Should Christians Drink Alcohol or Smoke Pot

Is it a sin for Christians to drink alcohol if they live in a state where marijuana is legal to smoke pot? Is it a sin? Uh It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and President of Fire School of Ministry.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. It is a great joy to be with you today on the line of fire.

This is Michael Brown coming your way from rainy but not cold, Oxnard, California. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Had a great time preaching three services yesterday morning to a great, hungry, open, serious crowd of believers. And then we've got one more meeting tonight before heading home tomorrow. Oh, speaking of tomorrow, I think you are really going to be helped by tomorrow's broadcast.

I think you're going to be really encouraged and edified and strengthened in your faith.

So be sure to tune in. 866-34TRUTH, 866-348-7884 is the number to call. I do want to talk about The horrific terror attack in Israel yesterday, a Palestinian Muslim. Getting on a truck, driving it into a crowd of young Israelis, killing three women aged 20, 20, and 22, and a man aged 20. The three women were all Israeli soldiers.

Just gut-wrenching. What's more gut-wrenching is to see some of the hateful reaction from around the world. And it's pathetic to see the way some of this was initially reported, for example, on BBC. We will talk about that a little bit later in the broadcast. I'll talk about some other news of interest.

And I want to focus on some controversial issues. Having to do with holiness and purity. After I preached three messages on holiness and purity and compromise kills being the theme in the morning messages, and that's the very thing the pastor asked me to speak at. We got into a conversation about alcohol. About drinking alcohol.

Here's something interesting: the most viral post on Charisma News. all of last year. More viral than anything I posted. Was posted by a woman in ministry, and I believe it was the first article that she had written, and it was 50 reasons not to drink alcohol, something like that. It was shared over a million times.

It just got this tremendous response. Is that legalism? Are we being legalistic when we say that a believer should completely abstain from alcohol? Is that an unbiblical position? Is that a position perhaps that it's actually harmful?

Or is that a wise position because of the decadence of the society and the amount of people who struggle with alcohol? What about these new things like beer and Bible? Come on, aren't we just reaching people where they are and inviting them to come as they are and then through the word that they grow? And hey, there's not a sin in having a beer? Or is that absolute foolishness?

Because you've got people who've struggled with alcohol for years and they finally get set free, and now they're in the church and they go to a beer and Bible study. It's like, well, I guess it's okay. And next thing they've fallen back. And what about if you live in a state? where marijuana is legal.

You're 18 years old, you can purchase marijuana, you can smoke marijuana, and it's legal to do so. Does that mean it's no longer sinful for a Christian to do it? And can we put these in the same categories? What do you think? 866-366.

348-7884. Should Christian leaders totally abstain? Do you totally abstain in public? Is that just giving way to legalism? What would be a biblical course to take?

Didn't Jesus drink wine? After all, wasn't wine common? Wasn't it used at the Passover ceremony? Was it different wine than the wine today? Is this just a fringe issue?

Is this part of a larger compromise in the church? Pastor was talking to me about a conference he had been at. We're one of the speakers that used the the S word profanity a couple of times and And there was a pastor's meeting and they laughed at it. Ah, we're not religious. Is that just another sign of compromise?

What do you think? 866-348-7. 884. We will be right back. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. When we arrived on scene there were a number of victims both trapped under the front of the truck as well as next to the truck and we began to treat them.

The situation like all terror attacks no matter how much you prepare was mayhem. That is what it's like at a terror attack. That was Davi Meyer, a volunteer rescuer with United Hat Salah, speaking from Israel yesterday. This is Michael Brown, 866-348-7884. And we are talking about Holiness issues, purity issues, compromise with the world.

What is legalism? What is right? What is going too far? We'll talk about that. I want to get your viewpoint.

Should Christians totally abstain from alcohol to help weaker believers? Or is that a position that tends to legalism? If you live in a state where it's now legal to smoke pot, is it okay for a believer to smoke pot in moderation? And what about use of profanity? I mean, should we not be so hung up about these kinds of things?

Is this the typical religious hypocrite that judges by externals? Or are these areas of compromise that would not be found in someone with a pure heart before the Lord? 866-34-TRUTH. Your calls are welcome. Before we interact with you, I do want to go back to this attack in Israel.

Uh it's It was captured on video and it's it's sickening to watch, especially when you look at the pictures of the the people who were killed and at least 15 injured, some seriously. And the the driver goes Back and forth to run over the bodies back and forth until he's shot to death. He has been hailed as a hero. His actions have been called heroic by Hamas. The Al-Quds newspaper, which is, or Al-Quds News in Jerusalem, said live from where the heroic incident took place in occupied Jerusalem and Tragically, according to the UN resolution that from what we understand, America helped craft and then got out of the way so it could pass, this, in fact, was occupied territory where they were in East Jerusalem.

The response from Palestinian leadership and many other Palestinians is as sickening as the attack itself. Michael Kazzini on the Daily Wire noted, these weren't spontaneous celebrations by a few bad actors. Praise for the terrorists came from the top of the Palestinian leadership chain, placing a rubber stamp on a Jew-hating culture of Jews. Death. His sister said the family thought what he did was wonderful.

They were praising his actions, if you can believe that. Family was thankful for the attack, called the terrorist death the most beautiful martyrdom. Mm-hmm. And uh We shouldn't be surprised. by these kinds of reactions.

We shouldn't be surprised by this level of Israel hating and Jew hating. Look, the Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas. The current Palestinian leadership, Palestinian Authority, they name children's schools. after Palestinian terrorists who kill Israelis and are killed in the process. They are considered martyrs, and schools are named after them.

Last October, Palestinian Authority dedicated a new school to the mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. That's right. This same leadership pays salaries up to four times what a Palestinian would earn to the families of terrorists who are imprisoned. in Israel. Mm-hmm.

The here. Check this out. Press T V. which is Iranian-run press TV, has a Facebook page. And when this attack was announced.

Here's some of the of what was posted.

Sow the wind, reap the storm. Occupiers have no rights, only the obligation to go back to where they came from. The Israeli regime is responsible for the deaths of its citizens. In this instance, there will never be peace on stolen land. Palestinians have every right to self defense.

If they find Israeli occupying forces on their roads, they must repeat this and should be encouraged. I wish and pray that there will be repetition of this incident at much bigger, much, much bigger scale, which will wipe out brutal Israel from world map, inshallah, God willing. Good job. Because it's Israel's problem killing innocent Palestinians every day. No one criticizes why.

Another, tonight, I'm very happy after watching video and I especially order for mutton biryani.

So he's going to celebrate and have something special to eat. I mean, this was post after post after post after post after post. People weighing in with their Jew hatred, with their Israeli hatred. It is sickening. I've got a brand new article on this.

Just go to thelineoffire.org to read my latest article on the sickening nature of anti-Israel hatred. And while so many in the world rejoice as young Israelis are killed, the nation of Israel is mourning and hurting. Pray for comfort. Pray for a turning of hearts to the one true God and the Messiah that He sent. And pray for deliverance and salvation of the Palestinians and for God's best for those living in the Middle East.

866-3666 348-7884. You live in a state where it's legal to smoke pot. Is it Okay, for a believer to. We're not talking about the question of medical marijuana. We'll put that in a totally separate category.

Just like if you're in pain and you get, you know, morpheme or you have a kidney stone, we're putting that in that separate category. Of course, the whole medical marijuana thing could be totally abused. What about alcohol? Is that an equivalent thing? That's legal.

Is it okay for Christians to drink? Drink in moderation? Isn't that the biblical model? You can drink, but in moderation, drunkenness is the issue. Or do we need to think about the weaker brother or sister and not drink?

Are these issues bigger than they might sound? Are they part of a larger issue of compromise in the church? Let's start with Daniel from Richmond. Welcome, sir, to the line of fire. JJ, we need you to put Daniel on from Richmond.

If Daniel's not there. Did we lose Daniel? All right, let's go to Mark from Rockland, Massachusetts. Welcome to the line of fire.

Okay, stay right there on the phones. I have absolutely. No idea. What's going on? We have some new software that's been installed on our system.

And somehow, as we are putting you, our dear callers, on the line, we're not getting you on the line.

So I'm not sure what's happening. I absolutely plan to hear from you.

So stay patient. We'll get to as many calls as we can. 866-348-7884. Listen. Holiness is being like Jesus in thought, word, and deed.

