I just get tired of having the same conversations over and over, especially about alcohol consumption:
Person: "Christians who drink are a bad witness to the world."So, I've outlined some Scripture, made some observations, and set a plan of action. Please let your silently confused friends read this.
Drew: "The only people who think drinking is a sin are Christians."
P: "So."
D: "A Christian's witness is to the world, not other Christians."
P: "What about the weaker brother? I don't want to cause them to stumble."
D: "True, but you eventually want them to mature, right?"
P: "Yeah."
D: "So the plan to help them mature is to teach them not to drink, too?"
P: (confused silence)
Alcohol: Should Believers Drink?
Please download the .pdf of this essay for better formatting and an easier read.
In any discussion about how God interacts with us [what we call theology], two givens immediately arise.
#1. The Bible is the authoritative breath of God. Everything else is subject to what Scripture says. It stands over church history, denominational resolutions, and papal law among many other things.
#2 God wants us to have a clear understanding of how to deal with alcohol, not linger in ambiguity and confusion. This understanding will line up with God's character and will. If there is disagreement in those two areas, reading the rest of this is pointless.
All verses used are English Standard Version, except where noted otherwise.
I. THE BIBLE AND ALCOHOL USE
1. Abusing alcohol is sin. [Pro 20:1; Pro 23:20; Rom 13:13; Eph 5:18]
- Alcohol abuse impairs judgment and causes damage, addiction, and death.
- When we allow ourselves to be controlled by anything but the Spirit, it is sin.
- Alcohol abuse can be linked to scores of divorces, broken relationships, and lost lives.
2. Consuming alcohol is not sin, but is actually partaking in a celebratory gift from God.
- Israel used wine in many capacities, including blessings and holy offerings.
- Melchizedek blesses Abram with wine. [Gen 14:18]
- Wine was used as a drink offering to the Lord. [Lev 23:13]
- Feasting and drinking wine was considered a tithe to the Lord. [Deu 14:24-26]
- God gives us wine to gladden the heart. [Ps 104:14-15]
- Jesus said that what comes out of our mouths will defile us, not what goes in. [Mat 15:17-20]
- Jesus seemed to drink wine*. [Mat 11:18-19; Luk 7:33-34]
*While specific incidents are not recorded, he was accused many times of being a drunkard. He also
contrasted himself with John the Baptist who fasted and didn't drink alcohol.
3. In wisdom, there are times and places believers should not consume alcohol.
- If we have a young believer under our care who is confused about alcohol. [1 Cor 8:7-13]
- If we have a young believer under our care who struggles with alcoholism.
- If others at our table have vowed to God to abstain from alcohol.
- Overall, we are commanded to use our freedom to lovingly serve one another. [Gal 5:13]
4. We do not take what seems wise to us and make a law for others to follow.
- Every believer is given the Holy Spirit to guide and teach and lead in all aspects. [Jn 16:5-15]
- The Pharisees made more laws so others would follow God's Law better, this leads to death. [Mat 15:1-6]
- Sometimes what seems wise to us is something that leads to death. [Pro 14:12]
5. God sometimes commanded people not to consume alcohol.
- Samson and John the Baptist were commanded to totally abstain from alcohol. [Jdg 13:7; Luk 1:15]
- Similar to fasting, abstaining from alcohol has to do with obedience, not because alcohol is evil.
II. COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
1. "Drinking alcohol is a bad witness to the world."
- Those who erroneously think consuming alcohol is sin are believers, not "the world".
- Believers should give up rights to win souls, not to fit in other believers' idea of spirituality. [1 Cor 9:19-23]
- Believers who think they should avoid "all appearance of evil" are not in line with Scripture.*
*The King James Version's poor translation of "all appearance of evil" is actually "every kind of evil".
2. "Abstaining from alcohol is necessary for the 'weaker brother'."
- If our consuming alcohol misleads a young believer under our care, we should abstain, but not forever.
- Eventually, we must teach them how alcohol is truly a gift from God to be enjoyed [see pt III, 2-4].
3. "Abstaining from alcohol is my way of being set apart from the world [what the Bible calls 'holy'] ."
- Our holiness is declared by God [Lev 11:45], we do not "set ourselves apart" more than God already has.
- Our command to "be holy as {God is} holy" is obeyed when we act out of the holiness God gives to us.
- Tying to "set ourselves apart" is sinfully trying to attain more "holiness", which is folly.
4. "Drinking alcohol is too risky, so believers need to abstain from it completely."
- Consuming alcohol can be risky for some, it is still an issue of wisdom and specific conviction.
