to an adult, and it's very clear when you see this here, which will not obey, he says, if a man have a stubborn and rebellious son which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and that when they have chastened him will not hearken unto them. So here you have some parents that are at the end of their rope with, you know, probably a young man. It says in verse 19, Lelch and his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the elders of the city, of this city, under the gate of this place, and they shall say unto the elders of the city, this our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard. Now right there, that's how I know it's referring to an adult, because it's referring to an adult, you know, a glutton and a drunkard. You know, I don't suspect that my son Corbin John here at any time, I'm going to come home and find him tipping back a 40 or something like that, you know, telling me off and just pouring himself another round of, you know, Jack Daniels or whatever at the kitchen table. You know, being a drunkard is something that's reserved for people who have grown in age. They've come to a place where they are capable of this type of thing. Now the gluttony part, you know, maybe I could, if I put enough fish sticks in front of him, he might just, the tater tots and things like that, he might, he might get carried away, but you know, we'll spare him that, okay. He's a good boy. But you know, that's why I know this passage is talking about an adult, okay, and it's talking about, this is a very severe set of circumstances. Mom and dad have come to this young man. He's a glutton and he's drunkard. He's probably, you know, a strain on the family. He's bringing a bad name upon them, a reputation, you know, he's not working. He's a bum. He won't get a job. He won't grow up. He won't, and they're rebuking him and they're chastening him, and it just comes to a point where it's obvious that it's just not going to get through his head. He's not going to change. So the Bible has a prescription, you know, and before you criticize a church that would say, hey, we got to kick out the drunks, I mean, let's consider the prescription that's given out here in Deuteronomy. Look at verse 21. And the men of that, all the men of that city shall stone him with stones that he die. I mean, God says, let's put the death penalty on this person, and you say, well, that seems really harsh, but what's the purpose behind it? It goes on and says, so shalt thou put away evil from among you. You know, some of the most dangerous individuals in society are single young men. There I said it, you know, because they're six feet tall and bulletproof, and they're all about, you know, getting drunk and driving and taking lots of chances and putting other people at risk. And that's why I believe he's prescribing this here. You got somebody who's a glutton and a drunkard, he's a hazard to society, and probably somebody else is going to suffer at his hands. So they say, put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. Now we don't ever see them actually carrying this out in Scripture, which might explain why they got to the back sudden state that they did, and God had to punish them so severely later on in their history. But I mean, even if they did, do you think they had to do this very often? I mean, how often would this have to happen in a society for people to start to kind of shape, you know, shape up? I bet all the other gluttons and the other drunkards would probably sober up and start to listen to mom and dad. So this is a deterrent to spare the society from the negative consequences of what? Specifically here, of alcohol. He says he's a glutton and a drunkard, okay? Now if you would, I should have had to keep something in Proverbs 23 where we were, if you would. And keep something in Proverbs for the rest of the morning, we're going to be there. So go over to Proverbs chapter 23. You know, the Bible has nothing good to say about alcohol. And this is kind of another sermon to get into about, you know, not all wine in the Bible is alcoholic. You know, we could prove that from the Bible, even in Proverbs 23 where it says, look not upon the wine when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. It's talking about fermentation. You know, and that's a whole other, you know, a whole other sermon. If you have questions about that, we could talk about it later. But what we're talking about today is the fact that being a drunk is something that will get you kicked out of the local church. And why is that? Why does God have such negative consequences both in the New Testament and Old Testament for those that would be drunkards? Because nothing good is going to come in your life because of alcohol. And you know, I don't want to get up and glorify my sin or talk about, you know, get real personal, but I can tell you from my own experience that nothing good has ever come in my life because of alcohol. In fact, some of the most hurtful, painful, long lasting things that have been a detriment in my life have come because of alcohol. And there's many other people I'm sure if we went around the room could testify to the same thing. They could think back about the times they indulged in alcohol and then immediately start to think of all the shameful or the hurtful or just bad negative things that came about as a consequence. And that's what the Bible clearly spells out here in Proverbs 23. Look at verse 29. Who hath woe? And then he just goes on this litany of just negative outcomes. