What about drinking alcoholic beverages?

The question is, "How do you feel about the body of Christ drinking alcohol? Most of us know it is a sin to get drunk, but is it wrong to drink beer, wine, etc. without getting drunk?"

There are some strong opinions on this issue but let's look at it with an open mind and see exactly what does the bible teach on this subject. 

There are many scriptures that tell us to stay away from wine such as found in Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker", or Proverbs 23:29-35, which talks at length about wine drinking but if you look closely at the context of Proverbs 23:29-35 it is clearly talking about getting drunk and not the casual cup of wine with a dinner meal. 

One of the rules of biblical interpretation is to let the bible interpret the bible. That means that you simply cannot use only one or two verses and make a doctrine but rather you must read all the scriptures on the subject and then make a balanced teaching using all the scriptures. 

We also have the examples of some in the Old Testament who would make a vow unto the Lord for a season and this vow included not to cut their hair, not to drink wine and not to touch anything dead like Samson who was a Nazarite. Jesus was from Nazareth but was not under a Nazarite vow as Samson and John the Baptist were.

There are also many scriptures which praise wine such as Judges 9:13; Psalms 104:15; Exodus 10:19; Zechariah 10:7 and Proverbs 31:6.

There are of course many scriptures that warn of drinking too much wine as mentioned above. Unfortunately in our society drinking wine or other alcoholic beverages has almost always a negative image associated with it because of it's over use and over indulgence. If you lived in Germany drinking beer is looked upon differently and if you lived in Italy you would probably drink a small glass of wine with every meal even as a small child.

Let's look again at what the apostle Paul said concerning eating pork or drinking wine in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Don't give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don't just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."

As Christians we live by a higher law. The law of love. If we love our neighbors then we will take into account how they feel about certain things including drinking wine. In this day and age we can live full and rich lives without ever drinking any alcoholic beverages. However, if my Christian friend wants to take a drink of champagne at his wedding or an occasional drink with his meal it doesn't bother me. The key is always to do things in moderation. There are those who do not have any self-control whatsoever and we should be mindful of that if we do take a drink once and again. There are also those who when they were saved were also delivered from drinking and they may find it offensive to see their fellow believers taking a drink. 

My liberty in Christ should not be judged by another's weak conscious but in reality it often is. We must take that into account and live our lives with the goal of leading men and women to Christ and that includes our lifestyle. If that means never taking a drink then so be it.

Here is a link to a good article with much more information than I can provide:

www.biblestudy.org/basicart/does-bible-permit-drinking-wine-alcohol.html