A Disciple’s Approach to Drinking

God gives alcoholic beverages to be used for sustenance, pleasure, medicine, and worship.

(Ps. 104:14-15) He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

(Prov. 31:6-7) Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. (1 Tim. 5:23) Use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

As a valued and normal part of life, wine is mentioned as part of the sacrificial system. Leviticus 23:13 Numbers 15:5 Deuteronomy 14:22 ff.

Thus, wine is a metaphor for redemption and blessing in the coming kingdom: (Amos 9: 13-15) New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

(Gen. 49:10-11) The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

Drunkenness is sin, associated with foolishness, selfishness, carnality, manipulation, and God’s judgment. “There are many evidences in Scripture that alcoholic intoxication was one of the major social evils of ancient times. This was true of all nations, including Israel, in the Near East and the Mediterranean world.” (ZPEB vol. 2, 170).

The OT tends to “show” the evils and perils of alcohol more than “tell.” Noah (Gen. 9:20-27). David and Uriah (2 Sam 11:13). Nabal, “whose name is fool,” and Abigail (1 Sam. 25:36-37). Absalom and Amnon (2 Sam. 13:28). One of the characteristics of a “stubborn and rebellious son” is to be a “glutton and a drunkard” (Dt. 21:18-21).

(Proverbs 23:29-35) Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler, Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

In contrast to the OT’s “showing,” the NT is very direct: (Luke 21:34) Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. (Romans 13:13) Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. (1 Cor. 5:11) Do not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is a... drunkard.

(Gal. 5:21) The acts of the sinful nature are... drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Eph. 5:18) Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. (1 Thess. 5:7-8) Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled.

Both Testaments may have a special message for priests/ministers/teachers/leaders: (Lev. 10:8-11) Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.”

(Prov. 31:4-5) It is not for kings, O Lemuel— not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. (1 Tim. 3:3) An overseer must not be given to much wine.

(1 Tim. 3:8) Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine. (Titus 2:3) Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

Do not cause a weaker brother/sister to stumble by your drinking.

(Romans 14:20-21) Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. (1 Cor. 10:31) So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble.

So... What is a disciple’s approach to drinking?

You are free to enjoy God’s blessings, including drink, not to drunkenness (which is sin), but with sober wisdom, remembering that alcohol tends to addict and control (and that we must be controlled only by the Holy Spirit), that alcohol walks hand in hand with much evil (such as violence, sexual immorality, exploitation, and foolishness), that some people do not have freedom to drink (and we must not tempt them to sin), and that leaders may have special responsibility in this matter.