God's Word About Drugs by Richard L. Ward
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Everyone is exposed to the temptation to use drugs. Matthew 10: 28 states, “And do not fear
those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." In this verse, Jesus is telling us to fear God,
because only He has the power to destroy both the body and soul of a man.
My objective is to show you how God’s word applies to drugs. My thesis is that drugs are so
offensive to God that if you use them, you could lose both your life and your soul.
In my life, drugs have almost killed me twice. The first time was in 1971. I was in Vietnam and
had driven 50 miles to deliver some reports to Army headquarters in Saigon. I was with a
friend and after we delivered the reports we ate at a nice restaurant in downtown Saigon. As
we were leaving town, I bought some cigarettes from a street vendor. He offered us a package
of marijuana cigarettes, which we bought and smoked as we drove back to the army base in
Long Bin. I started getting sick and I had my friend stop several times so I could get out and
vomit. After we got back I went to bed. I had stomach cramps and a high fever. I was afraid to
ask for help and go to the infirmary. I was afraid to tell them I had been smoking marijuana. I
was sick and confused and terrified as I shivered and prayed. I thank the Lord that I was better
the next day. I realized later that I had probably had food poisoning from the seafood I had
eaten at the restaurant. The marijuana almost killed me because it prevented me from getting
the medical help I needed. I couldn't deal with a life threatening crisis because I was too
stoned.
You never know when you will have to deal with a crisis in your life. The devil will use sin to
disable you. He will attack you at your weakest and most vulnerable moment, just as he
tempted Jesus when He had been fasting for forty days in the wilderness. Don’t put your own
foot in his trap, because he is waiting for you to make that mistake. His traps have sharp teeth
to tear into your flesh and drag you down into hell. Don’t be deceived. Drugs will kill you dead.
The second time drugs almost killed me was worse than the first. Proverbs 26: 1 says that, "...
As a dog will return to his vomit, a fool will return to his folly." Just so, I returned to using
marijuana. I was in college in 1978 and I had started smoking marijuana on a fairly regular
basis. Spiritually, I was far from the Lord. I wasn’t attending church and I wasn’t even sure I
believed in God. One night I told my wife that I felt like I had lost my soul. I flushed the
marijuana down the toilet, and called my aunt Micky to ask her to pray for me. She had been
healed of bone cancer and spent her days visiting the hospital and praying for people. I told my
aunt that I felt cold and empty, like I had lost my soul. It was worse than physical death. She
prayed for me and I felt the warmth and comfort of the Holy Spirit return to me. I know how
David felt in Psalm 51: 11 when he cried out to the Lord, “Do not cast me away from Your
presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.” The fear that God might take away
the Holy Spirit is the greatest fear of all.
Now I realize that I have been in a fight with the devil all of my life. He has knocked me down
twice with drugs. Now it’s time for me to hit back with the word of God. Let’s consider the
verses in Leviticus 10: 1 & 2. I believe these verses are specifically about drugs, and they
clearly illustrate what Jesus taught about fearing the Lord. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered
strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the
Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.”
The King James translation says the priests brought strange fire before the Lord. The New
King James translation calls it profane fire. The revised Standard translation calls it unholy
fire. I believe that the Lord has revealed to me that these priests brought drugs before the Lord
and profaned the alter with them.
Like Aaron and his sons, we are called to be holy and clean and to never be intoxicated with
strange fire, wine nor strong drink in the tabernacle of the congregation. I believe that we are
called to an even higher standard than Aaron and his sons, because now God dwells within us
and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So we are bringing unholiness before God any time
we defile ourselves.
People are often warned that drugs can be harmful to their bodies. Everyone knows that
people accidentally overdose with drugs and die physically. Everyone needs to be told what
Jesus taught, which is that we should fear God, who can kill both the body and the soul. Drugs
are more deadly than you have ever imagined, not because they might harm your body, but
because they are an offense to God, who can kill both your body and your soul.
When I was walking into church one day I asked the Lord to give me His reasons why drugs
were wrong. Immediately, seven reasons were given to me. I sat down and wrote them down
as quickly as I could so I wouldn’t forget any of them. Today, I want to share with you the things
God told me about drugs. The seven reasons that drugs are wrong are seven lies that the
people believe when they choose to use drugs. The same lies can lead people into
depression and all kinds of other problems in life. So if you are thinking that this message
doesn’t apply to you, rest assured that the devil tries to deceive everyone with these lies.
