Christians and Alcohol
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| Drunkenness of Noah (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| English: Everyone take a drink (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| A Kranz (wreath) of Kölsch beer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The Old Testament warns against the abuse of wine and strong drink. Wine refers to the fermented juice of the grape, whereas strong drink denotes any intoxicating drink, often made from barley. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler” (Prov. 20:1). “[Wine] bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Prov. 23:32). It also may lead to poverty (Prov. 21:17). Isaiah warned against those who run after strong drink and stay up late into the evening till wine inflames them (Isa. 5:11). Micah scolds his contemporaries for preferring to hear false prophets who approved of wine and strong drink (2:11).
The priests were not to drink wine or strong drink while ministering in the Tabernacle (Lev. 10:9–10). Those who took a Nazarite vow of consecration to God could drink no wine or strong drink during the length of the vow (Num. 6:3–4).
Wine did, of course, have a legitimate use: to deaden the pain of those who were dying or in distress (Prov. 31:6). Paul urged Timothy to take some wine for his physical infirmities (1 Tim. 5:23). That Paul had to tell Timothy to do this implies that he was not drinking wine up to that time but rather was a total abstainer. The good Samaritan poured wine on the wounds of the man who had been beaten in order to cleanse them (Luke 10:34).
B\both the Old and New Testaments speak about the illegitimate and legitimate uses of alcohol.
ALCOHOL AND THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHURCH LEADERS
In the lists of qualifications for elders and deacons the following words and phrases relate to the matter of alcohol. Elders are to be “temperate” (nephalion, 1 Tim. 3:2) and “not given to wine” (me parionon, 1 Tim. 3:3 and Titus 1:7). Deacons are not to be “addicted to much wine” (me oino pollo prosechontas, 1 Tim. 3:8). The women (likely the wives of deacons) are to be “temperate” (nephalion, 1 Tim. 3:11) as well.
The word nephalion etymologically means wineless or abstaining from wine entirely. Outside the New Testament it referred to altars at which only wineless offerings were made, or cakes made without wine. It also has a wider meaning of being sober, in full possession of one’s faculties. Its usage here likely includes the broader meaning of being sober in outlook and judgment, without excluding the meaning of wineless. In other words, one qualification for the elders and the women is sobriety in judgment, which is related to the nonuse of wine.
“Not given to much wine” (paroinon) literally means “not alongside wine.” In addition to not sitting long beside wine is the meaning of not frequenting parties where wine flowed and as a result falling into imprudent words and actions. This seems to mean that the elder must not be a drinker or participant in affairs where wine is used.
Deacons must not be “addicted to much wine.” The idea of not being addicted means not paying attention to or giving assent to much wine. Deacons must not be interested in or give their attention to wine.
What does all this mean with regard to the use of alcohol by church leaders?
(1) The only beverage mentioned in these qualifications is wine. The use of strong drink seems to be ruled out completely.
(2) Most likely elders were to be total abstainers even from wine. This would fit with Timothy’s nonuse of wine until he needed it for medical reasons. Certainly elders should not misuse wine or give assent to functions where people linger over wine.
(3) Deacons apparently could use a little wine as long as they did not abuse it and as long as they were dignified and worthy of respect (1 Tim. 3:8).
THE WINE OF NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
The wine drunk in New Testament times was highly diluted with water and was not the same strength as wine is today. If it was diluted one to one then the mixture was referred to as strong drink. Clearly, then, the wine used today would have been considered strong drink in New Testament times. “Barbarians” drank wine unmixed. The ratio of water to wine varied from one to one, to twenty to one. The average seemed to be about three parts water to one part wine.
ALCOHOLIC EQUIVALENTS
To say that one drinks only beer or wine as if to imply that one cannot become a problem drinker or alcoholic that way is to deceive oneself. Here are the equivalents. Two bottles of beer or 5 1/2 ounces of ordinary wine or one cocktail raise the alcohol level in the blood an equivalent amount.5 If you multiply these by three (6 bottles of beer or 16 1/2 ounces of wine or 3 cocktails), in some states the person would be legally drunk.
WHAT SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DO?
Here are some things to consider.
(1) Believers did drink diluted wine in New Testament times.
(2) The wine was certainly fermented.
(3) The alcoholic content of present-day beer, wine, and cocktails puts these drinks under the New Testament category of strong drink and forbidden to be used.
(4) Deacons were not prohibited from drinking diluted wine in cautious moderation.
(5) The societal damage, both in fatalities and economic losses, caused by the use of alcohol today is enormous.
(6) Drunkenness is forbidden in the Bible.
(7) The chances of becoming a problem drinker or an alcoholic are about one in three.
(8) The use of alcohol or other drugs can enslave, and believers are not to engage in any practice that enslaves (1 Cor. 6:12).
(9) “It is a good thing not to eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles” (Rom. 14:21). Drinking in front of other believers always risks hindering the spiritual growth of someone who is thereby emboldened to drink also. That person could become an alcoholic. A relationship with the family of an alcoholic believer is all it takes to realize that the risk is not worth it. As with meat offered to idols, the eating of which might cause others to stumble, the best policy is to drink no wine lest one causes a fellow Christian to stumble (1 Cor. 8:13). Abstinence will never lead to alcoholism.
But what about an occasional drink with an unbeliever as a “barrier-breaker”? The supposed need to do this is greatly overrated, for
(1) unbelievers expect Christians to have different standards,
(2) our society readily accepts the statement “Thank you, but I don’t drink,” and
(3) if a believer learns of this, he may stumble.
To sum up: Why not do the good thing, that is, abstain, for the sake of one’s own body, others’ growth, and society’s benefit?
Ryrie, C. C. (1991). Biblical answers to tough questions (pp. 130–134). Chicago, IL: Moody Press.
