Volume 40      Number 4                                                                                  December 1997

As with all areas of morality, we must approach the subject of alcohol with the "mind of Christ"(I Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5). If we approach the subject from the standpoint of "how much can I get by with?", or "does the Bible say I cannot do such-and-such", we will end up in confusion and doubt. A child of God is born from above(John 3:5) and has a new outlook on life (II Cor. 5:17), therefore he is no longer carnally-minded, but spiritually-minded (Romans 8:1-9). When we understand the difference between walking after the flesh and walking after the spirit (Gal. 5:16-26) and what each walk leads to, then we will have a clear view of what is right and what is wrong. We will not need to be "lawyers" who study the Bible looking for loopholes(how to gratify the flesh without actually breaking the letter of the law): nor will we feel a need to "add to" the Word of God by making our own laws and codifying our judgments (see Colossians 2).

So what should we say about alcoholic beverages? I abstain from alcohol; not because Christ and the Apostles wrote a commandment against it, but because I believe it is a good judgment for a Christian to make after considering several scriptures(which we will look at in a moment). But the person who is looking for a direct command against a certain practice is not approaching the subject from the Lord's perspective, and will actually fall from grace like the Galatians did (Gal. 5:4) by trusting in some outward action alone to make them complete. If some decide to make it a "law" that a Christian must not drink any alcohol, then they must "add" to the Word of God, which most Christians agree is complete as presently written. A person could abstain from alcohol all their life, but such abstinence would have no power to save their soul on the last Day. The New Testament points us to CHRIST, so that we may have His fulness dwelling in us (Eph.3:14-19), and when HE is in us, guiding our footsteps, we will be right with God and know how we ought to treat alcohol.

Reading the Bible makes it abundantly clear that drunkenness is a sin (Gal. 5:21 - a work of the flesh; I Cor. 6:10- those who practice this have no inheritance in the Kingdom of God), and you can multiply references in both the Old and New Testaments (Prov. 20:1; 23:31-35; 31:1-7). Remember what drunkenness did to Noah and Lot? Most followers of Christ will agree on the sinfulness of drunkenness, and even worldy people can see the harm in losing control of your life through intoxication.

So the debate over alcohol revolves around whether or not a believer can be a "social drinker" and have some alcohol with meals or at parties. Some use Paul's "medical" advice to Timothy in I Timothy 5:23 to justify their occasional beer with the boys, or glass of wine at dinner. (This parallels the debate over legalizing marijuana, which says "Let's legalize it for medicinal purposes." Research may show that marijuana serves the same function as other "legal" drugs now on the market which also have harmful side effects, but we suspect its advocacy is probably a cover for those who enjoy its "recreational" use and not based on a real concern for those who need "pain management".) The previously cited passage in Proverbs 31 says that alcohol is for the one "who is ready to perish" (not for "kings"-people who are in their right mind and capable of judgment). In other words, we give pain killers to those who are undergoing severe pain; in the final stages of killer diseases. But where is the parallel to "recreational" drinking? When Paul tells Timothy to take "a little wine for your stomach's sake and your oft infirmities", where is the connection between that and having a glass of wine at a party? Doesn't the fact that Paul had to tell Timothy to take a little wine tell us something about Timothy - like maybe he was not a drinker of wine previously? I believe Timothy followed his father's advice in Romans 14:21, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine(emphasis mine -tww), nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." This is the MIND of CHRIST!!! Walking in love; always aware of the possibility of making a brother stumble, offending, or making weak. If I started drinking wine, I am sure I would do all three to those I have an influence on. Would you become stronger or weaker as a christian if you were to find out that your brother or sister in Christ drinks wine or beer?

Some say that Jesus turned water into "alcoholic" wine when He performed his first miracle. I don't know what kind of wine it was since the Bible doesn't say and I wasn't there. "Wine" can mean fresh juice or fermented. But if it was indeed fermented, it was still not as alcoholic as the type of wine most people make today. I am told we have ways of adding sugars to increase alcoholic content which you wouldn't have if you just fermented the grapes alone. But be that as it may, can we be sure Jesus made it alcoholic? What is the best wine? Couldn't grape juice, or new wine, be considered the best? And wouldn't that be even more miraculous to have fresh grape juice? Again, we don't know if the wine was fermented or not, I just bring this up to show that advocates of social drinking shouldn't be too sure about what they think Jesus did. I will grant them that I personally feel like Jesus may have had alcoholic wine from time to time, for his "eating and drinking" were contrasted with John's unusual, strict diet (Matthew 11:18,19). But did Jesus ever advocate drinking wine? What can we gather about the MIND of Christ from what He actually said? Why did Paul say that elders must not be "given to wine" when listing the qualifications for the office in I Timothy 3?

Paul lays down guidelines in harmony with the MIND of Christ that not only apply to drinking, but to all questions of morality. We read in I 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." (See also I Cor. 10:23.) This is just another way of describing how we act towards others when we care; a description of love in action. Motivated by love, I want to do what is expedient - the best way to spend time, the most profitable, the most helpful thing. I want to do what edifies - builds up my fellow disciple. And I don't want to be brought under the power of any person or substance.

The child of God must always be careful not to exercise a liberty that may lead him away from the Lord, or cause a brother to stumble. Let us be sure that our lives demonstrate that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, not the spirits of a distiller.