Holiness is being separated from sin. and separate it to God. Holiness. is the purest expression. Of Love, the purest expression of truth, the purest expression of justice.

Holiness is something absolutely beautiful. It is what we are made for. It is what we will enjoy forever and ever. The reason. That God's eternal kingdom, heaven on earth, will be absolutely wonderful.

It is because God will be there and it will be a perfectly holy place. No one will be getting raped there. No one will be getting murdered there. No one will be getting kidnapped there. No one will be getting tortured there.

There won't be stealing. There won't be lying. There won't be judgmentalism. There won't be lust. There won't be pride.

None of that will be. Here, there will not be mental hospitals. There will not be hospitals even for the physically sick because there will be no remnant of the fall, no remnant of sin, and the collapse of the human race. And because of that, it will be a beautiful and wonderful place. It will be the Garden of Eden restored, but so, so much more.

Holiness is beautiful. But holiness is not primarily defined on what we do not do. There is the old story about two farmers. And they were uh they were talking to each other on their properties one day. And one farmer said to the other one farmer said to the other, So what does it mean to be a Christian?

And the other farmer thought about it for a while. He said, Well He said, I'm a Christian, and let me tell you what it means to be a Christian. He said, I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't run around with the ladies.

And the other farmer thought about it for a little while, and he said Yeah. I guess my mule is a Christian. 'Cause uh my mule doesn't drink. Or smoke. or run around with The ladies.

Obviously, that is not how we define being a believer, and that is not how we define holiness. But if we are pursuing the light, Do we play games with darkness? If we are pursuing the light, do we do things that are destructive and of this world? And the liberty we have is not liberty to do whatever in the world we want to do. The liberty we have in Jesus is to be free from sin.

He sets us free from sin, not to sin. All right, we're going to go straight to your calls when we come back right here on the line of fire. Change the world. Angel World. Give us strength to always do what's right.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks for joining us today.

Shout out to all my friends here at New Life Church in Oxnard, California, broadcasting from their church offices today. Great time of ministry yesterday. One more meeting tonight as they seek God in this new year for revival and breakthrough. 866-34TRUTH. Here, if you live in a state, Colorado or some other state now where Pot is legal.

Is it okay for Christian to smoke pot? And what about alcohol? Is that a similar situation? Because that's been legal. Where do we draw the line?

What's right? What's wrong? I've practiced a total abstention from alcohol since I was saved for 45 years. I believe it's a great way to live, and I believe it's a great way for a leader to live. Can I make a case that God requires it of all believers?

No. Do I recommend it? Yes. But uh There's room to discuss this. 866-34TRUTH.

All right, go into your phones in one moment. I'm looking at this review just posted on Amazon. Oh, Couple of minutes ago, about our new book, Breaking the Stronghold of Food. This book is amazing. Three exclamation points.

I'm forever changed. Anyone dealing with food problems, please get this. It's real and will be the best godly advice you've ever gotten. What a great review. Thank God for it.

You can get the book free. This week, please Plus, an exclusive teaching DVD, not available anywhere. It's not on YouTube, it has not been released to the public, where I give some key biblical principles to breaking the stronghold of food in your life and to godly living when it comes to food, to experience some of the great liberty that I'm walking in these very days and for two and a half years now. The book is yours free when you become a torch bearer, one of our monthly supporters.

So, to find out how to do it and find out all the other benefits you get as one of our team members, go to thelineoffire.org and click on donate. All right, let us go back to the phones and we'll start with Mark from Rockland, Massachusetts. Thanks for holding. Welcome to the line of fire.

I mean hello? Yes, go ahead, sir.

Okay, yeah. I've been giving this matter uh a lot of thought. And I think You're well aware of the fact that first miracle that Jesus performed was at the wedding of Cana. where he turned water into wine. And it wasn't just a couple of glasses of water that he turned into wine.

Scholars estimate that it was between anywhere from eighty to one hundred sixty gallons. Not only that, but as you know, the guests were amazed because it was the best wine they'd ever had. And they were also amazed that this wine would be served after the lower quality of wine was served. I guess the practice back in those days was to serve the good wine first, and that once people became tipsy. then the host would serve them lesser quality wine because their taste buds wouldn't be as discriminating.

So it's perfectly reasonable to suppose that Some of these guests were already tipsy by the time Jesus turned that water into wine. Oh, um I also happen to come from a state where the Uh legalization of marijuana was a ballot question. that passed in November's presidential election. They are still tweaking it because The law is kind of ambiguous in some spots. But I view the two as being practically equivalent.

I know a lot of people Um criticize that. They say that marijuana is a gateway drug. In my experience, I think that the gateway drug is really tobacco. But again, that's just my opinion.

So there you have my two cents for what it's worth. All right, so practically speaking, then, you're absolutely right to point to Jesus turning the water into wine. And those who say it wasn't really wine, that's really trying to push the text because it would be that everybody played along with the game. It is true that the wine was less fermented then than now, but obviously people could drink wine in biblical days and get drunk. But on a practical level, then, what's your viewpoint, that it's okay for a believer to drink wine or smoke pot as long as it's in moderation?

What's your take? That would be my take, and with the emphasis on moderation and also Adhering to the uh scriptural admonition that we shouldn't do anything, you know, publicly. Uh in front of another brother who if that could potentially uh weaken his resolve. Got it. All right.

Hey, I appreciate your call and your weighing in. I'm going to give more of my views as we go on, where I agree or disagree. I want to hear from as many of you as possible. 866-348-7884. Let's go to Tony.

Alright, JJ, just got a...

Okay. All right, Tony from Maryland, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, how are you doing? Doing well, thanks. All right, all right.

Um My take well, one, you open up a big question here and I'm just going to throw myself under the bus a little bit. I am a Christian. And Um I do. Um Um you know, try drinks here and there. And what I wanted to do was confront myself.

This is what I did, and this has been over maybe almost a year ago. where I wanted to ask myself, why do I do that? Why do I take the drink? And the reasonings That I take the drink are the things that kind of like convinced me that I should not It's like usually it has to do with I'm loneliness loneliness. I'm not trying to fit in with anybody.

I'm beyond that. Um, and usually I'm doing it when I'm here at the house, you know, by myself. Um And I kind of undid some research And I just wanted to see what was what did they define alcohol as, and someone defined it, somebody else might define it differently. But somebody defined it as poison. And when you put it in your body, and then the liver and the kidneys and all that stuff is trying to.

fight it then It's not doing anything beneficial to the body. It's not nourishing the body. If there's anything, there's some type of reality. that I'm trying to Medicaid or or Oh, ulcer.

so that I can cope that kind of thing.

So that's one aspect I have of it. I'm not somebody that goes around and jerks when somebody drinks wine or say they have a cocktail. you know, and they're a believer because I think it's something that We do have to um be very wise and mature in how we deal with other people that might not be where we are. Um So I don't know if you wanted to ask questions off of that or whatever. No, no, I want to thank you for making the comments and being so candid.

And having the ability to analyze why You did what you did. and the reasons that it's not helpful or not healthful, I think there's wisdom in that, sir. And let me also say this. That uh We always have to think of others as well.

So for me, it's a no-brainer. I'm a public leader. People look at me a certain way. I have no interest in alcohol anyway. But even if I did, it's a no-brainer that I would not drink it in public or let it be part of my life for someone else that would stumble because there are so, so many people that have stumbled and they're free.

And then they're free because they stay away. And then they see someone else, like, oh. Dr. Brown, I respect him and... He had a drink.

I guess it's okay for me and they fall back. But to work it out in your own life and to see what it does and that medicating and even the poisonous nature of it, there's some warnings there. Thank you for weighing in. You can do anything, but throw yourself under the bus. Hey, gotta run.

It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 TRUTH. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown. Thanks so much for joining us on the line of fire 866-348-7884. This is Michael Brown. We're talking about controversial issues. Christians drinking alcohol, Christians in a state where pot is legal, whether it's okay to smoke pot or not.

I want to just go back to one comment that was made by a previous caller about pot being a gateway drug. What's your experience if you're a previous drug user? like I was from the ages of fourteen to sixteen. Do you believe that Pot not only has to be dealt with for what it is, for better or for worse, for what it is, but the question is: what does it lead to? What doors are open through it?

Do you believe that marijuana is a gateway drug? Meaning, you do that, and then it opens the door to other drugs. You do that, and it makes you curious. You do that, and it gets you into that whole drug world and culture. You do that, and it creates an interest and a hunger, a desire.

