Walk
into just about any traditional church in America and you will get just about
the same response from every congregation when the subject of alcohol is
brought up. Drinking alcohol is a sin
and you should abstain from taking a drink.
One of the most often things said when it’s pointed out that Jesus drank
wine is the wine back then is like grape juice today. These statements are not only false but they
are not even Biblical.
So what
is the truth about drinking alcohol? David
says it best in Psalms 104:13-15. It
reads, “13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill
the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for the
people to use. You allow them to produce
food from the earth—15wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.” God
provided us with the fruits to be able to enjoy His gifts. Ecclesiastes 9:5-8 tells us that God approves
of drinking of wine for enjoyment. The
NLT translation reads, “5The living at least know they will die, but the dead
know nothing. They have no further
reward, nor are they remembered.
6Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all
gone. They no longer play a part in
anything here on earth. 7So go
ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink
your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! 8Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!” Clearly drinking wine is not a sin nor should
it be seen as taboo in the church.
When we
dig a little deeper on the subject, we find that Jesus drank wine in
celebration. The first miracle Jesus
performed in front of disciples was to turn water into wine at a wedding
celebration. This miracle was recorded
by John (John 2:1-12) and caused the disciples to believe more in Jesus. But if wine was a sin, then why would Jesus
choose turning water into wine as His first miracle? Wine has always been used in celebrations and
other gatherings throughout the Bible. The
last super that Jesus shared with the disciples, Jesus took a glass of wine and
passed it around as a symbol of the blood He would shed for our sins.
These are
just a couple of examples of wine being consumed in the Bible. But does that mean we are free to drink
without consequences? Just as with any
gift that God gives us, Satan can take that gift and turn it into a sinful act
very quickly. And the Bible warns us not
to become drunkards. Ephesians 5:18 says,
“Don’t be drunk with wine, because it will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” So there is a fine line in enjoying the
gifts of God and allowing that gift to become a sin.
God gave
us the gift of wine for our enjoyment and to be consumed in moderation. It is completely up to us individually to
choose whether or not to have a drink of alcohol. And if God convicts you about consuming wine,
that does not mean that it is a sin for others to have a drink. We have to be very conscious of the message that
we are telling others when we judge them for their choices on alcohol. Wine is a gift from God and needs to be
treated as such.
Lord,
thank you for providing all the gifts You want us to have. I pray for the Christians that judge others because
they feel alcohol is a sin. Lord only
You have the power to judge us for our choices.
Lord, I also pray for the brothers and sisters that struggle with
alcohol. In Your name I pray, amen.
