Christian Liberty, Drugs, and Alcohol

Ben Hicks

For years, most Christians didn’t seriously consider using drugs. American culture as a whole strongly opposed them through both legislation and resistance programs like DARE. In such an environment, most Christians were happy to follow the trajectory of culture. But things are changing. In 2014, Colorado became the first state where recreational marijuana was legal. As of today, it is now legal in twenty-four states, and a 2024 study found the majority of Americans live in a state where they can legally buy the drug.[1] Within one decade marijuana went from being illegal everywhere in the US to being legal for over half of Americans.

Suddenly the question of whether a young believer can light up a joint and take a puff has become a live issue. Yet in some ways this is merely a new angle on an old debate. Before drugs was the question of alcohol. Coming out of the Prohibition era, churches almost universally agreed that alcohol was evil and no one should touch it. Now churches have “Beer and Bible Studies.” The argument that was used then is the argument some would no doubt like to use now: “I have the Christian liberty to do this.”

Does the Bible teach this? Of course, the Bible teaches that we have liberty in Christ, but what does that mean? Does my freedom in Christ mean that I can down a glass of wine or smoke weed? Wouldn’t forbidding other Christians to use drugs or alcohol be legalism? To answer these questions, we need to look at what the Bible says about Christian liberty. Once we have a better understanding of what Christian liberty is and what it is not, then we can look at the specific question of how Christians should think about such substances.