The following articles are not new. I wrote them a few months ago at The Watchman’s Trumpet, and will be updating and moving them to this site. They will be posted on Wednesday of each week.
Alcohol and the Christian
In the coming days, the Lord willing, I will be writing some articles of alcoholic beverage in the Bible. It is not, nor will it be, my purpose to condemn, but to inform and instruct.
With the way alcoholic drink is being almost revered, and then, accepted by many Christians as an acceptable beverage for having with a meal, or to cool down after a hard days work; is it any wonder that we have families falling apart, children on drugs, and a powerless church. A church who will not stand against the tide of immorality.
A few years ago I had started being more agreeable with many concerning beverage alcohol. After a few years of Bible study, and reading, and seeing the peril and moral dilemmas of beverage alcohol my views have changed. It will be my goal, however to be Biblical in this approach. I can guarantee that my belief will not change. I hate beverage alcohol. I will say too, that I will pray for the leadership of the Spirit of God. I fully know that I have brothers and sisters in Christ who will not view it as I do, but I do see their view as being wrong. They are none the less my brother and sister in Christ.
Let me say right hear. There is no commendation for drinking beverage alcohol in the Bible, but there is commendation given for not drinking it.
First, Let me give you…
A Logical Reason
Before I begin dealing with Biblical reasons for abstaining from beverage alcohol, let me give you just one logical reason.
There are many parents who warn their children to stay away from drugs. There are legal and illegal drugs that they have been warned of. They are warned not to have anything to do with them.
At the same time some of these parents are warning their children they themselves have the drug of beverage alcohol in their homes, go to bars and drink, to parties and drink. Maybe you say, “Well, I only drink one little wine glass”, and what does this say to your child about the doing of drugs?
When you have the most dangerous drug on the street in your house, can you honestly look your child in the eyes and tell him/her to refrain from using drugs. Your drug, Mom and Dad, has killed far more on the highways of our land, ruined more homes, broken up many more marriages, killed more spouses, than these other drugs have.
Now, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, with that glass of wine in your hand, “Don’t use drugs”. Doesn’t that seem even a bit hypocritical? That is how your child will see you.
Just think about it.
-by Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 
Agreed points:
-The Bible condemns drunkenness
-Jesus did not sin nor cause others to do so
-Society has many burdens from alcohol abuse
-God never commands sin nor permits it as part of worship
-The Bible is the word of God, and contains no errors, though a translation and an individual’s interpretation thereof may contain errors
-Steve is not infallible in his interpretation of the Bible
Disagreed points:
-Is going from condemning drunkenness to condemning drinking a human or Biblical reasoning?
-Did Jesus make and drink wine when the Bible says he made (Cana) and drank (Luke 7:33-34) wine?
-Will someone who drinks acohol inevitably and invariably become a drunkard?
-Did the drink offering of “strong wine” contain alcohol? Did the twice daily drink offerings contain alcohol?
-Is wine used as a symbol of joy and the availability of wine as a blessing from God? Or is fermentation only and always a symbol of rot?
I’m utterly certain that’s not how you intended it, but my reading of your statement “I have no answer for the Deut. question. I do however stay pat with my convictions.” implies that you are unwilling to let the Bible change your convictions. It looks as though you are using your conviction to drive your interpretation (or possibly even willingness to accept a passage) rather than vice versa.
I agree that if it were a sin, Jesus would not have created nor have drunk wine. I go from that point to looking in Scripture to find whether drinking alcohol is permissible, whereas you conclude that what he created and drank was not wine. I would say that it is clear that Jesus created and consumed wine, and let that drive my interpretation of Proverbs 23:31, where you use that passage (and the harm that results from sinful misuse of acohol) to drive your interpretation of what Jesus did.