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? He goes on and says, they that tarry along with the wine. Those that are drunkards, the wine bibbers and the drunks of this world, they are the ones that have woe. I mean, we think about woe, just people who are just, you know, bad terrible things have happened that just made them sad, depressed, just woeful people. They have sorrow. You know, they get drunk, they do something they shouldn't or somebody does something to them. They get themselves in a situation and all it brings is sorrow upon their life. You know, the dad turns into a drunk and starts, you know, abusing the wife and mistreating his family. That brings sorrow into a person's life. I mean, you don't even have to be the one drinking the alcohol in order for it to bring sorrow into your life. You could just be the child of a drunk. You could be married to the drunk. You know, you could be the person who just was going about your business and got on the road with the drunk and shared the road with the drunk by no choice of your own and sorrow is brought into your life through the car accident, through all the different things that alcohol brings. Who hath contentions? You know, who has the bar fight? You know, who has the, you know, the going out and picking a fight with people? You know, who has the guy missing teeth and cracked ribs because he got drunk and got pulled out back and beaten? You know, I know people like that. They're missing teeth because they went to a bar, got drunk, got lippy with the wrong guy or group of guys and just got kicked while he was down out in some alley somewhere. Who has that? Who has all these things? They say that Terry Long at the Wine, the drunkards of this world. Who hath babbling? You know, that's probably the least, you know, that's probably the most tolerable consequence of being a drunk or being around a drunk is the babbling, right? I mean the woe, the sorrow, and the contentions, those are very bad things. But even just the babbling of a drunk is enough to drive a person insane. I mean, drunk people are the most annoying people to be around. There I said it. The drunker they get, the more obnoxious they are. I mean, that's why when I was, I had a season where I drove for Lyft, you know, the ride share and I did that for a few months and very quickly I determined I'm not picking up anybody after 10 or 10 p.m. Because at 10 p.m., you know, you'll pick up somebody, you know, you start picking up people at the bar and they're a little, they're just a little buzzed. And then, you know, like, okay, I can tolerate that. You know, they still have their wits somewhat about them. At least they have enough good sense to actually call for a ride. But then you start, you know, after that, like every hour that went by, they just got drunker and drunker and drunker and then by like 12, one, two, I mean, you're picking up people that are just talking really loud in your car and having a conversation and just blah, blah, blah. And it's just the whole way to the house or wherever you're taking them. Oh, can you stop here? Can you, you know, just adding stops and just doing that. And I just said, I can't take this. You know, the drunks, it's the babbling, you know, being around drunk people just blah, blah, blah. And I could talk about other times we've talked about or ran into that. Anybody who knows, who's run into drunks, you know, that's why people, if you're going to be around a drunk, you have to get drunk. It's the only way you can tolerate being around that nonsense that comes out. Just the babbling. Who hath wounds without cause? You know, people who wake up and they don't even realize, why do I have a black eye? How did I miss these teeth? Oh man, how did I get that cracked rib? Why is my knee twisted? You know, who has wounds without cause? You know, they went out and got drunk and they can't even remember, you know, what happened to him. I remember, I remember I had a friend who got drunk. He was this close to just throwing, literally just hanging on to a door jamb, ready to throw himself down a flight of stairs. Just by his fingertips. And I'm like trying to talk him back and like, don't do this. What are you doing? And he was ready to just throw himself headlong down a set of stairs because he was drunk. He lost all good reason. Who hath redness of eyes? You know, think about the different physical attributes that come with being a drunk. You know, the red eyes, the big nose, the beard gut, so on and so forth. All, you know, the cirrhosis of the liver, all these damaging things that alcohol does to your body. I mean, I've known more than one person who was told, look, if you continue to drink, you will die. It will kill you. Your liver is shot. You can't continue to drink. And they literally, people, their friends that stood by and watched that person literally within a few months just drink themselves to death. I've known more than one person like that. But is that what the world shows us when they promote alcohol? Is that what they're going to show you on, you know, on the television and in the magazine and so on and so forth? Is that what the Bacardi commercial is all about? No, they're going to show you a bunch of babes and a bunch of hunks just partying, having a good time. You know, nobody's, you know, no consequences. They're not going to show you the next day. They're not going to show you the hangover, you know, or whatever else can happen when people are getting themselves intoxicated. That's why he goes on and says in verse 31, look not upon the wine what is red. He says, don't even look at it. You know, and I've talked about, you know, I'm not going to go at length here on this topic of alcohol. I've preached other sermons about it because a lot of even Christians today, they'll try to justify drinking alcohol. And to them, I say, okay, well, you know, if you want to say you can drink it, but the Bible couldn't be clearer that you're not even to look at it. He says, don't even look at it. So if you want to drink it, and I've challenged other people to do this, by all means, go to the grocery store, you know, before you walk in, put on a blindfold, go find your way to the alcohol aisle, right, to the liquor aisle, you know, try to pick out the bottle you want. Remember not to look at it. Get it in your cart, get it over to the cash register. You know, you don't have to worry about getting any, the weird looks you're going to get because you won't see them, because remember, you're blindfolded, right? Pay for it, get it home, and then try to pour the alcohol, you know, once you make it home without spilling any. I mean, that's what the Bible says. Look not upon the wine when it is red. Don't even look at it. When it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. You know, it doesn't start out that way. This is how people get lured into drinking alcohol. They see everybody having a good time, they like the feeling and the sensation that comes with it, you know, and if anybody, you know, has never drunk alcohol and wants to know what it's like, you know, just go stand somewhere, you know, and spin around in a circle as fast as you can until you're about ready to vomit, you know, and it's a lot like that. You know, literally, just lay in, so just imagine