Christian Living

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This is one of the most hotly debated topics in the Christian community today, especially with those Christians actively involved in a ministry. When I first became involved with the ministry that I am involved with, I was told that drinking was not allowed, which was no big deal for me because drinking was something that I could take or leave, but as time passed I discovered that there were exceptions to that rule. According to God’s Word, drinking is not a sin, becoming a drunkard is a sin.

Changing Water into Wine
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record 37 miracles performed by Jesus during His earthly ministry. The very first of those 37 miracles is recorded in the Gospel of John, Chapter 2, Verses 1-11, where Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding in Canaan. If drinking were a sin, would Jesus have turned that water into wine? No, Jesus never would have been the cause of someone to sin. There are many respected theologians who teach that the wine miraculously produced by Jesus was non-alcoholic in nature and they based their belief on the idea that man did not invent fermentation, the processes for distilling alcoholic beverages until many centuries later. These respected theologians go to extreme to prove their belief; the problem with their teachings is that the Bible is full of stories where people got drunk on strong drink.

The shift in the paradigm of American Evangelicalism
Back in the day when I was just knee-high to a grasshopper, abstinence was the litmus test for sanctification. Almost every preacher shouted from the pulpit, “We are godly because we don’t drink.” As extreme as that sounds, it was a reality of that time. I believe the thinking behind those dogmatic professions was that if believers abstained from drinking altogether was not in danger of becoming an abuser of alcohol. Over the last twenty years, the paradigm has shifted from abstinence to grace with the recognition that “tee-totaling” is a personal choice, not a law set down by God. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians church,” All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth (1 Corinthians 10:24-25 KJV). Although drinking alcoholic beverages is not a sin, and is not forbidden by God’s Word, we, especially those of us who are in the ministry, should not be quick to advocate drinking. We need to be careful that we do not become the stumbling block for another. As Paul wrote in Romans 14:20 (KJV) “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.” Romans 14:20 in the English Standard Version (ESV) puts Paul’s words this way: “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.” As mature Christians we have many freedoms, such as drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation, but if our drinking in moderation cause another to become a drunkard, than our drinking becomes sin too because we caused another to sin.

Now the $64,000 Question: Is it a sin for a Christian to drink?
The quick, simple answer is a resounding “No.” I have walked with the Lord for forty years, I have read the Bible from Genesis through Revelations every year since coming to Jesus on September 8, 1974, have completed numerous Bible studies, and have read hundreds of books on Christian theology, and nowhere have I found anything that states that drinking alcoholic beverages is intrinsically bad or sinful. On the other hand, the Word does state that drinking is not always wise for a Christian. Proverbs 20:1 (KJV) says “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” The ESV puts it in these words, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” I think that what these scriptures mean is that alcohol is powerful and is a tool that the evil one can use to lead us astray and we must be very careful not to give the evil one that opening in our Christian life. These scriptures are not saying that a Christian cannot have a glass of wine or a beer without causing havoc in your walk with the Lord.

When I was growing up and attended fundamentalist churches, the message I heard from the pulpit, Sunday after Sunday that it was OK to drink. Those messages were based on Psalm 104:14-15 (ESV) “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart.” Ecclesiastes 9:7 (ESV) goes on to say, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.” The pastors also quoted Isaiah 62:8-9 (ESV) “The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.” Based on those scriptures, it certainly appears that drinking is not a sin in the sight of God as long as we do not become drunkards or as long as our drinking does not cause another to stumble into sinning.

Is drinking in public or in the presence of another Christian a sin? Keep in mind that I am talking about having a glass or two of wine or having a beer or two, not drinking to become drunk. Drinking in public or in the presence of another Christian is only a sin if your drinking causes a weaker Christian, a former alcoholic or a Christian with a proclivity to become an alcoholic, to fall into alcoholism.

I have barely touched on the debate in this article. Do you feel that drinking is a sin? Do you feel that it is OK for you to drink as long as your drinking doesn’t cause a weaker Christian to stumble into sin? Let me close this discourse with what Paul wrote in Romans 14:23 (ESV) “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” If in your heart you believe that drinking is a sin, then it will be sin from you and you should abstain from drinking. If you believe that you have the freedom to drink in moderation, then for you drinking is not a sin as long as you do not cause another to sin because of your drinking.

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