For more. What do you think? Gateway drug or not? 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go to Frank.

In Staten Island, welcome sir to the line of fire. God bless you, Michael. Happy New Year. Yeah, happy new to you, man. Thanks for that.

Yes. Um Several issues. Uh the drinking of wine or the drinking of alcohol is not sinful in and of itself. There's many scriptures in the Bible that state this. One main scripture is in Deuteronomy where it says, And you may spend the money For whatever your heart desires, for oxen or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires, and there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord.

your God and rejoice. You and your household. God does not prohibit this. What he prohibits is drunkenness.

Now, pot is off the table for me. Unless it's medical marijuana, people have to stay away from that. There's actually a verse in the Catholic Bible, in the book of Sirac, that extols. drinking of wine, as long as it's called sober drinking, it could actually be good for you. Colossians uh two sixteen says, Let no man be a judge in regard to food or drink or to a festival or a Sabbath day.

Because it comes down to legalism then. In the old days, Michael, before the invention of modern cardiac drugs, doctors would actually prescribe apple alcohol for their coronary patients because it's a vasodilator. It opens up the blood vessels. Alcohol could actually be good for you. If it's taken, taken in moderation.

There is bunny. Your body itself makes an ounce of alcohol every single day. A lot of people don't understand. are not aware of that.

So alcohol can be good for you. It's not always poison. And if you look at these southern European countries, they drink large amounts of wine. Per capita, but alcoholism is very, very low in those countries. In the United States, Uh out of all the people that drink regularly, moderately, Approximately only fourteen percent are alcoholics.

Eighty-six percent of people who drink regularly never become alcoholics.

So alcohol, I would not chide people oh, you know, these fundamentalists. They say you can't even take a drink. That's ridiculous. That's legalism. Because that old joke.

Michael, that says there's three truths in life. That we can't escape. Number one is the Arabs don't recognize the state of Israel. Number two is Protestants don't recognize the authority of the Pope, and number three is Baptists don't recognize each other in the liquor store.

So Okay. Yeah, let me just say this one one thing. And again, I'm giving everyone as much pos possible time to just weigh in and not comment back and forth on each one. But the one thing I I would just say is In addition to everything you said, the other question is, okay, what responsibility do I have as a believer when it comes to other believers?

So, yeah, I'm in Europe a lot and believers there have wine with dinner and I've never seen any of them drunk anywhere near it in their lives. It's a different cultural thing there than in America. How should we weigh that? You go to India or Africa, you couldn't think of a Christian even having a drink. We'll be right back.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Welcome back, friends, to the line of fire. This is Michael Brown coming away live from Oxnard, California. All right, I want to hear from you about pot, marijuana, profanity, different things. They may be three separate categories, they may be all related. I'm just going to give you my views quickly.

You can agree or differ. I do not believe you can make a biblical case. For total abstention being the required calling for believers. Whereas we are required, for example, to not commit adultery or not commit fornication or not steal or not lie. We're called to do that.

And if we. Do those things, we need to repent and receive cleansing from the Lord. But I do not believe you can say that the Bible says it is a sin for a Christian to have a drink, it is a sin to get drunk. My position is that it's great to totally abstain, especially in America, because of the many people who struggle in these areas, and therefore, so as not to be a stumbling block and open the door for others to fall, or if you have a weakness there yourself, best to totally abstain. But I respect those who drink in moderation and are respectful of others and may abstain from doing that in public for that reason.

When it comes to smoking pot, I believe it is absolutely foolish for a Christian to smoke pot. We're not talking about medical marijuana. Even if it's legal where you are, I believe it's foolish to do it. I believe it's just there's no way to do that and to be sober and vigilant at the same time. I believe it opens the door to other things and that over a period of time will be.

Be seen to be negative and destructive. When it comes to Christian using profanity, that's either ignorance, immaturity, or carnality. There's nothing free and holy about it whatsoever. It's not like, oh, we're not bound by religion. No, no, you're bound by foolishness or ignorance or carnality.

That's clear. No coarse speech, no profane speech. Scripture is clear. And to think, well, I'm going to be free by just throwing these things. You're not free.

You're foolish. 866-342. Feel free to differ with me or to agree with me. Let us go to Tom in Nanuette, New York. Welcome, sir, to the line of fire.

Hi, doctor Brown. I just want to tell you that The Miracle at Cana Jesus changed the water into wine. It was the real grape juice. It was not wine, because if it was wine, he would denature himself. because he is the lamb without spot.

Also, all the Levitical sacrifices Turn to Jesus. See? He is the burnt offering. He is the meal offering. He is the sin offering.

He is the thanksgiving offering. And he is on the our the peace offering. All these turn to Christ. As far as drinking of alcohol, we should abstain because it can lead it's a type of bondage which somebody could My father is a perfect example. He never drank in his life.

Doctor told him that He's nervous. Take a drink. And and then he became an alcoholic because of it.

Sorry to hear that. And he died of of uh liver cirrhosis and liver encephalopathy. And people should start to realize that everything in that Bible which Jesus He don't he he's not he's not it it it's not um Jesus w is the is the Lamb.

So, you know, everything he He would it would just be nature himself if that the miracle attained was anything but grape juice.

So let me ask you this, sir, and again, it's a tragic. story to hear about your father, and it's an important story to tell so that others can be warned. One question I have about The miracle at Cana. Were you saying that all the guests went along with the joke when instead of wine they got grape juice and they all just had a water? The miracle at Cana.

they were probably tipsy. alcoholic, but But Jesus if if he wa if he were to serve any type of alcohol he would denature himself. He's the land without spots.

So in other words, he's the true sacrifice.

So it ha it can't be denatured. It has to be perfect and pure.

So If Jesus were to perform that type of miracle, and if there was any type of alcohol involved, That would be a problem. Got it. All right. Hey, I appreciate you weighing in clearly and sounding. That warning as well.

866-348-7884. Let's go to Deborah in Newark, New Jersey. Welcome to the line of fire.

Thanks very much. I want to address the matter of holiness. Versus compromise. In 2009, I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of one of the oldest holiness. Church traditions in the United States, it was called for the leadership.

And the general overseer who called the meeting, it included her bishops. her general elders, her elders, her pastors, her ministers and her deacons, throughout a dozen states. And this is what she had to say because there was a rising scandal. and immoral behavior at the top of leadership. That was closing among the membership as they became as that they gained knowledge of it.

uh among the membership a sense of betrayal and for the weaker members uh Of even leading to a loss of faith. And this is what this lady said: 89-year-olds. Maybe she said, for those of you Who says you cannot live holy in this life, you better get over that because in heaven, It's not an option. That's the first thing I want to put on the table. is in scripture.

When the priest ailing Allowed have leading Israel bearing the hereditary leadership Bearing the hereditary priesthood, and at the time was leader of Israel. When he allowed his son, to be profligate, to be drunker and thieves. and to be immoral. God took the leadership from priesthood. Listening to the cries of the people say, Give us Give us the king.

And it was make us like the other nations. And they weren't seeking to be like the other nations. They had been betrayed. by their own leadership. That at the time rested with the priesthood because the priesthood wouldn't rein in their own immoral behavior.

The people cried out for a king. because they had no leader. God answered. And the rest is history. All right.

Hey, I appreciate you weighing in clearly and with conviction. If you differ, The phone lines are open if you say, Yeah, that's absolutely right. I share that. Hey, way in light. Again, a question I would raise, and bear in mind: my practice, my policy, the way I've lived my whole life in the Lord, the way Nancy's lived her whole life in the Lord, is totally abstaining.

No drinking, no alcoholic beverages.

Now, to be honest, I have no interest. I immediately quit getting drunk because I only drank to get drunk. I didn't enjoy the taste of alcohol. I wasn't like an alcoholic connoisseur.

So. For me, it was drunkenness, and of course it was wrong and sinful. And I was in a church that practiced total abstaining. They didn't really preach it all the time. It's just, this is the way we lived it.

So I immediately did. You said, but if you were in a religious Jewish home on the Sabbath, adult male, you'd be drinking some wine. If you're the Passover meal, they'd be drinking some wine. And yeah, I understand that. And I have no issue with those who do it.

You're part of a Messianic Jewish congregation, it's part of the lifestyle, and you yourself don't stumble with alcohol. I've got no issue with that. I've been in church services where they served with communion real wine. And they said, here's grape juice for those who want it. Here's wine for those that want that.