laying down, you know, and the world just goes, it's like self-induced vertigo, is basically what it is, but at the last it says it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. I mean, we wouldn't go snake handling, would we? You know, I know this isn't that kind of Baptist church, people. You know, we're not handling snakes here. You know, if I were to take you out into the mountains today and say, hey, let's go find a diamondback rattler and see if we can play with it, you would say you're crazy, you know, what are you doing? You know that? But that's what alcohol is, and that's what you're doing when you're drinking alcohol, when you're getting drunk, when you're indulging, you know, the use of alcohol. You're playing with a serpent, and it never ends well. People who play with snakes long enough know they get bit, they get poisoned, they get hurt. He goes on and says in verse 30, thine eyes shall behold strange women, you know, and he's not talking about the goth chick or the emo, right? He's talking about women that are not your own, right? You're not your wife, you know, the stranger, the foreigner, that's what he's talking about. You're going to behold women you probably otherwise wouldn't. I mean, how many adulterous relationships have come out of people just getting drunk? Because alcohol takes away your inhibitions. You know, the proverbial office party, you know, where, you know, the Christmas party at the office where, you know, everyone gets drunk and then somebody's, you know, committing adultery in some room somewhere. You say that's only the movies. I've heard of it happening. I've known people that have done it. It does happen. People get drunk and they do things they otherwise wouldn't. They get involved in adultery when, you know, they otherwise wouldn't. They would probably, if they hadn't gotten drunk, would have, you know, kept their integrity, remained faithful, not cheated on their spouse, but because they were playing with this serpent, playing with this adder called alcohol, they got bit. He says, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. That reminds me of another Lyft story. In fact, it was the last Lyft ride I gave. I said, that's it. I'm done. It was when I was giving rides on a Friday night down near the University of Arizona in Phoenix. Is that where you, which I get them confused. This is U of A. This is A of U. I don't know, ASU. It's ASU up there. Right. Okay. Thank you. I'm back and forth too much. I get them all mixed up. Anyways, the point being, I'm picking up, you know, 18, 19, 20 year old something, you know, young, I use the word ladies very loosely here, young women, and they're drunk. And I tell you the most perverse things I've ever heard. And I've, you know, I've been around a little while and I've, and I've been around some rough people. I mean, I've worked in, in construction. I've worked with some, some rough necks, some, some rednecks. And they've said, I've heard some crass talk, but I've never heard the kind of perverse speaking that came out of the mouth of these young ladies. And I shouldn't even say ladies because they weren't. I mean, it was so bad. The person who ordered the ride, she was all the way in the back. She was the last one out. She said, I'm so sorry. I ordered the ride. These are, these are my friends. They're drunk. I apologize. I mean, she was embarrassed. I was embarrassed. I said, that's it. I can't handle it anymore. I was done. Now, do you think they'd be saying the kind of things they were saying if they weren't drunk in front of some complete stranger, some grown man? Crazy. But that's what'll happen. You know, these are the type of things that happen with alcohol. Yea, there shall be heat as that lieth down the midst of the sea, or is he that lieth upon the top of a mast? I mean, that's the perfect illustration of what it's like when you've just drunk in so much alcohol to where the room is spinning, the world is spinning. You can't keep your balance. You can't walk a straight line. That's a picture. It's painting there. You know, you're lying down in the midst of the sea, right? Just everywhere. Oh, I can't keep my feet underneath me because I've had too much to drink. Maybe I should get behind the wheel of a car and drive. Probably not a good idea. He says in verse 35, they have stricken me and thou shalt say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me and I felt it not. When shall I wink? I will seek it yet again. That's probably the worst part of this whole passage, is despite all these just terrible consequences, the woe, the sorrow, the contentions, the babbling, the wounds, the strange women, the uttering of perverse things, is that I'll seek it yet again, where you actually become at what they call today an alcoholic, or what the Bible calls a drunk. Somebody who becomes addicted, who just can't imagine living their life without having alcohol in it. That's why today, quite frankly, our nation is full of drunks. It is. There's bars on every corner. There's liquor stores in every city. And people, you know, being drunk is just, it's socially acceptable in America today. But here's the thing, society is not my standard. The world does not set the standards for me. This book does, right here. And this book teaches that we are to be sober, that we are not to be drunks. And in fact, if we are guilty of being a drunk, that we are to be kicked out of the local church. And again, why is it that we kick people out of the local church over these specific sins? Not every sin. The ones that are listed in 1 Corinthians 5. Is because it says, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. You know, if we let people come in and just be drunks, soon the young people in here are going to see other people being drunks, and think, oh, there's nothing wrong with it. Oh, there's nothing wrong with being a fornicator, or an extortioner, or an idolater, or any of these other things. They got to go. And so that leaven does not spread and leaven the whole lump. You know, and this would apply to any form of not being sober. You know, another thing that's really taken off, even here in Arizona, is the dispensaries, right? The pot. Okay, and that's a huge billion dollar business now. But in my mind, my opinion is that is a form of drunkenness. You know, getting stoned on weed is, you know, it might not have the same detrimental effects necessarily as alcohol, but