Can you be a Christian and fall into addiction?

Can there even be such a thing as a "Christian alcoholic"?

The text came in last week. And I just stared at it for a bit.

“Are they really questioning that I was ever a Christian because I became an alcoholic?”

Yes, yes they were. And after the initial disappointment wore off, I was happy to hear what they had to say. Yes, happy.

See, I think sometimes we shelter ourselves—both intentionally and unintentionally—from people who think different than us. And because of that, we never actually know how to express what we believe; at least not well. It’s part of the reason the trend on college campuses to create “safe spaces” and stifle dissent is so dangerous. We need to be exposed to ideas we disagree with so that we are forced to study, formulate, and defend what we really believe.

And that’s what I’m going to do today. Today, I’m going to explain why you can be a “Christian alcoholic”—that is, someone who has a genuine, professing faith in Jesus and still fall into sin. Sin that’s “big.” That hurts. That is, in many ways, shameful.

Why? Becaus…