Please before you continue, if you have not read part one you can do so by clicking on this link: https://www.nairaland.com/1549254/christian-alcohol

THE CHRISTIAN AND ALCOHOL (PART 2), CONTINUATION OF PART ONE. HAPPY READING.

Fermented Wine Brings Woe

The word “woe” is not used commonly today in the English vernacular. The word means deep distress or misery—as from grief and/or wretchedness. The Bible is found using the word in many different places; not surprisingly, the use of alcohol is often the reason why the word is used!

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!” (Isaiah 5:11).

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who hath complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.” (Proverbs 23:29–30).

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his unclothedness!” (Habakkuk 2:15).


Does the Christian need any more condemnation of alcohol consumption than this? A very safe and simple rule for these issues is: “When in doubt, leave it out!”

A Matter of Health

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's” (1 Corinthians 6:20 KJV). From liver disease to ulcers to dementia, an almost endless list of health problems have been linked to the drinking of alcohol.

Alcohol (also grain alcohol) is a toxin that severely affects the central nervous system when ingested. Most people know that even moderate “social drinking” destroys brain cells.

If a person holds a small swig of whiskey in their mouth for about ten minutes, various parts of the interior of their mouth will become blistered. If you have them blindfolded and have them taste various beverages—for instance, water, vinegar, or milk—you will find that they are incapable of distinguishing one from another. This experiment proves to a certainty that alcohol is not only a violent irritant, but also a narcotic.

I think even the strongest advocate of alcohol must honestly admit that its consumption certainly does not glorify God in their body; instead, it slowly destroys body and mind, which is a clear violation of the Sixth Commandment.

Just as cigarette smoking is suicide on the installment plan, so is alcohol—which is a leading killer in the United States.

Also consider that there is an almost endless selection of other good things to drink that nourishes the body and mind. So why would any Christian want to gamble like this—risking their health, witness, family and eternal life to argue in defense of this destructive substance?

The Most Deadly Substance on Earth

Abraham Lincoln said, “Drink is a cancer in human society, eating out its vitals and threatening its destruction.” So much devastation is caused by alcohol in our community, on the roads and in homes, that this is hardly a bold or surprising statement. Indeed, even if the Bible were silent on the subject, the object lessons of devastation from a thousand years of history would still be crystal clear. But the scriptures say plenty.

“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: ‘They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?’” (Proverb 23:29–35).

And Jeremiah said God would make “bottles of wine” freely available to destroy the nation (Jeremiah 13:12–15). How true is this in our own country—with advertising directed at our youngest and most vulnerable citizens?

Is it a wonder that with a nation consumed by the false merriment of alcohol, it encourages consumption even to our youngest? There is strong evidence supporting widespread alcohol use and the surge of crime committed by young adults—and even children. (Did you know there are 3.3 million problem drinkers in America's high schools alone?)

Micah also warned of lying and false prophets who condone wine and strong drink (Micah 2:11).

Today, they still teach “moderation” with alcohol, but history has shown that moderation with an addictive drug is impossible.

An Issue of Love

It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak” (Romans 14:21). Because one out of seven people who drink wine will become problem drinkers or alcoholics, how can a Christian support an industry that encourages more people to stumble than any other legal substance?

According to Zig Ziglar, authorities know that approximately one in sixteen people who ever take a social drink will become an alcoholic! Would you even step one foot on an airplane if you knew there was a one in 16 chance that it would crash and end your life? (Actually, the odds for a commercial airliner crashing are closer to one in a million—but even with those odds some people will not fly. Yet many of these same people will take a drink!)

Consider this other well-known fact: In the next 24 hours, alcohol will be responsible for nearly half of all…

... the homicides.
…the people who will die on the highway.
…the people who will be admitted to the hospital.
…the people who will be incarcerated in jail or prison.
…the people who will be arrested for domestic violence.
…the people who will be born with birth defects.

In addition, alcohol deserves a mention for being responsible for a quarter of all suicides.