you can't sit there and tell me it doesn't have negative effects. And the Bible commands us to be sober. Be sober. So whether you're drinking alcohol, or smoking weed, or shooting up heroin, or snorting Coke, or taking pharmaceuticals, or whatever, you're not sober. To me, that all falls into the category of not being, of being a drunk, excuse me. Okay. And you know, the pot thing, that's a whole other sermon in and of itself. And the funniest thing, that's not really funny, but just the dumbest thing, I guess I should say, is people say, you know, well, there's no long term effects to smoking marijuana. That's the most ridiculous thing. You must be high to say that. You know, and I'm not, and I'm speaking from a place, look, I grew up with potheads. I know what it's like. And these potheads, you know, they could, the effects that it has on your mind is staggering. The short term memory loss is a real thing. I mean, I knew one pothead, the guy could not, literally could not leave the house without having to turn around and come back for his phone, his wallet, his sunglasses, something. I mean, just after a lifetime of smoking weed, getting high, like he'd leave, one summer he lost three phones. In one summer he lost three cell phones. Just forgot where he put it. Couldn't remember. And I even remember, you know, my mom, she was trying to scare us straight, you know, she took us to this seminar on weed at the hospital, and the doctors, where they got up and they explained what THC actually does to your brain cell. Because THC clings to fat, and every one of your cells is surrounded by fat, including your brain cells, okay? So the chemical in pot, you know, I'm not a chemist up here, I don't know all the technical terminology, but the gist of it is this, that your brain cells have these nice, they have what's called brain synapses, and those are the things that fire from one brain cell to another and help you think, and that's what helps with your cognitive processes, is the firing of these brain synapses from one cell to another. And in a normal human brain cell, these synapses are lined up very nice and orderly, and they shoot out very easily. But when people start to smoke weed, it actually, the fat clings to that cell, and it disrupts those brain synapses, and you look at it under a microscope, and they're just all jumbled up. They're not nice, and they're tangled with one another, and they have a harder time firing out. That's why, you know, whenever we talk, you know, if we're out soul winning, or if we've been around people that are high, you'll be talking to them, and you'll ask them a question, you can just see it, like, slowly processing that you'd even ask them, like, they're just not even there sometimes. But that, again, that's a whole other sermon. Point being, the point of the sermon tonight, or this morning, rather, is that we are not to be drunks, that the Bible commands us to be sober people. And it's not because God's just trying to, you know, God's a downer, you know, God's just trying to bring you down. God's just trying to cramp your style. It's because these things have negative consequences that affect people's lives permanently. And you know, the world wants to cast this spell on everybody, and make everybody think that, you know, there's no consequences for partaking in these things, but there is. Now if you're there in Proverbs 23, look at verse 15. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reign shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things. Let not thine heart envy sinners. You know, that's probably where a lot of people start, when they start to, how they become a drunk addict, or a drunk, is they envy sinners. They say, oh, it seems like they're having a good time, boy, they're having fun. Why can't I do that? Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end, and thine expectations shall not be cut off. 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 will close a man with rags. I mean, we see that all around. The drunkards and the gluttons that are come to poverty, and that have been clothed with rags. Have you ever stepped, I mean, I remember I used to walk to work, you know, and I'd have to, every day, almost practically, I'd have to walk around this guy who was just laying in his own vomit, laying in his own piss, because he just had gotten so drunk that he couldn't even pick himself up off the ground anymore. And everybody in the neighborhood knew who he was. And eventually that guy, and it was like, I noticed for a few days, I'm like, man, this guy's gone. Maybe he sobered up, and then I found out later, no, he died. Finally just drank himself to death. This is where it leads. Maybe not everybody, but do we really want to roll the dice? Look at Proverbs chapter 31, Proverbs chapter 31. The Bible has nothing good to say about alcohol. There's not one positive mention of it. Everything it says is negative. It casts it in the worst light possible. Proverbs chapter 31, look at verse 1. The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him, what my son and what the son of my womb and what the son of my vows, give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to which destroy the kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel. So he's saying, look, don't give your ways, your strength to women. He's talking about don't be a whoremonger, don't be, he's not saying don't get married, okay? He's saying, look, don't give yourself, don't be given to those things which destroy kings. Now kings are mighty men. Kings are men that have great power and strength and ability. Their nobility, they're not somebody that's taken down easily. But there are things the Bible is saying that will destroy them. And what is it that they list? Well, one is women, right, the whoremongering, but it says, and Solomon's a perfect example of that, King Solomon. But verse 4, it says, it is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. And you say, well, that's for kings, we're not kings. But what does Revelation chapter 1 say? When John wrote to the churches, he said that Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and first begotten from the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. So if you're saved, you're born again, guess what, you are a king, you are a priest, you are nobility this morning. And alcohol is not for you, the Bible says, it is not for kings. Now