That's what they did. But for me, it was easy. For Nancy, when she got saved, she drank before she was saved, and she loved the taste of alcohol.

So for her, it was a no-brainer. I don't touch it. I'm not going to touch it and open that door. If you struggle at all, If it's an area of weakness, the strong thing is to stay away from it. This is how I live with food now.

And we lay this out in our book, Breaking the Stronghold of Food. This is how we live with food. that I live as if I'm a recovering food addict. And even though I'm free, I'm not tempted. I go to any restaurant, you order what you want and eat all you want.

I'm not tempted. I'm free. I'll enjoy my salad, or if it's a meat day, I'll enjoy my little bit of grilled chicken or something once in a week. I'm fine. I'm good.

I'm thriving. But I don't play games with it. I don't play games that say, well, what would happen if I had... No, why? Why?

What if it opened up a door?

Well, you know, for me, chocolate was such a stronghold, you know, pizza was such a stronghold. What what if I, you know, had some peanut MMs and instead of sat tasting like dv and all chemicals and so sweet and yeah, not liking the way they sat in my stomach, what if it was like Oh. This tastes good. I like this. Wow, what am I missing?

Why open the door?

So, if you struggle with alcohol, if you feel you're weak, I don't know, I might even just that one sip, then don't touch it. The strong thing is to not touch it. The strong and it's not to condemn someone else. Who can drink and it's fine and they have no issue with it and they've had wine with their meals since they were growing up and they've never been drunk a day in their lives or even tipsy. They don't relate to like that.

Fine, that's between them and God. But for me, I've practiced this policy of totally abstaining. And I would just encourage you, if it's an area where you struggle, If it's an area where you've had any history or weakness, don't. play games. With it.

And if you need it to relax, you need it because your nerves are on edge. You need a joint because your nerves are on edge. I want to tell you there's a better way in God. I want to tell you there's a way where your nerves won't be on edge because you rest. in the Lord.

Feel free to differ with me. agree if you've got your own story lessons you've learned Phone lines are open 866-348-7884. Uh It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. You know what's really interesting, friends, as we talk about Christians drinking alcohol, Christians smoking pot, Christians using profanity, which could be three separate answers to three separate questions. I'm putting them all in together, but legitimately, there could be three separate questions with three separate answers. But what's interesting is I was preaching on holiness, purity yesterday, and Obviously, he was not majoring on these things, was talking about real issues of the heart and things that would destroy us and Satan's ways.

But what's What's Interesting is, I found myself using a lot of food illustrations because of the breakthrough that I've had with food and diet and the stronghold this can be in our lives. And we're hearing from folks constantly who are reading our book, Breaking the Strongholds of Food, or have read the book, that it's hitting them just where they're hurting. It's meeting a need. It is talking about very real struggles and showing very real ways to be free. You can get the book free this week when you become a torchbearer, one of our monthly supporters.

Plus, we pour into you all kinds of other blessings and benefits.

So you will receive even more than you give. And we'll start with sending you the book-free and exclusive DVD, not available anywhere, where I give some practical teaching, 25-30 minutes of practical biblical teaching on food issues.

So to join our support team, to be part of our family, to throw yourself in with us in this moral, cultural, spiritual revolution. Go to thelineofire.org. I can guarantee you, not only will we be a blessing to you in the days to come, but you will absolutely share in the rewards with us of all these lives being changed.

So go to thelineoffire.org and click. On donate to join our team, all right. Let us go to Alright, let's see here. Let's go to Marie in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thanks for calling the line of fire.

All right. Let's try. All right, JJ, we got it. There we go. We have a software issue and we're having to do some stuff in a little different way today to get our callers on.

Thanks for your patience. Let us go to Aaron in Richmond, Virginia. Welcome to the line of fire.

Hey, how you doing? Hey. Um I think, first of all, I would like to say that it's it's very interesting as Christians that we tend to find other things to go to for answer answers and comfort other than God. I think that it's a very interesting thing, you know, as far as the truth.

Okay. Christians, you know? Yeah. But it's Far as for um gateway drugs, Uh I would say that alcohol In my experience, it has been a gateway drug, which is, you know, altering, it alters perceptions. Most people, you know.

are introduced to drunk. Um you know, and most of the time when they would have said no, they they tend to say yes. Um, along with that I would say that, you know, prescription medication now these days is definitely a gateway drug. Um And let me just jump in. I've never had to deal with this.

I do remember though, sir, when I was medicated after having surgery on my thumb, and I was given codeine for the pain. I remember the first day I took it, it's like... This reminds me of how I felt just a little, just a touch of when I got high. I thought, wow. And then, you know, I said, you know, I'm not going to use, I don't need it for the pain after that.

But yeah, the prescription drugs, that's rough for many people because initially they need them, you know, bad accident or terrible back pain. And they're on these prescription drugs. And the next thing, they can't live without them.

So there's a whole lot in our society. Yeah, go ahead. Back to you. Um uh marijuana, uh I would have to say that smoking it is bad for you. Um it is bad for anyone to pretty much smoke anything, you know.

Um detrimental to the body is detrimental to the Temple, and you know, in all teachings, God goes against that. But then again, we have to also look into. all of the I guess, beneficial things that they have been finding with ingesting Marijuana, I'm eating it. I mean, there's hemp seeds, oils, there's all kinds of cures for cancer that they're working on with that. And I'm not, you know.

Know here to protect marijuana, but I will say that you know, in my experiences with people in my age group and younger than me, and you know, people I've been around, that people that are involving in smoking marijuana act, handle themselves, you know, and bring forth different experiences compared to people that are on alcohol. You know, it is to me, I think there is really no comparison between the two of those as far as which is the lesser evil. Got it. Let me just say this. We've had alcohol legal long enough, and we know the amount of fatalities with drunk driving and things like that.

It would be easy to make a case. for prohibition, but we've we've seen that that doesn't work. Ultimately, what you have to have is changing changes in the hearts and minds of people more than anything. To me though, you now open the door further. With marijuana, to other abuses.

And someone was telling me that in one state where it's been legalized, where they've had maybe a couple of years to look at it, that they're having all these problems relating to it. Unemployment's going up, people less willing to work, and various things that you might not have even thought about.

So, in any case, Yeah, I appreciate you weighing in. I appreciate your comments as well. 866-34TRUTH. Let's go to Rick in Belmont, North Carolina. Welcome to the line of fire.

Hi, how you doing? Doing well.

Well, great. I just wanted to call in about the marijuana issue and the alcohol. Um I've smugged uh marijuana. for probably thirty six years now. And um Really?

It's um been nothing but good for me except for uh A few little charges legally, paraphernalia, stuff like that, but I never sold pot or anything. I've just smoked it. It's relieved a lot of stress in my life. Um But just to give you a point, if you give twenty people two gallons of liquor and put them in a room and let 'em get drunk, somebody's gonna get a five. You give them two ounces of pot and put 'em in that room, there's not going to be any fighting.

There's not going to be much of anything, though.

So Rick, let me ask you this. When the Bible says be sober and vigilant, Can you put those people in the room? And they smoke a a lot of pot. Are they going to be sober and vigilant when they do that? No.

Ah That's a problem then.

Now, Rick, do do you claim to be a follower of Jesus? Absolutely. And you're saying that even though smoking pot is going to take away from your clarity of mind and being sober and vigilant, and even though it's been illegal all these years, you think it's a good thing? Oh, definitely a good thing. I would have been in prison for murder.

I'd have been in prison for a lot of people. That would indicate to me, with all respect, that you need to know the Lord more deeply. Because if pot was what kept you from murder, Rather than Jesus keeping you from murder, you really need to know the Lord, More deeply. Hey, I appreciate you calling and being honest. That's what we ask for.

But I want to tell you, as someone that was a heavy drug user for a couple years, there's a walk you can have with God. where the last thing in your mind will be smoking. A joint. That is my bottom. Why?

Is it a sin for Christians to drink alcohol if they live in a state where marijuana is legal to smoke pot? Is it a sin? It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and president of Fire School of Ministry.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 Truth. That's 866-34 Truth. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Is this really happening, or am I dreaming all this up?

