Alcoholism is the United States’ third national health problem following only cancer and heart disease. Alcohol is a factor in one half of all traffic fatalities. Heavy drinking is involved in approximately eighty percent of fire and drowning accidents, sixty percent of violent crimes, and thirty percent of suicides. Using statistics for automobile fatalities that only include deaths caused by drivers who are drunk by law, we find that someone is killed as a result of drunk driving every twenty-two minutes. If we counted statistics that involved a drinking driver who was not legally drunk, then we would find that almost NINETY PERCENT of traffic fatalities are related to the use of alcohol. An estimated TEN MILLION Americans suffer from alcoholism!

It is clear the warnings in scripture are being fulfilled even today in our society. Yet, despite all the warnings, many people are confused about what God’s Word has to say about alcoholic beverages. Many denominations and religions allow and even encourage the use of alcoholic beverages. With so many voices clamoring for attention, it is best to go back to the Scriptures and discover God’s view on alcoholic consumption. This study will not be able to list every scripture that mentions the dangers of alcohol because there are too many to fit into one lesson. We will first look at the Old Testament and then the New Testament teachings. Then we will look at some common questions regarding the use of alcoholic beverages and scripture.

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The Old Testament can be conveniently divided into two sections: Before Law (the Patriarchal Ages when people like Noah and Abraham lived), and After Law (From Exodus on...).

The people before the Law certainly drank intoxicating beverages. The first recorded person who got drunk was Noah (Genesis 9:20-25). It is important to notice, however, that the result of Noah’s drunkenness was SIN. One of Noah’s sons “uncovered his father’s nakedness” and it is implied that a homosexual act took place (vs 24). A curse was placed upon part of Noah’s family because of what had happened as a result of intoxication. Additionally, Lot committed incest with his own two daughters when he became drunk (Genesis 19:32-38).

The Law was somewhat accommodating of strong drink. However, the scriptures really began to warn about the danger of it. Let’s take a quick look at some of the many Old Testament teachings on the dangers of alcoholic consumption.

The book of Proverbs is particularly condemning of drink and makes it very clear: whoever is deceived into drinking strong drink is not WISE! Notice the warning is not only to “wine” which was the most common alcoholic beverage of that day, but against all alcoholic “strong drink.”

Anyone who has ever had a hangover can certainly testify to the truth of this scripture! Verses 29 and 30 teach us that problems, regrets, arguments, talking too much, physical pains, and redness of eyes are the result of those who drink too much and also to those who seek after it.

Verse 31 is a definite warning against drinking wine that has “turned red” or fermented and changed or “moved” into an intoxicating drink. The scripture is very clear in it’s commandment: “look not thou upon” it! Verses 32 give the reason for the prohibition: giving in to the temptation to drink will result in the drink bringing pain into one’s life. It will also cause one to be inclined to sexual sin and profanity.

One of the effects of loving wine will be a loss of wealthiness. Indeed, the sale of alcoholic beverages are one of the biggest money-making businesses in the world. This loss is much more than money, however, as we will see when we get to the New Testament.

Not only does the Bible command us to not even “look upon the wine” but it also commands us to not hang around those who drink! “Riotous eaters of flesh” here is a reference to the feasts that were eaten in worship of idols of the day. Sometimes we cannot help but be around someone who is drinking. For example, when a wife is married to a husband who is not in church. However, when we have a choice of whether or not we can attend something, we must obey the scriptures and choose not to be among “winebibbers.”

A person who cannot control their own spirit’s fleshly desires has absolutely no spiritual defense!

The Bible also had a strict prohibition on KINGS and PRINCES drinking intoxicating beverages. So that their judgment was not affected, and so that they would not forget God’s Word, they were to drink NO WINE NOR STRONG DRINK!

Ezek 44:21a Neither shall any priest drink wine,

In addition to kings and princes being forbidden to drink, it was also forbidden for priests to drink. If a priest did drink, the punishment was death! Verse 10 of the scripture in Leviticus cited above shows that God intended for the priests to show the difference and be the example of holiness to the world. Also notice that verse 9 states that this would not be a rule for a particular period of time, but that it would be a statue FOREVER!

