Moderate Drinking: Sinful or Unwise? (Part 4)

Is it wrong for a Christian to have just one beer or a glass of wine? Is it okay for Christians to drink, so long as they "drink responsibly?" It's okay to drink so long as we don't get drunk, right?

These are the questions that I've been striving to answer in this series of articles.

• In Part 1, I made the point that moderate drinking is unwise.
• In Part 2, I went on to show from the New Testament that drinking is not only unwise, it is sinful.
• In Part 3, I explained the meaning of wine in the Bible.

In this fourth and final article, I'd like to address the common arguments that Christians will use in an effort to justify moderate drinking. I would highly recommend that you read the previous articles in this series before reading this one. If you don't have the time to read them all, at least read Part 3 on the meaning and definition of wine in the Bible as it forms an essential foundation for this study.

There are three basic arguments that folks often use to justify drinking in the New Testament. Let’s begin with the most frequently used argument: Jesus’ act of turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

Water Into Wine

You know the story. Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana (John 2:1). During this feast, wine was served, but there came a point where “they ran out of wine” (vs. 3). Jesus’ mother suggested that He take care of the problem, and while He put up a bit of a fight, He finally agreed to help. As a result, six waterpots of water (a minimum of 120 gallons) were miraculously turned into wine (vs. 7-9). When the master of the feast tasted the wine which Jesus had made, he said, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now’” (vs. 10).

Many religious people read this passage, and because they have no (or little) understanding of Bible wine, they automatically assume that this was alcoholic wine. If this is true, then we must conclude that it is okay for Christians to drink alcohol. But not only is it okay for Christians to drink – if this interpretation is true – it is okay to attend drinking parties (social drinking) and even manufacture and/or sell alcohol. If not, why not? 

But the fact is, Jesus didn’t make alcoholic wine! Not only can the word wine refer to non-alcoholic wine (as shown in Part 3 of this series), or fresh grape juice, but our understanding of wine in the ancient Jewish culture ought to convince us that the “good wine” Jesus made was indeed unfermented! Remember, the Jews viewed fresh wine as a blessing from God (Isaiah 65:8), and it brought them great joy and merriment (Judges 9:13). So when the master of the feast remarked that Jesus' wine was "the best," he was speaking in the context of the Jewish culture where the preferred wine was fresh, not in the context of 21st century America where the best wine is the most aged and alcoholic.

Think about it. Did Jesus make 120 gallons of alcoholic wine, which is said to be a “mocker” (Prov. 20:1), or the fresh wine, which the Jews viewed as a blessing from God and source of enjoyment? The fact is, if a person is going to assert that Jesus made alcoholic wine in John 2, they must prove from the context that the wine was alcoholic. So even, for the sake of argument, if we cannot prove that it was unfermented, neither can we prove that it was fermented...in which case no support has been given to drinking today.

Drink at Home

The second argument for drinking in the New Testament is found in Paul’s admonition to “drink” at home in 1 Corinthians 11. Here’s the passage…

“Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?” (1 Corinthians 11:20-22)

Many see the word “drunk” in verse 21 and conclude that some of the Corinthians were actually intoxicated with fermented wine while at church. After interpreting verse 21 in this manner, it is then asserted that the command in verse 22 to drink at home implies moderate drinking (of alcohol) at home.

First of all, the Lord’s Supper was instituted during the Passover Feast when leaven was banned (Exodus 12:19). Not only does this mean that the bread of the Lord’s Supper was unleavened, but that the fruit of the vine was unfermented as well. In a spiritual and symbolic sense, we’re told in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 that Jesus is our Passover, and that we’re to “keep the feast, not with old leaven…but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” This may not be conclusive, but it does give us reason to believe that the wine of the Lord’s Supper was unfermented...which would mean - or could mean - that the Corinthians weren't getting drunk at all, at least...not in the way we think.

