to us by means of a Son [Jesus Christ, whose teachings are recorded in the Bible].”

1 Cor. 13:8: “Whether there are gifts of prophesying [and at times God conveyed prophecies to his servants by means of dreams], they will be done away with.”

2 Tim. 3:16, 17: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching . . . that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”

1 Tim. 4:1: “However, the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances [sometimes conveyed in dreams] and teachings of demons.”

Does the Bible actually forbid the use of drugs for pleasure?

It does not name such substances as heroin, cocaine, LSD, PCP (angel dust), marijuana, and tobacco. But it does provide needed guidelines so that we can know what to do and what to avoid in order to please God. Similarly, the Bible does not say that it is wrong to use a gun to kill someone, but it does forbid murder.

Luke 10:25-27: “‘By doing what shall I inherit everlasting life?’ . . . ‘“You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole strength and with your whole mind,” and, “your neighbor as yourself.”’” (Is a person really loving God with his whole soul and his whole mind if he makes a practice of things that needlessly shorten his life and cause his mind to be blurred? Is he showing love for his neighbor if he steals from others to support his drug habit?)

2 Cor. 7:1: “Since we have these promises [of having Jehovah as our God and our Father], beloved ones, let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God’s fear.” (But can we expect to have God’s approval if we deliberately do things that defile our bodies?)

Titus 2:11, 12: “The undeserved kindness of God which brings salvation to all sorts of men has been manifested, instructing us to repudiate ungodliness and worldly desires and to live with soundness of mind [“be self-restrained,” JB; ‘to live self-controlled lives,’ TEV] and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things.” (Is the use of drugs that impair one’s judgment or that cause a person to lose self-control in harmony with that counsel?)

Gal. 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are . . . practice of spiritism, . . . revelries, and things like these. . . . Those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (The literal meaning of the Greek word phar·ma·kiʹa, here rendered “practice of spiritism,” is “druggery.” An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E. Vine, in commenting on this Greek word, says: “In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.” [London, 1940, Vol. IV, pp. 51, 52] Similarly today, many who use drugs are involved in spiritistic practices or associate with those who are, because a blank mind or one that experiences hallucinations is easy prey to the demons. Compare Luke 11:24-26.)

Titus 3:1: “Be in subjection and be obedient to governments and authorities as rulers.” (In many locations, possession or use of certain drugs is a violation of the law.)

Since some of the drugs may help a person to feel good, are they really so harmful?

2 Tim. 3:1-5: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be . . . lovers of pleasures