This is Michael Brown. Welcome to the Line of Fire coming your way from New Life Church in Oxnard, California. If anywhere nearby, we're maybe, oh, 45 minutes outside of LA or an hour outside of LA, join us. We've got one more meeting tonight, 7 o'clock California time, 866-34Truth. I'm going to talk with you in a moment about the issue of Christians smoking pot, Christians drinking alcohol in moderation or getting drunk.

What about believers using profanity to show that they're free and they're not hung up as legalists? We're going to come back to all that in a minute, but just as always during breaks, we'll be scouring news. We'll be making sure there's nothing happening, breaking that we need to talk to you about on the air.

So I just took a moment at the end of our first hour, the beginning of this, our second hour, to get online and to look at anything with the confirmation hearings with the cabinet members and Jeff Sessions and stuff like that. And the latest on the dispute with... Yeah. With Meryl Streep, considered by many to be the greatest living actress today, her what extended 10-minute attack on Donald Trump last night at the Golden Globes. He struck back via Twitter and said she's highly overrated.

And when she was getting on him for mocking a disabled reporter, he said for the hundredth time, I wasn't mocking him, I'd never do that, I was just showing him groveling. And even though I went after him for that very thing, last year or yeah it wasn't i guess it was last year Earlier this year, when it happened. Other videos suggest that that's just the imitation he uses when he's showing somebody groveling, and that could well be the case. In any case, so you've got the battle now between Meryl Streep kind of recogn uh as the face of liberal Hollywood, which hates Donald Trump. Then you've got Donald Trump, who's about to be inaugurated as President, getting into a street fight, and attacking her.

And one of her lines had to do with if you're not happy with Hollywood, then you're going to be watching all you have to watch is football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.

So who weighs in now but the UFC's Dana White Ultimate Fighting Championship. Which is the premier The premier organization for mixed martial arts, which is tremendous skill, tremendous courage, and tremendous violence. He weighed back, fires back at, quote, uppity 80-year-old Meryl Streep and says that she is uneducated. He called her an uppity 80-year-old lady. He said he's not surprised to find out Streep isn't in the UFC's top demographic.

And he added, We have fighters from all over the world. She's not educated about the sport, and that was a completely uneducated conversation. Comment. And then let's see. Bellator MMA president.

This is another, like the second biggest mixed martial arts organization. Scott Coker, he said, wrote to Meryl Streep, I'm a lifelong fan of your work, but also a lifelong martial artist who happens to promote mixed martial arts around the world. He invited the actress to be his guest at an upcoming January 21st event where he promises she will see that mixed martial arts is truly artistic. Quote, the global sport of mixed martial arts celebrates male and female athletes from all around the world who work years tirelessly honing their craft. And yes, art.

They come from every country and every walk of life.

So who in the world would have thought this would be unfolding? The UFC and other mixed martial artists weighing in, going after Meryl Streep. And then there are many that like what she had to say. I did a Twitter poll on this. I asked for folks' opinions, and I'll tell you the results that we come back.

And then to you, our callers, is it a sin? for Christians to drink alcohol or just to get drunk. If you live in a state where marijuana is legal, is it a sin to smoke pot? Does God care? Uh Ain't the world It's fire we want, oh fire we It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. So let me tell you why these issues about marijuana, alcohol, profanity are on my mind.

They may be three separate questions with three separate answers. They may be all part of a larger question. But I was asked by the pastor here at New Life Church in Oxnard, California, to preach on. Holiness, no compromise, in the three Sunday morning services yesterday. I got to preach a good 40 minutes in each service and great crowd of people listening and responding and really preach passionately about the price of compromise and letting our guard down and playing with sin.

And then afterwards, Pastor and I were talking, and he asked the question about drinking alcohol. And yeah, we agreed you can't scripturally say it's a sin to drink alcohol, but should we? Because others could stumble. What about Christian leaders freely talking about their wine or liquor or things like that? And as I can encourage others to drink who are weak, and then got to talking about that.

And then the issue is driving in from the airport, the issue of legalized pot. That came up, one of the pastors driving us from the airport when we came in Friday night because it's now legal in California. Medical marijuana was apparently legalized back in the 90s here in California. But now, 2016, marijuana and General, up to think an ounce you and Carrie was legalized. What are the effects of that?

What were the effects in Colorado thus far? And then the pastor and I were talking after the meetings about a pastor's meeting he was at. One of the speakers got up and used profanity a couple of times. And instead of people being offended at the pastor's meeting, they all laughed. We're not religious.

You could say that. And I said, that's just immature, immature, carnal, foolish. That's all it is. And it has nothing to do with being religious or not religious. It has to do with being holy.

And I assure you, there's not going to be all kinds of profanity in heaven. among other things. I'm talking about behaviors.

Well, Looking at pot for a moment, 2017, looking at a report on Business Insider, here's where you can legally smoke pot. Alaska, if you're 21 and older, California. Colorado, in Colorado, where there are more marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks and McDonald's locations combined. Residents and tourists alike can buy up to one ounce of wood. Weed um main.

Massachusetts. Nevada. Oregon Washington, Washington, DC. Uh good thing or bad thing. In my view, in my view.

Bad thing. In my view, it's going to open up the door to further drug use. It is going to uh further desensitize a society. And And there'll be health risks because of it. A lot of these things are now being learned now that should have been learned earlier.

And I'm looking at a report here from yesterday, just spotted this online on fool.com. This correlation between legal medical marijuana states and traffic fatalities is shocking. A newly published study offers some surprising evidence on the safety. Yeah. And according to this, uh Obviously, it's a positive report.

According to a new study published online in the American Journal of Public Health November by a team of nine researchers, a surprising trend emerged in medical marijuana legal medical marijuana legal states. Yeah. Maybe a different issue.

So we'll come back to that. Are there going to be more traffic fatalities, more issues? We'll come back to that. 866-348-7884, good or bad. You can answer any of the questions.

You can put them all together. Let's go to the phones. We'll start in Ames, Iowa. Scott, welcome to the line of fire. No, thank you.

Dr. Michael Brown. My hey, pleasure. Hey, overall, I would say it's bad, the marijuana. I do got to qual quant qualify my position because I've was a user from age twelve or thirteen to age twenty, and I'm fifty years old now, so I haven't touched it for thirty some years.

But just so I'm trying to look at it objectively and But it's hard to. Yeah, well, no, but listen, when you experience something. You can be very objective. In other words, if you're a mountain climber and you climb Mount Everest, and now you're going to give me objective counsel. as to whether I should take mount take up mountain climbing at the age of 61.

You can be very objective because you've done it, in fact, more objective than someone who hasn't done it. Yeah, maybe yeah, that's true. Yeah, that's right. Um so my so a few things. The The gateway drug, I've I you know, I I hear no, it's not, and I don't know all the statistics, but you know, I can look at ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty people, peers back in those days and every one of them started with marijuana before they got into something else.

So it's kinda hard to say it doesn't. lead to other things. It sure seems like it does. And wouldn't it logically just, whatever you're doing, it's just like. If if there's a guy and girl going together.

And they're not married, but they're going together and they start to kiss. Isn't it logical that if you start to kiss, that you're going to want to do other things and get more passionate, and now one thing doesn't satisfy as much, or it stimulates, and now there's a desire for something else?

So I would think if you don't touch the drug world at all, and look, I went from smoking pot to shooting heroin, and I remember being in seventh or eighth grade. A police came in and we're giving a presentation to the student body in our auditorium. And one of, you know, they had all the drug paraphernalia and all the examples of things. And one of them said, you see, it starts here with the marijuana and it ends up with the heroin. I remember thinking, these guys don't know what they're talking about.

I'm the expert, right? I'm the 13-year-old expert. Yeah, I know. And I remember, it doesn't do that. People who smoke pot and don't do these things.

Well, it's true. Plenty of people, the majority of people who smoke pot do not end up shooting heroin. But I wonder what the stats would be. If the majority of people who smoke pot also then try another drug that they wouldn't have touched had they not been in that new world. Right.

Right. Yeah, I can't imagine yeah, I didn't yeah, mine led to y you know, L S D and then cocaine and then that was the very addictive drug, of course, and And then that's my I stopped and and went through treatment. But uh Uh so I yeah, it's hard for me to say it's not a gateway drug than And then the whole alcohol thing versus that, like, well, it's okay just to do a little and I guess personally, uh once again, from where I come from, I don't drink any more either and And I would say, well, yeah, it'd be nice if we just didn't have alcohol period either because it causes all kinds of problems. But Yeah, and a question I asked to call it earlier, Scott. And again, I don't believe that we can make a biblical case.

