Choosing to live a life of sobriety might be one of the best decisions you ever make. You can expect to receive many blessings from God with this decision. A new life worth living in the light of His grace on your faith filled journey of Christian discipleship.
Sobriety in Christian Discipleship
In this post, we will take a look at 3 different Bible verses that involve living out 3 aspects of Christian discipleship: spiritual warfare, wisdom, and family life. Learning the Scriptures helps us to increase in the virtue of temperance. Temperance helps us to control our desires and appetites and live soberly in this life for God.
For the Word of God is living and active…Hebrews 4:12a
Verse #1 Sobriety in Spiritual Warfare
1 Peter 5:8-9a
Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith.
Spiritual Warfare: the Battle for Souls
Stay sober and alert! One variable remains the same living a life of sobriety: spiritual warfare. Although Christ has won the war with his victory on the cross and resurrection, the battle goes on until the Lord returns in glory with His angels.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matthew 25:31-32
Spiritual Vigilance in Prayer
St. Peter’s verse is significant because out of all the verses in the Bible, it is read every Tuesday night during Compline (night prayer) in the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours.
The “spiritual battle” of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2725
If you’re drinking alcohol every night, that may be a problem. You don’t want to give the demons a way to drag you down. At the end of the day and the end of our earthly lives, spiritual protection from the devil is essential for Catholic families.
“God himself is the reward and end of all our labors: I am your protector and your supreme reward.” + St. Thomas Aquinas
Living a New Life of Sobriety in Christ
As one who has both drank and now lives without it, let me say sobriety should give you a newfound look on life. The light of Christ will shine down on you in unexpected ways! His graces will flow to help you complete the mission He has entrusted to you.
“In such a difficult mission one has to be holy.” + St. Peter Chanel
Experience the Benefits of a Life of Sobriety
My experience with sobriety is you will be more productive, you will feel more healthy, and in accordance with this verse, you will avoid oppression from the devil.
“If you’re practicing the faith, you’re protected!” + Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, Catholic priest and American exorcist
Verse #2 Sobriety in God’s Wisdom
Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.
Drunkenness Leads to Foolishness
This verse doesn’t forbid us to drink wine. Jesus turned water into wine in the Gospel. Rather, this verse forbids us to overindulge in drinking alcohol which can lead one to making foolish decisions that offend God and lead to selfishness, sin, and darkness.
Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
Living Wisely in a State of Grace
Stay sober and vigilant! Should you partake in excess alcohol consumption, not only can this lead to debauchery and bad decision making, but it can also lead to a lifestyle of unrepentant mortal sin, addiction, and even the most tragic consequences.
Wine has been the ruin of many. Sirach 31:25b
Faithfully Keep the Commandments
The wisest thing you can do in this life as a Catholic is to keep the commandments and stay in a state of grace. If you want to be filled with God’s sanctifying grace, sobriety is a must. Sanctifying grace is the indwelling of the Holy Trinity within us that we receive at our baptism. Living soberly for Christ helps keep God’s holy light within you.
Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Ephesians 5:8-9
Verse #3 Sobriety in the Family
1 Thessalonians 5:7
Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.
God Is Not Pleased with Drunkenness
There is an old saying that nothing good goes on after midnight. Similarly, the Bible has several verses about drunkenness, and none of them speak of anything good. Getting drunk can lead to eternal consequences for those who willingly persist in it.
| Reference | Description | Verse |
|---|---|---|
| God angry | The inhabitants of the land drunk… | Jer 13:13 |
| Stay alert | Beware…carousing and drunkenness… | Luk 21:34 |
| Darkness | Not in orgies and drunkenness, promiscuity… | Rom 13:13 |
| Judgment | Living in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness… | 1 Pt 4:3 |
A Father Son Talk
In the book of Tobit, a father instructs his son to stay disciplined and sober. He goes on to say to be active in works of mercy. That is a good test for sanctifying grace. If you have it, you’re praying for others, you’re generous in good deeds and charity. You’re living out your days soberly and serving God with the talents He entrusted to you.