In addition to the kings, princes, and priests, God also set aside a special vow called the Vow of the Nazarite where a person could separate themselves unto God. A person could choose to take a Nazarite vow or in some special cases be born into a lifelong vow. When a person took a Nazarite vow, they were separating themselves to be holy unto God. One of the stipulations of the Nazarite vow was the absolute prohibition to drink alcoholic beverages. This separation was so strong and God wanted the Nazarite to be so distinctly different that He also forbade the separated person to even drink grape juice or eat grapes and raisins!

Some famous Nazarites include Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. There was also an entire family that took and lived by this vow, the Rechabites.

With these principles in mind, let’s look at some New Testament scripture that applies these statutes to us.

Peter wrote in his letter to the CHURCH and told them that they were a chosen generation, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, an holy nation, and a people that were to be different and separated from the world. In other words, if a person is a born-again member of God’s church, then they have become a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD that are to be SEPARATED from the ways of the world!

If we are royalty and the scripture forbids kings and princes to drink intoxicating beverages, then should we drink alcoholic beverages! We are also a priesthood, and God commanded that the statute that stated that the priests should not drink strong drink should last FOREVER! Today is still forever. It is very clear that we as Christians should not drink intoxicating beverages.

Before we move on, here are some other scriptures that reinforce the fact that we are to be Kings and Priests and a Separated Living sacrifice unto God:

It is very clear that we as born-again believers are kings and priests and living sacrifices unto God. It follows then that we should follow the EVERLASTING guidelines for such an office.

Before moving on to the New Testament, let’s read some other Old Testament scriptures.

Isaiah had many warnings against strong drink as he lived in a time when alcoholism had engulfed Israel. The fact that the priest and the prophets had begun to drink was one of the reasons why God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to come and destroy Jerusalem and carry away the Jewish people as captives!

While many people did drink in the Old Testament it is very clear from the many warnings that God considered drinking intoxicating beverages to be very dangerous!

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The New Testament can be conveniently divided into two sections: Before Calvary and After Calvary. The Law was actually in effect until Jesus died upon the cross (see Hebrews 9:15-16). It is important to remember then that the majority of the Life of Christ took place under Law.

Before Calvary, Jesus gave a strong warning against intoxicating beverages to His disciples when giving them instructions for the future:

Jesus warned that the disciples not give themselves to “surfeiting” and “drunkenness.” The Greek word for “surfeiting” is kraipale and refers to “the headaches, pains, and giddiness caused by excess drinking.” The word for “drunkenness” is methe and means “intoxication of any degree.” Jesus then warned against not only heavy drinking but intoxication of ANY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT! He then went on to prophesy that it would be a snare that would “come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” We have certainly lived to see the fulfillment of this prophecy!

It is also important to note that intoxication begins at the first sip of a heavily loaded alcoholic drink. One does not need to reach the level of “legally drunk” in order to be under the influence of intoxication. Simply put, one beer brings some intoxication and violates the warning of Jesus whether there is a noticeable result or not.

Before we get to the hard questions, let’s briefly look at some other New Testament scriptures that were written to the church After Calvary:

Peter referred to “excess of wine, revellings, and banquetings” as among the sins that the church did in the PAST and had been delivered from. The Greek word for “excess of wine” is oinophlugia which simply means “drunkenness.” The word for “banqueting” is potos which means “drinking and carousing.” The Greek scholar Thayer defines “revellings” here as

Sounds like Mardi Gras to me! Or it could be a description of a normal Friday and Saturday night in America for some people!

Paul particularly addressed the issue of intoxication:

We should not YIELD our members or bodies to instruments of unrighteousness but rather YIELD ourselves unto God! Paul went on to clarify his statement in the chapter:

We are to be the servants of only the Lord, but when we yield ourselves to anything else, we become it’s servant. We should definitely as Christians then refuse to be brought under the power of anything intoxicating or addicting!

Paul realized that he had a choice. A Christian has the ability to choose to do anything that they want to, but not all of their available choices are going to be good choices. Paul made it clear that it was not expedient (to be profitable or helpful) to do everything that was available. Paul also made it clear that he would not be brought under the power of anything that would control his body.