- And as stated above [see pt I, 4], making new laws from what seems wise is not the way of Christ.
5. "Wine in Biblical times had less alcohol than today so we treat it differently."
- The content of alcohol doesn't matter because people in Biblical times were still getting drunk.
- Debating the exact nature of first-century wine [i.e. water to alcohol ratios] is unnecessary.
- The sin is drunkenness, no matter how much wine it took.
6. "Those in Christian leadership need to stay away from it to be above reproach."
- First, being "above reproach" is the same having a "bad witness," but in a different from.
- Second, leaders are reproached according to God's heart in the Bible, not extra-Biblical rules. [Titus 1:5-9]
- Third, the Biblical mandate to leaders is to set an example for others to actually follow [1 Tm 4:12].
- Standards don't apply to leaders only, but to the whole church to live the same way.
- This suggestion warrants a hierarchy with "better" believers in leadership, "lesser" ones out.
III. HOW BELIEVERS SHOULD HANDLE ALCOHOL
1. Believers must never become drunk.
- We are free in Christ, but no one is free to sin.
- Our freedom is to serve Christ freely. [Rom 6:15-23]
2. Believers must walk in the freedom to obey God regarding alcohol consumption.
- Learning how to consume alcohol in moderation is every believer's free choice.
- Every believer has God's Spirit and must learn to rely on Him concerning this free choice.
- Teaching abstinence as a rule only attempts to strip believers of this freedom to choose.
- Teaching abstinence as a rule only attempts to usurp the Spirit's power to help us follow Him.
- For each of us, God has something for us to see in how we should handle alcohol.
- For some, abstinence is obedience to God.
- For others, moderation is obedience to God.
3. Believers must enjoy alcohol to the glory of God. [1 Cor 10:31]
- Our command moves beyond "not getting drunk" to learning to use alcohol as a tool for God's glory.
- This includes building others up, being thankful, and aiding in saving souls. [1 Cor 10:23-33]
4. Believers must occasionally consider young believers in their care.
- As stated above [pt I, 3], believers use their freedom in loving service to others.
- At the same time, we do not live by other people's standards, but in obedience to Christ. [1 Cor 10:29]
IV. ALCOHOL AND THE GOSPEL
1. Abusing alcohol is sin, making it an issue of the heart.
- Abusing alcohol is taking God's gift and disobeying Him with it; this is sin.
- We sin when we put our sinful desires above God's righteous desires, and sin leads to death. [Jam 1:14-15]
- Our hearts cannot produce God's righteous desires on their own; our hearts are enslaved to sin. [Jhn 8:34]
- Trying to "fix" alcohol abuse any other way than dealing with the heart is folly. [Scrip]
2. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to give people new hearts.
- God, in His grace, offers us a relationship with Him by offering us new hearts. [Jer 31:31-34]
- When we turn from sin, this new heart is born within us, and we are made new. [Jhn 3:2-15; 2 Cor 5:16-19]
- Only this new heart is free to please God by walking in obedience.
3. Ultimately, a new heart is the cure for alcohol abuse.
- People who abuse alcohol are enslaved to it, and need to be set free.
- A new heart would set them free to deal with alcohol in obedience, whether moderation or abstinence.
V. ALCOHOL AND THE CHURCH
1. The Church must encourage each other to rely on the Spirit, not prescribe new laws.
- Jesus lived out and taught a life dependant on the Spirit and obedient to the Scriptures.
- We can trust the Spirit to bring about repentance and obedience in people's lives.
- In this trust, we can resist the temptation to control behavior through coercion and/or intimidation.
2. The Church must model how to deal with alcohol in a way that proclaims the Gospel.
- If we follow through on a decision about alcohol, but not in obedience to the Spirit, we have failed.
- If we freely obey the Spirit, but don't give credit to God for freeing them, we have failed.
- As in all things, believers walk in Christ's redemptive power in the Gospel, bearing witness to all. [Scrip]
3. The Church must teach each other how to use alcohol for God's glory.
- For most churches this begins with developing a culture that openly discusses alcohol.
- For everyone this begins with finding new ways of using alcohol for God's glory.
- As leadership sets an example, they would need to step out first, and then teach from that.
APPENDIX
"Akin on Alcohol" by Joe Thorn - http://www.joethorn.net/2006/07/01/akin-on-alcohol/
"Alcohol, Abstention, and Redemption" by Steve McKoy - http://www.stevekmccoy.com/reformissionary/2005/09/alcohol_abstent.html
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