let me just clarify something on what we're talking about this morning, because we're talking about, again, sins that will get you kicked out of church, and drunkenness is one of them, right? Now I believe that 1 Corinthians 5, the drunkenness it's talking about there, it's being reserved for a certain level of being a drunk. Not everybody that, I will say this, not everybody that is drinking alcohol is necessarily a drunk. Now they're on their way to being a drunk. Now if you would, go over to Luke chapter 7, Luke chapter 7, I want to show us this. Now I don't know if you've noticed, but often when we were reading the scriptures this morning, you saw a glutton and drunk in the same breath. You know, gluttony and drunkenness. Gluttony and drunkenness. He is a glutton and a drunkard, right? And even when they falsely accuse Jesus in Luke chapter 7, look there, it says in verse 34, the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, they say, behold a gluttonous man and a wise winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. So what it's talking about when you're being a drunk is when you're drinking alcohol to excess. Okay? Where you're just, there's a certain point where you reach where you're not just drinking alcohol, but you are a drunk. Okay? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning alcohol at all. But we don't want this, we don't want to happen when you preach on these type of things, it's for people to start insisting that we throw people out because they were over at their house and they noticed that there was an empty beer can and a trash can or something. They don't come to church drunk, they hold down a job, you wouldn't know they even drank. But we see some kind of evidence that maybe they drink and all of a sudden it's like, we gotta kick them out. No. Okay? I'm trying to temper that. We don't want to get carried away with this, alright? Now if somebody's, so the question then becomes, well what's the test of whether or not somebody's actually a drunk? And this is a gray area, you don't have to agree with me on this. But I have to think about this because the church is the one that would have to enforce this. And Pastor Anderson, he has his standards and I agree with these that these are the test of being a drunk. When you cross the line from being somebody who drinks alcohol, which again the Bible condemns and is a sin that needs to be repented of, period, okay? But you cross the line where it's not just you're drinking to now where you were actually a drunk, okay? Here's one test. How about you drink often or on a regular basis? You know, if you're drinking every day, you're drunk. If you cannot go through a day without drinking, you're drunk. That's my opinion. If you can't have a good time without drinking alcohol, you know, you're drunk or you're boring or both, okay? Drinking, how about you drink less often? Maybe I don't drink every day, but every time I drink, I drink to an extreme degree. Every time I drink, I'm just getting completely, I'm blacking out drunk. No, I don't drink every day. In fact, I don't even drink, I don't even drink every week, you know, but when I drink, I drink. You know, that's, you're a drunk. If you're getting drunk to the place where you can't remember what happened, you're completely blacking out, that is a sign of being a drunk. How about this? When you're mixing drugs with alcohol, when you're saying, well, I'm only drinking a six-pack, but I'm also downing some pills to help amplify the effects, that's drunkenness. So those are some tests for being a drunk, you know, and people could have different, they could have different opinions about that. They could say, hey, you know, if you, you know, if you are drinking at all, you know, they might consider that drunkenness. I disagree with that, but I think these are some good tests to say, are you, have you reached the point where you probably deserve to be kicked out of church? Now I'll say this, you might not be there. You might say, well, you know, I got a six-pack at home, you know, I might, I have a beer after work occasionally, but, you know, I'm not getting drunk, but you know what? You're on your way. I mean, who's more susceptible to actually becoming a drunk, the guy who's drinking or the guy who's not touching a drop? It's the guy who's already building up a tolerance, is already letting it creep in a little bit. So we don't want to underestimate the severity of First Corinthians chapter five, okay, and some people they'll say, you know what, if I get kicked out of church for being a drunk, it's not that big of a deal. It doesn't matter to me, and I'm really, I just kind of want to wrap up this whole series here on this thought, okay, because we've talked about a lot of things that get people kicked out of church, and some people can take church or they can leave it. It's not that big a deal to them. But what a lot of people fail to realize is that, you know, being kicked out of church for the Christian is a very severe punishment. I mean, we've all kind of experienced what it's like to not have church on a regular basis with this whole COVID thing, and that wasn't even the result of our sin or anything like that. That was just because of, we know the story behind that. But it should probably, everybody's come back from that, you know, and is probably more grateful to have church. I mean, I know I am, I missed it. So if we're a type of person who's just saying, well, you know what, if I get kicked out of church for being drunk, whatever, it's not that big a deal. You're underestimating the severity of 1 Corinthians chapter 5. If you're there, if you would turn back, if you're not there. