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Question:
Hello I just came across you website in my search for some answers
to a question. I enjoy your website, it seems to uplift and revolve
around to the only truth we have, the Bible. It is essential that We
have the "sword" to fight spiritual battles in the name of
Jesus and to carry out what He has asked of us. I had a question
about something, I thought maybe you could help me on. I know that
it is written that God is the same today, yesterday, and
tomorrow. Also He who wrote the Old Testament, through the
Holy Spirit, wrote the New Testament. It is written in the book of Proverbs
20:1 that “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is
ragging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise”.
Also in 2 Peter 1:1-7 namely verse 6 the scriptures
say “add to your knowledge, temperance.” My
question is: Are Christians allowed to drink wine or strong drink? Answer: Before I answer your question, I would like to cover a
point that you made mention of.
It is true that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
God has always been, is and will always be: omnipotent, infallible,
holy, righteous, just, merciful, omniscient, and omnipresent. He
doesn’t get old, sick or suffer from psychological problems. Numbers
23:19 “God is not a
man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should
repent. Has He said, and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken, and
shall he not make it good?” So we see that God says
what He means and means what He says. He does not make idle
promises. God is concerned about His word and takes what He says
seriously. Look at these four scriptural examples: 1.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name,
which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the
name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou
say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath
not spoken? When a
prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not,
nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken,
but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be
afraid of him.
Notice
in verse 20 what the pronouncement God made about any prophet that
said things that God did not say and attributed it to God. 2.
Matthew 5:18-19
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or
one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled. Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall
teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven.
Every
little detail is important and we know this because God said so. 3.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We must study it for there is a danger of mishandling the Word due
to lack of study and familiarity. 4.
Psalm 119. This Psalms is a perfect chapter to let us know how we should view,
study and treat God’s word. I have an example of what some call a discrepancy
in the Bible when they site the premise that God does not change.
Here is a question. How old did a Levite have to be before he was
inducted into the work of the Priesthood? Numbers 4:3
says 30 years. Numbers 8:23 says 25 years of age and 1
Chronicles 23:27 says 20 years old. There are people who get
hung up on this and say, “God says he doesn’t change but here we
have change so either God is a liar or the Bible is full of
errors.” Neither conclusion is valid. This is not one of those
unchangeable points. This was the reduction of age to have adequate
manning for the positions and jobs the Levites did. When you hear someone start a question or a
conversation with, if God is unchangeable, then why…” The nature
of God is changeless. The way God addresses issues may vary from
time to time and from person to person now and in the Bible. For
instance, we started out with a sacrificial system using animals and
since the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary; this has become
non-existent and useless. Remember you cannot make God a two
dimensional being that has no flexibility in the universe. Putting
God in box is a bad way to start off interpreting scripture.
Remember, God is a sovereign God, He does as He wills. You may ask
what all of this has to do with your question. Hang in there with
me. This is laying the groundwork for the answer to your question. To answer your question about wine, strong drink,
drunkenness etc., it will be necessary to lay down some ground rules
for this study that applies to all studies of any subject in the
Bible. When we look at a topic, we need to look at everything the
scriptures say about that topic. For example if you were going to
study wine, you would need to check your Bible from Genesis to
Revelation to see what is said about it. Second, we must be careful
to examine each scripture in its context and take note of what we
have learned from this passage. Third, we must be willing to apply
ourselves and do the study. That may mean some time in the books,
dictionaries, commentaries and other materials. Forth, we must be
willing accept what the scriptures reveal and make this what we
“believe on the subject.” Fifth, many subjects in the Bible are
like a fine jewel. The have many facets and many sides and cannot be
easily reduced to a yes or no. Some are clear and have a definite
yes or no easily found like the two sides of a coin.