Consider the case of Corinth: people were getting drunk at communion and stuffing themselves before others got there. Did Paul advise them to use only fresh grapes, or to substitute water for the wine, or did he say that they had homes to eat and drink in and that they should wait for each other? 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (Interestingly, there was an early heresy that substituted water for the wine, and was strongly condemned by church leaders of that day)
As for the testimony of drunkards becoming abstinent at conversion, I do not see it as different from homosexuals or other sexually immoral people becoming celibate at conversion, or a greedy person renouncing their wealth at conversion. Neither you nor I would say that all Christians are called to vows of celibacy and poverty.
Hypothetical Question: If it were perfectly clear that the Bible specifically permits drinking alcohol as an act of worship, would that change your conviction that Christians (and all others for that matter) should never drink alcohol?
In the end, it is clear that we are both fully convinced in our own minds that the Bible supports our conclusion and we are both quite unlikely to change the other’s mind with either argument or Scripture. (And I certainly hope for both of us that the latter is only due to differences of interpretation rather than unwillingness to listen to God)
The Lord bless you with his peace.
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Steven,
I cannot begin to answer all of your questions. I do however let Scripture interpret Scripture, and form my convictions based on understanding as best as I can. I just don’s understand how Jesus could go against what He has said in the OT Proverbs concerning alcoholic beverage, for kings and princes not to drink Prov. 31, and He is a King, and was the King when He walked on earth as a man.
We are taught sobriety in Scripture – NT – and that means clear thinking. At what point does one become intoxicated from drinking beverage alcohol? Is it the first drink, or the fifth drink, or the tenth or the twentieth? It seems from what I have witnessed it can begin as early as the first.
So is there a partial drunkenness which is permitted for making clear decisions?
I must follow Scripture and the clear reasoning of a sober mind, that is not influenced by the culture, society, popularity, or prestige.
I choose to remain sober minded; and I believe that Biblically is the right thing for all.
Just my thoughts.
T.A.
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Why would Jesus make a corrupt thing. Fermentation is corruption, or at least a figure of corruption.
What Jesus made at the wedding of Cana was more than wine and more than just juice. It was made without the process of growth through the soil, water, nutrients, the vine, etc. He would not have made something that drunkens people and robs them of their senses.
There is joy in the juices of God’s fruits. More people ought to try them, and be free from the threat of bondage to addiction, alcoholism, and the need for it to.
Why is it the testimony of many people who have been heavy drinkers, when they come to faith in Christ; “I have given up the liquor; or any alcoholic drink” or something similar to that.
The Scriptures does condemn drunkenness, and the best way to avoid drunkenness is to never begin drinking it. I avoid it with a passion. As a matter of fact I hate it with a passion. And I hate what it does to families. Although each individual is responsible for their own actions, when you live in a society which almost pushes it down the throats of its citizens; that culture ends up in drunkenness.
I have no answer for the Deut. question. I do however stay pat with my convictions.
We do not need to be looking for evidence to approve of drinking alcohol in our current culture; but rather ways to be holy, sanctified, and set apart for God; and especially if we are leaders of our churches.
T.A.
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“There is no commendation for drinking beverage alcohol in the Bible, but there is commendation given for not drinking it.”
How do you interpret Deuteronomy 14, which states that the people are allowed to purchase “wine or other fermented drink” to conumse with joy as an act of worship?
How do you interpret the Psalm that says God gives wine “to gladden the heart of man”?
Luke 7:33-34 “John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine… the Son of Man came eating and drinking” What was Jesus drinking?
Isaiah 25:6-9 states that God will set forth a banquet including “aged wine”.
At the wedding in Cana, the steward said they should have brought out the best wine first (what Jesus provided) so that the people would have had enough to not notice the later wine wasn’t as good. In order for them to notice the later wine wasn’t as good requires that the first wine have alcohol in it, which in turn would mean the wine Jesus provided had alcohol in it.
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Thanks Cameron, and Connie for your comments.
This is truly a dangerous drug which is destroying the fabric of our country.
T.A.
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Me too.
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Thanks for posting on this topic! I look forward to reading the subsequent articles.
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