Here are the seven deadly lies:
1. Life is more than I can handle.
2. God cannot restore my joy.
3. God cannot deliver or protect me from my enemy.
4. God cannot meet my needs.
5. My sins are unforgivable.
6. My feelings are more important than God’s plan.
7. I can handle my own problems.
1. The first lie that the devil uses to get people to use drugs is this: “Life is more than I can
handle.” If you believe that lie, there are two things you might do. One is to use stimulant drugs
so you can get more done. You might use methamphetamines or cocaine to give you the
energy and stamina you think you need to deal with your situation.
The other thing you might do is to use drugs like marijuana or heroin to escape the pressure or
numb the pain. Instead of trying to artificially energize yourself with stimulants you might
choose to mentally and emotionally check out. When some people are challenged by life, they
give up. They take drugs, stick their heads in the sand, and say “wake me up when this part of
my life is over.” They are afraid of trying and failing, so they bury their talents and quit.
In Matt 25: 14-30, Jesus told a parable about a master who gave money to three different men.
The first two used their abilities and doubled what was entrusted to them. T he third one buried
his out of fear. The Lord called the third servant lazy and wicked and said he would be cast into
darkness. People who bury their talents by using drugs are placing their souls in peril.
I studied a commentary about this parable which was written by Charles Spurgeon in the
1800's. Spurgeon wrote “If we cannot trade directly and personally on our Lord’s account, if we
have not the skill or the tact to manage a society or enterprise for Him, we may at least
contribute to what others are doing, and join our capital to theirs, so that, by some means, our
Master may have the interest to which He is entitled.”
If the devil deceives us into believing life is more than we can handle, he can lead us to believe
we need drugs to help us cope with our problems. The truth is that life is not more than you
can handle. You must rebuke the devil with the truth. Here is a verse you will need to rebuke
the lie. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
2. The second lie the devil uses to tempt people to use drugs is this: “God cannot restore my
joy.” You may think you are so low that only a drug can get you high, but that’s the Devil’s lie. If
you are in a dark hole surrounded by jackals, and you shoot or smoke something that makes
you feel high while you are still sitting in a deep hole, you need to open your eyes and see the
truth, as painful as that might be. If your hand is slipping on the rope of life, God will knot the
rope for you. He will give you a stronger grip, and lift you to a place that is higher than you have
ever stood before. You will really be there, and the feeling won’t be an illusion created by a
chemical.
The truth is that God can and will restore your joy. Psalm 30: 5 promises that, “weeping may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” In John 15: 11 Jesus said “These things
have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
3. The third lie the devil will use to drive you to drugs is, " God cannot deliver me or protect me
from my enemy". I didn’t say “enemies” because you really only have one. His name is
Lucifer, the fallen angel of light. T he truth is that God has defeated the devil and our Lord Jesus
took the keys of death. The truth is that God can and will deliver you from your enemy.
The devil’s only real power is through deception. Lies are often the source of our problems in
life. John 8:44, Jesus told us that the devil is the father of lies. If he can get us to believe lies
about ourselves or other people or about the world around us, then he can lead us into
destruction.
In Rev 1: 18 Jesus declares, “I am He who lives, and was dead; and behold, I am alive
forevermore, Amen; and I have the keys of Hades and of death.” It is a great comfort to know
that only Jesus holds the keys to death. It is wonderful to know that only your dearest friend can
decide if and when the best time has come for you to join Him. The devil doesn’t have that
power.
The amazing power that protects those who call upon the Lord is described in Psalm 91: 7-11.
“A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not come
near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you
have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall
befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge
over you, To keep you in all your ways.”
Even when it may seem to you that all hope is lost and the devil has a noose around your neck
and is going to hang you with the rope of your sin, Jesus is there to cut the rope and deliver you
from the fiend of hell.
4. The devil’s fourth lie about drugs is, "God cannot meet my needs". The truth is that God’s
provisions for us are sufficient. God can and will meet all of our needs. Drugs cannot meet
any need. They can only create a new need, which is the need for the drug.