It’s clear enough from these appalling statistics that any clear thinking citizen, especially a Christian, would feel profound conviction to avoid a drug that accounts for a veritable tidal wave of misery to every culture it touches. If we truly love our brother and God, how can we defend drinking alcohol in any degree? Paul said he would neither eat flesh or drink wine or do anything that caused offense to a brother (Romans 14:21). With so many alcoholics struggling to be saved from their addictions, we must never cause them to stumble again by being even slightly inconsistent in our example.

Inviting Temptation

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

It is also a well-documented fact that drinking even the smallest quantity of alcohol impairs reactions and weakens normal inhibitions.

Put simply: It lowers a Christian’s resolve to resist temptation. Why would any Christian want to make it easier for the devil to snare them? Many men and women have awaken after a night baptized by a few glasses of wine or bottles of beer to discover they have violated the Seventh Commandment and forever scarred their lives and reputations.

This is why Peter charges us to be “sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:. The devil is already bent on getting us! Let’s not make it any easier for him by diluting with alcohol our God-given resistance!

Remember, even when Jesus was hanging on the cross, with acute thirst, He refused to drink the wine they offered Him. “They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He has tasted it, He would not drink” (Matthew 27:34). With the redemption of the planet hanging in the balance, He would not risk His judgment being impaired by receiving even a mouthful of wine, which might have made His suffering for us a little more bearable. Does He expect less of us?

Tarnished Testimonies

The great Canadian physician Sir William Osler was lecturing one day on alcohol. “Is it true,” asked a student, “that alcohol makes people do some things better?”

“No,” replied Sir William. “It just makes them less ashamed of doing them badly.”

Christians who drink alcohol have tarnished their testimonies to the outside world—as well as to those in the church. And the ones who are hurt the most by these compromised testimonies are the children.

Surely, it must be confusing to children to see their mothers or fathers praying—and then have a few beers. Jesus condemned this hypocrisy with the very strongest language: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

An anxious father approached his pastor and said, “Preacher, talk to my boy about drinking. He came home last night and fell sprawling on the floor—too drunk to get up. His mother cried the rest of the night.”

“Why don't you talk to your own boy yourself?” the preacher questioned.

But the father said, “Pastor, I can't talk to my son about it, because I am to blame. I wanted him to be a man, so I gave him his first glass of liquor. I didn't dream that he'd ever become a drunkard. Please speak to my boy. I can't talk to him.”

It is a sad fact that all over this nation many fathers and mothers are re-living this exact same scenario.

We are commanded to “Come out from among them And be separate…. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17). But when a Christian begins to drink alcohol, they show that they are not separated from worldly things.

Many Christians then wonder why God does not use them more to do great things. God will not use a compromised Christian for any great work. God only uses clean vessels for such amazing endeavors.

Wine on the Day of Pentecost

On Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, onlookers said, “These men are drunk with new wine” (Acts 2:13). The Greek word here is gleukos, which was either new unfermented wine or “must,” a sweet boiled non-alcoholic grape juice. These onlookers were mocking the devoted disciples by saying, “They are drunk on grape juice.” This indicates that the disciples were known for their abstinence of alcohol! How is it that we should not follow their pointed examples?

A Little for the Stomach?

Paul also tells Timothy to “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23). It is assumed by many that the wine Paul recommends to Timothy is alcoholic. Yet this is a false assumption for several reasons: First, the word oinos is used, and as we’ve already learned, it can denote either fermented or unfermented grape juice. In addition, there are historical references attesting to the use of unfermented wine for medicinal purposes in the ancient world. For example, Athenaeus (AD 280) counsels to use unfermented grape juice for stomach disorders.

Timothy must also have been living as a Nazarite, drinking only water. Paul was telling him to use a little grape juice, which has a very soothing effect on the body—indicating that Timothy abstained and needed to be urged to take even a little new wine. Drinking fermented wine can contribute to stomach ulcers. Paul would never recommend old wine for stomach therapy.