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 5, that when you're getting kicked out of church, you're delivering such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. I mean, I got some criticism online for me entitling the series, Get Right or Get Out. You know, some snowflake had to respond and say, oh, that's such a mean thing to say. Well, what about what Paul said? What if I entitled the series, how to get delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh? I mean, that's way harsher than anything I said. And it's right. And that's what's going on when you are being kicked out of church. You're being delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Look at verse 12, For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do you not judge them that are within, but them that are without? God judgeth. Therefore, put away among yourselves that wicked person. It says, them that are without, God judgeth. We judgeth within, but when a person is put out, God takes over. So people get kicked out of church and they think, oh, my chastisement's over. I can go about my sin now, free and clear, no guilty conscience. No one's going to come down on me. I'm not going to have to go to church and hear the preaching about it. I'm not going to have to get convicted about it. No one's going to confront me about sin in my life. Everything's just going to be a cakewalk from here on out. No. Now it's God that's going to judge. The severity of 1 Corinthians 5 is real, and people underestimate it. When we're kicked out of church, you are put under the curse of God. That's what it's saying here. I mean, let's read it again. It says in verse 12, What have I to judge them also that are without? Do you not judge them that are within, but them that are without, God judgeth. And the person who was kicked out is the person who was without. They're without the church. They're outside of it. And that's where God takes over, and God starts to judge. So we can't just get this idea, well, I'll just get backslid, and I'll get into some sin, and if I get kicked out, so what? Man, that's the beginning of your problems. Your problems have only just begun when the church has had to exercise discipline like this. And again, it's not every sin. There's certain sins that aren't going to get you kicked out, but there are very specific ones that will. But what is the purpose behind all of it? What was the purpose behind this series, even preaching through this? Why is 1 Corinthians 5 even in the Bible? Why would a church, why does Paul insist that a church would kick people out? Well, we know one is so those sins won't spread within a church, because those sins are so detrimental to a person and to individuals and to the church. But the purpose behind church discipline is to restore people, is that they would repent and get right. And that's the thing that nobody ever sees in church. People hear the preacher get up and talk about how, we'll kick you out of church if you're guilty of this, but what they often don't see is the person that gets kicked out gets right and comes back, because the preacher doesn't get up and say, oh, so-and-so's back. Hey, so-and-so quit being a drunk and a fornicator. Let's all give him a round of applause. We're glad you quit. We don't do that. It's embarrassing. We forgive and we forget. We don't mention their sins under them again. We just let them come back in and act like it never happened and just move forward with our lives. And I've seen that happen. People say, how could you even build a church like this? But I've seen it happen. I've seen people on more than one occasion get kicked out of church and then go out for a little while and realize the mistake that they made and get right and repent and come back and be restored. There's probably people I'm even forgetting about that that's happened. And that's the purpose behind all of it, is to restore that person. And that's the attitude we have to have. We're not here to just go on a witch hunt in a local church and see who we're going to get kicked out today, who's got it coming. I'm suspecting so-and-so, I'm going to get to the bottom of this and we're going to pull out our magnifying glass and put on the detective hat and start to root around in somebody's business and see if we can't get him kicked out. That's not what we're doing. And even when it comes to the point where we have to deal with somebody like this, it should be done with a very specific attitude. Not one that's like, oh, I knew it, oh, he's had it coming. We're coming down hard. I mean, we have to take a strong stand. But the Bible says in Galatians 6, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Go over to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. The whole purpose of kicking somebody out is so that they'll get right and come back. And you know what the great example, we have a great example of that in 1 Corinthians. He said, kick this guy out, deliver him unto Satan, this guy that was sleeping around with his father's wife, committing such sins as wasn't even so much as named among the Gentiles, Paul said. He said, look, the world isn't even as bad as this guy. Get him out of there. We read in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 where that guy is restored. We find out later that he did get kicked out, and that he repented, he was made sorry, and that he repented, and he got right with God. Look at verse 1. He said, but I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears. He's talking about the previous epistle, 1 Corinthians. He said, look, it pained me to write this. I knew what I was writing was going to make you sorry. And 1 Corinthians, that book is just one long, scathing rebuke. And that's a hard book. You know, that's not the book to the Galatians or the Ephesians. I mean, 1 Corinthians, that's not the type of letter you want to get from your pastor. I mean, it's just like one long list of what's wrong with you. Fix this. Fix that. Get this right. Get that right. Stop doing this. Start doing this. Right? And he's saying, look, when I wrote that in verse 4, he wrote it with much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. Like, he's saying, look, the reason I did all that is because I love you. I don't want you to suffer the consequences of these sins. That's the purpose behind church discipline. Any one of these sins that we've talked about over the last few weeks, that would get a person kicked out of church, the purpose behind church discipline is so that that person would get right. Not so that we can just, you know, feel superior or something like that. That's not it at all. And here's the thing. Any one of us could fall into any one of these sins. Any one of us could fall prey to this if we're not careful, right? He says in verse 5, but if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved us, but in part that I might not overcharge you all. Verse 6, sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many. What is he saying? He said, look, you did what I told you to do, and that's enough. He said sufficient to such a man is this punishment. You know, you don't need