One of the greatest needs we all have is the need for friendship. Our Christian faith is the
strongest basis for friendship. Jesus told us “This is my commandment, that ye love one
another, as I have loved you.” So, if you are seeking true friends, don’t join the drug club to
have someone to hang out with. Join a church and share the love of Jesus Christ. You can run
out of money and you can run out of drugs, but you can never run out of Jesus.
Do you worry about not having enough food or clothes? In Matthew 6: 31-33, Jesus said,
“Therefore do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat? Or What shall we drink? Or What shall we
wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you” The truth is that the Lord can and will meet any need you have.
5. The fifth lie is “My sins are unforgivable.” Some who are using drugs are trying to numb the
pain of sin, which is guilt. It is in our nature to try to justify our sin and in that way to forgive
ourselves. If you try to justify or deny your sin, it will do you in. The Lord won’t buy it, so don’t
even try it. Romans 3: 23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
We must all acknowledge sin, as David did in Psalm 51: 1-3. King David cried out and “Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving-kindness; according unto the multitude of thy
tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me.”
King David realized that the Lord was the only One who could truly remove his guilt.
So the lie that leads people to drugs is that they must either try to deny sin or to forever endure
its pain. The truth is that sin must be confessed to Jesus Christ, who will wash us in the blood
He shed for us.
6. The sixth lie that will lead you to drugs is the belief that “My feelings are more important
than God’s plan.” There are times when it is part of God’s plan for us to endure hardship and
suffering. If we were to numb our feelings with drugs or alcohol we wouldn’t be able to carry out
God’s plan.
God allowed Job to be tested, and Job was in great misery. Even though He allowed Job to
suffer, He did protect him, because He told the devil he was not allowed to kill Job. In Job 2: 9-
10 we are told that his wife didn’t think he should have to endure the pain. She told him he
should curse God and die. He rebuked her, and said he believed that we should receive both
good and evil from God. Job did endure his suffering. He endured his hardship and remained
faithful to God. In chapter 42: 10 we find that after Job prayed and interceded for his friends,
who had angered the Lord, God healed Job and gave him twice as much as he had before his
trials. When we do endure suffering we must trust in the Lord and know that his plan is more
important than our feelings.
7. The seventh lie is that “I can handle my own problems.” Drugs will keep you from learning
what God wants you to learn from your experience. You might get discouraged and use drugs
to pacify your frustration, disappointment, fear or anger. You won’t be able to see when God
shows you why your way isn’t working. Here is a verse to help you fight this lie. Proverbs 3: 5-6
says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your
ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Lord gives us four steps to follow when we call upon Him. The Lord
says “If My people who are called by My name will: (1) humble themselves, and (2) pray, and
(3) seek my face, and (4) turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land.” If you believe the lie that you can handle all of your own
problems you are being prideful. When you step forward with the foot of pride, you are walking
toward destruction. Remember that the first step is to humble ourselves before God.
If you quench the spirit with drugs you may not turn to God to find out what God wants you to
learn. 1 Thess 5: 9 warns us not to quench the Spirit. The truth is that when our ways aren’t
working, we don’t need to turn to drugs or drinking. We need to turn to God and to able to hear
his Spirit.
I want to tell you about a letter which Jude wrote to warn a church about false teachers. He said
they were ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness. In describing them in
verse 19 he says they are “sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the spirit.” In
verse 8 he calls them dreamers. In verse 16 he says they walk according to their own lusts. In
verse 13 he says they are wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
forever. They are so condemned that there is a reserved place for them in the darkness.
Imagine that. Normally when we think of a reserved place we think of a reserved table in a fine
restaurant or the best seats at the baseball game, but the Lord has reserved a very different
place for these sensuous dreamers. They have reserved seats in blackness and darkness
forever. Imagine going into a theatre and sitting in a comfortable stadium seat with arm rests
and when the lights go out you realize you are surrounded by complete darkness and you are
completely alone in your reserved seat as it takes you into the darkest part of outer space and
tumbles you into empty blackness. Drugs could take you to the darkest and loneliest place in
the universe. Don’t make that reservation for yourself. Never turn your back on God by turning
to drugs, alcohol, sex or any other sensual escape from the difficulties you are dealing with in
your life. Turn to God instead.
Please pray this prayer for anyone who is using or who is being tempted to use drugs: This
prayer is from 2 Tim 25-26. Lord, we pray that: “God will grant them repentance, so that they
may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the
devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”