That it is a sin to drink alcohol. I believe that the biblical issue had to do with moderation. It had to do with the prohibition of alcoholism and drunkenness. Yes, the wine, say an alcohol, was not as fermented in biblical days as it is today. Nonetheless, you could get drunk from it.

Nonetheless, there are warnings about, say, wine in Proverbs 20: wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived by it is not wise.

So we see those admonitions in Scripture on the one hand. On the other hand, we know that wine would have been commonly People would have it with certain meals that Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine because of his stomach problems. That the qualifications for an elder would be not given too much. wine. But for me, as someone that used to get drunk before I was a believer, I had no interest in it once I got saved.

And then immediately I began to think, once people looked at me as any kind of an example as I was growing in the Lord, I didn't want anyone to stumble. And years ago, just tell the story, and then I want to hear from other callers. Feel free to agree or disagree. All right, this is why we're having open discussion, 866-348-7884. But years ago, A ministry that I worked with, not part of, but it was a friend of mine, led it.

They had a decrease in income, and they could not figure out what was going on. until they found out that the accountant was stealing money. And what happened, he was a trusted man. He used to be an alcoholic. He was totally free they had known him as totally free for years.

He was around some other believers, and they were having a drink with a meal, and they thought. He thought to himself, if it's okay for them, I guess it's okay for me. He had a drink, that one drink, I can't tell you how many times I've heard the same story. That one drink opened the door. He fell back into alcoholism, and in his sinful state, then it affected other areas of his life, and he ended up stealing money from the ministry.

So I'm not going to be the one by God's grace to make someone else stumble. And to me, again, it's not a matter of legalism. Yes, I could. Have a glass of wine with a meal. And in and of itself, it is not sinful and it is not destructive, but for me.

It would be sinful. In faith, because of my conviction before the Lord, and because of my sense of responsibility that I feel to others as a leader. in the body. Hey Scott, thanks for weighing in. Any of you want to tell me that marijuana is not a gateway drug?

that you're convinced that marijuana smoking in moderation is not a gateway drug, is not negative, is not destructive, and you're glad as a Christian that it's now legal in certain states because you feel this is a positive. 866-348. 7884. Angel world O God of burning, cleansing flames. Send the fire.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Well, here I am broadcasting from Oxnard, California, about an hour out of Los Angeles.

And I'm looking at Uh uh an email that was sent to me with some news items. California is returning to its role as an outlier, a country within the country, as Governor Moonbeam squares off for battle against Trump administration. The state is a model for fiscal instability. Nearly 70% of the state budget comes from income tax, half of which is paid by the 1% wealthiest residents. The top 10% of earners accounted for nearly 80%.

This makes the state a model of fiscal instability. As long as the Silicon Valley oligarchs and the real estate speculators do well, California can tap their wealth to pay its massive pension debt and expand the welfare state inexorably for its increasingly redundant working class. population Well, here I am in California. Thankfully, God is doing great things in the midst of this state. 866-348-7884.

Is marijuana a gateway drug? Is it bad that it's legalized in different states? How should Christians relate to this? What about alcohol? And what about, you know, I don't want to be legalistic.

We don't do this. We don't do this. We don't do this. What does it mean to be a Christian? Can't do this.

We can't go to the movies. Can't do that. Is that who we are? Or are we saying, hey, there's a wonderful new way of life in the Lord? Just like with Nancy and with me with diet, we don't eat this, this, this, this long list of things we don't eat.

But we don't look at it like that. Look at it. What we eat is wonderful. and healthy and life giving.

So if you look at it like this, that you have ten springs of water. That are absolutely drinkable. And oh, you can, they are life-giving, drinkable water, springs of water. And you have a hundred mud holes. And I say, now don't drink from any of those mud holes.

That's filthy, and you'll get sick. But drink from those 10 springs of water. Am I restricting you or am I pointing you in the way of life? 866-348-7-884. Let's go to Kathy in Aylitt, Virginia.

You're on the line of fire. Hi there. I wanted to reiterate what the gentleman said earlier regarding his father dying from result of alcohol. When we were quite young, Early in the marriage, My husband Contracted Pneumonia was very, very ill and lost a tremendous amount of weight. The doctor attending to him advised him to start drinking beer.

He died at seventy one from alcoholism with cirrhosis of the liver. And what what was the the doctor's justification for telling them to drink beer?

Well, you know, I've heard this in another instance of medical reversal where a woman supposedly was in the hospital dying. And an old doctor came through and advised the same thing for her, and it did reverse. or condition.

However, again, just like you mentioned, It's dependent on the person's Physiology.

Some can handle it, some can't. Yeah, what a sad story. With this, this first caller, his father, the doctor recommended that he drink some wine. And then he'd never drank his whole life. He ended up being an alcoholic, dying of cirrhosis of the liver.

I'm truly sorry to hear that. And obviously, The doctor meant well, but was unwise in his advice. And uh Yeah, again, we we it does not mean It does not mean That if you grow up in a culture, say in England, and a bunch of Christians go out for a meal together and they have a beer with their meal, and they've never been drunk in their lives and never thought of being drunk, they don't associate beer with drunkenness, doesn't mean they're sinning. doesn't mean they're sinning. But it means that if it's an area where you've struggled or been weak, the biblical way to deal with it is to separate yourself from it.

Well, I'm just not strong. You know, I want to be strong. I want to be so strong that I can go into the bar and sit with people when they're getting drunk and have a drink and I don't get drunk. No, no, if you used to struggle with that, that's not being strong, that's being foolish. You know, maybe you're a guy and you struggle with lustful thoughts, as so many guys do, and you say, Well, I can't flee from that.

I'm going to take that on head on. I'm going to go to the beach and I'm going to stay there and I'm going to stare at all the ladies until I don't think loss of a thoughts about it. You're foolish, you're stupid. What does it say? 2 Timothy 2:22, flee youthful lusts.

You separate yourself. That's the strong decision is to stay away. If you stay around it enough, you know what's going to happen. Not only will you be filled with more lustful thoughts, but the bikini-clad ladies won't satisfy you anymore. You're going to need something more hardcore.

Yeah, that's what's going to happen. When you stay away, this is an area where you've rested with your eyes or your thoughts, you stay away, that's the strong decision. 866-34TRUTH. And I appreciate those who've called. These are painful things to share.

Thank you for sharing them with our listening audience. 866-34TRUTH. Let's go to Aaron in Yadkinville, North Carolina. Welcome to the line of fire.

Uh, hey, Doctor Brown. Just wanted to share what's on my heart about the mari uh marijuana Pop it. Yes, sir. I became a believer at an early age and also smoked marijuana at an early age. I'm thirty years old now and I was in my teens when I was first introduced to marijuana.

became a believer, like I said, but always struggled with Whether it was right or wrong. It just kind of tried to justify it all the time. And being at an early age, introduced to marijuana like I was And Growing up through the years. And continued to do it all the way up until I was almost thirty. I've just recently gotten victory over this.

settings then And uh And we're starting at a Early age, you build up a tolerant. Yeah. smoking marijuana constantly daily. Um And growing up, as well at that same time can't really see how it's affecting you until The Lord just kept tugging on my heart. I need to get rid of this, get rid of this.

People in my church, friends were. encouraging me, helping me, praying for me.

So I would go back and forth to smoking pot, not smoking pot, you know, and my most recent, since I've gotten victory over it, I quit. for about three months. And I slipped up, got tempted, and got some, and going three months sober, and then going back. To smoking, I smoked the joint. And what it did to me Was very eye-opening to me.

It's like the Lord had to show me. What What tolerant? was um because I couldn't see it seeing how I started at such an early age. And it's more of a demonic overtaking this is the best way I can put it. I couldn't drive my vehicle.

I couldn't Do anything that I normally could through the years smoking. affect me. I could smoke a joint and drive better than I could when I wasn't. But I just wanted to just I just let the listeners know that If I challenge them, if somebody's struggling with it, just to put it down for three months. And then Try it again and really focus on reading the Bible during those three months, Romans 6, 7, and 8.

Aaron, we got a break, but your message is loud and clear. And perhaps after the abstaining for three months, you won't even need to. Try it again. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.

The same It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown. I asked my Twitter followers. How they felt about Meryl Streep's attack on President-elect Trump at the Golden Globes last night. I gave four choices.

