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Psalm 104:14-15, “He makes grass grow for
the cattle, and plants for people to
cultivate— bringing forth food from the
earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil
to make their faces shine, and bread that
sustains their hearts.”
Ecclesiastes 9:7,
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and
drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God
has already approved what you do.
1 Timothy 5:23, “Stop
drinking only water, and use a little wine
because of your stomach and your frequent
illnesses.”
1 Corinthians 10:23-24, “I
have the right to do anything,” you say—but
not everything is beneficial. “I have the
right to do anything”—but not everything is
constructive. No one should seek their own
good, but the good of others.”
Warnings about getting drunk:
Galatians 5:19-21,
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did
before, that those who live like this will
not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Ephesians 5:18,
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to
debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit,”
Six things the Bible says
about drinking alcohol:
1. The Bible
allows Christians to drink alcohol for
medical reasons.
1 Timothy 5:23,
“(No longer drink only water, but use a
little wine for the sake of your stomach and
your frequent ailments.)”
2. The Bible
sometimes portrays alcohol as something good
and enjoyable.
John 2:3-11,
“When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus
said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus
said to her, “Woman, what does this have to
do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His
mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he
tells you.” Now there were six stone water
jars there for the Jewish rites of
purification, each holding twenty or thirty
gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill
the jars with water.” And they filled them
up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now
draw some out and take it to the master of
the feast.” So they took it. When the master
of the feast tasted the water now become
wine, and did not know where it came from
(though the servants who had drawn the water
knew), the master of the feast called the
bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves
the good wine first, and when people have
drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you
have kept the good wine until now.” This,
the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in
Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his
disciples believed in him.”
Throughout John 2, the Greek word translated
wine is “oinos”, which was the
common Greek word for normal wine, wine that
was fermented/alcoholic. The Greek word for
the wine Jesus created is the same word for
the wine the wedding feast ran out of. The
Greek word for the wine Jesus created is
also the same word that is used in Ephesians 5:18, “...do not get drunk on wine...”
Obviously, getting drunk from drinking
wine requires the presence of alcohol.
Everything, from the context of a wedding
feast, to the usage of oinos in 1st century
Greek literature (in the New Testament and
outside the New Testament), argues for the
wine that Jesus created to be normal,
ordinary wine, containing alcohol. There is
simply no solid historical, cultural,
exegetical, contextual, or lexical reason to
understand it to have been grape juice.
Wine in the ancient world was always
fermented, since, in the ancient world, it
was impossible to keep grapes from
fermenting. The only reason why we are able
to drink unfermented grape juice today is
because modern sterilization technologies
have allowed grape juice manufacturers to
kill all the microorganisms in the grape
juice that would normally cause it to
ferment and store that grape juice in
sterile containers.
The fermentation
process started immediately and the older
the wine was, the more fermented it became.
John 2:10, “and said to
him, “Everyone serves the good wine first,
and then the cheaper wine when the guests
are drunk. You have kept the good wine until
now!’”
Psalm 104:14-15,
“You cause the grass to grow for the
livestock and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to
make his face shine and bread to strengthen
man’s heart.”
3. The Bible
forbids drunkenness. The Bible never says
that alcohol is sinful but it does say
drunkenness is a sin.
Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is
debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Some other Bible verses that speak against
drunkenness (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Peter 4:3).
4. The Bible
forbids drinking if it offends fellow
believers.
Romans 14:15-21,
“For if your brother is grieved by what you
eat, you are no longer walking in love. By
what you eat, do not destroy the one for
whom Christ died. So do not let what you
regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the
kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and
drinking but of righteousness and peace and
joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves
Christ is acceptable to God and approved by
men. So then let us pursue what makes for
peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for
the sake of food, destroy the work of God.
Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong
for anyone to make another stumble by what
he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink
wine or do anything that causes your brother
to stumble.”
5. The Bible forbids
drinking if it hinders the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23, “For
though I am free from all, I have made
myself a servant to all, that I might win
more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew,
in order to win Jews. To those under the law
I became as one under the law (though not
being myself under the law) that I might win
those under the law. To those outside the
law I became as one outside the law (not
being outside the law of God but under the
law of Christ) that I might win those
outside the law. To the weak I became weak,
that I might win the weak. I have become all
things to all people, that by all means I
might save some. I do it all for the sake of
the gospel, that I may share with them in
its blessings.”
6. The Bible warns that drinking can be
dangerous and unwise.
Proverbs 31:4-5, “It is not
for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to
drink wine, or for rulers to take strong
drink, lest they drink and forget what has
been decreed and pervert the rights of all
the afflicted.”
Proverbs 23:31, “Do not look at wine when it
is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes
down smoothly.”
New wine was fermented wine:
Hosea 4:11,
“whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take
away the understanding.”
Acts 2:13, “But others, mocking, said,
‘They are filled with new wine.’”
