Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
-Leviticus 10:9-10
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
-Proverbs 23:29-30
(Mixed wine is the same as people ordering mixed alcoholic drinks at a restaurant.)
wine (adj): 1. the fermented juice of grapes
2. the juice of certain fruits, prepared with sugar
(See 'wine', Noah Webster's Dicitonary, 1828, [www.1828.mshaffer.com])
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
-Proverbs 23:31
Whatever excuse a Christian wants to make to justify their consumption of alcohol, my Bible says not even to look at it, let alone drink it.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
-Psalm 107:27
The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
-Isaiah 19:14
Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
-Jeremiah 25:27
Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
-Jeremiah 48:26
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
-Matthew 24:48-51
At the last it
-Proverbs 23:32-35
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Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
-Galatians 5:21
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
-Habakkuk 2:15
The following quote is from the blog site of a New York bartender, discussing his personal experiences, working in bars, and watching the customers:
"As you can see from the formula, both time and inebriation have exponentially more dramatic affects than familiarity.The thought of getting down with the dude or chick next to you, creeps up on you – sometimes, rather quickly. The normal logic pathways and synapses of your gray matter, the ones that keep you faithful to your significant other in many cases, are slowly overtaken by new, short-term satisfaction logic – the fermented kind ."
-Freddy, "The Truth About Why We Go to Bars," Dec 3, 2012, retrieved May 26, 2014, [thetruthaboutbartending.com/2012/12/03/the-truth-about-why-we-go-to-bars]
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
-Proverbs 20:1
"People go to bars because it’s a socially acceptable way to meet people of the opposite sex for short-term hookups and dating. "
-CallerAlgernon, "Seriously, Why Do We Go To Bars?," Jan 3, 2012, retrieved May 26, 2014, [gentlemencalling.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/seriously-why-do-we-go-to-bars]
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
-Proverbs 31:4-5
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
-Proverbs 31:6
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
-Proverbs 31:7
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
-1 Thessalonians 5:22
I had a Christian once write me the following:
"Another thing I was thinking about was an approach of a brother in my city. He bought some bottles of beer and visited the vagabonds.He sat down with them, opened the bottles, gave them all one bottle and started to talk about Jesus. Many despised the tactic. When I asked them how would they approach the homeless they said they did not do it or did not know. I concluded my conversation with the final words: 'I liked the 'bottle of beer' style better.'"
(I noted that, even when I addressed him with the Bible saying not to give your neighbor drink, he would not admit what he believed was against the Word of God.)
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him,
-Habakkuk 2:15
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
-Matthew 25:35-36
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
-Mark 9:41
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
-Isaiah 5:11-12
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
-Isaiah 5:21-22
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
-1 Peter 5:8
sober (adj): not intoxicated or drunk
(See 'sober', Random House Dictionary, 2014, [www.dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2009)
When we take in alcohol, we begin the process of dulling our senses, and thus sobriety fades. It is much easier for Satan to grab hold of those who do not have their wits about them.
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
-1 Timothy 3:1-3
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
-1 Corinthians 6:19
The typical alcohol-drinking Christian tries to claim that ANYTHING is acceptable for consumption in the New Testament. I challenge anyone to show me where that's the case because I've never heard a sound Scriptural argument for that.
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. |
Now let's begin to address the arguments of those who favor alcohol and drunkenness, and seek to maliciously use God's Word to justify themselves. As I mentioned at the beginning, there are two definitions of "wine," (one is strong drink, and the other is fruit juice) and when the Bible uses the word, it can refer to both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, depending on the context.
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
-1 Timothy 5:23
If the definition of "wine" used here was referring to alcohol, then we have a Biblical contradiction. We can't on the one hand say that we are supposed to be sober, and not allow strong drink into the temple of our bodies, but yet put aside water for strong drink. This is obviously talking about fruit juice, and most especially citrus fruits, because many infirmities (scurvy for example) can afflict those who have primarily a bread/water diet without fruit, which would have been a common diet for those who traveled and sailed a lot back and forth around the countries of the Mediterranean Sea, like the apostles did. (i.e. it's difficult to travel with fruits and vegetables without them going bad)
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
-Genesis 1:29
"Drinking water and other liquids, such asfruit and vegetablejuices and clear soups, may make fiber in the diet more effective innormalizing bowel function and maintaining regularity."
