Introduction. The Scriptures are clear that drunkenness and the alcohol that creates it are a portal leading pure and holy men where they would never go sober. Lot and his daughters or Noah on his bed (Gen. 19:30-38; 9:20-24) are both terrible events that would never have occurred if alcohol’s influence had been removed and they were in their right mind. Alcohol can make a fool out of the most righteous and spiritual, by stealing their reasoning ability and dulling their inhibitions. It is alcohol and the drunkenness it creates that leads us into temptation while at the same time decreasing our ability to resist and flee it. God placed drunkenness in the list of vilest sins (Rom. 13:13-14; 1Cor. 5:11; 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21). There can be no doubt that to be drunk is evil.
With this in mind, are there any legitimate uses for alcoholic beverages? Can a Christian drink wine, beer, or liquor for relaxation and enjoyment without the guilt of drunkenness? Scriptures for and against the moderate use of alcohol by Christians have been pitted against each other down through the centuries. Some cite verses where wine is called a blessing, while others find passages calling wine a curse. While some contend that all use of alcohol is wrong, others proclaim that only an immoderate use of alcohol is sinful, and that social drinking is justified for the following reasons:
The most important consideration for those who love the truth is in seeking to harmonize ALL the verses. Sometimes wine is called a blessing from God that should be enjoyed and other times it is called a curse that only the unwise would use. Carefully consider this difference in the following verses. Since the Bible cannot contradict itself, we must cautiously study to find the truth.
With this in mind, are there any legitimate uses for alcoholic beverages? Can a Christian drink wine, beer, or liquor for relaxation and enjoyment without the guilt of drunkenness? Scriptures for and against the moderate use of alcohol by Christians have been pitted against each other down through the centuries. Some cite verses where wine is called a blessing, while others find passages calling wine a curse. While some contend that all use of alcohol is wrong, others proclaim that only an immoderate use of alcohol is sinful, and that social drinking is justified for the following reasons:
- God only condemned drunkenness.
- God called wine a blessing.
- Jesus made water into wine
- Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach.
The most important consideration for those who love the truth is in seeking to harmonize ALL the verses. Sometimes wine is called a blessing from God that should be enjoyed and other times it is called a curse that only the unwise would use. Carefully consider this difference in the following verses. Since the Bible cannot contradict itself, we must cautiously study to find the truth.
- He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, 15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man's heart. (Ps. 104:14-15).
- Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. (Ecc. 9:7).
- Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Pr. 20:1)
- Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. 31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. (Pr. 23:29-33).
- And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ... 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ... 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, (Jn. 2:3)
Alcohol is the Problem!
It is evident that we cannot harmonize these Scriptures if wine means the same thing throughout. Since Scripture can’t be broken, there must be something different about these wines. The only way for “wine” to be a blessing in one passage and a curse in others is if there is something different about the wine itself. The difference Scripture identifies is some wine has alcohol and some does not. The necessary inference is that blessed wine is non-alcoholic, while wine containing alcohol brings a curse. Does this prove true?
First, it was the alcohol in the wine Noah and Lot drank that cursed them. Second, without alcohol, there is no danger of drunkenness. Wine that is only fresh grape juice is a blessing because there is no danger in it. Such wine can “make glad the heart of man.” Third, we can “drink wine with a merry heart” when it contains no alcohol because there is no danger of sin. Fourth, the 120 to 180 gallons of wine Jesus made would have been harmless without alcohol, but extremely dangerous if He made an alcoholic beverage. Only wine with alcohol brings “woe, sorrow, contention, complaining and wounds,” “bites like a serpent and sting like a viper”, and is “a mocker, and a brawler.” There can really be no doubt! It is alcohol that changes wine from a blessing to a curse!
