In my past i used to be an alcoholic, i would drink almost daily if i could. More so because of the people i hung around & be drunk all the time. After the backlash of sin i was separated not only from my job, but from my drinking buddies as well from Japan. Fast forward a few years, i haven't had a touch of alcohol in about 3 years. About a few months ago, i ran across a website that claimed to preach the true gospel, one of the many things that struck me was the topic of drinking.
I clearly understand now that drinking is NOT a sin. Allow me to explain before someone spits fire at me :D'. I'll start with what the bible says about being "drunk".
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1 Corinthians 6:9 "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,"
6:10 "Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
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Galatians 5:21 "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."
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No reason at all to argue or say otherwise. Yet here we are with a verse that clearly shows that desiring "WINE or STRONG DRINK" during the Feast of Tabernacles is acceptable.
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Deuteronomy 14:26 "And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,"
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There's also that misconception that wine in the bible is actually grape juice but this is simply not true. As far back as Genesis, if you take a look at Noah when he drank wine, it clearly states he was drunken. Genesis 9:21 "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was
uncovered within his tent."
If Noah wasn't drunk he wouldn't have slept naked with his sons being able to see him which was shown throughout the rest of Genesis 9. That was a big indicator for those claiming it was grape juice. Or how about Nabal? I Samuel 25:36 states, �Nabal held a feast�and Nabal�s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken.� This is another proof that wine was an intoxicating drink.
Let's have a look where wine is perfectly acceptable, when Jesus turned water into wine :). John 2:1-12 shows Jesus at a wedding & when this miracle took place he not only approved of wine, he served it to everyone in attendance. Jesus would NOT allow someone to sin on special occasions only nor was this miracle backwards from wine to water :D. The truth is alcoholic drinks are perfectly fine to consume as long as you didn't abuse it!
Genesis 14:18 reveals Melchizedek/Melchisedec (who i believe is Jesus in the Old Testament!) serving wine to Abraham as well.
Hebrews 7 identifies this person.
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Hebrews 7:1-3 "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually."
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With that understanding it reveals Jesus had a much larger role than people thought. There's more scripture that reveals Jesus was in the Old Testament but i'll get off subject lol.
In 1 Timothy 5:23 we are told of benefits of using wine long before modern studies showed it was good for us :). "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."
Wine (with a small amount of oil) was also used as an antiseptic to treat wounds (Luke 10:30-37), nowadays we use rubbing alcohol.
With that being said the bible also reveals the sin of being "drunk" described in Proverbs 23:29-35. Its a description of someone being wayyy too drunk. Someone getting into fights, having bloodshot eyes, being belligerent with slurred speech, always complaining, not knowing where hes sleeping (from being too drunk) yet waking up ready for more alcohol etc. One of the passages says "Thine eyes shall behold strange women" (KJV)..i understood that as "beer goggles" lol.
So now you understand why i believe without a doubt drinking "wine or strong drink" is not a sin. It's only when you cross that line & misuse it, it becomes a sin! Wine is meant to be merry to the heart (Psalm 104:15, Ecclesiastes 10:19). Personally its been sometime since i been drinking, but i will on special occasions & i'll do it the way God intended, responsibly :).
I realized the topic would be controversial, but i think it's the kind of topics we need to bring up. If i was someone curious who never read the bible and i read say 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 i'd read drunkards wouldn't inherit the kingdom of God. Yet if i read John 2:1-12 seeing Christ himself serving wine, questions would arise with 4 logical explanations (or more).
1. Either the bible is contradicting itself (which i don't believe).
2. Wine is actually grape juice. Which wouldn't make sense to me for Noah to not only be drunk & naked (Genesis 9:21-23), but in Genesis 9:24 it says, "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him." This passage to me gives the impression this wine either made him sleep or knocked him out. Grape juice shouldn't do that, let alone make him sleep butt naked for his son to cover him up :laugh:.
3. Christ is only allowing some people to commit sin (definitely not true).
4. Or wine is actually an alcoholic drink in the bible & Christ was trying to show us an example of drinking responsibly (not being drunk) along with stories of those who abused it (committed sin).
If i'm out of the loop on something someone let me know. I feel like i was spot on, but i can admit i'm wrong if there's scripture to prove otherwise :). I also read the word used for wine in Hebrew was Yayin which means "fermented wine". I don't know Hebrew so i can't really verify that.
