<img src="Noel Dear Main Logo 2.png" style="width:600px; border: none; box-shadow: none; background: none;"> *Dr. Noel Dear's Sermons, Bible Studies, Articles, & Devotions* ([[Pastor Noel's Resources|Home]]) # Is Marijuana Permissible for Christians? ## A Presentation for the Ministers on September 16, 2025 - # Why this talk today? - ## It is a common and growing problem in Nacogdoches and in our church... - Frequency of use... - 12–17 | 8% in the last month | 12% in the last year - 18–25 | 23% in the last month | 40% in the last year - 26–34 | 19% in the last month | 30% in the last year - 35–49 | 13% in the last month | 22% in the last year - 50–64 | 9% in the last month | 15% in the last year - 65+ | 7% in the last month | 9% in the last year - Race... - Black and White people use at similar rates. - Hispanic people are 25% less likely to use compared with Black and White people. - Economics... - Some studies show that those higher on the socioeconomic or education scale use less marijuana, but a similar number of people are using. - Texas - Past-month rates are lower in Texas, but past-year rates are the same as the rest of the US. - And likely higher due to a large Hispanic population who are using at lower rates. - Students grade 7–12... - Usage rates are double the national average. - Adult use in Texas is increasing at a faster rate than the rest of the US. - ## It is a secret sin... - ## It is a confusing issue... - The TikTok and social media theological arguments supporting marijuana use among Christians are hard to resist without assistance. - ==I want us ALL to have the arguments to help our people honor the Lord in this matter!== - # Questions and arguments we might hear... - ## Reasons Christians give to support the recreational use of marijuana... - ***God created every plant and called it good...*** - ***The Bible speaks of alcohol as a gift from the Lord. Marijuana is not different than alcohol...*** - ***Caffeine is a mind-altering drug...*** - ***Marijuana helps me worship God...*** - ***My private use of marijuana doesn't hurt anyone. So it is a matter of personal liberty.*** - ***The Bible doesn't forbid marijuana. So, for you to do so is legalism.*** - ***I have freedom in Christ!*** - ***For me, marijuana is simply a self-prescribed drug like any other drug you might take.*** - ***Since the question of right or wrong is fuzzy in some extreme cases, it is not reasonable for someone to say it is a sin to use marijuana.*** - ***The Old Testament prescribed the use of incense, oil, and natural herbs to be used in worship, sacrifices, and priestly rituals. What's the difference if I use cannabis?*** - ## So, I thought we would all try a marijuana gummy today to make our minister's meeting one to remember! - Kidding, of course... - ## Let me take each of these ten reasons Christians sometimes give for recreational use of marijuana and provide a biblical rebuttal. - And I have a few bonus rebuttals... - # Rebuttals - (By the way, half or more of this content came from a book by [[Todd Miles]], *Cannabis and the Christian: What the Bible Says about Marijuana*. That would be a good book for you to have. It is brief, well written, and well organized. It would be a good reference book to have handy if people had questions.) - ## **The Legal Argument** - Marijuana use is illegal in Texas. - It is a sin to break the law. - ##### **[[Romans 13.1]] | Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 13.2]] | So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.** (CSB) - Therefore, marijuana use, at least in Texas, is not permissible for Christians. - ## **The Teleological Argument** - **Claim** - *Marijuana is a natural substance and an ordinary seed-bearing plant. God created all seed-bearing plants and said they were good. Just as humans cultivate grapes into wine or barley into bread, it is reasonable and God-honoring to cultivate cannabis for responsible use.Therefore the use of marijuana is permissible.* - ##### **[[Genesis 1.29]] | God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,** (CSB) - Just because God created something does not tell us God's intended purpose for that created thing. - Genesis 2 specifically says he created one fruit bearing tree that people were not allowed to eat from... - ##### **[[Genesis 2.16]] | And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,** (CSB) - ##### **[[Genesis 2.17]] | but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”** (CSB) - What about the Hemlock tree? - I use cocobolo wood in my shop. - The sawdust can kill you if you don't have proper ventilation. - I use rosewood which can kill you with a splinter. - ## **The Alcohol Argument** - **Claim** - *The Bible speaks of alcohol as a gift from the Lord and allows its use in moderation. Alcohol and marijuana are both psychoactive substances that can be used recreationally or medicinally. Christians generally allow moderate alcohol use even though abuse is condemned. By the same reasoning, moderate marijuana use should be judged by intent and moderation, not by blanket prohibition.