In English we have three words to describe the juice squeezed from grapes. We make a clear distinction by calling them grape juice, wine, and wine vinegar. These are three entirely different substances. The Hebrew and Greek did not have three different words like we do, so the translators had no options. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term “yayin” was used for fresh juice, wine with alcohol, and wine vinegar. In the Greek translation of the OT (Septuagint) and in the Greek NT, the word “oinos” was also used for all three. We only have context to decide which substance is being described. This is why we must use great caution. If we use a passage where wine means fresh grape juice and use it to justify drinking alcohol, we would be wresting the scriptures to our own destruction (2Pet. 3:14-17). The same wine cannot be a blessing and a curse! A distinction must be made. The truth is that God consistently warned against wine with alcohol.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Pr. 20:1)
By linking this wine to strong drink, it is clear that these beverages contain alcohol. It is the intoxicating ability of this wine that makes it a mocker (lit. - making mouths at us). It is alcohol that creates the brawler, leading the wise astray. No one reading this passage could conclude this is fresh grape juice or vinegar. It is the wine with alcohol that mocks us (we would say it sticks out the tongue at us)! When the mask is torn away from this “friend”, it is a hideous face of malicious deception. It bids us drink and be merry, but mocks us behind our back for our folly! As a cunning animal it hides its intentions until we are close enough for it to strike! All who drink wine (containing alcohol) are led astray into a path leading away from wisdom. The farther down the path to alcoholic beverages one walks, the further from the habit of wisdom they will go.
Alcohol is Man’s Enemy!
- Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perverse things. (Pr. 23:29-33).
Wine containing alcohol brings woe, sorrow, contentions, complaining, wounds and red eyes. Only alcohol can make wine do this! It is alcohol that bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Only intoxication allows eyes to “see strange things” and a mind to “utter perverse things.” Can this be the beverage God identified as a blessing? Did Jesus really make a wine that looks red in the cup, but bites like a serpent, leading those who drink it to utter perverse things? It makes no sense that wine is cursed unless He is speaking of alcohol. Only when alcohol is added does wine change from a blessing to a curse.
Medical science and public safety agencies are now validating what God revealed long ago about alcohol’s curse. Once in the brain and before it touches motor skills, it is affecting inhibition and compromising the conscience. Things godly people would never do sober, they will do after a few drinks. Even when motor skills are intact, one can still be drunk enough to sin. Those who drink socially may never stagger or slur their speech, but still be drunk enough to succumb to temptation.
The first drink of alcohol can make the impossible frighteningly possible! Only those who refuse to drink from the sparkling cup can be assured they are sober! The transition from friend to enemy occurs almost immediately after the first drink. The impairment of conscience is the first thing alcohol affects and begins to lose the capacity of sound judgment.
Sadly, statistics continue to prove that alcohol is man’s enemy. More than ten percent who take a first drink will become alcoholics. Fifty percent of traffic fatalities, murders, divorces, and violent crime are directly related to alcohol. Think of it! If alcohol were not consumed, these things would be cut in half! Alcohol is a close companion to misery and woe.
We would be staggered by the cost of alcohol on the human race. Consider all the woe, sorrow, fighting, complaining and wounds it has caused. Think of promising lives cut off, shattered homes, children who cry themselves to sleep, lost jobs, ruined health, and wasted youth. This is the cost to multitudes who make alcohol their friend. Truly alcohol is a biting adder and stinging viper!
Conclusion. When God calls wine a blessing can he be speaking of the alcohol? Is it fair to the Scriptures if we do not discriminate how the term is used? Did Jesus really make over a hundred gallons of intoxicating wine to bless a wedding feast? Can you imagine the terrible evil it would have made possible? Would Jesus supply a wine that would change an innocent wedding into what Peter later condemned as drunkenness, revelry and a drinking party?
- For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-- when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. (1 Pet 4:3)
Brethren, alcohol and Christianity do not coexist peacefully. The more Christianity takes root in a good and honest heart, the less likely one is to drink alcohol. The more alcohol takes root, the less likely one is to remain a faithful Christian. They are paths to entirely different destinations. One cannot go both ways. The path to wisdom leads away from alcohol.