I think with alcohol, things can potentially get very out of control very quickly, or maybe it is completely controllable; it depends on the person really. I think that just as everyone has different strengths, everyone has different weaknesses. Some people are really easily enticed by money and greed, others get into trouble with sex, while still others have quite a selection of things to be abusing. The idea of consuming alcohol being a sin is really a strict interpretation of the letter of the law, but it goes even beyond that: like the Jewish leaders used to "fence the Torah" by making more laws to ensure that you follow the Torah laws (you can't possible break the Torah if you're obeying their stricter laws). Essentially, Jesus boiled down all of the laws God ever gave us with the simplistic guideline of love God, love others. That of course implies the fullness of what love really means (sacrifice, truth, depth, commitment, etc) even though our definition of love has been brutally corrupted in this day and age, but it gets the point across if you remember what love really is.
Anyways, the fulfillment of the law is not in the obedience to the "letter of the law" but rather to the "spirit of the law" (which of course is different entirely). Were the Jewish leaders of Jesus' time pleasing to God? I suspect not, given Jesus' words to them on multiple occasions. That's because they were caught up in the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law, why God gave it.
For alcohol, I think it comes down to remaining in control. Clearly, the Biblical characters used wine as a common drink (yes, some did get drunk sometimes), but that doesn't give it a moral value in itself. Know this well: there is no moral or immoral object; it is entirely how it is used that gives it positive or negative morality. This is a big hurdle for a lot of Christians to get over, but it really is true. Guns are not inherently evil; they can be used for great good (hunting for food). Knives are not inherently evil (surgeons use scalpels for medicine). Our minds, our knowledge too is basically just a tool, but directed by our intentions and how we use it. It's like having anything be a big ship, but our use of it being the rudder in determining whether it is good or bad. So, alcohol is just another tool for humanity to use (or misuse) for good or bad. That's part of the beauty of our freedom God gives us: he lets us have choice, which is the ultimate power over our lives... including the choice to do right or do wrong, to submit to Him or to engage in folly.
In a few of my posts, I've tried to give a good definition of sin, which I think is best described as "that which is contrary to the character of God's Holiness." Again, I'd like to point out that Jesus drank wine, and since he was indeed God the Son then I think that shows via logic that it is impossible for God to be contrary to God and still be God. Since Jesus is God, he cannot be contrary to himself and therefore alcohol consumption is not in itself a sin.
I realize this is a long explanation that has gone many different directions, but my point is this: alcohol is not inherently evil, nor does it have the same effect on everyone. Some people get hooked on it, others are completely unaffected by its pull to get addicted to it. Like with meat sacrificed to idols and causing another brother to stumble, I think that applies here with alcohol: in my opinion, it's not a sin (necessarily) to consume alcohol (but it depends on why and how much / drunkenness) but don't drink in front of someone whose conscience is offended by it, or especially someone with a tendency toward addiction to alcohol.
Now, that doesn't mean I endorse drinking of alcohol; I don't. I don't like anything about it. I however do not have a problem if one of my friends (who is a Christian) drinks some wine or something when I'm around. Christianity is all about how strong your personal relationship with God is through Christ, and it follows one real rule: love. If you're married to someone you genuinely love very much, I imagine that adultery would not be something you'd have to write a law against because if you're loving your spouse enough, you would never commit adultery because you're too busy living for them. Same thing with Christianity: if you're busy loving God and living for him, you won't find yourself living in sin except for when you're not truly loving God. All that to say, I think loving God wholeheartedly is not blocked by alcohol.
If you are born again, you should be of a heart to heed all truth, by the spirit of God that lives and abides within you, if you are willing to walk in the truth.
Here is an true example of those that approached this truth by reasoning, There was a woman that had been a drunkard until she was saved and was immediately delivered of this bondage, but she was in a restaurant one day having lunch after church, and the pastor and quest speaker where having a glass of wine with lunch. So what do you think the woman did and yes the story was she fell in to the old ways and died a drunkard.
Some would tell you the two that where drinking and influenced where not at fault, but you can rest assured that is not the disposition the lord Jesus had concerning the matter.
You have one scripture that seems to say it is ok, and all should know why that is in the bible if you are born again.
whoops, forgot to add John 2:1-12 in that first post.
"And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days."
If i didn't make it clear, i'm not saying its ok to get drunk. I do believe it's acceptable to drink, but i understand not everyone is the same when it comes to drinking. Nor should anyone be forced to if they don't want to. If we compare all the scripture that talk about wine i think we'll be surprised to see alcohol consumption is ok along with situations where it's not.