This is a definite warning against things that are highly addictive and intoxicating. This includes not only alcoholic drinks, but also narcotics and drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, LSD and such, and tobacco products forming a dependence upon the drug nicotine. When we yield ourselves as members to chemicals that are intoxicating and addictive, we violate the warnings of these scriptures.

Also such drinks as coffee, sodas, and teas have a mild (mild in relation to the effects of alcohol and nicotine) stimulant called caffeine. Caffeine in small doses does not damage the body and never causes people to become intoxicated to the point that they are more susceptible to sins of the flesh so therefore these drinks are not sinful in themselves. If, however, a person is so addicted to caffeine that they get a headache or body shakes if they do not have their soda or coffee, or have trouble fasting because of their “addiction,” then that person should break their habit. I once was highly addicted to caffeine and now watch myself carefully to keep myself from becoming dependent upon it.

Paul himself did this as well:

Notice that “temperance” is not a license to drink a little as some try to say. Sin is sin and Paul was not discussing sin. He was discussing things such as caffeine and food that in themselves are not sinful but can be if we are not careful to control them.

The word for rioting is the same word komos that Peter mentioned earlier. Chambering and wantonness or references to sexual promiscuity.

There was a great controversy in the early church whether or not it was right to eat meat that had been offered to idols. There was so much sacrifice to idols then that the excess meat was sold in the meat market. In his teachings on the subject, however, Paul also mentions that we should not “drink wine.” This is obviously a prohibition against drinking fermented beverages. Remember that we usually must use context to determine whether or not the term “wine” refers to simply grape juice or fermented drink.

Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, therefore we must glorify God in not only our spirits but also in our bodies! The word for defile in the above scripture means to destroy, tear down, ruin, shrivel, wither, or spoil. If we bring any substance that is harmful to our body into our bodies, we are “defiling” the temple of the Holy Spirit. We cannot separate our bodies and spirits as being separate, both are God’s and both are to be used for the glory of God!

Drunkenness and revellings are also included in the lists of sins that will not inherit the kingdom of God and will not inherit eternal life:

Notice that the church in Corinth WERE drunkards but had been washed and sanctified by baptism in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit! There obviously had been a change in their life!

Those who participate in intoxication will NOT inherit the kingdom of God!

There are many other scriptures that reinforce the concept that a child of God should not drink intoxicating beverages. For example the guidelines to be a pastor, in leadership in the church, or to be an aged woman in leadership in the church was that they not drink intoxicating beverages (I Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7; 2:3). All of the teachings of this subject in the Word of God can be summed up with three small scriptures in the New Testament:

All questions of what is right or wrong for a Christian to drink or eat can be answered by an honest response to this scripture. Can I eat or drink this to the glory of God? In light of what God’s Word has to say about the dangers of drinking intoxicating alcohol, it is obvious that I cannot drink a beer to the glory of God!

A person who is drunk did so by drinking alcoholic beverages. If intoxication and drunkenness then are condemned in scripture as being evil, then even drinking one glass of beer would be the appearance of evil. The only way that a Christian can abstain from the appearance of drinking and intoxication, is to not drink alcoholic beverages. To a Christian who is willingly to surrender their will to Christ, this is not a big sacrifice.

The Bible never forbids something in a person’s life without giving them something in return. We are not to be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit! When a person surrenders themselves to the Holy Ghost, it has an intoxicating effect! (See Acts 2:12-17) The Holy Spirit removes our fleshly inhibitions about God using us and allows us to get “beside ourselves” in Jesus Christ! To anyone who has ever experienced the Holy Ghost, fermented wine is a poor substitute! If a person will receive the Holy Ghost as they did on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1-4; 37-39), and they allow the Spirit of God to operate in their lives, they will lose their desire for alcoholic beverages!

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Now that we have seen what God’s view of the consumption of alcoholic beverages is, let’s look at some arguments that people sometimes use to justify their indulgence in drinking and also some common questions that arise.

Didn’t Paul command Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach sake?