Earlier in the same epistle, Paul instructs Timothy that bishops were to be abstinent (nephalion) (1 Timothy 3:2–3). The apostle would not have encouraged Timothy to drink alcoholic beverages when he had, earlier in the same letter, forbidden their use by church leaders (1 Timothy 3:, which leads us into the next topic.

Other Medicinal Use

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts” (Proverbs 31:6–7). This text addresses those who are “perishing” (obed) and those in “bitter distress” (marei naphesh). Both terms in Hebrew denote a desperate, hopeless situation. In other words, this is describing a situation in which a person is dying in painful agony. This was practiced by the Jews, and we find that “wine mingled with myrrh” (Mark 15:23) was offered to Christ on the cross, but He refused to take it. This passage, while not approving of the general use of alcohol, does provide for the medicinal use of alcohol as a narcotic in the specific situation of those who are in terminal misery.

Moderate Drinking

Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongue, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre” (1 Timothy 3:8 RSV).

While on the surface this verse appears to tolerate drinking in moderation, we must remember the biblical context that God approves of the moderate use of those things that are good, and abstaining entirely from those things that are bad. With this understanding, the only logical conclusion is that Paul is admonishing deacons to be moderate in partaking of the good, unfermented wine. Moderation in good things is supported by several Bible passages. Honey, a healthful, natural food is also to be taken in moderation: “It is not good to eat much honey” (Proverbs 25:27).

Gluttony, be it drinking or eating, even with good things to excess is thoroughly condemned in the Bible (Deuteronomy 21:20; Proverbs 23:21), and Jesus describes gluttony as one of the primary sins of the people destroyed by the flood (Matthew 24:38). Eating and drinking to excess was common throughout the Roman Empire. We must further remember that one of the duties of deacons was to visit the homes of the believers. As is common today, visitors were offered grape juice to drink. Deacons were to show their moderation in drinking grape juice so that the charge of gluttony would not be brought upon Christians. Therefore, the most plausible interpretation of this verse is that Paul was forbidding deacons from drinking unfermented grape juice to excess.

When Paul says “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit,” some have thought this verse says just don’t drink too much. But the word excess in Greek is asotia, which is translated as riot and riotous living (Ephesians 5:18, 1 Peter 4:4, Luke 15:13). Darby’s version translates it this way: “And be not drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). We are called to be sacred vessels filled with God’s Spirit.

A Nation of Priests and Kings

Another powerful argument for modern Christians to abstain from alcohol is our royal and religious spiritual heritage. Considering the effect of alcohol and the woes, as the Bible says, it brings to those who have used it in the past, the following verses surely have a more powerful affect on our hearts:

Exodus 19:6 — “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

Peter 2:9 — “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.”

And how has alcohol affected those who were a part of this royal priesthood? Consider the following:

Leviticus 10:9, 19 — “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.”

Proverbs 31:4 — “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink.”

King Benhadad lost a major battle because his judgment was impaired by fermented wine. “But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him” (1 Kings 20:16). He slurred out the ridiculous order: “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive” (1 Kings 20:18). And then there is Belshazzar, king of Babylon, who was slain in his last drunken exploit—pouring fermented wine into the sacred cups from the temple of God (Daniel 5:2-5).

We are called to be sacred vessels filled with Gods Spirit. “And be not drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 DNT). Again, could the Bible more clear?

Summary

It is sobering to realize that even 4,300 years later, the sin of Noah is still wrecking families today. Have we learned nothing? Moderate drinking is not God's answer—abstinence is. Every alcoholic begins his or her downward path with a “moderate” drink. The church should never condone or allow that first step by teaching it’s permissible to drink a little wine. Rather, the church should uphold the clear position of the Word of God, knowing that Jesus is the Word made flesh and come to dwell among us.

God’s issue with alcohol is clear, and it always has been. Alcohol is unholy and unclean. Partaking in the worldly drink can only compromise God’s high standards.

If you have a problem with drinking, I invite you to drop your prayer requests/comments below we would pray with you and offer you all the possible help we can offer to assist you overcome your addiction. We have seen thousands freed from alcohol and other addiction by the power of God!

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).