* - The Bible clearly and consistently calls intoxication unwise and sinful. - ##### **[[Ephesians 5.18]] | And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:** (CSB) - ##### **[[Proverbs 20.1]] | Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler; whoever goes astray because of them is not wise.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Proverbs 23.32]] | In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Proverbs 23.33]] | Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things.** (CSB) - So, any consumption of alcohol with the intent of being intoxicated is sinful. - When people use marijuana (non-medical marijuana), the intent is always intoxication. - For most people, one hit of marijuana is enough to induce intoxication. - While there are certainly degrees of intoxication with marijuana, it is impossible to use marijuana without intoxication. - ## **The False Equivalence Argument** - **Claim** - *People use mind-altering drugs every day. Almost every adult in America starts his or her day with a jolt of caffeine. No one (or few people) criticize caffeine as sin. Marijuana is the same category of mind-altering drug, just with a different effect.* - The intent in the use of caffeine is to sharpen focus. - People use ordinary amounts of caffeine to function normally (wakefulness, energy). - The intended result of marijuana use is to dull the senses. - Biblically, the concern is not _any_ chemical effect, but whether the substance **impairs sobriety and self-control**. - Just because both caffeine and marijuana affect the body does not make them morally or biblically equal. - Scripture consistently calls for Christians to be sober-minded. - ##### **[[1 Thessalonians 5.6]] | So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled.** (CSB) - ##### **[[1 Peter 5.8]] | Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.** (CSB) - Marijuana ALWAYS lowers one's ability to fight against temptation and sin. - ## **The Worship Argument** - **Claim** - *Marijuana helps me worship God by lowering my inhibitions, limiting distractions, and freeing my mind to hear from the divine.* - The Bible rejects intoxication as a path to worship. - ##### **[[John 4.24]] | God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”** (CSB) - ##### **[[Leviticus 10.8]] | The Lord spoke to Aaron:** (CSB) - ##### **[[Leviticus 10.9]] | “You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Leviticus 10.10]] | You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean,** (CSB) - The Bible bars us from self-styled worship. - ##### **[[Leviticus 10.1]] | Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Leviticus 10.2]] | Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.** (CSB) - ## **The Privacy Argument** - **Claim** - *My use of marijuana is private and safe. No one is hurt by my personal use of the drug. Romans 14 emphasizes that matters of conscience and personal practice should not be judged if they do not harm others. Since marijuana use in private harms no one, it should be treated as a matter of liberty. It is not anyone else's business. My body; my choice.* - With the Lord, nothing is private. - Sin is sin whether others know about it or not. - ##### **[[Ecclesiastes 12.14]] | For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Luke 8.17]] | For nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t be made known and brought to light.** (CSB) - Romans 14 is about matters of indifference not sin. - It focuses on eating meat and observing holidays. - It does not undo all of the commands and prohibitions of the Bible. - Your body is NOT your own. - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 6.19]] | Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,** (CSB) - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 6.20]] | for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.** (CSB) - Sin is sin because God says it is sin not because it harms others. - And you are not the final judge in what harms others and what does not. - ## **The Legalism Argument** - **Claim** - *The Bible never mentions nor condemns the use of marijuana or cannabis. Therefore your ban on its safe use amounts to nothing more than legalism. Christians should be cautious about declaring what God has not declared.* - The Bible condemns intoxication broadly. - The Bible also does not condemn online porn, but it does condemn lust. - ## **The Freedom in Christ Argument** - **Claim** - *I have freedom in Christ, and the Bible says that everything is permissible for me (1 Corinthians 6.12). I live under grace not law. So, how can you condemn my personal and private use of marijuana?* - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 6.12]] | “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.** (CSB) - Paul is citing a Corinthian slogan when he says, "Everything is permissible." - In the very next verse, Paul upholds the biblical prohibition against sexual immorality. - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 6.13]] | “Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will do away with both of them. However, the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.** (CSB) - Freedom in Christ is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin. - ##### **[[Romans 6.18]] | and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Galatians 5.13]] | For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.** (CSB) - ##### **[[1 Peter 2.16]] | Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.** (CSB) - ## **The Medical Marijuana Argument** - **Claim** - *Many doctors claim that medical uses of marijuana are effective in treating medical problems such as chronic pain, nausea, and epilepsy. So, my use of marijuana is just my own application of this drug to my medical needs. If anything, the only sin is that I prescribed my own medication and you are guilty of the same when you prescribe yourself two aspirin.* - There’s a categorical difference between a doctor prescribing a controlled substance in measured doses for specific conditions and someone using marijuana recreationally. - The end does not justify the means. - The Bible never authorizes sin just because something has a perceived benefit. - Drunkenness to “ease anxiety” is still sin, even if the person claims it helps them relax. - ## **The Fallacy of Composition** - **Claim** - *On the extreme edge of this debate the lines between right and wrong are fuzzy. Hospitals use cocaine every day in many nasal and sinus surgeries. No one criticizes that and calls it sin. And cocaine is more addictive and dangerous than marijuana. So, if doctors figured out a way to replace their cocaine use in sinus surgeries with marijuana, that would be ok? If that is ok, then all marijuana use is ok.* - The fallacy of composition occurs when someone assumes that what is true of the parts must also be true of the whole. - Just because you can come up with some scenario where the ethics of marijuana use are fuzzy, does not mean that in the big issue, the ethics are fuzzy. - Illustration of faulty logic and the fallacy of composition: - It is ok and beneficial to light a fire in your fireplace in your home on a cold day. - Therefore, lighting a fire in your house is wise. - So, I think I will light a fire in the middle of my dining room. - ## **The Category Confusion** - **Claim** - *Incense, oil, and other natural herbs were used in Old Testament worship as part of sacrifices and priestly rituals. God clearly gave Israel fragrant plants and resins (like frankincense and myrrh) that were burned in worship. If God prescribed plant-based incense to create an atmosphere of holiness and divine presence, then cannabis can likewise be used to enhance spiritual experience and connection with God. After all, it’s just another plant God made that produces a fragrance when burned.* - The argument wrongly assumes that **all plants are interchangeable in worship** just because God commanded the use of some. - In the Old Testament, God was extremely specific about which incense, oils, and plants were permitted. - ##### **[[Exodus 30.37]] | As for the incense you are making, you must not make any for yourselves using its formula. It is to be regarded by you as holy—belonging to the Lord.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Exodus 30.38]] | Anyone who makes something like it to smell its fragrance must be cut off from his people.”** (CSB) - **OT incense and oils** symbolized **prayers ascending to God, consecration, and holiness**. - ##### **[[Psalm 141.2]] | May my prayer be set before you as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Revelation 5.8]] | When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.** (CSB) - The Old Testament incense and oil rituals were shadows pointing to Christ. - ##### **[[Hebrews 10.1]] | Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.