Yes, he did. The entire scripture reads thus:

Timothy was the young pastor of Ephesus. The water was obviously contaminated there (and history bears this out) and Timothy had “often infirmities” or got sick frequently from drinking the water there. Paul told him to drink wine instead of water to avoid staying sick. The word for wine here in the Greek oinos can mean both grape juice or fermented drink. We must use context to determine which is meant. Paul can NOT mean for Timothy to drink intoxicating fermented drink here because that would violate all of the his teachings on the subject and would also cause Timothy, a pastor, to violate the church’s rules and guidelines for being in leadership (I Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7; 2:3). Paul was simply telling Timothy to drink grape juice instead of the locally contaminated water so that he would not be sick and able to better perform his pastoral duties.

Jesus did turn water into wine but it is important to note exactly what the scriptures do and do not say. The scriptures read thus:

The scripture does NOT say that the men were “drunk” but that they had freely drank the wine provided for them. The scripture does NOT say that the wine that Jesus made was “stronger or more alcoholic in nature” but says that it “tasted” better. Again, we must use context to determine whether or not grape juice or fermented drink is meant by “wine.”

It is important to remember that Jesus never sinned (Hebrew 4:15) and that Jesus was God in flesh (I Timothy 3:16). The God that warned against the dangers of intoxication and inspired the scriptures which prohibit drinking such beverages would not have created an intoxicating beverage for men to drink. Also, the men of the feast could not have been heavily intoxicated for then Jesus would have been guilty of violating the commandment of Proverbs 23:20.

It is also worthwhile to note that even if the wine would have been intoxicating (which in light of the above paragraph, it probably wasn’t) we must remember that the water turned into wine miracle was before Calvary and thus still under Law. Under Grace, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost and are not to be yielded to anything else.

Actually man is the one who first made intoxicating drink using the ingredients created by God. That is, God creates the barley, hops, etc... but man has turned them into a sinful invention. In the same way, God created all things including metals such as lead and those that are formed into steel and brass, but man took those things and created a gun and a bullet and a new way to commit murder. God created the human body, but never intended for incest or fornication to take place. This question is faulty logic. We could use similar logic to ask faulty psychotic questions such as “if God doesn’t want us to kill people, then why does He let people die?” or “if God didn’t want us to jump off of them, then why did God create cliffs?” and other such nonsense.

There is no other subject in theology that is as heavily debated as what to use for communion. Some churches use ordinary, intoxicating wine for communion. Others use grape juice. Some use “kosher wine” or Jewish wine straight, and others use “kosher wine” watered down to a non-intoxicating consistency. I even know one pastor that spends two or three days before a communion service squeezing grapes and collecting the juice! A saint should obey the teaching of their local pastor in how to take communion. I will only make a couple of scriptural points and then give my PERSONAL OPINION on the matter.

First, there is no way to scriptural prove what exactly Jesus used for the first communion service because of the way the scriptures are worded:

All three gospels that record this first communion service (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; and the above quoted Luke 22:18-20) use the term “fruit of the vine” to denote the drink of Christ. It is IMPOSSIBLE to discover scripturally whether this refers to grape juice or fermented wine.

Secondly, it is true that some Christians got drunk in their communion service in Corinth, but they had turned the communion into a “love feast.” Paul reprimanded them for not taking communion properly and even mentioned that “many sleep” or had died because they were not properly taking communion with the correct reverence. In fact all of I Corinthians 11:20-34 was to correct the church’s improper mode of communion. There example is therefore not one to be followed exactly.