You see, the word “drunk” in 1 Corinthians 11:21 can refer to inebriation, but also to being filled. In defining the Greek word methuo (drunk), consider these scholarly explanations:

• From J.A. Bass, Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament, page 138: "1. To be drunken or inebriated; 2. Pass. to drink freely and to cheerfulness though not drunkenness, (Jn. 2:10) 3. to be filled, plentifully fed, (I Cor. 11:21)."  
• Liddell and Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, pages 1091-1092: "1. of things to be drenched, steeped in any liquid" and its cognate: ‘to be filled with food.’”
• In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament), methuo is used in Psalm 23:5 where David writes, “My cup overflows.” 

This proves that while the word can refer to drunkenness (an excess of alcohol), it can refer to an excess of anything. If, as asserted earlier, this was unfermented wine, the Corinthians were drunk, not in the sense of inebriation, but excess. Rather than focusing on the Lord's death as they should have, they ate the bread and drank the grape juice in excess...as if they were eating a common meal.

So by no means was Paul encouraging the Christians in Corinth to drink alcohol at home. He was actually distinguishing between common meals and the Lord’s Supper.

Moderate Drinking: a Christian Liberty

Finally, those who seek to justify drinking will cite some of Paul’s statements in the New Testament which seem to justify moderate drinking. I will cite each of these statements below and then provide a response that ought to address each of them equally.

“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) 

“A bishop then must be blameless…not given to wine…Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine...” (1 Timothy 3:2-3, 8). 

“…the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things…” (Titus 2:3).

Before I respond to these verses, I first of all want to make it very clear that I completely and wholeheartedly understand how good, honest Christians can read these verses and conclude that while “drunkenness” is sinful, moderate drinking is permissible. I get it. And again, if I’m honest, I will say that this is by far the strongest argument for moderate drinking. However, I do not believe that these verses justify moderate drinking. 

This is where our understanding of Bible wine is essential. Again, the word wine could refer to alcoholic wine, fresh grape juice, and everything in between. With this in mind, there are a few plausible explanations of the above three passages:

1. Because fresh wine was a special and favored drink that cost more and was harder to obtain than water, Paul may have been discouraging materialism. By way of illustration, compare it to Starbucks today. There’s nothing wrong with buying Starbucks, but is it really prudent to spend all that money on coffee? What about the poorer Christians who see you buying $4.00 Café Lattes while they’re struggling to pay their bills? What about your non-Christian coworkers who constantly see you with a Venti Mocha in your hand all the while hearing you claim that you’re “not of this world?” Paul could merely be encouraging moderation for the sake of influence.
2. Or it could be that Paul is urging caution when it comes to the varying degrees of weak and diluted wine. Again, the Jews preferred fresh wine, but you can imagine how easy it would have been for even fresh wine to mildly ferment in the course of the day. Elders were to abstain from such wine (in 1 Timothy 3:3, the Greek word paroinos actually indicates that they weren’t to be “near” wine), but the deacons and older women were to be very moderate and careful in their consumption. To put it another way, Paul wasn’t permitting the moderate drinking of ‘strong drink,’ but of the weaker, diluted wines which would have been very common at that time.

It could be that both are true to some extent, but either way, I have provided two very plausible explanations of Paul’s statements. In the very least, it is inconclusive to argue that Paul is justifying moderate drinking. However, I believe it is more accurate to say that these verses, when properly understood, provide no justification whatsoever for drinking today.

Conclusion

Can Christians drink in moderation? Is it okay to have a glass of wine with your anniversary dinner, or a beer with your pizza? Christians all over the world struggle with these very questions. In this brief study, my goal has been to provide a clear, concise response. 

If drinking is merely unwise, we can discourage it, but we cannot condemn it. If it is wrong based on principles alone, it is not inherently wrong. And if this is true, we cannot say that it’s inherently sinful for a Christian to have a 24-pack of Miller Light or bottle of wine in their fridge (for the purpose of recreational or social drinking).

But I believe, based on the full weight of Scripture, that drinking is not only unwise, it is sinful. If this is true, we must take a firm stand against it. This will be very difficult in light of the unfortunate manner in which many Christians have been deceived by the slogan, “Drink responsibly.”

In the end, we must stand with God. If I am wrong in my stance on drinking, I want to know it. Please help me if you believe I have erred. But if I am right, please join me in rooting out the acceptance and tolerance of alcohol in the Lord’s church so that we can be pure and holy in His precious sight.