** (CSB) - ## **The Addiction and Gateway Argument** - [[Joe Carter]] wrote: - Studies have found that 9 percent of those who experiment with marijuana will become addicted, 17 percent of those who start using marijuana as teenagers will become addicted, and 25–50 percent of those who use daily will become addicted. Research also estimates that approximately 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder. - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christians-oppose-marijuana-legalization/ - ## **The Health Argument** - [[Joe Carter]] wrote: - A study in New Zealand found an average loss of eight IQ points with early persistent teen use of marijuana. “If you already have a high IQ, a drop in 8 points may mean the difference between making As and making Bs,” says Stuyt, “however for the person with an average IQ of 100 (50th percentile), a loss of 8 points can put that person in the 29th percentile with significant difficulty in functioning.” - Marijuana use is also correlated with creating or worsening many mental health problems including anxiety, depression, psychosis, and suicidal ideation. A study in Australia followed 1,600 girls for seven years starting before they displayed symptoms of mental illness or substance abuse. The researchers concluded, “Frequent cannabis use in teenage girls predicts later depression and anxiety, with daily users carrying the highest risk. - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christians-oppose-marijuana-legalization/ - ## **The Idolatry Argument** - [[Allen Tomlinson]] wrote: - The sin involved in drunkenness is ultimately the sin of idolatry. It is trying to find joy and experience reality on a higher level by this natural substance instead of by the gospel. When either drunkenness or hallucinogenic drugs are used for a “high,” this is an alternate approach to reality and wholeness, to that approach which we call the gospel. It is in Jesus Christ that the Christian finds help in times of discouragement; it is in Jesus Christ that the Christian experiences the joy of salvation and renewal of one’s thinking and life; it is in Jesus Christ that the Christian finds wholeness. Any other approach, including that of mind-altering drugs, is a form of idolatry. - https://opc.org/os.html?article_id=739 - [[Todd Miles]] wrote: - ==Let’s be specific about marijuana. If your desire for marijuana is so great that you risk harm to self or others in order to use the drug, then you have been mastered by marijuana.== - # The Right Question - [[Sam Storms]] wrote: - We ask... - “What’s wrong with it?” - “Why shouldn’t I?” - “How far can I go and still not sin?” - Perhaps we should ask... - “Will it promote the cause of Christ?” - “Will this activity lead me and others to treasure Jesus above all else?” - “Will it help me fight the fight of faith with greater success?” - “Will it sharpen and intensify my knowledge of Christ and my commitment to glorify him in all things?” - Asking those questions may well elicit a different answer from the one we typically hear. - # Bonus Content - [[Todd Miles]] presents a number of questions to help Christians determine if they should participate in some activity... - _Am I fully persuaded that this activity is right?_ (Rom. 14:14, 22–23). - ##### **[[Romans 14.14]] | I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.22]] | Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.23]] | But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.** (CSB) - _Can I practice the activity as “for the Lord”?_ (Rom 14:6–8). - ##### **[[Romans 14.6]] | Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.7]] | For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.8]] | If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.** (CSB) - _Can I engage in the activity without being a stumbling block to my brothers and sisters in Christ?_ (Rom. 14:13, 15, 20–21). - ##### **[[Romans 14.13]] | Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.15]] | For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy, by what you eat, someone for whom Christ died.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.20]] | Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.21]] | It is a good thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.** (CSB) - _Does the activity promote righteousness, peace, and joy?_ (Rom 14:17, 19a). - ##### **[[Romans 14.17]] | for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Romans 14.19]] | So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.** (CSB) - _Does the activity edify others?_ (Rom. 14:19b). - ##### **[[Romans 14.19]] | So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.** (CSB) - _Is this practice profitable?_ (1 Cor. 6:12a). - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 6.12]] | “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.** (CSB) - _Does this activity enslave me?_ (1 Cor. 6:12b). - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 6.12]] | “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.** (CSB) - _Does this activity bring glory to God?_ (1 Cor. 10:31). - ##### **[[1 Corinthians 10.31]] | So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.** (CSB) - _Is the Holy Spirit guiding me into this activity?_ (Gal. 5:16–18; Rom. 8). - ##### **[[Galatians 5.16]] | I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Galatians 5.17]] | For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.** (CSB) - ##### **[[Galatians 5.18]] | But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.** (CSB)