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Drinking Alcohol
There are Christians who
in
reading this article are quick to claim the gift of salvation that has been
offered to us, but are equally quick in ducking responsibility when it comes to
obeying God’s laws. The Bible is God’s love letter to us; it is a book that
serves as a manual for how we are to live our lives, what we are to eat and
drink, how to behave, as well as how to treat others. The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years, by some 40 different authors. It is
full of thousands of controversial issues and all the authors agree upon them –
a miracle in of itself. One of the things that are consistently mentioned as
evil is drinking of alcohol.
Alcohol is a good
preservative for everything but brains!
We receive one body here on earth, so if you harm it, then you have to live
with the mess of your own making. Look at the people that have been partying for a
while (drinking, smoking, drugs), their bodies become wasted, and they just
look like death warmed over. The human body is amazing and has to be one of God’s best
biological designs; it takes a licking and keeps on ticking. However, after a while
it becomes worn out and starts to break down. It is then that we notice
change is needed, but it is too late, the damage is already there. The
answer lies not in management of a bad situation, but in prevention of it. We
need to make the change before our body forces us to do so. God doesn’t want us to be sick,
on the contrary, he wants us to
be healthy. Why do we then bring sickness on ourselves and expect God to heal us
for the damage that we caused ourselves? I propose that it’s not God’s will
to heal us when we are sick, but that we never get sick in the first place! We are quick to claim
all the blessings that God has for us, but not so swift to recognize that the
curses that are in store for us when we do not obey the Word of the Lord.
This then brings us up to the million
dollar question, "Should Christians today drink alcohol?" Many Christians
simply cannot give an answer using the Bible,
part of the reason for this is that the Bible
does not pronounce clearly on the matter of abstinence. It is often alleged that
a stand against Christians drinking alcoholic beverage is unscriptural and is an
improper binding of the conscience of others. While it is a fundamental
principle of Christianity that each individual has a right to act in agreement
with his own conscience before God and in the light of written revelation, it
should always be remembered that conscience is not an infallible guide. Our
conscience about a given issue is not to act independently of Scripture but is
to be shaped by the teaching of the Word of God, whether that teaching is
clearly stated or implied. While there is no express command in Scripture
prohibiting the consumption of alcohol there are other Scriptural principles
which can be applied to the case of the Christian's use of alcohol.
The Biblical principles of
personal separation from the world:
Pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James
1:27
The maintenance of a good
testimony go a long way in making a firm case for a Christian abstaining from
all non-medicinal use of alcohol.
Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven. Matthew 5:16
There may be some aspects of this issue that
are not clear at first but there is no doubt that the Scripture condemns
drunkenness in the plainest possible terms. There are numerous
clear statements in Scripture!
Let us walk honestly, as in the day;
not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in
strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Romans 13:13-14
Drunkenness is the mark of those who are in the darkness of
spiritual night, it is the mark of those who have not put on the Lord Jesus
and who fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
But now I have written unto you not
to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to
judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them
that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that
wicked person. I Corinthians 5:11-13
Again Paul is writing to believers and is urging separation from one who
commits, among other sins, the sin of drunkenness. He goes on to label someone
like that a "wicked
person" in verse 13.
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God. I Corinthians 6:9-10
...Be ye holy; for I am holy.
I Peter 1:16
Here the seriousness of
drunkenness is obvious for it is the mark of those who are on their way to Hell.
No drunkard will be found in heaven, for it is a sin and therefore cannot exist
there because of God's holiness. Therefore if drunkenness will not be
allowed in heaven, why should it be practiced here on earth?
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before,
as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Drunkenness is a mark of the
flesh, which is the sinful part of us. Paul is arguing in the context that the
Flesh and the Spirit are contrary one to another, constantly competing to see
who will win out. Those who live indulging in the lusts of the flesh - one of
which is drunkenness - are not living for God and
listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Christians,
who are honestly seeking the truth, find yet another unmistakable command from
Paul, forbidding drunkenness.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein
is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Ephesians 5:18
In Scripture drunkenness is
presented as an evil that leads to yet more sin. In Genesis
9:21, we find the first reference in Scripture to the consumption
of wine. It leads to drunkenness. The offender here is Noah, the man of God! As a further consequence the curse of God comes upon
Canaan, Ham's son. Noah's drunkenness has a large part to play in the curse of
God coming upon his offspring!
It is one of the marks of apostasy in the nation and of moral and spiritual
decline when drunkenness increases.
But they also have
erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and
the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they
are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in
judgment. Isaiah 28:7
Drunkenness is seen as the cause of much misery:
Who
hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath
wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the
wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is
red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the
last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall
behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou
shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon
the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick;
they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet
again. Proverbs 23:29-35
Drunkenness is a sin upon which God has pronounced His woe!
Woe unto them
that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that
continue until night, till wine inflame them! Isaiah 5:11
In the light
of the serious nature of this sin, and the solemn things God has said about
those who engage in it, no Christian should have any desire to even come close
to committing it. Yet it is a sad feature of many Christians that they want to
be the Lord's and yet walk as close to the Devil as possible. It is precisely
this kind of mentality that motivates many to drink alcohol so long as they can
avoid drunkenness.
