Overcoming the Desire to Be Intoxicated
“And stop being drunk with wine, in which there is no savingness, but be filled up—where lacking—by the Spirit”, Ephesians 5:18.
Drunkenness influences the mind in such a way that one who is intoxicated cannot set their mind on spiritual things. This condition is not limited merely to intoxication by alcohol; it can also include religious ecstasies, drug use, or any other means by which a person’s mind becomes inebriated (Revelation 17:2). A person who drinks with the intent to become drunk is not being watchful concerning the signs of the times, but rather sleeps like those destined for destruction (1 Thessalonians 5:7).
Rather than being intoxicated, we are to put on the breastplate of faith and love, along with the helmet of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8). The breastplate protects the heart—the seat of a person’s determinate will—and the helmet of salvation guards the mind.
Drunkenness is a work of the flesh; therefore, in order to have victory over alcoholism, the truth must be applied.
“And the works of the flesh are manifested, which are, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry (which is covetousness), religious superstitious awe, enmity, strife, jealousy, inner burning anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, senseless slaughter drunkenness, revelries, and such like”, Galatians 5:19–21.
The truth is the doctrine by which we have victory over our sin nature (John 8:32, 34). Since we were co-buried with Christ when we were immersed by the Holy Spirit into the body of the Christ, we have also been raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4–5). Therefore, when we function from our position in Christ, the desires of the sin nature will no longer work themselves out in us as they did before we were saved, for we are no longer slaves to the sin nature (Romans 6:6).
The reality is that one aspect of our salvation is that we have been cleansed from our former sins and placed into the new man, who is created in righteousness and the piety of the truth. Therefore, we are no longer slaves to our sin nature, to obey it. We must recognize this truth and apply it to our lives. This involves acknowledging that, because of who I am in Christ, I am no longer the kind of person who is controlled by these desires.
The next step is to stop yielding my members to unrighteousness and begin yielding them to righteousness, for in Christ I have been given all things pertaining to life and godliness (Romans 6:13).
However, if I continue to obey those desires, I will place myself back under slavery—even though I am free (Romans 6:16). In doing so, I walk in darkness and deceive only myself.
Yielding our members to righteousness requires training. We must first learn to identify the desires within us that come from the Holy Spirit. In the case of alcoholism, it is the strong desire to no longer be enslaved to alcohol, for we now long to act rightly and be free from its bondage. We yield to the desire to stop drinking because we are no longer among those who seek intoxication for pleasure or to hide from the truth. In contrast, we now desire to have a clear mind, to know the truth, and to understand the things freely given to us by God.
Because we must learn to walk by the Spirit, we will stumble many times in the beginning. However, when we set our minds on the goal and continue to apply the truth each time the desire to drink arises, the Holy Spirit begins to produce in us desires that are stronger than those from the sin nature, so that we no longer carry out the things we formerly desired (Galatians 5:17). The end result is that the chains are broken, and we walk in freedom, for we come to realize that, in reality, Christ has already freed us. We simply need to acknowledge this and leave behind our old grave clothes—and the desires that accompanied them—as we walk into the light.
The truth truly sets us free, for it enables us to see things as they really are and, when properly applied, to walk in the light.