Someone needed to say it. An absolute disgrace. That's Hollywood. I have mixed feelings. The response is as follows.

7% said someone needed to say it. 9% said I have mixed feelings. 31% said an absolute disgrace. 53% said that's Hollywood. That is not our focus today.

I. have written an article. On the sickening nature of anti-Israel hatred in light of the terror attack in Jerusalem yesterday, I encourage you to read it. The quotes in the article are mind-boggling, eye-opening. I mean, Here, when when Drives a truck into a crowd of young Israelis, killing three Israeli soldiers, all women.

Age 20, 20, and 22. And then a young man aged 20. And injuring 15 others. And as he's being shot at, he's rolling the truck back and forth to crush and kill his victims. On the Facebook page run by Iranian Press TV, there were maybe, when I looked, 50, 60 comments to the report on the Facebook page.

And a lot of them were really ugly. For example, it's so good to hear this news. good work ever done by a true Moslem. Kill them all. Deserved.

The Zion has been ramming tents and makeshift shelters of innocent Palestinians for the past 70 years. No problem now that some Zionist soldiers rammed by Palestinians. It is a good thing to happen. Once you're remedied, get out of Palestine, back to your ghettos. This is the unique nature of the hatred towards Israel that someone who.

Kills Israelis, kills Jews in cold blood, is now a hero to be. Celebrated.

So read that article on the website, thelineoffire.org. And what I want to talk to you about now and get your input on, phone lines are open, 866-348-7884. I'm broadcasting here from California. Oxnard, California. If you're anywhere in the area listening online or elsewhere, the last meeting that I'll be speaking at is tonight, 7 p.m.

at New Life Church, a great community of about 3,000 believers here in Oxnard. It's on my itinerary. You can find that on my website.

So, uh, We were discussing the effects of legalizing marijuana when I was being driven from the airport. My sister Dylan and I coming over from Los Angeles and Colorado, other states have had it for a few years.

Now, California has legalized it. And just saw a report that there are more marijuana dispensaries in Colorado than, so you're just putting your money in and pop, there it comes out. More marijuana dispensaries than McDonald's and Starbucks combined. The effects of marijuana there and what are they learning that's negative there.

So the question is: what if you live in a state where marijuana is legal? It was easy in the past to say we don't touch it because it's illegal.

Well, now it's legal. Is it now okay for a believer? Is there a parallel with alcohol? is the key thing, moderation. It's not a sin to have a drink, it's a sin to get drunk, or should we abstain from alcohol entirely?

And then, what about this whole thing is we don't want to be legalistic, we don't want to be legalistic. And so, because we don't want to be legalistic, you know, there's some churches you go to and somebody use profanity during the service from the pulpit. And everybody laughs, because we're not legalistic. They're stupid. You're carnal, you're immature, you're ignorant, otherwise you wouldn't Do that.

You would mix the profane with the holy. But where do we stand on these issues? I want to go to your calls when we come back, 866-3666. Three, four, eight, seven, eight, eight, five. four and uh are there lessons that we had to learn the hard way from from uh Tobacco.

Different than marijuana and alcohol in that they're not conscious-altering, but certainly unhealthy addictions. Where's the parallel there? 866-34TRUTH. We'll be right back with your calls. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. I want to give you my own position.

You can agree, disagree. I do not believe you can make a scriptural case that all believers should abstain totally from alcohol, but I believe it's a great practice. If you've ever struggled with it, great to abstain totally. If anyone ever looks to you as an example in public or private, great to abstain totally. It's how I've lived for 45 years.

But if someone says, hey, it's been a lifestyle, we'll have a glass of wine sometimes with a meal. Never been drunk, never been tipsy, never been high. That's better than drinking Coca-Cola or something like that. Hey, it's between you and God. I've gone out for dinner with believers in America and, of course, in Europe.

You know, that's what they do. They're fine. I don't look at them any differently. It doesn't faze me whatsoever. But I won't do it as a public example and as a leader.

When it comes to pot and legalization of marijuana, I think it's a bad thing. I think it's destructive. I don't think you can smoke a joint and practice being sober and vigilant at the same time. And when it comes to Christians showing that they're free by the use of profanity, they're either ignorant or they're immature or they're willfully acting stupidly. No coarse communication, obscene words, profanity.

Scripture is clear on it. Read Ephesians 5, read the end of Ephesians 4 in terms of the life-giving nature of words that should come out from our lips. Jesus does not set us free to sin, he sets us free from sin. You've heard my viewpoint, you get to weigh in. 866-34 TRUTH.

Earlier in the broadcast, we heard from two callers: one a man, one a woman. The man's father, after having a medical issue, was advised many years ago by the doctor to start having a little wine. He did that and ended up becoming an alcoholic and dying of cirrhosis of the liver. A woman called. Her husband had a medical issue, as a result of which the doctor told him he should have some beer.

He ended up becoming an alcoholic and dying of alcohol related diseases. You say, what's that proof? Those are their stories. You draw your conclusions. Is marijuana a gateway drug to be avoided to the phones?

We're not talking about medical marijuana used by prescription for certain purposes any more than we're talking about a painkiller used for specific purposes by prescription and not abused. 866-34-TRUTH, let's go to Mary in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks for holding. Welcome to the line of fire.

Ah my Michael Brown, how are you? Doing very well, thank you. Good. What I want to talk about is you said that marijuana is a gateway. But it's not the marijuana, it's what's in man's heart that leads him to want to smoke marijuana.

Mm-hmm. What you put in your mouth as the scriptures say it has nothing to do with What's in your heart? Is that what's in your heart? What you put in your mouth is the result of what's in your heart, and that's what God is looking for. What's in a man's heart?

If you read um First Corinthians chapter six, that whole chapter. It tells you that lot of people was That's Mm-hmm. call ourselves Christian, but you have to be born again. And Jesus Christ says you must be born again. If you're born again, the Holy Spirit is not going to let you leave anything that is going to corrupt your temple.

'Cause your body is the temple of the living God. A lot of people say they are Christians. and Christians is the followers and disciples of Jesus Christ.

So if you got the Spirit, Holy Spirit in you, Now a lot of people is of the flesh. They're condominium minded. and the fascists are going to reap corruption. Cover options.

So if is You have the Holy Spirit in you. and you're born again, the spirit's gonna let you know what's wrong. I don't understand how a lot of people said they struggling God has given us a spirit of powerful love and a sound mind.

So the spirit is gonna nudge you. When you're doing something against the word of God.

So that's that's my Yeah, I appreciate that. You know, when when Jesus was saying nothing that you put in your mouth is going to defile you, he was talking about that that eating food with unwashed hands would would uh would not defile you.

So let's just say, for example, that you're a Jewish person. And you ate some meat and you didn't know it was bacon, it's flavored to be turkey, and you didn't realize that or something, or you know, it was pork and you didn't realize it. It actually doesn't defile you spiritually because it's just food. It goes in your mouth and processes out your system.

Now, if you drop LSD, though, if you take a tab of LSD, that's going to affect your thinking and other things and make you vulnerable to other stuff.

So that's separate. But yeah, look, Mary, if we're walking in fellowship with the Lord, and the harmony with the Lord. Yes, the Holy Spirit will tug at us if we're doing something wrong. The problem is, so many walk at a distance from him that the Holy Spirit is practically shouting and we're not even hearing it, which is really dangerous. Hey, I appreciate you weighing in.

Thank you very much. 866-34TRUTH CLAY in Durham, North Carolina. You are on the line of fire. Brother Michael may have first May I first say Merry Christmas to you and Happy New Year, and God bless you, brother. Just hope and pray you're not going to be a fan of California, which I came up with, which is fruits and nuts.

Anyway, I'd like to touch base on what you're talking about. you know, what Miss Mary just said about, you know, us putting stuff into our body and it being a temple, you know, I've been doing a study in First Corinthians about how, if you don't take care of what God gave you, Um he's going to destroy it.

Well, I'll share this with you. I have so many stories I could share with this, but I'll share this with you. I used to smoke. And July first of this year will be twenty-nine years ago that I stopped smoking. And seven point five years later, I chose to stop because I knew that what I was doing would affect my health and would affect me as a person.