The Hebrews did drink wine at times
with some restrictions:
Priests who served in God’s tabernacle were
forbidden from drinking any wine or strong
drink prior to their priestly duties
(Leviticus 10:9; Ezekiel 44:21).
Nazirites were men who took a special vow of
service to God, and these men were commanded
to separate themselves from wine (Numbers 6:3,20; Amos 2:12).
In the Old
Testament, kings and princes were told to
stay away from wine or strong drink so they
wouldn’t pervert justice (Proverbs 31:4).
The prophet Daniel, even though it was
his custom to drink wine (Daniel 10:3),
chose not to drink the king’s wine when he
was preparing for service in the king’s
court in Babylon (Daniel 1:16).
“All Christians would agree drunkenness is
sinful, and Christ Himself warns against it
(Luke 12:45). However, a biblical view of
wine is that it is given as something to
delight in (Psalm 104:14-15). There are
plenty of warnings against alcohol abuse, in
texts like Proverbs 20:1, because sinful men
are more likely to abuse wine than to use it
in moderation. Those who try to use Jesus’
probable use of wine to excuse their
drunkenness should heed the warning in Luke 12:45. Christians who want to keep a
biblical view of drinking wine should either
drink in moderation, never to drunkenness,
or abstain totally.” [1]
The moral of the story is, drinking
alcohol is not forbidden in scripture, but
getting drunk is!
Hebrew and
Greek Word Studies:
Hebrew: “yayin”
A
masculine noun referring to wine. It
indicates the juice of the grapevine and its
fruits, a common drink for refreshment in
the Old Testament (Gen. 14:18; 27:25; Judg. 19:19). It, along with grain and oil, were
three great blessings to Israel in the
Promised Land. It was used as a tonic (Prov. 31:6); a valuable commercial item (Ne. 13:15; Ezek. 27:18). Used properly, it made
people’s hearts glad (2 Sam. 13:28; Zech. 9:15) and was used figuratively to describe
the fertility of the land of Israel (Isa. 40:12). In moderation, it was used in the
worship of the Lord (Deut. 14:26). It was
forbidden to Nazirites (Num. 6:3). Wise
persons, especially kings, had no need of it
for it might distort their powers of
judgment (Prov. 31:4). It could intoxicate a
person (Gen. 9:21, 24; 1 Sam. 1:14; Prov. 21:17). The Rechabites abstained from it
(Jer. 35:2, 5). God did not approve of heavy
drinkers (Prov. 23:20). Priests were not to
use it while serving at the sanctuary (Lev. 10:9), but it was employed as a drink
offering (Exod. 29:40; Lev. 23:13; Num. 15:5, 7, 10). In the Old Testament, different
qualities of wine are noted: good wine (Song 7:9[10]); royal wine (Esth. 1:7); spiced
wine (Song 8:2). Wine is used in the
figurative language of metaphors: wisdom’s
drink (Prov. 9:2, 5); the wine of the Lord’s
wrath (Jer. 25:15); the wine that creates
confusion, wandering (Ps. 60:3[5]). Babylon
is likened to a cup of wine, causing the
nations to go mad (Jer. 51:7). True love is
said to surpass the intoxication of wine
(Song 1:2; 4:10). [Complete Word Study
Dictionary, The Old Testament]
Greek: “oínos”
oínos;
gen. oínou, masc. noun. Wine derived from
grapes. The mention of the bursting of the
wine skins in Matt. 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37, 38 implies fermentation. See Luke 1:15; 7:33; 10:34; Rom. 14:21; Eph. 5:18
[cf. John 2:3, 9, 10; 4:46]; 1 Tim. 3:8; 5:23; Titus 2:3; Rev. 6:6; 18:13; Sept.: Gen. 9:21, 24; 14:18; 27:28; Judg. 9:13.
From the intoxicating effects of wine and
the idolatrous use of it among the heathen,
wine signifies communion in the intoxicating
idolatries of the mystic Babylon (Rev. 14:8
[cf. Jer. 51:7]). It denotes metaphorically
the dreadful judgments of God upon sinners
(Rev. 14:10; 16:19; 19:15 [cf. Isa. 51:17;
Jer. 25:15; Ezek. 23:31]). The drinking of
wine, though not forbidden by Scripture (as
is drunkenness [Eph. 5:18]), is to be
avoided in the presence of weaker brothers
who might be influenced to partake against
their consciences (Rom. 14:21). In 1 Tim. 5:23 oínos is recommended for medicinal
purposes. Deriv.: oinopótēs <G3630>, a
drinker of wine; pároinos <G3943>, a heavy
drinker. Syn.: gleúkos <G1098>, sweet new
wine; síkera <G4608>, strong drink.
[Complete Word Study Dictionary, The New
Testament]
References:
1.
Did Jesus drink wine/alcohol?
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