to add insult to injury. And here's the thing. If people, and I've never seen this, and I pray that we never will, and if we ever have to kick somebody out of church, you know, that does not suddenly become open season upon that individual. Where now it's like, oh, now I can just go to Facebook and just, you know, go on social media and just rip them a new one. You know, the punishment of being kicked out is sufficient enough. The public shame that already comes with that without us having to go on there and just, oh, let's just have a dog pile now. Let me call them up and give them a piece of my mind too while we're at it. That's not appropriate. He said, look, sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many. Again, because when you're being kicked out of the church, it's not just the preacher that's kicking you out. It's the church body. And then the church, they are, they all, because again, this is the authority, you know, and the preacher is just the mouthpiece of this authority. And we all agree that this is the authority, or at least we should. And we're all inflicting that punishment as a body upon that individual with this as our authority. Okay. So he says in verse seven, so that contrary wise, he ought to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. What is he talking about? Look, when a person gets right and comes back to church and gets that sin of their life, you know, you ought to forgive him and comfort him, lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. You know, there's probably people out there that have gotten kicked out of church and they want to come back and they've even gotten the sin of their life, but they're just too afraid the way they'll be treated when they come back. They're unsure. Well, if I come back and show my face, what's going to happen? Everybody knows, you know, or a certain amount of people are, you know, got out that I was involved in this and I've been kicked out of church. You know, they should become people should be able to come back and be comforted as if nothing even happened, you know, and that's, that's one area. Some people, I mean, we really liked the part about, oh, let's kick him out. Let's kick him out. Right. And then they get right and come back. And a lot of people I've seen, that's a harder pill for them to swallow. It's like, oh, you know, you kicked them out. They did their part. They got right. Now it's your turn to do your part and forgive them and comfort them, lest they should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Look at verse eight. Wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him. Now, I'm not saying you have to buy this person a box of chocolates and write him a Hallmark card or something like that, but can you shake their hand and say, hey, it's good to see you. Say, I'm glad you're back. Hey, I missed you. Hey, it's good to have you here. You know, if a person comes back and is repentant and wants to do right and live for the Lord and be a part of the local body, you know, we should welcome that person back with open arms. And I've seen people struggle with that part of it. I mean, they got the first part of that equation down. Oh, they're guilty of that sin? Yeah, they got to go. Yeah, they're out of here. And then that person gets right, you know, however much later and they come back and all of a sudden it's like, well, what are they doing here? That's the wrong attitude to have. You know, they got right. Your job now is to forgive them, to comfort them, to assure them that they're welcome back. Okay. And he says in verse nine, for to this end also did I write that I might know the proof of you, whether it be about obedient in all things, look, not just the part, the part about kicking people out, but the part about welcoming them back in, obedient in all things that Paul wrote. To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also. For if I forgave anything to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ. And look at this in verse 11, lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. Verse 11, you know, we quote that often, we'll say, well, we're not ignorant of Satan's devices and we're not even talking about anything that's related to 1 Corinthians or 2 Corinthians chapter two. But in the context of 2 Corinthians chapter two, what is the device of Satan that he uses? It's unforgiveness. That's what it's referring to here. He's saying, look, you need to forgive them. He says for your sakes, I forgave it in the person of Christ. Look, I forgave, you forgive. Why? Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. Lest Satan gets a foothold in our hearts and in our minds and our attitudes, lest our minds are evil-affected towards the brethren. And a spirit of disunity comes within the church. He says, for we are not ignorant of his devices. We know that's how Satan works. That's one of the devil's many devices that he uses in people's lives. And we often think about, you know, the sins and the temptations that he brings in, but sometimes we forget about the attitudes he tries to breed in us, the thoughts he brings into our heads, right, or tries to make us feel a certain way. And one of those things that he tries to make us feel or one of the attitudes he tries to instill in people is that of unforgiveness. People are unwilling to just forgive and forget. That's the context of 2 Corinthians chapter 2. That's how I read it. And that is an attribute of the devil, someone who is not willing to forgive. And that's not a godly attitude. The Bible says, if you would, go over to Psalms 103, we're going to wrap it up in Psalms, but go to Psalms 103. The Bible says in Ezekiel 18, But if the wicked will turn from his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live. He shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him. In his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God, and that he should return from his ways, and live? That's God's attitude. Look, I want to forgive. I want them to do right and come back. And I don't even want to mention their past transgressions to him. That's an attitude and a spirit of forgiveness that God has towards us. We should not desire to see people be punished beyond measure, like, oh, they got kicked out of church. They should never be welcome back. I don't care if they repent and get right. The church might welcome them back, but I'm not going to. That's a