Be on your guard, son, in everything you do; be wise in all that you say and discipline yourself in all your conduct. Do to no one what you yourself hate. Do not drink wine till you become drunk or let drunkenness accompany you on your way. Give to the hungry some of your food, and to the naked some of your clothing. Whatever you have left over, give away as alms… Tobit 14b:16a
I am grateful for the father son talks my father gave me while I was growing up. My mother and father raised my sister and I soberly and with love. If you are a Catholic father, bless your children and form them in the wisdom of Christ.
Catholic Families Living Soberly for Christ
The best way for Catholic families to keep their children away from the darkness of drugs and alcohol is to keep them in the light of Christ. This is done when a Catholic family makes Christ the center of their lives, both in their hearts and in their homes.
If you are wise, know that you have been created for the glory of God and your own eternal salvation. This is your goal; this is the center of your life; this is the treasure of your heart. If you reach this goal you will find happiness. If you fail to reach it you will find misery.” – St. Robert Bellarmine
Catholic parents set the best example by living living soberly, participating in the sacraments, blessing their children, praying, and growing together in the Word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5
More New Testament Sobriety Verses
The Bible is abundant in wisdom. When we read the Scriptures, we find that they help us to grow in Christ’s light. They help to strengthen our virtues. They help us to better understand who God is and how to live righteously. Here are some other Bible verses to help you on your way to living a life of sobriety in the light of His grace.
St. Peter’s Sobriety Verses
1 Peter 1:13
Gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Girding up the loins of our minds means that this life is no rehearsal. It is the real thing. Christ’s glorious return might happen sooner than we may think. At the end of this life, everything leads to Christ. We can do nothing without Him, as He himself says in the Gospel. We put our faith and our focus on Him, living soberly and with purpose. Christ is our purpose. His holiness will help us to live and grow in His love.
“Christ gave himself to us as the vine to the branches; apart from Him we cannot have life.” + St. Augustine
1 Peter 2:2-3
Long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good.
We grow in Christ when we exchange the habits of our former way of life for new habits in Christ. Carry the cross and cling to your baptism. Build your life around your baptismal promises, rejecting all that is contrary to the faith. Stay closely connected to the sacraments of the Church, for there is the flow of God’s grace where the Spirit of the Lord greets us and helps us to grow in His Word, loving and serving Him.
St. Paul’s Sobriety Verses
1 Thessalonians 5:8
Since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.
As mentioned in Verse #2, St. Paul goes on to say in Ephesians to be filled with the Spirit instead. With God’s Spirit, we experience peace and the fullness of life in Christ.
Ephesians 5:18b-20
Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
Your faith in God will help Him to lead you in His light. Your love for Christ and His kingdom will help His grace to flow within you and keep you busy in your sobriety living for God. Singing psalms and hymns? We do this at Mass! Try going to the morning Masses and make the early morning hours a sacred time of the day, praying to God from your heart and giving Him thanks for all of His blessings.
“The house of God is the Church, his marvelous dwelling place, filled with joyful voices giving thanks and praise.” + St. Jerome
Living in the Light of Sobriety
I hope this post helps to bring new graces of God’s light into your life. Living a life of sobriety for Christ, serving Him with your talents, and having a personal relationship with Jesus should prove to be one of the wisest decisions you can ever make.
I can do all things in Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
Offer Up Your Sobriety to the Lord
“Beloved, Jesus Christ is our salvation, He is the high priest through whom we present our offerings and the Helper who supports us in our weakness.” + St. Clement I
If you need motivation with the decision, offer up your sobriety as a sacrifice to Jesus on the cross. Offer it up for anyone you know who tragically lost their lives to alcohol.
Living soberly should prove to have redemptive value both in this life and the next.
Rely on the mighty LORD; constantly seek His face. 1 Chronicles 16:11