-National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), "How is Constipation Treated: Eating, Diet, and Nutrition," Sept 18, 2013, retrieved May 26, 2014, [digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/constipation]
For problems with digestion, fruit and/or vegetable juices can solve the problem by simply adding some to your water. No where in the above article is alcohol mentioned as a solution for digestive problems, and when you go to your doctor with such problems, one of the first things they tell you to do is back off drinking alcohol.
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
-Isaiah 28:7
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine... Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was... And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
-John 2:1-10
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
-Luke 16:15
Most alcohol-drinking Christians aren't even aware that they seek after the alcohol for the drunken feeling they get from consuming it. The following are testimonies of Christians who were former alcoholics, and they understand the Bible condemns alcohol, and they won't go near it.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
-Romans 12:2
"I am 52 years old... I started drinking when I was 13 years old... Yes, I fought the battle of the bottle for more than 30 years... Yes, I have been in treatment centers. Then I would stay sober for a month or two, and then that little voice would come back saying, 'well just drink a six pack and no more.' I would listen to it for days and fight it, but soon I would give in, and I would go get me that six pack of beer. Before I knew it, I was getting another one and then it would be whiskey. I have had people come around to visit me and I never remembered them being there. I would sit in this old chair, drinking and watching television. This would go on for days, and finally when I would sober up, beside my chair was a big pile of beer cans and whiskey bottles. I would think, 'how can a man live like this?!'... On August 1, 1991, I had a heart attack. I could of died, but by the grace and mercy of God, I made it through. While I was in the hospital on my sick bed, Jesus was knocking on my heart’s door. I made a decision during that time to come back to the Lord. All those times in the past that I had cried out to him for help, I thought He wasn’t listening, but now I know He was. It took something drastic in my life for me to listen to what he was trying to tell me. The Old devil tried to kill me, but Jesus came on the scene, and when Jesus shows up, things happen! Now I am saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and I praise God for he does hear and answers prayer. That night somewhere in time,I was totally and completely delivered from alcohol, and I have to this day never touched another drink ... Praise God! Jesus took this Old Drunk, put a guitar in my hands and now I play and sing in church for the Lord."
-Leroy Hicks, "A Recovered Alcoholic," 2005, retrieved May 27, 2014, [www.precious-testimonies.com/BornAgain/h-k/hicks.htm]
These people had to make a choice between alcohol or Jesus Christ. There was no justification for their drinking. They had to repent of the sin of alcohol before God would save them. Ask these former-alcoholic Christians, and see if they won't rebuke a Christian for saying "It's just one, I can handle it."
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And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
-Deuteronomy 14:26
The phrase "strong drink" can refer to alcoholic beverages, like it does in the following verse:
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
-Isaiah 28:7
Verses like Deu 14:26 are obviously talking about strong drinks that are non-alcoholic, because the God I worship does not contradict Himself, which means He would not put in a verse that tells them to drink alcohol, and another verse that tells them not to drink alcohol. Let's stop putting our presuppositions into the Bible, and start letting the Lord God define the words He uses by the context in which He uses them.
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And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
-Ephesians 5:18
Wrong. Let me demonstrate what I mean:
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
-1 Peter 4:3
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
-1 Peter 4:4
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
-Romans 13:13
Let's back up a bit and read slowly:
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
-Ephesians 5:15
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
-Ephesians 5:16
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
-Ephesians 5:17
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
-Ephesians 5:18
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
-1 Corinthians 10:4
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
-Romans 14:17
No one knows where that line of "excess" is for every person. There is one simple solution to the whole problem: Follow God's Word and don't do it at all.