demonic attitude, quite frankly. That's a device of Satan that he uses. Because the devil, he doesn't forgive, and the devil doesn't forget either. The Bible says in Revelation chapter 12, And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out on the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before God day and night. He's saying the devil, you know, he's being cast out in heaven finally. But while he's there, one of the things the devil does is just accuse the brethren day and night. He's constantly accusing. He's not forgetting. Even things that God has forgiven, God has separated us from our sins as far as the east is from the west. And it's in the sea of God's forgetfulness, but the devil just keeps trying to bring these things back up and just constantly accuse the brethren. That's a demonic attitude. That's not an attitude we should have. We don't want to be unforgiving, and we want to be forgetful. When people repent and get right, we need to forgive them. And here's the thing. You say, oh, I forgive you, but in the back of your mind, you're just constantly bringing it up, constantly imagining how you're going to tell them off or what things you'd save. You know what I mean? That's not forgetting. That's not forgiveness. And the people that truly forgive are those that completely forget. They don't even remember. You come back up to them later, hey, I know I said I'm sorry once, but man, it's still bothering me. I just want you to know I'm really sorry. They're like, what are you talking about? Oh, that? Oh, man, I didn't even think about that. I've totally forgotten what you're even talking about. We should forgive and forget. Look at Psalms 103, verse 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. I mean, God gets mad. We know that. God gets angry. God chastens God, disciplines. God has rules, and when they're broken, there's consequences. But he's not angry forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heaven is above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. We should show pity to people. When people are truly sorry, when they've apologized, that's the time to have pity and to forgive and to be God-like, not like the devil. In verse 14, for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. Look, none of us is above committing the sins of 1 Corinthians 5. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10, should I just stay there, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taking you, but such is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer to be tempted above that which are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. Look, those sins of 1 Corinthians 5, any one of us could fall prey to that. So we ought to be real careful about our attitude towards others. When other people get involved in sins that maybe we're not involved in, I'm not saying we should tolerate it. I'm not saying we should tell them it's okay, we should rebuke them. We should not have an attitude of unforgiveness. We should not have an attitude that doesn't pity them and want them to just get right. Ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted, the Bible says. So we should be careful how we conduct ourselves towards those that are being punished. You know, if somebody, and we pray it never happens, but you know, the reality is that this church gets big enough and goes on long enough, which I fully anticipate it will, somebody's going to get kicked out eventually. It's going to happen, because we're sinners, you know, it's going to happen. But here's the thing, this sermon is one, serving as a warning, and two, also reminding those of us that might not be guilty of those sins, maybe that will never happen to us, we should be careful how we conduct ourselves towards those that are being punished. We should consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted. Are you still in Psalms? Look at chapter 18, last place I promise. Psalms 18 verse 25. This verse was quoted to me early on in my Christian life, and I've tried my best to remember it and live it. It says in verse 25, With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful. With an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure, and with the forward thou wilt shew thyself forward. When we consider how we're going to treat somebody, we should probably think about how we want God to treat us. And if we're going to be a person who's not going to show mercy and not show pity and not show forgiveness, don't be surprised if God does the same towards us. When we find ourselves in a place of mercy and forgiveness and pity, God might show himself forward because that's what we were. Again, I'm not advocating that we have a slack attitude towards these sins by leadership, that the Church should just ignore 1 Corinthians 5, because the thing is, those sins that are listed there come with grave consequences for the individual that are guilty of them. And the purpose is that they would get them out and spare themselves the suffering that comes with it. So again, I'm not advocating a slack attitude, but I'm advocating a spirit of meekness in the body. We don't want to see these things happen. We might not be guilty of any of these sins today, and we pray that we never will, but maybe we're on the path to becoming guilty of it. We don't know. I'm not calling people and checking up on you, or no one's doing that to each other. We just assume the best that everyone's living right and doing the right thing. But it very well may be that there's something that we've gone over these last few weeks that we might not be guilty of that, but we're on our way there. Maybe we're not a drunk today, but maybe there's a bottle or two we need just to go home and pour out. Or maybe there's just a place we need to quit frequenting. We may be on the path. So again, and I hope this series was beneficial. I think it was important to go over it just as a preventative maintenance type of thing. And I don't want it to be perceived as some kind of chest thumping. This isn't me trying to get up and say, hey, you better recognize the authority of the church. That's not what this is. What this series has been is a fair warning. It's a fair warning of a biblical teaching that, quite frankly, has gone out of style in a lot of churches, which explains why they're overrun with sin. And the warning is that, hey, we need to get right or we need to get out.