Sixth, the Bible is it’s own best interpreter. The
scriptures harmonize beautifully about the many subjects that they
cover. If you interpret scripture in such a way that it causes the
Bible to contradict itself, then you have improperly interpreted the
passage. Remember scripture harmonizes with scripture. Your question was on wine and or strong drink and
the apparent discrepancies that are found between scriptures like Proverbs
20:1
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is
deceived thereby is not wise”, on
one hand and scriptures like 1 Timothy 5:23 “Drink no longer water,
but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often
infirmities”, on
the other hand. Some see a contradiction here in that the first
verse is viewed by some as a universal condemnation of wine and
others see the verse in Timothy as “the key to the liquor
cabinet”. Here we must remember that applying any meaning to a
verse that makes the Bible contradict itself is wrong. When you make
the Bible contradict itself you are actually saying basically two
things. One, the Bible contains errors. Two, God has contradicted
Himself and is therefore a liar. The words for wine and new wine in
the Old Testament and the New Testament all carry the meaning of a
fermented beverage. I have looked at several conservative scholarly
sources over the years and this is a fact. The use of the words in
the OT and NT bear this out. The main source of confusion on this subject or
any other is when we pick a position or a belief and then find
scriptures to support our position and conveniently overlook those
that do not support our beliefs. This is what many cults do with the
Bible. They pick and choose verses that agree with what they agree
with and ignore the rest. This method is backwards. It’s not,
“Here is what I believe now let me find some Bible to back it
up.” It is supposed to be, “Here is what the Bible says and this
is what I now believe!” Lets
take a look at scriptures through the Bible and see if we can begin
understand what God said on the subject. The following scriptures are enough of a sampling
from the Bible that will allow us to see how the subject of drinking
and wine is viewed in the Bible. Genesis 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he
was uncovered within his tent. This is the first
mention of wine in the Bible. This episode of Noah’s drunkenness
ended up in Noah wishing a curse upon his youngest son. Remember
that Noah was seen as a highly favored individual in God’s eyes.
He grew a vineyard, made wine and drank it. This is what the Bible
says. We also see that it carried some negative consequences with
it. Genesis 14:18 Notice that we have
here, Abraham and Melchizedek sharing in a meal with bread and wine.
Wine was apparently used commonly as a drink.
Here, it is given in hospitality to Abraham by Melchizedek. Genesis 19:33 We see wine used as a
tool for evil. Lots daughters used this as a means for incest. Genesis 27:28 This was the blessing of
Isaac to his son Jacob. One
of the things he prayed for was an abundance of wine. We see no
hesitancy here in Isaac asking for an abundance of this for his son.
Wine was a valuable commodity. Numbers 6:3 Here we have a section
of scripture that deals with Nazarite vows.
Part of the vows involved staying away from strong
(alcoholic) drinks as well as not cutting your hair or even eating a
grape. Numbers 6:20 Most of the time the
vows were temporary in nature and after a set time the Nazarite
could drink wine. Numbers 28:7 Wine was seen as a fit
drink offering to be offered to God. Deuteronomy 7:13 Wine was in a list of
things that God would bless his people with. Deuteronomy 14:26 At the time of bringing
the tithe to the Levites, you were allowed to purchase as fancy as
meal as you desired and drink what ever you wanted. Notice that the
catch was that “and
thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt
rejoice, thou, and thine household.” Strong drink was
permitted, but notice that God set some parameters on it. Deuteronomy 21:20-21 And
they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn
and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton,
and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall
stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from
among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. In light of the above
verse where we see that God set aside a time of rejoicing, worship
and “partying” as it were.
Constantly being a partier outside of “God’s party
schedule” had a deadly outcome. Drunkenness and gluttony were seen
as a sin. Judges 13:7 This is a case where the
Nazarite vow was imposed on a person. For this person, wine was
never an option. This happens to be Samson who is being referred to
here. Nehemiah 2:1 Nehemiah was a
cupbearer. Part of his job was to taste all of the king’s drinks
to make sure none of them were poison. Proverbs 20:21 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and
whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Here we a warning about
drinking to drunkenness and drinking too much of the time.
From this we can gather that this gift from God was being
abused. Just as sex is a gift from God and has been abused, so has
many of the good things that God has given us. Proverbs 23:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he
that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. Excessive drinking leads to being addicted to
alcohol and the myriad of physical and mental issues that comes with
it. People destroy their lives, hurt family and friends and remain
forever impoverished due to this.