As for this thing against mariwan for with marijuana, it's going to eventually destroy a person. They can say that maybe smoking marijuana in certain cases is going to cure them, but you're putting something in your body That is against God's will. Same thing goes with drinking. I've used to do that, but I don't do that anymore because it makes you a different person. When you put something that is not For your body and makes you a different person than what you are before you started smoking.

or drinking, it makes you a completely different person. And you have to take into consideration: do you need to do that. you're losing when you when when you start doing things like that, you get an attitude. And people say, well, do I want to be as do I care to be associated with him? Or her.

And it's a major constant effect that makes you think And, you know, I hear you saying that. I mean, you know, yes, I agree because when you say that you are a brother or sister in Christ and you go out and you do the stuff that you're not supposed to be doing. that person can say, well, he says he's a Christian, but I saw him doing this. It's a major reflection. And I wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying because You're saying a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

You're supposed to lead by example and not go out and, I mean, That that that's my just my viewpoint. Yeah, hey, listen, I appreciate it. The point you make is interesting, not just about the altering of consciousness. In other words, when you drink to a certain amount, your consciousness is altered, which is why if you have alcohol beyond a certain blood level, then you're not allowed to drive. It's illegal.

You're driving while intoxicated, driving while under the influence of alcohol. The same thing with pot. You are elevated to a certain level, and it's going to affect your sharpness, your clarity of thought, your ability to respond. All of these things are necessary while driving. But are there other ways that that we are affected?

Are there other ways where our nature, our attitudes, Become changed, our values become changed. Here, look at this larger thing: sex, drugs, rock and roll. Was there a reason that these were connected? Was there a reason? That when the rock culture was connected with the culture of rebellion.

And it was connected with drugs, that there was a lot more sex going on, that there was a reducing of the morals in that way.

Now you might say, yeah, well, if it's hardcore drugs, that's going to happen, but casual or social marijuana smoking, that's not the case. One other thing that may be very important is that when I smoke pot. From 69 to 71, before I was a believer, and then, of course, did all kinds of other things, even as far as shooting heroin and cocaine and other drugs. What I've been told by numerous people is it's much more potent now than then, and smoking a joint now is much more potent than smoking a joint then. Is that a consideration?

I say it is. 86634Truth. Here's a report from November 14th last year. Researchers from St. Luke's University Hospital Network compared over 33,000 patients with stress, cardiomyopathy, a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscle.

The symptoms can include chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath. And they found what appears to be a correlation between marijuana use and weakening of the heart. Look, we know what's happened with tobacco, and now all the warnings about tobacco and the taxes on smoking, and it's not the norm in movies and TV, that's everybody's smoking and things like that. It's discouraged. Were studies done adequately to look at the use of marijuana, even in measure?

The report says on AOL.com just a week after several states legalized the recreational use of marijuana, a new study reveals marijuana may weaken the heart muscles, most notably in young men. We'll be right back with your calls. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown. All right, we are going right back to the phones. We start in Grand Prairie, Texas with Lynn. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Thank you for taking my call.

I'm just gonna jump right on into it. But I think weed is bad. And I don't understand why this country is legalizing lead from the get go. When I had heard a study where they went out throughout the prison of America And you know, they was talking to the inmates and stuff and and asking them why they did this and that. And they offend did different things.

And they were talking about, you know, I was on drugs, okay. How did you get on drugs? What was the beginning? How? And a lot of them, like, they started out with weed.

That's all they say. That was the gateway. That was the gateway. And then they went to harder drugs. And it just escalated from there.

Why do people do drugs? The simple fact, maybe their childhood, maybe things they did not receive, growing up, many different there's many different reasons. Abuse Neglect. People do certain things to drown out the demons and the echoes in their past. Get on drugs.

They um store Drinking, they start having multiple partners for various reasons because they lacked love growing up as a child. Mom or dad wasn't there, it's all kinds of reasons. But the point is, getting to the root of the problem. People do drugs for various reasons, to quiet out the echoes of their past. Abuse, the neglect, all kinds of things.

Yeah, and when you know, when you talk about folks in prison, and again, it doesn't mean everyone who smokes pot, or the majority of people who smoke pot will end up doing other drugs or will end up in prison. But when here, if there is a cliff. 50 feet away from me, okay? And I'm sitting here in my car looking out at the cliff, and that cliff's 50 feet away from me. I'm not going to fall off that cliff.

But if I get out of the car and walk over to the cliff and look out over the cliff, And then something could happen, and I could potentially fall.

So there are things that open up doors to other things. That's the point. And you end up going into worlds you never would have gone in and be getting interest in things you would not have touched. before. And again, I don't know that massive studies have been done.

About marijuana being a gateway drug. It's certainly anecdotally the case. It's certainly the case that would be reaffirmed by many law enforcement officers. But in these other states where now marijuana is legal, what percentage of the people are now doing it in larger quantities than is legal? What percentage of the people are going on to other drugs that are still illegal?

Those are questions that should be answered. Obviously, answer as many as possible before taking that step, which to me is a foolish step. Let's go to Paul in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You are on the line of fire. Hey, good afternoon, doctor Brown.

I do I agree with the previous callers Talking about whether a believer should be allowed to use marijuana or whether they should. I do believe it starts as a stewardship issue. but it can quickly lead to a salvation issue. It's like if we were to say, Well, it's not a sin to walk, so I'm going to take a walk in the red light district at two in the morning.

Now that's not gonna be good. For your spiritual condition. You know, there are some people who are evangelists who can go into those situations. But the majority of us can and And the majority of us can't handle using mind-altering drugs without Making that our source of comfort and the place where we find peace. and rest when We should really be finding it sad.

You know, I've got a funny anecdotal story about my own life. A lot of weed, and I was coming back, I was a believer. Still smoking weed and And this is how the Lord Helped me get over that. Coming back from a mission trip, driving 24 hours with the brother. And he's telling me the whole strip.

Four hours in the car. About his buddy. Who's a Christian that smoked weed, and how it just really ticked him off. And I'm sitting there listening to this, thinking about the joint I got at home, and I'm like. Yeah, what a true.

You know, and then I got home and And I lit up that joint and immediately the conviction hit me. The convection of Yeah. In my p. From somewhere else than God, but then. God actually.

Showed me so many things of how, by using weed, I was actually accepting. The lesser Blessing. I was, I was, you know Taking Blessed in my inheritance, and you show me things, amazing things. It's actually such a powerful experience. I ended up getting baptized in the Holy Spirit at that time.

Yeah, and my praise was so big. Yeah, Paul, I'm just jumping in because time is short, but amen. To the point you're making, when you are filled with the beauty of the Lord and filled with the life of His Spirit, you don't need a joint to relax your nerves or to find comfort or to ease your fears. You don't need a drink to settle you down. I'm not condemning those that have found that outlet.

I'm saying there is a better way. And especially in places where it's been illegal to do certain of those things, you better believe there's a better way. And, Paul, thank you. What a great story. What a great testimony.

I'd love to hear more another time. But let me say this: many of us find comfort in food. Many of us find psychological emotional release in food. Many of us get our high by eating sweets and getting that dopamine rush. I was a, for the better part of my life, a lifelong chalk-aholic.

I had periods of freedom and maybe having sweets one day a month for a year at a time, but that never became the reality of my life. And before God helped me to radically change my relationship with food beginning August 24th of 2014, so two and a half years ago now, I needed to have sweets. A day would not go by without me having chocolate and other sweets. And I wanted to, and I needed to. My body craved it, was dependent on it.

And the idea of not having certain foods I love was that was worse than not being on drugs. And I've said it many a time. I'll say it again. It was easier for me to give up heroin and the needle in 1971 than to give up chocolate in 2014. You're talking about like 50 something year habit.

But the same grace that worked in me to change my relationship to drugs, I changed my relationship to food. And food is now the fuel of my life. And friends, I am thriving. And it gives you grace to be free in other areas, and it's just a wonderful way to live in every way and being a great steward over your body. Here's how you can get our brand new book, Breaking the Stronghold of Food, absolutely free, and with it, an exclusive DVD, 25-30 minutes of teaching, not available anywhere else, not on YouTube, where I get into scriptural principles to encourage you to change your relationship to food.

We're not talking about dieting, we're talking about a whole new way of life. And our book is getting rave reviews and opened up as number one book on Amazon and Christian personal growth. When you become a torchbearer, a monthly supporter this month, join our support team with a dollar a day or more per month, so $30 or more per month. Go to thelineoffire.org, click on donate, and then read all the benefits, all the things that we send your way and things you have access to only as a torchbearer every single month. And it's just for a dollar a day or more.

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