The following is my PERSONAL OPINION on the subject. I use ordinary, non-alcoholic grape juice for the following reasons. First, if it was mandatory that the wine be intoxicating, then I think the scriptures and Paul’s subsequent teaching would have been more specific. Second, I believe that the proper attitude of reverence in “discerning the Lord’s body” is the most important aspect of obedience in taking communion (see I Corinthians 11:29) and not the physical composition of the “fruit of the vine.” That is, obedience and reverence to God’s Word is more important than the alcoholic content of the wine. Third, I question why the consistent God of Glory who has definitely revealed His feelings about intoxication in His Word would command that His bride partake of such a substance. Fourth, many people who have been raised in truth including my wife and I have never drank an alcoholic beverage and we feel somewhat uncomfortable doing so even if in church. Fifth, the use of a highly intoxicating beverage for such an important event as communion seems to me to violate the commandment of I Thessalonians 5:22 to abstain the appearance of evil. Sixth, the bread being used for the communion was unleavened because it was the time of the Passover. That is the bread was created WITHOUT any yeast. When celebrating the Passover, Israel was required to remove ALL yeast (not just that used in bread) for seven days (Exodus 12:15). The reason for this was the yeast or leaven was a sign of sin, false doctrine, and pride (see Matthew 16:6, 11-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1-3; I Corinthians 5:6-8). When alcoholic beverages are made, sugar is added to the solution to encourage the fermentation process of the YEAST that is added. If the Passover was to be celebrated without yeast, then why should we use a drink that was created with yeast in order to celebrate it?

I personally do not feel that Jesus intended for us to use intoxicating beverage for communion. Therefore His use of the “fruit of the vine” cannot justify one’s desire to drink. Despite what a person feels on the subject of the correct drink at communion, the warnings of scripture should be clear enough to prove that a born-again Christian does not need to consume alcoholic beverages.

What about Nyquill, mouthwash, and other such medicines that have a heavy alcoholic content?

Here we reach a place where the heart and motive of the heart must govern the person. If your intent is to use mouthwash to kill germs in your mouth for fresh breath, then the mouthwash is not sinful. If, however, you are drinking it by the cup fulls in an intent to get drunk or “get a buzz,” then mouthwash has become sinful to you. The sinfulness comes from your motives. I personally do not feel that an occasional dose of medication to help insomnia is in itself sinful. To me it is no different than taking allergy medication or a doctor administering anesthetic for the purposes of surgery. ANY medication if abused or if a person becomes needlessly dependent upon it, can become sinful and must be carefully monitored.

Everyone has probably at one time eaten a dish that has contained wine or some other fermented substance. There are certain sauces and foods that require the use of wine in order to allow the ingredients to “deglaze the pan” and cook long periods of time without burning. Typically the cooking process and other ingredients render the small amounts of wine as harmless and non-intoxicating. For this reason, I do not think eating such foods is in itself sinful as it would be virtually impossible to get drunk. To avoid the appearance of evil, I buy “cooking wines” that are made and created for the express purpose of cooking. These “wines” are usually characterized by their low alcohol content and high salt composition. They are not created for the purpose of drinking. I do not think that a Christian should buy an ordinary “bottle of wine” or a case of beer for a recipe because of the appearance that it gives. On the other hand ordering “beer battered onion rings” in a restaurant does not necessarily give the appearance of evil and is in no way intoxicating.

Christians should avoid such desserts that have alcoholic beverages poured directly over them or are a part of the uncooked ingredients because of the intoxication factor and the appearance. For making such things as fruit cake, there are non-alcoholic options available for flavoring such as “rum extract” which help the flavor without violating scripture. Again, the intent of the heart goes a long way in determining what is right and what is wrong.

1. A desire to heed the strong warnings of the Word of God.

2. Even when drinking was allowed, the scriptures reinforce that drinking leads to sinful behavior.

3. Kings, Princes, Priests, and people separated unto God were forbidden to drink any intoxicating drink and we as children of God are kings, princes, priests and a separated people unto God.

4. Jesus warned against intoxication and prophesied that a sign of the end of time would be the snare of drunkenness.

5. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost and we are not to “defile” it.

6. We are not allow ourselves to be brought under the influence of anything besides the Spirit of God.

7. All drunkards and those who participate in intoxication through alcoholic beverages will be forbidden to enter into the kingdom of God.

8. The church in Corinth were saved from being drunkards and partying, and when we are born again, we are to be a new creature in Christ Jesus.

9. Instead of being drunk with wine, we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit which takes away the desire for alcoholic consumption.

10. We are to abstain from the very appearance of evil and everything that we eat and drink should be done to the glory of God.