All that has been said so far relates to the abuse
of alcohol and the question still remains, "Should Christians drink alcohol at
all?" Does the Scripture merely forbid its abuse? The words of Paul to
Timothy are often wrongly used
as an argument in defense of the Christian's right to drink alcohol in
moderation.
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's
sake and thine often infirmities. I Timothy 5:23
It should be noted that
Paul only advocates the use of wine for medicinal use. Wine was used as a
medicine in Biblical times. Luke 10:34 records that the Good Samaritan in the
parable used oil and wine as medications for the wounded victim of
the thieves; Proverbs 31:6 states, "Give strong drink unto him that is ready
to perish;" and Mark 15:23, records wine being offered to Christ as He is
about to be crucified.
Even in this medical context Paul speaks only of
"a
little wine." It is clear from these words that what Paul is
speaking of, is the addition of a little wine to the water Timothy is drinking in
order to make it safe to drink. The water supply in the Middle East and
especially in Bible times was far from healthy. Sickness
was the regular consequence of drinking water that had not been sterilized by
a
little wine. This point will also nullify the objection that is often
raised that the Lord Jesus, His disciples, and all the people of God since the
beginning of time did indeed drink wine. The reasoning of Paul for Timothy
to use "a little wine" can hardly be said to prevail today! We are blessed with the
provision of water that is not a threat to health. Paul's direction to Timothy
does not give any believer license to drink wine as a beverage. He does
not
advocate drinking wine instead of water. It is noteworthy that he speaks of
"drinking water" and "using" the wine; the wine was to complement
the water, not replace it. At most his words
permit the medicinal use of alcohol.
It is of the utmost importance to
understand that Timothy had been in the
practice of abstaining from even from "a little wine",
even as drinking the contaminated water was making him sick. He had
often suffered
infirmities rather than drink wine in even its most diluted form,
his self-denial in this matter is remarkable. It is to the one who is in the habit
of denying the appetites of the body that Paul gives this counsel.
Timothy's example of abstinence from alcohol is complemented by others in
Scripture.
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Samson (Judges 13:1-25)
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John the Baptist (Luke 1:15)
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The Rechabites (Jeremiah 35:5-6,
13-14, 18-19)
The idea of abstinence from wine as an aspect of service for God is seen in the
command to the Priests:
Do not drink wine nor strong drink,
thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the
congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your
generations: Leviticus 10:9
It is also seen in God's instructions to
Moses regarding the Nazarites:
He shall separate himself from wine and
strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink,
neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
Numbers 6:3
Any abstinence from wine
must be done out of love for the Lord an as service for Him if it is to be
spiritually profitable. Any other motive will tend only to the bondage of Phariseeism!
Remember that at the heart of this question lies the issue of the
appetites of the flesh and how far they should be indulged. Often there is a
thin dividing line between necessary use of something and carnal indulgence in
it. It is easy to progress from one to the other! One important question to be
asked in this context is, "Is it more important to be able to indulge a
taste for wine than it is to be a good witness for Christ and to avoid being a
stumbling block to others?"
We should always be ready to deny ourselves, even something that may be
perfectly legitimate and justifiable, if it will stand in the way of witness for
Christ or will be a hindrance to ourselves or others. Scripture teaches this
very clearly:
Let us not therefore judge one
another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an
occasion to fall in his brother's way... It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to
drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is
made weak. Romans 14:13, 21
In Scripture,
the term "brother" refers to family
members, fellow human beings, and other believers in Christ. We should never act in such a way as to cause ourselves or another
believer to fall or be hindered in their walk with Christ, nor should we be a
stumbling block in the sinner's path to the Savior.
It should also be remembered that any carnal appetite that is indulged can grow
to exercise destructive effects. An appetite that is restrained and controlled
today but is fed and indulged can be uncontrollable tomorrow. None should ever
forget that the harvest of indulging the flesh is very often reaped in our
children. David reaped the consequence of his sin with Bathsheba in their son
and in Absalom. A father may well be able to control his appetite for wine, but
his indulgence may well be laying a snare for his child that will keep them out
of Heaven. In this context we do well to bear the words of Paul in mind:
But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a
stumblingblock to them that are weak. I Corinthians 8:9
There are many things not specifically forbidden in Scripture that we may
properly engage in but which are neither profitable nor convenient.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not
expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
I
Corinthians 10:23
In an
age when alcohol is one of the Devil's foremost means of ensnaring souls and
bringing them to temporal and eternal ruin surely the drinking of alcohol by the
Christian is one such matter that is not expedient.
We would do well to remember what the evangelist
Billy Sunday said about alcohol:
"Whiskey is all right in its place –
but its place is hell!"
Bibliography
Thorell, Charles, European
American Evangelistic Crusades, Sacramento, CA
Foster, Andrew, Free Presbyterian
Church, Penticton, British Columbia
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