There's nothing in the bible that I know of that'd be against it.
Actually there is. Drug use is synonymous with witchcraft and sorcery. You or anyone trying to justify drug use should do an honest study about it for themselves.
Drugs and the Bible: E, Shrooms, Cocaine, Crack, Marijuana
Drugs and the Bible: E, Shrooms, Cocaine, Crack, Marijuana
Ecstasy, "E", Rave drug, dancing death, MDMA, methylenedioxy-metamphetamine, Marijuana, hash, pot, joint, Tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, Magic mushroom, Psilocybin, Shrooms, Amanita Muscaria, Mescaline, peyote cactus, Cocaine, snort,
by Steve Rudd
Intro: Gal 5:20 Sorcery/witchcraft, is from the Greek word, "Pharmakia" the same word we get pharmacy from. it means the general illicit use of drugs (same application as today) and the use of drugs to cast spells etc.
1. Ask for discussion: "Who are the two drug dealers of the Bible?" Elymas and Simon: Acts 13:6 ; Acts 8:9
a. Notice this is illustrative of what Gal 5:20 condemns. These men, called sorcerers, magicians, witchcraft. b. Harper's bible dictionary says: "On the lowest level were the 'imposters' (2 Tim. 3:13) who played their tricks as do circus magicians today. Between these were the sorcerers, enchanters, and charmers who could cast spells and knew how to use herbs, potions, and drugs." c. W. E. Vine says, "In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer."
d. So like a witch that stirs her pot of secret brewing herbs, who then takes a small bottle of the potion and gives it to someone, so too with Elymas and Simon. The witch was a drug dealer. Simon would give hallucinogen drugs like "THC" (cannabis) "Psylocibin" or "Cybelcyblin" (magic mushroom) "Cocaine", "Heroin" (poppy plant) to someone, wait a few minutes then as the drug starts to set in, start waving his hands around giving the impression that HIS POWER is causing all the pink elephants to fly.
2. Ask for discussion: "Where was Jesus offered drugs and refused?": on the cross "Gall" Mt 27:34.
a. The Jerome Bible commentary says at Mt 27:34: "It was the practice of Jewish women to offer a strong narcotic drink to men condemned to execution; Jesus refused this." b. Matthew Henry comments: "By the drink they provided for him before he was nailed to the cross, v. 34. It was usual to have a cup of spiced wine for those to drink of, that were to be put to death, according to Solomon's direction (Prov. 31:6, 7),
Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish" c. Lensky says at Mt 27:34, "34) Regarding the actual crucifixion Matthew and Mark report only the offer of doped wine which Jesus refused. Matthew calls it wine mixed with Gall. This was not actual gall, but the drink was so called because of its bitter taste. Mark reports that the drink was wine mixed with myrrh, and this tells us what the bitter substance was. Myrrh was added to the wine in order to give it a stupefying effect. This was not an evidence of mercy on the part of the executioners; it was quite the opposite, for it was intended to make their labor of crucifying easier. A man who had been heavily doped with this drink could be easily handled. After one taste of this Jesus refused to drink more of this stupefying drink, and the imperfect [Greek] reads as though he was repeatedly urged to drink and as repeatedly refused. He intended to go through the final ordeal with a perfectly clear mind; he intended to endure all without avoiding a single agony. After a generous drink of this wine Jesus could not have spoken as he did and made his death what it was.
3. Ask for discussion: "Where was a preacher ordered by God to drink alcohol?": Timothy the evangelist: 1 Tim 5:23 But notice that was for medical reasons. This verse proves that Timothy was in fact an abstainer, otherwise, he would already have been drinking wine... God had to tell him to stop being an abstainer for his health. The argument of a glass of wine a day as a reduction in heart problems, is invented by wine companies who fail to tell you that you get 10 times the positive effect by just drinking straight grape juice!
4. Illicit drugs destroy the body and are condemned: 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19.
5. Illicit drugs are condemned because its fruit is rotten. Matthew 7:17ff. Frequent drug users are losers with messed up lives constantly shooting themselves in the foot. Eventual loss of family, wealth, jobs, friends and life itself. Drug users are associated with biker gangs, going to bars, immoral sexual activity, illegal activity. Successful people do not use drugs. Take a look at the people who use drugs and line them up with people who do not... big difference! Look at the lives of 5 people you know who use drugs. Generally they have many chums, but few close friends, high rate of changing jobs and are often unemployed, are absentee parents who party all night while their teens are left home unsupervised, are irrational in their logic and thinking pattern being plagued with poor judgement. They have many sexual partners, are often unfaithful to their spouses and are violent and irrational with their children. They tend to be selfish and unable to exercise self control in any area of their lives. When confronted with such facts, they simply deny the truth and accuse you of being crazy, when in fact they are the crazy ones. They are hurting and unhappy but they don't know why... just as the Bible says:
Proverbs 4:18 perfectly describes the difference between drug users and Christians who do not: "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble."
6. Drug use is outright condemned in the Bible: Gal 5:20.
7. (Draw a chart with one to 7 beers, then ask the class where the line of drunkenness is. Answer will vary, but the law is 2 beers in one hour exceeds .08. Then extent the chart to the right for other drugs. Since drunkenness from alcohol is condemned in the Bible (Gal 5:21) we offer the following: Society has determined that drunkenness is .08 blood alcohol content, compare the same kind of impairment by various drugs. If two beers is .08, what about a single joint, a hit of ecstasy, a single mushroom, a single snort of coke. While you can drink one beer and not be DRUNK, one "dose" (the smallest portion) of a drug puts you way over the impairment of .08. So while some might argue that it is ok for one beer, no such argument can be made for drugs.