"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." Psalms 119:18 (KJV)
Should a Christian Drink Alcohol?
Bill Brinkworth
Because many consider God’s Word not relevant or have not read the Bible, they have little conviction about right or wrong. This lack of discernment includes what God says about drinking alcohol.
Much is said in the Bible about the dangers and effects of drinking. Indulgence in alcohol is never recommended in God’s Word. Its use is usually spoken of negatively. Here are some reasons all, especially Christians, should avoid alcoholic beverages:
- Alcohol is dangerous. Even wine is likened to a poison that will ruin one’s
life!
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright [fermenting]. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” Proverbs 23:31-32 - Alcohol, including wine, should not be drunk by a wise person. It can make one foolish and do things that will later be regretted.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Prov. 20:1 - Alcohol will increase one’s problems and affect one’s health and mental stability.
“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.” Pro. 23:29-30 - Alcohol will control a person and affect one’s thinking and discernment.
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.” Isa. 28:7 - Alcohol will affect one’s will.
“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” Hos. 4:11
Notice that there are two types of wine: new, unfermented wine and alcoholic (fermented) wine.
- Alcohol will affect one’s desire to be industrious and to do something for the Lord.
“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.” Isa. 5:11-12
“Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” Pro. 23:20
We are not to even be around drinking, so certainly the Saviour would not have broken this commandment.”
These verses, and others, show it is not good to drink alcohol. This is especially true if Christians are concerned about keeping the spiritual “temple” that God gave us clean (I Cor. 6:19) from temptations and sin.
What confuses many, and is often used to justify drinking, is the Bible’s usage of the word “wine.” In the New Testament, that one word is used to describe both alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine. The Greek word used, “oinos,” references fermented and unfermented “wine.” The context of the verse usually reveals which type of “wine” it is referring to.
What is non-alcoholic “wine”? We call it grape juice. Sometimes the Bible refers to it as “new wine” (Mat. 9:17, Luke 5:39). Understand that there was no refrigeration in biblical days, and that it was hot, which would quickly ferment the “new wine.” To keep fermenting from happening, the new “wine” was often simmered so that the water would evaporate from the “wine.” The result would be a thick grape syrup that would keep for a long time. It also was called “wine.” Before it was drunk, water would be added to it again. An ancient shipwreck was recovered with a cargo of containers of the grape syrup, and it was still preserved.
There are other reasons why a Christian should not drink, even wine. They include:
- Fermented wine is a picture of sin! It is the yeast (“leaven”) in the grape that turns the juice into alcohol. Yeast is a picture of sin because it spreads and “ruins” (fermentation is a decaying and rotting process) where it is found. For this reason, it not only should not be drunk, but it should NEVER be used in the Lord’s supper. Jesus was sinless and should not be pictured as sinful by fermented grape juice. Also, for the same reason, raised bread should not be used in the Lord’s supper. A little “leaven” in grape juice or flour will increase and spread throughout the product, just as a little sin spreads and affects whatever life it touches.
“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Gal. 5:9
“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” I Cor. 5:6 - Many justify drinking because Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:9-10). However, it was not alcoholic wine He changed. If he did, he would have been serving alcohol that would have earned him God’s “woe,” rather than God’s approval on His life (Mat. 3:17).
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!” Habakkuk 2:15
Also, if one is not to give it to others, he should not be drinking himself.
Jesus’ conversion of the water was not to teach the biblical doctrine on drinking. Instead, it was a miracle to show Jesus was God in the flesh. - Alcohol is often a gateway to other sins. One sin usually leads to others, and alcohol is no exception.
“Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” Pro. 23:33 - Some twist I Tim. 5:23 around that it is okay to drink wine for health. Any drunk or doctor will tell you that alcohol will tear up anyone’s stomach. Alcohol irritates one’s digestive system, including the stomach, causing it to produce too much acid. This can lead to gastritis, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and even bleeding. Look at the beer belly of a beer guzzler for proof. God, of course, knows all this, so alcohol consumption cannot be what I Tim. 5:23 is referring to.
“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
I Tim 5:23
I read that to get the “good” chemical in wine that is supposed to help one’s health, many bottles of wine each day should be drunk. Drinking that much would qualify one as a drunkard that the Bible condemns. A better choice for a stomach’s health would be to eat grapes or drink grape juice.
- What is “drunk”? How many drinks does it take to be “drunk.” A good answer to this question is from Jim Jorgenson in Should I, where he wrote, “Perhaps you would say, ‘It would take six beers to make me drunk.’ If you only drink one beer, then you are one-sixth drunk. You are one-sixth less able to serve God than you are before drinking.”
- We are not to have the appearance of doing anything wrong. We are to have an upright testimony. Drinking would give an impression to others that one is a drunkard.
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” I Thes. 5:22
Christians are to be led and guided by the Spirit of God, not the spirit of drunkenness. Interestingly, the old-time drunkards knew that drinking was not of God, and the wrong spirits influenced its users. To prove that, read the label on a bottle of booze, and it will still be identified as 50% (or another number) Spirits. Therefore, drinking alcohol leads one to follow the wrong spirit, and it will not be the Spirit of God.
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Eph. 5:18
A Christian should be “Christ-like,” as the name implies. He should not be, or even be close to the edge of the godless world from which he was saved. The believer should be as far from temptation and sin as he can get. One cannot lose his salvation, but he can lose his Christian testimony and be ensnared by many of the same pitfalls the unsaved fall into when they indulge in alcohol. All lose when they drink booze!
Affects from Drinking
Gleaned from Should I? by Jim Jorgensen, Page 51
Physical Effects
Controlled by alcohol: (Isa. 5:11)
Leads to sickness: (Hosea 7:5)
Causes one to stagger: (Job 12:25)
Can cause one to vomit: (Isa. 19:14)
Effects one’s eyes: (Prov. 23:29)
Leads one to be hurt: (Prov. 23:29)
Produces filthiness: (Isa. 28:8)
Provokes one to do dumb things: (Prov. 23:34)
Mental Effects
Impairs judgments: (Prov. 31:5, Isa. 28:7)
Impairs the memory: (Prov. 31:4-5)
Encourages one to lose their temper: (Proverbs 20:1)
Moral & Spiritual
Leads to indifference for the work of the Lord: (Isa. 5:12)
Is allied with gambling and licentiousness: (Joel 3:3)
Is allied with indecent exposure: (Gen. 9:21, Hab. 2:15-16
Ultimately, it can lead to:
Ruined life: (Prov. 23:32)
Poverty: (Proverbs 21:17, 23:21)
Strife: (Proverbs 23:29-30)
Woe and sorrow: (Proverbs 23:29-30)
“Alcohol is a very effective dissolving agent. It dissolves families, marriages, friendships, jobs, bank accounts and neurons, but never problems.”
This article was featured in The Bible View #610.