Proverbs 23:21 For the drunkard
and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness
shall clothe a man with rags. Excessive drinking and
eating is condemned and a warning to those who do is issued. Proverbs 31:4-7 Proverbs
31 is what many recognize as the location of the scriptures that
describe the “Proverbs 31 Woman”, however there are a few
scriptures before that segment of chaper 31 that need to be pulled
into this study. Let us examine verses 4 to 7. Isaiah 28:1 Drunkenness and being a
drunkard is condemned. Isaiah 28:7 Drunkenness and being a
drunkard is condemned again. Some of the problems with it are
listed. Joel 1:5 Drunkenness and being a
drunkard is condemned again. John 2:9 Jesus first miracle
involved the creation of wine out of water. Acts 2:13 This passage shows that
the term new wine does mean a fermented beverage. Romans 14:21 Here is one of the most
powerful verses in the Bible concerning the drinking of wine. If in
doing so you will cause a brother to stumble or you cause confusion
or offense to a weaker Christian, then DO NOT DO IT! This
is especially true of anyone whose drinking has a negative impact on
his or her family. This is not
only wine but anything else! 1 Timothy 3:3 Here the word for wine
does not appear in the Greek. The word is paroiknos
and it’s meaning is “excessive drinker” or “one addicted to
wine” 1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons or ones in
leadership were limited in their consumption. 1 Timothy 5:23 Here Paul tells Timothy
to use wine sparingly for his stomach and other infirmities.
Again this is not the proverbial key to the liquor cabinet. Titus 1:7 Again, here the word for
wine does not appear in the Greek. The word is paroiknos
and it’s meaning is “excessive drinker” or “one addicted to
wine” Titus 2:3 Leadership is limited in
this area of consumption. In light of Romans 14:21 may be prohibited
totally. 1 Peter 4:3 Excess of wine is listed
as a sin. Lack of self-control in other areas are also listed. Where does this leave
the Christian today? There are many scriptures that deal with this
subject. You can pick and choose from among them and build an
argument for total abstinence from all alcohol. You can also take
the same Bible and build a case for drinking alcohol anytime you
want and as much as you want. A
third alternative is to be true to the scriptures and follow what
THE BIBLE teaches on the subject.
There seems to be no absolute prohibition against drinking
wine. There are stipulations and limitations put on this. These need
to be examined and obeyed. There are other factors that we must take
into consideration in this area. We have an identity in Christ and a
responsibility to other believers in the world. We are to look at
the whole of who we are in Christ and how we are to grow in Him. Our lives and actions have an impact on others. Read the following
passages with the above thoughts in mind. 2 Peter 1:1-7
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to
them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the
righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through
the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us
all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance
patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness charity. It is to be noted here that some understand
temperance in verse 6 to mean drinking. This is due to the
Temperance Movement in the early 1900’s that lead to Prohibition.
The word here is enkrateia.
The
word is not specifically aimed at drinking but more of an overall
self-control, which would include drinking, gluttony, sexual sins,
and any other abuse of the abilities and gifts God has given to man. 1 Corinthians 6:12
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not
expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought
under the power of any. Paul here is warning of the liberty of doing
something versus the benefit or usefulness of it. The last part of
the verse warns that over exercise of some of these freedoms can
lead to bondage by the abuse thereof. Just because you can do
something it may not be a good thing to do, at least that is the way
Paul saw it. In drinking, do you run the risk of drunkenness and/or
becoming an alcoholic, which God expressly has said is BAD. Romans 14:1 – 15:3 Him
that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful
disputations. 2 For
one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak,
eateth herbs. 3 Let
not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him
which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who
art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he
standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to
make him stand. 5 One
man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day
alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He
that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that
regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that
eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that
eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 7 For
none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For
whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die
unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For
to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might
be Lord both of the dead and living. 10 But
why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy
brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For
it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to
me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So
then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 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. 14 I
know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing
unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be
unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 But
if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not
charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. 16 Let
not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18 For
he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and
approved of men. 19 Let
us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and
things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For
meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it
is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21 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. 22 Hast
thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that
condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23 And
he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of
faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 15:1 We
then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and
not to please ourselves. 2 Let
every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For
even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The
reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. In this analysis, you must ask yourself whether
consuming wine or any alcohol is going to put you in violation of
this passage of scripture. In chapter 15 verse 1, the scriptural
admonition is quite clear about who should be considered in matters
like this. There are many things
in the Bible that are clearly defined as a sin. Fornication,
robbery, idolatry, lying, lust, being a drunkard and many other sins
are clearly defined as wrong. In this case, in the end analysis, it
is not the wine that is the problem. It is the consumer of
the wine. There is no simple yes or no answer to this
question as to whether drinking a glass of wine is wrong. This is
something that you must work out between you and God in light of all
He has revealed in his word. |
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